It’s guaranteed to be an MTM Kawasaki rider who is Champion, but will it be Adrian Huertas or Jeffrey Buis?
The 2021 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship battle will be fought this weekend as the final round of the season awaits at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) currently leads the standings and can clinch the title in Race 1 on Saturday, but WorldSSP300 is never that easy. Second in the standings is his teammate Jeffrey Buis, the only rider who can challenge the Spaniard for the crown in 2021. 36 points split the pair of them coming to the Motul Portuguese Round, but there’ll be plenty of other protagonists.
Adrian Huertas’ stunning season has seen him take five wins, but the Motul Spanish Round was not the best for him; seventh in Race 1 from a second ever pole before a crash in the second race took him out, Huertas knows that the pressure is on him to deliver at Portimao. Teammate Jeffrey Buis took a Race 1 win at Jerez and a fourth place, closing the Championship lead down by 29 points. For Huertas to win the title in Race 1, he must go into Sunday with a 26-point gap if Buis wins Race 1, or 25-point gap if Buis doesn’t win Race 1. A podium for Huertas will give him the title regardless of what happens to Buis, whilst if Buis is second, Huertas can afford sixth or better. In third in the standings, Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) awaits to be declared fit or unfit to see if he can take part in the season finale.
Fourth in the standings and 35 points behind Booth-Amos, Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) was unfortunate at Jerez, taking sixth in Race 1 before being taken out by Championship leader Huertas in Race 2. Di Sora’s had a strong year but heads to Portimao with the elusive first win in sight. Just five points behind Di Sora, Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) is in mighty form with four podiums in the last four races, the only rider to achieve that this year. Of those four podiums, two have been wins, including last time out at Jerez. Also, a run of strong finishes, including a podium last time out at Jerez in Race 2, Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) hopes he can get into the top six overall, heading to the circuit he took a first ever pole at last year. 12 points cover fourth to sixth, with the battle intensifying.
3 key stats ahead of the Motul Portuguese Round
10
The above record is even more striking if we consider that 10 different riders climbed on the podium here.
2
5 WorldSSP300 races have been run at Portimao since 2017, but only two riders claimed the win: Scott Deroue (3) and Ana Carrasco (2). Carrasco took the first ever win for a female in any FIM Solo Road Racing World Championship back in 2017.
1
Kawasaki is the sole manufacturer winning at Portimao. The podium count is also in Kawasaki’s favour: they left Yamaha only 4 podium places out of a possible 15.
Championship Standings (after Race 2, Round 10)
1. Adrian Huertas (ESP) Yamaha (210 points)
2. Jeffrey Buis (NED) Kawasaki (174 points)
3. Tom Booth-Amos (GBR) Kawasaki (158 points)
For more info checkout our dedicated World Supersport 300 News page superbike-news.co.uk/world-supersport-300/
Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com
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