Benat Fernandez holds ten point advantage heading to WorldSSP300 finale

Benat Fernandez took another step towards taking the 2025 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship crown in the penultimate round of the series at Estoril in Portugal. He finished fourth and second in the weekends two races.

Another new track for the talented Spanish rider did not phase him as he worked his way into the weekend in his usual manner. Building steadily through Friday’s Free Practice put himself in contention with a strong Superpole – qualifying fifth.

Saturday’s opening twelve lap encounter was the usual bar banging affair, but Benat gave as good as he got and was unlucky to narrowly miss the podium in a four-rider photo finish.

There was no such issue on Sunday. Benat executed the perfect race to take a valuable twenty points and leave Portugal as the World Championship leader.

With season finale a matter of days away all eyes now turn to southern Spain and the iconic Jerez circuit which will once again host the last two races of what has been an incredible debut season for the #7.

Whatever happens in Spain this coming weekend, both Benat and the Retro Traffic Team 109 KOVE can be proud of what they have achieved in 2025 – but make no mistake, they are going all in for the title.

Benat Fernandez:

“It wasn’t a bad weekend overall. Free Practice on Friday morning was good. Even though it was a new track for me, I already set a very good lap time and felt very good with the bike. Superpole was good also. It was extremely hard to get a lap time in the group because of all the traffic but again I felt good and was happy with the result. Race one was not bad. The result didn’t match the work we did but it was another crazy Supersport 300 race, and I finally crossed the line fourth after being overtaken because the slipstream on the finish line. Race two was chaotic with a lot of riders in the group. That said I almost managed to win the race. Coming out of the last turn perfectly I was able to overtake the guy in front but the rider behind me had the same idea, and he was able to just beat me to the line. I am really happy to still be in the fight for the championship, and I am going to give it everything in Jerez. Thanks to the team, Scott, James, Marc, Paul, and Patrick for being the most supportive guys in the paddock.”

Paul Tobin – Team Principal:

“The weekend started off well with Benat at the sharp end in Free Practice and he backed that up with P5 in Superpole. Race one was a bit chaotic at the start but after a couple laps he settled down and rode an incredible race. He carried out the plan that was discussed to perfection and had it not been for a two-wheel slide coming out of the final corner which cost him momentum it could have been a very different result. We knew we had a chance to win on Sunday and Benat once again executed the plan perfectly. You can never second guess what other riders will do, it’s part of racing, but we are still very happy with how the weekend went. I want to congratulate Benat for winning the Pirelli Best Lap Award for 2025 with two races remaining. He has five fastest laps attributed to him so far this season which underlines his speed and that of KOVE. If you had said to me at the start of the season that we would be heading to the final round with a ten-point lead in the world championship I would have bitten your hand off. We will do our best and may the best man win!”