It had been three years since Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) won a race, but the Swiss veteran returned to the top step in style at Misano in the San Marino GP. Having shown great pace all weekend and taken a front row start in the dry, the rain didn’t change a thing despite his fears and the number 77 was able to fight at the front.
After Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) crashed out the lead, that left Aegerter at the front and trying to judge the conditions with no reference ahead. But bar one small battle with compatriot Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten), the Suter rider was immovable at the front, and crossed the line to make history in the first 1-2 for Switzerland.
And as well as his first win in three years, it was also the first for manufacturer Suter since Valencia 2014.
Dominique Aegerter, P1: "I’m so happy. I had to wait more than three years for this moment to finally be at the top again. I’m very happy for myself and also for my team, it’s such an important success. At this point, I would like to thank everybody for the great work we have done this weekend. In the morning, I didn’t trust my eyes when I woke up and saw it was raining. So, I thought our plan wouldn’t work for today, as we had a really strong pace in the dry. I was therefore not so pleased with the rain!
"During the race, the conditions were very difficult. There was a lot of water in many places which made it very slippery. When Franco crashed in front of me, I thought to myself, ‘I must remain calm now and not push too much’. So, then I was able to ride a good pace and I had some nice fights with Tom (Lüthi). In the later stages, Hafizh (Syahrin) closed the gap to us in giant steps, but I also could go a bit faster. The last laps still lasted an eternity though. I managed to open a small gap to Tom, but I realised that if he could go a faster pace, then he would pass me. On the other side, I could also imagine that he had the championship on his mind.
"In any case, I definitely wanted to win this race and I would have done everything to make myself as wide as possible if Tom had launched an attack. On the other hand, I had nothing to lose, yet it was a huge challenge to stay calm and focused. It’s a great feeling and I think Tom and I have written history today. For a small country like Switzerland, such a success does not happen every day, mainly because we have no race tracks. We all waited a long time for this moment! Thanks to my team and to Suter. They gave me a winning bike this weekend."