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FIRST WIN: Huertas claims first WorldSSP victory after early Oncu battle

Saturday, 23 March 2024 15:28 GMT

The Spaniard went from pole to victory to take a long-awaited first win in World Supersport after a dramatic battle

Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) ended a long wait for victory in the FIM Supersport World Championship with victory on home soil at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as he fended off his rivals to win by just over a second. The #99 backed up his second pole of 2024 with victory during the Pirelli Catalunya Round, with Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) rounding out the podium.

Huertas led the race from Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in the early stages, with the #61 getting past on two occasions before the Ducati rider responded. Eventually, the Spaniard pulled out a gap as Oncu dropped back, eventually finishing in eighth. Manzi took second after breaking away from the chasing group, finishing 4.5 seconds clear of Schroetter in third. The German, who took two podiums last season here, was promoted to third when Lucas Mahias (GMt94 Yamaha) crashed at Turn 10 on Lap 10.

Huertas became the 63rd different winner in the Championship, and the sixth youngest at 20 years, seven months and two days old. It was also Ducati’s 24th win in WorldSSP. For Manzi, it was his 24th rostrum – 15 of which have been second place – while Schroetter’s third means he’s now on ten podiums following his switch from Moto2™. He’s also the only rider to take three podiums out of three this year.

The top six from WorldSSP Race 1, full results here and the fastest laps for the Race 2 grid here:

1. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)

2. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +1.277s

3. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +5.840s

4. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +8.653s

5. Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +9.798s

6. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +10.855s

Fastest Lap: Jorge Navarro (WRP-PT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph) 1'45.333s

Don’t miss WorldSSP Race 2 on Sunday at 15:15 Local Time (UTC+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!