Two rounds done and dusted and there’s still six to go – that’s 12 races of head-to-head, all-out, gloves-off battling in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship and the next instalment comes from the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in Italy. History oozes over the hillsides in Emilia-Romagna and after three different winners in 2024, WorldSSP300’s third chapter of the season will yield more memories to behold this year.
MOGEDA LEADS THE CHARGE: will Misano bring another changing of the guard?
Assen was the scene of joy and elation for Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kawasaki), who took a historic double victory for the Irish team and is thus the Championship leader. The #88 has 63 points arriving to Italy but Misano hasn’t been a track too kind to him before, giving him just two points with 14th last year. Six points behind and ready to pounce if the opportunity arises, Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki), a race winner already this year, has been strong in the past at Misano but still chases a first podium at the track. It’s a Spanish 1-2 in the Championship but third belongs to Iglesias’ teammate and multiple winner Petr Svoboda. The #53 has 53 points and is one of the few riders on the grid to have been on the Misano podium with third last year.
VENEMAN COMING STRONG: after a slow start, the 17-year-old found his feet at home
A return to form at Assen means Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) has fourth place in the standings and is another rider who featured well at Misano last season, taking a career-first top five in fourth. Following on from a first podium of the year at home in the Netherlands in Race 2 with P2, can he go one better this weekend? One of just a handful of riders to have scored points in all four races so far, Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) will take to Misano for the first time in WorldSSP300 where he’ll aim to continue his points-scoring run and remain as top Yamaha, whereas brother Galang Hendra Pratama (ProGP NitiRacing) makes it two Indonesians in the top six and heads to a track where he was on pole at in 2018.
YAMAHA, KOVE AND KTM: fighting to catch Kawasaki
ARCO SASH MotoR University Team duo Samuel Di Sora and Unai Calatayud are P7 and P8 as Yamaha’s charge to catch Kawasaki continues; Di Sora was on the rostrum at Misano back in 2021 but seeks to add to his Yamaha podium tally. Behind those two Yamahas, a third one is in ninth place with Italian star Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse), who looked to improve his top ten consistency in 2024 and so far, has finished in the top ten in all races; P7 and P6 at Misano last year are good results to welcome him back to his home round. Rounding out the top ten, Julio Garcia (Kove Racing Team) will hope his luck changes – having lost his pole in Barcelona, a crash and not being eligible to restart Race 1 at Assen and then a time penalty for exceeding track limits in Assen’s Race 2. Can he and Kove continue to show their 2024 form and bag a result that reflects their progress? Waiting to be declared fit for the round but otherwise making it all four manufacturers inside the top 11, Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) should be a welcome return to racing action this weekend after his home round crash.
WORTHY MENTIONS: home heroes, surprises and looking to bounce back at Round 3
After last year’s stunning show, Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki) aims to replicate his double that he achieved as a wildcard, whilst leading a race for the first time at Assen, Elia Bartolini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team) hopes to shine at home. Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki) has had a rather slow start to life with Kawasaki but has his sights on a home round to remember. Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) enjoyed one of his best rounds at Assen whilst Jose Manuel Osuna (DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team), Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project), David Salvador (MS Racing) and Kevin Fontainha (Yamaha AD78 FIM LA by MS Racing) are all seeking to get in the Misano mix. There are two wildcards too: Nicola Plazzi (MGIM Corse) and Matteo Bonetti (MRT Corse), both looking to follow in Bruno Ieraci’s shoes from last year.
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Source: WorldSBK.com