2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 11 – Portimao
WorldSBK Superpole Race
Toprak Razgatlioglu got the holeshot from the second row to lead the field into Turn 1 in the Superpole race while Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) also got a great start as Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) lost ground.
Later on the opening lap though Bautista was gifted two places when both Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK riders crashed at Turn 5. Jonathan Rea was going for an overtake on Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and lost the front, while Alex Lowes crashed at the same corner in a separate incident.
On Lap 5, Bautista got ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) to move into second place and soon set his sights on Razgatlioglu ahead. Bautista’s pace was quicker than the Yamaha ahead and he used this to his advantage at the start of Lap 8 to get alongside but the Turk responded under braking to maintain the lead. He tried again on the start of Lap 9 but remained in second and set up a final lap showdown. A moment over the hill on the penultimate lap cost him time but he was still able to attack on the straight into Turn 1, but Razgatlioglu defended the lead. A big slide for the Yamaha into Turn 13 allowed Bautista to close in and the reigning Champion pipped his rival by 0.142s.
Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) came out out on top in a thrilling scrap for fourth. He was just two-tenths ahead of Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in fifth.
WorldSBK Superpole Race Results
Pos | No. Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | A. Bautista | Ducati | 16m43.715 |
2 | T Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +0.142 |
3 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha | +4.024 |
4 | R. Gardner | Yamaha | +6.984 |
5 | I. Lecuona | Honda | +7.236 |
6 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati | +7.549 |
7 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW | +8.387 |
8 | G. Gerloff | BMW | +9.898 |
9 | X. Vierge | Honda | +11.003 |
10 | P. Oettl | Ducati | +11.230 |
11 | A. Bassani | Ducati | +11.362 |
12 | L. Baz | BMW | +12.751 |
13 | S. Redding | BMW | +12.806 |
14 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha | +13.053 |
15 | D. Petrucci | Ducati | +13.609 |
16 | L. Baldassarri | Yamaha | +18.858 |
17 | B. Ray | Yamaha | +21.305 |
18 | T Rabat | Kawasaki | +21.363 |
19 | H. Syahrin | Honda | +23.818 |
20 | I. Vinales | Kawasaki | +24.348 |
21 | G. Ruiu | BMW | +31.299 |
Not Classified | |||
RET | A. Lowes | Kawasaki | 3 Laps |
RET | J. Rea | Kawasaki | 9 Laps |
NS | O. Konig | Kawasaki | / |
WorldSBK Race Two
Alvaro Bautista’s start briefly kept him ahead of Razgatlioglu but the Turk moved into the lead under braking into Turn 1 before pulling out a slight gap. However, the reigning Champion used his advantage to get alongside heading into Turn 1 at the start of Laps 2, 3 and 4. The Yamaha star resisted under braking although on the latter occasion, Bautista cut back through Turn 2 before Toprak again got back ahead at Turn 3.
It was a similar story on Lap 5 despite being ahead for longer down the straight but Toprak’s strength came into its own heading into Turn 1 as he out-braked Bautista yet again.
On Lap 6, Bautista was able to hold the lead through Turn 1 but Toprak came back at his rival at Turn 5 but, on Lap 7, Bautista was able to pass him again.
The pair swapped positions over the following laps and at the start of Lap 11 although Bautista cutback through the next corner although Razgatlioglu responded into the right-hand hairpin of Turn 3.
Lap 12, Bautista was able to hold the lead through the first three corners after passing his rival at Turn 1, but it was short-lived. At the left-hand hairpin at Turn 5, the Turk outbraked the Spaniard and passed him. Toprak pulled out a gap of around half-a-second which allowed him to hold the lead on Lap 16, and on Lap 17 Bautista hit the front again for the lead before Razgatlioglu then demoted him to second once again at Turn 13.
A lap later and Bautista once again overtook on the run into Turn 1 while Razgatlioglu re-passed him at Turn 5. On the penultimate lap, the Spaniard was ahead heading into Turn 5 before running wide, allowing his rival through, before a final lap showdown. Razgatlioglu led heading into the final corner, but Bautista was able to get the better of the Yamaha on the run to the line, with the duo separated by 0.126s.
Behind the epic scrap for the win, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) battled from the second row in the early stages to claim a podium finish. At times, it looked like he would close in on the duo ahead but had to settle for third as he finished 1.764s down on the lead riders.
Garrett Gerloff’s (Bonovo Action BMW) impressive form continued as he finished in fourth once again, concluding a strong weekend for both the American and BMW.
He was only a second away from a first BMW podium as he finished three-seconds ahead of Andrea Locatelli.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) ended the Portuguese Round with sixth after starting from outside the top ten, the second round in a row he’s completed an epic fightback.
Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) continued Honda’s uptick in form with seventh, although the Japanese manufacturer did lose more ground to BMW in their Manufacturers’ Championship fight. He was less than a second behind ‘Petrux’ while he also fended off Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) by just 0.108s as the Swiss rider fought his way through the field for P8.
Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) was ninth with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) completing the top ten.
Rea started from tenth on the grid following his Superpole Race crash but was involved in a Lap 1, Turn 3 collision with Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC). Rea was given a Long Lap Penalty by the FIM Stewards for irresponsible riding, but he was able to fight back to take tenth, seven-seconds behind Oettl ahead.
Despite getting another great start, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) dropped down the order. The Dutchman was one of only two riders to use the SC2 front while the rest of the field used the SC1 option. He was just over a second back from Rea while he had a charging Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) – his 2024 replacement – in 12th. Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) took 13th ahead of Redding and Vierge who battled to 14th after the Lap 1 incident to claim points.
Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had been running in the points but dropped to 16th, and just over a second away from Vierge, while Isaac Vinales (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was three tenths back from his compatriot in 17th. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was 18th with Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing) the last classified rider in 19th, only 0.022s behind the Brit.
Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) had, again, been enjoying a strong race and ran in the podium places in the early stages before being forced to retire with a technical problem on Lap 11.
WorldSBK Race Two Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | A. Bautista | Ducati | 33m43.228 |
2 | T Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +0.126 |
3 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati | +1.764 |
4 | G. Gerloff | BMW | +2.864 |
5 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha | +6.373 |
6 | D. Petrucci | Ducati | +9.305 |
7 | I. Lecuona | Honda | +10.154 |
8 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha | +10.262 |
9 | P. Oettl | Ducati | +12.253 |
10 | J. Rea | Kawasaki | +19.155 |
11 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW | +20.468 |
12 | A. Bassani | Ducati | +20.970 |
13 | L. Baldassarri | Yamaha | +23.800 |
14 | S. Redding | BMW | +29.871 |
15 | X. Vierge | Honda | +41.408 |
16 | T Rabat | Kawasaki | +42.685 |
17 | I. Vinales | Kawasaki | +42.967 |
18 | B. Ray | Yamaha | +51.507 |
19 | G. Ruiu | BMW | +51.529 |
Not Classified | |||
RET | R. Gardner | Yamaha | 9 Laps |
RET | L. Baz | BMW | 15 Laps |
RET | H. Syahrin | Honda | DNF |
WorldSBK Quotes
Alvaro Bautista – 566 points
“A really exciting weekend. I certainly didn’t expect to score a hat-trick and what makes me particularly proud is that I won fighting every corner with Toprak, who I congratulate because he was a really tough but always fair opponent. I have to admit that I enjoyed it very much: he never allowed me to match my pace, attacking me on every lap. I stayed focused, trying not to make mistakes. The championship? I’ll tell you the truth: it’s only fair that the title is awarded at Jerez and I hope many fans come for the round”.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – 506 points
“End of the race I am not happy, we give everything – every corner – but again we lose the win because especially on the last corner exit, Alvaro and his bike are very strong. Just I am angry because every corner we are pushing more than 100 per cent and only the last corner, the Ducati pass me. This is not easy for me to accept, because the feeling is that it is unbelievable – not real. I see the chequered flag and he pass me, if he passed me on the corner entry, this is easier to accept. My team did a really good job, I know, but in general I am not happy because we are not winning. This race I am just focus on winning, especially last four or five laps it was not easy to ride, I felt the front brakes locking and rear tyre drop – I tried more than 100% and I am still fighting. I say, I am not closing the gas, I push a lot to win and to finish second like this is not easy to accept. Thanks to Yamaha and my team, also everyone watching for your support, I am always fighting and never give up. I will try again to fight for the win in Jerez.”
Jonathan Rea – 350 points
“A day to forget. Two big mistakes, the first one of them being in the Superpole Race. I was committed to a pass on Andrea and was just closing in. To not put him at risk I entered a bit faster on the inside to go clear of him but just touched the kerb and that was the end of my race. It had a huge knock on effect for Race Two as I was then starting from P10. I arrived in T3 alongside Bassani. I got a little bit squeezed and just ran out of track position a little bit too fast. I was on the front and rear brakes, trying to slow down but I hit Xavi Vierge. I saw him straight after the race and tried to apologise because I am so sorry for that. And for Scott Redding as well, as he was involved in the mix up. I took my long lap and tried to focus on my lap time. I had lost my rear brake lever. Without my rear brake in my hand I struggled to enter the corners in the same way as usual, so the pace was a bit slower and only enough to come back to P10. A day to forget, really.”
Andrea Locatelli – 300 points
“It was an amazing Superpole Race to finish on P3 and start again in the same position for Race 2. Unfortunately, it was a strange weekend to start from last on the grid yesterday and I lost the opportunity to work very well like we always do in a normal Race 1, to understand the bike and prepare for Sunday. So – this afternoon it was a little bit more difficult for me and we were a bit on the back foot in some small points – especially after 15 laps. But, in the end it was still a positive weekend – no mistakes, we got some good points and we were fast in the Superpole. We need just a little bit of improvement on the feeling, especially in the front, but I think we can say it was another very good weekend. I’m always pushing to try to be stronger, to finish the season well and try to prepare for the next season because it is important for me and for Yamaha.”
Michael Rinaldi – 244 points
“Unfortunately the yellow flag that took me off the front row in qualifying on Saturday affected the whole weekend. In Race 1 we also had a technical problem that forced me to retire. This morning I tried to manage the Superpole Race well in order to start a few rows ahead in Race-2 and I succeeded. I remained focused all the time, without giving up and I think this podium is the right reward for the bad luck we had on Saturday”.
Danilo Petrucci – 205 points
“This weekend hasn’t gone as well as Aragon. We were fast but I struggled to exploit the SCX tyre. It’s a high-performance tyre but I am unable to use it in the right way. In race 2 I tried to make up places and succeeded, but these are not the kind of results I expect. We move on.”
Xavi Vierge – 140 points
“We’ve finished what has been a very strange weekend with many unexpected events that didn’t really come down to our work or choices. But the good thing is that we were able to react well to each setback and fight back. We worked well in terms of the bike setup, taking another step compared to yesterday, and I was able to finish ninth in the Superpole, so inside the top ten which was our target. Then we adjusted the bike a little more for race 2 but some bad luck quite literally hit us again, when another rider made contact and caused me to crash. I re-joined the race and tried to fight back as much as I could. One point is what it is, but at least I was able to appreciate that the feeling of the bike was better than yesterday, and if I’d had chance to run a ‘normal’ race, I think I could have fought as hard as my teammate, who had a strong weekend. We take the positives anyway, in that we worked well all weekend. Now we will reset and move on to Jerez stronger than ever.”
Alex Lowes – 140 points
“A disappointing day, obviously. My start was not that bad in the Superpole Race, and it is always good to be starting near the front. It was a little bit better than Jonathan’s but then he came past in T1. I was trying not to be too aggressive, but at the start of those Superpole races if you do not attack you get attacked. So I was just on the back of Jonny; had a little look in T3, and as we went into T4 I had a really good run but I stayed to the right of him. I could see that he made to go past Locatelli. I cut to the apex rather than stay on the outside and maybe get caught in this issue, so I cut into the inside. But I couldn’t see, I got blindsided and hit the inside of the corner. It is a shame because I think I would have had a good chance. Even when the team repaired the bike when I went back out, my pace was for the top five. I went sprinting towards my bike, full of adrenaline, but we know that it is not too long since I had knee surgery. When I went out again I was not 100 per cent. So I will go home, reset and try to finish the year strongly in Jerez.”
Remy Gardner – 139 points
“Overall we had a positive weekend, although we had bad luck in Race 2. In the Superpole Race I had a great fight, managing to grab fourth, which allowed me to achieve a much better starting position for Race 2. There, I had a good getaway, but I was still missing a bit of pace on fresh tyres. Anyway, I started to get back and close the gap, I think I could have had good pace towards the end, but unfortunately a technical problem forced me to retire. Nevertheless, the balance is positive, we showed great speed. There’s still a lot of work to do and a lot to learn, but we’re putting things together and I hope we can enjoy a great season finale.”
Dominique Aegerter – 138 points
“In the Warm Up we made a good step forward and then in the Superpole Race I was improving my feeling once more, but unfortunately ten laps weren’t enough to fully show my potential. Then, in the second race, I could enjoy a good ride showing great pace towards the end. I tried to go for P6, but I went wide and dropped to P8 at the end, which is a bit of a shame, but the performance is there. I’d like to thank the team for their efforts, it wasn’t just about myself. I’m always asking a lot from the team, and they always deliver, so I wanted to give them something back today. I’ll enjoy a bit of recovery time as I still have some pain in my elbow and shoulder, and then I’ll be 100 per cent ready for the season finale.”
Iker Lecuona – 136 points
“I’m really happy overall with the work we’ve done this weekend. I was expecting to struggle more here to be honest. The team did a good job and we basically kept the same bike setup right from Friday, which is always a very good sign. The Superpole race was a really good one, at one point I thought the podium was possible but then I realized that I needed to cool down on the bike so as not to destroy the tyres. P5 in the end was a very good result, fighting in the group and closing just three seconds from the podium, and also securing a good starting position for Race 2. A starting position that for once I didn’t waste, because I didn’t gain over the first lap but didn’t lose ground either. I was able to ride very fast for several laps, until the first big tyre drop came mid-race, causing me some chattering. I had to manage the situation the best I could, and when Danilo and Dominique caught me, I was able to fend off the latter but not the former. Having said that, we again managed to limit the gap to the front and score a positive P7 that also gives me some good points. I’m very happy and now we have three weeks to re-charge and prepare for the last round of the season in a very positive frame of mind.”
Garrett Gerloff – 135 points
“After qualifying I didn’t think that two fourth-places would be possible at all but I guess that’s something I need to learn about myself, not to count myself out. Race two was the end of a really great weekend. I wasn’t exactly fighting for the podium, but I was close. Until the last lap, I thought, maybe I can catch Rinaldi. In the end, I am just super happy about how the bike feels and how the whole team is working together. I can’t ask for much more. I am really happy! We have only one round left in the year, but I would really love to end on a high note. It was very cool and we are making progress.”
Scott Redding – 118 points
“It has been a very disappointing weekend. I struggled a lot to find my rhythm and a feeling for the bike. That made it impossible to attack. The whole team has been working hard over the entire weekend and we tried a lot of different things in the sessions but we haven’t been able to find the right solution. We now have a few weeks off, time for all of us to recharge after the double-header, and then we aim to come back much stronger at the season finale.”
Loris Baz – 57 points
“We knew that the Superpole race was going to be the only funny one, let’s say. I was trying hard to get in the points, but it was not possible, but I had fun battling with the other riders in the group, so that was good. In race two, I had to start form the pitlane again. Luckily for me there was some trouble with the other guys in the first corner, so I lost less time than yesterday and I was not far behind Scott and Johnny. We were coming back and I was just trying to push really hard in order to get some points. There was nothing to lose for me anymore. I was pushing really hard and just over-pushed the limit in turn one. We were trying the SC2 front hard for today and maybe that was not helping over those bumps in turn one. It was a pretty big one, but I am ok. We will see. There is some time to recover and then we head to the last round.”
Michael van der Mark – 48 points
“I am really happy with the weekend overall. From Friday on, I straight away felt very good on the bike. We keep working on the bike but we just made small changes. I am really happy with this weekend’s results. This morning P7 in the Superpole race, I was quite happy with it. I saw that I just miss some race rhythm but anyway, I was really satisfied. The field is so close and you must have a good start position. So it was P7 on the grid for race two. I had a really good start. Unfortunately in turn one, I was a bit unlucky and then I couldn’t gain the places back. And honestly I struggled a bit, I just didn’t feel as good as I felt before. But it’s another race under our belt, we scored some good points and most of all, I enjoyed riding this weekend very much.”
Team Managers
Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Team Principal
“I don’t think either myself or the team has ever been more disappointed with a double podium this morning and a second place this afternoon. Normally in life, you get what you deserve – but I really felt today, especially in Race 2, that Toprak’s spirit, efforts and speed absolutely deserved a victory. Of course, Alvaro is also riding spectacularly well – Race 2 demonstrated two riders at the absolute peak of their abilities – but coming out on the wrong side of the win in the last corner twice today was pretty devastating. On Loka’s side: great qualifying, great third place this morning and a slightly disappointing end to Race 2 slipping back from podium contention to fifth in the last few laps. Thanks to both riders and the full Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team for maximising our performance as always.”
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“In general, our overall summary of the weekend is very positive. Let’s start with the challenging points. It was a tough weekend for Scott. He couldn’t find his rhythm. We tried a lot but we have not been able to move him up the field. Loris faced a difficult starting position as he had to start from the pit lane in the main races due to an extra engine we had to incur for him. The penalty is particularly harsh here compared to other tracks because the distance to the pit lane exit is quite long. Unfortunately, he crashed in the second main race. Now, onto the very positive aspects. It was extremely gratifying to see that Michael, just as he did at Aragón, came into great form in the first race here. He had a lot of confidence from the first practice session on and genuinely enjoyed riding. Kudos to Mickey for being able to put two serious injuries behind him mentally. He knows that he still needs to work on his physical condition, but this weekend was extremely positive. Last but not least, Garrett who had already shown an incredibly strong performance in the recent races, and bringing home two fourth-place finishes in the main races here is fantastic. He was not far from the podium in the end. Certainly, the top two riders held each other up a bit, but we were less than three seconds behind the winner. This fills me with great confidence for the season finale and also for the winter, to then attack as a team right from the beginning next year.”
World Superbike Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Alvaro Bautista | 566 |
2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 506 |
3 | Jonathan Rea | 350 |
4 | Andrea Locatelli | 300 |
5 | Axel Bassani | 244 |
6 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 233 |
7 | Danilo Petrucci | 205 |
8 | Xavi Vierge | 140 |
9 | Alex Lowes | 140 |
10 | Remy Gardner | 139 |
11 | Dominique Aegerter | 138 |
12 | Iker Lecuona | 136 |
13 | Garrett Gerloff | 135 |
14 | Scott Redding | 118 |
15 | Philipp Oettl | 102 |
16 | Loris Baz | 57 |
17 | Michael Van Der Mark | 48 |
18 | Bradley Ray | 19 |
19 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | 15 |
20 | Tom Sykes | 11 |
21 | Hafizh Syahrin | 10 |
22 | Leon Haslam | 2 |
23 | Florian Marino | 1 |
24 | Hannes Soomer | 1 |
25 | Tito Rabat | 1 |
26 | Isaac Vinales | 1 |
27 | Ivo Miguel Lopes | 1 |
WorldSSP Race Two
Newly-crowned Champion Bulega got the holeshot but his lead only lasted a couple of laps as Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) came through at Turn 3 on Lap 3 to take the lead. Two laps later and Bulega was demoted to third behind the rapid Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) at Turn 1. On Lap 6, Montella pulled off the same move on Manzi to claim the lead.
At the start of Lap 9, Manzi gave Montella a taste of his own medicine as he overtook him at Turn 1 but, like when the positions were reversed, the pressure was kept on. Manzi was able to keep his pace in the 1’43s for longer than Montella and Bulega but his Lap 12 time was in the 1’44s with the trio staying close together. On Lap 14, the lead swapped again. Montella got a good run out of the final corner and was able to get ahead into Turn 1 before the pair swapped again a lap later.
On Lap 16, Montella ran wide from second at Turn 3 which allowed Bulega ahead of him to fight his year-long adversary for victory. On the final lap, Bulega made his move for the lead at Turn 1 with Manzi fighting back. The Yamaha rider was ahead into Turn 9 but the 2023 Champion pulled off an incredible move through Turn 9 to take the lead, albeit briefly. Manzi responded through Turns 10 and 11 before holding on for victory with just 0.084s between the two.
Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) secured third in the World Championship as he took fourth, finishing three-seconds behind Montella on the podium. He was 1.6 seconds clear of Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) in fifth.
Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) bounced back from his Race 1 crash to take a top six finish and he had a similar margin to Caricasulo as the #62 did to Schroetter.
Spanish rookie Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was unable to back up his Race 1 rostrum as he finished seventh with the #9 losing ground at the start. It was a thrilling battle between Navarro and Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) on a race to the line, with Navarro resisting the WorldSSP veteran by just 0.036s. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was ninth with Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (PTR Triumph) completing the top ten.
It was a strong weekend for wildcard rider for Yeray Ruiz (MDR Offitec Yamaha) as he scored points again, finishing 11th in Race 2 and narrowly missing out on a top-ten spot by just six tenths. However, he was also only 0.041s ahead of Tom Edwards (Yart – Yamaha WorldSSP Team) in 12th with the Australian finishing as the lead WorldSSP Challenge rider in his final race of the season.
Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) secured 13th and was only half-a-second away from Edwards while he had a near five-second lead over John McPhee (D34G Racing) in 14th.
Tom Edwards – P12
“This round brings an end to my 2023 campaign in Europe, and it was pleasing to finish on such a strong note. It was a huge effort from the team all weekend and I’m stoked to reward them with the round win in the World SSP challenge and hope to be able to get back here in 2024 and continue to make progress in my racing.”
Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) started in the top ten but finished in 15th after a double Long Lap Penalty. The Turkish star was deemed to have jumped the start and was penalised, with the #61 taking his penalties on Laps 5 and 6 before fighting back for a point. He was ahead of Alvaro Diaz (Arco Yart Yamaha WorldSSP) in 16th and Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 17th. Sofuoglu was running in the top ten but a Turn 5 crash on Lap 14 dropped him out of contention. Young Australian Luke Power was 19th.
Luke Power – P19
“Overall it was a good weekend, one of my best weekends in world supersport to date so I’m really happy with that. Friday’s first free practice wasn’t too bad considering I had never seen the track before on any bike let alone a 600, and we steadily made steps throughout the weekend. FP2 was a bit difficult but we learned quite a bit from it and that helped us make a big step in qualifying and another big step in race one. There are still some things I need to work on which have been affecting me all year, but I was quite proud of both races, especially my pace in latter part. I have struggled in the opening laps in a lot of the races but in race two the first five laps were strong, and I felt much more comfortable. I am really proud to have ridden for Motozoo ME AIR Kawasaki this season, so I want to say a massive thank you to the team for all the hard work they’ve put in this year. I want to thank my manager; all my sponsors and supporters and I want to thank all the fans who took the time to talk me during the season. It was a lot of fun being on the Paddock Show again in Portugal, at least this time I wasn’t dressed as a watermelon. My mum and girlfriend made it over for the last couple of races which was nice but now its time for me head back to the UK and get ready for my visit to EICMA and to start work on 2024!”
There were three retirements in Race 2, with two due to technical issues. Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo ME AIR Racing), who also had issues in the Warm Up session, retired on the opening lap after bringing his bike into the pits. Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) had been running well but a technical issue meant he was forced to retire. Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was the third and final retirement after he crashed his Kawasaki ZX-6R at Turn 13 on Lap 15.
WorldSSP Race Two Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | S Manzi | Yamaha | 29m30.593 |
2 | N Bulega | Ducati | +0.084 |
3 | Y Montella | Ducati | +3.278 |
4 | M. Schroetter | MV | +6.300 |
5 | F Caricasulo | Ducati | +7.905 |
6 | G Van Straalen | Yamaha | +9.427 |
7 | JNavarro | Yamaha | +13.325 |
8 | R De Rosa | Ducati | +13.361 |
9 | L Dalla Porta | Yamaha | +16.393 |
10 | N Tuuli | Triumph | +17.832 |
11 | Y Ruiz | Yamaha | +18.475 |
12 | T Edwards | Yamaha | +18.516 |
13 | O. Vostatek | Triumph | +19.090 |
14 | J Mcphee | Ducati | +24.006 |
15 | C Oncu | Kawasaki | +34.248 |
16 | A Diaz | Yamaha | +34.768 |
17 | B Sofuoglu | MV | +38.235 |
18 | A Sarmoon | Yamaha | +38.670 |
19 | L Power | Kawasaki | +39.476 |
20 | T Mackenzie | Honda | +39.802 |
21 | M. Norrodin | Honda | +42.559 |
22 | M. Kofler | Ducat | +42.804 |
23 | A Migno | Honda | +58.355 |
24 | T Smits | Yamaha | +1m05.283 |
25 | Y Okaya | Kawasaki | +1m05.436 |
26 | M Abe | Yamaha | +1m26.909 |
Not Classified | |||
RET | A Huertas | Kawasaki | 2 Laps |
RET | V Debise | Yamaha | 9 Laps |
RET | T Booth-Amos | Kawasaki | 16 Laps |
World Supersport Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Nicolo Bulega | 453 |
2 | Stefano Manzi | 368 |
3 | Marcel Schroetter | 293 |
4 | Federico Caricasulo | 231 |
5 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | 168 |
6 | Valentin Debise | 160 |
7 | Niki Tuuli | 151 |
8 | Yari Montella | 145 |
9 | Jorge Navarro | 145 |
10 | Raffaele De Rosa | 129 |
11 | Glenn Van Straalen | 121 |
12 | Adrian Huertas | 111 |
13 | Nicholas Spinelli | 74 |
14 | Can Oncu | 68 |
15 | Tom Booth-Amos | 56 |
16 | John Mcphee | 55 |
17 | Tarran Mackenzie | 40 |
18 | Lucas Mahias | 37 |
19 | Lorenzo Dalla Porta | 29 |
20 | Oliver Bayliss | 26 |
21 | Tom Edwards | 26 |
22 | Simone Corsi | 23 |
23 | Anupab Sarmoon | 22 |
24 | Andy Verdoia | 21 |
25 | Adam Norrodin | 20 |
26 | Ondrej Vostatek | 12 |
27 | Thomas Gradinger | 10 |
28 | Federico Fuligni | 10 |
29 | Filippo Fuligni | 10 |
30 | Yeray Ruiz | 10 |
31 | Johan Gimbert | 9 |
32 | Andrea Mantovani | 9 |
33 | Simon Jespersen | 6 |
34 | Alvaro Diaz | 6 |
35 | Harry Truelove | 5 |
36 | Maximilian Kofler | 4 |
37 | Luca Ottaviani | 4 |
38 | Apiwath Wongthananon | 4 |
39 | Andreas Kofler | 3 |
40 | Marco Bussolotti | 2 |
41 | Luke Power | 1 |
42 | Stefano Valtulini | 1 |
43 | Rhys Irwin | 1 |
44 | Adrian Fernandez Gonzalez | 1 |
WorldSSP300 Race Two
History was made in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship on Sunday at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) was crowned the first-ever two-time World Champion in the class with his P11 finish as his title rival finished second following a post-race penalty. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) took the win after Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez’s (Accolade Smrz Racing GBR) one-place penalty dropped him behind the Italian in Race 2 of the Pirelli Portuguese Round.
After the first lap there was a lead group of six involving both Perez Gonzalez and Buis as the title contenders went for the World Championship although his soon became seven when Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) bridged the gap. On Lap 3, Perez Gonzalez was in a lead group of two with him and Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) but the chasing group of five weren’t far behind. Gennai took the lead through Turn 12 on Lap 4 when Buis was running third although the lead duo still had a big margin over the chasing group, but by Lap 5 the #6 was starting to lap quicker than his rival.
On Lap 7, Buis dropped down to tenth – enough to win the title as he needed to be in the top 13 – with the lead group bunching up to be the top 12. This reduced to 11 when Julio Garcia (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) took his Long Lap Penalty on Lap 7, which he was given for irresponsible riding. He had been in the top four in the early stages. As the two-thirds distance was reached, the top two had clearly pulled away with Perez Gonzalez and Gennai trading first place.
Buis was content to sit in P11 behind the second group with the Dutchman consistently looking over his shoulder to see where the third group was. He had a big margin over this, and 11th place was enough for Buis to take his second WorldSSP300 Champion – the first rider to achieve this feat. Meanwhile, the battle for the lead was intensifying as the last lap started with Perez Gonzalez taking the lead at Turn 1 on the final lap. On the run into Turn 5, the pair made contact when running side-by-side with the #26 holding the lead. The #73 crossed the line but a one-place penalty for irresponsible riding dropped him to second behind Gennai.
It was Gennai’s fourth win and third at Portimao after winning here in 2022, tying him with Bahattin Sofuoglu in seventh. Perez Gonzalez thought he was celebrating a maiden win, but the penalty means he took his fourth podium, tying him with Inigo Iglesias and Humberto Maier for podiums without a win.
Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) was third as he led a six-rider group in the battle for third as the German took his seventh podium in WorldSSP300. Daniel Mogeda (ProGP Racing) was the closest rider to the rostrum as he finished 0.047s behind the 360, while Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) was fifth. Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) was sixth with Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) and Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) in seventh and eighth. This group were separated by just four tenths at the end of the 13-lap race.
Britain’s Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) was ninth and he was less than a second away from the podium-battling group, finishing ahead of Humberto Maier (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team) in tenth. Buis was 11th as he wrapped up the title while the battle for 12th went right to the line. Julio Garcia took 12th after his Long Lap Penalty but he was only 0.001s clear of teammate Kevin Sabatucci. Kevin Fontainha (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team) was 14th ahead of Devis Bergamini (ProGP Racing) who completed the points-paying positions.
There were three retirements in the race. Marco Gaggi’s (Team BrCorse) bike had to be pushed off the starting grid and into the pits with the Race 1 podium finisher unable to take part in the race. Marc Garcia (China Racing Team) had to start from the pit lane due to exceeding the engine allocation rules, and the Spaniard brought his bike into the pits as did Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) with a couple of laps to go.
Jeffrey Buis
2023 WorldSSP300 Champion
“On the last laps of Race Two I knew if I stayed in the position I was in I would be World Champion, so I didn’t want to take any risks inside the group, just in case another rider made a stupid mistake and took me out. So for this reason I stayed out a little bit. I just did my race and took the points I needed. I am a two-times champion and it is incredible to have the best stats in the WorldSSP300 championship. You have to be very consistent in this class, and use your head, like I did today. Sometimes you have to think and sometimes you have to fight.”
WorldSSP300 Race Two Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | M. Gennai | Yamaha | 25m05.568 |
2 | J Perez Gonzalez | Kawasaki | +0.002 |
3 | D. Geiger | KTM | +6.446 |
4 | D. Mogeda | Kawasaki | +6.493 |
5 | M. Vannucci | Yamaha | +6.518 |
6 | G Hendra Pratama | Yamaha | +6.553 |
7 | L Veneman | Kawasaki | +6.656 |
8 | S Di Sora | Kawasaki | +6.864 |
9 | F Seabright | Kawasaki | +7.579 |
10 | H Maier | Yamaha | +7.983 |
11 | J Buis | Kawasaki | +12.465 |
12 | J Garcia | Kawasaki | +17.947 |
13 | K Sabatucci | Kawasaki | +17.948 |
14 | K Fontainha | Yamaha | +18.280 |
15 | D Bergamini | Yamaha | +18.283 |
16 | R Bijman | Yamaha | +18.359 |
P Tonn | KTM | +18.365 | |
18 | U Calatayud | Yamaha | +18.375 |
19 | T Alberto | Kawasaki | +18.483 |
20 | J Uriostegui | Yamaha | +32.399 |
21 | M. Martella | Kawasaki | +33.663 |
22 | T Alonso | Kawasaki | +33.851 |
23 | R Tragni | Yamaha | +33.985 |
24 | D Borges | Kawasaki | +34.232 |
25 | I Peristeras | Yamaha | +34.503 |
26 | A Zanca | Kawasaki | +34.550 |
27 | C Clark | Kawasaki | +40.370 |
Not Classified | |||
RET | P Svoboda | Kawasaki | 2 Laps |
RET | M. Garcia | Kove | 2 Laps |
RET | M. Gaggi | Yamaha | DNF |
World Supersport 300 Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Jeffrey Buis | 207 |
2 | Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez | 200 |
3 | Mirko Gennai | 180 |
4 | Dirk Geiger | 174 |
5 | Matteo Vannucci | 155 |
6 | Petr Svoboda | 121 |
7 | Humberto Maier | 113 |
8 | Loris Veneman | 109 |
9 | Daniel Mogeda | 108 |
10 | Marco Gaggi | 106 |
11 | Samuel Di Sora | 98 |
12 | Kevin Sabatucci | 96 |
13 | Fenton Seabright | 90 |
14 | Bruno Ieraci | 57 |
15 | Jose Manuel Osuna Saez | 57 |
16 | Lennox Lehmann | 46 |
17 | Julio Garcia | 46 |
18 | Ruben Bijman | 37 |
19 | Galang Hendra Pratama | 37 |
20 | Devis Bergamini | 35 |
21 | Enzo Valentim | 34 |
22 | Aldi Satya Mahendra | 25 |
23 | Marc Garcia | 22 |
24 | Alessandro Zanca | 18 |
25 | Kevin Fontainha | 15 |
26 | Ioannis Peristeras | 13 |
27 | Unai Calatayud | 9 |
28 | Walid Khan | 6 |
29 | Maxim Repak | 6 |
30 | Juan Pablo Uriostegui | 5 |
31 | Tomas Alonso | 4 |
32 | Raffaele Tragni | 3 |
33 | Yeray Saiz Marquez | 3 |
34 | Marc Vich Gil | 2 |
35 | Troy Alberto | 2 |
36 | Mattia Martella | 1 |
2023 FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar | ||||
Date | Circuit | WSBK | WSSP600 | WSSP300 |
29-Sep-01 Oct | Algarve | X | X | X |