Friday at Most dawned wet after overnight rain, but in a dry afternoon Free Practice session Petr Svoboda (Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) was out in front at his home circuit, finishing 0.252 seconds ahead of another Kawasaki hopeful Perez Gonzalez, who rides for a Czech-based team, which simply added to the happiness of the home fans.
On Saturday morning, after the Superpole qualifying session that determines the grid places, Perez Gonzalez had secured the top pre-race spot with 1’46.162. Frenchman Samuel Di Sora (Prodina Kawasaki) placed eighth, Svoboda was finally ninth and Mexican rider Juan Pablo Uriostegui (Team 109 Kawasaki) rounded out the top ten in qualifying.
Race One, held over 14 laps, started in dry conditions at 12.40 local time and had a dramatic start when there were two sets of crashes into Turn One, with the 31 competing riders braking from high speed to an almost dead-stop right hander. Many of them had to stop as one crash near the head of the field, and one subsequent melee nearer the midfield, saw some riders fall or run wide meaning others simply had to come to a halt to avoid the fallen bikes.
The race had been artificially split up even at that point, but the arrival of light rain, which got heavier and heavier, made the situation even more complicated for all the riders. The conditions determining many top rider’s eventual outcomes in the race classification.
The top finishing Ninja 400 rider proved to be Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project Kawasaki) who recorded his first podium finish in WorldSSP300, after he stayed out on slick tyre throughout. Taking risks and getting a reward for his skill and control in treacherous riding conditions, he scored 16 championship points in one ride.
Very unusually for this class of racing, all the pit stops for tyre changes and other incidents saw the podium trio spread out over 26 seconds - and the top ten covered by one minute and 21 seconds.
Svoboda would stay on slick tyres in Race One and look set for a fifth place until the fast finishing Perez Gonzalez, who had come in to change to wet weather tyres, passed him and then eased Svoboda out to sixth place.
Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) was one of those caught up in the opening lap chaos, but he recovered to finish seventh after pitting to change tyres.
2020 World Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) was ninth and his team-mate Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) tenth. Veneman was a first corner, first lap, faller but the teenager got going again to earn good championship points and a top ten finish.
Full points scored in the opening race, all the way down to 15th as usual, no fewer than 10 of the top 15 bikes proved to be Ninja 400s.
Race Two, which was supposed to start at 15.15, was delayed because of a fall of continuous heavy rain and it finally got underway at 16.10. It was run over only eight laps, not the planned 14, with the riders out on wet tyres.
Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza - Box77 Racing Kawasaki), like Mogeda on Saturday, was a first time podium finisher when he took second place, missing out on the race win by just 0.169 seconds.
To keep the podium novelties going Perez Gonzalez was third in this race, also scoring his first WorldSSP300 top three. As a happy consequence he jumped into the championship lead after five rounds and ten races of the eight round season have been completed.
The heavy rain in Race Two could not prevent several Kawasaki riders from collecting strong points scores. Race one faller Di Sora, after being knocked off his machine then, went on to finish fifth in Race Two, despite a lack of feeling from the rear in the wet conditions.
Seabright was sixth, Buis was seventh and local hero Svoboda came home in a safe eighth place, making it six Kawasakis inside the top eight positions.
Alessandro Zanca (Team 109 Kawasaki) scored points for 12th, with Slovakian rider Maxim Repak (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR Kawasaki) 13th and Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo PI Performance Kawasaki) 14th, also in the points paying positions.
Race Two was a much closer affair than Race One, with the top nine riders covered by 5.872 seconds.
In the championship standings Perez Gonzalez is a first time overall leader with 117 points, KTM rider Dirk Geiger is second on 116 and Svoboda is the third with 113. Buis is up to fifth now with 99 points. Di Sora remains eighth with 83. Such is the competition in WorldSSP this year that eight different riders have shared the ten race wins between them - with three rounds and six races still to go in 2023.
Kawasaki continues to lead in the Manufacturer’s Championship, with 206 points to Yamaha’s 192.
The next round takes place after a long summer break, with the French circuit of Magny Cours hosting the sixth round between 8-10 September.
Rider Comments
Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “Race One was a strange one. After four laps I thought, ‘OK, maybe I need to change to a rain tyre,’ but I did one lap more, slipping around a few times. I went into the pits, going easy, easy and I tried to finish the race in the points. In the first corner accident I went on the inside of it and that worked out well. It was really a tricky weekend with all of the weather changes, but overall I’m happy cause we recovered a lot of points from the first ones in the championship and we can now try to recover more in the next races. We are less than one win behind the first, we have a lot of potential and I believe we can still recover. Now our target is to rest a bit and get ready for Magny Cours.”
Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “It was a shame for me this weekend, because we really had a lot of potential but we couldn’t show it at all. In Race One I was taken out by another rider and I was 30 seconds behind the group, so I decided to stop and try the gamble with the rain tyres. We were able to recover some positions and get a top 10, which is always a good result. In Race Two I had a very good feeling on the wet and I was recovering position, but I lost the front and crashed out. It’s really a shame cause I was feeling really well and I could have done a great results, but we are working well and we can’t wait for Magny Cours. Thanks to my team and sponsors to always support me.”
Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR Kawasaki), stated: “The first race was very crazy in the rain and changing conditions. The second race made me very happy to take my first podium in WorldSSP300. The race itself was very difficult in the wet conditions. Thanks to my team and my family for all the support.”
Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza - Box77 Racing Kawasaki), stated: “It is incredible to finish second in Race Two and I didn’t expect that. I have some pace in the rain but I thought other riders would have more. I tried to make the best start possible because I was 24th on the grid, and I did that. I think on the first lap I was eighth, so I started to move forward and finished in second place. I like racing in the rain because the bike moves more - it’s like a Motocross race on asphalt.”
Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project), stated: “Race One gave me my first podium ever in WorldSSP300 racing. It was a very difficult and long race for me, but finally I was into the podium places. We are all very happy in the team and will go for more podiums again. It was a difficult decision to stay on slick tyres in the opener but finally I stayed out - and I think it was the right decision because I got on the podium.”
Petr Svoboda (Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki), stated: “I was fastest on Friday and it was nice to meet all the fans and sponsors. Practice was very good and after FP2 we just needed to make some small changes. I feel comfortable on the bike in both wet and dry conditions, so I am not bothered if it is raining or not. I stayed out on the slicks and for me it was the correct decision. The second race was quite good but I just didn’t want to take too many risks to make sure I could collect more points for the championship. They all help and I am only four points from the leader. I could have been faster but it was a home race, the pressure was on me and I am very happy with eighth position. We are there in the championship fight again.”
Samuel Di Sora (Prodina Kawasaki), stated: “My weekend was, let’s say positive, because we solved the problems we had at Misano and Imola. We were fast on the dry, fast in the wet and the team did a good job here in Most. Actually, on Saturday in the dry I felt strong but another rider ruined my race by hitting me from behind. On Sunday I felt strong again but I did not have that much confidence in the rear tyre to try to push into the lead, so I waited maybe a little bit too long to attack. We go home with a P5. That is not bad but it isn’t as good as we want.”
Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) stated: “It was a bit of a sketchy one, to be honest, in Race One. It is a shame that we made, personally, the wrong decision by coming in to change tyres. But you win some and you lose some and seventh was a good result after being involved in the first corner incident. I was on the gravel so we lost quite a lot of time there. I am happy with Race One, especially after qualifying 24th.”
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