Maier claims his second WorldSSP300 pole in red-flagged Superpole session
Maier will go from pole for the first time since Catalunya 2023, just behind him, a host of 8 riders landed times within half a second of P1
Humberto Maier (Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by MS Racing) claimed pole position for tomorrow's FIM Supersport 300 World Championship Race 1 after topping the timesheet in Friday’s Tissot Superpole session. It marks his first pole since 2023. Joining him on the front row will be Kawasaki Ninja 400 riders Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Italka Racing) and Daniel Mogeda (Pons Motosport Italika Racing). Notably, Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) missed the top 10, placing P11 in the session.
JOGA BONITO: Humberto Maier earns first pole since Catalunya 2023
The morning’s damp conditions had largely cleared out by when the WorldSSP300 riders took to the track, warming track temperatures slightly above the temperatures seen earlier on Friday. Maier was around the top positions all session and finished with the best time of 1’46.325s. David Salvador finished second fastest, but after being applied a penalty for riding five or more slow sectors by WorldSBK FIM Stewards, he will be forced to start from the back of the grid. Salvador's time of 1’46.347s was just 0.022s slower than Maier, however with his penalty, Julio Garcia takes P2 with a time of 1’46.418s and Daniel Mogeda will start from P3.
MOGEDA TO LEAD SECOND ROW: the Catalan youngster snagged P4 by just 0.003s
Daniel Mogeda (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) put on a strong performance at his third appearance at the track, his time of 1’46.564s earning him P4. Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) was quick in the session, placing P5 a mere three thousandths of a second slower than Mogeda. Having recovered from an early multi-bike crash, Benat Fernandez (Team #109 Retro Traffic Kove) and his bike escaped without damage, allowing him to continue from the restart with the rest of the grid. He went on to finish P6 with a time of 1’46.591s.
SVOBODA EARNS THIRD ROW AT HOME: Czech home hero takes P8
In P7, Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) finished exactly two tenths of a second in front of Petr Svoboda (Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM) in front of him, Thompson finishing with 1’46.599s. Behind Svoboda in P8, riding in the place of Austrian replacement rider Jakob Rosenthaler (Freudenberg KTM- Paligo Racing) rounded out the third row with his P9 finish on the back of his 1’46.831s time. With the final spot of the top 10, Antonio Torres (Team ProDina XCI) pipped current Championship leader Jeffrey Buis for P10 by a mere 0.006s via his time of 1’46.837s
4-BIKE CRASH TO START THE SESSION: Ercolani and Sabatucci taken to medical centre
Early in the session, four riders were involved in a red-flag inducing chain reaction of crashes. Emiliano Ercolani (Kawasaki GP Project), Kevin Sabatucci (Accolade Funds Smrz Racing BGR), and Uriel Hidalgo (ZAPPAS-DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) were taken to the medical centre, and Benat Fernandez (Team #109 Retro Traffic Kove) was able to return to the track once the green flag was shown. In the final minutes of the session, Unai Calatayud (ARCO MotoR University Team) crashed in the same Turn 10, preventing him from getting a final lap in and finished in P26. After consulting with the medical centre, Hidalgo was diagnosed with a fractured femur and will be transported to Usti Hospital via helicopter.
The top six from the WorldSSP300 Superpole session, full results here!
1. Humberto Maier (Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by MS Racing) 1’46.325s
2. Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) +0.093s
3. Daniel Mogeda (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) +0.239s
4. Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) +0.242s
5. Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) +0.266s
6. Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) +0.274s
Tune in tomorrow for the first day of race action at Most starting at 9:00 local time (UTC +2), stream the excitement or watch it on demand via the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!