Lucas Mahias came very close to winning the first race of the year in Australia, but Roberto Rolfo managed to beat him by a breath to the finish line. An Italian driver won on an Italian MV. Jules Cluzel was hit and forced to retire.
The race was stopped at the red flag due to debris on the track and a new start was given for 10 laps Load it started in front Cluzel, Mahias, Jacobsen, Ryde, Smith and Baldolini. Jacobsen missed a bit and lost two places. Then he went completely into a hairpin with his MV, seeming to be a victim of the gearbox problems that Jules had experienced for years. He restarted in sixteenth position.
Cluzel took first place in front Mahias, in the fight with Baldolini, Rolfo, Tuuli, Ryde and Anthony West who was racing at home in Australia as a wild card. At mid-race, a group of five stood out slightly with Cluzel, Baldolini, Mahias, Caricasulo and Rolfo. The reigning World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu was out due to injury and will not participate in the next event in Chang. He will return for the third round in Aragon.
Cluzel on his Honda firmly held the lead on his Honda, ahead of Baldolini's MV and the two Yamahas of Mahias and Caricasulo. Cluzel seemed to miss a gear and found himself sixth behind Baldolini, Mahias, Rolfo and West. With two laps remaining, Caricasulo and Mahias led on their two official Yamahas, then Rolfo took command on the MV. Cluzel moved to fourth at the start of the final lap, but Caricasulo crashed and hit Jules with a crash for both.
In the final straight, Rolf managed to get ahead Mahias in one breath. The Italian veteran thus won his first race in the Supersport World Championship in 48 appearances. Anthony West finished third with a team assembled from scratch for its national race. He was ahead Ryde, Tuuli and Jacobsen. Only 14 drivers were classified.
Lucas Mahias : " I'm very happy because I had a big accident during testing. On the last lap, I had confidence because I was fast in the final corner. But Rolfo managed to beat me by the smallest possible margin. Despite everything, I am satisfied because the Yamaha is excellent and I had a good race. »
results:
1. Rolfo (Kawasaki) in 15’56″217; 2. Mahias (Yamaha) +0.001; 3. West (Yamaha) +1.544; 4. Ryde (Kawasaki) +1.679; 5. Tuuli (Yamaha) +1.727; 6. Jacobsen (MV Agusta) +5.237; 7. Wagner (Honda) +5.387; 8. Watanabe (Kawasaki) +6.610; 9. Calero (Kawasaki) +8.067; 10. Epis (Kawasaki) +8.309; 11. Morais (Yamaha) +10.264; 12. Khairuddin (Kawasaki) +11.579; 13. Baldolini (MV Agusta) +14.148; 14. Canducci (Kawasaki) +23.247.
