Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) topped the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship podium for the first time in his career at the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round Race 1, He was followed across the line by Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) who earned his first podium since Portimao 2023, and rounding out the podium, new championship leader Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Italka Racing) who claimed his fifth podium of the season.

AUSTRALIA’S MAIDEN WIN: Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) claims not only his first, but his country’s first WorldSSP300 win

Torres protected his P1 grid start as he claimed the holeshot, with Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300) in P2 all over the Spaniard as he badgered the #47 for P1 in the early running. The pair sparred throughout the first laps, contending with David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI), Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Italka Racing), and Carter Thompson as the pack of Kawasaki Ninja 400s set their sights on the race win. Thompson’s podium hopes looked to be in dire straits as the Australian had fallen to P7 with just a few laps remaining, but, picking his moment well, the Australian slotted into P1 midway through the last lap, and didn’t leave enough time for any of his competitors to steal it from him for his first WorldSSP300 win of his career. Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) chased him across the line for his fourth podium in the category. In P3, Garcia made it 16 races in the points in a row, one point-scoring race shy of the record set by Dorren Loureiro from 2017 to 2018.

BENAT FERNANDEZ SNUBBED: Julio Garcia pipped the Spanish rookie by a mere 0.021s 

Benat Fernandez (Team #109 Retro Traffic Kove) had his hopes of a fourth podium snubbed by Championship leader Garcica, shuffling the Kove rider to P4. David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) fell to P5 after his P4 grid start, battling for the podium spots throughout the race. Pepe Osuna (ZAPPAS-DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) earned his best result of the season, grabbing P6 through fighting his way up the grid from his P14 start position.

STRUGGLES FOR BUIS: Third place in the Championship, Buis tumbles to P8

Antonio Torres (Team ProDina XCI) saw his strong Superpole performance spoiled as he started from pole position and held the lead for the early running, but as the race continued, he fell farther back, finishing in P7. After serving his double long-lap penalty, Dutch rider Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) dropped from the podium fight to P17. By the final four laps, he had closed to P5 behind Benat Fernandez (Team #109 Retro Traffic Kove), but as the dust settled, he had fallen three spots to P8. Mirko Gennai and Indonesian Felix Mulya (ProGP NitiRacing) both notched strong performances as they shot up the grid, Gennai from P21, and Mulya from P20, the best result of the Indonesian rookie’s season so far.

MISANO’S SPILLS: DNFs from Race 1

Filip Novotny (Accolade Funds Smrz Racing BGR) took a tumble on Turn 10 of Lap 10. Novotny’s teammate, Kevin Sabatucci (Accolade Funds Smrz Racing BGR), was the next to spill on Turn 14 of Lap 11 in the later stages of the race. He was able to recover, but his P20 concluded a tough day for their team, as they earned no points.

The top six from the WorldSSP300 Race 1: Full results here!

1. Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki)
2. Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) +0.338s
3. Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) +0.473s
4. Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) +0.494s
5. David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) +0.737s
6. Pepe Osuna (ZAPPAS-DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) +0.914s
Fastest lap: Carter Thompson (Kawasaki) – 1’49.415s

Tune in tomorrow at 11:00 (local time UTC +2) for the first event of Sunday’s race action! Watch live or on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!