Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) made FIM Supersport World Championship history on Sunday during Race 2 in the Pirelli Portuguese Round as he took a last-lap victory, his 13^th of the 2022 season, at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. It means that Aegerter has now broken the record for wins a season as the reigning Champion extended his Championship lead.

DECIDED ON THE LAST LAP: an unconventional overtaking place

Aegerter’s race-winning overtake came on Lap 17 of 17 at Turn 8, a corner not normally used for making moves, on Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) who ended up in fourth place. The pair had been at the head of a long lead group throughout the race, with Aegerter often making his move into Turn 1 under braking but Caricasulo responding with the cutback move into Turns 2 and 3. Aegerter made it stick on Lap 15 but Caricasulo responded at Lap 16 a lap later but the pair engaged in a last-lap scrap for the win.

Aegerter made the move into Turn 1 on the final lap but Caricasulo was able to respond by cutting back into Turn 2 as he searched for his first WorldSSP win in three years. However, Aegerter was able to make his move at Turn 8 to take the lead of the race and the win, his first at Portimao, while Caricasulo dropped to fourth place. He lost out through Turn 9 to Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) as the Italian battled his way from tenth on the grid to second and then to Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) shortly after as Oncu went from 14^th on the grid to 30^th.

Aegerter’s victory gave him his 13^th win of the season making 2022 a record-breaking campaign for the Swiss rider, putting him clear of Andrea Locatelli’s record for wins in a season. In 2020, Locatelli took 12 wins in his rookie campaign with Aegerter now on 13 for this season. It also put Switzerland on 30 wins on WorldSSP, while De Rosa took his second podium of the season and his best result of 2022 with second place. Third for Oncu gave him his eighth podium in WorldSSP and the third consecutive race he’s been on the podium.

JUST MISSING OUT: the barest of margins

Caricasulo took fourth place at the end of the 17-lap race, finishing just 0.005s behind Oncu as he narrowly missed out on a podium place after running in the lead group throughout the race. He was ahead of Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in fifth place, with the Turkish rookie ending his WorldSSP Challenge campaign with his joint-best result of the season. He had to fend off a late challenge from Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) as the Frenchman battled back from running wide to take sixth place, only 0.100s behind Sofuoglu.

DRAMA IN THE TITLE RACE: Portimao could prove pivotal…

Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) took seventh place but it was a complicated race for the rookie. He was given a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding after a clash with Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Race 1 winner Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) at Turn 1, which put both Tuuli and Manzi out of the race. Tuuli was taken to the medical centre and diagnosed with a contusion of the fifth finger on his right hand and a right thigh abrasion. Baldassarri was in the podium fight but came out in seventh place after taking his Long Lap Penalty and finished 3.7 seconds down on Cluzel. Despite the penalty, he was almost two seconds clear of Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph) in eighth, while Isaac Vinales (D34G Racing) took ninth place. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) took a top-ten finish despite starting from 30^th on the grid after being unable to set a lap time in Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session, as the Italian rider fought back for a top-ten finish.

TAKING HOME POINTS: finishing in the top 15

Andy Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha) narrowly missed out on a place in the top ten as he finished in 11th place, just 0.046s behind Bulega ahead of him. Denmark’s Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing) took 12^th place ahead of Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) in 13th place. Maximilian Kofler (CM Racing), who will not race for the team after this round, took his best result of the season with 14^th place, and with it his first points of the season, while Ondrej Vostatek (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP) rounded out the points-paying positions with 15^th.

THE CLASSIFIED FINISHERS: missing out on points

Oli Bayliss (BARNI Spark Racing Team) took 16^th place, missing out on points by a few seconds, while he was less than a second clear of Federico Fuligni (D34G Racing9 in 17^th. German rider Patrick Hobelsberger (Kallio Racing) was 18^th after a late battle with Ben Currie (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti); the pair separated by just over a tenth at the end of the race. Replacement rider Meikon Kawakami (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP) was 20^th ahead of Johan Gimbert (VFT Racing), also a replacement rider, while wildcard Joan Diaz Corbella (I+Dent Racing Team) was the last classified rider in 22^nd place.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from Race 1

Leonardo Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was declared unfit with a left wrist fracture following a Race 1 clash, while Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) did not race in Race 2. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) crashed on the exit of Turn 15 which put the Italian rider out of the race. Australian wildcard Tom Edwards (Yart – Yamaha WorldSSP) brought his bike into the pits at the end of Lap 5 after he had a technical issue on his machine. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) had been riding in the lead group but a crash at Turn 3 on Lap 8 put him out of the race, while Tom Booth-Amos (Prodina Racing WorldSSP), who served a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding in Race 1, retired after he had a technical issue on his machine. Jeffrey Buis (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti) also brought his bike into the pits at around the halfway stage to retire from the race. On the last lap, Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) crashed at Turn 14 which put him out of the race.

The top six following WorldSSP Race 2, full results here:

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)

2. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) +0.501s

3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.625s

4. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) +0.630s

5. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +2.153s

6. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +2.253s

Championship standings

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) 374 points

2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) 329

3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 194

4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 177

5. Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) 158

6. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) 126

Argentina up next! Follow all the action from the first flyaway race of 2022 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!