The fifth round of the 2021 season had got underway on Friday 6 August in both dry and damp conditions but Saturday 7 August remained dry for both the Superpole qualifying and Race One track action.

Öttl finished third in Superpole and again in Race One. The German rider led for two laps and was only dropped to third close to what was to be the last lap, as a rival who had opted for a harder rear tyre choice came past him into Turn One.

Öncü followed his flying team-mate closely in the early laps and even led for a spell as the two Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team-mates got involved in some early close quarter action with each other and their rivals.

After touching with Öttl with 16 laps to go Can dropped back to eighth place, then ninth, but he would recover one position and score more points after another confident and aggressive ride.

With one race completed at Most the Ninja ZX-6R riders will now attack the second on Sunday 8 August armed with important race data and a greater understanding of the very intense and often flowing circuit layout, which is all new to the championship this year.

Philipp Öttl, stated: “We did a good job this morning to finish in third place in qualifying but it was really hard. In the beginning of the race I had a fight with my team-mate. When Odendaal passed us he had really good pace. Towards the end Gonzalez also came past on an SC0 tyre choice but I was sure today was a good day to finish a little bit higher up. To win is always something different but today the package was good. I changed my riding style this weekend and it helped me with grip in the race, so I am happy to deliver the team another podium. We also took away really valuable points for the championship.”

Can Öncü, stated: “I started very well but after some contact with other riders I lost some positions. I had good grip and the bike was working well. I had caught the group again but then the red flag came out when I was only eighth. We just needed to be a bit more lucky today. We are close to the podium with our race pace and we will try again tomorrow.“

Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was 12th today, having qualified 14th.

Michel Fabrizio (Motozoo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) placed 22nd in the first race of the Most weekend; Luca Ottaviani (Motozoo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) was 24th. Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was not classified as a finisher after entering the pits.

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