Benat Fernandez Narrowly Misses Double WorldSSP300 Podium In The Netherlands

Benat Fernandez continued his impressive start to the 2025 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at the Cathedral of Speed – the iconic TT Circuit Assen, leaving the event with a fastest lap, two top finishes and a top three position in the overall standings after the second round of the series.

The teen Spanish sensation had never seen the TT Circuit Assen before but watching him run so confidently at the front those watching on wouldn’t have thought that was the case.

The Team 109 Retro Traffic KOVE mounted rider used Friday’s Free Practice session to familiarise himself with the circuit. He finished nineteenth.

The sole grid deciding Superpole session saw a huge step in terms of lap time, the #7 securing a place on the second row of the in fifth.

Race one was typically hard fought. Benat immediately put himself into podium contention, banging bars throughout in the leading group of at times a dozen riders. He crossed the line in fourth but was relegated a position, after exceeding track limits on the final lap.

Sunday’s second race was equally intense with Fernandez once again in the mix throughout. A double long lap penalty following an incident in the opening encounter could have meant any chance of fighting for the podium for the fourth consecutive race was over, but Fernandez didn’t get the memo. The youngster bridged an almost four second gap to put himself into the fight for the win on the final lap. With eight riders locked together the final few corners were a bit of a lottery, Benat crossing the line third, only to be denied a place on the podium following another last lap track limits infraction.

Classified fourth he heads to round three in Czechia third overall in the championship standings – an incredible achievement for the Team 109 Retro Traffic KOVE squad and their rookie rider.

Benat Fernandez:

“I felt quite good in the first race on Saturday. I watched closely how my rivals’ managed things, so I was able to learn how to improve for Sunday but an incident between me and another rider meant I was given a penalty after the race. In the second race I started on Pole Position because I made the fastest lap in race one and I was feeling good. After the long laps (penalty), I pushed hard, and I was able to arrive to lead group again. It was chaos on the final lap and in the final chicane it was crazy with so many riders going out of the track limits. I was behind and I had no space, and I touched the green. I crossed the line third, but I was given a penalty again. It’s a shame as I was feeling so good on the bike. The KOVE is working well, and the team is doing such a good job. Everyone is working in a professional way, and I am now thinking about the championship. There is no reason if we stay calm that we cannot fight for the title. We just need to keep going the way we are and finish the races – that’s the key.”

Paul Tobin – Team Principal:

“It was Benat’s first time at Assen so the plan from the track walk on Thursday was for him to learn and this was the same for FP1. By Superpole he was up to speed. It was an excellent performance for him to qualify in the middle of the second row in fifth. His first race was a belter. There were seven fast riders in the lead group who were eleven seconds ahead of the chasing group, so he was certainly in good company. He just missed the podium which we were really happy about. We never thought he could be so competitive in race one on his first visit to such a technical track. His lap from Saturday’s race, which was a new circuit record put him on Pole Position for Sunday’s second race. The only slight taint to that was his involvement in the incident that saw Torres fail to finish. The penalty was bit harsh, but we respect the FIM stewards, and we just took it on the chin and focused on getting the best result we could. I never expected him to be able to finish in the lead group, let alone fight for the win after two long lap penalties. He rode an incredible race. There were many bikes running off track on the final lap in typical Supersport 300 fashion and despite crossing the line P3 he was demoted to P5. It was a great weekend with great points for the championship. We are only a point from second and within touching distance of the lead. We go to Most in the Czech Republic confident of another strong weekend.”