SURPRISES AT JEREZ: Casadei storms to pole in Spain, Oncu second with 2025 Champion Manzi 11th
It’s four manufacturers in the top five as the dust settles on WorldSSP’s first day at Jerez
With the Riders’ Championship wrapped up, the FIM Supersport World Championship’s riders return to Spain for the final round of their season at the beloved Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia. The Pirelli Spanish Round looks like it’ll host a thrilling final chapter as Mattia Casadei (Motozoo ME Air Racing) took pole in the Tissot Superpole session. The Italian is joined on the front row by Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) and Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), the latter making his return to the front row for the first time in five rounds.
SUPERPOLE STRENGTH: Two poles in five rounds for Casadei in 2025
Mattia Casadei sat mired down near the bottom of the order until clocking a 1’42.560s time which shot him up to provisional pole position. As the session came down to the final minutes, he improved it even further to a 1’41.959s time, earning the Italian his second-ever WorldSSP pole. Can Oncu looked a little rusty early in the session after his crash in Free Practice, where he was seen icing his neck after a high-speed Turn 11 spill. He settled back into his habitual Superpole speed to finish P2. Jaume Masia was running in the top six in his return to his home country before a thunderous 1’42.348s time sent him to the top of the order with less than 15 minutes remaining. His pace was later outpaced by the #40 and #61, but he only missed P2 by four-hundredths of a second.
A NEW PEAK FOR THE ANDORRAN: Cardelus sets a new season best pole result
Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) missed his first front row finish of 2025 by a mere 0.004s, settling for P4 to start the final Race 1 of the season. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) set his Kawasaki ZX-6R 636 up in the second row for P5, the rookie Spaniard showing strong pace in his home round. Andorran rider Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) took his time to lay down his personal best lap of 1’42.458s in the final minutes of the session to earn P6, his best Superpole result of the season.
THE SLIMMEST OF MARGINS: 0.002s separated Mahias from a second row start
Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) finished fast enough to lead the third row into Race 1, outpaced by the Andorran, whose time clocked in just two thousandths of a second faster than his. However, the veteran French rider will start Race 1 from the back of the grid after he was assessed for not respecting a yellow flag by reducing his speed while it was active. Alberto Surra (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) deserves some credit for his collaboration with Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) to set him up in P2, and Surra didn’t do too poorly for himself. The Italian finished in P8 for his third top eight or better in Superpoles in the four rounds he’s participated in this season. However, the Italian will start Race 1 from P11 after he was given a three-place penalty for slow riding by FIM WorldSBK Stewards. Niccolo Antonelli (VFT Racing) finished P9 on the day, his best finish since his P9 Superpole result at Cremona and will start from P7. Roberto Garcia (GMT94-YAMAHA) will line up in P8 back in his home country. While he locked up the Riders’ Championship last round, Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) sported a gold-trimmed #62 on his fairing and kept the throttle open in Jerez’s first day, his time placing him eleventh fastest in the session.
The top six from the WorldSSP Superpole, full results here!
1 Mattia Casadei (Motozoo ME Air Racing) 1’41.959s
2. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) +0.346s
3. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.389s
4. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.393s
5. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) +0.462s
6. Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.499s
Tune in tomorrow for a WorldSBK Tissot Superpole session of their own at 11:00 (Local time UTC +2) with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now just €9.99!