The World Supersport championship was back to its best in 2025. Despite not quite getting the title showdown we could have expected, the season was nonetheless exciting throughout, with multiple riders taking charge at one stage or another.
The biggest change heading into the season was Yamaha’s all-new R9, taking over from the Iwata factory’s longstanding middleweight contender, the Yamaha R6.
The R9 immediately proved to be a worthy successor to it’s once dominant predecessor, as Stefano Manzi clinched victory in the bike’s debut race at Phillip Island.
Victory in the opening race of the season proved to be the springboard into what would be a season that finally delivered the Supersport world championship for Stefano Manzi. The Italian rider ended the season with eleven wins in total and eight further podiums. After having to settle for runner-up in 2023 and in 2024, Manzi was finally able to deliver the title that had eluded him for the past two seasons.
Runner-up in the 2025 season was Evan Bro’s Yamaha’s Can Oncu. Despite previously being a race winner in the class, the 2025 season was a breakout year for the Turkish rider. Speed has never been in question for the #61; however, consistency has alluded Oncu up until this season. Early-season mistakes certainly cost Oncu a chance at the title. Nonetheless, Oncu ended the season with six wins and nine further podium finishes.
Similar to Oncu, 2025 was a breakout season at the world championship level for Britain’s Tom Booth-Amos. The PTR Triumph rider would take a career first victory in World Supersport in race two at Phillip Island. Seven further podiums throughout the season would back up Tom’s arrival as an established front-runner in the class. The Brit would, however, narrowly miss out on third in the world championship by just three points behind former Moto2 rider, Jaume Masia. Nonetheless, the 2025 season was a standout season for the British rider, who surely heads into 2026 as one of the favourites for championship contention.
Rounding out the top five in the world standings for 2025 was French veteran, Valentin Debise. Up until the 2025 season, Debise had been steadily making his presence felt in World Supersport and would feature as a semi-regular podium contender aboard a Yamaha in 2024. Despite one too many non-finishes, Debise would take his first world championship wins at Aragon and Estoril. These victories marked Desbise’s first world championship wins since making his full-time debut on the world scene in the 250cc class in 2009.
Elsewhere on the grid, 2025 provided a mixed season for Bo Bendsneyder, who led the championship early on in the year before parting ways with his MV Agusta team mid-season. Meanwhile, Puccetti Kawasaki’s Jeremy Alcoba had an impressive debut season in the class, taking two podiums aboard the less favoured ZX6R.
Other big names, such as Phillip Ottl and Marcel Schrotter, didn’t quite have the seasons they were hoping for in 2025. The German pair will be hoping for better fortunes in 2026.
With Manzi moving up to World Superbikes and a number of top seats yet to be filled, 2026 is looking all to play for.
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