Ten Kate Yamaha’s Dominique Aegerter has one hand on the title as WorldSSP heads to Argentina for the first time in two years.
The FIM Supersport World Championship heads to South America and Argentina for the penultimate round of the 2021 season at the San Juan Villicum for the Motul Argentinean Round, with the Championship still to be decided in the fight between Aegerter and Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) although the Swiss rider has the opportunity to clinch the crown this weekend.
Results last time out in Portugal meant Aegerter was not able to secure the 2021 title but he will get another shot as WorldSSP hits San Juan for the first time in two years. Both Aegerter and Odendaal are yet to visit the Argentinean venue as a WorldSSP rider having made their debuts in 2021 and 2020 respectively, with WorldSSP not visiting Argentina last season. The South African heads into the penultimate round after a stunning victory at Portimao in the third-closest WorldSSP finish ever, while Aegerter will believe this is a chance to get back on the top step - Portimao the first venue where Aegerter has not won at least one race since the season-opener at Aragon.
With a 54-point lead in the Championship, Aegerter has the opportunity to take the title in Argentina from his first chance, in Saturday’s race.
French rider Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) returned to winning ways last time out and is one of the few riders who has raced at San Juan in WorldSSP, heading into the 2021 round with a 100% win record at the circuit with victories in 2018 and 2019. His experience at the circuit, coupled with his recent results, may make Cluzel one to watch closely throughout.
2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) is another who has raced at San Juan and will be looking to continue his recent form since his switch of teams, with the Swiss rider hoping he can improve his best result at the circuit, currently standing as sixth place.
Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) is another rider who brings experience of the San Juan circuit with a best result of sixth, and the Italian has shown strong pace throughout the second half of the 2021 campaign. Odendaal’s teammate, Peter Sebestyen, could provide some valuable help to the South African rider as he has visited the circuit twice with two point-scoring outings. Estonia’s Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) brings experience from the venue with a best result of 13th, as does Glenn van Straalen (EBA Racing Team) and Sheridan Morais (Wojcik Racing Team); the Portuguese rider standing in for Christoffer Bergman in Argentina.
With just 100 points available across the final four races of the season, there are tight battles towards the top of the championship. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) and Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) are fighting it out for third place, with 17 points separating the pair.
Krummenacher has a good opportunity to make a claim for seventh, and possibly sixth, in the standings as Federico Caricasulo and Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing are not competing in Argentina, while Luca Bernardi is still recovering from injuries sustained at Magny-Cours. As it stands, 21 points separate Krummenacher in eighth and Bernardi in sixth.
De Rosa has been something of a revelation in the past few rounds, finishing inside the top four on three occasions in the last five races and fighting for a podium in race two at Portimao before a late-race crash. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) is also making moves in the standings with four top-five finishes in the last six races, including two third places. While De Rosa has previous experience of the San Juan circuit, it will be the first time for Finnish rider Tuuli as he looks to continue his strong form that started in the second half of the season.
Two Argentinean riders will compete in WorldSSP as Matias Petratti (Yamaha MS Racing) links up with Unai Orradre for his WorldSSP debut, while Andres Gonzales will also make his WorldSSP debut alongside Swiss rider Marcel Brenner at VFT Racing. Petratti recently raced at San Juan in the Argentine Superbike Championship in the Superstock 600 class and claimed second place. Gonzales has raced in both the Spanish and Argentine championships, currently lying 13th in the Spanish Supersport championship.
2020 WorldSSP300 Champion Jeffrey Buis will make his debut in WorldSSP for G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti, in place of Michel Fabrizio. Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) will hope to be back on the grid after sustaining injuries at Magny-Cours, with the French rider needing to be declared fit after medical checks. Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) will not be on the grid in Argentina due to visa problems, with Ten Kate Racing drafting in Leonardo Taccini for the Argentinean Round. 19-year-old Taccini having previously been competing with Orelac Kawasaki, claiming a best result of 13th place at Barcelona-Catalunya.
Three key stats ahead of the Motul Argentinean Round
7 - Yamaha’s dominance in Superpole in 2018 was massive: they locked out the first seven positions of the grid. In 2019, they managed the first and third place, missing out only one front row spot (Kawasaki: Badovini).
5 -Yamaha dominates the podiums ranking with five, missing out only the second place in 2019 (Kawasaki, Mahias).
2 - Both World Supersport races run in San Juan were won by Jules Cluzel for Yamaha.
