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It’s back! Some of the craziest, most entertaining and closest World Championship racing you’ll likely see comes from the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship. It’s always a land of opportunity but this year, there’s a clear group that should fight for the title and those who will have flashes of brilliance. We’ve (somehow) slimmed it down to five favourites and five outsiders for title success – if you disagree, take a look to the entry list here and let us know your thoughts!

THE 5 FAMOUS ONES: AN ESTABLISHED GUARD IN 2024

#1 Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing)

The reigning Champion is the only rider in WorldSSP300 history to win the title twice but both times have been in the established title-contending MTM Kawasaki team. For the Dutchman, it’s a change to the Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing team for 2024 as searches to become the first triple Champion and the first for KTM. With the #1 proudly shown, he’s an obvious and clear favourite.

#26 Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki)

Taking over Buis’ place in the MTM Kawasaki team is Mirko Gennai, who won the last two races of 2023 and finished third overall. The most successful Italian in terms of wins joins an established Championship front-running team and history can be made at Round 1. He could be the first rider to win three races in a row as well as first rider to win back-to-back races with different manufacturers

#23 Samuel Di Sora (ARCO MotoR University Team)

Going into a sixth season of action in the class, Samuele Di Sora is a veteran; the Frenchman will be keen to show that he’ll be one to watch in 2024, having won races in the last four seasons, although he struggled in 2023. A new challenge for him in 2024 with a switch to Yamaha and a team that’s previously won the title, can he hit the ground running in Barcelona, one of his favourite tracks?

#91 Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha)

The #91 Italian was a star in 2023 with a race win, podiums and numerous battles putting his name in the title chase despite a mid-season dip. He’s one of just two of our selected ‘favourites’ to remain with the same team and continuity in the class can be the difference at the start of the season. The best-placed Yamaha from 2023 is sure to be right in the mix but can he make the difference?

#7 Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki)

The second MTM Kawasaki to feature on the list for very good reasons. An Aragon winner from the fifth row of the grid and strength shown at various other points, Veneman – the son of WorldSSP podium finisher Barry Veneman – was strong in the second half of 2024. He scored the fourth-highest amount of points from the final four rounds and finished P8 overall; a dark horse for sure.

THE 5 EMERGING STARS: COULD THE FAVOURITES BE OVERTHROWN?

#53 Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki)

He was a double winner at the first round last year at Assen and thus Championship leader but a poor second half of 2023 left a bittersweet taste for Petr Svoboda. The 21-year-old hopes consistency from the first half of last year carries on to become the first Czech World Champion in the class.

#9 Emilio Ercolani (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team)

The reigning Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Champion makes his move to the big stage and will be keen to show that he’s got what it takes to fight for the top spots. He was first and second in Barcelona last year on his way to the title so it seems a good place to start a new challenge.

#22 Marc Garcia (China Racing Team)

A year in the class for Kove with two top eights means 2017 WorldSSP300 Champion Marc Garcia aims to regularly challenge for top fives and podiums. A title tilt may be hard but this is WorldSSP300 – if you’re new to the class, after Race 1, you’ll understand what we mean! Anything can happen…

#31 Elia Bartolini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team)

A top ten finisher in the Moto3™ World Championship, it goes without saying that Italian rookie Elia Bartolini will be a force to be reckoned with in 2024. He should be fast from the start but nothing is confirmed; with Sandro Carusi’s team featuring heavily, expect something special from the squad.

#47 Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project)

FENTOOOON… we just had to. Three fastest laps in the last six races of 2023 and always building in confidence, Seabright earns himself on a list of riders to keep a close eye on this year. The British rider, with ten top ten finishes last year, continues with the same team, a good base for 2024.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: THOSE BOUND TO SURPRISE AND RISE

Narrowing anything related to WorldSSP300 down to ten is always difficult and there are plenty of riders who can promise a strong campaign in 2024. Indonesian brothers Galang Hendra Pratama (ProGP Racing) and Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) are both winners in the class and always fast, whilst Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) is back after a year out and clinching the IDM Supersport 300 title in 2023.

Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo-PL Performances) has hopes of more podiums, Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Kawasaki Racing) is back full-time in 2024 after his wildcard wins and Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Racing) was building well at the end of 2023. Julio Garcia Gonzalez (Kove Racing Team) has had a podium in the class and wants a first for the Chinese manufacturer, whereas third-placed in the Yamaha R3 Euro Championship Kevin Fontainha (MS Racing) also graduates and represents Brazil with Enzo Valentim AD78 FIM Latinoamerica by MS Racing and teammate Gustavo Manso.

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