Steven Odendaal: The clear target is to be World Supersport Champion

Steven Odendaal looks ahead to new World Supersport season with visions of becoming the first ever South Africa champion in class.

Robert Jones

11 Mar 2021

Steven Odendaal, Estoril WorldSSP 2020
© Gold and Goose

The 2021 FIM World Supersport championship is sure to be another thrilling in 2021, with former Moto2 rider Steven Odendaal one of the title favorites going into his second season.

Odendaal joins Fabio Evangelista's Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team for the 2021 season, which is looking to win its third consecutive title.

The South African is a former CIV Moto2 champion and made the move as a rookie to the championship last season with the EAB Ten Kate Racing squad.

Odendaal didn't manage to secure a podium in his first WorldSSP season, but had tremendous consistency finishing thirteen out of the fifthteen rounds in the top ten.

The 28 year-old will be competing on a Yamaha YZF R6 bike for the second year in succession as he looks to mount a championship challenge after finishing fifth in the standings last year.

"Obviously, I am very excited but of course, it comes with its pressure: going into a team that has won the Championship for the last two years," said Odendaal.

"I’m excited because I know they have the package it takes to win, so there is no doubt that the team is good enough to do it.

"Also, they have a lot of input and data from the past two years. They pretty much have the fastest laps at every track and that data becomes very valuable to a rider like me, who is in his second season and looking to fight for the title."

There is plenty of cross-over between the WorldSSP paddock and Moto2 class entering the 2021 season with Odendaal, Dominque Aegerter and Philipp Oettl, not to mention the return of 2019 series champion Randy Krummenacher.

Odendaal is ready for an intense battle saying: "The clear target is to be World Supersport Champion; that is what I’ve been focusing all my efforts on this year.

"It won’t be easy, but definitely that’s one of my goals. I think we can be a power package in 2021, with some competition coming back from WorldSBK such as Federico Caricasulo, and the likes of Randy Krummenacher returning, alongside Dominique Aegerter, Philipp Oettl and Jules Cluzel.

"These are some of the top dogs, but I believe I’ve got the best team to fight for the title. Cluzel has always been a consistent and clever rider, if he can’t take first then he’ll take second, which is dangerous for the title as he is always there at the end."