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The official race report service of Kawasaki Racing Team.

5 Octobre 2022

Portugal Next Stop For Montella And Öncü

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders Can Öncü and Yari Montella head to the always popular Autodromo Internacional do Algarve this coming weekend to take part in the ninth round of the WorldSSP championship.

Öncü has a real spring in his step after a front row qualifying performance at the previous round in Catalunya, followed by not one but two podium rides.

Can jumped up to third place in the overall championship standings after his Catalunya weekend, having scored third in Race One and second place in Race Two.

He attributed his return to his personal best podium form to finding a confidence-inspiring machine set-up once again, thanks to the good work put in by the team in the pitbox.

Montella has demonstrated excellent pace several times in his rookie season but he is still seeking his first podium place in this class of racing. He has been one place from a podium trophy on two occasions - once in Estoril and again in Donington Park.

His rookie WorldSSP season has been more than solid despite his lack of production-based racing experience and he sits in sixth place in the championship, ahead of many more experienced riders.

Öncü is fourth in the championship standings and the top Kawasaki rider still, with 165 points. Montella’s 103 points put him in sixth place, with four rounds and eight races still to run at this point.

The subsequent round after Portimao will be on a whole different continent, as WorldSSP heads to the Circuito San Juan Villicum in Argentina between 21-23 October. 

Can Öncü, stated: “Although I’ve never scored great results there, I really like the Portimão track. On the back of the Barcelona results, I want to prove I’m a front-runner in Supersport. I’ll be aiming for the podium, as always, and think I have what I need to be able to achieve that again in Portugal.”

Yari Montella, stated: “I can’t wait to get back on my Kawasaki. The recent Barcelona weekend was short on results in my case, but we still showed that we can be very competitive. At Portimão we’ll work on those aspects we can improve, both in terms of my riding and the bike setup. I’m highly motivated and know and love the track, so I really hope we can run two good races.”

Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) has made a strong impact in his rookie WorldSSP season, having started from the front row at Magny Cours and currently holding a confident ninth place in the championship standings.

Tom Booth-Amos (Prodina Racing Kawasaki) has had both good and bad fortune follow his rookie WorldSSP season. He approaches Portimao in confident mood, aiming to improve on his personal best so far, which was 13th in round one at Motorland Aragon.

Ben Currie (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti Kawasaki) will be chasing more championship points, while his team-mate Jeffrey Buis (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti Kawasaki) will be looking to score his own first points in his rookie WorldSSP season.

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