Two 11-lap races at the vast 5.077km Aragon hilltop circuit were conducted without any stoppages, with the first race victory going to Aussie rider, Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki). David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI Kawasaki) would join Thompson on the podium in second place. In Race Two, Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) was the top Kawasaki scorer, in second place.
In Superpole Qualifying, held on Friday after just one free practice session as usual, Thompson was the top Ninja 400 rider, in second place on the grid.
Salvador was fourth fastest in Superpole, with another proven WorldSSP300 race winner in recent times, Daniel Mogeda (Pons Motorsport Italika Racing Kawasaki) fifth quickest. Veneman launched from seventh place on the grid in Race One. He had set a new track best time of 2’05.145 in the Saturday morning warm-up session - and that record survived all the subsequent action at Motorland this weekend.
The opening race was, like the subsequent WorldSSP300 11-lap fight on Sunday 28 September, the final race of the day. It was thus held in warm and dry conditions, with a track temperature of 38°C at the start.
Motorland is the longest track on the WorldSBK trail, with the longest back straight. This is one factor that ensured that although eventual race winner Thompson got away from the pack at one point, their co-operative - and yet endlessly combative - slipstreaming manoeuvres allowed the avaricious pack to catch him back up again.
The action up front was as glorious as the autumnal Spanish weather, with a ten-rider group in with a chance of a podium place right to the very end.
In typical WorldSSP300 style, the top ten riders would cross the finish line separated by just 0.856 seconds.
Thompson played the cleverest last corner game to win the opening race - his second such success in his short but strong WorldSSP300 career.
Carter was just 0.037 seconds ahead of Salvador’s brightly coloured machine in second place, with championship points leader Beñat Fernandez (Kove) third. Both top Kawasaki riders on the day had fought for the lead throughout, and at the end, they swapped the lead between them five times - officially.
Continuing a strong and positive comeback into WorldSSP300 after starting the year as a WorldSSP rider, Veneman was sixth, with his near-team-mate Roberto Fernandez (Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM) seventh. Seasoned WorldSSP300 rider Mogeda placed eighth.
Having suffered a serious leg injury earlier in the year, championship contender Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) made his comeback at Motorland. Declared fit enough to ride, he finished 13th, having qualified 14th in Superpole.
Emiliano Ercolani (Kawasaki GP Project) and Daniel Ocete (Pons Motorsport Italika Racing Kawasaki) were the last two points scorers for Kawasaki in the opening race, in 14th and 15th places, respectively. Antonio Torres (Team ProDina XCI Kawasaki) was 17th and Kevin Sabatucci (Accolade Funds Smrz Racing BGR Kawasaki) 18th.
Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (ZAPPAS Deza - Box77 Racing Kawasaki) crashed out of his home event on lap three, and could not finish.
With the second race grid line-up based on the best individual Race One lap times for the top nine riders, Roberto Fernandez was second on the grid, Salvador was sixth, Mogeda seventh, and Veneman ninth. Thompson was tenth, and thus launching from the fourth row.
The second race started well once more for Thompson but a big high side exiting T5 on lap two ended his Race Two ambitions. He was largely unhurt, despite his big impact on the ground. Championship challenger Salvador would be another faller in this race. Returnee title challenger Garcia opted to pull out of the race after he dropped through the field and out of the points scoring places. Roberto Fernandez also no-scored.
In very atypical WorldSSP300 form, eventual winner Matteo Vannucci (Yamaha) took a dominant leading position and would cross the line for the 11th time a vast 10.135 seconds in the lead. His was the third biggest margin of victory in WorldSSP300 history.
Veneman was second in Race Two, heading up an almost unbroken line of riders stretching from second spot to 18th position. From second place to the final points scoring position of 15th, the riders were covered by 1.8 seconds.
Fourth in the second race was Mogeda, with Osuna Saez sixth. Antonio Torres (Team ProDina XCI Kawasaki) placed eighth, with the next Kawasaki riders being Ivan Munoz (Kawasaki GP Project) in 13th place and Ocete in 14th. Daniel was the final Kawasaki points scorer in Race Two.
After Race One the championship points table moved in one direction but after Race Two it took a different vector. Beñat Fernandez now leads Salvador by 13 points, 172 to 159. Thompson has 150 points, 22 behind the lead. Garcia, despite his bad luck on Sunday, is now fourth, with 136 points. Three more Kawasaki riders, Torres, Mogeda and Osuna Saez are inside the top ten places, ranged out from eighth to tenth. Six of the top ten championship places are now filled by Ninja 400 riders.
With two rounds and four individual races still to go in 2025, any of the top eight riders still have an arithmetical chance of individual championship glory. Realistically, five or six riders could still be crowned the last ever WorldSSP champion, given that any rider who wins all the final races will earn 100 points for their efforts.
Kawasaki still enjoys a healthy lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship table, being 64 points ahead of Yamaha and 82 ahead of Kove.
Team ProDina XCI Kawasaki leads MTM Kawasaki in the Team’s Championship by 28 points, with the Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing team 60 points from the lead.
The penultimate round of the final WorldSSP300 season will be held at the classic Portuguese venue of Circuito Estoril, near the capital city of Lisbon, between 10-12 October. The series finale will take place one weekend later, at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto.
Rider Comments
Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “Race Two was pretty difficult because there were so many crashes. It was really difficult to stay focused and really push through the lap. Suddenly my team-mate Carter crashed as well, which was really unfortunate. I just wanted to stay on the bike and finish the best I could. In the end I finished second, so I am really happy with that. I think today, that was the maximum possible. Coming from P9 on the grid to P2 is good for the Team’s Championship as well. I am happy about the Sunday race here and ready for Estoril.”
Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “The first race was really good and I felt I had good pace for the whole race. I had to keep in front the whole time and keep up a good pace every lap. The team has helped to get me a great bike this weekend, and I felt really comfortable with it. It was a great opening race. Overall, the weekend was not too bad. We had some good results and I felt comfortable all weekend. Race Two wasn’t the best as I had a crash at the start. We are still only 22 points behind in the championship so we will look forward to the next two rounds and keep pushing. Race-by-race, we will try and close the gap and I can’t wait for the final two rounds.”
David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI Kawasaki), stated: “I'm satisfied with the work done in Superpole. I had a great feeling with the bike, probably the best of the season, and my position was good. I was satisfied with the opening race, especially in terms of the championship, even though the goal was obviously to win. I feel great on the bike, and that's crucial at this stage of the season. I think it's the best feeling of the year, and I'm happy with the work we're doing. In such a competitive category, it's always a challenge to put together every detail and find the perfect strategy, but I'm ready to fight to the end. The truth is, it was a really strange race on Sunday. I felt good and had a strong position, but when there was a crash up front, I had to brake, and some riders closed in to avoid the accident. Shortly after, in the chicane, the rider in front of me crashed just as I was preparing to take the next turn. During the change of direction, his bike hit my front wheel, leaving me with no way to avoid the crash. I wasn't able to bring home any points today, but the championship is still long. Our closest rival also didn't score any points, so the situation remains open, and we're ready to continue the battle with our heads held high.”
Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport), stated: “It was a challenging Superpole qualifying session because, after my injury, I only returned to the track on Friday, and we struggled to find the right pace. Race One was a very demanding race physically, but I think the team and I made a step forward. Race Two was a pretty tough race, especially in the early stages, but we managed to stay in the group. As the laps went by, the difficulties increased, and after losing ground, I decided to stop. Now the focus is already on Estoril, where I want to find the right pace and get back to fighting with determination.”
Antonio Torres (Team ProDina XCI Kawasaki), stated: “In qualifying, to be honest, we're a little disappointed because it didn't go as we expected. However, we prefer to focus on the positives. We finished Saturday taking a step forward from Friday, even though the category remains extremely competitive. We worked on the bike and setup to try for a fast lap, but we weren't able to. The Aragon weekend ended with positive feelings. Every outing allowed us to make a step forward, and on Sunday we had an intense race, battling until the last lap. We managed to take the lead in the second group and cross the finish line in eighth place. I'm satisfied with the work done.”
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