First Front Row Start and Podium Fight for Oli Bayliss While Tom Booth-amos Salvages Top Ten After Tricky Weekend

Oli Bayliss enjoyed his strongest World Supersport round to date at the all-new Balaton Park Circuit in Hungary, securing his first-ever front row start and backing it up with P8 in Race One and an impressive fourth-place finish in Race Two. Teammate Tom Booth-Amos endured a challenging weekend but salvaged a solid top-ten finish after a tough qualifying and a Race One crash.

Round 8 of the World Supersport Championship marked the series’ first visit to Balaton Park, and Bayliss made his intentions clear early by qualifying on the front row for the first time in his World Supersport career, placing third. Booth-Amos, meanwhile, struggled and could only manage 18th on the grid.

Saturday’s 18-lap race took place in hot conditions. Booth-Amos made a lightning start, jumping up to 13th, but his momentum was short-lived as he crashed out. He was able to remount and set the fifth-fastest lap of the race, improving his grid position for Sunday. Bayliss dropped to sixth in the early stages and held steady, but a big moment cost him a few places, and he eventually crossed the line in eighth.

For Sunday’s Race Two, Booth-Amos lined up fifth with Bayliss just behind in sixth. However, Booth-Amos was handed a long-lap penalty for an incident in morning warm-up - a decision he and the team believed was harsh. His race was further disrupted when he had to take evasive action on lap one to avoid a dramatic moment involving another rider. After serving the penalty, he found himself back in 18th but mounted a determined comeback to finish tenth.

Bayliss had a smoother run, making a strong start into fourth and mixing it with the front-runners throughout. He became locked in a thrilling battle for the final podium spot with Can Öncü, the pair dicing for position lap after lap. Although the podium narrowly eluded him, Bayliss crossed the line in a fantastic fourth place - his best result to date in World Supersport, achieved on his 75th start in the category.

The PTR Triumph squad now head into the summer break and will return to action at Magny-Cours for the French Round on 5–7 September.

Oli Bayliss #32: “Pretty happy with the weekend. I rode my hardest today but it just wasn’t enough. We were so close to the podium and ended up in a nice battle. This was a really important weekend as we had speed in Donington but a crash meant we couldn’t show our potential. We need to keep on starting from a good position as it makes the races a lot better than trying to fight my way through the pack. A big thanks to the team and all my sponsors for this weekend.”

Tom Booth-Amos #69: “Unfortunately this weekend didn’t give us the result we were aiming for. It’s been two challenging races, but now it’s time to reset. The summer break will be a good chance to rest, recover, and come back stronger. We’ve got work to do, but I’m fully focused on the second half of the season.”

RESULTS - WORLD SUPERSPORT ROUND 8, BALATON PARK

Race 1:

1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)

2. Can Öncü (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team)

3. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)

8. Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing)

DNF. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing)

Race 2:

1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)

2. Simon Jesperson (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team)

3. Can Öncü (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team)

4. Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing)

10. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1. Stefano Manzi (294 points)

2. Can Öncü (234 points)

3. Juame Masia (191 points)

4. Tom Booth-Amos (188 points)

12. Oli Bayliss (66 points)