Former Supersport World Champion, Lucas Mahias, may have denied the two Bardahl Yamaha teammates pole position yesterday, but just three laps into the race normal service had been resumed, with first Krummenacher and then Caricasulo forcing their way past the Frenchman to contest the lead.
It was Krummenacher who made the early running at the front, with Caricasulo seemingly happy to sit in his Swiss rider's slipstream. On lap four the Italian made his move, forcing his way past his teammate to take the lead and then trying to pull away by setting the fastest lap of race so far. Krummenacher then found himself relegated to third as Mahias took advantage to split the two Bardahl Yamaha riders.
Krummenacher retaliated at the first opportunity to reclaim second place and by lap seven was once again breathing all over the rear of his teammate at the front, eventually retaking the race lead one lap later. Mahias was pushing hard to stay with the two Bardahl Yamaha riders, while also defending third place from a hard charging Jules Cluzel aboard the GMT94 Yamaha.At half race distance it was Krummenacher from Caricasulo and Mahias at the front of the race, with Cluzel and Hikari Okubo still in contact and pushing hard to challenge the leading trio for the podium.
These positions remained unchanged until lap 14, when Caricasulo squeezed past Krummenacher to take the lead once again two laps later and the championship leader was back in front, with Mahias the only rider able to match the pace of the leading duo.
As has happened so often this season already, it turned into a straight battle between the Bardahl Yamaha riders, with the two of them swapping places five times on the last lap and banging elbows in the two final corners as they fought it out for the win. It was Krummenacher who finally won the race to the line to claim his fourth victory of the season, with Caricasulo second by less than the width of a rear wheel and Mahias in third.
Jules Cluzel picked up important points in fourth, while Kallio Racing Yamaha's Thomas Gradinger rescued a difficult weekend with 9th place. The Austrian's teammate, Loris Cresson, picked up points in 13th but crashes early in the race saw GMT94 Yamaha's Corentin Perolari forced to retire, while Kallio Racing Yamaha's Isaac Viñales managed to rejoin after his crash, but finished outside the points.
