IRRC Imatranajo - Supersport Wrap Up
Race 1:
Following an action-packed Open Superbike race, won by Erno Kostamo, it was IRRC Supersport Race 1 time at Finland’s Northwest 200, Southern 100 equivalent, Imatranajo.
A breathless, record-breaking middleweight class encounter saw Niko Lehtiranta pip Performance Racing Achterhoek’s Adam McLean (0.868 – race winning margin) to race spoils after the pair between them, broke Pauli Pekkanen’s previous existing lap-record across laps four to eight.
Whilst the race win went to Lehtiranta, the new outright Supersport lap-record crown went to Tobermore’s McLean, lapping post lap eights’ optimisation, at 1 minute 55.283 seconds.
The 2022 Steve Henshaw Gold Cup winner also took full points in terms of IRRC series competitors with above-showcased race winner Lehtiranta, ineligible for points, due to being an event wildcard.
Niko Tanskanen completed the rostrum, having overhauled long-term P3 holder, twice TT winner Gary Johnson.
Petr Najman attained fifth behind ‘AKA Driver’, Marek Cerveny bagged sixth.
Romain Cleaz Savoyen edged Ilja Caljouw for eighth as Mauro Poncini, Sebastian Frotscher wrapped up the top ten finishers.
Remaining finishers from the ten-lap race, were as follows:
Karel Brandtner (11th), Thomas Wendel (12th), Never Be Clever Racing’s Rhys Hardisty (13th), Juho Kantola (14th), Nicolas Therouin (15th), Jyri Kuosa (16th).
Peter Lionel (17th), Miika Viiperi (18th), Wesley Ankersmid (19th), Erik Kjuus (20th), Erno Kivimaki (21st), Olli Konttinen (22nd).
Osvaldas Lazdauskas (23rd), Mike Mace (24th), Brian Fuidge (25th), Roman Bocek (26th).
Race 2:
Niko Lehtiranta, Adam McLean picked up from where they left off yesterday, continuing to thrill the enthusiastic track crowd around Imatranajo, dicing it out for honours in the re-started second IRRC Supersport encounter.
Reduced in distance to six laps, there wasn’t much to separate throughout the pace setters, and it all came down to the last lap.
Showing dogged determination, grit, Lehtiranta managed to just, just at the finish line scoop race victory by only 0.081 of a second!
McLean captured 25 more points to add to his IRRC Supersport Championship standings tally. He is now only 23 points shy of WRP Wepol Racing Parts supported, Marek Cerveny.
Cerveny joined McLean, Lehtiranta on the podium whilst Niko Tanskanen, Gary Johnson took fourth, fifth.
Romain Cleaz Savoyen acquired sixth, Ilja Caljouw was seventh, Mauro Poncini edged Rico Vetter for ninth.
The final spot within the top ten was chalked up by paddock favourite, Never Be Clever Racing’s Rhys Hardisty.
26 competitors would finish the six-lap restarted race-contest. Finishers eleventh to twenty sixth, read as follows:
Karel Brandtner (11th), Juho Kantola (12th), Mikko Uski (13th), Thomas Wendel (14th), Nicolas Therouin (15th).
Peter Lionel (16th), Jyri Kuosa (17th), Miikka Viiperi (18th), Wesley Ankersmid (19th), Osvaldas Lazdauskas (20th).
Erno Kivimaki (21st), Olli Konttinen (22nd), Erik Kjuus (23rd), Mike Mace (24th), Roman Bocek (25th), Brian Fuidge (26th).