Benat Fernandez and Team 109 Retro Traffic KOVE win on debut weekend together
Team109 and Chinese manufacturer Kove began their World Championship partnership in style in the opening round of the 2025 FIM Supersport 300 Championship, winning in only their second race together on Sunday at the Portimão Circuit in Portugal after finishing fourth a day earlier in the season opener.
The newly named Team109 Retro Traffic Kove squad were understandably excited for Round 1 of the series which runs alongside the prestigious FIM Superbike World Championship after a successful pre-season test with their new 2025 signing, seventeen-year-old Benat Fernandez.
Fernandez, who has shown his talents in various world championship feeder categories took his first event in the WorldSBK paddock in his stride, working with the team throughout Free Practice on Friday, where he finished a more than credible sixth. The team continued to work hard between Free Practice and the sole grid deciding Superpole session on Friday afternoon, their efforts rewarded as Fernandez powered his Kove 350RR to a maiden Pole Position!
Saturday’s opening eleven lap encounter saw the #7 make a strong start before he was shuffled back into the pack. Unphased, Fernandez kept his cool, retaking some positions to cross the line fourth, a very positive start.
But it was on Sunday however that Kove mounted Fernandez really shone. Riding with maturity beyond his years the talented teen barely put a foot wrong. Putting into practice what he had learned from a day early he controlled things at the front and was content to drop back to maximise track position for a late race attack. His final lap was perfect, and the youngster took the first win for Team109 Retro Traffic Kove by 0.018s.
The results mean that the team head to the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands for Round 2 in a fortnight, sitting second overall in the FIM World Championship standings.
Paul Tobin – Team Principal:
“It was a difficult pre-season with us having to do some development on suspension with Bitubo, and some other parts. Also, with the weather not playing ball, Benat only got about thirty laps of riding due to cold and wintry conditions, so it was challenging to say the least. Going into the weekend we had already seen Benat’s potential, so our expectations were to be inside the top ten, but not the kind of results that he achieved. He immediately felt comfortable on the bike in FP1, and we didn’t have to make many changes for Superpole. It was an incredible result for him to achieve Pole Position. We knew that being a newcomer in the class that there was going to be a lot of pressure on Benat’s shoulders. It was his first race in the World Championship on a new bike and with a new team, and so understandably we expected him to have a challenging race, and we thought a top six would be an excellent result. To miss a podium by three thousandths of a second was very impressive, it was a great start for us. We discussed race one with Benat on Saturday after the race and then he smashed the lap record in warm up on Sunday which was unreal and something you hardly ever see from a rookie in that class. He was confident for the race, and he got another good start. He consistently stayed in the front group and completely exceeded our expectations. He showed incredible race craft, and we are proud of what he demonstrated throughout the weekend. We are proud to give KOVE their second World Championship win. The team did a fantastic job, and in my opinion, I don’t think any rookie in WorldSSP300 has made such an impact on their debut. We are now focused on Assen, it’s a new track for Benat, but we will approach the event as we always do with eyes on Superpole, and we will go from there! I would like to thank all our sponsors, racing partners and supporters for their continued support.”
Benat Fernandez:
“I knew I would learn a lot in the first race, and I did. I was looking at all the people around me, seeing how they managed each lap and how they changed their positions looking for the slipstream to the finish line. Honestly, I was feeling so good in the group, but Efren (Vazquez) told me that how important it is to finish the race. I didn’t want to make any mistakes; I caught some slipstream from the last corner and finished fourth. I knew that I could do it better on Sunday. The feelings were the same, and I knew that if you are P9 on the last lap you still have chances. So, I started to let my rhythm flow, evaluating each corner to see if I could overtake on the final lap. My plan was to reach the last corner third but at turn 10-11 my moment came, and I overtake three other riders around the outside. I was thinking about the slipstream, so I sacrificed the entry to get on the throttle before the last corner. I was at 100% and I overtook the guys ahead like a rocket and crossed the finish line first. I want to the thank my Team109 Retro Traffic KOVE for giving me such a perfect bike!”