It was a case of so close yet so far for Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) in the FIM Supersport World Championship at the Circuito San Juan Villicum for the Motul Argentinean Round as he was denied victory by Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) on the last lap. With the results of Race 1, Aegerter extends his Championship lead to 63 points as he took a hard-fought victory in Argentina.

DECIDED ON THE FINAL LAP: Aegerter denies De Rosa

Swiss rider Aegerter had been running in third place throughout the second half of the race but was promoted to second place on Lap 17 of 19 when Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) ran wide which cost the Italian rider a couple of seconds when he missed a gear. This allowed Aegerter to set his sights on De Rosa out in front and the reigning Champion duly did so as he closed the cap and put himself in position to use the slipstream down the long back straight.

Aegerter made the move into Turn 8 as he utilised the slipstream, despite De Rosa initially pulling away under acceleration, and was able to extend his lead out to almost three tenths of a second at the end of the race. Aegerter claimed his 14^th victory of the 2022 season, putting him level with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) on 24 wins for his WorldSSP career, while De Rosa took second spot and his 19^th WorldSSP podium. Caricasulo recovered from his mistake to take third place and the 24^th of his WorldSSP career.

HOPING FOR PROGRESS ON SUNDAY: a gap to bridge

Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) battled back from a disappointing Tissot Superpole session to take fourth place and enhance his grip on third in the standings with the Turkish star gaining places consistently throughout the race. Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was fifth after an eventful race, finishing just over two seconds down on Oncu in fifth place. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was another who had an eventful race as he looked to extend his unbeaten run at San Juan but was only able to finish in sixth spot.

ROUNDING OUT THE TOP TEN: a rollercoaster race…

It was nearly rinse and repeat for Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) as he fought his way up the field as seen so often this season but he ran wide on Lap 8 and dropped down back the order to finish in seventh place. He was just a second behind Cluzel but only had a half-a-second margin to Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in eighth place. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) finished ninth in his first WorldSSP race in Argentina, with the results of Race1 putting Baldassarri 63 points down on Aegerter in the standings. Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph) rounded out the top ten as he put late-race pressure on Baldassarri in the closing stages of the race.

TAKING HOME POINTS: inside the top 15

Rookie Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was 11^th and around 1.5s down on the top ten as he finished outside the top ten for the first time in four races that he’s finished. Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) took 12^th place ahead of Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti) on his first race with his new team, while it was also the team’s best result of the season. Debutant Bradley Smith (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was 14^th on debut; Smith was penalised with a three-place grid drop following the Superpole session for slow riding. Oli Bayliss (BARNI Spark Racing Team) was the final points scorer as he took 15^th place on his first visit to Argentina. Ondrej Vostatek (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP) was 16^th while Patrick Hobelsberger (Kallio Racing) was the last of the classified riders in 17^th.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from WorldSSP Race 1

Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) was the first retirement from the race after the Dutchman had an incident with Oncu on the opening lap of the race, with van Straalen coming off his bike at the exit of Turn 7; Oncu was able to continue. Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) was the second retirement of the race, exiting the race at around the halfway stage, while Andy Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha) brought his bike to the pits on Lap 12 of 19. Rookie Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) had been in the fight for the points but retired on Lap 13 when he brought his bike to the pits. Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) retired with a technical problem on Lap 17.

The top six following WorldSSP Race 1, full results here:

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)

2. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.292s

3. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) +2.497s

4. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +6.983s

5. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +9.240s

6. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +11.945s

Fastest Lap: Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati), 1’41.693s – New Lap Record

Watch more WorldSSP action from Sunday in Argentina using the WorldSBK VideoPass!