WSBK Supersport Mandalika Superpole: Aegerter offers the last one of the year! Cluzel in difficulty

The 2021 World Champion was uncompromising during the final qualifying session of the championship, beating Manuel González and Federico Caricasulo. After three victories in a row, Jules Cluzel has stalled and will have to start from the fifth row of the grid.

Supersport kicked off the qualifying sessions this Saturday, with the Superpole taking place on the Mandalika circuit, in Indonesia. For the first in this Asian country, and the last in the championship, the drivers were keen to end the 2021 season in style.

Manuel González and Randy Krummenacher were the fastest on Friday, while the entire field discovered the newly inaugurated track. But once the title had been won, it was not necessary to draw a line under the performances of Dominique Aegerter or even Steven Odendaal, who then had plenty of time to ride liberated and have fun on the island of Lombok.

Heavenly place, hellish conditions

It is true that the decorum of this last of the year has all the makings of paradise, the track being located directly near the sea. But while waiting to go take a dip to cool off in the stifling climate of Indonesia and after a grueling season, the competitors first had to tick the clock one last time in this grueling heat.

In these difficult conditions, Odendaal was the first to shoot, before being quickly caught, first by Can Öncü then by Aegerter. The 2021 World Champion, titled at the last round in Argentina last month, dominated the first part of these qualifications ahead of Manuel González and Niki Tuuli, but everything remained to be done with ten minutes remaining. rolling.

 

 

Events then accelerated during the last five minutes, Randy Krummenacher reappearing at the top of the hierarchy. Raffaele de Rosa beat him a few moments later before Aegerter regained the upper hand definitively in 1'36.288.

His adversaries would subsequently break their teeth on this chronometric reference, Gonzalez being the closest to come close, still more than two tenths away. Third place goes to Federico Caricasulo, while De Rosa and Krummenacher complete the top 5.

Disappointment for Cluzel

We then find Tuuli in sixth place, ahead of Philipp Öttl and Öncü. Odendaal is a distant ninth, the South African driver who finished the session ahead of Peter Sebestyen. Disappointment on the French side, with only 13th place on the grid for Jules Cluzel.

The Frenchman is however on a good dynamic with three victories during the last three events contested, but seems to have some difficulty finding the rhythm on the new Mandalika track. Finally, note that the regional rider for the stage, Hendra Pratama, could not do better than 17th on the grid.

 

Supersport Mandalika – Superpole:

Classification credit: WorldSBK.com