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The FIM Supersport World Championship will soon return to Italy for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, an important junction for the 2025 season as the campaign reaches its halfway point. Home hero Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) will be hoping to put his bad-for-his standards Most behind him, although the #62 still holds a sizable Championship lead over Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing).

TURNING THE PAGE: Manzi will need to put Most’s struggles behind him to be successful at Misano

Manzi’s trip to Most saw a rare dip in form from the Championship leader. Race 1 saw him crash out on Lap 8 from his P1 position. His fortunes improved in Race 2 to finish P6, the first time since 2023 he’s not stood on the rostrum at least once. However, he still towers 40 points ahead of the rest of the field in the Championship standings, and home soil will be the perfect place to respond. He comes into Misano off the back of a test at the same venue, although it was on the Yamaha R1 rather than the R9. In second place, Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) missed what has been a rare opportunity this year to take back a swath of points on Manzi at Most, as his P8 and P10 only saw him gain four points on the #62. Much of the same can be said for Booth-Amos in third place behind him after a P9 and DNF in Czechia. If Bendsneyder and Booth-Amos can return to podium form, consistently finishing ahead of Manzi, they may be able to catch the current Championship leader.

HOT HAND: Oncu needs another performance like at Most to break back into the Championship picture

Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) walked away as perhaps the biggest winner from Most, he gained the most points of any rider, cutting his gap behind Manzi by 30 points to make it 63 points as he sits in P4. Perhaps the second-best performing rider at Most, and continuing his strong run of form since Cremona, Frenchman Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) is currently P5 in the Riders’ Championship as he rides a four-race top-five-or-better streak. Just four points behind Mahias with 106 points, rookie Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) arrives at Misano with a feather in his cap as he earned his first WorldSSP win at Most.

HOT AND COLD: Debise has been strong on his day, but troubled by DNFs

While Jeremy Alcoba's (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) recent pace hasn’t been as fast as that with which he started the season with, Alcoba has only missed the top ten twice. This consistency has set up Alcoba well as he finds himself just 13 points out from Schroetter in P7. Valentin Debise's (Renzi Corse) recent form has been something of a mixed bag, as while he has suffered a DNF in one of the weekend’s two races for the last three rounds. Since Assen, he has finished within the top five of every race that he has finished. Last year’s trip to Misano featured a strong performance from the Frenchman with his P3 and P4 finishes, a feat he will look to repeat in 2025. Aldi Mahendra (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) is hot off his best round of his rookie WorldSSP season at Most, his P7 and P5, capitalizing on his good form since Assen. The Indonesian rider sits just four points ahead of Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team), who is enjoying a similarly resurgent run of form after a strong showing at Most as he finds his footing on his Ducati V2.

GRID CHANGES: a big shake up…

There have been a whole host of changes on the grid since Most. At GMT94-YAMAHA, Michael Rinaldi (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) has moved back to WorldSBK, with Roberto Garcia given a chance in WorldSSP. Glenn van Straalen left the D34G WorldSSP Racing Team and he’ll be replaced by Federico Caricasulo, while Mattia Casadei replaces him at Motozoo ME air Racing. EAB Racing Team have drafted in Harrison Voight for 2025. Piotr Biesiekirski returns to WorldSSP action with the Team Flembbo-Pilote Moto Production squad, on the MV Agusta F3 800 RR. There are two wildcards in action: Matteo Patacca (Bike e Motor Racing Team) and Xavi Artigas (Blackflag Motorsport). Elsewhere, Niki Tuuli (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) will need to pass a medical check in order to race at Misano.

Tune in June 13-15^th for the next instalment of WorldSSP action this season at Misano! Catch the event live or on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!