Gennai Makes it a Double in Portimão and Achieves Third in Championship

01-10-2023

Gennai Makes it a Double in Portimão and Achieves Third in Championship

Team BrCorse’s Mirko Gennai continued his love affair with the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve when he took another hard-fought victory on Sunday at the circuit. This result also means the Italian has secured third place in the final championship standings.

The final race of the 2023 FIM WorldSSP300 season was a perfect illustration of how close the entire year has been for the field of keen youngsters, and the final fight was a classic between Gennai and Jose Perez Gonzalez, with the pair swopping places multiple times throughout the race as they pulled a huge gap on the rest of the pack. Despite crossing the line eight thousands of a second behind Perez, the Spaniard was given a penalty which gave Gennai the victory. Gennai’s grit and determination has seen him achieve three wins and three further podiums this season, and his precise and feisty riding style has been a sight to behold. He completes the year in third with 180 points, 27 points from the title in what has proven to be a closely contested season.

After his excellent performance yesterday, Gennai’s team-mate, Marco Gaggi, suffered an unfortunate end to the season when an issue with the bike on the grid left him unable to start. This also denied the BrCorse squad the chance of winning the Teams’ Championship.

Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) closed his season with a nice fifth place finish in Portimão, the same position that the young Italian has achieved in the final championship standings. Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) finished very close behind his fellow Yamaha rider in sixth. Brazil’s Humberto Maier (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team) managed tenth in the final race of the year and took seventh in the final standings. Maier’s wildcard team-mate, Kevin Fontainha - who usually rides in the R3 bLUcRU European Championship - achieved his second points score of the season in the class with 14th.

FULL RESULTS - WorldSSP300 - WARM-UP

FULL RESULTS - WorldSSP300 - RACE 2

FULL RESULTS - WorldSSP300 - Championship Standings

Team BrCorse - Race 2 Winner

Mirko Gennai

It’s very beautiful to take the double victory here in Portimão, it is one of my favourite circuits. I pushed very hard since the very beginning to get to the head and control the race, with Perez we helped each other to try to make a break on the group. I knew it was possible, and finally we made it. I was expecting Perez to overtake me in the exit of the last corner, which he did, but finally he got penalised. Thanks to my team, family, sponsors and all the people here with me. I could also confirm third in the championship, which is good, but the feeling of the double victory is overwhelming now. This season has been kind of a rollercoaster, with some good luck and bad luck, so I’ll keep this experience as a lesson for my career.