GMT94’s Jules Cluzel maintained his dominant form at San Juan securing his third victory in as many races around the Argentina circuit.
The Yamaha rider crossed the line almost five-seconds clear of the field after a masterclass pole to flag victory. ParkinGo’s Manuel Gonzales taking second position from Puccetti Kawasaki’s Can Öncü after a mid-race battle.
Cluzel launched from pole as the 19-lap race fired off the line. Title rivals Steven Odendaal and Dominique Aegerter sitting third and fifth respectively as Öncü stormed up to second. Gonzales threatened on the wheels of the South African but the Evan Bros. Yamaha maintained the advantage in the final podium position as the opening lap unfolded.
The Spaniard eventually made the move stick next time around, however, Odendaal running wide at turn nine as his challenger came through, with Aegerter now on the wheels of his main adversary.
Cluzel and Öncü held a 1.5 second gap out front after two laps around the technical Villicum layout. Aegerter bettering Odendaal for crucial championship position half way round the third lap with the pair continuing to bicker before the South African ran wide again, dropping to seventh behind Peter Sebestyen and Raffele de Rosa with Valentin Debise now looking to gain.
Odendaal regrouped as he advanced on the Kawasaki of de Rosa for sixth, but running six-seconds behind the race leader after the same number of laps. A four-rider battle for fifth ensuing as the race played out.
Half race distance found Cluzel in command with a dominant three-second advantage over Öncü. The Turk fending off challenges from an ever-advancing Gonzales with the duelling pair a further four-seconds ahead of the rest of the pack.
Odendaal had promoted himself to the head of the fifth place battle with eight laps to go, Aegerter over a second ahead of his title rival as the pace increased.
The battle for second fired up as the laps counted down, Gonzales briefly breaking through on Öncü before the Kawasaki rider hit back at turn nine. The moves replicating once again as the positions switched back before the completion of the lap.
Odendall got the better of Aegerter next time around. The Ten Kate rider looking to utilise the slipstream down the back straight but the South African held fast and the pair continued to circulate in tandem.
De Rosa’s challenge was over with four to go after the Italian crashed out defending from Debise, having just set his fastest lap of the race in the battle for sixth.
The penultimate lap found the championship leader threatening his rival in the fight for fourth. The duo inseparable as the race counted down with Odendaal defending hard at almost every turn. An unsuccessful challenge seemed to be Aegerter’s undoing as the Swiss rider lost time and was unable to recover as the chequered flag came into view.
Cluzel crossed the line for a clean sweep of three wins from three races in Argentina. Gonzalez outpacing Öncü by two-seconds at the close, with Odendaal defeating Aegerter at the flag.
Debise claimed sixth from Sebestyen, Niki Tuuli and Glenn van Straalen with Vertti Takala rounding out the top 10.
