Althea’s Federico Caricasulo celebrated his first WorldSSP victory in four years following Sunday’s race-long battle in Indonesia.
A trio of Italians completed the Mandalika podium after Ten Kate Yamaha’s Stefano Manzi and Aruba Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega enjoyed a late race charge. The number 62 losing out on the final lap to the Ravenna rider.
A slight delay to Sunday’s Supersport race gave way to 18 laps around the 4.3km Lombok layout as Bulega launched from pole. Caricasulo trailing his fellow Ducati man with Puccetti Kawasaki’s Can Öncü behind before he captured the Althea for second.
Orelac Ducati’s Raffaela de Rosa ran fourth as the action unfolded. Manzi up to fifth from tenth on the grid as GMT94’s Valentin Debise crashed out. The Italian through on de Rosa as lap two concluded.
Glenn van Straalen the next to fall on the EAB R6 as Öncü took charge out front with a new fastest lap. Niki Tuuli placing the Dynavolt Triumph in sixth from Marcel Schrotter on the MV Agusta while VFT Yamaha’s Nicholas Spinelli, Ten Kate’s Jorge Navarro and D34G’s Oli Bayliss completed the top ten.
Öncü’s lead extended to eight tenths of a second by lap five. Caricasulo challenging Bulega for second before the two Italians swapped positions next time around, Manzi joining the fight as he too dispatched the pole sitter for podium contention.
The Tuuli/de Rosa battle continued behind as the Finn claimed fifth through turn one. Schrotter entering the scrap with Navarro following suit as the four-way fight played out and the German bettered for sixth by lap eight.
John McPhee circulated 11th on the Vince64 Kawasaki at the halfway stage. The Scotsman dispatching Bayliss for position as the Australian began to fade, MV’s Bahattin Sofuoglu the next in line on the edge of the top ten.
Caricasulo lost out to the advancing Manzi with eight laps to go. The all-Italian battle continuing as the Althea man looked to regain ground, Bulega setting a personal best as he too attempted to return to the podium fight, albeit a second adrift from fourth.
Just half a second covered the top three with six laps to go. Manzi launching for the lead through the second sector as Öncü began to struggle. Caricasulo capitalising down the straight next time around with Bulega back in contention as the race wound down.
The top five fight saw Schrotter in charge with four to go. Petronas MIE Honda’s Tarran Mackenzie claiming the final championship point on offer after an inter-team battle with Adam Norrodin as Triumph’s Harry Truelove dropped behind the pair to 17th.
Bulega was back on the podium, for an all-Italian affair, with three to go. Caricasulo challenging for the lead before the Yamaha shut the door with the move successfully made in the closing stages.
Caricasulo claimed his first Supersport victory since 2019 from a frustrated Manzi with Bulega completing the podium. Öncü headed Schrotter, Tuuli, de Rosa and Navarro in the top eight while Spinelli and Sofuoglu led home McPhee and Bayliss. A late collision between the two Yamaha Thailand riders saw Apiwath Wongthananon floored at turn 16, while Norrodin, Mackenzie and Anupab Sarmoon collected the final points.
