WorldSSP300 Championship Lead for Retro Traffic Team 109 KOVE As Summer Break Begins

As the 2025 FIM Supersport 300 Championship season heads into the summer break, the Retro Traffic Team 109 Kove squad do so with a one point lead in the overall standings thanks to another front running performance by their sole rider – teenage Spanish sensation Benat Fernandez who picked up his second win of the year in an exhilarating second race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli last Sunday.

Qualifying third, Fernandez rode a strong race in Saturday’s opening twelve lap encounter. In the leading group and in contention for the podium throughout, the #7 Kove mounted rider took fourth at the flag in what was another typically close and exciting WorldSSP300 that saw the top seven covered by one second.

With temperatures nudging thirty degrees on Sunday and with Benat starting eleventh on the grid courtesy of his best lap time from race one, confidence was high for another strong result.

A red flag on the opening lap after a start line incident meant the restarted race was reduced to eight laps. Another strong start soon saw Fernandez swapping positions at the front and after leading on several occasions the youngster began to execute his plan – not leading on the back straight on the final lap. A perfectly judged move out of the final corner saw another photo finish with the Retro Traffic Team 109 Kove team celebrating after race direction confirmed their win by a mere 0.009s.

Benat Fernandez:

“It was a good weekend. We started well in free practice, and I felt very good. Our set-up was almost done which helped going into Superpole. Qualifying was a bit crazy. I only did three flying laps, but I managed to get a front row start which was a good for me. The first race was a bit difficult because of the heat and the Kawasaki bikes are so strong at the straights. I was struggling a bit to manage the end of the race, but I crossed the line fourth to take some points for the championship. The second race was a bit more chaotic because there was a red flag during the first start and they reduced the race to only eight laps. In the restarted race I was feeling a bit better on the brakes, and I was able to overtake the riders in front. I did the fastest lap of the race on the second lap, and I stayed at the front of the race for the remaining laps. On the final lap when we arrived at turn fourteen, I saw Julio (Garcia) was in front of me, but I knew that I would be able to overtake him if a got a good exit from the last corner. I knew I had the speed to overtake him before the finish line, so, I did a fake pass on the last corner to make him defend the entry of the corner. it was a perfect move because Julio came into the straight much slower than me and it was much easier to overtake him before the finish line. Thank you to the team for all the work they did overall this weekend. I’m focused on Magny-Cours. It’s the Summer break now and I will be doing a lot of training, let’s go!”

Paul Tobin
– Team Principal:

“Benat had been to Misano before but as always, he builds into a race weekend. Knowing which way, the pit lane went was handy though, not like the last two rounds. He finished the first session in P4 and gave us some good data for Superpole. He did one really strong lap and put the bike on the front row which gave us a good starting position for race one. He made a good start. The first few laps were as frantic as always, but he got into his rhythm and was in the front group throughout. He was unlucky to miss the podium by 0.002s but fourth was an excellent result and more good points in the bag. We studied the data overnight and we tried a couple of things in warm up. We focused on our strong points and Benat worked hard on Sunday morning. There was a red flag at the start of race two and we send our best wishes to those involved, we hope they make a speedy recovery. The restart was an eight-lap sprint. Benat made another good start, and he really showcased his race craft. He soon understood where he was stronger and put himself in a position to win, which he did by nine thousandths of a second. We are happy to be leading the world championship, even if it is only by a point. It gives us motivation going into the summer break and we will work hard to be ready for Magny-Cours in September. KOVE are now second in the manufacturers championship which really pleases us, especially as there is only one bike, ours, on the grid. I also want to thank Efren Vazquez who is a big part of Benat’s success both on and off the track. I’ll finish by thanking all our sponsors and supporters. We would not be where we are without you all.”