WorldSSP300 excitement returns in style at the Autodrom Most with the title fight in full swing and close battles up and down the grid
It’s been a long break for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship but after seven weeks since the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, the junior class is back in action for its second visit to the Autodrom Most and the 2022 Prosecco DOC Czech Round. After two incredible races last season, the title battle this season rages on with four riders separated by 29 points at the head of the field.
Spanish duo Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University) and Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) lead the standings on 125 and 105 points respectively but face a challenge at Most, a circuit they are yet to race. The pair are being chased down by Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) and Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki), both of whom were on track in 2021 with Di Sora claiming fourth in race one, whilst Steeman claimed the victory and finished fourth in race two. How will this impact the title fight? Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) is close behind this battle and, like Di Sora and Steeman, raced at Most last year; the Japanese rider aims to use his experience to close the gap in the title fight.
CZEWorldSBK 2021 proved to be one of KTM’s strongest weekends as the Austrian manufacturer claimed 38 of their 81 points, thanks to Steeman’s success. In 2022, Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) is the sole KTM representative and has made some impressive comebacks through the field this season. Lehmann has not raced there in WorldSSP300 yet, but in the German IDM Championship he claimed a win and a second place at Most on his way to the title in 2021; missing out on a double by just 0.001s. Lehmann is currently in a tight three-way battle for sixth in the standings with Hugo De Cancellis (Leader Team Flembbo) and Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) and just four points separate the trio as they look to close the gap to the five riders ahead of their group.
Misano race one winner Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) used the gap to compete in CIV and win in Italy, but his attention now returns to WorldSSP300 and his championship battle. The rookie is currently ninth in the standings and back from injury having missed race two at Emilia–Romagna. He leads a group of riders including Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) and Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300), covered by just five points. Can they close the gap to those ahead in the standings?
After sustaining injuries in preseason, Jose Luis Perez Gonzales (Accolade Smrz Racing) will be looking to make his first appearance of the season although the Spanish rider will need to pass medical checks first. Petr Svoboda, who has replaced Perez Gonzales so far this season, will make a wildcard appearance on home soil for the same team while Filip Feigl (Genius Racing Team) also wildcards for the first time this season, and his second in total; his previous one came at Most in 2021, claiming 32nd and 20th in the two races respectively.
