Third place at the flag was enough for Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) to win the Supersport World Championship.
The 21 year old becomes the youngest ever rider to win the title.
Starting from pole position Huertas dropped to sixth position on the opening laps and saw accidents in front of him as he jostled for position in the early stages. When the race started to calm down and the field stretch out Huertas was able to focus on winning the title and finished on the podium having ran in third position from Lap 4 until the chequered flag.
To have a chance to still win the title Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) needed to win the race. The Italian rider lived up to his side of the bargain. Taking the lead from Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) on the second lap Manzi eventually opened a margin of almost two seconds at the flag ahead of Montella.
A long lap penalty dropped Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) from third position to seventh and he eventually finished sixth after a strong performance. His speed was also shown by the eighth fastest lap of the race and a third row start in Race 2.
A crash for Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) saw the Turkish rider crash into Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura). With Navarro an innocent victim Oncu was punished with a double long lap penalty but the Kawasaki rider set the second fastest lap and will start from the front row of the grid.
Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) started the race from the pitlane after a tyre pressure infringement. An early crash saw him focus on setting a fast lap during the race. The Italian set the fastest lap and will start Race 2 from pole position.
P1 | Stefano Manzi | Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing
“This was the race I had dreamed about because it’s amazing when you’re in the group and, lap by lap, you pull away on your own. The pace was strong, and the team improved the bike a lot from yesterday when I had some issues and qualified on the second row. But this morning I felt really strong, and from the start, I was right there, so I’m super happy. For tomorrow, I know I’ll be starting from third position. I’ve moved up a row from today and will be on the front row, so let’s see what happens in the final round.”
World Champion (P3) | Adrian Huertas | Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team
“This is incredible. I means even more to win here the championship at my home round. Last year I wasn’t even a podium finisher in WorldSSP and today I’m the World Champion. When I signed with Aruba they trusted in me and my potential. Many people didn’t think that I’d be able to achieve this but now I can say that I’m a two-time World Champion and not many people can say this! I’m ready for more now!”
WorldSSP Race 1 Results
1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)
2. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +1.971s
3. Adrián Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 3.793s
4. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +6.288s
5. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) +6.581s
6. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) +9.595s
Fastest lap: Adrián Huertas, Ducati – 1’42.115s
Championship Standings
1. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 426 points
2. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 390 points
3. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 374 points
For more info checkout our dedicated World Supersport News page superbike-news.co.uk/world-supersport/
Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com
©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldSBK.com
