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The final third of the year will flash on by in less than month from Cremona to Jerez in the FIM Supersport World Championship title race and it has intensified at exactly the right time. By the time racing gets going at the new Cremona Circuit, it’ll have been two months since Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) tasted victory despite being Championship leader, whilst Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) has taken three out of the last four wins, getting the gap down from 46 to 14 points.

NEW TRACK, SAME RIVALRY: the fight at the top builds

A new circuit yes but not entirely new for Huertas, who tested there back in May and got vital laps in on his Ducati V2. He needs to strike back and despite not winning since Most, he’s only had two podiums in the last four races. He needs a win and now with the gap at 14 points, he can’t afford errors. Montella on the other hand has momentum on his side, beating the Championship leader in three of the last four races. Cremona will be vital to see who has the momentum heading into the first of two double-headers, whilst there’s pride at stake: the Italian round is the one every Italian rider wants to win, although Huertas is also keen to put his Ducati on top. Anything’s possible and whilst Stefano Manzi’s 50 points down on Huertas, he’ll be hoping for a Montella-esque turnaround, beginning at home this weekend.

BATTLE FOR P4: 5 riders covered by 36 points

It's a 77 point gap back to Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. Yamaha WorldSSP Team) in fourth place but from then on, it’s close behind. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) is fifth and 14 back of Debise, whilst a further nine behind is Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura). Another point splits Navarro and Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME Air Racing) who was on the podium last time out in France, as was Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) who is just 12 behind the Italian. In total, P4 to P8 is covered by 36 points and with Cremona being new, expect fireworks in that specific battle. Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) returned to winning ways and climbed to ninth overall in the Championship, whilst 2017 WorldSSP Champion Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) completes the top ten.

TOP 10 FIGHT: can anyone crack it this weekend?

11th place may belong to Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) but that could be temporarily, with the Turkish star having tested at the circuit back in May. Then, there’s Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph), who has had seven top ten finishes in the last nine races and wants to convert that into a top ten overall in the standings. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) are right behind him though and both keen to strike. After a second top ten of the 2024 season, Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) consolidated his position as lead WorldSSP Challenge rider.

HOUSEKEEPING: familiar faces back on the WorldSSP grid

As ever, there’s always new faces to mention and in some cases, familiar ones too. Borja Gomez (VIAMO Racing by MTM) is in for Marcel Brenner, Lorenzo Dalla Porta (VFT Racing Yamaha) replaces Yeray Ruiz once more and Miquel Pons (Team ProDina Altogoo) replaces Gabriele Giannini. There’s also a wildcard in Luca Ottaviani (Extreme Racing Services) aboard the MV Agusta F3 800 RR, who will make his 15th appearance in the class – his career-best of P11 was equalled earlier in the year at Misano.

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