And it’s double! Steven Odendaal and the Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team triumph in a tricky Race 2 at Aragon

The Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team and Steven Odendaal are once again on a roll. After yesterday's success in Race 1, the South African rider was able to take victory in Race 2, despite the completely different conditions due to the rain. For the reigning World Champion team this is the seventh victory in the last seven races held at the Aragon circuit, from 2019 to today: a figure that leaves little room for interpretation. 

Since this morning the team from Ravenna has had to deal with a significant drop in temperatures, and especially with the arrival of rain. In these conditions Odendaal finished the warm up in seventh position, trying to gain as much information as possible about the wet handling of his Yamaha YZF-R6. 

As scheduled at 12.30, Race 2 got underway, made particularly complicated by the track conditions, which were wet with intermittent light rain. In these difficult conditions the Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team and Steven Odendaal decided to run a pair of intermediate tyres, which proved to be the correct choice. 

When the lights went out Odendaal, who started third due to Tuuli's (2nd on the grid), non-participation in the race, was able to stay in the leading positions from the start, occupying fourth place and only partially giving way to the riders equipped with rain tyres. With the passing of the laps the performance of the intermediate tyres started to improve, allowing an attentive Odendaal to conquer first the third and then the second position, on the tenth of the fifteen laps planned. 

On lap twelve the number four took the lead and then battled with Cluzel and especially De Rosa to keep it. After another heart-stopping final lap Odendaal took the win, his second of the weekend and his second overall in the category. With this win Steven continues to lead the overall standings with full points (50 points), 19 points ahead of Aegerter. The Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team will be back on track next weekend for the second round of the season, at the Portuguese circuit of Estoril. 

Race 2 #AragonWorldSBK 
P1 - Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team, Yamaha) 
P2 - Raffaele De Rosa (Kawasaki) 
P3 - Jules Cluzel (Yamaha) 
P4 - Hannes Soomer (Yamaha) 
P5 - Dominique Aegerter (Yamaha) 

Steven Odendaal: "This 2021 could not have started in a better way. The race was complicated, as the asphalt conditions were really difficult to interpret: at the beginning I was passed by riders on wet tyres, but I thought it was time to stay calm, and then maybe try to catch up later. At the end I took a few too many risks, but to win you have to do it, and it went really well. I have to thank the team, who wisely chose the intermediate tyres, with which I had never raced before, but I managed to get this fantastic success. Now we can think about the Estoril round, where I hope to get more important points to keep the leadership in the championship".