Published October 17, 2025 by Michael Le Pard , Editor‑in‑Chief
Can Öncü will line-up second on the grid for the Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing team for Saturday’s penultimate FIM Supersport World Championship race of the season at the Circuito de Jerez, while newly-crowned World Champion Stefano Manzi qualified 11th on Friday.
Scorching October sunshine welcomed riders as the first day of action got underway in Jerez and it was GMT94 Yamaha’s Lucas Mahias leading the way in Free Practice one with the second R9 of Can Öncü ending the opening session third. Manzi, sporting a gold #62 after clinching the title last weekend in Estoril, was seventh.
As the afternoon’s Superpole session came around, conditions were even hotter with riders reporting a significant lap of grip in the greasy conditions. World Champion Manzi had led the way early on, but he was unable to improve his lap time by a significant margin in the second half of the session leaving him 11th on the grid for Race 1.
Pushing hard having already secured second in the standings, Öncü set a time of 1’42.305 to secure second on the grid, missing pole by 0.346 seconds.
The next R9 on the grid is Frenchman Mahias, who will head up row three in seventh ahead of stand-in rider Alberto Surra (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing) in eighth. Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) will start tenth.
Yuki Okamoto will line-up 29th on the second Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing machine.
Race 1 gets underway at 15:15 on Saturday.
Can Öncü (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing) – 2nd, 1’42.305
“I am happy to be starting on the front row, of course, I would rather be pole position but the front row is important. We will work tonight to improve the feeling so I can push hard in the race tomorrow, as it would be nice to end the season in a strong way”
Michael Le Pard (“Mr. Totalmotorcycle”) is the Founder of Total Motorcycle, the world’s largest motorcycle information site, trusted by over 430 million riders since 1999. With over 34 years of experience in motorcycles, gear and rider culture, he has built a global community dedicated to empowering and inspiring motorcyclists.
Total Motorcycle remains his passion project. Combining expert research, hands‑on knowledge and a commitment to helping riders make informed decisions about bikes, gear and safety worldwide.
