After two years away from the top step of the podium in the FIM Supersport World Championship, Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) was back on top after a rain-affected Race 1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Hyundai N Catalunya Round after switching tyres in the early stages of the race.
Only two riders opted to stay out at the end of Lap 2 when the entire field pitted with One Event rider Loic Arbel (Andotrans Team Torrento) and Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) opting to stay out. While they gained track position initially, the switch of tyres proved to be the better strategy with Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) coming out of the pits first. It was announced that Odendaal would be one of a handful of riders to be punished for a pit lane intervention time infringement, with Odendaal having 25.845s added to his race time. Riders were required to stay in the pit lane for 1’21s.
Krummenacher was able to pass Odendaal on track and went on to build a gap of around 16 seconds at the end of the 18-lap encounter with Spanish rider Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) able to take advantage of Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) passing Odendaal into Turn 9 to move into second place, with De Rosa third. Although Odendaal crossed the line in fourth, Odendaal was classified eighth after the penalty was applied. Victory for Yamaha machinery means they have now claimed 110 victories in WorldSSP and Gonzalez’s second place makes it 300 podium placements for the Japanese manufacturer.
P1 Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing)
“It’s really nice to win. I had a great sensation with the bike and I just used it. I was so focused on just taking the best from every lap. I want to thank the team for the great bike, my sponsors and my family which went through a hard time with me. I’d like to share the victory with them.”
P2 Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team)
“I don’t have any words for the race because in the first lap, I saw that it had started to rain so I pushed a lot with the slick tyres. I knew with one lap you could push the same. I entered the pit lane about three seconds in front of the other guys our stop was really slow and the other guys overtook me; I went out in about 10th or 11th position. I knew it was going to be a difficult race because the first laps, it was raining and then the track completely dried. I tried to do my best, pushing on the limit. I almost crashed in the last laps. It what was incredible fighting with De Rosa in the last sector. I almost crashed; the bike was moving a lot. I enjoyed this race a lot and try to take the win tomorrow!
P3 Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
“I am really happy. After one lap, the rain came and it was a very strange situation because after three or four laps, the track started to dry again. It was very difficult to manage the tyres. I’m happy for the team and I want to say thanks to my team, who worked well every day and did a good job.”
WorldSSP Results Race 1
1. Randy Krummenacher
2. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) +16.226s
3. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +16.273s
4. Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +22.273s
5. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +32.844s
6. Loic Arbel (Andotrans Team Torrento) +33.689s.
Championship Standings (after Race 1, Round 9)
1. Dominique Aegerter (SUI) Yamaha (302 points)
2. Steven Odendaal (RSA) Yamaha (248 points)
3. Philipp Oettl (GER) Kawasaki (189 points)
Credits : Photos and content courtesy of Dorna WSBK Organization Srl
