2021 Estoril World Supersport Race 1 Result: Close As You Like It

World Supersport race one was eighteen laps of Estoril. Nikki Tuuli started from pit lane due to "irresponsible riding" in race one last weekend. 

Steven Odendaal led Federico Caricasulo into the first turn ahead of Philipp Oettl and Jules Cluzel. Hannes Soomer and Manuel Gonzalez were very close in fifth and sixth. Oettl, the Kawasaki among five Yamahas at the front, took second place from Caricasulo and set the first fastest lap of the race as the leading five started to get away from Dominique Aegerter heading the second group. 

On lap four, Philipp Oettl takes the lead into turn one, having to fight to keep it over the next couple of turns. Jules Cluzel kept looking past Federico Caricasulo, looking the faster of the pair. Raffaele de Rosa set the fastest lap in seventh place, only to immediately have it taken from him by the rider in twenty sixth place, Nikki Tuuli, five seconds quicker than the rider ahead of him. He caught Shogo Kawasaki's Kawasaki to begin his fight through the grid. 

The leading six riders were covered just over a second as they became a group of five, Federico Caricasulo sliding out of third place, getting back on track in time to be overtaken by Nikki Tuuli who set another fastest lap climbing to twenty first place. 

Philipp Oettl, Steven Odendaal, Jules Cluzel, Manuel Gonzalez and Dominique Aegerter were covered by under a second on lap eight as Nikki Tuuli set another fastest lap. Aegerter finally made his pass attempts on Gonzalez stick, taking fourth place behind Jules Cluzel. 

Nikki Tuuli set the fastest lap again. 

With no changes at the front for a couple of laps, the leading five remained covered by eight tenths of a second, two seconds clear of sixth placed Raffaele de Rosa. Nikki Tuuli worked his way into the points, passing the veteran Michel Fabrizio on his way to fourteenth place. Cluzel started looking for a way past, showing Odendaal his front wheel a couple of times. 

Dominique Aegerter passed a frustrated Jules Cluzel, but Cluzel recovered third place into turn six as they both thought they should be fighting over Odendaal's second place. Instead, on lap sixteen of eighteen, Steven Odendaal took the lead from Philipp Oettl, only to have Oettl take it back into turn one pf lap seventeen. The last lap started with three quarters of a second covering the leading five riders, and Odendaal took the lead back as Aegerter took third place from Cluzel. Cluzel took third back into turn six, swapping back and forth over the next turns, leaving the leading two to fight for the win. 

Steven Odendaal held the lead to the line, winning in front of Philipp Oettl. Third place was a drag race from the last corner, won by Jules Cluzel, fifteen thousandths of a second ahead of Dominique Aegerter. Manuel Gonzalez finished miles behind, a quarter of a second off fourth place. Nikki Tuuli finished in eleventh place.

Steven Odendaal's win is his third from three races, giving him a thirty one point lead over Dominique Aegerter and thirty eight over Raffaele de Rosa. Philipp Oettl is a point further back with Jules Cluzel a further four, forty three points from the top. 

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