WorldSSP: Caricasulo wins Mandalika last lap thriller

Federico Caricasulo wins the final WorldSSP race of the weekend in a last-lap shootout.

Nicolo Bulega would get the hole shot for Race Two in the Supersport class, and Caricasulo followed behind in second. Race One winner, Can Oncu sat in third position, before finding his way through on Caricasulo.

De Rosa had a good start to the race, as he tries to redeem himself after a flat tyre caused him to retire from Race One. Stefano Manzi quickly found a way through De Rosa and moved up to fourth position.

Van Straalen crashed out of the race, causing the Dutch rider to claim his second DNF of the weekend. 

At the front, Can Oncu jumped into first place and began to push hard on the Kawasaki. Bulega began to lose touch with the Turkish rider, as Oncu would set the fastest lap of the race.

John McPhee had a good start to the race in 12^th position, the Scottish rider was chasing Sofuoglu on the MV Agusta. McPhee moves to the Vince64 Kawasaki team this year, as he moves from Moto3.

Caricasulo began to catch Bulega and made a move for second place with 13 laps to go at turn one. This sent Bulega wide and into the clutches of Stefano Manzi who set the fastest lap if the race. Manzi would find a way past on the same lap, and with 13 laps to go he set his sights on Caricasulo.

Further back, Harry Truelove was in a battle with fellow Brit, Tarran Mackenzie and his teammate Norrodin. The three riders were battling for 14^th position and the final spots in the points. Truelove showed his pace and caught up to Sarmoon and Wongthananon on the Yamaha.

Tuuli made his way to fifth position, ahead of previous Moto2 veteran Marcel Schroetter. De Rosa began to drop back down the field and sat in seventh position under pressure from Navarro.

Oli Bayliss would be overtaken by Scotsman, McPhee and would not be able to keep the Scotsman’s pace. The Australian will make the switch to the D34G Racing Ducati for the 2023 WorldSSP season.

All eyes were on the battle for second position, which began to heat up between Caricasulo and Manzi. Manzi looked to have a good late-race pace and sat in second position, with nothing separating the two riders. 

Can Oncu began to be put under an immense amount of pressure, with just seven laps to go in the final race of the weekend. Oncu’s lead would disappear to just 0.216 of a second before Manzi made a move to take the lead. This would disrupt Oncu’s rhythm causing Oncu to lose the front and momentum.

Caricasulo managed to catch the Ten Kate Yamaha of Manzi with just two laps left in the race. Federico Caricasulo looked confident, heading onto the last lap of the race and would make time through the second sector. He would find a way through Manzi with just a handful of corners left. 

Federico Caricasulo will take the race win and will win a World Supersport race for the first time since 2019. Manzi would finish a further three-tenths of a second behind, after a thrilling race.

Can Oncu was having tyre issues with his Kawasaki, with Bulega overtaking the Turkish rider. Bulega would claim the final podium position, with Oncu dropping back over a second from the podium. 

Wongthananon and Sarmoon made contact at turn 16, causing Wongthananon to crash out of the race. This collision allowed MIE MS Petronas Honda riders, Norrodin and Mackenzie to take the final point-scoring positions.

The WorldSSP class will now have to wait until the next round of the WorldSBK Championship at Assen. They will have to wait six weeks to race again, in this exciting 12-round Championship.