WorldSSP300: Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) stuns with victory of the year.

If the stakes were high here at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, they just increased tenfold for Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) was able to win his first FIM Supersport 300 World Championship race since Assen 2017 and moves to just ten points behind championship leader Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team), who couldn’t finish higher than tenth. Mika Perez (Kawasaki ParkingGO Team) and Manuel Gonzalez (BCD Pertamina Junior Team by MS Racing) completed the podium at Portimao in second and third, respectively.

As usual this was a tight, electric affair in WorldSSP300, with the front riders on the grid keeping strong and battling it out from the early stages. Deroue picked his way through the front after a slow start, moving to P1 and taking a controlled lead, but never quite pulling away, while an army of Spanish riders behind pushed through around Portimao, including Perez, Gonzalez, Daniel Valle (BCD Yamaha MS Racing) and Maria Herrera (BCD Yamaha MS Racing), who was close to securing her first WorldSSP300 podium before a technical issue forced her out with one lap remaining.

None of these was the championship leader however, who struggled at Portimao one year on from her famous first race win. Carrasco fell to 17^th at the start and could only make it to 11^th at the flag – eventually 10^th, after Borja Sánchez (ETG Racing) was handed a post race penalty due to irresponsible riding. She makes her way to Magny-Cours now with up to three other riders threatening her title chase: Deroue, Perez and Luca Grunwald (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team), who crashed at Portimao.

The returning Robert Schotman (Motoport Kawasaki) finished an impressive fourth at Portimao, ahead of Enzo De La Vega (GP Project Team) in fifth and the pole sitter Tom Edwards (Nutec-Benjan-Kawasaki) in sixth, his best WorldSSP300 result. Valle was seventh, with wildcard Ferran Hernandez Moyano (Kawasaki PALMETO PL Racing) in eighth and Dorren Loureiro (DS Junior Team) ninth.

Who will leave for Magny-Cours as the circus heads to France for the final installment of a thriller on 28-30 September.

P1 – Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) 
“I am really happy with this win, we have worked so hard from the beginning of the year. We worked hard in our tests and everytime in the race it hasn’t happened and now finally it happened. So a big thanks to the team and to Kawasaki who helped me to do this.”

#PortimaoWorldSBK WorldSSP300 at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve – Race
1. Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki)
2. Mika Perez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) +1.243
3. Manuel Gonzalez (Pertamina Almeria BCD Junior Team by MS) +1.364

WorldSSP300 Championship Standings after Round 7
1. Ana Carrasco (ESP) Kawasaki (90 points)
2. Scott Deroue (NED) Kawasaki (80 points)
3. Mika Perez (ESP) Kawasaki (72 points)

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of WorldSBK.com