WorldSSP: Yari Montella completes the double in a delayed race

Yari Montella became the first rider in 2024 to win both races.

It was a dramatic Race One for the WorldSSP class, with Race Two being no different in an explosive finale to the weekend for the Supersport class. There was a delay to the start of the race after oil was dropped at turn two in an ASBK support race. But once it got underway Yari Montella rose to the top again after an impressive ride.

The grid for Race Two was decided by the riders’ fastest lap in Race One – similar to British Superbikes’ current format. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) would start the race in pole position, setting a 1:31.271. Joining Montella on the front row were Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing).

The race was originally due to start at 03:15 am GMT but after riders were not happy with the track conditions there was a further delay. The pitlane opened at 05:20 am GMT for the final time with a reduced nine-lap race ahead with no pitstops to take place.

The “sprint” began

After a long wait, the lights went out and it was Yari Montella who led the field through the treacherous turn two. All riders made it through turn two, in an all-out sprint race for the Supersport class.

After the first lap, the top three riders kept in order with Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) chasing in fourth. Debise was hoping for a better result In Race Two after crashing out on Saturday.

Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) qualified on pole position on Friday but suffered from a technical issue in Race One. The Spaniard was aiming for redemption onboard the Ducati V2, setting the fastest lap. Huertas was forced to start in ninth but quickly made his way to fifth – catching the lead group.

The laps ticked down quickly with home rider Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) rounding out the top 10. Bayliss was behind WRP-RT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph’s John McPhee, who was having a great weekend on the 765cc machine.

Yari Montella had a gap of over one second, but as the race progressed the gap slowly reduced. This built to an intense end to the race with a thrilling battle for the podium – with all riders pushing to the limit. Stefano Manzi was one of the riders who pushed over the limits, crashing out at Miller Corner on lap six.

Things went from bad to worse for Manzi, with a second crash at MG Corner in front of Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph).

The fastest lap then went the way of the charging Marcel Schroetter who looked at home onboard the MV Augusta. Schroetter reduced the gap to less than half a second with one lap remaining.

This is Montella’s moment

At the chequered flag, Montella managed to bring it home to win by just 0.203 to do the double at Phillip Island. Marcel Schroetter did everything he could on the final lap, but only managed second. Joining them on the podium was Adrian Huertas who took his first WorldSSP podium.

Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) finished fourth in his first race weekend onboard the MV Agusta. Valentin Debise did finish Race Two, rounding out the top five in the standings. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) rounded out a solid weekend, finishing in sixth.

GMT94 Yamaha’s Lucas Mahias was not initially happy with the conditions but after the extensive clean-up operation, he finished in seventh. He was ahead of John McPhee in eighth place – finishing as the top Triumph. Lorenzo Baldassarri finished in ninth with Australian, Oli Bayliss rounding out the top 10.

Image credit: worldsbk.com