A last lap battle between Montella and Caricasulo provided an instant classic in Australia.
Race 1 Highlights – WorldSSP
P1 – Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
- Having claimed his best Tissot Superpole result of the season and starting the race from third position, Montella took his first WorldSSP podium and win after a race-long battle with Caricasulo.
“It’s a first win and also a first podium for me. I’m really happy for this. Really happy for the team also because I think the last win of the team was in 2020. I enjoyed the race a lot, it was a great battle with Caricasulo. I enjoyed it because I think we were fast. At the start of the race, I pushed to the limit. I saw what Caricasulo was doing and I followed him. After two of three laps, I was feeling good so I thought ‘maybe I can try to push more’. I’m happy, we made some great overtakes and we enjoyed it. I’m disappointed for him but this is racing. We are now focused for tomorrow’s race. I think we’ll be fast on dry or wet conditions.”
P2 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)
- Bulega benefitted from Caricasulo’s crash to finish in second place, 2.706s behind Montella.
- He’s currently fourth in the Championship standings with 229 points.
“Difficult race because it was wet, and I never tried the Pirelli tyre in wet conditions. But I was fast. Good podium. Thanks to my team because they worked really well during the weekend. I was also fast in dry conditions so thanks to them. I was catching the front guys but then I started to struggle with the rear and to lose some grip. I preferred to secure the podium. We brought home this podium and I’m happy. I’ll try to be fast also tomorrow.”
P3 – Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
- Caricasulo’s crash promoted Oncu to third place as he finished 5.889s behind Bulega.
- His podium finish means he secured third place in the Championship standings.
“I finish third. I’m very happy. I’ve been lucky. Wet conditions are tricky. You can easily make mistakes. I thought that something would happen at the front because Caricasulo and Montella were really aggressive at the front. When I saw the crash, I thought ‘ok, third position is for me’. I wasn’t fast enough to be at the front. I wasn’t too comfortable, and I just wanted to finish the race to secure third place in the Championship standings. We were close with Bulega, so I just tried to take points. Then I was thinking one podium with third, so I was happy. Now we are third in the Championship. I’m incredibly happy for my team. I think today we did a not so bad job because my feeling was not so good, and we got a podium. If we improve the bike and my riding style a bit more for tomorrow, then we can fight if it’s raining and we are already ready for dry conditions.”
Championship runner-up Lorenzo Baldassarri finished just outside the podium 7.223s behind Oncu. 2022 WorldSSP Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was sixth finishing 12.212s behind the race winner. Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) completed the top six.
Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) crashed in the final lap of the race while he was fighting for the win. He managed to finish the race in seventh place.
To note:
Australian rider Oliver Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team) finished in 12th place.
Wildcard Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto) did not finish his first World Supersport race as he crashed on Lap 6.
WorldSSP resumes on Sunday from 10:55 (Local Time) with the Warm-Up followed by Race 2 at 14:30.
WorldSSP Results Race 1
1. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +2.706s
3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +5.889s
4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +7.223s
5. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +12.212s
6. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +15.183s
Championship standings (after Race 1 – Round 12)
1. Dominique Aegerter (SUI) Yamaha (473 points)
2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA) Yamaha (372 points)
3. Can Oncu (TUR) Kawasaki (264 points)
WorldSSP Results Tissot Superpole
1. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) 1’34.027s
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.000s
3. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.153s
For more info checkout our dedicated World Supersport News page superbike-news.co.uk/world-supersport/
Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com
