Adrian Huertas converted pole position into his first career victory in the Supersport class.
The Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team rider kept a cool head under intense pressure from Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) to win by just over one second. The victory proved Huertas’ title credentials and with a front row start for Race 2 he is aiming for a double victory this weekend.
Manzi was one of the few riders to opt to use a harder rear tyre and was rewarded with his second podium of the season. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) is the only rider to finish on the podium in each race this season. The German was involved in a race-long battle with championship leader Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) who finished fourth to hold an 11 point championship lead over Schroetter.
A late mistake dropped Jorge Navarro (WRP-RT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph) to seventh but the Spaniard will start from pole position tomorrow.
“I’m really happy about this victory because it was quite difficult after Australia. Today, we showed that we are one of the strongest, and that we can fight for the Championship. I think we managed the race very well and it paid off. I proved that I can lead a race and that’s really useful for me because I had never led a WorldSSP race. Now I know what that feels like and this is really important.”
WorldSSP Race 1 Top 6 Results
1. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)
2. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +1.277s
3. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +5.840s
4. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +8.653s
5. Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +9.798s
6. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +10.855s
1. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 63 points
2. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 52 points
3. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 41 points