2021 Magny-Cours World Supersport Race One Result: Weird Crashes And A Red Flag

The World Supersport race was to be nineteen laps but it was cut short by a red flag on the opening lap. 

Dominique Aegerter took the lead from second place but Luca Bernardi it from him into turn five as a Michel Fabrizio's Kawasaki flipped over, cartwheeling over and over out of turn four after being pushed onto the grass by David Sanchis Martinez, bringing out the red flags. Niki Tuuli pulled out of the race into turn one with a mechanical issue and had five minutes to get his bike back to the pits to get a second chance. Fabrizio was wandering around uninjured after his crash, but he didn't have a bike for the twelve lap restarted race. A couple of marshals chucked some cement powder down as a bloke with a broom singlehandedly brushed the track clean as a pair of shirted officials pointed at stuff. A piece of farm machinery eventually turned up to remove what was left of Fabrizio's Kawasaki once the broom work was complete.

Lining up for the quick restart procedure, Niki Tuuli was allowed to make the restart. As the riders left the grid, Valentin Debise stalled and raised his hand, getting off his bike. Debise was then hit by Vincent Falcone, but he seemed not to be badly injured, dropping his bike to the tarmac. Debise and Falcone didn't make the restart.

The race eventually started with Dominique Aegerter once again taking the lead as Manuel Gonzalez and Jules Cluzel both made quick work of pole man Luca Bernardi. Philipp Oettl took fifth place off Niki Tuuli on the opening lap.

On lap two, Can Oncu made his regular early charge, fighting Tuuli as the pair swapped back and forth. Steven Odendaal in seventh place set the fastest lap on lap two. Jules Cluzel passed Manuel Gonzales into turn five to take second place behind Aegerter and Steven Odendaal in sixth place set the fastest lap again. 

With a shortened race, tyre strategy was reduced to going as fast as one could without having to worry about the rubber's longevity and the leading seven were all within a punt of an overtake, with one or two tenths separating them from each other. Third placed Luca Bernardi set the fastest lap on lap four, ahead of Philipp Oettl and Manuel Gonzalez. Bernardi then took second from Cluzel as Gonzalez took fifth from Oettl, briefly. Steven Odendaal pushed his way through to fourth, past both Gonzalez and Oettl.

At half race distance, six laps, Jules Cluzel took second place from Luca Bernardi, allowing Dominique Aegerter to break free in the lead, gaining over a second ahead of the fight for second place. The riders from second to eighth were all within striking distance from each other as Aegerter set the fastest lap as he escaped. 

As Dominique Aegerter broke away in the lead, Jules Cluzel built a gap of almost two seconds over Steven Odendaal, Manuel Gonzalez, Luca Bernardi, Philipp Oettl, Federico Caricasulo and Can Oncu. Niki Tuuli dropped off that pac as he crashed out, dumping his bike in the middle of turn thirteen, waving to riders to avoid it. Three orange-clad marshals rescued his abandoned bike before it became a problem. 

At the start of lap ten of twelve, Steven Odendaal closed up to Jules Cluzel, bringing a freight train of riders with him. By lap eleven, Odendaal was close enough to Cluzel to pass him into turn five, and Manuel Gonzalez was determined to take third place from Cluzel, looking for a way past.

On the last lap, three riders fought over second place as Dominique Aegerter was clearing off into the sunset, over a second ahead. In the wake of Steven Odendaal, Jules Cluzel held off Manuel Gonzalez long enough to enter the last chicane with enough of a lead to hold on to the last podium spot.

Dominique Aegerter won by under a second as Steven Odendaal closed the gap over the last few laps. The leading four were covered by under a second and a half over the line, with Manuel Gonzalez losing out on the last spot on the podium to Jules Cluzel. Race winner Andy Verdoia finished in tenth place.

Dominique Aegerter's winning of this weird race extended his lead in the championship over Steven Odendaal to fifty two points. Philipp Oettl in third place lost another two points to Luca Bernardi who is now within four points of Oettl. 

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