MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

World Supersport continues its close championship under a 25ºC Italian sun, visiting Cremona for the first time.

Adrian Huertas led Yari Montella in to turn one with Stefano Manzi behind, followed by Lucas Mahias making a great start ahead of Federico Caricasulo and Marcel Schroetter. Later in the lap, a four-rider crash at turn ten was put under investigation, involving Oli Bayliss, Can Oncu, Luca Ottaviani and Kaito Toba. Oncu and Ottaviani rejoined.

resulting in a penalty for irresponsible riding for Valentin Debise.

As the laps ticked off, Huertas gently eased his lead while Montella couldn't shake Manzi. Huertas set a fastest lap of 1'32.408 on lap two, a 1'32.400 on lap six and a 1'32.213 on lap seven, all new lap records.

At half race distance, lap eleven of twenty, Adrian Huertas led Yari Montella by over two seconds with Stefano Manzi right behind him. Federico Caricasulo was two and a half seconds off the podium with Marcel Schroetter, Lucas Mahias and Tom Booth-Amos a further two and a half seconds behind him.

Can Oncu pitted in to change his tyre on lap fourteen in an attempt to set a top-nine lap time and increase his changes for race two.

On lap fifteen, Montella left a tiny gap and Manzi forced him out of the way into turn five as Federico Caricasulo crashed out at turn ten to become the tenth retirement of the race.

With four laps remaining, Huertas led Manzi and Montella by over five seconds with Schroetter over five seconds behind him. Booth-Amos took fifth place off Mahias with John McPhee three seconds behind. Can Oncu's fast lap gambit paid off as he put himself on the second row of the grid, a lap behind in twenty second place.

On the last lap, first place was clearly decided with Huertas still five seconds in the lead as Manzi consolidated his second place as Montella dropped off the pace and settled into the last step of the podium.

Adrian Huertas won by just under five seconds over Stefano Manzi with Yari Montella coming in under three seconds later. Huertas's win puts him on pole position for race two tomorrow.

Marcel Schroetter held off a late charge by Tom Booth-Amos to take fourth place with Lucas Mahias coming in sixth. Valentin Debise and Can Oncu finished in twenty first and twenty second places, out of the points, but with good fast laps for race position in race two.

Adrian Huertas extends his championship lead to twenty three points over Yari Montella with Stefano Manzi thirty two points further behind. Almost a hundred points further back, Valentin Debise, after two rounds without a score, has Marcel Schroetter for company, one point behind his fourth place.

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