After consolidating successes in rallying, KTM is increasingly investing in road racing. The flagship is MotoGP, where it is starting to become a solid contender for top positions, and the Supersport World Championship should be the next program.

The manufacturer from Mattighofen is already in the Supersport 300 World Championship, with two RC 390 R bikes operated by Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing. According to the website GPOne.com, they are now considering an ‘innovative project’ for the WSSP, thus strengthening their presence in the paddock of production-derived motorcycle championships.

Discussions with the FIM and Dorna have been ongoing for several months, and Mike Leitner was recently at the Barcelona round. For now, a test with the new bike is being planned, expected to take place during one of the upcoming rounds of the British Superbike Championship – whose bikes have the same configuration found in the World Championship.

What will be the model if KTM enters the WSSP? It is expected that the choice will fall on the RC 990, with a two-cylinder engine and a power output that may be between 135hp and 145hp. However, the displacement may need to be modifieed, unless the regulations change – currently, they only allow 960cc for two-cylinder engines.

The Pierer Mobility Group is already represented in the WSSP. MV Agusta, recently acquired by the Austrians, competes through MV Agusta Corse Clienti, in addition to having two bikes delivered to Motozoo ME AIR Racing. However, the presence of the Italian brand doesn’t affect necessarly KTM’s entry – especially since there is the possibility of both manufacturers having separate projects in MotoGP in the future.

O conteúdo KTM continues to invest heavily and heads towards the Supersport World Championship aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

This last sunday was for sure one of those days that Glenn van Straalen will certainly not forget for a long time, if ever, as the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing got to win a WSSP race at home, putting an end to a ten year fast of national riders winning at home, Assen. 

Here is the first reaction on the race winner, right after the race: ‘I followed the guys into the pitlane to make a pitstop as I thought the last sector would be dry but, then it was so wet so I thought that the grip in the rain tyre would be really good. I had a good rhythm in the rain and it was just incredible to do good lap times, close the big gap down but in P1, it wasn’t easy! I started to think about whether or not I would win! I focused on the race and corner by corner, I made it to the finish line. It’s amazing to do it here in these colours and with all the fans is brilliant’.

The #28 was far behind the competition at a certain point, having a 10.135s gap but eventually made his way back: ‘It feels really good and it gave a lot of adrenalin because I was on slicks to start! Then, the public enjoyed it because I was catching up and they wondered if I’d make up the time or not but, in the end, it happened!’.

And didn’t forget about his compatriot and friend Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): ‘Michael’s been really important and I see him a couple of times a week, training together and for sure, he’s important for this result. It’s for sure a dream to win here’.

O conteúdo Glenn van Straalen had a stunning win at WSSP, at home after being 10s behind: ‘It was just incredible’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

For the final time this weekend, the FIM Supersport World Championship went racing at the TT Circuit Assen in a race which will be remembered for a long time. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) took the race win at his home race and the home race for the Ten Kate team. The #28 became the first Dutch winner at Assen in 10 years and the fourth Dutch winner in WorldSSP.

HOME HERO: van Straalen wins ahead of Huertas

After finishing fourth in Race 1, van Straalen put on an incredible display to win after pitting for wet tyres on lap two. The #28 made his way into second in the closing stages of the race to pass to take the lead with four laps remaining. Van Straalen finished ahead of Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team), claimed his fourth podium in the WorldSSP class, finding the pace to steal second from Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team), who was the first rider to pit on the first lap and ends Sunday with his 11^th podium.

STRATEGY: pit stops were key in Race 2

Rain fell throughout the warm-up lap, with the entire grid on slick tyres. Leading into turn one was Huertas, who ran wide as the rain began to pour down in a tense start to the race. Eight riders pitted at the end of the first lap, with Tuuli entering the pitlane first. Race leader Huertas then decided to pit on lap two and was followed by another eight riders, with each rider needing to spend at least a 76-second intervention time in the pitlane. Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) led the race in the early stages after deciding to stay out on slick tyres. John McPhee (WRP-RT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph) was another rider who stayed on slicks, eventually crashing out of the race.

There was over 20 seconds difference per lap between the slick and rain tyre runners with still 14 laps remaining. Edwards was passed by Kaito Toba (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda), who claimed the lead before Lorenzo Baldassarri (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) took the lead. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) pitted on lap five, dropping the #62 to 25^th position – outside the points. Things soon went from bad to worse for Manzi, receiving an 11.82s penalty for not completing the 76-second intervention time. With 10 laps remaining, the battle for second place was tense, with Tuuli soon finding his way through Huertas and Toba. Van Straalen, however, was on a charge as he made his way into second before stealing the lead.

HOT PACE: Tuuli unable to respond to Huertas

On the last lap of the race, all eyes were on Dutch rider van Straalen and the riders in second and third, with Huertas finding his through on Tuuli. The #66 could not respond to Huertas’ pace, with the Spaniard stretching the gap to over half a second at the line. With a strong pace on the last lap, van Straalen was able to take his maiden victory and become a home hero.

Source: worldsbk.com

O conteúdo This one is on me! Glenn van Straalen storms to victory at Assen in Supersport race 2 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Adrián Huertas secured his second win of the year on Saturday in the first race of the World Supersport championship at Assen. The Spaniard had to mount a comeback after starting outside the points-scoring positions, and the choice of slick tyres proved crucial to this outcome.

The track conditions posed some risks in tire selection. Stefano Manzi, starting from pole position for Pata Ten Kate Yamaha, got off to a good start and held onto the lead. Some riders succumbed to the challenging conditions, and even before the race began, Yari Montella from Barni Spark Racing Team had to head to the pits due to issues with his Ducati.

Luke Power from Motozoo ME Air Racing/MV Agusta surprisingly led at the end of the first lap, with other riders in contention. By the seventh lap, Valentin Debise from Evan Bros. Yamaha took the lead and managed to pull away. However, Huertas had different plans.

The choice of slick tyres proved to be the right one, and the Spaniard staged an impressive recovery from outside the top ten in the final eight laps. He overtook Debise on the penultimate lap and further extended his lead, crossing the finish line as the winner with an 8.149-second gap.

Meanwhile, the Frenchman was unable to defend his second position, being overtaken by Manzi on the final lap. Glenn van Straalen from Pata Yamaha Ten Kate and Tom Edwards from D34G Racing/Ducati rounded out the top five.

Results:

O conteúdo Adrián Huertas made a remarkable comeback to win in Assen aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Stefano Manzi secured pole position for the Assen round of the World Supersport Championship this Friday. The Superpole session was an unusual one, with half the grid officially not qualified. We explain everything later on in the article.

The Superpole began slightly later, following the delay caused by the red flag in the second free practice session of the World Superbike Championship. Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. Yamaha) was the first to complete a flying lap, followed by Adrián Huertas (Aruba.it Ducati), who then took the lead with his second attempt.

The Frenchman was strong in the early stages of the session and, moments after being overtaken by Lorenzo Baldassarri (Orleac Racing Verdnatura/Ducati), reclaimed the top spot.

However, from then on, Debise never regained the lead. He was beaten by Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph), who in turn yielded to Bahatin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta). Manzi took the lead for the first time and, although immediately beaten by Glenn van Straalen, responded promptly with the pole position time.

The benchmark was set at 1m45.203s, allowing the Italian to outpace the Dutchman by 0.990s. Huertas finished third, after improving later on. Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta) posted the fourth fastest time, sharing the second row of the grid with Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team/Ducati) and Baldassarri.

Of the 34 riders, only 17 were qualified – meaning they set a time within 105% of the fastest lap (1m50.464s). Among those affected are contenders for top positions like Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) or Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing/MV Agusta).

But what led half the grid to not be qualified? The intensified rain halfway through the session caught several riders off guard, preventing them from improving their times thereafter. However, it is not expected that any of them will be prevented from racing in Assen, as this situation is unrelated to their demonstrated performance potential.

Results:

O conteúdo Stefano Manzi seals WSSP pole position in Assen; half the grid not qualified aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Can Oncu ended the World Supersport Championship FP1 in Assen as the fastest man on track on a session that was severely affect by rain in the dutch circuit.

Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished on top of a wet FP at the TT Circuit Assen as he took advantage of the track’s best conditions to go 1.4s seconds faster than his competition. With the strong rain falling in the opening stages, and getting heavier at the halfway mark, laps were limited in what turned into a quiet opening of the SSP action.

In the first ten minutes barely laps were made with the majority of the riders staying on the team box. One of the only on track was C. Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) with a lap in 1.44:919s, in front of Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) and Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph), with 2.6 seconds separating the top three, after the trio went out in the early stages of FP.

The rain didn’t stop and even got worse with riders risking to go on track with 18 minutes left, making any lap made to be crucial to set who will come out on top and claim pole position for Saturday’s Race 1.

Times:

O conteúdo Can Oncu was the fastest among the «brave riders» to venture on heavy rain in SSP FP1 at Assen aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Almost a month later, the Superbike World Championships are back. The «Cathedral» of Assen hosts the third round of the WSBK and WSSP season, as well as the second round for the World Supersport 300 Championship.

In Superbike, Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Ducati) leads with a 12-point gap over his teammate Álvaro Bautista and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki). The Italian will try to defend his position, but in recent weeks he underwent arm surgery due to arm pump and may still be somewhat physically limited.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW) is fourth in the championship, 16 points behind the leader. The Turkish rider has already won with the German manufacturer and aims to repeat the feat in Assen… in the country of his teammate, Michael van der Mark, who will also try to fight for top positions. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) is absent due to injury, replaced by Nicholas Spinelli.

As for WSSP, the championship is tight in this early stage. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) leads with just four more points than Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta), followed by Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) with an 11-point margin. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing/MV Agusta) is fourth, 32 points behind, and will try to regain ground, as will Adrián Huertas (Aruba.it Ducati), who is fifth, 35 points off the lead.

WSSP300 has its second round of the year. Iñigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) and Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse/Yamaha) are tied at the top of the championship with 28 points, three more than Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing), who has his home round in Assen. The top six are separated by just eight points, and mathematically, anyone could overtake the leaders this weekend.

Here are all the schedules for WSBK, WSSP, and WSSP300 in Assen (CET time).

• Friday, April 19
  • 09h40-10h05: FP WSSP300
  • 10h20-11h05: FP1 WSBK
  • 11h20-12h00: FP WSSP
  • 14h10-14h35: Superpole WSSP300
  • 15h00-15h45: FP2 WSBK
  • 16h00-16h40: Superpole WSSP
• Saturday, April 20
  • 09h00-09h20: FP3 WSBK
  • 09h30-09h40: Warm-up 1 WSSP300
  • 09h50-10h00: Warm-up 1 WSSP
  • 11h00-11h15: Superpole WSBK
  • 12h45: Race 1 WSSP300
  • 14h00: Race 1 WSBK
  • 15h15: Race 1 WSSP
• Sunday, April 21
  • 09h00-09h10: Warm-up WSBK
  • 09h20-09h30: Warm-up 2 WSSP300
  • 09h40-09h50: Warm-up 2 WSSP
  • 11h00: Superpole Race WSBK
  • 12h45: Race 2 WSSP300
  • 14h00: Race 2 WSBK
  • 15h15: Race 2 WSSP

O conteúdo Superbike returns at the «Cathedral»: Schedule for the Assen round aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Stefano Manzi achieved his first victory of the season in the World Supersport Championship this Sunday. The second race in Barcelona was shortened after a red flag, with the Italian coming out on top in an exciting battle where the top five crossed the finish line separated by less than a second.

In the first start, Adrián Huertas (Aruba.it Ducati) retained the lead from pole position, with Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti) chasing behind. Öncü attempted to take the lead at the start of the second lap, but the three riders made contact, causing Huertas to drop to fourth. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) joined the fight for the podium positions.

Huertas quickly returned to the lead but was then pressured by Mahias until a crash by Piotr Biesiekirski (Ecosantagata Althea/Ducati) at turn one forced the race to be interrupted with a red flag. The Polish rider had to go through the medical center.

Race red-flagged due to an incident involving Piotr Biesiekirski #CatalanWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/0Xv7YymiTr

— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) March 24, 2024

Upon the restart, six laps were completed. Huertas started from pole position, but Montella took the lead at the restart for a brief moment – Huertas quickly regained the position. Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate) and Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta) were also in the mix. Huertas made a costly mistake, running wide into the gravel, which dropped him to the back of the field.

High drama as Adrian Huertas crashes on the penultimate lap #CatalanWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/TFRJIF33Yu

— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) March 24, 2024

The battle and uncertainty continued between Manzi, Schrötter, Mahias, and Montella. Schrötter led into the final lap, but Manzi overtook him at turn one. The German continued to put pressure, but the Italian celebrated the victory with a lead of 0.086s. Mahias finished third. Montella was fourth, and Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. Yamaha) rounded out the top five, just 0.714s behind the winner. Despite his mistake, Huertas still set a new race lap record but finished 32nd.

Results:

O conteúdo Stefano Manzi won the Race 2 of the WSSP in Barcelona by a narrow margin after a red flag aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Adrián Huertas displayed superior performance in the first race of the World Supersport Championship in Barcelona. The Aruba.it Ducati rider led almost from start to finish to claim the win.

Starting from pole position, the Spanish rider remained at the front ahead of Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti). Although the Turkish rider managed to overtake twice, Huertas always responded to regain the lead before gradually pulling away from the fifth lap onwards. Meanwhile, Öncü began to lose momentum and dropped two positions on the eighth lap.

From then on, Stefano Manzi became Huertas’s main pursuer. The Pata Yamaha Ten Kate rider managed to close the gap to the leader, but Huertas made the difference on the final lap to win with a 1.277s lead. Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta) managed to recover to third place, benefiting from Lucas Mahias’ (GMT94 Yamaha) crash on the tenth lap. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) and Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. Yamaha) completed the top five.

O conteúdo Adrián Huertas dominated the first race of the WSSP in Barcelona aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

In the second round of the season, Adrián Huertas clinched his second pole position in the World Supersport Championship. The Aruba.it Ducati rider was dominant in the Superpole session held this Friday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Three riders stood out throughout this qualifying session: Huertas, Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate), and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti), who were the ones who most frequently led the timesheets.

In the final minutes, Huertas set a sequence of two fast laps to surpass Öncü. The Spaniard clocked a time of 1m44.197s to stay 0.274s ahead of the Turkish rider. Manzi finished third, 0.333s behind, followed by Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha).

The top five was rounded off by Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta) ahead of the rider who won both races in Phillip Island – Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati), who will start from sixth position in Barcelona.

Timesheets:

O conteúdo Adrián Huertas secures another pole position in WSSP in Barcelona aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.