Manzi to start first World Supersport race of 2025 from eighth place

Stefano Manzi qualified eighth on Friday for the first World Supersport race of the 2025 season. In the Superpole session the Italian was just over half a second off the pole time, placing him in the middle of the third row on his Yamaha YZF-R9. Due to Yuki Okamoto’s injury, Manzi is the sole rider representing Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing this weekend.

Under sunny and warm conditions, the new World Supersport season kicked off on Friday at the legendary Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. As a result, asphalt temperatures were significantly higher compared to the test days at the Australian circuit earlier this week. This, among other factors, prevented Stefano Manzi from fully extracting the potential of the new Yamaha R9.

With a lap time of 1’32.841, the two-time vice world champion will start the first World Supersport race of the year from eighth place on the grid. The race will be contested over eighteen laps, with a mandatory pit stop due to severe tyre wear.

Stefano Manzi (P8 – 1’32.841 / +0,531):
“It was a very demanding day today. We didn’t start so well in the free practice session, so we tried something different in the beginning of Superpole. That seemed to work well and we made a big step compared to the morning session. It felt better but it’s still not where we need to be because we are losing some time in various places. Therefore I wasn’t able to do a very fast lap, which means we’ll have to start from P8 tomorrow. We’ll have to remain focussed and I’m sure the team will improve the bike for warm up, then we can see what we can do in the race.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:
“The first qualifying session with the R9 is done, and we have to conclude that it didn’t go as expected. We anticipated being able to set a faster lap time, but due to the high track temperatures it didn’t happen. On the positive side, the field is incredibly close together. With the race pace we have already shown, I still expect us to be in contention for a strong result. Today wasn’t our best day, but as always, ‘Team Rocky’ will rise again. We have a solid plan for tomorrow and I’m confident that we, together with Stefano, can have a good first race day.”

Manzi takes sensational victory in season opener at Phillip Island, securing a perfect debut for Yamaha R9

Stefano Manzi claimed victory in the first 2025 World Supersport race on Saturday at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. The Italian rider immediately took the new Yamaha YZF-R9 to the top step of the podium after an intense battle on the spectacular Australian circuit.

With blazing sunshine and an air temperature of 34°C, conditions on Saturday afternoon were particularly demanding at Phillip Island. Thanks to a strong start, Manzi quickly moved up from the third row into the top five, immediately joining the fight for the podium. After just three laps, the Italian had taken the lead, but the battle at the front remained fierce, ensuring that victory was anything but easy.

Following a flawless pit stop by the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team, Manzi continued to push hard in the second half of the race. The two-time World Supersport vice champion executed several bold overtakes, ultimately crossing the finish line as the race winner by a narrow margin.

Having ended 2024 with a victory in the final race of the Yamaha R6, Manzi has now also crowned the Yamaha R9’s race debut with a victory. The second World Supersport race at Phillip Island will take place on Sunday at 14:30 local time (04:30 Central European time). The race will again be contested over 18 laps, featuring a mandatory pit stop due to severe tyre wear.

Stefano Manzi (P1):
“It’s a great way to start a new season with this victory, and it’s also fantastic to race the new bike for the first time and win immediately. It’s an amazing day and I want to thank Yamaha and the Pata Yamah Ten Kate Racing team, because they’ve put in a lot of effort in this project. It wasn’t an easy race because we had to fight hard, and also do the pit stop in the middle of it. I’m so happy that we’ve achieved this victory and hopefully we can continue in this way. It’s important to start the season this way because the winter tests in Spain and also here in Phillip Island were quite challenging. It shows that we are there so let’s see what’s next.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing Team Manager:
“This is the dream debut you hope for. Last year we won the final race with the R6, and now we’ve won the very first race with the R9. We couldn’t be happier. We knew we had strong race pace from the very first test day, but as always, we remain critical of ourselves to extract the maximum performance. Stefano executed that perfectly today, and our strategy paid off in the end.

Perhaps we focused a little too much on race performance, as we’re still lacking that one outright fast lap with the R9. However, tomorrow we will start from the front row—where we had hoped to be after qualifying. With the data we’ve gathered from today’s race, we’ll work on making another step forward. I believe there’s still room for improvement in terms of consistency, so we’ll see if we can improve our race pace by a few tenths.

We’re all looking forward to racing again tomorrow. A big thank you to all our sponsors and partners for making this possible, and also to Yamaha Motor Europe and Yamaha Motor Benelux for proving that the R9 is highly competitive. Let’s hope Yuki can return soon—seeing how strong this new machine is will surely motivate him even more.”

Manzi leaves Australia as championship leader after solid second place in Race 2

Stefano Manzi finished second in the second World Supersport race on Sunday afternoon at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. After a challenging start, the Italian made a strong comeback in the second half of the race and fought for another victory. In the end he had to settle for second place, which means he returns to Europe as the joint leader in the championship alongside race winner Tom Booth-Amos.

Following an impressive debut victory with the Yamaha R9 in Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, Stefano Manzi and Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing were determined to follow it up with another strong result in Race 2. The conditions were quite challenging, mainly due to a strong wind coming from the sea.

After a tough opening phase, Manzi dropped outside the top ten but kept his cool, watching as riders around him began to make mistakes. This allowed him to move up to second place in the closing stages of the race and join the battle for victory. The Yamaha rider ultimately fell just short of securing back-to-back wins at the Australian circuit, but with a first and second-place finish, both Manzi and Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing can look back on a highly successful opening race weekend of the 2025 season.

Stefano Manzi (P2 / +0,671):
“In the end we can say this was a great weekend with the victory yesterday and today’s second place. I was struggling a bit more today but in the end it was good race with P2. I was close to the win but I made a small mistake on the last lap, which cost me a bit of time. That’s part of racing and in the end I’m super happy with this result. We need to work on being a bit more constant when we return to Europe, but I’m confident the team and Yamaha can do it.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:
“Another podium finish for Stefano and a fantastic debut for the R9 with a victory, a second place and a shared lead in the championship. Compared to last year, we are taking a lot more points from Australia and we have a package that still requires a lot of development. The potential of this bike is enormous, so we are heading home with a very good feeling. Hopefully, Yuki can return soon so the team can compete at full strength.”