Qualifying

Can Öncü qualified fourth on Friday afternoon for the first World Supersport race at MotorLand Aragón. In extremely hot conditions, the Turkish rider made an impressive comeback after an early crash in the session and secured a place on the second row of the grid. Teammate Yuki Okamoto qualified 26^th.

The sixth round of the World Supersport Championship got underway on Friday at a sunny and very warm MotorLand Aragón. Can Öncü immediately got to work and completed a full race simulation during Free Practice, while also setting the fastest lap time. This boded well for the Superpole session later in the afternoon.

With an ambient temperature of 34°C and track temperatures exceeding 50°C, conditions during Superpole were extremely challenging. Öncü made a small mistake at Turn 1 early in the session and crashed, but he fought back impressively. The Turkish rider eventually posted a lap time of 1’53.537, securing fourth place and a second-row start for Saturday’s Race 1.

Yuki Okamoto faced several challenges throughout Friday and ultimately qualified 26^th for Race 1.

Can Öncü (P4 – 1’53,537 | +0,395):
“I enjoyed a lot today. It was not easy but in the end we had a nice first day. We have a very good pace, but we are missing something in the one fast lap. We were a bit unlucky in Superpole but I am very much looking forward to tomorrow’s race. P4 is a nice place to start so let’s see what tomorrow will bring.”

Yuki Okamoto (P26 – 1’55,273 | +2,131):
“Today was difficult for me, although I know what I need and where I can improve. I will keep pushing and work hard with the team to be able to perform better tomorrow.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:
“It was a good opening day for us here in Aragón. Can qualified fourth and Yuki continues to develop, so overall we can be satisfied with how this first day went. Can made things difficult for himself by crashing early in the session, because that leaves you playing catch-up for the rest of the session. In the end, he recovered very well to secure fourth place. This morning he was the only rider to complete a full race run and his race pace was very good, so we feel ready for the race with him.

With Yuki, we tried two very different setups. Unfortunately, he had to spend a long time in the garage this morning due to a technical issue, so during the Superpole session we essentially continued testing those setups. We believe we have found something that works, so we expect him to make a significant step forward in the race tomorrow, just as he did in Most.”

Race One

Can Öncü crossed the finish line in twelfth place on Saturday in the first World Supersport race at MotorLand Aragón. The Turkish rider had received a penalty and was forced to start from the back of the grid, but he managed to gain an impressive 22 positions and score four valuable championship points. Teammate Yuki Okamoto finished 24^th.

After a promising Friday, expectations were quickly dampened when Öncü received a penalty during the warm-up session. As a result, the Turkish rider had to start Race 1 from the very back of the grid, giving him a major challenge from the outset.

Following a strong start, Öncü immediately began making up positions. Thanks to his competitive race pace, he eventually crossed the line in twelfth place, securing four important World Championship points. In Race 2, Öncü will start from eleventh on the grid.

Starting from 26^th position, Okamoto was unable to make progress in the opening stages of the race. However, as the race unfolded, the Japanese rider gradually worked his way forward. He ultimately finished 24^th and was unable to add any points to his tally.

Can Öncü (P12 | +16,750):
“We had to start from the back of the grid but we have to look at the positives. We managed to pass a lot of riders and we scored some points, so that is still a good thing. It was quite a good race and tomorrow we will start from P11 with a good pace, so let’s hope for a much better result.”

Yuki Okamoto (P24 | +32,691):
“I had a difficult race today. We made some steps from yesterday but I still need to make improvements in the beginning of the race. I will analyse this race with the team, keep learning and I hope I can show my progress in tomorrow’s race.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:
“It was a disappointing day for us. Can received a penalty during the warm-up session, which meant he had to start Race 1 from the back of the grid. When that happens, you know beforehand that it is going to be a difficult race, although he still managed to climb to twelfth position. That allowed us to score some points, and tomorrow he will start Race 2 from eleventh on the grid.

Can has the pace to fight for the podium and the victory, and that is exactly what we expect from him tomorrow. Sometimes you have days when everything seems to go against you, and today was one of those days. We dealt with the setback as well as possible and extracted the maximum from the situation after the penalty. Now our focus is on tomorrow.

For Yuki, it was a disappointing race in which he was unable to show his true pace. He was fast towards the end, but in the opening laps he could not make the difference, so there is still work to be done there as well. As a team, we will do everything we can to fine-tune the final details and have a strong Sunday in Aragón.”

Race Two

Can Öncü finished eleventh in the second World Supersport race at MotorLand Aragón on Sunday afternoon. Teammate Yuki Okamoto crossed the line in 26^th place in Race 2, capping off a challenging weekend for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing.

After Öncü fought his way from the back of the grid to twelfth place in Race 1, there was optimism for a stronger result in Race 2. Thanks to an excellent start and opening lap, the Turkish rider immediately moved up to seventh position. However, as the race progressed, he was unable to maintain that pace. Öncü rode consistently throughout the race but gradually lost a few positions, eventually taking the chequered flag in eleventh place.

The 22-year-old rider earned five championship points and now sits fourth in the World Supersport Championship standings with 137 points.

For Yuki Okamoto, it was another difficult race in the hot conditions. The Japanese rider finished 26^th and was therefore unable to score any points.

Can Öncü (P11 | +7,324):
“In general, this was a very tough weekend and it didn’t go as we expected. The mistake I made in warm up 1 put us in a difficult situation and we had two challenging races after that. This is racing and these things can happen, we will for sure work very hard to come back stronger in the next races. It was very hard to accept what happened this weekend but we will never give up, and we’ll definitely be stronger next time out. Let’s put this weekend behind us and focus on what’s next.”

Yuki Okamoto (P26 | +30,117):
“Today’s race was even tougher than yesterday. I tried everything to improve but it was not enough. Now we need to understand why this was the case, and figure out how we can be faster. I will put this race behind me, stay focused and keep pushing for the next round.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:
“It was a poor weekend for us. Can could do no better than eleventh place and Okamoto finished 26^th. We did not perform well with either rider, despite the positive signs shown during practice and qualifying. Unfortunately, we were unable to translate that pace into strong race results. Sometimes you have weekends like this, and this was one of them.

This coming Monday and Tuesday we will remain in Aragón for a Yamaha test, where we will try the 2027 Michelin tyres for the first time. After that, our focus will shift to the next race weekend in Misano.”

The next race weekend will take place from 12–14 June at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy.