The rollercoaster Autodromo Internacional do Algarve provided a huge twist in the FIM Supersport World Championship title race. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) completed the double during the Pirelli Portuguese Round, and he benefitted massively from title rival Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) crashing at Turn 5 in Race 2, with the #99 eventually finishing in 12th place. It means Montella is now just 20 points behind Huertas as the second half of the season got underway.
In Tissot Superpole, Montella finished second behind Huertas after setting a 1’43.352s, around two tenths slower than the Championship leader. It didn’t impact him too much though as the Italian star got the holeshot when the Race 1 lights went out, claiming the lead and from there not looking back. He eventually took the chequered flag more than three seconds clear of Huertas to close the gap by five points in the standings and ended the Spaniard’s winning run at six races.
Reflecting on his Race 1 victory, his first outside of Australia in WorldSSP, Montella said: “Finally, we got it! It was incredible because I felt stronger than ever. I enjoyed the whole race. My strategy was just to push from the beginning. In these races, we saw Adrian pushes from the start. I tried to do the same thing. I understood he didn’t have a great start, so it was probably a little bit lucky. I think we were stronger than him. Now we just have to keep focused and try to make the same thing in Race 2.”
Race 2 was a completely different story. Both Huertas and Montella were close together on track as they fought for victory, with Montella leading the first six laps and Huertas the next two. However, on Lap 10, the race and the Championship battle complexion changed. Huertas came off his bike from P1 at Turn 5, dropping out of the points but eventually fighting back to finish 12th. That left Montella unchallenged at the front and the #55 converted his lead into an almost 6 second win over Stefano Manzi (Pata Prometeon Ten Kate Racing).
Talking about his Race 2 win, Montella stated: “I feel crazy! I’m happy about the result because we needed a weekend like that. After Misano Race 1, Donington Race 2, we fought in more races against Huertas for the win. Every time something happened, so we needed a weekend like this. Sunday was completely different from Saturday, there was a lot of wind, less grip and, at the start, I tried to push like Race 1 but I couldn’t. I decided to follow Adrian because I thought it was better to follow someone. Adrian tried to push but it was difficult conditions, and it was easy to make a mistake. We just now have to stay focused. We’re fighting for the Championship, and we need to continue in this way, fighting for the win in every race.”
In the title fight, it means Montella has more than halved the gap to Huertas. The 2021 WorldSSP300 Champion had been 46 points clear heading into Portugal, but his P2 in Race 1 and P12 in Race 2 mean the gap is now just 20 points with five rounds to go. Manzi was also able to gain ground on Huertas thanks to a double podium, with the #62 now 41 points behind Huertas and 21 behind Montella in second.
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Source: WorldSBK.com