Bo Bendsneyder: "I really enjoy WorldSSP. My goal for 2025 is..."

Every year we see a few riders leaving the MotoGP paddock and joining the Supersport World Championship, coming from either the Moto3 or the Moto2 classes. 2025 is no exception, as the WorldSSP has welcome riders like Jeremy Alcoba, Jaume Masiá, Filippo Farioli and Xavi Cardelús, plus the protagonist of this interview: Bo Bendsneyder.

Born in 1999, Bendsneyder actually entered the WorldSBK paddock already at the end of 2024, as he joined forces with the MV Agusta Reparto Corse Team following his departure from the Preicanos Racing Team in Moto2. The Dutchman put an end to a long journey within the MotoGP paddock, which he entered through the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and where he stood out as the 2015 Champion of the KTM single-brand series. On the other hand, his time in the Moto3 and Moto2 classes was not that successful, since he scored only two podiums in 2016 (Silverstone and Sepang) in Moto3 and one in 2023 (Austin) in Moto2. He experienced issues due to his height in Moto3 and to uncompetitive packages in Moto2, until his mid-season departure from the Grand Prix series in 2024.

However, Bendsneyder experienced a fresh start by joining WorldSSP with the MV Agusta machine, and it only took the final two rounds of 2024 to score his first podium in the series, as he finished Race 2 in Jerez in third place. In 2025, so far, Bendsneyder managed to win Race 2 in Portimão and Race 1 in Assen and scored multiple podium finishes as well. He is currently fighting for the Top 3 in the championship standings.

Palmen in Motorradsport had the chance to interview Bo Bendsneyder in Most, as the Dutchman opened up on the ongoing season and the years he spent in the MotoGP paddock.

Bo, new chapter for you this year in the Supersport World Championship. How is it going? 

It's going well, as I didn't expect to be already so fast. Already last year I participated in the last two rounds and we did one podium, and the feeling with the bike and the team is great. So far, we have struggled on the circuits I didn't know (like Cremona and Most, ed), but on those I already knew we are fast. I really enjoy racing here.

And how did it feel for you to win again in Portimão, where you triumphed in Race 2 after nearly ten years without a race win?

I can only say it's nice. You are here to win, so it's nice to get this feeling back after so long.

And what's your goal for this season?

To score as many podiums and wins as possible. At the moment, Stefano Manzi is on a totally different level, but I think it makes sense, because he's been in WorldSSP already for some seasons and he has experience in the series. Our goal is to be always on the podium. 

So you are not thinking about the championship.

Exactly. Like I said, Manzi is on another level and it's also because he often wins or scores podiums. If he continues on this line, he's the true world champion. I also think it's his time, after trying for a few years.

And how do you feel in the WorldSBK paddock?

It's a bit more friendly than MotoGP, and I like it.

Now let's talk about the seasons you spent in Moto3 and Moto2. In 2016 you came to Moto3 World Championship as Red Bull Rookies Cup Champion and you spent two seasons there with Red Bull KTM Ajo. What can you say about such years?

I personally enjoyed those two seasons, since we achieved some good results. We also experienced some difficult moments, but I think we were always in the top positions. The second year was a bit more difficult, because Honda came with a new bike and a big upgrade. KTM struggled in that year, so we could not make the progress we expected. Still, I learned a lot during those two seasons and I have great memories, like the podiums I scored in Silverstone and in Malaysia.

In 2018 you moved to the Moto2 class, after the highs and lows you had in Moto3. How did you get the opportunity to make that step?

I was already a bit too tall and heavy for Moto3, and then I got a nice offer to go to Moto2. However, in the end we can say it was not the right moment with the package I got. I joined Tech3 team and raced with their chassis (Mistral, ed), but then they decided to move to KTM from the year after, so they didn't spend much energy on the development of their chassis. So it was tough, and I also had a bad injury towards the end of the season, but even in those moments we learned a lot.

Then you moved to NTS chassis and RW Racing GP Team, and that was also quite difficult. 

It was not easy, also because they (NTS, ed) had only two bikes on the grid and it was not easy to continue the development. Still, I learned a lot also with them.

And finally, in 2021 you joined the Stop and Go Racing Team. What can you say about the four seasons you spent with them?

I think the same as in Moto3: some good moments and some bad moments. In any case, we achieved one podium together (Austin 2023, ed) and not many people can say the same, also because Moto2 is one of the most competitive categories in racing. In the end, I am happy to have ridden there: I had some tough moments, but I just want to talk about the good things I lived there. And there is a lot.

In Moto3 and Moto2, you were not as successful as in Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup or in other series where you scored podiums, wins or even became champion. How did you live that?

Of course it was hard and it was hard especially at the beginning, since I had got used to winning or getting on the podium in series like Rookies Cup, Moriwaki Cup or also CEV. However, you also need to be realist: the World Championship is another level. I mean, you are there with 25 people and all of them are fast, while in feeder series you may have maximum 5 or 6 riders who can be at the front. If you look at the people I was riding with in the Rookies Cup, many of them are even World Champion in MotoGP (Jorge Martín, ed) or World Superbike (like Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, ed), and this shows that the level there was very high. In any case, after some years, you get used to it and need to be realist: if you cannot win, you need to think about maybe Top 10 or Top 5, and this is what I did always.

Back then, in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup you won the title in 2015 against Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is now in MotoGP, and you were faster than some riders who are now in MotoGP. Do you think about it sometimes?

I think it depends on the opportunities you get. If you think about my time in Moto2, I never had a competitive bike, while Fabio Di Giannantonio started his Moto2 journey straight wth Kalex and Gresini Racing, which made a way better package. Then, it's all about timing: if you score a good result in a good moment, you get the opportunity to go to another level or a better team. Let's look at Fabio Quartararo: I was riding with him in Moto2, and I remember that at the beginning we were in the same positions on the grid, which was in the last two rows. Then he won, he did some good races, he jumped to MotoGP and now he's a World Champion. I think motorcycle racing is not only about your talent, but also about scoring good results at the right time.

Do you have any regret about your time in Moto3 and Moto2?

No, I don't have any in particular. Maybe if I turned back time, I would not move to Moto2 with the same bike I ended up riding. But yeah, in life you cannot change things back, and I am still happy with my journey.

How has your time in the MotoGP paddock shaped you as a person?

I learned a lot about what is important to make a good result, and it's especially the people you have around you. I have learned many things also for my private life as well: you experience many hard moments in the MotoGP paddock, and in my case it helped a lot to become the man I am now.

After leaving Moto2 during the 2024 season, you moved to World Supersport with MV Agusta Reparto Corse. How did such opportunity come in your way?

Andrea (Quadranti, owner of MV Agusta Reparto Corse Team, ed) had already contacted me two or three years before, but I already had a contract in Moto2. Then he was the first person as well, who contacted me after I left Moto2. He could have told me immediately something like "I want you to ride our bike", but it's not what he did: he first wanted to know the story and how I felt. I appreciated his care and after that, we started talking again and we ended up joining forces for the last two rounds of last year and the whole 2025 season. When I left Misano after remaining out of Moto2, I was obviously disappointed and didn't know what the future would bring me, but it took only two or three weeks to understand that something better was coming, as I got the offer to move to WorldSSP with MV Agusta.

Would you move back to Moto2, if you had the chance to race with a competitive bike and team?

No. That chapter is closed for me.

So you are fully focused on the Supersport World Championship.

Yes. The target now is to do a good result here with this team. I think we need one more year to be really fighting for the World Championship, since we are missing something on the circuits where I hadn't been before. In any case, the goal is to become Supersport World Champion one day and then move to the Superbike category.

In conclusion, do you want to say thank you in particular to anyone?

I am thankful to the people who always stayed behind me: my parents, my girlfriend, my family. Especially in the hard moments, like those I had in the World Championship, the only people that stay by your side are your family. But I don't need to say it, because they already know that I'm thankful for them.

Palmen in Motorradsport is grateful to Bo Bendsneyder for his time and to MV Agusta Reparto Corse for arranging the interview, and wishes both the rider and the team all the best for the upcoming races and seasons.