Luke Power Wins World Supersport Challenge Race In France

Luke Power leaves the French round of the 2023 FIM Supersport World Championship with his first win in the WorldSSP Challenge.

The Aussie rider, the youngest full-time rider on the world championship grid, rode superbly on Sunday afternoon, passing multiple riders to cross the line 3.105 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

Friday saw a steady start for the #68 Motozoo ME AIR Kawasaki rider who improved his lap time significantly in FP2. A further step in Saturday’s Superpole session gave Luke the confidence of two good races at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

Saturday’s opening nineteen lap race, held in hot and humid conditions started well with Luke passing half a dozen people on the opening lap. Unfortunately, a lap two crash put paid to what could have been a strong result.

Changes to the motorcycle in Sunday morning warm up were a step in the right direction and after a steady opening lap in race two Luke soon found his rhythm and began to move forward.

Well inside the top twenty overall Luke’s final four laps were considerably faster than the next group he was chasing and a couple of impressive overtakes saw him pass far more experienced riders on the final lap to secure eighteenth overall and the win in the European Supersport Challenge.

With both Luke and the team understandably elated, attention now turns to the next round at MotorLand Aragon in a fortnight.

Luke Power:

“I am absolutely stoked to be able to take my first win in the European Supersport Challenge this past weekend in France. The team and I worked really hard this weekend, and I am really happy with how it went, especially on Sunday. It didn’t start off easy and FP1 was more difficult than I expected but we made a big step in FP2 and another step in Superpole. I made a good start in race one and was feeling good, but I made a small mistake and crashed. I was able to remount and finish with a second-hand bike, but I was determined to not give up. I knew we had the potential for a good result, especially after the progress we have been making in Imola and at Most and although I didn’t make it easy for myself, I feel like race two was one of my best races of the year. I had to claw my way back into contention after not the greatest of starts but I really enjoyed fighting through the pack. I enjoyed the battle with some vastly experienced riders, and I can’t wait to do it again at Aragon. I want to say a huge thanks to my Motozoo ME AIR Kawasaki team for all their support not just in France but the whole season, all my sponsors, my family, my manager, and everyone who is supporting me. See you all in Spain!”