The final raceweekend of the World Supersport Championship was held from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 October at the Spanish circuit of Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. It was a positive end of the season for EAB Racing Team together with Glenn van Straalen. We ended the season with a tenth place in the first race and a seventh place in race two. This brings an exciting 2023 season to an end. We ended in an overall eleventh place in the 2023 World Supersport season.
The last race weekend started under wet conditions. On Friday morning the EAB Racing Team skipped the first free practice session, because the conditions were not ideal. It was unnecessary to ride because the forecast for the remainder of the weekend was dry. During the second free practice we saw some wet spots, but with the sun it quickly became dry on the Jerez circuit. However, Glenn was unable to find the ideal rhythm in this session, as the correct setting of the Yamaha YZF-R6 had not yet been fully set to his hand.
The Superpole session was on the program on Saturday morning. On a sunny Jerez, Glenn managed to significantly improve the feeling with the bike and was able to set several fast lap times. The feeling had improved a lot compared to Friday. Glenn managed to qualify in eleventh place for the races later in the weekend.
The first race of the weekend started on Saturday afternoon. It was a good race from Glenn. He remained in the top ten throughout the entire race and managed to maintain this position well. The Yamaha rider had the speed and fought in a nice group of five riders for eighth place in the race. In the final laps, Glenn was pushed out wide, causing him to end up in a wet spot. As a result, he had to join the back of the group and finished the race in tenth place. A positive first race, where we saw good and consistent speed from the young Dutchman.
During the second race Glenn got a good start and immediately makes up a few positions. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old rider had to avoid a crash in the opening lap and lost several places. Not much later we see a red flag situation resulting in a restart. The race resumes over seven laps. Once again, he had a good start and was then at the tail of the group fighting for fourth place. Towards the end of the race the group falls apart, but Glenn manages to work his way up to a decent seventh place. Glenn closes the season in eleventh place in final standings of the FIM World Supersport championship with a total of 136 point.
Glenn van Straalen: “All around we can be satisfied with the way the weekend went here in Jerez. On Friday I couldn’t quite get into my rhythm. This was different during the Superpole on Saturday. I was able to significantly improve the feeling with the bike and we managed to qualify in eleventh place. Both races were positive, with us showing a good and consistent pace. In the first race we crossed the finish line in tenth place and we finished the last race of the season in a respectable seventh place. These are good results that give confidence. It’s nice to end the season like this. I would like to thank the EAB Racing Team for the past seasons. We have great plans on the table, which we will announce soon.”
This is the end of a great area. We will part away with Glenn and Yamaha, together we showed nice things in the last couple of seasons. We are proud to had Glenn onboard and want to wish him all the luck in the future.
That was the FIM World Supersport 2023 season. It was a season with ups and downs, but the main thing is, we showed a good speed throughout the year. We want to thank everybody involved this season. The EAB Racing Team will get everything ready for the start of the new 2024 season.