Adrián Huertas achieved his second victory of the year this Saturday in the first race of the World Supersport Championship in Assen. The Spaniard had to work hard on a recovery, starting outside of the points positions. The choice of slick tires was crucial for this outcome.
The track conditions meant some risks in tire choice. Stefano Manzi (Pata Ten Kate Yamaha) started from pole position and had a good start to stay in the lead. Some riders crashed, unable to resist the conditions, and even before the start Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) had to go to the pits with problems on his Ducati.
Luke Power (Motozoo ME Air Racing/MV Agusta) was the surprising leader at the end of the first lap, and other riders were in the mix. On the seventh lap, Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. Yamaha) took the lead and managed to pull away. But Huertas had other plans.
The choice of slick tires proved to be the most accurate and the Spaniard made an impressive recovery from outside the top ten in the last eight laps. He overtook Debise on the penultimate lap and even pulled away, crossing the finish line as the winner with an 8.149s lead.
The Frenchman, on the other hand, was also unable to defend the second position, being overtaken by Manzi on the final lap. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate) and Tom Edwards (D34G Racing/Ducati) completed the top five.
Results:
🏁 FINAL RESULTS of #WorldSSP Race 1 👀
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) April 20, 2024
🥇 @adrianhuertas99
🥈 Valentin Debise
🥉 Glen van Straalen#DutchWorldSBK 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/WCMNMa7uoq
