With the summer break now behind them, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and riders Kaito Toba and Syarifuddin Azman are ready to take on the final phase of the 2025 Supersport World Championship, starting with this weekend’s ninth round at France’s Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. The riders will be joined by wildcard entry Ibrahim Norrodin from Malaysia, who previously represented the team at the last three rounds of the 2023 WorldSSP championship.

The trio of riders is determined to make an impression on French soil, not least Toba, who reached the points zone in the last race prior to the summer break, at Balaton Park. The Japanese rider also scored a points finish at last year’s French round, placing thirteenth in Race 2, which only fuels his motivation to do well this weekend. Teammate Azman will be visiting the Magny-Cours track for the first time, as will wildcard Norrodin. The two Malaysians will be looking to make consistent progress throughout the weekend as they get to grips with the French circuit.

Situated in the Burgundy region of France, the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours was constructed in 1960. It has staged WorldSBK and WorldSSP events since 2003 and has previously hosted F1 and MotoGP. The track currently measures 4.411 kilometres in length, is made up of seventeen turns, and runs in a clockwise direction.

Kaito Toba

“I’m looking forward to getting back on track, it’s been quite some time since the last WSSP round. It was a rather busy summer break, with some action in Suzuka, too. I took the chance to recharge and train back in Japan for a few weeks. In Magny Cours, we’ll continue doing our best with the package we have. The weather might play a big part over the weekend, so we’ll have to adapt based on the conditions we find. Let’s see what the weekend brings.”

Syarifuddin Azman

“I’ve worked hard over the summer break to be ready for this French round. I felt more comfortable during the latest races at Balaton Park, so hopefully we can carry some of that momentum into this weekend. We need to maximise the track time and work hard right from Friday’s practice in order to be in a good position for the races.”

Ibrahim Norrodin

“First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to MIE Racing for giving me another opportunity to participate as a wildcard in the WorldSSP, this time at Magny-Cours. This will be my first experience of racing at a track in France, and I am determined to give my very best performance there.”

Track Information:

Country: France
Name: Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Length: 4.411 km
Pole position: right
Turns: 8 left, 9 right
 
 

SSP RECORDS: Best lap – Manzi (Yamaha) 1’40.027 (2024). Superpole – Huertas (Ducati) 1'39.705 (2024).

2024 SSP RESULTS: 

Race 1 – 1. Tuuli (Ducati); 2. Caricasulo (MV Agusta); 3. Van Straalen (Yamaha)

Race 2 - 1. Montella (Ducati); 2. Manzi (Yamaha); 3. Huertas (Ducati)

Weekend schedule (CET):

Friday
11.20 – 12.00 – SSP Free Practice 1
16.00 – 16.40 – SSP Superpole

Saturday
10.10 – 10.20 SSP Warm-up
15.15 – SSP Race 1

Sunday
10.00 – 10-10 – Warm-up
14.00 – SSP Race 2