Aegerter and Ten Kate Racing Yamaha take their tenth WorldSSP win of the season at Jerez.

Dominique Aegerter was unstoppable during the only World Supersport race in Jerez. He achieved the tenth victory of the season with Ten Kate Racing Yamaha. Galang Hendra Pratama unfortunately didn’t finish the race after a crash. With Aegerter’s victory Yamaha secured the 2021 constructors’ title.

After the tragic accident of Dean Berta Viñales in the first World Supersport 300 race, the World Supersport race was cancelled on Saturday. Following the wishes of Dean’s family, and after sharing their views with the riders, the WorldSBK organisation had decided to proceed with Sunday’s schedule. After the warm up sessions, a minute of silence was held in memory of the young Spanish rider.

Dominique Aegerter had set the second fastest lap time in Superpole and could therefore start from front row of the grid in the World Supersport race at Jerez. Galang Hendra Pratama had a big crash in qualifying, but was declared fit to race on Sunday morning. The rider from Indonesia had to start from twenty-fourth position.

Aegerter took the lead and immediately started to ride a very high pace. This resulted in the Ten Kate Racing Yamaha rider setting a new lap record a couple of times and creating a gap to his competitors. Aegerter kept increasing his lead and after seventeen laps he crossed the finish line in first place with a ten second advantage.

Hendra Pratama had a good start and quickly made it into the top twenty. The Ten Kate Racing Yamaha rider fell back a few places but was able to connect with a group of riders just outside the points. With six laps to go Hendra Pratama crashed, which eventually meant the end of his race.

With his tenth win of the season, Aegerter increased his lead in the World Supersport championship to 62 points. Yamaha also won the constructors title in Jerez. Hendra Pratama is eighteenth in the standings. Next weekend (1-3 October) the World Supersport rider will compete at the circuit of Portimão in Portugal.

Dominique Aegerter: “It was a very good race. It was very hot today. Ten Kate Racing Yamaha had made a small change to the bike and it worked out well in these conditions. I had a good start and it were seventeen good laps. I was able to manage the gap to other riders. I want to thank the team for this victory. I dedicate my victory to Dean. It was a very sad day yesterday. Thanks that we could race for him today.”

Galang Hendra Pratama: “I got a good start and the beginning of the race was not bad. I had to avoid a crash of another rider, where I lost some time. Then I tried to get back to the front and was able to ride the pace of the top fifteen guys, until I lost the front in Turn 6 and crashed. It’s very frustrating to crash twice in one weekend. We will work hard and see how we can avoid the crashes. Overall it was a tough weekend, especially with the very sad passing of Dean Berta Viñales.”

Team manager Kervin Bos: “That’s ten: what an incredible performance by Dominique! He was in the lead from start to finish. We knew the updates from Magny-Cours had brought us a lot, but we didn’t think Dominique could pull this off. A big compliment for him and we have made an important step in the championship. For Galang it was a difficult weekend and we need to work with him to improve for the next rounds.”