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Australia’s FIM Supersport World Championship season opener gave fans a first look at this year’s grid in-competition, and with it, several riders surprised onlookers with their pace. From rookies like Michael Rinaldi (GMT94- Yamaha), Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), and teammate Jaume Masia, to WorldSSP veterans like Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing), the weekend’s racing action brought a handful of surprises. Of these surprises, some the following riders may prove to be among the grid’s ‘dark horse’ candidates in the battle for the Championship.

MASIA'S MARVELLOUS DEBUT: rapid throughout, despite Race 2 crash

Rookie Masia had looked fast in the pre-season testing sessions held earlier in the week, fifth fastest in Day 1 and only a half-second slower than Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in P1 across Day 2. Friday was a day of consistency for the #51, coming in P6 in the Tissot Superpole Session, and a subsequent P6 in Saturday’s Race 1. His Race 1 finish was hampered by a 3.510s Pit Infraction Time Penalty for his early exit from the pit lane, pushing him down to P6 however prior to the pit stop, he was battling for the podium positions. His weekend ended on a down note, as on Lap 9, he crashed into the back wheel of Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) entering the high-speed Turn 1. The crash forced the pair to retire, preventing him from earning any points in the race, but despite that, he still hangs in tenth place looking forward to Portimao.

MAIDEN POLE FOR BENDSNEYDER: Dutchman claims first P1 in Superpole

Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was heading into his first full season of WorldSSP, although he secured a rostrum in his first two rounds at the end of 2024. Across the pre-season testing sessions combined, he was third fastest, and in Friday’s first Tissot Superpole session of the season, he claimed his career first pole in WorldSSP.  From there, he stayed on the gas, dipping slightly in Saturday’s Race 1 to finish P4, before returning to the rostrum on Sunday to claim P3. With his pair of strong races, Bendsneyder emphatically gave an answer to those wondering how he would fare in 2025.

TRIUMPH-ANT BOOTH-AMOS: a first World Championship win since 2021

Booth-Amos opened the 2025 campaign strong by getting the monkey off his back by winning his first WorldSSP race. He topped the podium in Race 2 by a margin of more than half a second faster than 2024 runner-up Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), capping off a stunning performance in which the British rider achieved a worst position on the weekend of just P2 in Friday’s Superpole and Saturday’s Race 1.  While these weekend results were signalled by his strong performance in Friday’s Free Practice where he tallied another P2 finish, prior in the week few would have bet on these results as he displayed poor pace across the preceding week’s Free Practice. On Monday, his fastest time was 1’33.296s, placing him in P9, and more than a second off the leader, Bo Bendsneyder’s pace. Tuesday was even slower, finishing the day in P15, and more than 1.4s off again Bendsneyder’s leading pace.

FARIOLI'S STRONG PACE: a dramatic start to WorldSSP career

Italian rookie Filippo Farioli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) clocked impressive lap times in testing, atop his MV Agusta F3. The #77 built on this performance on Tuesday in the final day of Free Practices, the youngster improved his time to 1’32.544s to maintain his position as sixth-fastest. On Friday during Free Practice, however, disaster struck for Farioli. After a technical issue, he crashed in Turn 9’s Lukey Heights, sending him to the medical centre just minutes before the end of the session, where he was diagnosed with a fractured left ankle, ending the Italian rookie’s debut weekend before it started. Despite the setback, it was a strong showing for the Italian.

CARDELUS RUNS AS HIGH AS P2: unlikely start for the Andorran

Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had a rather ignominious start to his WorldSSP rookie season at Phillip Island, displaying middling pace in Monday’s Free Practices in P15, improving to P10 on Tuesday. Over the weekend, Cardelus began to show more of his potential, while he was forced to retire in Race 1 during his trip to pit lane, Race 2 saw the Andorran rider climb up from P10 to P5 by lap 8, finishing slightly lower in P8, however displaying clear upside. Cardelus was the second fastest on track through sector four of the track, showing his Ducati V2’s pace on corner exits down into the straightaway.

WORLD SUPERBIKE VETERAN IMPRESSES: Rinaldi shows good pace

In his first WorldSSP campaign after seven seasons in WorldSBK, Rinaldi got better as the week went on apart from an unfortunate Race 1 retirement due to a technical issue with his bike. Prior to the weekend’s races, Rinaldi registered a pair of P12 on Monday and P14 on Tuesday’s Free Practice sessions, pace which he marginally improved in his P10 in Friday’s Tissot Superpole Session. Race 1 saw #21 retire after 12 laps, however in Race 2, Rinaldi and his Yamaha R9 seemed to click as he narrowly missed out on a podium position, finishing in P4. Having started the Race in P8, during the mandatory Pit Lane Intervention, he claimed P1 for a single lap, and from there on, held onto P4 until the end of the Race.

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