Warm and sunny weather conditions welcomed the first round of the 2025 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship, from the first free practice session on Friday 28 March to the final desperate lap of Race Two on Sunday 30 March.
As is the way in the modern era of WorldSSP300 racing, Superpole Qualifying takes place on Friday afternoon, before the first race gets underway on Saturday.
Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) took a front row starting position by securing the second best lap time in a Superpole Qualifying contest that got underway around the extreme climbs and drops that characterise the 4.592km Portimao circuit. Located in the hills above the holiday playgrounds of the Algarve, Portimao is a truly modern classic hillside circuit, with a vast front straight.
Thompson was only 0.039 seconds from bagging pole for himself as the intense WorldSSP300 championship took its first steps into its ninth season of energy-driven existence.
Torres was next best Ninja 400 qualifier, with his sixth best time taking him to the second row of the grid.
On Saturday 29 March, Race One got underway in almost ideal conditions - and the usual flurry of intense race action was apparent from the first to the last of the 11-laps.
At times there were no Kawasaki riders competing inside the podium places, at other times more than one of them demonstrated race-leading ambitions. In the end not one but two Ninja 400 riders made it to the first podium ceremony.
Garcia was second, and just 0.658 seconds from race winner Jeffrey Buis (KTM). Remarkably, Julio had come through from 18th place on the grid at one of the most challenging circuits on the whole calendar.
Only 0.005 seconds behind the second-placed Garcia was seventeen-year-old Torres, who scored a famous podium at the opening round.
The finishing order behind the top three riders was incredibly close, with eight riders in all comprising the final leading breakaway group at the end.
Thompson was ranked sixth in the final analysis of Race One. He is in his second Kawasaki season but his first as a full-time MTM rider.
Thomas Alonso (Pons Motorsport Italika Racing Kawasaki) was riding within the second rank of competitors chasing the leading bunch, with a final finishing position of tenth.
Kevin Sabatucci (Accolade Funds Smrz Racing BGR Kawasaki) in 13th place and Petr Svoboda (Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM) in 14th also scored championship points in the opening race of the year. This was a comeback round for Svoboda after his most recent WorldSSP300 race was back in June last year, at Misano, before he suffered a season-ending injury.
Race Two, like the opening WorldSSP300 contest, was the last race of the final day - and once again held in fabulous warm and sunny conditions.
The WorldSSP300 Race Two start time was slightly delayed because of a red flag incident in the second WorldSBK race, but when the 11-lap race began it was a multiple rider fight from the start to the desperately close finish.
Again there was no guarantee that even one Kawasaki rider would make it onto the podium - but in reality not one but two Ninja 400 riders once again made it onto the rostrum steps. It was, notably, the same two riders who had taken podium places in Saturday’s race.
Garcia ended up in second place and Torres in third - repeating their Saturday results. The race was won - by just 0.018 seconds - by Beñat Fernandez (Kove). Torres was only 0.095 seconds from the race win himself, while riding as part of a final nine-rider warring group.
The nature of WorldSSP300 racing can be summed up by the Race Two experience of Garcia. He had been second on lap one of the race, eighth in the middle of the contest, and then a remarkably close second on the final frenetic lap.
Thompson was fourth, David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI Kawasaki) fifth and Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza - Box77 Racing Kawasaki) ninth. Once again Alonso finished tenth. Sabatucci and Svoboda were 14th and 15th, respectively, with Svoboda the final points scorer of the opening weekend.
Sunday’s race was a second successive tough one for seven-times race winner in this class, Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki). He no-scored in each of the Portimao contests after races which were disturbed by other riders and then subsequent falls.
Roberto Fernandez (Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM) was 17th in Race Two, after finishing 18th in Race One.
In the championship points, Garcia is the early leader after the first of eight rounds that make up the 2025 season. He has a total of 40 points. Race Two winner Fernandez has 38 points and teenage sensation Torres has 32. Thompson is fifth overall, with 23 points.
In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Kawasaki leads Kove by two points, 40 to 38. The Prodina XCI Kawasaki team leads in the Team’s championship, with 43 points. Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport is third with 40 and MTM Kawasaki fifth with 23.
The next round will take place in a couple of weeks, at Assen in the Netherlands, between 11-13 April.
Rider Comments
Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “Qualifying was good and in Race One I had a good feeling on the bike. The opening race went not too bad but I struggled a bit with a few things. Race Two wasn’t too bad, in the end, but I had a difficult start. I got caught up in the crash of my team-mate Mirko with another rider. I dropped back and also got hit by a few other riders along the way. I was able to catch up in the last couple of laps, but I didn’t have the best feeling with the bike in a few places. But, we made good improvements all weekend and we were fast all weekend. Now I am just looking forward to Assen.”
Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport), stated: “The first race was really good because I had started near the back of the grid. In the warmup I improved the suspension and the bike in general, and it was possible to attack in the turns. The bike was really good into the corners and I liked the set-up. So, it was possible to get on the podium. The conditions were quite difficult because it was really hot, so for the tyres it was not the best conditions. There were a lot of riders in the group on Sunday, and they were really aggressive. In the last lap I put a lot into it and I am happy because my team-mate Antonio and I repeated our podiums from Saturday.”
Antonio Torres (Team ProDina XCI Kawasaki), stated: “It was an incredible race, on a new circuit for me. I knew from day one that I liked the circuit and the track layout - it is beautiful. It is very busy and very fast, especially in the first corners where there is very strong braking. Thank you very much to my team, my sponsors and my family. I am very happy to have had a good second race and a second podium. It is incredible in my debut round for the team to have repeat podiums for both Julio and me.”
Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “Race One was an unlucky one. In the first part of the race it was difficult because of so many overtakes from many riders. That disturbed me and the group in front made two seconds of a gap on me. Afterwards I closed the gap in two laps and I did a not bad fastest lap time, which meant I started Race Two from fifth on the grid. But in the last three laps of Race One some riders stopped in T3; I had to stand the bike up and after a contact, I crashed. It is frustrating because the feeling with the bike and team has been very good, and our pace was fast.”
Petr Svoboda (Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM), stated: “In Race One it was difficult to come back after a long time away. To get used to the race pace again, and with a new team we are still understanding the bike. But we have been moving in a good way and every session we improved. I just need to find my confidence.”
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