Thompson breaks through with WorldSSP300 ride
Carter Thompson has secured a full-time berth on the WorldSSP300 grid with MTM Kawasaki for 2025 off the back of some extremely impressive wildcard performances in the championship during 2024.
Australia’s inaugural Oceania Junior Cup Champion in 2019 went on to win ASBK’s YMF R3 Cup the following year, before moving on to the international stage with the Asia Talent Cup just as the COVID pandemic really started to impact racing around the world.
It is fair to say that the COVID interruptions somewhat stunted those initial steps abroad and it wasn’t until late 2022 that Carter hit his straps in the ATC, breaking through for pole position and a race win at Sepang.
Carter then also joined the Red Bull Rookies Cup ranks in 2023 and rounded out the top ten in the hard fought competition this year, 2024. Thompson also competed in the European Talent Cup and will continue as a Red Bull Rookie in 2025.
2024 also saw Carter stand in for an injured Petr Svoboda at selected rounds of the WorldSSP300 Championship and took to the FuSport sponsored RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki like a duck to water.
Carter scored a podium on his WorldSSP300 debut at Most then backed it up again the following round with a second place finish at Portimao.
The young Australian bagged 62-points from the four WorldSSP300 rounds he contested and that performance has earned the recently turned 17-year-old a seat in a restructured well credentialled MTM Kawasaki Team for the 2025 WorldSSP300 Championship.
Carter Thompson
“I’m pleased to be joining the MTM Kawasaki team for the FIM World SuperSport 300 Championship in 2025. I am so looking forward to this opportunity and working together with the team. Hoping to achieve the best we can every race, with as many wins and podiums as we can to achieve the end goal. Can’t wait to start 2025 with the team. Looking forward to it.”
Carter’s team-mate at the Belgian based MTM Kawasaki will be 21-year-old Italian Mirko Gennai.
Mirko Gennai
“I’m very happy to renew my agreement with MTM Kawasaki and be with a team for a second year. This season we got three wins and strong results but a bit of bad luck didn’t allow us to get more, but I’m confident we can be very strong in 2025. I have a very good feeling with all the team, now I got used to the Kawasaki Ninja 400 and I’m really looking forward to start my second season with the team and Kawasaki and try to finish on a high my career in Supersport 300.”
2025 will be the swansong for the WorldSSP300 before it is replaced by an all-new class in 2026.
Unfortunately the WorldSSP300 category does not join WorldSBK and WorldSSP for the season opener at Phillip Island in February, and instead kicks off at Portimao over the final weekend in March.
Ludo Van Der Veken – MTM Kawasaki Team Owner
“Finally we can reveal our 2025 plans and I’m really happy about the lineup we will have in World Supersport 300. I’m glad we could confirm Mirko, as we had a very strong first year together, as well as adding to the team a strong young rider like Carter Thompson, who is already a podium finisher in his first appearances in World Supersport 300. I’m really happy also to be able to welcome two more riders to our family with Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM, with Petr Svoboda, already a race winner in this championship with a great potential to show, and Roberto Fernandez, who will make his debut with us and I’m sure he can grow up a lot during this first season together with us. I want to thank all our sponsors and partners and especially Kawasaki Europe for the strong support into this project”
MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
FIM Supersport and Supersport 300 World Championships
FIM Women Circuit Racing World Championship
2025 provisional calendar as of 10 October 2024
| Date | Circuit | WorldSBK | WorldSSP | SSP300 | WCR |
| 21-23 Feb | Phillip Island | X | X | ||
| 28-30 Mar | Portimao | X | X | X | |
| 11-12 Apr | Assen | X | X | X | X |
| 2-4 May | Cremona | X | X | X | |
| 16-18 May | Most | X | X | X | |
| 13-15 Jun | Misano | X | X | X | |
| 11-13 Jul | Donington | X | X | X | |
| 25-27 Jul | Balaton Park | X | X | X | |
| 5-7 Sep | Magny-Cours | X | X | X | X |
| 26-28 Sep | Aragon | X | X | X | |
| 10-12 Oct | Estoril | X | X | X | |
| 17-19 Oct | Jerez | X | X | X | X |
