The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship started its Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round in a typically unpredictable way on Friday with the order changing consistently throughout both sessions, but it was Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) who claimed top spot on home soil. The Spanish rider was almost four tenths clear of his competitors at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as most riders on the grid found time between Free Practice 1 and 2.

FIGHTING AT THE FRONT: looking to challenge Perez Gonzalez

Perez Gonzalez was one of several riders who led during the second 30-minute practice session but his time of 1’55.948s, set in FP2, was the fastest of the day to finish almost four tenths clear at the top of the timesheets. He was the only rider in the 1’55s bracket but he was still half-a-second away from the Tissot Superpole lap record and eight tenths away from the race lap record. Italian rider Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) took second spot after lapping 0.394s slower than Perez Gonzalez, while 2020 Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) jumped up the order to third spot and just over four tenths down on Perez Gonzalez.

DI SORA QUICKEST IN FP1: fourth overall, first in the morning

Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) was fourth after posting a 1’56.422s although the Frenchman was the fastest rider in Free Practice 1 as he showed strong pace throughout Friday, finishing ahead of double Assen winner Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) in fifth place. Alessandro Zanca (Team#109 Kawasaki) is another who has shown strong pace throughout the weekend so far with the Italian rider taking sixth place in the combined classification.

COMPLETING THE TOP TEN: it’s close in WorldSSP300

Fellow Italian rider Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) was seventh ahead of the Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team duo who took eighth and ninth respectively. Humberto Maier was the lead rider in the team as he took eighth place with Enzo Valentim in ninth and the pair separated by around 0.020s. Rookie Mattia Martella (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) rounded out the top ten after lapping around seven tenths slower than Perez Gonzalez at the top of the timesheets.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from WorldSSP300 Race 2

Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) was the lead KTM rider in 11^th place after setting a 1’56.800s, finishing ahead of Gabriele Mastroluca (Arco Motor University Team) in 12^th and wildcard Unai Calatayud (Arco Motor University Team) in 13^th place. Mexican rider Juan Pablo Uriostegui (Team#109 Kawasaki) took 14^th place ahead of the returning Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing). The Indonesian rider rounded out the top 15 after setting a 1’56.947s, around one second down on the fastest rider.

Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) was one rider who did not improve in FP2. He had a crash in the very early stages of the second practice session at Turn 4 which meant he did not set any lap times, meaning his FP1 time, a 1’56.982s, was his best of the day. This was good enough for the rookie to take 18^th place in the classification.

The top six from WorldSSP300 on Friday, full results here:

1. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) 1’55.948s

2. Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) +0.394s

3. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) +0.429s

4. Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) +0.474s

5. Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) +0.593s

6. Alessandro Zanca (Team#109 Kawasaki) +0.648s

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