Aegerter Extends Series Lead with Race Two win in Magny-Cours

11-09-2022

Aegerter Extends Series Lead with Race Two win in Magny-Cours

Ten Kate Racing’s Dominique Aegerter joined fellow Yamaha rider Lorenzo Baldassarri in the FIM Supersport World Championship victory books this weekend, fighting through the field to claim the race two win in Magny-Cours. A late crash for Baldassarri meant Jules Cluzel finished the 19-lap battle in second with Valentin Debise coming home ahead of ‘Balda’ in fourth.

Conditions were perfect for the final FIM Supersport World Championship race of the weekend in the Nièvre region, with blue skies above the 2.7-mile French venue – setting the stage for a tense finale to round seven of the championship.

As action commenced, Baldassarri looked to repeat his Saturday performance, taking the lead on the opening lap and held the advantage until lap six. Locked in battle with the Ducatis of Nicolo Bulega and Federico Caricasulo and Yamaha counterpart Jules Cluzel, the Italian fought back, re-claiming the lead on lap nine and immediately picked up the pace.

Meanwhile, from fifth on the grid, championship leader Dominique Aegerter endured a tough start as he was shuffled back to seventh in the opening lap battle. Unfazed, the Swiss rider immediately began his rise through the field, passing Oli Bayliss for sixth. From there, the Ten Kate rider picked off the opposition one by one and eventually joined the leading battle by the halfway point.

Letting his experience come to the fore in what was a highly contested fight for the lead, Aegerter stormed passed Bulega before passing Cluzel two laps later. With his eyes set on the leading duo, the 31-year-old was promoted to second following a mistake for Federico Caricasulo ahead, leaving a head-to-head battle with Baldassarri to unfold as he took the lead.

Defending from Baldassarri up until the last lap, the Italian made a mistake at the Chateaux D’Eau, crashing out of contention, resulting in a fifth-place finish for the former Moto2 rider.

After announcing his retirement in the lead up to the French round, Jules Cluzel made his podium return in second place after getting the better of Bulega in the closing stages, whilst wildcard star Valentin Debise stormed to fourth ahead of Baldassarri.

Andy Verdoia secured more points for his championship quest in 13th whilst stand-in rider Simon Jesperson narrowly missed out on a top-15 finish. Unai Orradre battled hard on Sunday to make up for a technical issue on Saturday. The young Spanish rider ended race two in 19th.

25 points sees Aegerter extend his series lead to 19 points, sitting atop of the standings with a 286 points total.

The FIM Supersport World Championship returns to action at round nine eight for the Catalan round on the 23-25th September.

Dominique Aegerter

Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Position: 3rd & 1st

“It was a hard race, for sure! My qualifying position wasn’t fantastic and yesterday my first lap wasn’t good. Today it was better, but a few riders pushed me wide, and I lost a lot of positions. My goal was to get to the front group as quick as possible, which with the gap took a while, but my pace was good, and we got to the front.

“It was a good weekend overall, we extended our championship lead and secured a podium and a race win, so a big ‘thank you’ to my team for giving me a great bike after missing a lot of dry running. We now go to Barcelona where we will again fight for victory but I’m sure it will be a hard battle with Lorenzo Baldassarri”.

Jules Cluzel

GMT94 Yamaha Position: 10th & 2nd

“It’s a dream to get a podium at my home round, it’s like a victory and one I will remember for a long time! After announcing my retirement, I wanted to prove I am still fast and to be able to remember and enjoy the final races of my career. My next target is to get a race win before the end of the season.

“I’m looking forward to the upcoming rounds, especially when we travel to the overseas race. Next is Barcelona, which is a new track for me on the Supersport machine, so my focus is to work hard there and get to Portimao and the oversea races as strong as possible to fight for a victory”.

Lorenzo Baldassarri

Evan Bros.WorldSSP Yamaha Team Position: 1st & 5th

"On Saturday, we had a very important victory. I have to thank the team, who after Friday's crash set the bike up perfectly and helped me to get the right feeling again. I made a good progression in the race, and victory was the best possible reward!

"About the race on Sunday, it was a big shame. I kept a really fast pace, which I was partly not expecting, in a really demanding race. In the middle of the race Caricasulo and I got a bit annoyed, which allowed Aegerter to catch us. On the last lap I was preparing the final attack, with the situation under control, but in turn 13 changing trajectory led to my crash. It’s a shame, but the competitivity shown motivates us for the next races".