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Huertas dominates in Italy taking third consecutive pole

Friday, 20 September 2024 15:27 GMT

The 21-year-old Spaniard was quickest again on Friday’s Superpole session and will start Saturday’s Race 1 from pole position ahead of Stefano Manzi and Yari Montella

The FIM Supersport World Championship delivered a competitive display at the Italian track as the riders battled to secure the best possible grid positions for the upcoming race on Saturday. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) claimed his third pole position in a row after a disrupted, red-flagged session at the Cremona Circuit, with a bike between him and title rival Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) on Saturday's Race 1 grid. With Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) taking second and Montella third, it's sure to be a fierce fight when lights go out for the Acerbis Italian Round.

THREE IN A ROW FOR HUERTAS: Spanish rider beats Manzi and title rival Montella

The Spaniard set a lap time of 1’31.478s to finish a 0.298s ahead of his rivals Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) who will start from third on the grid. Huertas was the quickest rider out of the blocks in the 40-minute session, posting his best lap time on just his third flying lap with none of his rivals able to trouble his time. Manzi set a 1'31.776s to take second, around three tenths down on Huertas, with title rival Montella in third and 0.032s back from the Yamaha rider.

SECOND ROW: McPhee starts from P5

Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) secured fourth on the grid, despite a spill at Turn 11, followed by an impressive P5 for Britain’s John Mcphee (WRP by SKM – Triumph) who came in 0.612s behind the leader.  He pipped Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who completes the second row.

TOP 10 FINISHERS: Navarro P10 after crash

Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) will head the third row of the grid after being declared fit alongside Turkish rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who took eighth ahead of Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and #9 Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) who completes the top 10 despite a crash at turn 2.

The top six from WorldSSP Superpole, full results here:

1. Adrián Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’31.478s
2. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.298s
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 0.330s
4. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +0.393s
5. John McPhee (WRP by SKM – Triumph) +0.612s
6. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.674s

Make sure you tune in for WorldSSP Race 1 on Saturday at 15:15 Local Time (UTC +1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now 50% off!