WorldSSP heads to Indonesia to round off a scintillating 2021 season this weekend with plenty to fight for up and down the grid.
After 12 thrilling rounds in the FIM Supersport World Championship, the last dance of 2021 takes place at the Pertamina Mandalika Internacional Street Circuit as WorldSSP action returns to Indonesia for the Pirelli Indonesian Round. The title has been sown up but there is still plenty to fight for up and down the grid including the battle for the championship ‘podium’ places behind Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).
While Aegerter was able to wrap up his first World Championship with a round to spare last time out in San Juan’s second race, meaning Indonesia is his first round as a World Champion, the battle for second and third is still on across the season-ending Indonesian Round. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) currently occupies second place with 313 points and will be hoping he can withstand the challenge, from soon-to-be VR46 Moto2 rider, Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) to maintain that position, with Gonzalez 38 points behind and 50 available.
Both Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) and Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) have a chance of securing a top three championship position too, with both on 241 points; 34 points behind Gonzalez. Cluzel has been in a rich vein of form since WorldSSP visited Portimao, claiming three victories, including a double win at San Juan, and one second place over the last four races. Oettl - who will graduate to WorldSBK in 2022 with Team GoEleven - will hope he can return to the rostrum after not visiting the podium since Jerez. His best result in the last four races has been eighth in race two at Portimao.
One rider heading into the season-ending Indonesian Round on impressive form is Turkish star Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) after two podiums in Argentina on his first visit to the venue. While he dropped back from Cluzel at around the halfway stage of the opening race at San Juan, Öncü was able to stay with the Frenchman right until the closing stages of the second outing as he challenged for his first victory in WorldSSP. At a venue where everyone starts from zero, could Öncü claim his first WorldSSP victory at Mandalika?
Just five points separate three riders in the battle for eighth place with all three riders able to fight for the podium throughout 2021. Federico Caricasulo will be with his third team of the 2021 campaign as he links up with VFT Racing for the final round of the season and currently heads the eighth place battle, with the Italian on 142 points. Narrowly behind, by two points, is 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing), who has been confirmed for the 2022 season with the same outfit. Krummenacher has been able to fight for strong results following the mid-season switch from EAB and will be hoping this allows him to overhaul Caricasulo for eighth place. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) is the last of the trio but only three points behind Krummenacher and a further two behind Caricasulo. After a string of top 10 results, including two podiums from Navarra and Portimao, De Rosa’s run ended with 14th in the Algarve’s second race and two retirements in Argentina. He will be hoping to get back into a strong position in order to claim eighth in the Championship.
Like in Argentina, Jeffrey Buis will compete for G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti in his second WorldSSP round, before he remains with the team for the full 2022 season. At Yamaha MS Racing, Daniel Valle returns for his fourth Supersport appearance, while Andres Gonzalez is back with VFT Racing after making his debut in Argentina with the same squad. Christoffer Bergman (Wojick Racing Team) will need to pass mandatory medical checks in order to compete after he was declared unfit in Portugal and missed racing in Argentina.
