WSBK Supersport Australia J2: Yari Montella shines during the first round at Phillip Island, Adrian Hertas out, Valentin Debise takes the podium

Yari Montella unlocked his counter at Phillip Island, Adrian Huertas did not race after problems on the grid, Valentin Debise sharp but hot.

After setting out from 2nd position acquired in Superpole, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) started the 2024 Supersport championship with a flawless victory by taking victory on the Phillip Island track.

The Italian ended a drought of more than 460 days without a WorldSSP victory, despite a poor start. His success was, however, facilitated by the obligatory pit stop to change tires, the Italian driver having entered at the same time as Stefano manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate racing) hanging on to his tail, before his team released him with an advantage of 6 seconds. Stefano manzi therefore finished second in this race 1, while Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta) completes the top-3.

One of the dramatic moments of this day actually occurred before the lights went out, since the pole sitter, Adrian Huertas, was affected by mechanical problems on the alignment lap, compromising all his chances of securing his pole position.

The other disappointment came when Valentine Debise (Evan Bros WordSSP Yamaha Team), moved up to 2nd position in a group of four breakaways, made a mistake at turn 6 after changing tires. The Albigensian, who had time to smell the podium, blames himself a lot...

Behind the remaining top three, five drivers were vying for fourth place. If Federico Caricasulo won during this fight, he was only 0,704s ahead of the local hero Bayliss oils in fifth position. Bahattin Sofuoglu finished sixth, while Jorge Navarro and his teammate John mcphee took 7th and 8th place.

Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) was also part of the battle. He was aiming for the top 4 when vibrations 4 laps from the end slowed him down. Lucas Mahias however managed to finish and score the 7 points for 9th place.

 In addition Adrian Huertas, other contenders for victory fell prematurely. This was particularly the case of Lorenzo Baldassarri who experienced a technical problem in the second half of the race, as did Niccolo Antonelli who crashed at turn 10. Hikari Okubo for his part finishes the event in the gravel trap, while the fall of Tom Booth Amos earned him a visit to the medical center.

The classification of race 1 of WSBK Supersport:

Credit rankings: Worldsbk.com