Domi Aegerter (15th/Kawasaki): “Better than coming away empty-handed”

Dominique Aegerter’s outstanding Supersport record is taking quite a few knocks this year. After the Swiss rider celebrated a fantastic 27 victories in just 42 races on the Yamaha R6 in 2021 and 2022, winning the world title in both years, he and his Kawasaki team, Puccetti Racing, have been unable to find a working set-up for the ZX-6R 636 – not even at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours for the ninth round of the season.

Still, after finishing 17th in the first race, Aegerter picked up a World Championship point by coming 15th in Sunday’s race. “That’s better than coming away empty-handed. But it’s definitely not what we want,” Aegerter remarked bitterly. “I can say that I gave it my all again and pushed really hard. However, the race was interrupted by a red flag about halfway through, so after the restart we had a five-lap sprint. During that, I got caught up in a fierce battle with lots of riders. It was a constant back-and-forth with lots of position changes, which didn’t exactly help my rhythm. In the end, I managed to hold my own against most of them, and we crossed the line in 15th place.”

The fact that the partnership with Kawasaki will end after just one season has long been agreed between Aegerter and team boss Manuel Puccetti. However, that does not mean that the Rohrbach rider has given up and will be content with finishes outside the top 10 in the three remaining events.

His team-mate Jeremy Alcoba proved in France that better results are possible by finishing fifth in the second race. “The season is far from over. That’s why we’ll continue to work hard as a team, joining forces, and I’ll also be doing my homework very thoroughly. This weekend we gave it our all, and everyone in the team worked very hard and showed great commitment. Unfortunately, our results don’t reflect that,” Aegerter lamented. “I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate my team-mate. He rode a great race and proved that the bike is fast. So we’re not going to give up.”

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