Shropshire Star

Booth-Amos leads world championship after round one

Tom Booth-Amos leads the World Supersport 300 Championship following a weekend to remember in Spain.

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The Newport star secured two podiums, including a second place on his debut in the new class on Saturday, while racing on the undercard of the World Superbike series in Jerez.

Booth-Amos, who also came third in Sunday's second race, immediately banished two year's of tough racing to once again show the watching world his real talent.

After struggling with injuries and bike pace during last year's MotoGP Moto 3 class, and the Junior World Supersport series in 2018, he was signed just before the start of the 2020 campaign with RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki

And the 24-year-old took no time at all settling in, securing a double podium to lead the championship after one round.

Booth-Amos had set an early benchmark, posting the fastest lap of Friday's practice sessions.

With expectations high for the first race in the class of 2020, Booth-Amos – who had started from the fifth row after qualifying – made up a lot of lost ground following a sluggish start to Saturday's race, rising to seventh place after seven laps.

And then, during lap eight, he took four more position to sit third, and was able to improve a further place to take second on his debut.

Booth-Amos repeated his podium performance on Sunday, crossing the line in a strong fourth, only to be promoted to third after a rider in front received a five-second time penalty direct.

The result leaves Booth-Amos top of the standings on 36 points, with Jerez race winners Bahattin Sofuoglu and Unau Orradre one point behind.

RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki team manager Rob Vennegoor said: "What a weekend, it’s really hard to describe my feelings right now!

"This is why we race. We were already happy before the weekend as we can finally race again, but with results like this the feelings are even better.

"A big compliment to the riders but also to all the mechanics. Working with the strict Covid-19 rules in extremely hot conditions asked a lot from all my team members.

"Next up is Portimao next week. We can’t wait to race there."

The World Supersport 300 Championship now heads to Portugal for round two this weekend (AUG 7-9).

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