The Italian driver set the best time in the second free practice session of the day, ahead of Randy Krummenacher and Manuel González.
When the cat's away the mice will play ! The absence of championship leader Dominique Aegerter this weekend in Barcelona as part of the eighth round of the 2021 Supersport season considerably reshuffles the cards.
The Swiss rider, arch-dominator for several events and wide leader in the general classification, has decided to give priority this weekend to his commitment to MotoE. Because if the quest for the title presents itself under favorable omens in Supersport, Aegerter must still work hard in the world championship of electric motorcycles if he wishes to achieve a double blow this year.
Absences of Cluzel and Aegerter
His absence therefore makes other drivers in the category happy, as was the case in the morning during the first free practice session, where Philipp Öttl and Randy Krummenacher showed themselves to their advantage.
Steven Odendaal, who can still aspire to play for the title this season, has for the moment remained more discreet with a sixth place at the end of FP1, but there is no doubt that the South African has a good margin of progress that he will take advantage of this weekend.
Another significant absence, that of Jules Cluzel, for a much less pleasant reason since the Frenchman is still suffering from the after-effects of his accident which occurred during the first lap of Race 2 at Magny-Cours. The Auvergne is therefore replaced this weekend by his compatriot Ludovic Cauchi within the GMT94.
González in ambush
This second free practice session therefore left the way clear for new drivers to shine, like Manuel González who once again spent most of the session at the top of the hierarchy. The young Spaniard, who has just come out of a contested Moto2 round in Aragón last week, had already done it this morning during FP1 and did it again this afternoon before being dislodged from the lead by Raffaele de Rosa.
The Italian driver set the best time of the day ahead of Randy Krummenacher, the latter who suffered a fall in the final minutes but was still able to restart to defend his position in the standings.
😳 @Krummenator crashes at Turn 10💥💥💥#CatalanWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/MqZDmKYKL3
- WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) September 17, 2021
Verdoïa the highest ranked Frenchman
Gonzalez, for his part, must be content with fourth place at the finish, ahead of Odendaal, who can really perform well this weekend as long as he manages to capitalize during the two races organized in Catalonia, and thus come back with long strides. on Aegerter.
The top 5 is completed by Niki Tuuli ahead of Patrick Hobelsberger and Philipp Öttl, who shone less than in the morning. We then find the best ranked Frenchman with Andy Verdoïa in eighth position. The latter was unlucky at the end of the session by overtaking his compatriot Cauchi in turn 10, losing the front of his machine and taking the latter with him in his fall.
