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Aegerter blasts to final 2021 pole position at Mandalika

Saturday, 20 November 2021 03:07 GMT

12 riders were within a second in a closely fought Superpole encounter as Champion Dominique Aegerter claimed pole position

The final Tissot Superpole session in 2021 for the FIM Supersport World Championship was a thrilling affair with a close battle between numerous riders at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit. The 2021 Champion, Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) will start from pole position for the Pirelli Indonesian Round after finishing two tenths clear of his nearest rivals, securing the fourth pole of his career.

A CLOSELY MATCHED FIELD

Aegerter posted a lap time of 1’36.288s as he claimed pole position for the two races in Indonesia in his first round as a World Champion. Aegerter completed two stints throughout the Superpole session, with the first full of consistent lap times, before he stormed to the top of the timesheets. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) will start from second place after lapping two tenths slower than Aegerter as he looks to end his WorldSSP career on a high before switching to Moto2™ for the 2022 season, with Federico Caricasulo (VFT Racing) completing the front row.  

TOP 12 WITHIN ONE SECOND…

Italian rider Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) will start from fourth place after a strong Superpole session, with De Rosa one of a number of riders who looked like they could take pole position throughout the 20-minute session. De Rosa will be joined on the second row by 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) as the Swiss rider continued his strong showing after topping Friday practice. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) will start from sixth after, like the riders around him, showing good pace and challenging for a front row start.

WorldSBK-bound Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed seventh place after a strong showing in his last WorldSSP Superpole session, with teammate Can Öncü alongside him in eighth place. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) will complete the third row as he looks to maintain second in the Championship. His teammate, Peter Sebestyen, will line up from the front row in 10th place with Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) in 11th and Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) in 12th; the top 12 in the standings were separated by just one second.

HOPING TO MOVE FORWARDS IN RACING

After three wins in the last four races, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) will have to fight his way back through the field from 13th place, as he qualified ahead of Sweden’s Christoffer Bergman (Wojick Racing Team) in 14th. Andres Gonzalez (VFT Racing), in his second WorldSSP Superpole session, claimed 15th place ahead of Daniel Valle (Yamaha MS Racing) in 16th.

Home hero Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) will line up from 17th for the two races on his home soil, with Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing), Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) and Jeffrey Buis (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) rounding out the 20-strong field.

TO NOTE

Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) was ruled out of action for the remainder of the weekend after he suffered a left acromioclavicular joint separation after a Free Practice 1 crash.

The top six following WorldSSP Superpole, full results here:

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) 1’36.288

2. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) +0.223s

3. Federico Caricasulo (VFT Racing) +0.262s

4. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.334s

5. Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) +0.362s

6. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) +0.423s

Watch WorldSSP Race 1 live and in full at 13:30 Local Time (GMT+8) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!