Misano, Race 1: ZX Moto victory ahead of two Yamaha - Öttl was shot down

On Friday, Ten Kate rider Can Öncü secured pole position, followed by his Yamaha brand colleague and world championship leader Albert Arenas. The front row was completed by season surprise Valentin Debise on the Chinese ZX Moto.

Philipp Öttl had an excellent starting position in fourth place and thus best Ducati rider, which could not be said of Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki) in 19th place on the grid. The Swiss rider had to rely on his strength in race trim.

The 18-lap race took place in sweaty conditions. With sunshine and 29 degrees Celsius in the shade, the tarmac heated up the riders on the grid with an additional 52 degrees.

The pole-setter won the start, entering the first corner in the lead ahead of Arenas, Debise, Zaccone and Öttl. Öncü set a fast pace from the first corner, but Arenas was able to keep up - the Spaniard snatched the lead after a few corners.

Philipp Öttl was shot down on lap 2

Lap 2 brought the end for Öttl through no fault of his own - the Bavarian was sent into the gravel by Matteo Ferrari. Meanwhile, Öncü regained the lead on lap 3 with the fastest race lap in 1:37.650 minutes. Arenas, Debise, Zaccone and Jaume Masià made up the top five, with Aegerter in 18th place up to 15th.

After six laps, Debise seemed to be getting stronger. At times, the Frenchman led the race. A lively back-and-forth developed between Arenas, Öncü and Debise. The top three rode within 0.3 seconds of each other; the top seven were separated by 1.6 seconds. Aegerter continued to ride in the same battle group as at the start in 16th place. Meanwhile, Austrian Andreas Kofler had retired from the race.

Arenas led the race at the halfway point, followed by Debise and Öncü, who could no longer quite keep up with the lap times of the top two and came under increasing pressure from Masia. Öttl had resumed the race six laps down in order to at least gather information for the second race on Sunday.

As is often the case, Triumph rider Tom Booth-Amos became stronger and stronger in the second half of the race. The Englishman had worked his way up to fifth place on lap 11. At the front, Arenas sought the decision with the fastest race lap in 1:37.311 min, but ZX Moto rider Debise kept up with the world championship leader and for his part burned a 1:37.216 min into the asphalt. Aegerter rode behind his Kawasaki team-mate Jeremy Alcoba to 15th place.

At the start of the final third of the race, Arenas and Debise had pulled away from Öncü, Masia and Booth-Amos, who were battling for the final podium spot, by 2.3 seconds. Aegerter had caught his Alcoba and was 14th, while the lapped Öttl ended up setting the lap times of the leaders - the Ducati rider was robbed of a great opportunity.

It was only on the last lap that Debise attacked the leader Arenas, who initially counterattacked, but in the end was narrowly beaten by 0.1 seconds. This is the 34-year-old's sixth victory in the first year of ZX Moto.

In second place, Yamaha rider Arenas nevertheless extended his world championship lead, as the battle for third place went haywire. Masia and Booth-Amos turned onto the home straight side by side. After contact, Masia, who was on the inside, crashed and his bike crossed the finish line alone. Booth-Amos finished fourth, but was unable to attack Öncü for third place as a result of the incident. The best Ducati rider was Alessandro Zaccone in 5th place.

Due to the Masia crash, Aegerter was the best Kawasaki rider in 13th place, a conciliatory result for the two-time Supersport World Champion.

With the sixth-fastest race lap, Philipp Öttl secured a good starting position for the second race on Sunday.