All to play for as TBA fights back to keep third in the WorldSSP Championship

The season finale of the FIM Supersport World Championship got off to a dramatic start for PTR Triumph rider Tom Booth-Amos, who delivered a stunning comeback ride in Race One to keep his fight for third overall in the championship very much alive.

After a disastrous qualifying session on Friday when a crash with 15 minutes remaining prevented him from setting a fast lap, Booth-Amos was forced to start Race One from P20 on the seventh row of the grid. Undeterred, he launched off the line, gaining two positions off the start before showcasing exceptional pace to carve his way through the field. Over the 17-lap race, he methodically picked off rivals to take the chequered flag in an impressive seventh place.

Championship rival Jaume Masia, who crossed the line in third, was handed a one-place penalty for exceeding track limits on the final lap meaning he sits two points behind the PTR rider in the championship standings heading into Sunday’s decisive Race Two.

The British rider’s pace was undeniable; he set the seventh fastest lap of the race, securing a strong starting position on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s season finale.

Tom Booth-Amos: “A good race, obviously starting from 20th it was never going to be easy but I feel like I put a good race together and actually caught the leaders so the pace was good.  We know what we have got to do tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, PTR Triumph teammate Oli Bayliss endured another bout of bad luck. Despite lining up side-by-side with Booth-Ammos for the start, his race came to a premature end on lap 10 when a technical issue forced him to retire while running in P20.

Oli Bayliss: “Although the result was one to forget, the feeling improved.  A technical problem took us out of the race but we had a tough start.  The weekend isn’t going our way but we need to turn it around tomorrow to finish the year on a high.”

Team spirits remain high heading into Sunday, with Booth-Amos poised to secure a career-best championship result and cap off a strong season for PTR Triumph.

PTR Triumph Racing Factory Team Manager Simon Buckmaster: “To be honest at the start of this race it was looking really difficult for us after qualifying 20th due to another qualifying crash.  I said to Tom on the grid, ‘This is quite simple, you need to make the most places that you can, make a lap in the fastest nine and then we will see what we need to do tomorrow’. He rode fantastic, completely different to the rest of the weekend, he was the true Tom Booth-Amos. Now we are still two points in front of Masia. They are next to each other on the grid tomorrow, winner takes all, it’s all to play for and I’m so glad that we are in this position because it looked difficult.  Let’s make it happen tomorrow.  With Oli qualifying was also not good.  In the race, it was not his fault there was mistake by one of our technicians fitting the wiring loom, and we had an electrical fault, nothing wrong with the bike.  Sorry to him for that. Again we always look at things as a team, mistakes can happen we need to learn from that and make sure it doesn’t happen again.  In his case he starts from the same position tomorrow, but I know he has the talent so we look for him to finish the season in a good points scoring position.”

Tom Booth-Amos battles to the line at Jerez in the season finale

The 2025 FIM Supersport World Championship came to an electrifying close at Jerez, with PTR Triumph rider Tom Booth-Amos delivering a brilliant performance in Race Two to finish second after a thrilling 17-lap battle.

Starting from P6 on the grid, Booth-Amos got away well and, despite running wide a couple of times in the early laps, quickly found his rhythm. Showing superb pace and determination, he carved through the pack and engaged in an epic duel with newly crowned World Champion Stefano Manzi, edging him at the line to claim P2.

Unfortunately the British rider’s result wasn’t enough to secure third overall in the championship as rival Jaume Masia took the race win, denying Booth-Amos the bronze medal in the final standings by just three points.

It was a fantastic display of race craft and grit from Booth-Amos rounding off a strong season for PTR Triumph and demonstrating the team’s progress and the competitiveness of the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS throughout the 2025 campaign.

Tom Booth-Amos: “I knew what I had to do today. To finish third in the Championship I had to beat Jaume, I didn’t manage to do that but I feel like that was the best I could do today.  I tried everything to catch him but it just wasn’t enough so unfortunately it is what it is but, overall a good day.”

Meanwhile, teammate Oli Bayliss endured another challenging race. Starting from the same grid position as Race One, he struggled to find his rhythm and ultimately crossed the line just outside the points in P17.

Oli Bayliss: “Another difficult weekend in Jerez.  I just couldn’t understand the bike enough to gain some momentum and move forward.  Now we have a really long break.  Big thank you to my team, sponsors and supporters for the year.  Now time to get my second summer back in Australia.  See you all in ’26.”

PTR Triumph Racing Factory Team Manager: “Well we didn’t make third in the championship by three points but if there is such a thing as a good way to lose, today was it.  A great ride, a fantastic second place, and what a dice with Manzi but Masia won so we finished fourth, but in the best possible way.  Starting from where Oli did on the grid, it’s always difficult. He made some places and finished just outside the points in P17. He  struggled a bit this weekend but we’ve some improvements for the bike to test in the winter so I’m positive we can make some steps.  We of course want to challenge for the title next year.  I want to say a big thank you to everyone at Triumph Racing and my whole team for everyone’s fantastic efforts.  We’ve been a very close knit loyal team this year, everyone has worked hard together with some great results and in the end we didn’t quite get third in the championship but thanks to everybody for a great result today and let’s look forward to 2026.”  

With the curtain closed on the 2025 season, PTR Triumph leaves Jerez proud of the whole team’s effort and determination, and focused on building towards an even stronger 2026 campaign.