The home heroes are out in force, but Indonesia’s Hendra Pratama heads the chasing pack!

It was an exciting opening day for the WorldSSP300 Championship, as after the opening two Free Practice sessions, lap times were already under the existing lap records for the class at Jerez. Heading the timesheets on day one, championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team), aiming to keep his 100% record after the opening rounds of the season. Marc Garcia (DS Junior Team) and Galang Hendra Pratama (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing) were second and third respectively.

Gonzalez set about his Friday looking to build on his positive start to the season, with the Spaniard coming to the circuit as championship leader and favourite for a home win. Heading the timesheets, he looks set to enjoy another great weekend. It was a positive start for Marc Garcia, who returns to the scene of his 2017 title win. The Spaniard made it a 1-2 for home-heroes, whilst Galang Hendra Pratama was flying the Indonesian flag high in third.

In fourth position, Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) had a strong session and was in fourth place on the combined sheets. The Australian’s time was 0.779s from the top time but with plenty more track action, expect him to be strong throughout the remainder of the weekend. Fifth position was the first of the Group B riders, with Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team), with Mika Perez (Scuderia Maranga Racing) in sixth.
Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) was only ninth in Group A in FP2, subsequently leaving her outside of the top ten overall, whilst Scott Deroue (Kawasaki MOTOPORT) was also languishing down the order; both riders with work to do ahead of Saturday and Sunday.

#ESPWorldSBK WorldSSP300 Group A and B combined results at Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto: Friday
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) 1’52.794
2. Marc Garcia (DS Junior Team) 1’53.270
3. Galang Hendra Pratama (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing) 1’53.550