Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1525243
The nature of Montella's first- race win was unexpected, as Huertas has been in the ascen- dency more recently. But, con- sistently, Montella and his Ducati are proving to be the other great force in 2024. Only pure determination saw Ten Kate Yamaha rider Stefano Manzi manage to keep the reju - venated Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura Ducati) off the podium. A recent change to the throttle opening potency of the Ducatis appears to have had limited impact on the results. The top five in the opening 17- lap race were rounded out by the lead MV Agusta again, Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR) and sixth place was taken by Valentine Debise (Evan Bros Ya - maha), who had actually crashed on the sighting lap at turn eight. In race two, the shocks came from an unexpected source, as Huertas was to fall chasing the leading light of Montella. He re - mounted and finished 12th, but the bulk of the damage to his cham- pionship lead had been done, as Montella scored full points and, of course, a double win. As ego-boosters go before another mini-break in the erratic 2024 championship schedule, a double for Yari counts for a lot until the next round in early September. Manzi was second and the ever-potent Debise third in race two. Fourth was Caricasulo, with Mahias fifth. Navarro was an - other race-two faller, this time a no-scorer. He had fallen at the same corner as Huertas, just one lap earlier. In the championship standings, Huertas now only has a 20-point advantage over Montella, 260- 240. Manzi is also "only" 41 points behind with five rounds to go. WorldWCR In the Women's Circuit Racing World Championship, polesitter Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) headed up Su - perpole Qualifying by 0.834 of a second on day one at Portimao, and would go on to win the 11- lap race on Saturday, from Sara Sanchez and Ana Carrasco. Her - rera only beat Sanchez across the line by 0.060 of a second. In race two, Tayla Relph and Nicole van Aswegen collided early on, and a red flag was thrown. A seven-lap restart was won by Carrasco in a last-corner push that also saw Sanchez just behind her in second place. Herrera had been leading going into the last curve, but her rivals found a tighter line and exploited it to the full. American Mallory Dobbs was taken out in race one on Satur - day (and had bullseye stickers made for her bike overnight to show how much of a target she is proving to be for other riders). She took her Sekhmet Racing Yamaha R7 to ninth place in race two, which was easily her best performance of the year so far. In the championship points, Herrera has 129, Carrasco 122 and Sanchez 108. Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Race One 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 2. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) 3. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) 4. Garrett Gerloff (BMW) 5. Alex Lowes (Kaw) WorldSBK Superpole 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 2. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) 3. Alex Lowes (Kaw) 4. Michael van der Mark (BMW) 5. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) WorldSBK Race Two 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 2. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 3. Alex Lowes (Kaw) 4. Andrea Iannone (Duc) 5. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) WIND IN THE P40 Ana Carrasco (22) and Maria Herrera (6) locked horns all weekend in WorldWCR, with each taking race wins.