Marcel Schrötter finishes just 0.2 seconds behind winner Yari Montella in Sunday’s Supersport World Championship race in Australia and is once again on the podium
MV-Agusta rider Marcel Schrötter also finished the second race of the Supersport World Championship on Phillip Island (Australia) on the podium. Schrötter showed a flawless race and missed his first victory in the production-based championship by just 0.203 seconds.
The start of the second race had to be postponed by almost two hours because a thick oil slick was left in turn 2 during a race in the supporting program. Extensive cleaning work was carried out to enable the start of the second WSSP race.
A large number of the riders were against starting the race. Schrötter was also unhappy with the conditions. However, the officials decided to start the race over the distance of nine laps. This made the planned mandatory pit stop superfluous.
Schrötter started the race from second on the grid. Pole setter Yari Montella (Ducati) asserted himself at the front at the start. The field made it through the second corner without incident, in which a lot of binder was used
A mistake at Turn 4 is costly for Stefano Manzi AustralianWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/azisBVIjUG
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) February 25, 2024
Saturday’s winner Montella clearly pulled away from the rest of the field on the first lap. Schrötter led the chasing group. Stefano Manzi (Yamaha), who finished second on Saturday, crashed out of the chasing group and crashed again a little later
Yari Montella wins to make it a Phillip Island double! AustralianWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/hanA7uNOQf
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) February 25, 2024
In the final phase, Schrötter made great strides towards Montella and sensed the chance of his first victory. But Montella held on to the lead and also won the second race at the season opener in Australia. Schrötter finished second on the podium. Adrian Huertas (Ducati) completed the top 3
Marcel Brenner (Kawasaki) finished the second race in 25th and therefore last position. The Swiss rider was 44 seconds behind winner Montella. None of the Kawasaki riders finished in the points. Can Öncü only finished in P16.
The 2024 Supersport World Championship season continues in four weeks’ time in Barcelona (Spain)
