The FIM Supersport World Championship was back on track for Race 1 on Saturday, in what was a stunning ride from Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team), storming to victory. The Spaniard took his fifth consecutive victory of 2024 after crossing the line 3.758s ahead of the field.

Huertas charged to victory at the Czech Round, adding to Ducati’s success in WorldSSP after crossing the line ahead of Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in second – finishing as the top Yamaha. The Frenchman had a great end to Saturday, after a duel with Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), who claimed his seventh podium of the season.

EARLY DRAMA: Huertas leads a dramatic start

There was drama before the start with Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) crashing on the sighting lap, leaving the #9 with work in Race 1. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) secured the holeshot on the run to Turn 1, running wide on the entry with Huertas on his tail. On Lap 2, Manzi would enter the lead for the first time, launching an attack on the entry to Turn 1. It would be an early end to the race for Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) crashing at Turn 21 with 17 laps remaining.

Meanwhile, at the front, it was Huertas who entered first in a thrilling battle for victory and the podium. It did not take the #99 long to begin to stretch a lead, extending his gap to over two seconds with less than 10 laps remaining. However, the battle for the podium was not over with Montella leading Manzi and Debise for second position.

LAST CHANCE: Manzi vs Debise on the final lap

While Huertas led it was a duel for the podium position with Manzi entering second on the entry to Turn 1. It was three wide briefly as Debise responded, entering second and clinching P2 at the line with Manzi forced to settle for third as a mere 0.134s separated the pair.

BEST OF THE REST: Montella fourth

Unable to claim a podium was Montella, finishing fourth at the line ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing), who rounded out the top five. The #64 crossed the line in front of Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha), with the #94 fending off MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Marcel Schrotter for sixth. The German missed on P6 by 0.043s at the line but would finish ahead of PTR Triumph’s Tom Booth-Amos in eighth. Meanwhile, Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) was demoted one position to ninth after exceeding track limits on the final lap. Further back, Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) would take the final spot inside the top 10 after starting P15 on the grid.

TOP 15: Baldassarri takes the final point

Outside of the top 10, Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took 11^th ahead of D34G Racing WorldSSP Team’s Oli Bayliss in 12^th. Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) was 13^th at the line, finishing ahead of WRP Racing’s Steven Odendaal and Lorenzo Baldassarri (WRP-RT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph), who took the final points on Saturday.

However, not every rider would complete the opening lap with Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team’s Niccolo Antonelli, Piotr Biesiekirski, Marcel Brenner (VIAMO Racing by MTM) and Anupab Sarmoon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) crashing at Turn 1. There would later be an incident at Turn 20 involving Simone Corsi (Renzi Corse) and Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team), which brought an early end to their day.

The top six from WorldSSP Race 1, full results here:

1. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)

2. Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +3.758s

3. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +3.892s

4. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +4.726s

5. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +16.411s

6. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) +19.043s

Fastest lap: Stefano Manzi, Yamaha – 1’34.834s (New race lap record)

Make sure you tune in for Race 2 on Sunday at 15:15 Local Time (UTC+2), using the WorldSBK VideoPass - now 30% off!