Adrián Huertas clinched the World Supersport Championship title this Saturday. His third-place finish in the first race at Jerez was enough, despite his main rival, Stefano Manzi, taking the victory.
Jorge Navarro made a strong start and reached the first corner in the lead, but during the first lap, he lost positions to Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) and Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing). The Spaniard then suffered a crash, forcing him to retire on lap 2.
On the second lap, Manzi took the lead, and from then on, he consistently had Montella as his closest pursuer. The two Italians were neck and neck for over half the race, but from lap nine onwards, Manzi began to pull away, creating a significant gap to secure his lead.
Meanwhile, Huertas (Aruba.it Ducati) was initially in fifth place but quickly made a recovery, and by the third lap, he was in the third position, which he held until the end. This result was sufficient, and he didn’t need to take risks to close the gap with the two leaders.
In the end, Manzi won with a 1.971s advantage over Montella, while Huertas completed the podium, finishing 3.793s behind, celebrating his title win. The battle for fourth place lasted until the final lap, with Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta) prevailing over Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha).
Results:
🟢 #WorldSSP Race 1 final results🏁
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 19, 2024
🥇 Stefano Manzi
🥈 Yari Montella
🥉 @adrianhuertas99 #SpanishWorldSBK 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/wVruULxDSS
