Domi Aegerter fell short of expectations: “It was also very mentally draining”

“Thanks to a fantastic performance from our rider Jeremy Alcoba and the hard work of the whole team, who were able to put everything we learnt during testing in Cremona into practice, we’ve finally achieved a significant result,” said team boss Manuel Puccetti, delighted with Kawasaki’s first podium finish of the season. “It quickly became clear to us that, with a front-row starting position and the performance of our bike, we had a chance of making the podium – and that’s exactly what we achieved by finishing third.”

In the second race, Alcoba got caught up in a tussle but still crossed the finish line in sixth place. With 126 points, the Spaniard sits seventh in the overall standings heading into the summer break, which lasts almost eight weeks, and has more than three times as many points to his name as his team-mate Dominique Aegerter.

Although the Swiss rider noted progress with his Ninja 636 during the Cremona test and again on Friday at Donington Park, he could only manage 12th and 14th places in the races. It is now clear that the two-time world champion and the Kawasaki are not a good match.

“I’d hoped for more from Race 1 and was confident I could fight for a place in the top ten and be faster,” Aegerter summarised. “We got off to a pretty good start to the weekend on Friday, but we weren’t able to make any further improvements. The team is working hard to provide me with a bike that will allow me to ride faster.”

The hoped-for progress failed to materialise

The hoped-for step forward for the second race failed to materialise; Domi finished 14th, two places further back than on Saturday. “Once again, things didn’t go as we’d hoped,” he said contritely. “14th place is obviously a disappointment; I’d been hoping for a better result – I was at the limit the whole time. When I crossed the line, I was 10 seconds behind the winner. That’s not necessarily a lot, but the field in the Supersport class is very strong and evenly matched. We need to shave off a few tenths of a second per lap to break into the top ten.”

Aegerter concluded: “Now we have a long break, during which I’ll be riding my Kawasaki training bike a lot. I’ve also got a guest appearance at a Swiss Motocross Championship race on my schedule. But the summer break also means a few relaxed and quiet days, as the last few weeks have been very gruelling – not just physically, but mentally as well.”