PREVIEW: Who can catch Manzi at the Italian’s home Round at Cremona?
Hot hand Bendsneyder arrives to Cremona in great form, Oncu has shown he's untouchable on his day, but can anyone keep up with Manzi’s consistency?
Round 4 of the FIM Supersport World Championship is coming up, and with it, this year’s stacked paddock of talented riders will hope to lay claim to the points up for grabs at Cremona. The Acerbis Italian Round at the Cremona Circuit returns for the second time to host WorldSSP action. Last year saw a race win from Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and a maiden WorldSSP podium for Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing); but this season challengers like Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) look to make a mark of their own and break the Championship battle wide open.
MANZI'S INCREDIBLE CONSISTENCY: no finish off the podium so far…
Manzi has yet to miss out on the podium so far this 2025 season and, while his race win in Australia was his only of the season so far, however P2 is the farthest down the results sheet the Italian has found himself so far in the entire season. This consistency makes him a formidable rival for the other riders and if one suffers a bad race, he will be quick to punish the mistake. Last time out at Cremona, Manzi won Race 2 and took home P2 in Race 1. Bendsneyder sits 14 points behind the Italian and has also been consistent, although did miss the rostrum in Race 1 at Phillip Island – and has two wins to his name this season. However, he didn’t race at Cremona last season, so this will be his first race weekend there.
LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE: Booth-Amos and Oncu have shown they can top the podium in the right conditions
Booth-Amos sits 27 points behind the Dutchman, after his breakout Australian Round, then his Race 2 podium at Portimao, he had a slower weekend in the Netherlands, marred by a P15 finish after he crashed late in the race, and was fortunate to be able to salvage the point from the race as he did. For him, Cremona will be a good opportunity to get back on the podium, an outcome that has precedent considering his Race 1 P3 from last year. Oncu is one of the most exciting prospects in the Championship, lightning in a bottle off the line in most of this season’s races, and at times he can be untouchable, as shown in Race 1 at Portimao and Race 2 at Assen; his Race 1 third-place finish in the Netherlands perhaps showed another side to him as he settled for P3 rather than pushing beyond the limits.
ON THE BUBBLE: Mahias looks to get back on the horse after disappointing Assen Race 2 DNF
Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) has improved as the season has gone on, the Spanish rookie earning the best result of his short time in WorldSSP in Race 1 at Assen and Cremona will give Masia an opportunity to take a further step and take part in the podium conversation if he can find something on his Ducati V2. Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) has been within the top 10 in every race up until Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) collided with the Frenchman, ending his race early. If Mahias can take a further step into the podium battle he could become 2025’s first French podium-earning rider. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) is another consistent top ten rider who has battled at times for podiums in 2025, but Cremona will be an opportunity for the rookie to make a step forward on his new Kawasaki ZX-6R 636. A Turn 5 crash soiled Marcel Schroetter's (WRP Racing) Race 2 at Assen, earning him a P25 finish, results like this and a Race 2 crash at Phillip Island have pushed the German down the Championship standings. Otherwise, it has been a strong season so far, so Cremona will be a great opportunity to right the ship. A similar case can be made for Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse), the French rider has ridden well, only hampered by a pair of crashes preventing him from scoring at Phillip Island and Assen.
JOINING AND RE-JOINING THE GRID: Replacement riders, wildcards and riders awaiting an all-clear from the medical centre
Piotr Biesiekirski (Team Flembbo-Pilote Moto Production) will ride as a replacement for the injured Loic Arbel. Italian wildcard riders Federico Fuligni (Kuja Racing) and Mattia Rato (Team Rosso E Nero) will join the WorldSSP grid at Cremona, adding a new dimension to this round’s WorldSSP grid.
Syarifuddin Azman (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team), Eduardo Montero (D34G WorldSSP Racing Team), and Raffaele de Rosa (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) were each declared unfit at Assen, and will undergo a subsequent diagnostic before the round to reassess their fitness. Azman is questionable with an arm injury, same with Montero with a contusion on his right ankle, and De Rosa was initially assessed in Assen to have a thoracic vertebrae injury but a further diagnosis will allow him to compete or rule him out at Cremona.
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