The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship headed to the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round and French rider Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) topped the times with his Free Practice 1 time good enough for top spot. In the combined classification, he was ahead of home hero Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) in second with 2022 winner Vannucci topping the times in FP2.

DI SORA LEADS, WILDCARDS IMPRESS: shocks in the WorldSSP300 field

Di Sora posted a 1’49.601s to take top spot in the combined classification which was set in Free Practice 1, while Vannucci’s best time, a 1’49.752s, was set in Free Practice 2. The pair were separated by over a tenth of a second at the end of Friday’s running as they both look for victories in the third round of the 2023 campaign. Wildcard Bruno Ieraci (ProDina Kawasaki Racing), returning to WorldSSP300, claimed third place on Friday as he set a 1’49.915s in FP1 for his best time on Friday.

A STRONG RESULT FOR ITALY ON THE CARDS? Plenty of Italians running well

Another Italian rider made it into the top four as Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) secured fourth place on Friday as he returns from injury. His best time was a 1’50.059s to finish ahead of Humberto Maier (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team) in fifth, with the Brazilian having limited running in FP2 due to a crash at Turns 5-6 which brought out the red flags; he was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) rounded out the top six, just over half a second down on Di Sora’s time.

MORE SURPRISES: two wildcards in the top ten…

Mattia Martella (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) took seventh spot after an impressive Friday for the rookie, lapping Misano with a best time of 1’50.180s; his consistency means his FP2 time was 0.003s faster than his FP1 time. However, his running was disrupted in FP2 following a crash at Turn 4, but he was able to re-join the session. Wildcard Emanuele Cazzaniga (Racestar) also impressed with eighth place at Misano, finishing ahead of Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) in ninth and Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) in tenth; the Indonesian rider missing some running in FP2 with a technical problem.

A DRAMATIC SESSION: FP2 brings plenty of crashes

Devis Bergamini (ProGP Racing) was another whose day was disrupted following an FP2 crash at Turn 13 but he was still able to finish in 11^th place, ahead of compatriot Alessandro Zanca (Team#109 Kawasaki) in 12^th. Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) was in 13^th place ahead of Championship leader Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed 14^th on Day 1 on Friday, while Britain’s Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) rounded out the top 15.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from WorldSSP300 on Friday

In Free Practice 1, Gabriele Mastroluca (Team BrCorse) crashed at Turn 10 which disrupted his running while there were a couple of crashes in FP2. The first was Junhao Zhan (China Racing Team) when he crashed at Turn 10 with 25 minutes left of the session, while, shortly after that, Ionnanis Peristeras (ProGP Racing) crashed but returned to the track and the pits under the red flag. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) had a difficult FP2 after he crashed out at Turn 10 with just over 10 minutes remaining, with the Dutchman returning to the track with around two minutes left in the session.

The top six following WorldSSP300 action on Friday, full results here:

1 Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) 1’49.601s

2. Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) +0.151s

3. Bruno Ieraci (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) +0.314s

4. Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) +0.458s

5. Humberto Maier (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team) +0.497s

6. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smra Racing BGR) +0.544s

Watch more WorldSSP300 action from Misano using the WorldSBK VideoPass!