After a thrilling weekend of action in Barcelona, the FIM Supersport World Championship heads south to the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for the Motul Spanish Round, the second of three back-to-back rounds that will have a huge impact on determining who will be the 2021 WorldSSP Champion.
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After missing the Catalunya Round due to a clash with the MotoE™ World Cup season finale in Italy, Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) is back in action after missing out on the MotoE™ title. He returns to the Championship with a 45-point lead of nearest rival Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) with the South African unable to substantially cut Aegerter’s lead at the top of the Championship after not standing on the podium in Barcelona.
Although it was not possible for Odendaal to take the lead of the Championship in Barcelona, he could have cut the gap to just 12 points but heads into Jerez 45 points down on the Swiss rider.
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A double Catalunya podium for Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) hauled him up to third in the Championship, just six points clear of German rider Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who is now on a run of seven races without a podium finish; the longest run of his WorldSSP career. With Gonzalez now on a run of three races inside the top two, he has the momentum in the closing stages of the season. Will Oettl be able to respond at the circuit he took his first podium in and end the podium drought?
Championship Standings (after Race 2, Round 9)
1. Dominique Aegerter (SUI) Yamaha (302 points)
2. Steven Odendaal (RSA) Yamaha (257 points)
3. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) Yamaha (203 points)
The 2021 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship is at its first match-point of the season as the class heads to the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto in Andalusia, Spain. After 12 races so far, Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) is the one who is staring down the barrel of his first World Championship and with main title rival Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) yet to be declared fit after his injuries in Catalunya’s Race 1, it is highly possible that Huertas could take the title. However, this is WorldSSP300, so nothing is ever guaranteed, and it could easily roll to the final round of the season at Portimao.
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It’s been a stunning season for Adrian Huertas, the Spaniard leading the Championship standings comfortably and with a 43-point lead. He’s the only rider in WorldSSP300 history to have won five races in a season and has helped Kawasaki to a fourth Manufacturers’ title in the class in five years.
Now, he could be Spain’s fourth Champion in WorldSSP300, however, if Tom Booth-Amos is declared fit ahead of action commencing, then the title will not be won on Saturday, as Huertas would need to sport a 75-point lead. However, if Booth-Amos is unfit, then although he could mathematically still take the title, he realistically wouldn’t be able to if Huertas leads by 50 points coming out of Saturday, as there’s nothing he can do to combat the deficit by being side-lined.
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Then, there’s third-placed Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki), who could still mathematically win the title but must be inside the top three in the opening race to guarantee himself a chance of retaining his title, regardless of Huertas’ result. He is currently 65 points behind, meaning that he can’t give up more than ten points to teammate Huertas in Race 1.
In fourth place, Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) maintains a mathematical chance but is 88 points back, meaning that he must be in the top three and outscore Huertas by 14 points. The Champion can only be one of the four riders in the top four placings in the Championship, and it is likely to be one of the top two – even more likely to be Huertas if Booth-Amos is declared unfit.
Simply, regardless of anything else, if Huertas has a 50-point lead over Booth-Amos or a 51-point lead over Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) – although 50 will be enough if Buis doesn’t win either race – at the end of Sunday, he’s Champion.
Championship Standings (after Race 2, Round 9)
1. Adrian Huertas (ESP) Yamaha (201 points)
2. Tom Booth-Amos (GBR) Kawasaki (158 points)
3. Jeffrey Buis (NED) Kawasaki (136 points)
