Krummenacher Masterclass in Tricky Race 1 Conditions at Barcelona

18-09-2021

Krummenacher Masterclass in Tricky Race 1 Conditions at Barcelona

In tricky, constantly changing conditions at Barcelona, CM Racing’s Randy Krummenacher took a dominant first victory of the 2021 FIM Supersport World Championship season, with ParkinGO Yamaha’s Manuel Gonzalez recovering to finish second.

Starting from second on the grid, Krummenacher was challenging for the lead into Turn 1, but was pushed wide and dropped to 10th. As they headed on to lap two though, the rain worsened and most of the field headed into the pit lane.

Krummenacher had already recovered to fifth before stopping, and after switching to the wet tyres, the Swiss rider continued his charge, taking the lead on lap seven, and went on to take victory by 16.226 seconds.

After storming to a second-career WorldSSP pole position, Gonzalez was untouchable in the early stages. The Spanish youngster was 4.2 seconds clear out front before pitting for wets, but a slow stop saw him drop down to 12th. Over the next 15 laps though, the 19-year-old scythed his way through to a superb second-place result.

Kallio Racing Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Hannes Soomer was back in the mix after a steady return at Magny-Cours. The Estonian qualified in eighth but dropped to 17th on the opening lap, before climbing back to finish seventh.

Having qualified sixth, Evan Bros Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Steven Odendaal managed to climb to second before the pit stops after a strong start. However, the South African was handed a time penalty for a pit lane infringement, and despite crossing the line in fourth, he was eventually classified in eighth.

Odendaal’s Evan Bros Yamaha teammate Peter Sebestyen enjoyed a strong run from 15th on the grid to finish ninth, while Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Simon Jespersen, who had initially cross the line in ninth, was 11th after a pit lane infringement penalty.

Galang Hendra Pratama was 13th for the Ten Kate Yamaha team, after his penalty was applied, with Kallio Racing Yamaha’s Vertti Takala 14th, while Jules Cluzel’s GMT94 Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team replacement, 17-year-old Ludovic Gauchi, scored a point on debut.

bLU cRU youngster Unai Orradre narrowly missed out on points in 16th, with Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Federico Caricasulo finishing 18th.
GMT94 Yamaha’s Andy Verdoia was hit from behind at Turn 1 on the third lap and has been declared unfit for Race 2 with a sprained ankle.

For Race 1 results, click here.

Randy Krummenacher: P1

CM Racing

I’m feeling simply great. I suffered a lot over the last couple of years, but we never gave up. I want to thank everyone for their support, it’s so nice to give them this present. The race was so chaotic. I got the holeshot, but it was impossible to make the first corner with Oncu on the inside. Immediately it started to rain though, I just focused on getting back to the front. In the pit, the team did their best but we lost a couple of seconds. I was nervous, but then I just pushed and felt much faster than everyone else. I kept pushing and in the end it’s so nice to get this win.

Manuel Gonzalez: P2

ParkinGO Yamaha

It was a crazy race. On the first lap, I was in the lead and it started to rain, I was pushing a lot. The pit stop was really slow, and I come out in like 11th or 12th. I think, “OK, if I do top five, this is good” but then lap by lap I was overtaking and pushing at the limit. Oncu and De Rosa pushed more to follow me. On the last lap, I saw Odendaal and I wanted to overtake him and I didn’t know he had a penalty for a fast pit, which is strange. I wanted first, but maybe tomorrow.