REPORT - 2025 AUSTRALIAN WORLD SUPERSPORT ROUND - JUST BIKES

REPORT - 2025 Australian World Supersport round

Words: Mike Ryan

Photos: Russell Colvin (unless indicated)

The 2025 FIM Supersport World Championship (WorldSSP) kicked off in Australia on 21-23 February. With two of last year’s championship top three now racing in other classes, it virtually guarantees we’ll see a new champion in 2025. A hint of who that champion might be was revealed at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

REPORT - 2025 Australian World Supersport round

The 24-rider grid for the WorldSSP season opener would have to contend with sweltering conditions on the second day and strong winds on the third, as well as flag-to-flag rules, with a mid-race tyre change mandated to combat potential tyre failure.

Team and Rider Changes

With last year’s WorldSSP Champion, Adrian Huertas, moving to Moto2, and third-placed Yari Montella in WorldSBK this year, it’s opened the door for last year’s runner-up, Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) to go one better in 2025. With a new team mate in Yuki Okamoto, Manzi would also be on a new Yamaha, with the R9 replacing the R6 used previously.

Other new riders included last year’s World Supersport 300 Champion, Aldi Mahendra, who has joined Can Oncu at Yamaha bLU cRU EvanBros Racing, while ex-Moto2 riders Jaume Masia and Xavi Cardelus were making their debuts with Orelac Racing Verdnatura (Ducati). Michael Rinaldi was another debutant, coming to WorldSSP after seven years in WorldSBK, partnering Lucas Mahias at GMT94-Yamaha.

WRP-RT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph switched from Triumph to Ducati in the off-season, had a rebrand as WRP Racing and changed their rider lineup, signing Marcel Schroetter and Ondrej Vostatek.

Although Triumph’s presence on the 2025 WorldSSP grid is halved from four to two, Australia's Oli Bayliss is on one of them after making the move from D34G Racing WorldSSP Team to join Tom Booth-Amos at PTR Triumph Factory Racing.

Luke Power is the other Aussie on the full-time grid, retaining his seat with Motozoo ME AIR Racing (MV Agusta) alongside Federico Caricasulo. MV Agusta Reparto Corse signed Bo Bendsneyder after the Dutchman completed a handful of fill-in rides on the MV Agusta F3 800 RR last year, while team mate Filippo Farioli was another debutant, coming from Moto3.

The season opener would see a third Aussie on the grid, with Harrison Voight called up late to replace the injured van Straalen at D34G Racing WorldSSP.

While Ana Carrasco is perhaps the highest profile addition to the 2025 WorldSSP grid, her Honda Racing World Supersport team is contesting the Europe-only WorldSSP Challenge, so she wasn’t entered at Phillip Island.

Practise and Superpole

The sole Free Practise session for WorldSSP on Friday, 21 February, saw Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse - Ducati) top the timesheets with a 1m32.364s lap. Booth-Amos, Bendsneyder, Schroetter and Bayliss were among 13 riders to also record 1m32s laps. Voight logged a 1m33.185s lap and Power’s best was 1m33.955

In Superpole that afternoon, Bendsneyder suffered a heavy crash after setting a 1m32.310s lap time that secured pole. Following assessment at the circuit medical centre, Bendsneyder was cleared to race.

Booth-Amos and Mahias would complete the front row of the grid – the first front row start for a Triumph since 2016 and Booth-Amos’s first ever.

Oncu, Debise and rookie Masia filled Row 2, with Bayliss leading Row 3 in seventh, alongside Manzi and Schroetter. Power qualified 17th and Voight 23rd.

Race 1

With temperatures in the high 30s, Race 1 got underway with Oncu and Mahias getting the jump on polesitter Bendsneyder, who dropped back to seventh. Bayliss also lost a couple of places in the sweltering conditions, but was back to his starting position coming into the mandatory pit stop window.

Mahendra and Leonardo Taccini (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team – Ducati) collided at Turn 10 on the opening lap and were out, with Voight and Loris Veneman (EAB Racing Team – Ducati) crashing in separate incidents on lap 4. Rinaldi, who had been running inside the Top 10, retired on lap 6 with a technical issue.

The leading riders came in for their tyre changes on lap 9 of 18, but several exited pitlane ahead of the allocated time, including Mahias, Bendsneyder and Masia. A clean stop for Bayliss saw him hold seventh once the pit stops had been completed, then improve to sixth on lap 12. Power was twelfth after the pit sequence and would hold that position to the finish.

At the head of the field, Masia was showing impressive pace on his debut, leading Manzi before the Italian got the upper hand. Although Masia crossed the line just 0.027 seconds behind the winning Manzi, his pit lane time infringement - 3.5 seconds - would move him down to sixth in the official placings. That meant Booth-Amos and Schroetter completed the podium, followed by Bendsneyder and Oncu, with Bayliss seventh.

Manzi’s win proved the newly-approved Yamaha YZF-R9 is up to the demands of WorldSSP and more than a match for the “racier” Ducati and MV Agusta.

"To begin our new journey with a new bike by winning is an amazing feeling,” Manzi said. “I want to thank Yamaha and the team because they have put a lot of effort into this project behind the scenes.”

Race 1 Results
1. Stefano Manzi               ITA          Yamaha                29m25.133s
2. Tom Booth-Amos        GBR        Triumph               +0.322s
3. Marcel Schroetter        GER        Ducati                   +0.480s
4. Bo Bendsneyder           NED       MV Agusta          +1.447s
5. Can Oncu                        TUR        Yamaha                +2.513s

7. Oli Bayliss AUS Triumph +4.280s

12. Luke Power AUS MV Agusta +26.92s

DNF. Harrison Voight AUS Ducati

Race 2

Strong winds replaced extreme heat for the second WorldSSP race on Sunday, 23 February.

With the first nine grid positions determined by the best lap times in Race 1, Bendsneyder retained pole but would grid up alongside Schroetter and Manzi, with Booth-Amos demoted to Row 2, alongside Debise and Mahias. Bayliss would lose a spot, too, starting from eighth, between Cardelus and Oncu on Row 3. Power would start from 16th and Voight 22nd.

Oncu was once again a fast starter and led the field at the end of lap 1, but Manzi, Booth-Amos, Mahias, Schroetter and Debise were all within half a second of the flying Turk. Manzi was leading a lap later, then Booth-Amos in what was proving to be an epic tussle.

When the pit window opened on lap 8, Booth-Amos and Schroetter were among the first in, but Debise, Manzi and Oncu stayed out for an extra lap. Bayliss pitted with the first group, with Power and Voight amongst the second group.

On lap 11, Masia ran into the back of Debise coming into the super-fast Turn 1, sending both riders out of the race, fortunately without injury. Schroetter highsided at Turn 11 on the same lap, forcing Mahias off track, losing several positions.

Out front, Booth-Amos had secured the lead from Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) and Manzi. The Italian passed Alcoba, but couldn’t get close enough to Booth-Amos, leaving the Brit to take a memorable victory – his first since joining WorldSSP in 2022.

"It's a huge weight off my shoulders to finally get the win,” Booth-Amos said. “I was obviously happy after a podium last year but as a racer you always want to win. It's nice to finally get that and repay my team for all the hard work they've done.”

Bayliss matched his Race 1 result with a seventh place, while Power finished in eleventh and Voight 14th.