A shortened Race 1 for the FIM Supersport World Championship provided no less drama as Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) claimed his first win at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after an early three-way fight in the opening stages of the 12-lap race. The results mean Aegerter extended his Championship lead as title rival Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) finished in second place.

RED FLAGGED RACE 1, SHORTER RACE STILL DRAMATIC: an epic fight at the front

The race was red flagged just as Lap 2 of the original race started to allow recovery of Peter Sebestyen’s (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) bike after he crashed at Turn 1 on the opening lap. Sebestyen was able to walk away from the crash but marshals needed time to clear the bike and fluids, meaning the red flag was deployed. The restarted race was reduced to a distance of 12 laps following the red flag.

On the subsequent start, Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) got another good start to move into the lead of the race in the early stages before having to battle with Aegerter, Baldassarri and Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). On Lap 7, Baldassarri made his move on Caricasulo at Turn 1 to move into third before, two laps later, passing Oncu into Turn 10. Although he dropped behind both of them shortly after, Baldassarri made his decisive move at Turn 1 on Lap 12 to take second place ahead of Oncu in third and Caricasulo in fourth.

Victory for Aegerter gave him his 11^th of 2022, only one short of Andrea Locatelli’s record of 12 in a season, and also his 29^th podium; putting him level with 2017 Champion Lucas Mahias. Second place was Baldassarri’s 13^th podium, moving him on terms with Jorg Teuchert and Champions Michael van der Mark and Locatelli. Aegerter took the win from pole position and set the fastest lap, meaning he took his 11^th hat-trick while Oncu returned to the rostrum for his sixth podium and his first since Race 2 at Assen in April.

FOUR MANUFACTURERS IN THE TOP FIVE: MV Agusta with two bikes in the top six

It was a strong day for MV Agusta Reparto Corse as Bahattin Sofuoglu claimed a joint career-best fifth place in Race 1, fighting just behind the podium scrap after showing good pace throughout the Catalunya Round. He finished just 0.840s behind Caricasulo and 0.425s ahead of teammate Niki Tuuli in sixth as the Italian manufacturer enjoyed a strong Race 1; meaning with MV Agusta in fifth and sixth, four of the five manufacturers in 2022 were represented in the top five.

IN THE TOP TEN: strong fightbacks

Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) continued his fine rookie campaign with seventh place after a late-race battle with French rider Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) after the Frenchman fought his way up the field to finish 8.5 seconds down on race winner Aegerter. There were also strong results for Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) in ninth and Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing) in tenth, with van Straalen only 0.254s behind Cluzel in the three-way battle for seventh place.

TAKING HOME POINTS: rounding out the top 15

Leonardo Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) took home 11th place as he led home a trio of Italian riders between 11^th and 13^th place, with all three separated by around a second. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) enjoyed a strong start to the race but dropped back to 12^th place at the end of the 12-lap race, a tenth ahead of compatriot Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 14^th place. Oli Bayliss (BARNI Spark Racing Team) made early progress in the race but lost a bit of time, claiming 15^th place at the end of the race.

TO NOTE. Housekeeping from Race 1

Sebestyen did not take to the restarted race after his crash in the original race, while Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) retired from the race on Lap 4 with a technical problem. On Lap 5, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) crashed at Turn 8 and, despite his best efforts to save it, was a retirement from the race.

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

1 Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)

2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +3.472s

3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +3.717s

4. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) +3.857s

5. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +4.697s

6. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +5.122s

Fastest lap: Dominique Aegerter (Yamaha) – 1’45.157s – New Lap Record

Watch more incredible WorldSSP action on Sunday in Barcelona using the WorldSBK VideoPass!