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PREVIEW: Will Montella break Huertas' domination in WorldSSP at Most?

Wednesday, 17 July 2024 05:21 GMT

After four consecutive victories, Adrian Huertas begins to gain momentum against his greatest rivals and main opponent Yari Montella, who left Donington 25 points adrift of the Spaniard

The FIM Supersport World Championship offered a great show in the United Kingdom but, with no time to rest, it is already heading to the Autodrom Most to compete in the Czech Republic Round, which will mark the halfway point of the season. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) has won 60% of the races – 6 out of 10 – and has four consecutive wins, whilst his main rival, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), lost his victory Donington Park due to track limits, firing him up for revenge.

HUERTAS ESCAPES: The leader has a one-race advantage

With 186 points, Huertas leads the overall standings, with a 25-point margin over Montella. The difference after Donington could have been 15 points, since Montella crossed the finish line first but touched the green on the last lap and lost the victory, in favor of Huertas. The Madrid native is increasingly comfortable with his team, whilst the Italian has not won since the opening round at Phillip Island. Always a venue which offers a head-to-head, Most welcomes the latest chapter in the rivalry.

In third place, Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), 39 points behind Huertas. Although he was able to overtake Montella in Race 1 in Donington, it seems that the Yamaha rider is still having difficulty keeping up with the Ducati, and the gap with the lead is getting bigger and bigger. Will he find something to get closer to the Ducati duo? It’s a happy hunting ground for the the #62, who took a first WorldSSP podium there in 2022 with Triumph.

THE PURSUING GROUP: three riders riot for fourth position

Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) had a round in the United Kingdom to forget. He only took five points throughout the weekend and has not been on the podium since Barcelona, ​​so he is increasingly further away from the title fight. Instead, he should start worrying about the riders behind, as Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) are 12 and 13 points behind respectively. Frenchman Debise continues his solid 2024 and added two top eights at Donington, whilst Valencian Navarro, who is adapting perfectly to his new Ducati, was fourth and third, adding a first podium of the year in Race 2. If he continues with these good results in Most, it won’t take long to surpass his rivals in the table.

The fight for seventh place includes six riders covered by 25 points. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) is seventh but only scored one point at Donington. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), six points behind, completed another solid weekend to close in on the Italian, whilst Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) crashed in Race 2 but was sixth on Saturday, so is eights points from 'Carica'. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) closes in on the top ten, 21 points behind the Italian, with Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) and Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) are 11th and 12th, respectively.

EDWARDS STILL IN THE LEAD: WorldSSP Challenge standings

Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) continues to lead the WorldSSP Chalenge, but lost a point to his pursuer, Simone Corsi (Renzi Corse). Edwards was 11th in Race 1, whilst Renzi Corse's representative was 13th in both races, leaving him eight points behind. Will he continue to close in at Most?

LOCAL STARS AND WILDCARDS: Two Czech riders, two guests and two substitutes

Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) is the only Czech on the grid this year but this time there will also be Filip Feigl (Genius Racing Team), the first of the wildcards. He already has experience in WorldSSP, since he competed in this same round in 2021 and 2022. South African Steven Odendaal, who has Czech connections through his wife, will be the other guest, from WRP-RT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph. He has extensive experience in Moto2™ and is WorldSSP runner-up in 2021, with 5 wins and 11 podiums in total. He also participated in the Czech Republic Round in 2022, finishing third in Race 1 and will hope to feature again at what is considered to be a home round for him. Following their injuries at Donington Park, Yeray Ruiz (VFT Racing Yamaha) and Krittapat Keankum (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) won’t be at Most and they’re replaced by Melvin van der Voort and Soichiro Minamoto, respectively. The Dutchman was in this round in 2023, while the Japanese competed in three races in Moto2™ in 2023.

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