2019 World Superbike
WSBK heads to Imola for Round Five
World Superbikes now heads to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola with Alvaro Bautista’s domination continuing, and defending World Champion Jonathan Rea 53-points in arrears.
Even at Assen, a circuit which many had pencilled in as a potential bogey circuit for the Ducati V4 R, Álvaro Bautista was able to impose his authority on the rest of the field – albeit with his leading margin severely abbreviated.
The Spaniard’s star is burning brighter and brighter, yet every round the spotlight is at a bigger risk of veering towards someone else. Bautista knew each one of the four opening tracks inside-out before even stepping onboard the V4 R; that’s not the case with Imola.
Álvaro Bautista
“Two weeks ago I had the chance to test at Imola, a circuit where I’ve never raced before. It was very useful because now I have a few more markers for the weekend race. The track is a bit ‘old style’: it’s very narrow, with a lot of hard braking points, but it’s got a nice combination of fast corners. All things considered, it’s a fun circuit, even though I still have to interpret the lines better. It’ll surely be a great weekend and we hope to arrive at the same competitive level we’ve had so far. For the Aruba team’s and the Ducati factory’s home race, we absolutely want to be and must be on the top of our form!”
Even with a semi-rained out, one-day test behind him, the 34-year-old will for once be at a disadvantage in terms of experience – although, to be fair, he’ll be the only one inside the Borgo Panigale squad with that issue. The Pirelli Italian Round is a home tie for Ducati and the crowd will be hot for the red machines. Despite having to concede two wins to Kawasaki last year, Ducati is still the most successful manufacturer around their home track. Ducati have won here 17 times, more than all their rivals combined, 14 (Honda 7; Kawasaki 6; Aprilia 1).
Chaz Davies, a four-time winner at the Autodromo, knows the stage better than most and will aim to gain the upper hand on his teammate for the first time this year.
Chaz Davies
“I’m looking forward to Imola, it’s the home race for the Aruba team and for Ducati. We’ve had two quite good weekends in succession now, so hopefully we can put together the best of what we learned there and in testing to put on a good race. I’m quite optimistic, because I’m starting to have a good feeling now on the bike. Historically Imola’s been a good track for me, it suits me and my style but we can’t rely on that because we need to keep working on our weaknesses with the Panigale V4 R. The people here are always so enthusiastic and winning at Imola is like nowhere else so that’s the objective this weekend.”
A win for either man would serve as vindication for Ducati after their private test ten days ago, but the word on Kawasaki’s mind might well be vendetta. The last time the Japanese manufacturer failed to win a race inside the opening four rounds was 2011, in the pre-Provec Racing era; similarly, Jonathan Rea had not left four consecutive rounds empty-handed since his Honda days.
These are uncharted waters for the men in green, and the visit to their rival’s playfield could not come at a more frustrating time – yet hopes are still high for the first of two Italian meetings. This is after all, the first event which the Northern Irishman outright dominated last year, not to mention his consecutive demolition jobs in 2014 and 2015. Imola was where it all clicked for Rea in 2018 – could it be a turning point in 2019?
Jonathan Rea
“I had a great few weeks’ rest at home, and I am re-charged and ready to attack this mid-part of the season. After four rounds we have understood and evaluated where we are and where we need to improve. So we approach Imola trying to make another step in terms of my riding and also the performance of the bike. The circuit is incredible and I love racing at Imola, because it is steeped in history and from a rider’s point of view it is a fun track to ride. It is very unique with a lot of undulations and you really need to feel at one with your bike to push on the limit there. I am very excited for FP1 just to understand our performance, if we can be competitive, which I am sure we can be. I will work with my team throughout Friday to give us a bike to compete. I see Imola as a track where we can be really competitive and last year we had a great season, so I feel like it is the time in my season where we can try to change the momentum of the championship. Imola gives us a good opportunity to do that.”
Keeping up with the questions: which Yamaha rider will be the one to step up on this occasion? Marco Melandri got the blue brand’s first podium in Australia, followed by a triplet of thirds for Alex Lowes in Thailand.
Marco Melandri
“I’m really looking forward to returning to Imola, as it’s one of the most beautiful tracks we race at during the season. It’s a very technical track, very difficult actually, but with the long break after Assen we’ve had a chance to think about how we can improve, so I’m sure in Imola this weekend we will start from a different level compared to the previous few races.”
Then, MotorLand Aragon witnessed an astonishing qualifying performance by Sandro Cortese, before Michael van der Mark starred in a heroic homecoming at Assen just seven days later.
Michael van der Mark
“We’ve had quite a long break since the last round in Assen, so I can’t wait to race again this weekend. Imola is a circuit with different characteristics again and, although the results in the past weren’t all that great, we made a big step forward last year in Race 2. With that in mind, and with the improvements we’ve made to the bike this season already, I think we can be competitive at this circuit. The weekend can’t come quick enough for me!”
There’s no shortage of YZF-R1 riders with their eyes on the brass ring – the only doubt is whether (or rather, when) one of the four can move past the support cast and claim that leading role. The Pata Yamaha pair have had the early edge in 2019; conversely, Melandri is the only one with podium experience at Imola.
Piano piano, si arriva lontano. While this Italian idiom – roughly translated as “slow and steady wins the race” – may not be a natural fit for the sport, it does do a good job at explaining the mentality behind the early development of the BMW S1000 RR. Upgrades have slowly streamed in from one round to another, and correspondingly results for both Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger have been on a steady rise. The German manufacturer is playing the long game for its full factory return to WorldSBK and each race is a new test of the S1000 RR’s potential. It will be interesting to see what they can bring to the table for Round Five.
The Moriwaki Althea Honda Team found itself in a similar situation at this season’s start, albeit without new machinery; however, results have not been quite as encouraging yet. With the Japanese manufacturer putting its full support behind the project, it shouldn’t be long before we see the duo of Leon Camier – third at Imola back in 2011 – and Ryuichi Kiyonari higher up the grid. It will be something of a home race for the squad with the Althea headquarters located just north of Rome, around three-hundreds kilometers from the historic track.
Leon Camier is looking forward to racing at a track he loves and, together with teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari, is counting on the southern European location for stable and hopefully warm weather after the havoc caused by the freezing and extremely variable conditions in Assen four weeks ago.
Leon Camier
“I love Imola, it’s a really good track and I enjoy riding there. Having said that, I expect it to be tough to be honest. The layout is very physical and there are a lot of details we need to get right in terms of the bike’s setup. I think it will be a challenging weekend for us, but I’m definitely looking forward to it. Hopefully the weather will be warmer than Assen and allow us to take advantage of every session to prepare for the races. We’ll try our best and will see what happens.”
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Source: MCNews.com.au