Chris Clark had a dream start to the 2025 FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup at Portimão in Portugal this past weekend, taking a win and a third place in the two nine lap races to lead the championship standings after the opening round. In doing so he becomes the first North American to ever win in the series!
Starting from the front row of the grid after setting the third fastest time in Superpole, the American teen soon hit the front when the lights went out for race one on Saturday and after demonstrating some incredible skill to place himself in the right place as the leading group entered the final couple of laps of the race it was clear he would be a podium contender. With a lap to go Clark made a final attack for glory and began to pull away from his pursuers. Exiting the final corner perfectly he crossed the line to take victory by 0.110s.
Sunday’s second race saw the Accolade SMRZ BGR rider start from eleventh on the grid, but an aggressive opening two laps soon saw him at the head of the pack for the second race running. A group of ten fought back and forth with Chris once again racing smart to ensure he was in the perfect place to maximise slip stream. The #5 rider was lucky to stay aboard after he was hit from behind in an incident that saw two of the leading riders crash out, but he soon regrouped and once again it was a last lap shoot out to decide the podium. A photo finish between four riders at the flag saw him classified third. Elated to lead the World Cup standings after the opening round Chris heads home to the USA fully focused on round two in Italy in June and confident of challenging for the title.
Chris Clark: “What a start to the season. To start the day on Saturday with no warm up was something new for me but honestly, I liked just getting straight into it. I made a good start in Race one and led early on. I rode smart and defensive when I needed to but also made some cool overtakes. At one point I was shuffled back to ninth but past a bunch of riders to move back into second in one corner. Going into the final lap I knew I could lead out of the final corner and lead it over the line, and it worked out perfectly. Race two was awesome. It was a little bit of a challenge to get up to the front after starting eleventh, but I made it by lap two which I am happy about. I was able to fight for the win after making some aggressive overtakes and leading many laps. It’s a shame that on the last lap the other riders were able to benefit from my slipstream as I was leading but I managed to take another podium which is great. Overall, it couldn’t have been much better. It was a great weekend for me and the team, and we are leading the championship heading to Misano. I want to thank everyone who is supporting me it means the world.”
2025 FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup Series
3/28-30 Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimao, Portugal
6/13-15 Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano, San Marino
7/11-13 Donington Park Circuit, Donington, England
9/26-28 Balaton Park Circuit, Balatonfokjar, Hungary
10/11-12 Circuito Estoril, Estoril, Portugal