Supersport Most Course 1: Odendaal returns to victory!

The South African driver, although starting from a distant seventh place on the grid, achieved a fourth success this season ahead of Manuel González and Philipp Öttl.

Good things come to those who wait for ! Steven Odendaal, winner of the first three races of the season in the Supersport category, for his part had to wait more than two months to reappear on the highest step of the podium, this weekend on the Most track, in the Czech Republic.

With 44 points behind championship leader Dominique Aegerter at the start, it is true that the winner of the day had to react if he did not want to see his title chances completely evaporate this season. And the least we can say is that with a seventh place obtained in qualifying, the situation was off to a bad start for the person concerned! But Odendaal knew how to lead a race while attacking, gradually moving up the hierarchy to take the lead from the fourth lap and never give up on the leadership.

Holeshot for Cluzel, fall for Debise

When the lights went out, however, it was Jules Cluzel who took the holeshot, right under the nose of poleman Manuel Gonzalez. The Frenchman raced past Philipp Öttl and Can Öncü. The last two cities then made a fleeting appearance at the front of the race on the second lap, while behind them several accidents were to be deplored, notably for Daniel Webb and the unfortunate Valentin Debise.

 

 

The Frenchman, who replaces Federico Caricasulo in the GMT94 from this round, had in fact completed a good qualifying session earlier in the day by taking the sixth fastest time, but was therefore unable to convert his good dispositions into race result.

At the front, Odendaal remained in first position throughout the race, initially resisting pressure from Öttl and then secondly from the return of González, helped by the red flags in the final stages. moments of the race due to the increasingly precarious racing conditions on the Czech circuit.

 

Record precocity for González in Supersport

The Spanish driver finally had to settle for second place, but there is no doubt that he will be satisfied with it since this is his first top 3 and at the same time, at 19 years old, he becomes , the youngest driver to finish on the podium in a Supersport race.

 

 

He is ahead of Philipp Öttl under the checkered flag, while we find Dominique Aegerter in fourth position. Very discreet throughout the event, the Swiss driver saved the furniture rather well, returning only 12 points to Odendaal in the championship. Therefore, 32 units separate the two men in the championship tonight.

Further down the hierarchy, we find in fifth position Federico Caricasulo, who rather shone with his new team Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing. Luca Bernardi took sixth place, ahead of Cluzel and Öncü. Niki Tuuli and Peter Sebestyen complete the top 10. Randy Krummenacher and Raffaele de Rosa finish in 11th and 12th places respectively, while the top 15 is completed by Manfredi, Hendra Pratama and Fuligni.

 

Supersport – Most – Race 1 results:

Classification credit: WorldSBK.com