Race 1 for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship delivered a brilliant show for the fans at the Pirelli Portuguese Round, with Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki) taking the glory after a dramatic finish on Saturday. It was a spectacular ride from the Italian, who took his fifth win as he crossed the line with an astonishing 0.893s margin after another twist in the WorldSSP300 Championship battle.
PODIUM BATTLE: Thompson claims P2
Joining Gennai on the podium was Carter Thompson (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki), who put together a stunning end to the race to claim his second podium in his second weekend in WorldSSP300. Meanwhile, Marc Garcia (KOVE Racing Team) took the final spot on the podium, his second of the season. The #22 had a brilliant race at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, after fighting for victory throughout the 11 laps.
HOT PACE: Veneman leads early on
It was a perfect launch from Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), who claimed the holeshot as the 33 bike field filtered through Turn 1 for the first time. There was action everywhere you looked on the opening lap as Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) and Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) had a moment at Turn 1 as Veneman created a gap worth six-tenths as the field crossed the line for the first time.
There would soon be a change of order at the front as Marc Garcia closed in on the #7, eventually catching and passing Veneman to take the lead. The lead group soon turned into three riders, with Gennai joining the party as the battle and pace began to heat up. Iglesias showed great pace throughout, clawing back time on the lead group and entering the battle with three laps remaining.
CHAMPIONSHIP DRAMA: Iglesias crashes out on the last lap
Entering the final lap, it was Iglesias who led, before Veneman used the slipstream to snatch P1 on the run to Turn 1 with eight riders now in the lead group. However, everything soon unfolded for the #58, who tried to make a move stick at Turn 8, touching the rear tyre of Veneman and crashing out of the race. It was a huge moment in the Championship but all attention soon turned to the front as Gennai stormed to take the glory in Race 1, with Thompson charging through to claim a podium finish in front of Marc Garcia in P3.
RECOVERY RIDE: Mahendra takes sixth
Meanwhile, Veneman took fourth, narrowly missing out on a podium finish – claiming his 15th consecutive race inside the points. The #7 crossed the line ahead of Elia Bartolini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team), who rounded out the top five – a further 0.005s behind. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) was sixth after starting from P21 on the grid after receiving a grid penalty. The #57 will take some vital points to close Iglesias’ lead in the Championship. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Buis took seventh in another solid ride ahead of Galang Hendra Pratama (ProGP NitiRacing) as the final spots inside the top 10 went the way of Julio Garcia (KOVE Racing Team) and Gaggi.
There was further drama throughout Race 1 as Samuel Di Sora (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) battled hard in the opening stages receiving a penalty, however, the #23 would retire with an early technical issue. Emiliano Ercolani (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team) was another early retirement on Saturday, suffering a technical issue at Turn 11.
The top six from WorldSSP300 Race 1, full results here:
1. Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki)
2. Carter Thompson (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) +0.893
3. Marc Garcia (KOVE Racing Team) +0.895
4. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) +0.971
5. Elia Bartolini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team) +0.976
6. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) +1.102
Fastest lap: Matteo Vannucci (Yamaha) – 1’54.862
Make sure you tune in for Race 2 on Sunday at 15:30 Local Time (UTC +1), using the WorldSBK VideoPass – NOW HALF PRICE!
Source: WorldSBK.com