Aegerter Secures 17th Victory of 2022 in WorldSSP Finale

20-11-2022

Aegerter Secures 17th Victory of 2022 in WorldSSP Finale

Ten Kate Racing’s Dominique Aegerter battled his way to a 17th 2022 FIM Supersport World Championship victory in an epic season finale at the Phillip Island circuit. Lorenzo Baldassarri ended his rookie season in the Supersport class on the podium in third. Meanwhile Jules Cluzel bids farewell to WorldSSP with an 11th place.

Dominique Aegerter capped a superb 2022 World Supersport campaign by taking victory today, overcoming an intense battle at the front in Phillip Island.

Following a heavy rain shower on Sunday morning, track conditions at the Phillip Island circuit dried up ahead of Sunday afternoon’s 18-lap encounter, despite dark clouds looming above the 4.4km venue.

With Aegerter and Baldassarri starting the race from fourth and fifth on the grid, the pair made a strong start and worked their way to the front in a fiery opening lap exchange. With the duo running first and second, a fierce battle pursued, with the two Yamaha riders trading places until the Swiss rider consolidated his lead on lap seven.

With the halfway stage approaching, the 32-year-old picked up the pace, extending his advantage at the front to over two seconds, ultimately taking the chequered flag first for the 17th time in 2022.

Meanwhile, Baldassarri was forced to relinquish second place in the closing stages, as he ends the season on the podium in third before joining Aegerter in the Superbike class next season.

Andy Verdoia enjoyed a strong end to his season as he finished in ninth place ahead of Glenn van Straalen and the retiring Jules Cluzel who narrowly missed out on a top-ten in the final race of his illustrious career.

Peter Sebestyen, Simon Jespersen and Ondrej Vostatek all secured points in their final races of 2022, while Leonardo Taccini overcame a grid penalty for an incorrect tyre pressure to finish 19th with Marcel Brenner and Unai Orradre bringing up the rear.

The 2022 FIM Supersport World Championship saw Yamaha secure the triple crown with the R6 as Aegerter and Ten Kate secured the riders’ and teams’ championships, while Yamaha confirmed the manufacturers’ championship at Portimao earlier this season.

The FIM Supersport World Championship will enjoy an intense winter schedule before returning to action in 2023, with Phillip Island kickstarting the new season on February 24-26th.

Dominique Aegerter

Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Position: Race 1: P5 / Race 2: P1

“I don’t think we could have finished the season much better! It’s been an amazing two years in Supersport, back-to-back titles, team championships, pole position awards and fastest laps – so the two years were fantastic, and we’ve written some history!

“Our race today was good, and it was nice to get a race in the dry conditions and have some big battles with Balda and Caricasulo. I tried to push hard in the middle to make sure the riders behind couldn’t pass me with the slipstream, and eventually, we got a 17th win and 19th podium of the season.

“A big thank you to Yamaha, the Ten Kate team, friends, family and my sponsors who have helped me achieve everything this year. We’ve gone through the full season without any issues so huge credit to them.

“We now look forward to 2023 and showing our potential in Superbike. I want to fight with some big names and write some history in the top class. I wish Ten Kate all the best in the Supersport class and in their future.”

Lorenzo Baldassarri

Evan Bros.WorldSSP Yamaha Team Position: Race 1: P4 / Race 2: P3

“The podium is a great way to end the season, and I’m happy to have ended it in a good way. I wanted to fight for the victory, but Dominique had a little bit more than us, but a third today and a fourth in the wet conditions yesterday is a good end to the year.

“The season started very well after a tough period in my career, we put on a great show with Domi and I had a great season overall. Now we focus on 2023 where I will join the GMT94 Yamaha team in the Superbike class and I can’t wait to start growing together and enjoy the next season.

“I want to thank all my team members and everyone at Yamaha. We changed everything and we worked really hard to be in the best place possible this year, so a big thanks to them.”

Jules Cluzel

GMT94 Yamaha Position: Race 1: DNF/ Race 2: P11

“I’m very emotional after the final race of my career. It was a nice day with all the support from my friends and even before the race, Toprak came to visit me, and we had a nice exchange in the back of the garage with my team and him playing and dancing to music and just enjoying the moment. I’ve been racing for 18 years, which is a long time, but it went so fast! I’m so happy but there are tears coming for sure!

“I’ve achieved 24 wins and 63 podiums. I’ve had many championship fights and enjoyed a lot of amazing moments on the way. Sure, I wanted to finish my career a bit closer to the front, but unfortunately, I couldn’t manage that. Still, I must be proud of everything I have achieved so far in my life and being only 34 years old, there’s still more to achieve. I’d like to coach some younger riders to help them progress with their careers, or maybe I’ll do something completely different! It’s time now to enjoy time with my family and we’ll see what the future brings.”