World Supersport 300 shot off the line at lights out for their first race of the Tissot Aragon Round. The Spanish MotorLand Aragon circuit saw Carter Thompson take his second career WorldSSP300 win. Sharing the rostrum honours with him were David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) for his sixth podium of the year and Benat Fernandez (Team #109 Retro Traffic Kove), who stuck the landing for a spot on the rostrum for the fifth time in his rookie season. With his P3, the Kove rider saw his lead cut to just seven points, while Thompson jumped up to third, just 16 points behind the #7 in first.

THE AUSSIE SHINES IN ARAGON: First win since Misano

Benat Fernandez (Team #109 Retro Traffic Kove) snagged the holeshot ahead of Vannucci and Thompson as a hungry pack of riders followed them close behind. While a five-rider group established itself at the front, trading overtakes for the race lead with impunity, they struggled to pull away from the group behind them as seven riders loomed within a second of P1 by the race’s midpoint. Salvador pestered around the front of the pack, repeatedly sneaking inside his competitors to gain positions on the entrance of the final Turn 16-17 loop before the run to the line, he had done well to lead the race heading into the back straight of the final lap, however it was Carter Thompson who got his nose in front and blocked Salvador from the inside through the Turn 16 to claim the race win and shuffle Salvador to P2. Riding in his home round, Benat Fernandez flexed his Red Bull Rookie’s Cup experience at Motorland Aragon on Saturday, making a savvy late move to box Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300) out to snag the important 16 points that come with his P3 podium to protect his Riders’ Championship lead.

UPS AND DOWN IN ARAGON: After starting from pole, then dropping to P16, Risueno recovers to P4

Having earned pole thanks to his record-breaking time in the Tissot Superpole, Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300) hung with the group at the front in the early running.  He fought for the podium positions before he was forced wide in a congested corner on Lap 2, pushing him back to P16. Fortunately for him, he recovered from this and was in the fight for the podium places in the last laps to end up in P4. Juan Risueno (MS Racing) followed his fellow Yamaha across the line for P5, a solid result for the Spaniard who started the contest in P6. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) missed P5 by a mere 0.017s behind Risueno and will have to settle for P6.

FERNANDEZ SHINES AT HOME: Roberto Fernandez earned his best result of the season in Race 1

Building on his P10 to close Magny-Cours, Roberto Fernandez (Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM) again set a season-best result, this time in P7. Daniel Mogeda (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) made a late appearance near the front, climbing as high as P5 in the penultimate lap; however, the Spaniard finished in P8. Less than a tenth behind Mogeda, fellow Spaniard Unai Calatayud (ARCO MotoR University Team) finished P9, the last of the six Spaniards in the top 10. Rounding out the top ten, Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) finished as the top KTM on the day.

The top six from the WorldSSP300 Race 1: Full results here!

1. Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki)
 2. David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) +0.037s
 3. Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) +0.202s
 4. Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300) +0.317s
 5. Juan Risueno (MS Racing) +0.358s
 6. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) +0.375s
 Fastest lap: Roberto Fernandez (Kawasaki), 2’06.009s

Tune in tomorrow for WorldSSP300’s final race at Aragon on Sunday at 15:15 (UTC +2) WorldSBK VideoPass! Now just €9.99!