Race 2 at the Autodrom Most for the FIM Supersport World Championship was another thrilling fight at the front for a 19-lap encounter. After taking a victory in Race 1, Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was aiming for a double win, but it wouldn’t be easy. Odendaal and pole-sitter Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) had opted for the harder SC0 compound, whilst second on the grid and Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) went for the SCX rear tyre, and it would be these three who went until the final laps in contention for victory. In the end, Aegerter came out on top, with Odendaal and Gonzalez close behind.
It was time to drop the pace at the front in the closing stages, as Dominique Aegerter had enough of a gap, with the Swiss taking a sixth win of the 2021 season and proving that his tyre gamble was the way to go, ahead of Steven Odendaal and Manuel Gonzalez. The Spaniard backing up his first podium of 2021 from Saturday, despite being desperately close to second again in Race 2. With Aegerter back on top and Odendaal in second, the gap in the Championship is now 32.
Fourth place went to Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) whilst Bernardi (CM Racing) completed the top five ahead of fellow countryman Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing), who returned to the top six. Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) was a solid seventh ahead of Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti), whilst it was Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who once again faded as the race wore on to finish in ninth ahead of fellow Kawasaki rider Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura). 11th went to Max Enderlein (Kallio Racing) ahead of Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing), Luca Grunwald (HRP Suzuki), Ondrej Vostatek (Compos Racing Team By YART) and Sheridan Morais (Wojcik Racing Team) who completed the points. There was a big crash in the closing stages for Croatian Martin Vugrinec (Ferquest – Unior Racing Team) at Turn 17, but he was up on his feet.
P1 Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)
“It was an incredible race today. It was a longer race than yesterday; it was a shame yesterday was Red Flagged after 12 laps and we could not really see the chequered flag. We continued working. There were also two different tyre choices, so we were with the softer one which I think was the right choice. The pace was quite strong so I could lead every lap. The concentration over the 19 laps was quite difficult to keep. It’s nice to see some Czech fans or Swiss flags or 77 flags around the corner, it’s a big motivation for me.”
P2 Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)
“To be honest, we didn’t make a good start. I got pushed back to ninth or something and we just had to try to work hard to get back. Luckily, we got a podium. We put in a good, solid race. I just want to say thanks to everyone. Sorry it wasn’t a victory today, but we’ll come back stronger.”
P3 Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team)
“The weekend was really good from yesterday and Friday. I started today’s race really well. The first laps with the SC0 were perfect but then lap by lap, it was different from yesterday. The temperature went a bit higher and in the last laps I suffered a lot to stop the bike in the entry, it was really difficult. I was on the limit. Third position is really, really good. I want to stay here on the podium in every race, this is our goal.”
WorldSSP Autodrom Most – Race 2
1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)
2. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +1.064s
3. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) +1.166s
4. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +7.303s
5. Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) +8.528s
6. Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) +8.536s.
Championship Standings (after Race 2, Round 6)
1. Dominique Aegerter (SUI) Yamaha (207 points)
2. Steven Odendaal (RSA) Yamaha (170 points)
3. Philipp Oettl (GER) Kawasaki (137 points)
Credits : Photos and content courtesy of Dorna WSBK Organization Srl
