FIM Supersport World Championship: Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) fights for record-equalling WorldSSP victory after fierce battle at Donington Park

Race 2 at Donington Park for the FIM Supersport World Championship was a record-equalling affair for Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) as he made it nine wins in a row after a late-race charge during the Prosecco DOC UK Round. Aegerter dropped to as low as fourth on Lap 8 but was able to battle his way back to victory, meaning he has won nine races in a row in 2022 to equal the record set by Andrea Locatelli in 2020.

Aegerter was forced down to fourth place on Lap 8 as both Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) came through at Turn 11, with all three looking to chase down Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) at the front of the field. Baldassarri passed Caricasulo at Turn 9 on Lap 10 before passing Bulega at the Old Hairpin on Lap 16. Aegerter, on the same lap, passed Bulega at Turn 11 before passing his title rival at the same corner a lap later.

Aegerter went on to claim victory by just 1.063s ahead of Baldassarri in second, for the seventh team this season they have finished in this order, with Aegerter making it nine wins in a row and his 19^th in WorldSSP. He also has 26 podium visits in 31 races. Baldassarri claimed his seventh consecutive podium while Bulega claimed his sixth podium; the 130^th for Italy in WorldSSP and he matches Jonathan Rea for podiums in WorldSSP.

Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) had been fighting in the podium places but lost out on Lap 10 to Baldassarri at Turn 9 and on Lap 11 at Turn 1 to Aegerter, with Caricasulo claiming fourth place, his best result of this season. He finished ahead of Italian duo Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) and Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP); with Manzi fighting his way through the field to claim fifth spot. It means, for the first time, five riders from one country finished inside the top six in WorldSSP.

Rookie Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) equalled his best finish in his maiden WorldSSP season with seventh place as he battled with Turkish rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) on the last lap. Oncu had been in the lead group but dropped back as the race progressed to finish in eighth place. Andy Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed ninth spot ahead of wildcard Simon Jespersen (CM Racing) in tenth.

Mattia Casadei (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) missed out in a top ten finish by just under a second behind Jespersen, while the Italian was three seconds clear of Unai Orradre (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP), who bounced back from a difficult Race 1 with a points finish. Orradre was four seconds clear of rookie Oli Bayliss (BARNI Spark Racing Team) who secured another points finish in his maiden campaign. Stand-in rider Isaac Vinales (D34G Racing) claimed points on his WorldSSP return with the Spanish rider the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider. Italian rider Leonardo Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) rounded out the points with 15^th place, finishing just ahead of Hungary’s Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team).

Tom Booth-Amos (Prodina Racing WorldSSP) claimed 17^th place as he recovered from a Turn 11 crash on Lap 3, with Ondrej Vostatek (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP), Ben Currie (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti), teammate Jeffrey Buis and Federico Fuligni (D34G Racing) rounding out the classified riders in Race 2 at the end of the 19-lap race.

Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) retired from Race 2 on the opening lap after contact with Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) at Turn 1, with van Straalen able to continue in the lead group, although the Dutchman crashed out at Turn 11 and retired from the race. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) crashed on Lap 2 that put the WorldSSP Challenge competitor out of the race. Wildcard Harry Truelove (ColinAppleyard/Macadam-Yamaha) retired from the race in the early stages, along with Maximilian Kofler (CM Racing) and Sander Kroeze (Kallio Racing). Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) crashed out of the race on Lap 8 at Turn 6. Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph) enjoyed a strong start to the race but brought his bike to the pits on Lap 9. Kyle Smith (VFT Racing) also crashed out of the race at Turn 11.

The top six following WorldSSP Race 2, full results here:

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)

2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +1.063s

3. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +3.719s

4. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) +6.100s

5. Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) +8.686s

6. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) +9.135s

Fastest Lap: Dominique Aegerter (Yamaha), 1’30.564s

Championship standings

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) 245 points

2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) 181

3. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 120

4. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 99

5. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 75

6. Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) 72

WorldSSP heads to the Czech Republic and the Autodrom Most next

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of Dorna WSBK Organization Srl