History beckons at the Circuito Estoril as Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) looks to secure the FIM Supersport World Championship during the Estoril Round. He heads to Portugal with a sizeable margin over his rivals and he can wrap up his second World Championship on Sunday as he looks to end his WorldSSP career on a high. Both Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Stefano Manzi (Pata Prometeon Ten Kate Racing) remain in contention as they look to make it a season finale showdown.

THE TITLE FIGHT: Huertas leads by 41 points

Huertas takes a 41-point lead into Estoril with Montella in second and Manzi a further five points back. If the #99 Ducati is to take the crown, it can only be on Sunday. He’ll need to leave Estoril 50 points clear of both, meaning the title is secured if he outscores Montella by nine points and Manzi by four across the weekend. If he does win the title, Huertas will become the first rider to win both the WorldSSP300 and WorldSSP titles. Huertas took two top-eight finishes in 2022 in WorldSSP at Estoril, while Montella claimed a P4 in Race 2 in the same year; both were on Kawasaki machinery. Manzi was also at Estoril that year but did not finish either race.

CAN SCHROETTER CATCH DEBISE? A close fight for fourth

Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) have been in a close fight in 2024, with just 14 points between them heading into Estoril. Schroetter endured a tough few rounds across the summer but seems to be back to his best, while Debise has been a consistent podium contender. With little to separate the duo, who will come out on the tight for P4? Neither has raced at Estoril in WorldSSP, just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons for this battle…

CEMENTING A TOP SIX SPOT: Navarro aiming for more podiums, Caricasulo just behind…

Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) has been a revelation since his switch to the Ducati Panigale V2, often fighting for the podium and moving into sixth in the standings. He’s just ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) who’s raced at Estoril in both WorldSSP and WorldSBK and just 12 points separate the pair. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) sits eighth and he’s 22 clear of Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) in ninth, while there’s a big fight for P10 between Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) and Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph); just five points separate them.

THE WORLD SUPERSPORT CHALLENGE: Edwards vs Corsi for the title

Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) leads the WorldSSP Challenge title race ahead of Simone Corsi (Renzi Corse) but just four points separate them heading into the penultimate round. It means the title could be won by Australian rider Edwards at Estoril, although there would need to be a massive points swing in Edwards’ favour.

GRID CHANGES FOR ESTORIL: a new team for Sofuoglu, Bendsneyder set for debut

Bo Bendsneyder will make his WorldSSP debut with the MV Agusta Reparto Corse team as he replaces Bahattin Sofuoglu, with the #54 making the switch to the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team for the final two rounds of 2024. Guillermo Moreno will make his WorldSSP debut with the VIAMO Racing by MTM squad, while Goncalo Ribeiro (FIFTY Motorsport) will also be on the grid for the first time as a wildcard. Azroy Anuar is back as a wildcard with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda team. Elsewhere, Lorenzo Baldassarri (WRP by SKM-Triumph) will be hoping he’s back on track, but he’ll need to pass medical checks.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heads to the Circuito Estoril for the penultimate round of the 2024 campaign. With titles on the line, there’s plenty to be excited about for the Estoril Round. Ahead of the action getting underway, we’ve gathered some of the key numbers to whet your appetite ahead of a crucial round…

115-118 – After Andrea Iannone’s win at Aragon, Italy now has 115 wins, 3 short of Australia (3^rd all-time spot).

43 – Ducati has yet to record a pole position at Estoril. So far, they’ve recorded pole position in Superpole at 43 tracks out of 53 they’ve visited in their history.

20 – In 2021, Estoril became the 20^th track in which Jonathan Rea won, setting a new record in WorldSBK history. He then improved and is at 22 now.

16 – In the 13 races run so far at Estoril, 16 different riders stood on the podium.

15/24 – Toprak Razgatlioglu, on his return, maintained his standards, posting 3 podiums out of 3. So far, he has recorded 21 podiums out of 24 starts for BMW, and, with an 87,5% podium score, it is, at the moment, the best in history with Kevin Magee, the latter though racing only 8 times with Yamaha and posting 7 podiums. Razgatlioglu’s best challenger is Jonathan Rea, who ended his Kawasaki experience with an 80,9% podium rate (221 podiums out of 273), then…himself, who claimed 100 podiums in his 131 races for Yamaha (76,3%).

15/17 – Toprak Razgatlioglu counts 15 wins this season and is 2 short of the second all-time value of 17, recorded for the first time in 1991 by Doug Polen, and equalled only in 2018 and 2019 by Jonathan Rea. The all-time record of 27 by Bautista last year, is unreachable this season.

14 – Yamaha leads Ducati for podium finishes at Estoril: 14 to 11. Yamaha is on a streak of 11 races on the podium here started in 1993 Race 1.

9 – Estoril has so far had 9 different winners out of 13 races run. The only ones to record more than a win have been Toprak Razgatlioglu (2), and Jonathan Rea (4).

9 – Toprak Razgatlioglu is the only rider who climbed on the podium 9 times here, all his Estoril races. Jonathan Rea follows at 6.

5 – Estoril is the only track in WorldSBK history where 5 different winners won the first 5 races run (Davide Tardozzi and Stephane Mertens in 1988, Fabrizio Pirovano and Carl Fogarty in 1993, Toprak Razgatlioglu in 2020 Race 1).

4/5 – Jonathan Rea has won four of the last five races at Estoril, with Alvaro Bautista winning the other. Scott Redding has also won at Estoril, with Toprak Razgatlioglu winning twice back in 2020.

3 – On WorldSBK’s last visit to Estoril, all three races were decided on the final lap: Jonathan Rea won twice for Kawasaki, while Alvaro Bautista took one win for Ducati.

3-4 – Yamaha became the most successful manufacturer at Estoril in 2020, taking their victory tally to three, equalling Ducati, but they were overcome in 2022 as both Ducati and Kawasaki upped their tally to 4.

1 – In 2020, the Tissot Superpole Race at Estoril was the stage for the first Yamaha podium lockout in WorldSBK history.

1 – In 2020 at Estoril, Toprak Razgatlioglu took his maiden pole position, the first for a Turkish rider.

Follow all the action Estoril using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now only €9.99!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Iryna Nadieieva (MPS.RT) has a unique story to her racing career. The 29-year-old only began racing four years ago but her rapid rise has seen her compete in the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship in its inaugural season. Nadieieva revealed more about her journey to this level, the challenges she’s faced and much more.

HAILING FROM UKRAINE: more about Nadieieva

Ukraine’s 29-year-old Iryna Nadieieva is a woman of many talents who has arrived at top level racing at a relatively late age, having first ridden competitively just four years ago. As a gifted gymnast who is also adept at wakeboarding and snowboarding, she recognises that motorcycles and racing are her true passion. She proudly takes her place on the inaugural WorldWCR grid, hoping to inspire more young Ukrainians to get into racing and she dreams of one day seeing a female MotoGP™ World Champion.
 
HOW THE PASSION STARTED: “I didn’t have enough money for my own bike, so a friend and I decided to buy one together…”

Explaining how she got into riding on the road first, before taking the path into racing Nadieieva reveals: “I didn’t have enough money for my own bike, so a friend and I decided to buy a Yamaha FZ8 together. I had never been on a bike before. It was unforgettable. If it is close to your heart and you like it, you will understand that from the first moment you try it. It’s a very emotional thing. Motorcycles have given me the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life. I will never forget my first time on a bike and I will never forget my first race. I can’t imagine with what I could replace bikes in my life.” Once she had fallen in love with motorcycles, it was clear that they would eventually become an integral part of her daily life…
 
STARTING TO RACE: “My first race was at the first round of the Ukrainian championship… I crashed on the first lap on Saturday and got my first podium on Sunday!”

“My story is ‘from the road to racetrack,” says the Ukrainian rider, “I only started racing when I was 25. I wanted to improve my riding, because I wasn’t very confident in my city riding and wanted to do it better. That moment I couldn’t even imagine where this decision would lead me. I found a nice coach and in Kyiv it is difficult with track days, because we have no normal tracks, so we train on karting tracks.” She details how she has quickly made progress from smaller, local circuits and lower capacity bikes to racing at the elite level against the most talented female riders on the planet, adding: “I started on karting tracks on a small bike. My first race was at the first round of Ukrainian Superbike in 2020. I crashed on the first lap on Saturday and got my first podium on Sunday. I felt so alive and absolutely happy. At the end of the season I was second among the women and at the end of 2021 I was already first in the Women’s class and second overall in the Ukrainian STK600 class. In the following years I trained and raced on a Yamaha R1 in the Spanish Yamaha Cup. There were many failures and many victories. But the main thing is that I’m still able to learn, acquire new skills and get faster every day.”
 
FAMILY BACKGROUND: “My parents never dreamed that their daughter would race a motorcycle!”

Unlike many pro riders who have been encouraged into the sport from a young age by parents and families with a background in racing, Nadieieva has forged her own path into competitive riding. Indeed, it’s even taken some convincing through both actions and words to convince her inner circle of the beauty of racing. She openly states: “My parents never dreamed in their wildest dreams that their daughter would race a motorcycle. In my country there are a lot of stereotypes that motorcycling is an extremely dangerous and very masculine sport. My family initially took my hobby very badly. Mum cried a lot. It took me two years to prove to those around me that this is an interesting sport that requires a lot of work and professionalism. That women can be fast. That it is about discipline and willpower. Now my family supports me a lot and I know that many girls go to Ukrainian motorcycle schools because they want to be like me. This inspires me every day.”

HOPING FOR A LEGACY IN UKRAINE: “I hope that racing will develop in Ukraine, infrastructure will be built…”

“In my opinion my participation in WorldWCR is super important for my country,” Nadieieva asserts. “Racing is at a very poor level in Ukraine. We have just one racetrack, called “Chaika”. It was built in 1973 and never renovated. This season will be challenging for me and my team. Surely, we will learn a lot about racing and will be able to teach others. I hope that my participation will help to increase people’s interest in racing. I want to show how beautiful this sport is. I hope that racing will develop in Ukraine, infrastructure will be built, and many little boys and girls will be able to get a good training base to perform well in competition. Of course, I’m very proud to represent Ukraine. People in Ukraine are very persistent, hard-working. We know how not to give up and go to the end. I will try to be worthy of my country.”
 
2024 EXPERIENCE: “It’s sport at a very high level, but what I feel and what I’ve seen there is absolutely wonderful”

“I feel like the WorldSBK paddock is very friendly and very warm,” acknowledges Nadieieva, explaining what she has discovered this year to date on the WorldWCR grid. “I thought the competition would be colder maybe, but I feel it’s really good. The girls are wonderful, I like to communicate with them very much. The guys are always very helpful, and I think that the competition is very fair. It really is a very cool place to be. It feels like friends who want to compete with each other. It’s sport at a very high level, but what I feel and what I’ve seen there is absolutely wonderful.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com