The 2025 FIM Supersport World Championship will go down to at least the penultimate round in Estoril after Can Öncü got the better of title rival in Race 1 in Aragon with a hard-fought second place.
After qualifying fifth, it had appeared that the weekend may present its challenges for the new R9 but a strong launch saw the Turkish ace in the mix from the off on the Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing R9, slotting into second place in the early stages of the race. Fighting hard, Öncü took the lead on several occasions during the race before narrowly missing out on victory despite a last lap attempt on rival Valentin Debise.
Championship leader Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) needed his rival to suffer some misfortune this weekend if he were to be crowned champion with two rounds to go, but a near flawless performance from Öncü takes the title at least one round further.
Manzi, who crossed the line third, now sits 65 points ahead of Öncü in the standings, meaning his next opportunity to clinch the crown will not be until Saturday’s race in Estoril in two weeks’ time.
GMT94 Yamaha’s Lucas Mahias finished eighth ahead of Alberto Surra, who continues with the Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing team this weekend in place of the injured Aldi Mahendra.
Local hero Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) finished 12th, while Yuki Okamoto (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) finished 25th.
Manzi moves to the front row of the grid in second for Race 2, which gets underway at 12:35 local time on Sunday, with Öncü lining up seventh and Mahias in ninth.
The second race of the weekend gets underway at 12:35 local time on Sunday.
FULL RACE ONE RESULTS
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Can Öncü – Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing
Race 1: 2nd
“We have to be happy today. It has not been an easy weekend, but my team and Yamaha have worked really hard to make a step and in the race we were there. OK, we were not able to win today, but it was important to be in the fight and on the podium. We will evaluate everything tonight to see if we can make another step and return to the top step tomorrow.”
Posted on September 27, 2025 by Michael Le Pard
