The Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round was an eventful weekend for the FIM Supersport World Championship’s Yamaha riders, including crashes, wins, disappointments and a breakout performance. Yamaha’s pleasant surprise of the weekend, Spanish rookie Roberto Garcia (GMT94-YAMAHA) shined on his WorldSSP debut, landing a P6 finish in Race 2 at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”.

Sitting across the garage for the first time from veteran rider Lucas Mahias, Garcia was selected to fill the vacant spot left behind by Michael Rinaldi after he departed the WorldSSP grid to re-join the WorldSBK grid in light of Tito Rabat and Yamaha Motoxracing’s mutual separation. Before being selected for the seat, the 19-year-old from Sevilla distinguished himself as one of the premier riders in the Moto2 European Championship, finishing seventh place in 2022 and fifth place in 2023 before being crowned Champion in 2024.

“I’m very happy, it was my first weekend in this Championship and my first feeling with the Yamaha R9 was very good” – Garcia on his impressive debut

The #37’s first WorldSSP weekend began with a P20 in the Tissot Superpole session, finishing just ahead of fellow rookie and Yamaha rider Aldi Mahendra (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) by just 0.112s. He showed promise in Race 1, jumping to P16 by the end of the first lap, climbing as high as P14 in Lap 7 before falling back down to finish P16.

 Race 2, however, was the gem of the Sevillano’s weekend. Another strong start at lights out sent him up to P14 by the end of Lap 1, continuing up the grid as the laps piled up. After Championship leader Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) crashed out, by Lap 12 of the 13-lap contest, the #37 had ascended to P5. While he lost that position to Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) to finish in P6, the rookie posted the fastest lap of the top six finishers, his 1’37.838s personal best was one of his two 1’37s laps, clocking in 0.156s faster than Race 2 winner Can Oncu. (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) who only registered one lap in the 1’37s. Garcia’s pace was not a flash in the pan either, after the opening lap, #37 registered only one lap slower than the 1’38s mark, pace nearly on par with Oncu despite engaging in battle after battle as he fought his way up from P20.

On his strong Race 2 performance, Garcia said: “I’m very happy with my weekend, it was my first weekend in this Championship and my first feeling with the Yamaha R9 was very good. I’m happy with my Race 2 P6 because it was good work to move up the grid from P20. Step by step I think we will improve for the coming races, thank you to Yamaha, my manager and the whole team. See you in Donington!”

ALL EYES ON GARCIA: “it was an impressive debut for a 19-year-old, and we are looking forward to seeing the next races as he understands the bike more”

Yamaha Road Racing Sporting Manager, Niccolo Canepa was glowing with praise for the 19-year-old who made the most of his opportunity with limited notice, saying: “The surprise of the weekend was Roberto Garcia, making his debut in World Supersport with GMT94 Yamaha. The schedule is tight, so he did not have a lot of time to understand the bike or the track, so he had to start in 20th. In Race 2 he did a fantastic job as he was able to climb up to sixth place and had the pace of the guys fighting for the podium, so it was an impressive debut for a 19-year-old and we are looking forward to seeing the next races as he understands the bike more and then later in the year when we head to Aragon, Estoril and Jerez where he knows the tracks very well.”

How will Garcia follow up his breakout debut round? Find out next time out at the Prosecco DOC UK Round! Tune in live or on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 50% off!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) claimed his first FIM Supersport 300 World Championship victory in Race 1 at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” after fighting from tenth on the grid. He waited until Sector 3 before taking the lead on the final lap and had enough of a margin over his rivals to hold on across the line despite them benefitting from his slipstream through Turns 12 and 13, with the Australian holding on for victory by half-a-second.

Thompson made his WorldSSP300 debut mid-way through the 2024 season and the Australian had done enough to secure a seat on this year’s grid with perennial winners MTM Kawasaki. The start of the 2025 campaign had been tough for Thompson, often finishing between fourth and seventh, although he was 11^th in Race 1 at Most. However, things seemed to change for the #50 in Italy as he claimed a first WorldSSP300 win from tenth on the grid.

The 17-year-old was only tenth in Friday afternoon’s Tissot Superpole session, setting a 1’50.099s to start from the head of the fourth row. It didn’t take long for Thompson to move to the front of the field, finishing the first lap in fourth and the second in third. There was a big group fighting for victory and that meant Thompson occasionally dropped ground to the leader, such as on Lap 3: he finished that lap down in ninth.

He used the second half of the race to great effect as he battled back into the top five, but it was the last lap that proved crucial. He started Lap 12 of 12 in sixth place and was there as late as Turn 8 on the final lap. At Turns 9 and 10, he slotted into second and this move was vital as he gained the slipstream of David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI). He swept around the outside of the Spaniard through Curvone and was immediately able to pull out a gap over his rivals. The slipstream helped his opposition close up, but Thompson carried incredible speed through Turns 14, 15 and 16 to stay ahead and claim his first win in the Championship.

Discussing his victory on Saturday, Thompson said: “It’s incredible to get the first win of the season, and the first podium as well. It’s been difficult to start the season, but the team have made great steps throughout the whole year and definitely helped me a lot. We’ve made a bit of a breakthrough this weekend, a lot more feeling with the bike so it’s a great feeling to win. I felt like I had good pace all day. I had a great Warm Up. I felt quite fast. I had a bit of extra speed in me in the race. I felt I was just sitting in the group and managing the race because it would’ve been quite hard to separate it. I just pushed as hard as I could, hoped to make a little gap and it worked in the end.”

Thompson’s win made a small bit of WorldSSP300 history. He became the first Australian rider to taste victory in the class, with Australia the 11^th different nationality to be represented on the top step of the rostrum. It was also Kawasaki’s 68^th win in World Supersport 300, while Thompson became the eighth youngest rider to win a race.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

After suffering a fracture to his right foot at the Autodrom Most, Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) was in a race against time to be able to compete at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. As his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rivals tested at the circuit a couple of weeks before the round, the Spaniard was fully focused on his recovery to get back on his CBR1000RR-R machine at the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round – in half the time the initial diagnoses suggested he would be out for.

BACK QUICKER THAN EVER: from eight weeks to four for his recovery period

Vierge was the innocent victim of a crash at Turn 1 in Race 2 at the Czech Round, when Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) hit Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who, in turn, hit Vierge’s Honda. Initially diagnosed with a suspected fracture of the tarsus bone in his right foot, the #97 went for further evaluations and it was decided surgery was the best course of action for multiple fractures to his cuboid bone.

The surgery was a success and helped speed up his recovery time. Initially, he was given an eight-week timeframe for his return but, after the surgery went well, this came down and he set his sights on returning at Misano, although he wasn’t fit enough to ride at the test. The extra two weeks between the test and the round enable Vierge’s recovery to step up a gear, putting weight on his foot just two weeks after the crash before returning to the bike in Italy – around a month after the injury, and in half the time he was initially given for his recovery.

Discussing his quicker-than-expected return to racing, Vierge said on Sunday at Misano: “In the beginning, the news was bad as the first impression was that it would be four weeks to put my foot on the ground and eight to be good again. After that, I said to the doctors that I had to be at Misano, so we made a plan. They decided to make a complicated surgery but, if the results were good, the recovery time would be shorter. They did an amazing job. As soon as it was finished, they said I could get from four weeks to two without putting my foot on the ground. I went every day to a hyperbaric chamber to work with the physio to try and heal as soon as possible. The first week was completely off, the second week I was in the gym without putting my foot on the ground. In the third week, I started to put my foot on the floor but just a few days before I jumped on the bike. The weekend got better because, in the beginning, I didn’t have the confidence with the foot to push hard. It’s well deserved. I took the risk but with these results, I took the correct decision to come here.”

THREE STRONG RACES FOR VIERGE: fighting for the top ten throughout the weekend

Misano was a solid weekend for the Barcelona native, who improved his finishing position in each race. He was 11^th in Race 1 before finishing 10^th in the Tissot Superpole Race – narrowly missing out on points and a third-row start in Race 2 – before claiming ninth in Race 2, with the latter including several battles across the 21-lap affair. He was often fighting with Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team), Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing), with Gerloff eventually getting the better of the four-rider group.

Reflecting on his P11-P10-P9 results, Vierge said: “I’m super happy with the results. We got some solid results, almost three top tens, and some valuable points for the Championship. The most important thing was to continue working with the team to improve. It’s been a super tough weekend, but we achieved our goal so I’m very happy with that. I was going left more during the weekend but in Race 2, after the first seven laps, I was finished, and I tried to get to the end in the best position possible. We got some solid results so it’s very important and now we have a few weeks before the next round, where I’ll continue to work hard to arrive at 100%. I don’t know if I will get there but I’ll be at Donington much better than Misano.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

MOTUL FIM Supersport World Championship rider Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) leaves his home round at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” with a second WorldSSP win at Misano, holding off Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) for the Race 1 win. A late Race 2 crash however means the Italian rider drops points to current Riders’ Championship runner-up, Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team).

CHAMPIONSHIP DUEL: “Can started to try to fight with me. I didn’t want to lose the position, so every time he took the position, I took it back in the next corner”

The #62 responded well to the disappointment at Most, opening the weekend by topping the podium after his P26 finish in Most Race 2. His 25 points from Race 1 were important as he hopes to continue building his Championship lead over Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) and Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who have suffered a drop in form recently.

On his Race 1 win, Manzi said: “It was a bit crazy! luckily, I started the race very well, but in Turn 2 I already made contact with another rider. I was in fifth, so I said to myself: ‘ok, calm down and let’s see how I can recover to get back on top.’ I was able to get to third position after a lap or two, and then I started my fight to get in the lead because I thought my pace was good. I took the lead, and I was pacing, which was nice, but at some point, Can started to try to fight with me. I didn’t want to lose the position, so every time he took the position, I took it back in the next corner. This went on until the last two laps, and then from there in the last lap I was able to finish the race alone in first.”

RECENT SLIP UPS: I crashed three times in the last two rounds and it is the second time this weekend that I crashed in that corner… it is a bit strange

Looking to have momentum back in his favor, Manzi started Race 2 from P2, jumping off the line well and defending his position from Tom Booth-Amos and Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) and the pack of riders behind him as they squeezed into the first two corners. From there, he turned his focus to the battle for the race win, locking horns with Oncu, and overtaking him in Lap 4. He held P1 for the next four laps until in Lap 9, Manzi crashed out in the final left-handed Turn 16 before the home straight.

On his Race 2 crash, Manzi said “It’s a big shame to end this good weekend in this way, because I was feeling amazing. We had a tricky Friday but yesterday’s race was fantastic. Today we were there, trying to do the same as yesterday, but unfortunately I lost the front in the final corner and I crashed. We have to analyse this with the team, because I crashed three times in the last two rounds and it is the second time this weekend that I crashed in that corner. I want to know how to manage this, because it is a bit strange. Now we focus on the next round at Donington Park.”

Catch the next chapter of the Manzi-Oncu duel next time out in just over a month’s time at the Prosecco DOC UK Round July 11-13^th! Tune in live or watch on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 50% off!

Source: WorldSBK.com

MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship star Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) will get his first taste of the Suzuka 8 Hours this year after being selected to represent the Yamaha Racing Team squad, the official Yamaha team, at the iconic race. Locatelli, who has represented Yamaha in WorldSBK since 2021, will compete alongside Katsuyuki Nakasagu and four-time MotoGP race winner Jack Miller in Japan as they look to take Yamaha’s ninth win in the classic race.

Locatelli signed a new contract with Yamaha to take him until the end of the 2027 campaign, but he’s swapping blue for red-and-white in Japan as he looks to help take Yamaha’s first win at the Suzuka 8 Hours since 2018. The choice for Yamaha to take him comes off the back of Locatelli winning his first WorldSBK race at Assen in April and ‘Loka’ being a consistent contender for the top positions in WorldSBK. Most recently, he secured a podium on home soil at Misano.

The Italian’s first foray in the WorldSBK paddock was in 2020 when he was in WorldSSP and he dominated the season, before securing a switch to WorldSBK and was put straight into the factory Yamaha team. He quickly established himself as a consistent rider and, as the years progressed, became a regular podium challenger as well. This season, he was able to take his first win in WorldSBK

Discussing his debut at the Suzuka 8 Hours, Locatelli said: “For me, it is a pleasure to be invited to ride the Suzuka 8 Hours for Yamaha. For my whole WorldSBK career, I have been a Yamaha rider, and this is an honour, especially as I have just signed a new contract to extend my relationship with Yamaha. It means a lot to me for Yamaha to give me this opportunity; it has been something I have always wanted to do, but to do it with the Yamaha Factory Racing team is really special. Suzuka is an amazing track, and this is a new opportunity and experience for me, so I am very much looking forward to it. Thank you to Yamaha and all of the people working on this project, I can’t wait to go for the test and then the race as we look to achieve the best result for Yamaha in this important race.”

Tetsu Ono, General Manager in the Motorsport Strategy Division at Yamaha Motor Co. added: “First of all, I’m very happy to welcome Andrea to the team. Him joining completes the third piece of our puzzle, with all three riders bringing something unique to the team. Nakasuga has a wealth of experience on the R1, at the 8 Hours, and around Suzuka Circuit. Miller brings the passion and fighting spirit to fire up the team, and Locatelli has his signature consistency, along with a spirit of challenge and special motivation to take on his first 8 Hours. I’m sure that Team Manager Wataru Yoshikawa can combine the three riders’ strengths, and will add to that the potential of the YZF-R1 that’s been honed through All Japan competition, bringing it all together to get the best possible package to take on this year’s race. For the race on August 3, I think it will be just like Nakasuga said at the team launch in March, when he talked about going back to get our revenge for 2019 with a newly formed factory effort. We want to celebrate Yamaha’s 70th anniversary with an 8 Hours win, and to do it with our fans from all around the world. We’ll be counting on everyone’s cheers and support!”

Source: WorldSBK.com

The Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” hosted Round 6 of the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season and it was a thriller, with massive Championship twists in Italy. Away from the title race, plenty of milestones were reached during the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round and we’ve gathered the most important numbers below.

706 – Between Anthony Gobert’s famous Phillip Island victory in Race 1 in 2000 and Alex Lowes’s (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) P2 in the Superpole Race, 706 WorldSBK races had passed.

154 – Razgatlioglu’s Race 1 victory was the 154^th rostrum of his career.

117 – Bautista’s Race 2 third-place finish was his 117^th podium in WorldSBK, moving him ahead of Noriyuki Haga into fourth in the all-time list. His next target is Troy Corser, on 130.

98 – BMW secured their 98^th podium at Misano, two away from a century.

64 – Razgatlioglu’s Race 1 win was his 64^th in WorldSBK, putting him second in the all-time winners’ list. His hat-trick took him to 66 wins, 53 behind Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha).

54 – After setting the fastest lap in Race 1, Razgatlioglu, who usually uses #54, took his 54^th fastest lap. He’s now on 56 fastest laps, one behind Alvaro Bautista and two behind Noriyuki Haga. Rea has 104 fastest laps.

50 – With no Ducatis on the podium in the Superpole Race, it ended a streak of 50 races with at least one Panigale V4R rider on the rostrum.

47 – Lowes’ P2 in the Superpole Race was his 47^th WorldSBK podium, putting him level with Fabrizio Pirovano.

22/39 – Bulega has 39 WorldSBK podiums, with 22 of these – or 56% – being P2s. He’s finished second to Razgatlioglu 19 times.

19 – After leading in Race 1, Bulega extended his streak of races led to 19 – an all-time record in WorldSBK. It beats the previous record of 18, set by Razgatlioglu. The longest active streak is seven, held by Razgatlioglu.

16 – Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) claimed Bimota’s 16^th front row start in WorldSBK. Their last before ‘El Bocia’ was in 1989, when Giancarlo Falappa and Mike Baldwin were first and third at Pergusa.

9 – Nine points is the gap in the Championship between Bulega and Razgatlioglu, the third time this century there’s been a single-digit points margin. In 2004, James Toseland led Chris Vermuelen by three points with four races to go while, in 2021, Rea led Razgatlioglu by three points with 21 races to go.

8 – Razgatlioglu recorded his eighth win at Misano, tying the all-time track record for wins with Rea.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship reached the halfway point of the season at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, and with it came plenty of hot talking points. Riders spoke about their incidents, reacted to their wins and podiums and there was even a hint about one rider’s future… read the hottest quotes from the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round below.

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “He said when he braked, he lost the front. But when I watched the video, I saw that he lost the front because he touched me”

Discussing his Sunday fightback from tenth to second, and the Superpole Race crash, Bulega said: “Today, I raced with the SC1 and maybe it was a bit better, but Sunday was even hotter. It was a difficult race, especially when you start from behind. It’s difficult to get into a rhythm after you pass the riders. It was a difficult race but second is still good. He said when he braked, he lost the front. But when I watched the video, I saw that he lost the front because he touched me. If he doesn’t touch me, he doesn’t lose the front. He didn’t have the pace to win, so why make a stupid overtake at the first corner? You cannot win the race at the first corner. A rookie mistake. Even worse is that he didn’t come to say sorry to me, just an Instagram story for the people. It’s not enough. Also, to give respect to my team, because they had to rebuild the bike again, completely new. I destroyed the bike completely and the chassis. A lot of damage. The minimum is to say sorry to me and my team. Just an Instagram story isn’t enough. He just said, ‘I closed the front when I braked’, some excuses for what happened. When you see the video, no need for excuses. When you lose, you lose. Points are always the same in every circuit. We always want to win. Misano would’ve been even more special because we were at home. At Most, it’s not my home and when I won, it was crazy.”

Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team): “I tried everything to stop and to not hit him, but I lost the front and we crashed”

Giving his view of the Superpole Race clash with Bulega, Bassani said: “I felt like I braked at the normal point, but hard because it was me, Bulega and Toprak. I tried to defend my position. I wasn’t able to slow down when Bulega stopped. He closed the door. I tried everything to stop and to not hit him, but I lost the front and we crashed. I’m so sorry because I know I put him down and he’s fighting for the Championship and I’m not. For me, it’s a crash but, for him, it’s something more. I’m sorry for him and the team and his team. I said sorry to him in the gravel, two, three, four times. After the race, I stayed in the office because I was feeling quite bad. I didn’t have the energy to go to him and say sorry because I was also thinking about Race 2. If I have the possibility to speak with him, no problem, I’ll speak to him. It was my mistake; I took my penalty in Race 2, and I accept it.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “Sunday was my best Sunday. I remembered the penalty from last year. I said, ‘I don’t care’. I did a stoppie there”

Another Misano hat-trick for Razgatlioglu, who said: “We improved in some corners, especially Turn 8 and 10, so I improved in the last sectors. Turns 1 and 4, I had the same problem, because the engine brake there wasn’t working well. When I saw Nicolo was starting in tenth, immediately I pushed hard because I needed strong pace and my rhythm. I did many 1’33s. This was thanks to good teamwork with my crew. Everyone was pushing so hard. We needed to improve in some areas, and we did. Sunday was my best Sunday. I remembered the penalty from last year. I said, ‘I don’t care’. I did a stoppie there. I don’t know if a penalty is coming or not but no problem, I’ll pay! I feel good when I do a stoppie. I’ve signed for the next two years and I’m happy for that. When I move to MotoGP, I want to move with the ’25 WorldSBK Championship.”

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team): “The last three laps were long! I was looking at the crowd and thinking about everything other than what I should’ve been thinking about”

After putting Bimota on the rostrum for the first time since 2000, Lowes said: “Really happy with the Superpole Race. Track position is so important. Turn 1 was unfortunate but then I got good position behind Toprak, put in two or three good laps and got a bit of a gap. The last three laps were a long three laps! I was looking at the crowd and thinking about everything other than what I should’ve been thinking about. Really happy for the team, they deserve it. To get a podium is a good sign of our progress. Having the test here really helped. It’s very special because it’s changed a lot, with the Italian input. The guys from Bimota are here. I think it makes it more special because the factory is so close. When you’re involved in the project from last year, rode the bike quite early in the development, I feel attached to the bike so to come to their home track, achieve a podium against the opposition we’re racing against that have been competitive for quite a few years, it’s a nice feeling because it’s the best part of the story. In racing, you always want to keep doing better, but it’s important to realise we’ve got the first podium here and we have to enjoy it.”

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “I had a big fight with Alex. It was great. We were both on the limit”

On his Saturday battle with Lowes, a tricky Superpole and his future, he said: “I didn’t expect to be on the podium, but it was the target. I’m so happy because the race was so hot, and it was so difficult to stay up on the bike. I had a big fight with Alex. It was great. We were both on the limit. It’s my first podium in WorldSBK at Misano and I’m happy because it’s not one of my favourite tracks despite there being a lot of people here. In the end, I spoke with both [Bulega and Iannone] but didn’t understand. I was quite far away. They weren’t pushing but not really giving up. They turned their heads a couple of times so I said, ‘Okay, I can go through’. I got to the last sector, and they stayed in the middle. In the end, I was sorry for the penalty. I had two orange sectors. It wasn’t the best lap of my life but maybe I could’ve gained some positions. I managed to reach my target for today.”

Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha): “I don’t want to speak too much because it’s in a bad moment, but I still have the fire inside”

Discussing his best result of the season in the Superpole Race and his Race 2 crash, Rea said: “I made a good start and was able to try and stay in that group. The start makes the biggest difference. The carnage at Turn 1 helped open up some space. My rhythm was okay at the end. Sam came past, just a little bit faster and I couldn’t progress any further. It was good because I found some weaknesses that we need to work on. It gave me amazing track position for Race 2. I was P7, first third row start of the year. I committed to go down the left-hand side and jump a row in front. Alvaro squeezed me a bit at Turn 1, and I ended up bottlenecked a bit in Turn 2. 10 laps in, the rear was just popping up at Turn 1. As soon as it landed, it pushed the front, and I locked it quite early. Another tough weekend but some glimmers of positivity. Some areas to work on.”

Rea’s future is also currently undecided, and he said: “Don’t want to talk about my future just yet, especially after a tough weekend. Something I’ve been thinking about quite a lot recently, what to do and what’s next. I’m sure we can understand more between Donington and Balaton, I guess in the summer break for sure. There’s a couple of seats now available, some rider movements. There’s a lot of noise. I think it’ll be some weeks or months before everything gets settled. I think everything’s open. I don’t want to speak too much because it’s in a bad moment, but I still have the fire inside. I still feel like I’m riding well. It’s just we’re not getting the best of my potential right now. As frustrating it is, I just need to keep believing in myself.”

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “It’s difficult to ride in these conditions when the grip is low. I feel the inertia of the bike more”

On his return to the rostrum, Bautista stated: “The only difference from Saturday is I started closer to the front, and I could fight for the podium. On Saturday, I think the performance was similar. As I said before, in the mornings I felt quite good and in the Warm Up, we tried a setup change. I felt good. In the afternoon with the heat, I struggled more. It’s difficult to ride in these conditions when the grip is low. I feel the inertia of the bike more and it’s difficult to stop, to go in, change direction. On the gas, the bike just pushed me out. I’m happy with the result but I’m not happy because, with the bike in these conditions, I’m like a passenger; I can’t force it, and I can’t ride it how I want because I feel limited to how the bike moves.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) set a new season-best result in his second MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season with Yamaha. The Northern Irishman’s Tissot Superpole Race saw him finish P7 in the 10-lap contest, raising the bar from his pair of 10th-place results at Most. These improved placements are a positive step for the Ulsterman; however, he still feels like he has more to understand about his R1 platform to continue climbing up the timesheet.

RACE 2 MISFORTUNE: “Going into T1, normally the rear end bounces around a bit, but when it picked up and landed, I lost the front instantly, it was a strange one”

Rea’s Superpole struggles continued at the opening of Misano’s weekend action, falling down to P15 on the Friday timesheet. Undeterred, the #65 jumped up the grid at lights out, making up eight positions by the exit of Turn 2 of the race’s first lap. His tussle with Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) ultimately saw the Ducati independent rider claim P6 from him, but a P7 result is still his best finish of 2025 by a margin of three positions. The #65’s Race 2 was on pace for a similar result, riding in P9 until his unfortunate lowside crash saw his race end on his 11^th Lap.

On his Misano weekend, Rea said: “For the first time I’ve been able to start on the third row, and I got some good track position in T1 obviously after the carnage with Bulega and Bassani. Everything just opened up for me, and I found myself in P6 or P7. From there, my race just sort of stayed there. Sam Lowes was coming strong at the end, and I couldn’t quite fight with him, but the bike was feeling quite good. Due to the conditions, we used the SCQ tyre, which lasted the entire race. It felt good, so the form stayed, and we came into Race 2 on a positive note. My starts on the R1 have been incredible recently, so I tried to put myself down the left side of the track, thinking I could run around the group in front, but I got squeezed wide in T1 and bottlenecked in two, so any track position I had gained, I lost in T1. From there I lost touch with the group that formed. Lecuona was just riding away from me a little bit but I was clearing guys behind, so it was lonely. Going into T1, normally the rear end bounces around a bit, but when it picked up and landed, I lost the front instantly; it was a strange one. The trajectory of the weekend had been a positive one, so it was a tough note to end on.”

FEELING OVER RESULTS: “The results are improving, but fundamentally, I still don’t understand the bike too well”

Rea’s second season with Yamaha has been a tough campaign to analyse, not only for onlookers but for Rea himself. After a busy offseason improving his physical fitness and visibly optimistic about the feeling he was developing atop his Yamaha R1, until he was dealt a tough blow in the form of his Philip Island foot injury, which ruled him out of the first three rounds of the season. His rust was plain to see at Cremona after nearly two months off the bike; however, he bounced back at Most, his pair of P10s his best results of the season at that point; and now at Misano, he has raised the bar again, landing P7 in his Tissot Superpole Race.

On whether he feels he is on a positive trajectory leaving Misano, “Yes and no, you can look at the results, but fundamentally, I still don’t understand the bike too well, especially when we go for the Superpoles, they have been my nemesis since I joined Yamaha. If you can’t put yourself in a good position straight away, the class is so tough now -there are, of course, the two guys at the front, who are having their own race within the race- but that next group is incredibly competitive. If you can’t start near the front of that it makes life tough, but Donington next is a good opportunity for us, we were quite strong there last year, I got my only podium of the year there. If we can put everything together and do all our work on Friday, there’s no reason why we can’t have a successful weekend there.”

Tune in July 11-13^th for Jonathan Rea at his home round as he battles with the rest of the field at Donington! Tune in live or watch on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Michelin will become the exclusive official tyre supplier for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship from the 2027 season onwards. The five-year partnership, running through to 2031, highlights the shared commitment of Michelin and the Championships to innovation, sustainability, safety, and ongoing development benefiting motorcycle users. Michelin will focus specifically on continuous improvement in tyre quality, durability, and safety, aligning closely with the Championship’s high technical standards and competitive spirit.

Michelin will supply tyres to all categories, including WorldSBK, WorldSSP, and the newly introduced World Sportbike (WorldSPB) class, as well as the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR).

Michelin’s extensive motorsport experience and technological know-how will ensure consistent performance across diverse conditions and the range of tracks featured on the Championship calendar, supporting teams and riders in maintaining a highly competitive field throughout the season.

Until then, Pirelli will remain the Official Tyre Supplier through to the close of the 2026 season, continuing to provide dedicated support to participants competing at the highest level while further developing its tyre line-up.

This will mark the end of a significant era, as Pirelli’s pioneering partnership with WorldSBK since 2004 established the Championship as the first global motorsport series to adopt a single tyre supplier, setting a standard later followed by other leading racing series.

Follow all the WorldSBK action throughout 2025 using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now 50% off!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made his return to the rostrum at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, hosting the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round. The two-time MOTUL FIM Superbike World Champion failed to taste the Prosecco at Most last round for the first time since Jerez 2024; however, Race 2 saw the #19 bounce back, improving on the timesheet in each race, culminating in a third-place rostrum result in Race 2.

HUNGRY FOR MORE: “Finishing on the podium is always nice, but the gap between the two riders in front of me is too big right now”

While Bautista’s Race 2 was his most successful result of the weekend, as he has said in the past, Bautista values highly his sensation atop the bike and how it responds to his riding. He highlighted Saturday as a positive reference, despite not placing as high. Track temperature seemed to be an issue for many of the grid’s riders over the balmy weekend in Italy, as by Sunday’s Race 2, the track temperature had climbed to 48ºC.

On his Weekend at Misano, Bautista said: “For sure it is a big relief to be back on the podium after not being there since Cremona for one reason or another. I’m happy with how we ended the weekend, but I’m not too pleased with the feedback from the bike. On Sunday, I struggled in the hot conditions, while on Saturday, I started from the back, and we had the pace to fight for the podium. In Race 2, I started from P5, so it was a bit easier, but the feeling was similar; it was difficult to stop the bike, difficult to change direction, and it struggled on both corner entries and exits. I could feel it wanting to push me out. I was fighting with the bike throughout the entire race, but in the end, I was able to stay consistent and avoid mistakes. Finishing on the podium is always nice, but the feeling was not the best. We need to improve, especially in hot conditions, and the gap between the two riders in front of me is too big right now. We need to reduce that gap, but I’m happy because in this difficult weekend on and off the track, we managed to keep focused, so I want to thank my team for this hard work.”

“You always have to be more careful with your teammates, but in the end, the goal is to be the fastest” – Bautista on his battle with Bulega

After lights out at Race 2, as the factory Ducati riders made their charge up the grid towards the podium positions, an intriguing scene unfolded when the teammates in red came across one another. Nicolo Bulega had started his race back in P10, but strong early pace from ‘Bulegas’ pushed him up the order P6 by the start of Lap 2. In front of him, rode his #19 teammate, who was in no rush to let the Championship leader pass him. Bautista put on a strong defensive performance over the next two laps to hold off the faster Italian sophomore. Eventually, the #11 passed him on his way to claim P2, but the Spaniard was not far behind, as he had a strong race of his own to finish in P3.

On his Race 2 battle with Bulega, Bautista said: “I was focused on my own race, to me in that moment Nicolo was just another rider, just that he had much better pace than me, that’s all. If it were another rider, I would have done exactly the same. It would have been stupid to try to follow him or let him overtake to overtake him back later when his pace was faster than mine. I could also see him once he passed me, and I saw how he was able to do better lines than I and go more precisely than I could, so it would have been stupid to fight against him. It was not about it being Nicolo, it was that he had better pace than I did, and that’s all. For sure, you always must be more careful with your teammates, but in the end, they are one rider more, and the goal is to be the fastest.”

Bautista will return in just under a month with the rest of the grid when they take on Donington July 11-13^th! Watch live or on-demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!

Source: WorldSBK.com