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Moving on from Magny-Cours, the FIM Supersport World Championship accelerates further into the final quarter of its season. Next up, the field rides south across the Pyrenees to take on MotorLand Aragon and the Tissot Aragon Round. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) maintained his imperious pace last time out at Magny-Cours, winning both races ahead of his main title rival Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) in P2, further fortifying his first-place position. Thanks to his podium consistency, Manzi will have his first match point opportunity of the season this weekend, an outcome the rest of the grid will hope to prevent.

MANZI HOPES TO HOLD COURSE: Omitting a complete meltdown, Manzi looks poised to make 2025 his own

Stefano Manzi, in 2025 so far, has simply been a cut above. While Oncu has shown blistering speed and an affinity for Tissot Superpole sessions, the #62 has demonstrated his ability to weather Oncu’s speed, and his point tally reflects that. Hot off back-to-back doubles at Balaton and Magny-Cours, Manzi rides into Aragon with soaring confidence. If Manzi manages to outscore Oncu by a cumulative total of 31 points by the chequered flag of Race 2, the Italian will be crowned World Champion at Aragon. Can Oncu rides as his main opposition, 69 points behind Manzi, he would need a catastrophic set of DNFs or a total collapse of form from Manzi to catch him at this late juncture, but in this sport, nothing is impossible. If the #61 is to play the comeback kid, a key to his success would be his continued success in Superpole sessions. Oncu leads the championship with three pole positions, and a strong, consistent track position is a passive way of turning up the pressure on Manzi in hopes of forcing a mistake.

CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE FOR THIRD PLACE: Booth-Amos, Masia and Bendsneyder get set for a sprint to the finish

Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) bounced back from his Balaton blues in France, earning a Race 2 podium after missing the top eight across both races in Hungary last round. Looking ahead to Aragon, it is a track where Booth-Amos has never earned a podium, complicating the outlook for the Englishman as he will need to put together a dramatic run of results to catch up to Oncu, 61 points ahead of him, and he would need nearly a miracle to catch Manzi, a distant 130 points ahead of him.

 Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) will arrive at his home round in the midst of a drop in form. In France, the rut continued as he crashed out of Race 1 and fell to P9 in Race 2. He will hope for his luck to change at home, and it’s not too late for the Spaniard to take home bronze in the Riders’ Championship as he sits 16 points behind Booth-Amos in P3. Suffering from similarly poor recent form, Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) will look to get back on track in Aragon. He sits in fifth place in the Championship, and after walking away from France with just six points, Aragon provides an opportunity for the Dutchman to reignite his 2025 aspirations as he is still a potentially surmountable 36 points behind Booth-Amos in P3. Lucas Mahias's (GMT94-YAMAHA) home round at Magny-Cours fell short of podium glory aspirations, and while Aragon provides the potential to bounce back, the #94’s best result at the venue was a P10 back in 2021. Only 12 points behind Bendsneyder in front of him in the title standings, Mahias has the potential to make a late run up the standings if he can find consistent results once again.

ALCOBA FIGHTING TO THE FINISH: The Spanish rookie hopes to protect his P7 at home in Aragon.

Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) arrives home to Spain with a good feeling after a P4 to close out Magny-Cours. Alcoba will look to defend his seventh-place Championship place from a trio of riders who are hot on his tail in the battle for every point which remains. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) crashed out of both races at home; however, the Frenchman’s affinity for Aragon may make it a sight for sore eyes, as in 2024 he notched a podium and a P4 at the venue. Just nine points behind Alcoba, the #53 looks poised to strike in Spain. A further nine points behind Debise, Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) sits in P9. Margins are slim, and while a nine-point gain would lift him to P8, dropping just two points would see him fall to P2 behind fellow German Marcel Schroetter (WRP Racing). Luckily for Oettl, he has consistently performed in Aragon. Setting aside a 2021 DNF; he has two podiums here in WorldSSP and a worst result of just P5. While Schroetter doesn’t have quite the same resume at the circuit, he earned second-place silverware in 2023, two years more recent than Oettl’s last podium at the track.

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