Stefano Manzi won FIM Supersport World Championship Race One Saturday at Magny-Cours, in France. Riding his Pata Yamaha Ten Kate YZF R9, the Italian won the 19-lap race by 0.244 second.
Can Oncu was the runner-up on his Blu Cru Evan Bros Yamaha YZF R9, 4.171 seconds ahead of his teammate, Alberto Surra.
Former MotoAmerica Supersport regular Valentin Debise crashed his Renzi Corse Ducati Panigale V2 on Turn 15 and Did Not Finish (DNF).
Stefano Manzi leads the championship with 319 points, 64 ahead of Can Oncu who has 255 points. Tom Booth-Amos is third with 198 points.
Results WSSP RACE 1
More from a press release issued by Dorna:
LAST-LAP COMEBACK: Manzi pulls off stunning final lap to beat Oncu in epic WorldSSP Race 1.
Manzi was trailing the #61 by around a second at the end of the penultimate lap but managed to pull it all back to pass Oncu on the final lap.
Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) pulled off a late-race comeback that will go down in FIM Supersport World Championship history at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. After a huge moment on the penultimate lap, the #62 was able to re-group to close down around a second to Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) before passing him at Turn 13 on the last lap to claim a stunning and what seemed unlikely victory with just a lap to go during Race 1 for the French Round.
RACE FOR THE AGES: Manzi vs Oncu in an all-time classic
Oncu grabbed the holeshot when lights went out as he looked to take points out of title rival Manzi’s lead, with the #62 having to settle for P3 in the early stages behind Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA). The #94 moved ahead of Oncu at Turn 1 on Lap 4 under braking at Turn 5, although Manzi was back in front on the same lap at Turn 13 with Mahias demoted to third. On Lap 6, Oncu moved ahead of his rival at Turn 5 under heavy braking to re-take the lead, but at Turn 15 they swapped positions again as Manzi caught the #61 by surprise. It looked like Manzi was trying to break away from Oncu around halfway through, but the Turkish rider was able to go with him as the pair continued to trade places throughout the race.
Manzi held the lead until Lap 15 when Oncu came through at Turn 5, but Manzi waited just a few corners to re-claim the lead when he passed his title rival at Turn 13. Two laps later and the pair were side-by-side with nothing between them into Turn 5 as Oncu took P1 once again but, as before, Manzi responded quickly: passing his rival at Turn 11. It was repeated a lap later and this time the #62 responded at Turn 8, adding to the list of corners he made a move at. However, Manzi had a big moment through Turn 13 which gave Oncu a chance to take the lead by over a second; but Manzi pulled the gap down by six tenths very quickly. On the final lap, Manzi moved ahead at Turn 13 and did enough to take a remarkable victory ahead of the #61.
ROOKIE ON THE ROSTRUM: Surra fights for the podium on debut
While the top two eventually broke away, both Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) and debutant Alberto Surra (Yamah BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) went with them through the first half of the race as they fought over P3. Mahias led the battle for a while but on Lap 7, the Italian rider moved ahead of the Frenchman at Turn 5 before the #94 responded four laps later to take P3. On Lap 16, Surra moved ahead at Turn 5 once again as he took third place from the 2017 Champion. Mahias was able to use his experience to claim P3 on the track but he was given a three-second penalty for shortcutting and not losing sufficient time, promoting Surra onto the podium on his debut.
A 2025 BEST FOR PEROLARI: P5 for the home rider
Corentin Perolari (Honda Racing World Supersport) secured his best result of the season with P5, finishing seven seconds down on Manzi at the head of the field. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) finished in sixth, 1.595s down on the Honda rider ahead of him. Filippo Farioli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was seventh at the end of the 19-lap race.
QJMOTOR SCORE POINTS WITH NEW BIKE: a WorldSSP best for the Chinese manufacturer
Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) secured another top-ten finish as he came home in P8, fending off Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) by just over three tenths. Half-a-second back was Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who completed the top ten, with six manufacturers in the top ten in Race 1. Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 11th with Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) 12th and Raffaele De Rosa (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) 13th. The Italian took QJMOTOR’s best finish in WorldSSP on the weekend they debuted their new machine. Ondrej Vostatek (WRP Racing) and Niccolo Antonelli (VFT Racing) completed the points-paying positions.
HOUSEKEEPING FROM RACE 1: six retirements
On the opening lap, Niki Tuuli (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) and Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) collided at Turn 9, with the #51 taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the fall. Marcel Schroetter (WRP Racing) and Simon Jespersen (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) came together at Turn 8 with the German rider given a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding. Federico Caricasulo (D34G WorldSSP Racing Team) crashed from the top eight at Turn 17 on Lap 14. Kaito Toba (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) crashed out in the closing stages of the race, while Roberto Garcia (GMT94-YAMAHA) also retired from the race.
The top six from WorldSSP Race 1, full results here:
1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)
2. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) +0.244s
3. Alberto Surra (Yamah BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) +4.415s
4. Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) +5.991s
5. Corentin Perolari (Honda Racing World Supersport) +7.257s
6. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +8.852s
Don’t miss WorldSSP Race 2 at 14:00 Local Time (UTC+2) on Sunday using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now half price!
