Yari Montella is the first winner of the new season of the Supersport World Championship. The rider was the strongest in the opening race at Phillip Island – a circuit that proves to be a true talisman for the Italian, whose only previous triumph had also been there in 2022.
Adrián Huertas (Aruba.it Ducati) secured pole position, but problems with his bike prevented him from starting. After the start, two other contenders for the top positions were out of the fight due to an incident between them: Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti) and Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate).
With Huertas absent, Montella was the first on the starting grid. The Barni Spark Racing Team rider didn’t have the best start and lost positions, with Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate) taking the lead. However, the Italian couldn’t consolidate before the pit stop window opened on the eighth lap.
The riders in the front group had different strategies, but when the tire changes were over, Montella was in the lead – with about six seconds ahead of Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta).
Until the end, no one had any arguments against Montella, who won with a 6.666s advantage. Manzi managed to reach second place with an overtaking move on Schrötter on the 11th lap. Until the end, the Italian had no chance of catching the race leader and even ended up in a close battle with Schrötter to hold onto second place.
The top five was completed by Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing/MV Agusta) and Oly Bayliss (D34G Racing/Ducati). Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was in the fight for the top positions, but suffered a crash on the tenth lap that forced him to retire.
Results:
