Image: Supplied.

YART Yamaha’s Tom Edwards concluded his 2023 WorldSSP Challenge season on the best foot, taking both victories in the class at Portimao in what marked a strong end to his first full campaign in the category.

The WorldSSP Challenge is contested alongside the WorldSSP Championship at the European rounds of the season, minus Jerez, providing riders with the perfect foot in the door to complete in Supersport class on the global stage.

2023 marked Edwards’ first full challenge campaign, and at the final round, he qualified as the fastest rider in class, in addition to securing an impressive P6 outright on the grid.

Edwards narrowly missed out on a top 10 outright finish in race one, with 11th seeing him comfortably clear as the leading WorldSSP Challenge contender. Again within sight of an outright top 10, Edwards crossed the line 12th in race two, once more as the first challenge rider.

“That’s a wrap on 2023,” Edwards shared. “Huge weekend in Portimão and a huge effort from the team, finishing off with our strongest weekend of the season. Stoked to get a double WorldSSP Challenge win.”

In terms of the 2023 World Championship standings, it was Motozoo MIE AIR Racing’s Tom Booth-Amos that emerged victorious. For Edwards, nothing has been officially announced regarding his 2024 plans, however, he has previously outlined his ambitions to step up to the complete Supersport World Championship next year.