30 riders set for 2022 WorldSSP300 campaign as entry list revealed
The provisional permanent entry list for the 2022 WorldSSP300 season has been released with plenty of changes up and down the grid
The grid for the 2022 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship has been set with the release of the provisional permanent entry list for the 2022 campaign. With the 2020 and 2021 Champions departing for WorldSSP, the battle to be the 2022 Champion is open and with changes up and down the grid, it could be an unpredictable year of action.
CHANGES IN 2021’S TOP THREE TEAMS
With both Jeffrey Buis and Adrian Huertas moving up to WorldSSP, MTM Kawasaki have brought in Dutch riders Victor Steeman and Ruben Bijman for 2022 alongside race winner Yuta Okaya, who remains with the team. After running a four-rider line-up in recent years, the team have gone to three bikes for 2022.
The Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki have also reduced the number of bikes they will compete with in 2022, from three to two. With Tom Booth-Amos also moving up to WorldSSP, the team will run Dirk Geiger and Troy Alberto in 2022; Alberto becoming the first rider from the Philippines to compete in WorldSSP300.
There is also a change at AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing in their line-up. While Ton Kawakami returns for another WorldSSP300 campaign with the team, he will be joined by Humberto Maier for this season. The team continues to run an all-Brazilian line-up with their new signing. AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing will run with the Yamaha YZF-R3 bike in 2022 as they have in previous campaigns, where they finished as the highest Yamaha team in the standings.
RETURNING RIDERS AND ROOKIES
Leader Team Flembbo have decided to run an all-French line-up in 2022, keeping Samuel Di Sora for another season with the team after his victory in Race 1 at Portimao. He will be joined by compatriot Sylvain Markarian for the upcoming season. SMW Racing will field Alex Millan, who competed in three rounds in 2021, in the upcoming campaign alongside the experienced Iñigo Iglesias, with Iglesias hoping to add to his podium tally in 2022.
Both Bruno Ieraci and Hugo De Cancellis return to the Championship, racing for the Prodina Racing WorldSSP300 outfit in 2022 as both look to make their mark on the Championship on Kawasaki machinery. As in 2021, there will only be one full-time KTM representative on the grid with Lehmann Lennox joining Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing after a one-off appearance with KTM machinery in 2021 in Barcelona.
FIRST YAMAHA R3 EUROPEAN CUP GRADUATES IN WorldSSP300
In 2022, three riders who competed in the inaugural Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Cup will take to the WorldSSP300 grid. Iker Garcia was crowned the first ever Cup winner in 2021 and will race with Yamaha MS Racing in 2022, alongside 2017 WorldSSP300 Champion Marc Garcia. Fenton Seabright will be with the Viñales Racing Team for 2022 after claiming third place in the Yamaha R3 European Cup 2021 campaign. The Briton is joined by Italian rider Marco Gaggi for the upcoming campaign. Greece will be represented for the first time in WorldSSP300 when Ioannis Peristeras links up with the ProGP Racing squad, alongside Gabriele Mastroluca, with Peristeras finishing eighth in the 2021 Yamaha R3 European Cup standings.
THE TEAMS RUNNING KAWASAKI MACHINERY IN 2022…
Kawasaki have won all but the 2017 Manufacturers’ Championship, with 17 of the 30 bikes on the 22 grid the Kawasaki Ninja 400. Both Alessandro Zanca and Kevin Sabatucci return to the Championship, this time with Kawasaki GP Project. Accolade Smrz Racing will compete with Spanish duo Yeray Saiz and Jose Luis Perez in 2022, running an all-Spanish line-up for the second consecutive campaign. Team#109 Kawasaki expand to two bikes for 2022, retaining the services of Daniel Mogeda who finished the 2021 season with the team and bringing in Harry Khouri.
THE REMAINING YAMAHA SQUADS
There will be plenty of Yamaha machines on the grid in 2022, making up 12 of the 30-strong grid for the upcoming season. Team BrCorse will run a two-bike effort in 2022 having recruited British rider Indy Offer for his third campaign in WorldSSP300 to race alongside Mirko Gennai.
Two one-rider squads are running Yamaha machinery in 2022 to round out the entry list. After impressing during one-off outings in 2021, Alvaro Diaz lines up for a full-time campaign with the Arco Motor University Team, as well as Matteo Vannucci for the AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha squad; Vannucci did compete in the Yamaha R3 European Cup in 2021, claiming pole and a podium on his sole outing at Misano.
Check out the full list of WorldSSP300 entries on the provisional permanent entry list HERE!
Watch all the action from WorldSSP300 in 2022 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!