Matteo Vannucci narrowly misses pole at Most in the Sportbike World Championship

Matteo Vannucci just 85 thousandths behind poleman David Salvador in the third round of the Sportbike World Championship at Most.

The top four riders covered by 153 thousandths, with Matteo Vannucci a whisker away from pole position. At the Autodrom Most, host of the third round of the Sportbike World Championship, championship leader David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) secured the top spot in the Tissot Superpole, but our standard-bearer promises a fight heading into Race 1. Just 85 thousandths separated the REVO-M2 rider from Salvador at the end of a hard-fought official qualifying session.

Fresh from his first podium aboard the Aprilia RS 660 of the REVO-M2 team scored at Assen, Matteo Vannucci nailed a strong lap in the high 1:39s in the early stages of the session, immediately putting himself in the fight for pole position. Not satisfied, in the closing minutes the 2021 Italian Supersport 300 Champion managed to move to the top of the timing screens with a 1:39.558. That benchmark was beaten moments later by David Salvador, with a 1:39.473, establishing himself as the third different poleman of the 2026 Sportbike World Championship after Vannucci himself (Portimão) and Loris Veneman (Assen).

Hot on the heels of Salvador and Vannucci were two other riders. On one hand, Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), third, reaffirming the speed potential of the Kawasaki Ninja 636 in Sportbike trim. On the other, a surprising Fenton Seabright, fourth with the Triumph Daytona 660 of Peter Hickman’s PHR Performance team. A fine showdown is therefore on the cards among the leading quartet, with possible intrusions from the second row by Antonio Torres (5th with the second ProDina Kawasaki) and Kas Beekmans (VLR Racing Team), a solid sixth with the best of the Suzuki GSX-8Rs at the expense of Jeffrey Buis (Track & Trades Wixx Racing), who went no better than eleventh.

Tomorrow at 15:15 the first of two races at Most will get underway, with Bruno Ieraci called to fight back from the thirteenth slot, ahead of, among others, Elia Bartolini (15th) and Marco Gaggi (16th). The weekend ends early instead for wild card Stepan Zuda, forced to withdraw following a heavy crash during Superpole.