There was a fresh twist in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship title race as Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) claimed his second victory of the Pirelli French Round as his rival, Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing), crashed on the final lap. The Dutchman moved into the Championship lead at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours with the results as he looks to make history in WorldSSP300 with 13 points now separating the top three with four races to go.

TWISTS AND TURNS: two title contenders crash

Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) had been running in the top three, but he lost the front of his Yamaha machine through the final chicane and, although he was able to remain on the bike while on track, he crashed on the grass while trying to recover and dropped to last. He was able to re-join the race. However, he opted to retire later in the race. Vannucci’s crash allowed Geiger to pulled away by more than a second but the chasing pack, led by Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) closed the gap to just half-a-second by the start of Lap 4.

Like in Race 1, a group of around nine riders created a gap to the pack behind with positions swapping all the time, with Veneman, teammate Jeffrey Buis and Geiger often leading the race throughout the 13-lap battle. With the action heating up in the scorching temperatures, there was a huge twist in the Championship fight as Geiger crashed on the final lap at Turn 5, but he was able to re-mount and claim ninth.

The German’s crash allowed Buis to pull out a gap on the chasing pack and he went on to claim victory by 0.668s ahead of a group of six riders fighting for second, with less than a second separating them. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) claimed second after fighting his way up the order with Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) in third. For Buis, he became the first rider to take double-digit wins in WotldSSP300 with 10, while it was his 18^th podium. It was Gennai’s eighth podium, putting him level with WorldSSP winner Bahattin Sofuoglu, Hugo de Cancellis and 2021 Champion Adrian Huertas. Perez Gonzalez claimed his second rostrum.

SO CLOSE YET SO FAR: seven riders separated by 1.5 seconds

Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project) was fourth and missed out on a podium by just 0.226s with Veneman fifth. It had looked like the Dutchman would celebrate his 17^th birthday on the top step of the rostrum as he led in the final few laps before he fell to fifth in the pack. Italian rider Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) was sixth and just 0.160s behind Veneman with the action wild and unpredictable throughout. Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team) was seventh but just a tenth behind Sabatucci in front with 1.452s separating the top seven.

TITLE CHALLENGERS LOSE GROUND: will Geiger’s crash prove costly?

Fenton Seabright’s (Kawasaki GP Project) strong weekend continued as he took eighth and the fastest lap while the KTM of Geiger was ninth after re-mounting following his last-lap spill. With Geiger only ninth, he relinquished the Championship lead and dropped to third, as Buis and Perez Gonzalez moved ahead of him. 13 points separate the top three. Brazil’s Humberto Maier (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team) completed the top ten, four seconds back from Geiger.

LOSING GROUND: Svoboda now 25 points back in the title fight…

Czech rider Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) lost more ground in the title fight as he finished in 11^th, missing out on a place in the top ten by just 0.166s. He had to fend off Ruben Bijman (Arco Motor University Team) on the last lap as a tenth separated the pair, while Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) was 13^th and 0.065s down on Bijman. Marc Garcia (China Racing Team) continued to score points for Kove with 14^th while Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) was 15^th. The Frenchman had to take a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding in Race 1 but recovered to take a point on home soil.

HOUSEKEEPING: retirements from Race 2

Juan Pablo Uriostegui (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) crashed out on Lap 2 at Turn 13 on his own which forced the Mexican rider out of the race after a challenging first weekend with his new team. Devis Bergamini (ProGP Racing) crashed out at Turn 8 on Lap 6, just a couple of laps after he had a crash with Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) at Turn 5; with the incident investigated by the FIM Stewards.

The top six from WorldSSP300 Race 2, full results here:

1. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki)

2. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) +0.668s

3. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) +0.787s

4. Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project) +1.013s

5. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) 1.182s

6. Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo-PI Performances) +1.342

Fastest lap: Fenton Seabright, Kawasaki – 1’52.868s

1. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) 149

2. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) 144

3. Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) 136

4. Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) 121

5. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) 117

6. Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) 108

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