Dominique Aegerter kicked off his second reign as WorldSSP Champion with the race two victory in Indonesia on Sunday.
A red flag with six laps to go secured the spoils for the Swiss rider while Dynavolt Triumph’s Stefano Manzi and Puccetti Kawasaki’s Can Öncü completed the podium.
With the Supersport Championship already decided, the battle for third got underway with race two at the Mandalika Street Circuit. Öncü leading the fight in the standings from a trio of Italians with Ducati riders Nicolo Bulega and Federico Caricasulo and Triumph’s Manzi mathematically still in contention.
Race one winner Niki Tuuli lined the MV Agusta up on pole on the 60℃ track with Öncü and Ten Kate Yamaha’s Aegerter completing the front row. 19 laps in the 36 degree heat got underway with Caricasulo in charge on the Althea from Öncü, Bulega and Aegerter before the Kawasaki broke free out front. Tuuli knocked back to sixth before he captured the double champion as his recovery began.
Yari Montella promoted the Puccetti up to third as the first lap unfolded. Lorenzo Baldassarri the next to capitalise on Aegerter for sixth as the Swiss rider fell into he clutches of Manzi and Orelac’s Raffaele De Rosa at the back of the top ten.
Baldassarri’s climb continued as he moved to fifth before a mistake saw the Evan Bros. Yamaha dropped back to seventh. The mid pack continuing to battle as the Italian returned to sixth and Aegerter dropped down to ninth.
Contact between Bulega and Baldassarri saw the Aruba lose out to eighth with his rival off track and recovering in eleventh. Öncü holding a two tenths advantage at the head of the field with Caricasulo trailed by Tuuli, Montella, Manzi and Aegerter in a five rider fight for the final podium positions.
Tuuli was through to second as lap five completed, Tom Booth-Amos running inside the top ten on the Motozoo Kawasaki with GMT94 Yamaha’s Jules Cluzel just behind.
Aegerter was back in podium contention as lap seven began. Caricasulo hitting back as the first sector completed with the battle continuing to play out. Tuuli then Aegerter taking the lead overall across the line next time around with Manzi arriving to claim the final podium position shortly after.
Ten to go and Tuuli was pushing for an Indonesian double as he returned to the front. The champion capitalising on an error from his Finnish rival to place his Ten Kate R6 clearly in the lead, with half a second breathing space from the pack behind.
Manzi sat in second from Tuuli and Öncü with eighth to go. Caricasulo heading the quartet of Italians in the second group before a mistake saw him down to seventh, to the advantage of De Rosa and Montella.
A first corner crash for Tuuli promoted Öncü back into podium contention, Bulega bettering Caricasulo as the Althea man continued to struggle in the second half. Dynavolt Triumph’s Hannes Soomer, Baldassarri and Cluzel completed the top ten with six laps to go.
The red flag was brought out with two thirds distance completed. Aegerter securing his 16th win of the season from Manzi and Öncü with De Rosa victorious in the battle for fourth. Booth-Amos finished the afternoon contest in 11th from MTM Kawasaki’s Adrian Huertas, GMT94’s Andy Verdoia, Barni Ducati’s Oli Bayliss and Simon Jespersen on the Kallio R6.
