The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship returned to action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but it was as dramatic as ever. Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) crossed the line in first but a post-race penalty dropped him down the order to P13, allowing Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM – PALIGO Racing) to claim victory for KTM and start his title defence in perfect fashion during the Pirelli Catalunya Round.

RETURNING WITH A BANG: Iglesias at the front but penalised, Buis victorious

As ever in WorldSSP300, it was unpredictable right to the line. Jeffrey Buis tried to make a break heading into the final lap to start his KTM career on the top step but running wide at Turn 10 allowed his Iglesias through, with the #58 taking advantage to cross the line first. However, a three-second penalty for being unable to complete a Long Lap Penalty demoted him to 13^th. Iglesias was penalised for an incident at Turn 5. Galang Hendra Pratama (ProGP NitiRacing) crashed out after contact with Matteo Vannucci (Pata Yamaha AG Motorsport Italia) and Iglesias with the incident investigated by the FIM Stewards and the #58 penalised, dropping him down the order. It allowed Buis to claim victory on the KTM RC 390 R for the first time, and also his 21^st podium as he became the record-holder for podiums in the Championship. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) was second with Samuel Di Sora (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) in third after fighting his way from the back of the grid.

DRAMA THROUGHOUT: front runners drop out of contention…

On Lap 1, Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) and Philip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM – PALIGO Racing) came down at Turn 5, with British star Seabright able to re-join the race while Tonn was out of contention and taken to the medical centre for a check-up. He was declared fit following his check. Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki) crashed at Turn 10 on Lap 2 despite a phenomenal opening lap and a half to fight for the lead. After a penalty from Warm Up for slow riding on the racing line which dropped him from P1 to P4 on the grid, Julio Garcia Gonzalez (KOVE Racing Team) fell out of the race with a technical problem on Lap 3.

With four laps to go, Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kawasaki), Unai Calatayud (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) and Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo – PL Performances) crashed at Turn 5, with only Sabatucci re-joining the race, although. The incident was investigated by the FIM Stewards with no further action taken.

FROM LAST TO ALMOST VICTORY: crashing on the last lap

The final lap was as dramatic as ever, with Buis running wide and his rivals aiming to take advantage. However, behind, Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) had made great progress to fight at the front, but he crashed on his own at Turn 10 which dropped him out of contention. The Spanish rider started from the back of the grid after a technical issue before the Warm Up lap forced him into the pits before being allowed to start from last.

INSIDE THE TOP TEN: all four manufacturers, 1.129s separate the first ten riders

Fifth place went to Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) after teammate Mirko Gennai was given a one-place penalty for exceeding track limits on the final lap, with the Italian classified in sixth. Marc Garcia (KOVE Racing Team), who set the fastest lap and will start Race 2 from first, was seventh with Ruben Bijman (Team Flembbo – PL Performances) eighth after a one-place penalty. Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) was ninth with wildcard Emanuele Cazzaniga (Racestar) completing the top ten after a penalty for Elia Bartolini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team).

The top six from WorldSSP300 Race 1, full results here. See the fastest laps for Race 2 grid here.

1. Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Raging)

2. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) +0.040s

3. Samuel Di Sora (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) +0.227s

4. Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) +0.298s

5. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) +0.549s

6. Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki) +0.600s

Fastest Lap: Marc Garcia (KOVE Racing Team) 1'54.764s - New lap record

Watch WorldSSP300 Race 2 on Sunday at 12:45 Local Time (UTC+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!