It was an almost perfect return to the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship for Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) as the Dutchman claimed pole and the Race 1 victory at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, although missed out on a rostrum in Race 2. After spending the first three rounds of 2025 in WorldSSP, Veneman made a mark on his WorldSSP300 comeback during the French Round.

Veneman showed his hand from the very first session in France, topping Free Practice with a 1’51.473s to finish ahead of teammate Carter Thompson. That translated into a fourth pole in WorldSSP300 as he fended off title contender David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) and Thompson to claim P1 in Tissot Superpole after setting a 1’50.890s; the #71 was the only rider to lap in the 1’50s bracket.

When lights went out for Race 1, Veneman was able to stay in the lead group throughout the entire race, always crossing the line to start the following lap inside the top three as he showed his racecraft in WorldSSP300 hadn’t diminished despite almost 12 months out of the category. The final lap came down to a battle between Veneman and Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300), with the pair separated by just 0.053s across the line as the 19-year-old came out on top in a fight through the final chicane.

A delighted Veneman said of his Race 1 victory: “The race from start to finish went great. The pace wasn’t too fast because of the wind, but it was manageable for me. I could manage the tyres and myself to get ready for the last lap to make an attack. In the end, it worked out perfectly in the last chicane. I’m really happy with that. On the last lap, I overtook Carter on the back straight because the slipstream was so strong because you had the headwind. You could make up a lot of ground if you’re behind somebody. Matteo made a mistake at Turn 8. I closed up on him on the straight and overtook him going into the next chicane. I knew that, going down the hill into the last part of the track, that they’d try to overtake me. I braked a little bit earlier so I could focus on the exit as much as possible. I saw Matteo a little bit in front of me and thought, ‘I’ll just do it and see what happens’. I couldn’t be happier than this!”

Veneman, who finished as runner-up in WorldSSP300 last year, was hoping to make it an immaculate return to the Championship with a double but, despite being in the lead group in Race 2, was unable to secure the win. At Turn 15 on the final lap, he collided with Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) before re-joining the race to finish in P14.

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