Three Way ESS Cup Fight Heading into Jerez
Bassani’s lead under threat as final race looms ahead
Axel Bassani from San Carlo Team Italia leads the FIM Europe Supersport Cup with 48 points heading into the Cup’s conclusive round, which will be held at the Circuito De Jerez on the 14th to 16th of October.
Cup protagonists and San Carlo Team Italia Teammates Axel Bassani and Alessandro Zaccone have battled head to head all year to be the best ESS rider. Racing at the European Rounds of the WorldSSP Championship, in the same category, the young riders get to experience world level competition to make entering the World Championship more attainable.Their season has seen a tight fight for the Cup play out, with Zaccone leading from Aragon before Bassani came out on top in Assen and then the lead alternating once again after Imola. But the rounds following Donington have seen Bassani storm ahead in the points standings after Zaccone recorded three DNF's.
The penultimate round at Magny-Cours saw Bassani finish the race in fourth overall to further solidify his Cup lead. DS Junior Team's Illia Mikhalchyk rose to take advantage of Zaccone's bad luck and with consistent results is now second in the Cup standings and a new threat to Axel Bassani. Heading into the final round at Jerez, Bassani has a 14 point lead, meaning Mikhalchyk will need a miracle to steal the crown from his Italian counterpart.
However the title isn’t decided yet and if the last WorldSSP race is anything to go by, where Championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu looked set to win his fifth crown before crashing out of the race, Bassani will have to wait until the finish line before he can celebrate his FIM Europe Supersport Cup win.
In order for Bassani to take the crown, he needs to finish anywhere between first and fourth in the ESS results at the Gaerne Spanish Round. If he finishes fifth or lower he will need to rely on Mikhalchyk finishing off of the podium to still take the title. However if Mikhalchyk is to win the Cup, he needs to win the race and make sure Bassani doesn’t place higher than fifth.
His San Carlo Italia Teammate Alessandro Zaccone still has a mathematical chance at winning the title being only 18 points behind him in the overall standings. This means that if Zaccone can win the race and his teammate Bassani finishes in ninth or lower and Mikhalchyk finishes third or lower, Alessandro Zaccone can win the FIM Europe Supersport Cup.
The final round of the ESS will see an exciting battle for the Cup take place at Jerez as part of the Gaerne Spanish Round in mid October.
