The penultimate WorldSSP300 race weekend of 2024, at Motorland Aragon in Spain, started fantastically for Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM - Kawasaki, but ended in frustration. Indeed, despite an impressive win from Iñigo Iglesias in the first race and a strong sixth place from Carter Thompson, things went completely differently than hoped for on Sunday.

During the first race on Saturday, Iñigo Iglesias showed why he is a contender for the world title. He won the race convincingly and brought himself back into the championship battle. His teammate Carter Thompson also performed excellently. He even led the race and battled in the leading group, resulting in a handsome sixth place.

Unfortunately, the tide turned on Sunday. After a quick red flag situation due to a crash, a restart followed over just seven laps. In such a short sprint race, every tenth of a second is crucial. Iñigo Iglesias gave everything to keep his chances of the world title alive, but was penalized by race control for ‘irresponsible driving’. He had crossed the white line in the near of the pitwall, which is not allowed and results in a double long-lap penalty.

The frustration within Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM - Kawasaki was not so much in this particular penalty, but in the fact that Iñigo has already been penalized several times this season, sometimes on questionable grounds. In the end, he finished 18th, increasing his championship deficit to 32 points with two races to go. Mathematically, the world title is certainly possible, but the chances are sadly slim. Carter Thompson also struggled on Sunday, finishing tenth in Race 2.

Reaction Team manager Rob Vennegoor: ‘We might lose the championship because of decisions by the race stewards. Both in Barcelona and Most we would normally have won, but both wins taken away by stewards decisions. Add to that today and those 32 points deficit would probably never have been there. Indeed, Iñigo would very likely have travelled to the final race weekend as the leader. That knowledge hurts. We did not deserve this as a team and so much happens in WorldSSP300 races that consistent punishment is almost impossible. That is not an attack on the race stewards but simply an observation. In Race 2 today, a lot of riders could have been given a penalty. They didn't get one and we did and that hurts, even though Iñigo did something today that was not allowed, but again that is not my point I want to raise. The penalty was a very tough one though because our championship is as good as over... Of course we will go for it in Jerez, for the full 110 per cent!’

The team is now looking ahead to the races at Jerez on the weekend of 19 and 20 October, determined to do everything possible to perform despite the setbacks. And to hope for a miracle...