Saturday

Taccini finishes 16th in Race 1 in Most, Aegerter loses brilliant streak as he becomes innocent victim of Turn 1 incident

Leonardo Taccini has finished in sixteenth place in the first World Supersport race of the weekend at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic on Saturday afternoon. Dominique Aegerter saw his race end in the gravel trap after being knocked off his bike by another rider in the first corner.

This weekend the sixth round of the FIM Supersport World Championship is being held at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. Ten Kate Racing started the weekend well on Friday under warm and sunny conditions with fastest lap times in both free practice sessions for Dominique Aegerter while Leonardo Taccini had a more difficult start with P25 on the timesheets.

Saturday morning it was a lot cooler and the track was not yet completely dry for the Superpole session. World Champion Aegerter qualified fourth for the two World Supersport races, Taccini again set the 25th lap time.

On Saturday afternoon the first World Supersport race of the weekend took place and Aegerter saw his race fall apart within seconds. The Swiss rider was the innocent victim of an incident caused by another rider. The reigning world champion had nowhere to go and crashed, fortunately without sustaining any injuries. This resulted in the first zero of 2022 but despite that Aegerter and Ten Kate Racing still have a lead in the championship.

Taccini was able to avoid the incident in the first corner and then became involved in a battle for the final points with five other riders. The Italian crossed the finish line in sixteenth place and for the first time since the first race in Misano he hasn’t scored points.

Leonardo Taccini: “I had hoped for more in today’s race. With the 25th time in the Superpole session it was going to be a difficult task but in the race I was able to come forward. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get points, tomorrow we will work hard again.”

Dominique Aegerter: “I’m extremely disappointed after what happened in the first corner of the first lap. Anyway, tonight I will prepare together with team to get the best possible result in the second race.”

Kervin Bos – Ten Kate Racing team manager: “It was a disappointing day for the team where unfortunately Leonardo was not able to score any points and Dominique was knocked off by another rider in the first corner. We will try to recover in the second race so we can go into the summer break with a good feeling.”

Sunday

Taccini salvages three points for Ten Kate Racing in Race 2, Aegerter non-starter following penalty

Leonardo Taccini finished thirteenth in the second World Supersport race at the Autodrom Most on Sunday afternoon. Starting from 24th on the grid, the Italian rider once again made up places and secured three World Championship points for Ten Kate Racing. Dominique Aegerter did not start in Race 2 after being suspended following an incident in Race 1 on Saturday.

After a disappointing first World Supersport race at the Autodrom Most in Czech Republic, in which Dominique Aegerter was knocked off his bike at the first corner by another rider and Leonardo Taccini failed to score any points, the Ten Kate Racing team was determined to get good results in the second race on Sunday afternoon.

However, the FIM WSBK Stewards Panel decided to suspend Aegerter and not allow him to start in the warm-up session and Race 2. As a result, Taccini was the sole representative of Ten Kate Racing in the second World Supersport race in Most.

Starting from 24th on the grid, Taccini made up a place on the first lap and made bigger steps forward in the following laps. After four laps the 19-year-old was already running in eighteenth position and by the middle of the race he had moved up to a points’ position.

Whilst fighting with three other riders, the red flag came out on the fifteenth lap and the race ended prematurely. At the final timing point, Taccini was running in thirteenth position and that was his final result in the second World Supersport race. The Italian scored three World Championship points for Ten Kate Racing and now holds 22nd place in the championship.

Leonardo Taccini: “Overall it was not a bad weekend. We made a big step and improved the feeling with the bike, we can be satisfied with that. Before the weekend started I knew it would be a difficult task as this is not one of my favourite tracks. Yesterday in Race 1 I couldn’t score any points after contact with another rider, today in Race 2 I managed to do so. We worked in the right way this weekend and now we have just over a month of rest. I’m going to work hard on myself in the coming weeks to be able to perform as strong as possible in the second half of the season.”

Dominique Aegerter: “First of all, I am sorry about the whole situation that arose after the incident in Race 1. As it was a very hectic situation, I did not act correctly and made mistakes. There was a lot of pressure, adrenaline and emotions. I never wanted to put other people in danger: I want to apologise for that. The championship is not finished yet, our focus now lies on the second part of the season in which I, together with the team, will work very hard to perform in the best way possible. I want to thank the team and all the sponsors, my family, friends and fans and everyone else for their unconditional support. We will never give up, see you in Magny-Cours.”

Kervin Bos – Ten Kate Racing team manager: “Thirteenth place in Race 2 is an excellent result for Leonardo when you look at his result in practice and qualifying. It’s good to see he has the right race talent and let’s hope that in the coming race weekends we can do better with him on Friday and in qualifying.

For Dominique, it is of course extremely regrettable what has happened in this situation. It is clear that a lot of factors influenced what eventually led to this outocme. They call Ten Kate Racing ‘Team Rocky’ for a reason, because we always get back up and we will do so again this time. We accept this setback and will work hard to return to Magny-Cours stronger than ever after the summer break.”

The World Supersport season is now exactly half way through its six race weekends. The next races are held the weekend of 9-11 September at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. However, Ten Kate Racing will rest on their laurels for the next five weeks as the team will make an appearance at the Jack’s Racing Day at TT Circuit Assen with reigning World Supersport champion Dominique Aegerter.