2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 13 Indonesia, Mandalika

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WorldSBK Race One Report

Despite some rain falling prior to the start of race one, which was delayed and shortened to 20 laps from the original 21, all riders started on slick tyres.

Polesitter, Razgatlioglu lost ground as the lights went out but battled his way back to lead the race at the start of lap three after overtaking Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into the right-hander that is turn one. Behind, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was making his way through the field to briefly lead the race after passing Rea on lap four at turn 12, and then Razgatlioglu on lap five at turn ten.

At the end of lap five, Rea forced his way through on Bassani on the exit of turn 16 before Razgatlioglu followed him through at turn one at the start of lap six, before Rea and Razgatlioglu then exchanged first place throughout lap six. Rea eventually re-claimed the lead and started lapping around one-tenth quicker than his title rival, who remained in second place.

On lap nine, Razgatlioglu took the lead with a move on Rea into turn ten. Lap ten featured yet another change for the lead as Rea passed Razgatlioglu into turn 16, before Razgatlioglu responded straight away into turn one. On the same lap Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed second place from Rea with a similar move that Rea made on Razgatlioglu at turn 16.

Turn 16 continued to provide drama as Razgatlioglu ran wide into the long left-hander at the penultimate corner, losing the lead of the race to Redding, and Rea moved into second place with the Turkish star re-joining in third place. Although he lost the two positions, he started chipping away at the gap chasing down the lead two riders. Rea took control of the race on lap 16, before Redding lost ground trying to respond to Rea’s move allowing Razgatlioglu to close the gap. Redding lost more time at turn 16 and, despite defending into turn 17, Razgatlioglu made the title-winning overtake on lap 18 at turn one.

Razgatlioglu closed the gap to Rea throughout the final two laps but claimed second place behind Rea which was good enough to take the 2021 title; although the gap was 25 points, Razgatlioglu had won more full-length races than Rea, as Tissot Superpole Races do not count in the event of a tie.

The top three in the Championship were locked into place after the opening gambit; Razgatlioglu in first, Rea in second and Redding in third. Razgatlioglu claiming Yamaha’s first title since 2009, when they won with American Ben Spies.

The Turkish star, at 25 years, one month and five days, becomes the third-youngest champion of all time, behind James Toseland and Troy Corser.

Bassani ran in the top three for the majority of the first half of the race and briefly led the race, before he eventually dropped back from the leading three. He eventually finished in fifth place after losing out to Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in the closing stages of the race, as Locatelli made up ground as track conditions continued to improve.

He had also made a move on Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to move into fifth place and push the Dutch rider down to sixth place; van der Mark showed strong pace again in the difficult conditions as he looked to challenge for a podium, but ultimately fell to sixth place. Locatelli’s fourth place means he moves into fourth in the Championship standings, one point clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), while van der Mark could still claim fifth from Rinaldo.

Alvaro Bautista’s penultimate race for Team HRC saw him claim seventh place after withstanding a late charge from Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven), with Davies looking to end his WorldSBK career on a high note. Argentinean rider Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) claimed ninth place after another strong performance, beating Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who claimed tenth. Sykes had been running inside the top six in the early stages of the race before dropping back.

Despite a strong start and running in the top positions in the early stages of the race, Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in 11th place; with Bassani in fifth, the battle for Top Independent Rider in 2021 will go down to the final race. Rinaldi finished in 12th place as he lost ground in the race for fourth place in the standings.

Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was another who had strong early race pace but dropped back slightly in the closing stages, finishing in 13th. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) claimed 14th place with Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claiming the final points-paying position.

Oliver König (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) had made a good start from the back of the grid but had a crash at turn three on lap two from a points-paying position, which put the Czech rider out of the race. Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) was another retirement following a turn one crash in the latter stages of the race, while Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) also retired from the race.

WorldSBK Race One

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WorldSBK Race Two Report

A shortened Race 2 provided plenty of drama in wet conditions, with a delay to the start due to weather conditions causing the race to be reduced to 12 laps, down from the originally planned 21 laps.

The lead five quickly looked to break away up front when the race finally got underway with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) then breaking away further to make it a two-way battle for the win in the final encounter of season 2021.

As the final lap started, Redding was able to make a move into Turn 1 before Rea responded into Turn 10. Heading into Turn 16, Redding went up the inside of Rea but ran wide, allowing Rea to move back into the lead of the race and claim his second victory at Mandalika for the 215th podium of his career. Redding’s second place earned Ducati their 660th race on the podium.

Scott Redding

“I had a lot of fun today, especially in Race 2 in a good battle with Jonathan. I want to thank the team for these two years. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team and Ducati represent a big family for me. I thank everybody, from my team in the pit, to the guys in the hospitality area, to whoever worked at Borgo Panigale to put me in a position to win. It’s a very emotional moment for me, but I’m calm because I know I’ve given everything for this group that has welcomed me in an extraordinary way. A new adventure awaits me but without a doubt, the whole team will always have a special place in my heart“.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) got a good start to be in the lead group of five riders, and on Lap 4 he looked to move up the order into a podium place. Into Turn 17, Bassani and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) made contact and Bassani crashed out of the race, with the incident placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards, with no further action taken. On the run to Turn 17, Bassani and Razgatlioglu were battling which allowed van der Mark to get alongside Bassani on the exit.

Van der Mark and Razgatlioglu battled it out for third place with the former team-mates going head-to-head for the final place on the podium, with van der Mark passing the 2021 Champion on Lap 7 to claim his third podium of the 2021 and the 50th podium placement in WorldSBK for BMW.

Michael van der Mark

“Race one this morning was quite fun. At the start, it was a bit wet here and there and this track has quite a lot of grip with slicks in the wet patches. So I was enjoying the first part of the race and thought I could be battling for the front but then it started to dry pretty quick. I was battling for fifth, fourth position, feeling good and my pace was okay but I was still not feeling well. At the end of the race I was frustrated because I ran out of energy and I lost another position. I was really angry about that but I had to deal with it. Then race two unfortunately was postponed but it was the right decision. When we went racing, the track was fully wet and it was still raining a little bit. I knew that the track would have a lot of grip and these 12 laps I think were long enough. I had a good start and okay first laps. It was so much fun and at a certain point I was battling with Toprak. We had some really nice battles on track, it went back and forward and I really enjoyed it. To finish the season with third place is incredible, it is always nice to finish the season on the podium and especially knowing we had so much fun. I think the season has been quite good but we want to make steps forward this winter to be able to fight for the podium more often and also in the dry.”

Razgatlioglu came home in fourth place meaning the gap between him and Rea at the end of the season was 13 points, while it also secured the Manufacturers’ Championship for Yamaha for only the second time; Yamaha winning the Riders’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles in 2021.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished his BMW stint with a top five finish in the wet conditions, finishing three seconds clear of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in sixth place.

Tom Sykes

“It was fantastic to finally get back in the racing arena. Honestly, after the accident that I had and the break of nine weeks to come back here to competition I think was a tall ask and working with the guys is always a pleasure. I got settled in right away on the circuit in Mandalika. They have done a fantastic job, so to come here to this great track at this venue at this part of the world is already a pleasure and, as the weekend progressed, to qualify on the second row was already quite good, I think. Into race one, we got a good start and we were at the back of the leading bunch but just couldn’t manage that with some limitations I had with the package so I unfortunately dropped back and then made some mistakes myself. But regarding race two, fantastic. The surface is great in the wet conditions. There was another delay but there was great support from the crowd in the grandstand and finally we were able to get another race in front of those guys. I think it was a great race from a spectacle point of view. I enjoyed the racing and the grip the track offered in the wet. In general, the 2021 season was bitter-sweet for obvious reasons. At the start, we were not quite where we needed to be in terms of development and we had some issues, but I still was the strongest BMW rider. Donington was great for me, Mickey and BMW. This was probably the highlight of the season. Development was always difficult; we tried to do that during the events and race at the same time but it’s always a pleasure to work with the guys and we gave our best. When I came to the project three years ago, I joined a fantastic brand and I was happy to be part of the BMW team. We had some great success in the first year considering where we were at. In year two, we unfortunately had some technical DNFs and stuff. Unfortunately, the only concern I have in these three years is that I don’t think we ever got to see Tom Sykes’s full potential in a race. The only glimpse we have ever seen was in qualifying. But for me and the team and mainly for BMW I was really hoping we could get the package so I could show my qualifying performance over 21 laps. That is the biggest thing I have missed in these three years but we tried, had some good results, and I have to thank everyone involved for the efforts and appreciate the work.”

Gerloff’s sixth place result, coupled with Bassani’s retirement, meant Gerloff claimed the Best Independent Rider award for 2021.

Garrett Gerloff

“I wish we could have had a dry race. To have ever-changing conditions for two days in a row was a bit frustrating, but I am happy to have finished the season. The track in the wet was amazing today, it had a lot of grip and there was not too much standing water, but it just took me a while to find the limit. I just prefer racing in the dry, it’s less scary. Now I know where the limit in the wet is, though, and I felt really fast in the dry earlier in the weekend, so I look forward to coming back next year. I am also really happy that I was able to keep the lead in the Independents’ Championship to give it to the team, they deserved a positive result. I look forward to 2022 and to the winter tests, so we can work on some things. Next year I need to improve my consistency and the first couple of laps of my races, for sure, because I am not quick nor aggressive enough at the start. The bike feels great, but I need to work on myself.“

Gerloff finished ahead of teammate Kohta Nozane in seventh place, the best of his rookie season in WorldSBK as he ended the season on a high.

Kohta Nozane

“Today I had a very difficult time in Race 1. The conditions were very tricky as sometimes it was raining, sometimes it wasn’t, and my final result was not good. Then I hit the reset button and focused fully on Race 2, which was run in the wet. I like these conditions but it was my first time at this track in the rain, so it wasn’t easy. It was the same for everybody, though, and I was confident I could do well. In the end I achieved my best result of the season, a 7th place, after running my best race so far in WorldSBK. Next season, though, I will need to make a step up: the target for 2022 is to make it onto the podium for the first time”

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) finished in eighth place after a battle with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in Race 2.

Andrea Locatelli

“Looking back on this season, it’s great to finish P4 in the championship. I’m so happy for Toprak and the team because we win everything. I wasn’t too happy with the last race, but this is my first year and I’m starting to understand the WorldSBK championship now. For next year, we will for sure come back even stronger. I’m so happy for the guys in the team, because without them the success of this year would not be possible.”

Although Rinaldi did get ahead of Locatelli on track, he had a crash at Turn 6 which forced him out of the race and allowed Locatelli to claim fourth in the Championship standings. Following the race, Rinaldi was transported to RSUD NTB Hospital by air ambulance for further assessments after being diagnosed with a cervical strain.

Michael Rinaldi

“I’m really sorry for the way the race ended. I gave my best to be able to take fourth place in the final classification. Starting from the fifth row wasn’t easy but I was patient and made up positions lap after lap. In the final part of the race, after I managed to complete the comeback, I tried to push to create a gap and defend myself from attacks but I lost the rear, without warning. I thank the team for the work they have done this season. We have gained a lot of experience and this will definitely be an advantage for 2022“.  

Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) ended his rookie campaign with his best result of the season with ninth, ahead of fellow Spaniard Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC); whose Team HRC career ended with a top ten finish.

Jonathan Rea

“A super day of racing, super-content with that. After FP1 on Friday we faced some difficulties and to rebound like this – to come back and win in the dry and win in the wet – I’m super-happy. Especially so for the Mandalika fans because to get a Race Two was really good. I was really hoping the organisers would use that period after the heavy downpour to say yes to the track evaluation. When we knew were going out I was excited to race. Really excited. I tried to set a good pace directly in Race Two but Toprak and Scott were also very fast. I could understand where they were fast so I just rode with nothing to lose, to go out on a high. That was the target this weekend; to go home satisfied with my effort. We can really say that we have no regrets this year. I rode my maximum, with all my heart every race. Congratulations to Toprak and his team. They did an incredible season, they were very fast.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“For me not an easy season, I think the same for all riders. But we are champions. I don’t know what to say, but it’s a special day for me. Not easy races for me today, I tried my best and in the end we came out on top. It is not easy, because there were many races, many moments, but we tried our best and it’s good to be here. Johnny is a WorldSBK legend, a six-time champion and he’s good in the wet condition, the dry, every race. He helped me when I started, he is a good guy and we are friends off the track. I never changed my mindset and I just focused on the win every weekend. Congratulations to all riders, everyone tried their best. The season is over now, and it’s good to see Yamaha champions again for the first time since 2009. This title is for my dad, it has been an incredible day, he always said that one day we will see you as world champion, so I say again this is for him. I want more next season, I want to fight again and I will try every race to win.”

Frenchman Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) finished 11th place after he battled with the retiring Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) in the closing stages of the race, with Davies ending his WorldSBK career with 99 podiums, 32 victories and 2999.5 points. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 13th place and Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) was 14th and the last of the classified riders.

Despite a good start and running in the top six, Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) crashed out of the race at Turn 14.

Oliver König (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was declared unfit after a Race 1 crash, where he was diagnosed with a minimal head injury. Leon Haslam’s Team HRC farewell came to a premature end after he was declared unfit with a right shoulder functional impairment and missed both races, while Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was declared unfit with a right acromioclavicular join separation.

WorldSBK Race Two

WorldSBK Championship Points

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Yamaha claims 2021 Manufacturers’ Championship

After a competitive season and being challenged by Ducati and Kawasaki, Yamaha has won the 2021 Manufacturers’ Championship, putting an end to Kawasaki’s strike of six consecutive titles. Yamaha has claimed its second Manufacturers’ Championship in WorldSBK, its first one since 2007.

Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli from Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK, and Garrett Gerloff and Kohta Nozane from GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team, all scored points for the manufacturer during the 2021 season of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, with Razgatlioglu fighting for winning the WorldSBK title.

With a 13-point advantage over Ducati, Yamaha secured the 2021 Manufacturers’ title in Race 2 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit. The Japanese manufacturer and their riders have completed a solid 2021 season highlighting the performance and reliability of the Yamaha YZF R1.

Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe, Road Racing Manager

“After having won the manufacturers’ title in the most important national championships like BSB, MotoAmerica, and JSB, this title in WorldSBK celebrates a fantastic season for Yamaha. It proves the competitiveness of the R1, the package has achieved its goals, which has been possible thanks to everyone involved, from the engineering side, team side and rider side. I really would like to thank everybody for this important achievement that we can be proud of. The R1 is clearly a fantastic base, a product that our customers can enjoy every day, and one that has proven to be the most complete package on the world stage.”

Paul Denning – Team Principal, Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK

“What a season, it’s a very emotional moment. I’m so happy for the people in the team and in Yamaha. For Toprak as a human being, not only as an athlete, to achieve what he has is incredible. He’s kept his humble approach, he respects everybody and he works as a true part of the team. He had some difficult moments that weren’t his fault this year, and to come back from those without making a single mistake is very impressive. An incredible season, he deserves it and the team deserves it. It’s a bit cliché to say that it’s more difficult to defend a championship than to win it for the first time, so we have to stay focused for next year. Jonathan will come back strong again, he has elevated his own performance this year to fight with Toprak, so to beat him next year will be a challenge that we look forward to. Loka also capped off a fantastic maiden season with fourth in the championship and as the top rookie. He has really shown that he is an unbelievable talent and has done a fantastic job to be best of the rest behind the top three. The conditions were really tricky today, but he rode two mature races. We have a great group of people here in the team and I just want to thank everyone for their hard work and commitment this year.”

Manufacturer Championship Standings (after Round 13)

1. Yamaha (607 points)
2. Ducati (594 points)
3. Kawasaki (570 points)

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World Supersport

The 2021 FIM Supersport World Championship campaign came to a thrilling conclusion at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as Race 2 was decided at the final corner after an incredible 19-lap battle, with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) taking his fourth win in the final three rounds. The top four were separated by just 0.714s at the end of Race 2 for the Pirelli Indonesian Round.

Federico Caricasulo (VFT Racing) was a fast starter as he moved immediately into the lead of the race with a move into Turn 1, with Turkish star Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) also making progress as the lights went out for the 19-lap race, with Öncü taking the lead on the opening lap before Caricasulo started fighting back. The Italian was able to close the gap to Öncü before making his move at Turn 10 on Lap 9 to re-gain the lead of the race.

Despite taking the lead of the race, the Italian was unable to pull a gap to Öncü, allowing Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) to close the gap, with the Finnish rider moving from third to first in one move at Turn 16 as he ducked under both Öncü and Caricasulo, while Öncü passed Caricasulo to move into second place. After taking the lead of the race, Tuuli looked to pull a gap to the rest of the field, setting a new lap record on Lap 11 with a 1’36.849s. On Lap 13, Caricasulo re-passed Öncü into Turn 10 to move back into second place and started chasing down race leader Tuuli. A lap after that move, Öncü dropped to the back of the six-strong lead group after a moment exiting the final corner, re-joining in sixth.

As the race entered its closing stages, Cluzel completed his charge to the front of the field after starting from 13th on the grid, as he made his move at Turn 10 on the penultimate lap of the race. On the final lap, at Turn 16, Cluzel looked to respond after losing out to Aegerter earlier in the lap, making a move at Turn 15 but running wide at Turn 16, allowing Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Caricasulo back through. At the final corner, Cluzel swept past Aegerter and Caricasulo as they battled it out to claim his fourth victory in six races while Tuuli was able to take advantage of that fight to sweep back into second having run wide and losing time and positions earlier in the season. Aegerter claimed third place with Caricasulo just finishing off the podium. Tuuli’s second place means MV Agusta now have 50th podium placings in WorldSSP, while Ten Kate Racing Yamaha were able to claim the 2021 Teams’ Championship.

Race 1 winner Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) backed his pace up with fifth place, just over a second behind Caricasulo, while he finished ahead of Öncü who claimed sixth place. Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) battled his way up the order from 12th place to finish in seventh place, with 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher in eighth place.

The WorldSBK-bound Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed another points finish, his streak now up to 21 races, in his final WorldSSP race before he makes the step up in 2022, with Hungary’s Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) rounding out the top ten after his half-season campaign in WorldSSP.

Finland’s Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) was 11th place, just half-a-second away from a place in the top ten, but eight seconds clear of Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing), with the Spanish rider’s half-season campaign in WorldSSP coming to an end with another points scoring finish.

Home hero Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) secured points in front of his home fans with 13th place as he helped Ten Kate Racing to secure the Teams’ Championship with his points finish. Andres Gonzalez (VFT Racing), in his fourth WorldSSP race, claimed 14th place with 2020 WorldSSP300 Champion Jeffrey Buis (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) rounding out the points with 15th place; Buis was given a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start.

Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) ended his WorldSSP career with a crash at Turn 7 on Lap 2, with the Spaniard now switching to Moto2 for 2022. Gonzalez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Spanish rider Daniel Valle (Yamaha MS Racing) also retired from the race. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) was out of the race with a technical issue on his Yamaha YZF R6 machine, when the Dutchman was running in the points. South Africa’s Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) crashed out of the race at Turn 10 on Lap 15.

WorldSSP Race 2 Results

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WorldSSP Championship Points

Source: MCNews.com.au

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 13 Indonesia, Mandalika

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Heavy rain on Saturday afternoon at the Mandalika circuit in Indonesia forced the postponement of World Superbike Race One until Sunday, and the subsequent cancellation of the Sunday Tissot Superpole Race.

The extreme weather has added further complexities to the title-deciding final round of the 2021 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, between Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Kawasaki’s six-time world champion, Jonathan Rea. Razgatlioglu leads Rea by 30-points going into the last battle, and the cancellation of the Superpole Race means that there are now only 50-points up for grab, rather than 62.

The scenario sits as this: If Razgatlioglu loses fewer than five points to Rea in Race 1, he will be crowned Champion in Race 1. If Razgatlioglu loses more than five points to Rea, the battle will go down to the final race of the final round.

Starting grid positions for WorldSBK Race 1 and Race 2 will be as per the results of Saturday’s WorldSBK Tissot Superpole.

WorldSBK Executive Director Gregorio Lavilla

“The heavy rain arrived, and we had to, at that moment, stop the activity. We were checking if we could restart the programme later on. We waited as much as we could, we did some inspections on track. Unfortunately, the rain never stopped even if it wasn’t such a heavy quantity at the end. The areas that were more critical were not actually the track, so it was outside of the track. In case of an accident, this could have big problems for the riders so unfortunately, we had to postpone the race until tomorrow.”

New Sunday Schedule, all times are in Eastern Daylight Savings Time, a 21-lap Race One at 1400, Race Two at 1800.

Pirelli Indonesian Round 13 Schedule (AEDT)

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Razgatlioglu and Rea explain their approach to title-deciding Sunday at Mandalika

Explaining his approach to a Sunday that will feature Race 1 and Race 2, a scenario that has occurred in 2021 with Razgatlioglu winning both races at Jerez, Razgatlioglu said: “I am not really happy for this because, not just for my side but also for Jonathan’s side. We are fighting in every race. Tomorrow, there will be two long races. It’s probably going to be a little bit easier but also I try my best in the race because I try to fight for the win. We don’t know the weather conditions for tomorrow. We will see tomorrow because it’s been a strange season in WorldSBK and tomorrow everybody will see which rider is Champion.”

With the 30-point deficit and 50-points available, rather than the usual 62, Rea has seen one of his three potential opportunities to take points away from his title rival disappear. The six-time Champion was left looking ahead to Sunday’s two races as he hopes to make it seven consecutive Championships in a row but admitted he was at “more of a disadvantage” after losing one of the three opportunities to chip away at Razgatlioglu’s lead.

Giving his thoughts on the title battle, Rea said: “Not good news because that takes one opportunity away. Two more opportunities but, of course, we’re at more of a disadvantage now. When the rain started on my out lap, I thought this was my chance to take some points. I felt quite confident in those conditions. But the conditions get treacherous, a lot of standing water on the track. We don’t know how the track was all around the track because none of us riders saw it, but the decision’s been made, and we start again tomorrow. I look forward to the races because, step by step this weekend after a tough FP1, we’ve come back strong and I feel competitive and I feel ready for battle.”

WorldSBK Superpole Times

WorldSBK Championship Points

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World Supersport

In a WorldSSP race caught off guard by momentary rain showers, Italian rider Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R) triumphed ahead of newly crowned world champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) and Federico Caricasulo (VFT Racing / Yamaha YZF R6), who took the first win of his career in the medium engine size category.

In the early laps of the race, the best pace was set by Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R), who did the first best time, and Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6) who took the race lead before being surprised by a sudden but brief rain shower. This convinced two riders to pit and put on rain tyres, whereas the rest of the grid stayed on slicks, slowing their pace until the track could dry out.

It was a battle between Caricasulo, Manuel Gonzalez and Raffaele de Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R) for first place. The Italian Kawasaki rider gained the upper hand, managing to hold onto the lead for most of the second half of the race.

A few laps from the end, newly crowned world champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) demonstrated a brilliant pace, doing the Pirelli best lap and launching an offensive against de Rosa. A thrilling battle ensued between the two riders on the final lap, but the Italian defended well, taking his first win in the Supersport category ahead of Aegerter (second) and Caricasulo (third).

Raffaele De Rosa – P1

“I felt the pressure from Aegerter in the final laps but I did it! I am really happy because we are near the end of the season and we were fast. My race pace was good. I wanted to win to say thanks to my team, my family and my sponsors and tomorrow we will try to win.”

WorldSSP Race Results

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WorldSSP Championship Points

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Source: MCNews.com.au

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 12 – Circuito San Juan Villicum, Argentina

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This weekend the San Juan Villicum Circuit in Argentina will host the penultimate round of the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship. The circuit was built in 2018 and lies at the foot of the Andean cordillera, not far from the border with Chile. The track is 4276 metres long and its layout includes a total of 17 curves, 7 right-handers and 10 to the left with a width of 16 metres. The circuit is anti-clockwise.

This is a very fast track where WorldSBK riders crack the 300 km/h barrier, especially on the start/finish straight that measures more than a kilometre, and between corners 7 and 8 there is an even longer straight.

El Villicum rises at the foot of the Andes at an altitude of about 650 metres above sea level and for that reason it is subject to a wide temperature range between the early hours of the morning and the late afternoon.

Only the World Superbike and Supersport classes will race in Argentina and at the season finale to be staged in Indonesia on the weekend of November 21 as the World Supersport 300 category had their final round last time out in Portugal.

With a 24-point lead heading into Argentina, Toprak Razgatlioglu can mathematically clinch the title this weekend. In short, Razgatlioglu must lead by 62-points or more before heading to Indonesia, even with countback taken into consideration. He has ten full race wins, compared to Rea’s current five so even if Rea won the remaining four full races and it finished level, Toprak already has a countback lead in his pocket.

For Toprak to clinch the Championship on Sunday, he must finish ahead of Rea in Race 1 (or score one point more than him as a minimum). That means if Rea wins Race 1, the title race is guaranteed to go to Indonesia. In terms of San Juan form, Razgatlioglu took a second podium of his career in WorldSBK’s first race there in 2018 and took three rostrums in 2019.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“I like the circuit in San Juan, and had some podiums there before – but we will see. I always say, I am focused only on fighting for the win in the next race, the championship is still changing every weekend! The team are working hard to give me a good bike every time and every race, every session we are improving. We will work to find the best race set-up on Friday with race simulation in Free Practice and then we will see.”

Whilst Toprak must beat Rea on Saturday to have a shot at the title on Sunday, Jonathan Rea must beat Razgatlioglu in Race 1 to guarantee the title race goes to Indonesia. The defending six-time World Champion has won four of the five races held at San Juan and he’s been on the podium in all of them – joined by Toprak in four of those.

Rea has momentum as despite crashing out of the lead twice at Portimao, he did manage to take victory in Race 2 whereas Toprak crashed due to a mechanical failure. The Ulsterman has a pivotal Saturday ahead, which is coincidentally Toprak’s birthday, as he goes to retain his crown. It is unsure if Alex Lowes will be fit to race.

Jonathan Rea

“I am very excited about the potential for Argentina. Villicum is a track that I have enjoyed in the past. It is relatively new to the WorldSBK calendar but I think I have won four out of the five races there. I enjoy the layout of the track; it is quite quirky. It seemed impossible to do flyaway rounds this year so credit to the San Juan Government, Dorna and everyone for making it happen. And all the teams as well, because it is really tough to plan a long haul round with all the restrictions – but we are going. I am looking forward to it. After feeling really good and strong on the bike in Portugal it is good to go to Argentina now and hopefully carry that confidence on. Of course, it is time to think about the championship. We need to keep that in our minds, work hard and try to decrease the deficit in points. The target is to come away from Argentina with a smaller deficit in the championship, to take the fight to the final round.”

Waiting to pick up the pieces and vastly making up ground, Scott Redding is still in Championship contention. 54 points back of the #54 of Razgatlioglu and on the podium in all of the last six races, and in eight of the last nine, Redding can’t be more than 61 points back of Razgatlioglu after Sunday. Redding closed the gap by 20 points at Portimao and with the kind of form he’s in, he may be able to do more in Argentina, even if it’s a new track for him. The Ducati’s top speed advantage will be handy on this fast track.

After a first win in eight years, BMW arrive in Argentina with plenty of reason to smile. Michael van der Mark stormed to a Superpole Race win in the wet at Portimao and was a solid top six contender all weekend. He’s now sixth in the Championship standings, 38-points adrift of Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Andrea Locatelli ahead of him.

Michael van der Mark – BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

“Personally I enjoy the San Juan track. It has a bit of everything, but there are a lot of tight corners, a lot of combinations and I am looking forward to going there. I think the organisation and Dorna did a fantastic job to make it happen. It is a World Championship and it is nice to go overseas and to go to Argentina. I think that already at Jerez, we started to make steps with the bike with some different set-up and we did a similar thing in Portimão which worked out really well. We were a bit unlucky with the crash in race one and a mechanical problem in race two but it seems that with the change we made on the bike, we can be really more competitive. It is always a question mark how it will go on a different track but at least we go there with a lot of confidence and knowing we can try a lot more things with the set-up now.”

On the other side of the BMW box, Eugene Laverty will again stand-in for the recovering Tom Sykes. Laverty has had a top five at the Circuito San Juan Villicum, and was seventh in his most recent race there in 2019.

Eugene Laverty – BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

“Firstly I must say a big well done to Dorna and all the teams for making this Argentinian round happen. This is the first time that we’ve travelled outside of Europe since the global pandemic really took hold 18 months ago and that’s a sure sign of progress. I really enjoy the Villicum circuit layout and I’ve enjoyed good results here in previous years. We made progress last time out at Portimão finishing in the top 10 in all three races and slowly but surely the bike is beginning to feel more like my bike. We’ll continue working on the chassis set-up to improve braking and turning during Friday practice as we aim to make another step closer towards fighting for that top 6 this weekend.”

It was a story of ‘what could’ve been’ for Honda at Portimao, with Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) once again showing podium potential. Unfortunately, the promise was left unfulfilled as Bautista crashed from third in the last corner of the last lap in Race 1 before he was then later taken out by Loris Baz two laps from home. Bautista heads to San Juan with the same potential, and he won on his first visit to San Juan in 2019. With big gains and podium aims, Bautista is keen to make up ground in the standings and get more rostrums to his name. Then, there’s Leon Haslam (Team HRC), with the British rider going in search of back-to-back front rows for the first time since Aragon and Assen back in 2015. He’ll also hope to add his name to the podium this weekend, having been in the mix at Portimao.

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Argentinean WSBK Round Schedule

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World Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Ten Jerez – Sunday Report

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After a sad Saturady at Jerez, where WorldSSP300 rider 15 year old Spaniard, Dean Berta Viñales passed away in a multi-rider crash in the opening race for the category, Saturday’s ontrack activity in the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was cancelled.

Sunday saw WorldSBK race one and two scheduled, but the Tissot Superpole sprint cancelled. Toprak Razgatlioglu was victorious in both races, creating a 20-point buffer over defending champion Jonathan Rea in the championship chase. Rea finished with a 2nd and 5th place from Sunday racing; with other podium spots filled by Scott Redding and Alvaro Bautista.

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WorldSBK Race One

Pole man Toprak Razgatlioglu made a great start but was immediately put to the test by Jonathan Rea, who managed to snatch the race lead by the end of the first lap, demonstrating superior corner speed on the ZX-10RR. Behind Razgatlioglu was his team-mate, Andrea Locatelli followed by Ducati riders Scott Redding and Michael Ruben Rinaldi who, however, crashed during the fifth lap and was forced to retire.

At the mid-race point, the riders in the leading quartet, which included three different manufacturers, were all within less than one second of each other with Razgatlioglu consistently on Rea’s pipes, looking for the best opportunity to attack for the win. The opportunity arrived at the first turn of the thirteenth lap, where the Turkish rider managed to gain the upper hand over Rea, then progressively pulled away to create a safe gap of about one second.

During the final lap, Redding became increasingly threatening to rookie Locatelli and managed to overtake him to finish on the podium behind Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Andrea Locatelli took home a well-deserved fourth place and fifth went to Álvaro Bautista who, for the fifth consecutive race, finished in the top five on the Honda.

WorldSBK Race One Results

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WorldSBK Race Two

Razgatlioglu again got a great start to lead into turn one from Jonathan Rea and, while Rea was able to challenge into turn six on that opening lap, the Turkish star then broke away and two Ducatis pushed Rea back to fourth.

While Razgatlioglu was able to hold his lead, both Michael Ruben Rinaldi, and Scott Redding were closing in. On lap six, Rinaldi ran wide at turn six which almost allowed Redding through, but Rinaldi was able to hold on to second place until turn 13, when Redding made the successful move for second.

While Redding was putting pressure on, Razgatlioglu held on until lap 17 when the Brit passed Razgatlioglu for the lead but just one lap later Razgatlioglu responded, making a move at turn 13 to take control.

Redding kept the pressure on Razgatlioglu throughout the final two laps, but the Turkish star held on to claim his second victory of the day in Jerez, and his tenth of the season, while Redding claimed his 30th WorldSBK podium.

With Razgatlioglu, Redding and Rinaldi in front, Rea found himself losing ground and having to defend from Andrea Locatelli, Alvaro Bautista and Axel Bassani to try and hold on to fourth place. On lap 7, Locatelli passed Rea at the final corner to move into fourth place.

Just a lap later, Bautista passed Rea while Italian rookie Bassani tried to follow him through but made contact with Rea, with both able to resume the race without losing time or positions. While Bautista was able to pull away, Bassani kept the pressure on Rea as he looked to pass the six-time champion. Eventually Rea was able to pull away from Bassani and soon found himself back into fifth place after passing Rinaldi.

Bautista was able to make a move on Locatelli for third after passing Rinaldi as he claimed his second podium in four races and his fourth consecutive top-five finish, the first time he has managed that feat since joining Honda.

Locatelli came home in fourth place, a very familiar position for the Italian rookie, over a second clear of Rea. With Razgatlioglu taking victory and Rea finishing fifth, the championship lead now stands at 20-points in Razgatlioglu’s favour.

The top six were clear of Rinaldi at the end of the race with Bassani claiming sixth place as the Italian continues his strong rookie season, finishing ahead of the factory Ducati of Rinaldi. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished in eighth place and closed in on Rinaldi in the closing stages with just a second behind Rinaldi.

Loris Baz’s WorldSBK continued with another top-nine finish, just two-tenths away from van der Mark.

American star Garrett Gerloff claimed another tenth place finish ahead of Eugene Laverty claimed 11th place in his first round back for three months, holding off Leon Haslam by just 0.042s at the end of the race.

Jonas Folger finished in 13th place, half-a-second back from Haslam. Samuele Cavalieri claimed more points following his return to the Barni Racing outfit while Leandro Mercado claimed the final points place despite a crash on the second lap.

Wildcard Marvin Fritz was in 16th place after his second wildcard appearance of the season despite a crash on lap 7 while Andrea Mantovani was in 17th place rounded out the riders on the lead lap. Like in Race 1, Lachlan Epis finished three laps down after spending a substantial amount of time in the pits.

Alex Lowes was declared unfit following the conclusion of race one with a right hand and wrist functional impairment. Isaac Viñales did not take part in Sunday’s action. Christophe Ponsson pulled into the pitlane at the end of the warm-up lap and did not take to the start of the race. Kohta Nozane was having a strong race before a lap four crash which forced the Japanese rookie out of the race. On lap 5, Belgian Loris Cresson crashed out of the race.

WorldSBK Race Two Results

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Rider Quotes

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P1 in Championship – 449 points

“This day, normally would be great but it is too difficult to feel happy because of yesterday. I feel only sad whenever I think about this. We improve the bike for Race 1 and I am fighting a little bit with Johnny. For the second race we try to improve the bike again but not such a good feeling because of the hot conditions. I think this is for every rider, the bike is sliding. I am fighting with Scott this time, and also he was very strong in the last laps but I tried my best and I could win again. I say again, every race I am not looking at the championship. I just focus on every race and I try to win, also in Portimão I will try to win. But, maybe on the last race weekend in Indonesia I start to look at the championship…! I know Johnny is very strong and he is also fast in Portimão but again I hope we are fighting for the win. Normally I like Portimão and also the new asphalt now, also the Yamaha is much better this year – we will see!” 

Jonathan Rea – P2 in Championship – 429 points

“It was quite hard work today, especially in Race Two, but I think I can stand back tonight and actually be quite satisfied with our day’s work. I didn’t expect to be so strong in Race One here in Jerez. From the first session on Friday I felt quite good with the bike and the tyres, and I could fight until the last laps with Toprak in race one; it was very close. That was a positive for me. In Race Two the temperature had risen and of course it was like in Barcelona, I experienced the same type of problems with the soft tyre. There was little grip and it was very hard to stop the bike and go into the corner, and this was the difference. Normally we would put in a soft tyre in the weekend and the difference in lap time would be much faster. But today we didn’t have it. We need to check why.”

Scott Redding – P3 in Championship – 375 points

“These are very difficult moments and I would like to send a thought to the Vinales family who asked us to race for Dean. Race-1 was better for me than I expected, especially after a really bad warm-up. In Race 2 the feeling was even better: I felt I could catch Toprak and take the win but he proved to be really strong under braking. Anyway, I’m happy to have reached the podium twice on this difficult day”.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi – P4 In Championship – 227 points

“It’s been a very tough weekend from a human point of view. We encountered a lot of difficulties today and the results were much below our expectations. However, I think that in times like these races take a back seat. I just want to turn  page and think about Portimao”.

Andrea Locatelli – P5 in Championship – 227 points

“So in the end it’s another good weekend for us, I’m a little bit frustrated because we lost the possibility for two podiums today but in the end we can be happy because when we arrived here on Friday it was not so easy for me to take a feeling with the bike. Then, yesterday we lost the opportunity to make a race but it was the correct decision to cancel the racing. Today we just missed the podium but we improved to become stronger and also faster during the race. I want to try and stay with the first group and in Race 1, we did not do so badly. In Race 2, I lose a little bit the feeling and I can’t stay with the front group but in any case it’s a positive performance and for sure we will continue in this way. Now, my experience is coming better and we will see in Portimão, but I want to say thanks to the guys because we work very well and they make an amazing job. Most importantly, I want to say that I am so sorry to the friends and family of Dean Berta Viñales.”

Alex Lowes – P6 in Championship – 199 points

“It was obviously disappointing not to be able to have a better performance in the first race. In practice I had been riding and adjusting my style to the strength I have in my hand. In Race One when I was around the other bikes at the start I just could not brake as late as I wanted. It was easy for people to attack and pass me. In the middle of the race, when I was by myself and just taking the lines that I wanted to take, the pace was OK. But to battle and fight hard at the front, which is our target, it was not possible. There was a short turnaround for us today for the second race and with some information from the first race, we decided that the best thing to do was get a week’s rest before the next round in Portimao.”

Michael van der Mark – P7 in Championship – 189 points

“It was a difficult weekend for the WorldSBK paddock. I want to express my condolences to Dean’s family and friends. Today we raced for him. Our results haven’t been bad when you see where we came from. Yesterday, I had no confidence to go faster so I was a bit disappointing. After a lot of studying the data the guys changed a lot on the bike and already this morning in warm-up I felt a big improvement. Also in both of today’s races I felt a massive step forward. And if you look at our lap times, the consistency and also the gap to the winner and the podium guys, I think we made a solid step. That gives me a lot of confidence and that is what we need. We have tried some things that will for sure be helping in the future.”

Garrett Gerloff – P8 in Championship – 170 points

“Everybody at the GRT Yamaha team feels horrible about what happened yesterday in the WorldSSP300 race. Our thoughts go out to Dean Berta Viñales’ family and we hope they will find healing through this. The fact that they wanted us to race today speaks volumes about their racing spirit and our day was a tribute to him. Our races were a bit tricky. I didn’t have the best first lap in either of them, I had to fight my way through on both occasions and by the time I had clear air the guys I was aiming to compete with were long gone. It was a disappointing day, but we have another round in just one week, and we will get back on the Yamaha R1 and try to improve”

Alvaro Bautista – P9 in Championship – 169 points

“In light of yesterday, it was difficult to remain focused today. Even if we are professionals, it is not easy. I did my best to concentrate on my bike and on the track action. In Race 1, I made a good start but in the opening laps I couldn’t fully exploit the tyres, something we have been struggling with for a while. So a gap opened between me and the riders ahead and I was unable to catch them. It was a physically demanding race as, with a lot of grip, the bike was a bit aggressive and I had to fight to control it. Anyway, our pace was very similar to that of the leaders and another top five finish was really good after Catalunya, on a quite different track. I was expecting to struggle even more in Race 2 but with the warmer temperatures, the bike actually became easier and smoother to ride right from the start. Particularly from mid-race onwards, I was able to lap fast and consistently. I started to catch the riders ahead and then pass them. I enjoyed passing the other riders on the brakes and battling with them. In the end, we scored another podium and I’m happy because I felt so much better on the bike even if the conditions were worse than they had been this morning. We are all working so hard on the bike, never giving up, and so this progress and results are a reward for us all.”

Leon Haslam – P13 in Championship – 104 poiints

“Both of today’s races were disappointing in the end. Our pace earlier in the weekend meant that we should have been in line for a top five finish here, we’d worked hard on the tyres and were looking more consistent. But in race 1 I really struggled and had issues relating to both traction control and the engine brake. In the second race, we made a big change, and although this brought positives and negatives, the result was more or less the same as in race 1. So I’m frustrated as I really thought we’d be stronger. We need to understand how to improve this and now look ahead to Portimao.”

Kohta Nozane – P14 in Championship – 46 points

“It was a very difficult Saturday and Sunday for everyone because of yesterday’s events, but we know this sport is dangerous and we continued racing in Dean Berta Viñales’ memory. Race 1 began with a bad start and it was difficult to overtake many riders on the first lap. That said, my pace was not bad, I could stay consistently in the 1’41s, but overtaking Laverty turned out to be more difficult than I expected. At one point I made it through, but then I immediately made a mistake and he passed me back. On the last lap I tried again, but I went wide and couldn’t complete the pass. Still, it felt good to fight with him. In Race 2 things were looking better, my start was good, my pace was better and I was involved in a great battle in the first three laps, but then I made a mistake and I tucked the front at Turn 6. The result was disappointing, but it was still good experience for next year. Overall, it was a positive weekend, but the next round will be at Portimão, a new track for me, so it might not be as easy. We will take it step by step, I am happy about my pace in the last two rounds and I hope to build on it.”

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World Superbike Championship Standings

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WorldSSP

Any FIM Supersport World Championship rustiness for Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) after missing the Catalunya Round was soon shaken off as he claimed victory in the sole WorldSSP race for the Motul Spanish Round, finishing almost ten seconds clear of his rivals at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto while Yamaha wrapped up the Manufacturers’ Championship for the fifth consecutive campaign.

As the lights went out, Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) got the jump from second on the grid to take the lead of the race while Italian debutant Stefano Manzi (GMT94 Yamaha) made progress off the line and moved into the top five for his first WorldSSP start. From there, Aegerter was unchallenged for race victory went on to win by over ten-seconds, with his winning enough to wrap up the Manufacturers’ Championship for Yamaha for the fifth time in a row. Aegerter joins Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) as the only two riders who have taken ten victories in a single WorldSSP campaign, while he now has 12 podiums and sits just one behind Kenan Sofuoglu for the all-time record.

Aegerter was able to break away from the chasing pack by posting a lap record to extend his lead over Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) to more than a second by the third lap. The win for Aegerter means he extends his Championship lead to 62-points over title rival Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), with the South African rider finishing eighth; Odendaal making a mistake on Lap 2 at Turn 13 and dropping down the order.

The battle for the podium raged on throughout the 17-lap encounter with Oettl being hounded by Spanish sensation Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) chasing the German down throughout the race. Gonzalez was unable to make his move in the first half of the race which allowed finish rider Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) to close in, applying the pressure to Gonzalez as he chased another podium finish. Tuuli made the move at Turn 13 on Lap 9 to move into third and soon set his sights on Oettl after the battle with Gonzalez allowed the German to break away. Oettl claimed second place ahead of Tuuli in third place, with Gonzalez unable to respond and finished fourth; Oettl’s podium the 150th podium placement for Kawasaki in WorldSSP.

Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) battled back from a poor start and falling down to tenth to finish in fifth place after resisting a response from Turkish star Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) with Öncü claiming sixth place after another strong showing for the 18-year-old. Italian rider Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed seventh place.

The battle for eighth was a three-way affair between Odendaal, Manzi and Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) with each rider having their moments of leading the race. Krummenacher crashed out at Turn 6 as he looked to pass Mazni, taking him out of the race, with Odendaal finishing in eighth and Manzi ninth. Manzi’s teammate, Jules Cluzel, rounded out the top ten.

Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) scored more points as his impressive form continued with 11th place, ahead of Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) as his recovery from injury continued with 12th place. Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was 13th as he added to his points total ahead of Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) and Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) rounding out the top five and securing points in Jerez.

David Sanchis Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing) was around eight seconds back from a top 15 finish as he finished in 16th, with Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) taking 17th place as the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider as he finished just three tenths clear of rival Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing). Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed 19th place ahead of Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) in 20th after he had a back-of-the-grid start for a tyre pressure infringement on the grid. Ondrej Vostatek (IXS-YART Yamaha) finished in 22nd with Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) the last of the classified runners in 22nd.

Following the tragic events of Saturday in Jerez, Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti and Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing) decided not to take part in the WorldSSP race.

Australian Billy van Eerde (IXS-YART Yamaha) was declared unfit ahead of the race with a right shoulder contusion and functional impairment.

Croatian Martin Vugrinec (Ferquest- Unior Racing Team) was the first retirement of the race after he had an opening lap crash at Turn 6, while rookie Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) retired after a technical issue early in the race. Finnish rider Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) had a crash at Turn 11 on Lap 4 which forced him out of the race. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) had a high-speed crash at Turn 12 on the seventh lap of the race which put him out of the race as his return to the Championship continued. Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) crashed at Turn 6 on Lap 10 of the 17-lap encounter. Luigi Montella (Chiodo Moto Racing) had two during the race, at Turn 12 first and then Turn 2, eventually retiring from the race.

WSSP Race Results

WSSP Championship Standings

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WorldSSP300

The FIM Supersport 300 World Champion race on Sunday at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto with a race that could have huge Championship implications and twists as Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) took a commanding victory for Race 2 of the Motul Spanish Round while Championship leader Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) crashed out and saw his Championship lead cut.

Huertas got the jump at the start to take the lead as he looked to wrap up the Championship in Race 2 but the Spanish rider ran wide at Turn 6 and dropped from the lead group down into around 14th before he started fighting his way back through the field, before the same issue happened again a couple of laps later and dropped him down to 19th, before Huertas was involved in an incident with Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) at Turn 6 which forced the Championship leader out of the race; the incident to be investigated after the race by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards.

The first incident allowed Turkish star Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) to take the lead of the race and at around the halfway stage of the race, he tried to open up the gap at the front of the field so he could claim his second victory of the season, which he duly did so ahead of Iñigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) in second place, who gained who crossed the line in fourth place but gained two positions when Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) and Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) were demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap.

Okaya claimed third place ahead of team-mate Buis, whose fourth place coupled with Huertas’ non-score means the title battle will continue into the season finale in Portimao in just one week, with the gap just 36-points in favour of Huertas.

Australian youngster Harry Khouri was declared unfit to race by the stewards after being caught up in Saturday’s fatal accident.

WorldSSP300 Race Two Results

WorldSSP300 Championship Standing

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2021 WorldSBK Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Ten Jerez

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Light rain just before the start of the first session saw riders take their time to build up to speed at Jerez overnight as practice got underway ahead of round ten of the FIM Superbike World Championship before they then really got down to business in FP2.

Jonathan Rea worked on several areas of race preparation with his technical crew and when pushed set a fast lap time of 1’39.670, ending the opening day four-tenths ahead of second placed Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Jonathan Rea – P1

“We started with a new set-up idea that we had from these last few races in the heat, trying to take some of the grip off the rear of the bike, to create more balance. We worked with that idea and near the end of FP1 we went back to what we used to have. That confirmed that the new idea was working. In the afternoon we tried to do a longer run to understand my rhythm, to understand the tyre drop, and how the bike behaved. It was very consistent, especially in the last sector where normally you face a big drop in the fast right corners. The sector was very stable but the area where I am struggling the most is sector one. That is the main point of focus so we will check and see again tomorrow. What we did is not revolutionary, but it is a step.”

Michael Ruben Rinaldi worked on fine tuning the set-up on the Aruba Ducati in FP1 before finishing FP2 on a soft tyre to end the day P2.

Michael Rinaldi – P2

“It was a positive day in which we worked well. Let’s say that the feeling with the bike is 95% and we’ll try to find the remaining 5% tomorrow morning to be faster and more comfortable. Finishing second on Friday always gives us some confidence. I think that fighting for the podium is within our reach but only if we continue to work with great intensity“.

Having topped FP1 in the morning, Toprak Razgatlioglu left it late to feature at the front in FP2. The Turkish rider was outside the top five for most the session before popping up the order, consolidating his third place on the combined times.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P3

“Not a bad start but also different feeling in rear grip to normal, and two new tyres that we also tried. We need for every tyre a good set-up, so we try the new ones also. Not such a bad morning session, and after we also try a set-up for the race in FP2. We are not fully happy because we are third, but tomorrow I think we are feeling much better because now we will try to work to improve. I try also good lap time in the last lap, but not coming because too much spinning, not enough grip with the hard tyre to make a 1’39. Most important is we are working for the race. We will see tomorrow, we will try for more!”

Leon Haslam made a strong start for Honda, placing fifth in FP1 and then went quicker in FP2 to end the day fourth on combined times.

Leon Haslam – P4

“We had a good FP1. I felt we were quite consistent and kept the same tyre throughout the session. Then in the afternoon we tried a few experimental things but this kind of ruined the natural flow of our race preparation work. We also tried the new Pirelli front tyre but only did three or four laps on it; we’d need to use it over a longer distance to better understand its performance. We did better at the start of the afternoon practice, using the same set-up as we did in FP1, and I was third quickest in that session, but we’ll have to see what the weather brings tomorrow. If track temperatures go up over the weekend as we expect them to, we’ll need to work hard to try and retain the front grip and turning. We have a few things to resolve but fourth overall today is a good start.”

Scott Redding put the most laps (21) during the FP1 session without changing his rear tyre and again concentrated on race pace in the afternoon.

Scott Redding – P5

“All in all I can’t be unhappy with what we did today. The main problem is that I thought I was fast but I wasn’t fast in terms of the lap time. It’s not long before we find the right feeling and I’m sure we can take another step forward tomorrow in FP3.”

Alvaro Bautista suffered a very fast crash at turn 11 towards the end of FP2, which prevented him from further improving on his lap time, but fortunately he was unhurt in the fall and will be more than ready to recommence the work on Saturday.

Alvaro Bautista – P6

“For sure we started with very good feedback from the bike. This morning, I tried a different rear compound specification that Pirelli has brought, but I didn’t feel very comfortable. In the afternoon I used the rear tyre that we raced with at Barcelona and I definitely felt much better. We also tried the new front specification and I’m happy because through some corners I found that I could brake harder and keep a better line. I felt strong and could lap quite consistently. But we don’t have so many of those tyres so for the final run we went with a used front and fit a new rear. During my fastest lap, I felt the rear pushing in the final sector and I lost the front through quite a fast corner. Luckily I’m absolutely fine, but I missed out on the chance to further improve my lap time. Anyway, a very good start to the weekend, and having two Hondas in the top six is great. We need to see how the weather is tomorrow because we expect higher temperatures and we want to understand how the new tyre specifications behave in hotter conditions.”

In the approach to this weekend at the 4.423 km long Jerez circuit Alex Lowes’ hand injury meant he was unsure if he would be able to ride at all. He was passed fit and despite the pain from his fractured hand, he made strong progress in FP1 and FP2 to finish just one place outside the top six in a field of 24 riders. His best lap time of 1’40.352 was just 0.681 seconds from his team-mate Rea.

Alex Lowes – P7

“The pain in my hand is about the same as I thought it would be but the control of the bike and the pace on the bike is a lot better than I expected. The target of today was to see if it was worth the pain to maybe get an OK result and be competitive, and I feel I was competitive. So that is one box ticked. I will make some recovery tonight and hopefully, if I can ride in these kind of positions, then we can be happy with the weekend. In these cooler conditions the bike is working really well and I think that helped me quite a lot today. Up until Tuesday I thought I might be sitting watching the Ryder Cup golf this weekend but I was good enough to keep trying.”

Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli finished the opening day of practice eighth.

Andrea Locatelli – P8

“It’s not the best Friday for us today. The condition is not so bad here in Jerez, but the feeling with the bike is a little bit strange, especially in the entry of fast corners and the braking. We tried to work around this point on the set-up but the feeling is not coming, but now we have a little bit more time to understand and to check the data to try and improve for tomorrow. But, in the end, it’s not so bad – we had a really good rhythm in the long run and I want to try and close the gap, because we can go a little bit faster and this is our objective every time. We have some ideas and now I will work a little bit with the guys to understand what is the best direction to take for tomorrow.”

For BMW, their weekend got underway with Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) flying the flag in tenth place overall. The Dutchman set 39 laps across the day and was 1.102s behind the top time of Jonathan Rea. New team-mate for this weekend, Eugene Laverty, had a solid session in 14th place as he gets back used to racing action, setting an identical lap time as Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura). Expect Laverty to come on stronger as he gets back used to WorldSBK racing.

Michael van der Mark – P10

“This morning, we were quite happy with the bike and tried something a lot different which felt okay. For the afternoon we tried to find some front end feeling which I struggled a little bit with this morning. The first outing was on a used front tyre which I felt comfortable with, and our lap time was quite fast. After that I had to try some different tyre options which Pirelli brought, so it was mainly speaking to them and giving good feedback. Unfortunately, I couldn’t improve on my lap time, but I think the feeling I had this morning and at the start of FP2 was not that bad, so I hope we can have really good pace tomorrow.”

Eugene Laverty – P13

“Today started out quite difficult after so long away, I think I was down in 20th position. This afternoon we made some big strides forward despite my fastest lap being taken away from me following Bautista’s crash. That lap was the same as Mickey’s and that’s the goal, to be near him as he is the reference on the same bike. The bike’s working well. We just need a bit more feedback from the front tyre as I’m struggling to get a good sensation there. But it’s the second session on the bike, and I think we can be happy with our work.”

Leading the Independents in ninth place was Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in 11th, the Italian suffering a technical issue in the closing stages.

Loris Baz (Team GoEleven) was next up in 12th place on his return to WorldSBK, whilst Isaac Viñales was 13th, the Spaniard growing stronger in recent rounds. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was 15th.

The best of the rest saw Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) in 16th, ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport Yamaha), who crashed at Turn 1 in the middle of the session but was OK. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 18th, ahead of wildcard Marvin Fritz (IXS-YART Yamaha) who crashed at Turn 13 but was OK and Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team).

Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished the day in 21st after the Japanese rookie crashed at Turn 5. Andrea Mantovani (Vince64) was next up, ahead of Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and team-mate Lachlan Epis.

2021 Jerez WSBK Friday Combined Times

WorldSSP600

Philipp Oettl topped the timesheets at Jerez overnight ahead of championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).

Young Aussie Billy van Eerde started his second WorldSSP weekend 28th on the timesheets, three-seconds from the pace of the championship contenders.

2021 Jerez WSSP600 Friday Combined Times

WorldSSP300

The Friday action was electric in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto as Turkish star Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) topped both FP1 and FP2.

Young Aussie Harry Khouri was 28th on day one and is just under two-seconds away from front running pace as he gets up to speed.

2021 Jerez SSP300  Friday Combined Times

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Motul Spanish WorldSBK Round schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Nine Catalunya – Sunday Report

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A tyre gamble played into Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s hands in World Superbike’s Race Two at the Barcelona circuit of Catalunya on Sunday, with the Italian Ducati rider taking the weekend’s final victory over Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Ducati’s Scott Redding.

Defending champion Jonathan Rea could not maintain the pace of the front runners while running the development tyre, crossing the line in sixth, but brought home the shortened Superpole Sprint win earlier in the day.

Coupled with a win in the midday shortened Sprint and a fourth on Saturday, Rea closed the gap on points leader Razgatlioglu to one-point in the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, 399 to 398 points. The next round is at Spain’s Jerez circuit next weekend (Sept 24-26) followed by Portugal’s Algarve on October 1-3 to make for a triple-header.

Razgatlioglu’s weekend was a mix of highs and lows with the Turk sidelined by electronic issues in Saturday’s race, but managing consistent second place finishes on Sunday.

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WorldSBK Superpole Race

Sunday’s Superpole Race saw Toprak Razgatlioglu take an early lead from P2 on the grid, with Jonathan Rea hot on his heels and immediately on the attack. Scott Redding and Andrea Locatelli were running third and fourth.

Lap 3 saw proceedings brought to a halt, following an accident involving Ducati’s Chaz Davies and Lucas Mahias, resulting in a red flag, with riders lining back up on the grid for a five-lap restart.

Once again Rea and Razgatlioglu were the main contenders battling it out in a back and forth on the restart, before Alvaro Bautista moved into second place, displacing Raz.

Razgatlioglu wasn’t going to leave that undefended however, reigning Bautista in and reclaiming second, with Rea taking the Superpole win. Razgatlioglu had to settle for third.

Outside the top three, Lowes finished fourth, with Rinaldi fifth. Completing the top-10 was Bassani, Haslam, Gerloff, Ponsson and Mercado.

Australian Lachlan Epis was making his World Superbike debut and finished in P16 after showing improvement to his lap times across the weekend.

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WorldSBK Race Two

Race two started with more drama, the red flags out on lap two of the 20-lap race following an incident involving Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) at turn one. Although conscious, Sykes was taken to the medical centre and was diagnosed with a head injury and concussion and transferred to Catalunya Hospital for further assessments.

In the 19-lap restart, Rinaldi made a fast start and moved into the lead ahead of Razgatlioglu and Rea. Razgatlioglu went with Rinaldi throughout the 19-lap encounter but Rea dropped back with ailing tyres.

Early on Razgatlioglu held the early lead over Rinaldi, but the Turk’s dominance lasted for just a handful of laps before the Italian took control, extending his charge to the finish line to claim victory by more than three-seconds.

With Rea battling for a podium spot, he fought to keep Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) at bay, but his attempts were in vain with the Italian rookie passing him on lap 10 before Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) followed through.

At the start of lap 18, Redding made a move on Locatelli into turn one for third place with Redding using the SC0 tyre, along with race leader Rinaldi, while rivals were struggling on the SCX rubber. Bautista followed Redding through a lap later at the same corner.

The result saw Rinaldi claimed his first win since the Tissot Superpole Race at Misano, finishing ahead of Razgatlioglu and Redding.

Bautista just missed out on a podium place with fourth place, with Locatelli was in fifth.

Rea came home in sixth place, more than four seconds down on the battle for the podium, but three seconds clear of American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in seventh. Gerloff was the top independent rider and finished ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in eighth.

Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed ninth place with Japanese rookie Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) taking his first top-ten finish in a full-length race with tenth.

Honda secured a points finish with both riders as Leon Haslam (Team HRC) crossed in 11th place, five seconds clear of Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) in 12th. Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) was 13th in race two after a strong weekend for the French rider.

Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had an incredible battle for 14th place with Argentinean rider finishing just 0.081s clear of rookie Viñales. Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) was the last classified rider in 16th place.

Alex Lowes’ (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came to an end at turn two on lap one after he came off his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, and headed to medical centre where he was diagnosed with a left wrist contusion.

Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) and Australia’s Lachlan Epis (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) were mixed up in the back grid drama, with Epis retiring from the race after seven laps.

Lachlan Epis – DNF

“Firstly I want to say sorry to Alex (Lowes). By the time Jonas (Folger) had decided which way he was going it was too late for me to avoid him at the start of Race 2. Aside from that it was a challenging weekend. I hadn’t been on a bike since June in Australia and there was a lot to learn. Race 1 was wet, and it was my first time riding the Kawasaki in these conditions. I didn’t have the confidence to push as I wanted to, but we brought it home in one piece which was the target. I didn’t feel so bad in the Superpole race, and I am happy with the step we made. I tried to make the restart in Race 2 after the initial incident, but I had to wear a set of Loris’s leathers which was also a bit strange. He is a lot smaller than me, and it was ultimately just too difficult to ride in his suit. Overall, I am pleased with the weekend and looking forward to riding again on Friday in Jerez.”

Mahias joined the restarted race but brought his bike back to the pits and retired from the race, while Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) also did not finish the race.

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Rider Quotes

Michael Ruben Rinaldi – P1

“I’m really happy about this win because we arrived from a difficult moment. Yesterday after the rain I was a little bit upset because I knew we had a strong pace in the dry. We managed third which wasn’t bad. I said, ‘today is my day, I need to go for it’. The tyre choice was difficult actually because everyone was going for the soft, but last year I saw there was too much drop at the end of the race. I took a risk, but it worked, so really happy about that.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P2

“Today, I’m very lucky because I passed Michael and after my tyre had a big drop. The last three or four laps, I was fighting for second position because he went alone. I’m really happy and very lucky because we didn’t have one more lap, and if we had one more lap maybe I would’ve been fifth or sixth. We are happy to be on the podium again. For me, it was a very strange weekend. Yesterday, we had an electronic problem. I was very fast and I was going to win but we faced the electronic problem. Today, I did my best again. It wasn’t an easy race because front sliding, front tyre finish and also rear tyre. I think it was a problem for all riders.”

Scott Redding – P3

“To be honest, I thought I had one more lap! When I saw Toprak, I thought ‘set him up for the straight’ so I don’t stress the bike too much. I saw the flag and thought ‘no way’. It happens, it was a good race. I would’ve been happy with a top five. A good start before the restart. Restart, back to position, go again. I struggle on second starts back to back, so the start wasn’t great. Got pushed back a little bit. Got my head down and started finding my rhythm. I didn’t feel comfortable, I just felt stable the whole race. This was good because last year I had a big drop. The SC0 seemed to pay off. We were risking but we were forced into that decision, we didn’t have another option. It was a blessing in disguise, so I was happy with that. It was an up and down weekend.”

Alvaro Bautista – P4

“Today I honestly had completely different feeling compared to yesterday. With much more grip, I felt that I could push and that the bike helped me in this. In the Superpole race, I made a good start and gained some positions, so when I saw the red flag, I was frustrated because I was feeling so strong. After the second start, I just tried to stay focused and not make any mistakes. Third position was a fantastic result, and a well-deserved reward for the non-stop work the team and engineers are doing. In Race 2, higher temperatures meant that the conditions worsened, and the feeling too. There was less grip, and it was also more difficult to stop the bike. I just tried to understand the track and do my best. Towards the end, I had some small issues with the brakes, maybe due to the temperature. I ran a little wide at turn one and lost contact with the podium group. I recovered but couldn’t quite get close enough to them. Anyway, I’m happy, as it has been a solid weekend. It seems that in the last few races we’ve worked out some details together, identifying a good base set-up and more consistent in terms of reducing the gap to the front. I hope we can continue this trend until the end of the season.”

Andrea Locatelli – P5

“This was a very difficult race, because we lose completely the grip on the rear tyre. But in the end, I am a little bit happy because we do a really good job today. This morning we lost the opportunity to start in the front with the Superpole Race but, in Race 2 we tried to get the maximum and we push every lap – I’m really happy with this. For us, it’s not such a lucky weekend because also yesterday we had a little bit of a problem in the wet conditions but yeah, I repeat in the end we need to be happy because we closed the weekend well. Now we have Jerez and Portimao, and for sure we try to stay focused to get the maximum. We are faster and stronger, we are in the front group and for this I am really happy. Also, really, thanks to my team for all the work they have done this weekend because also we make a lot of crash! It is not so easy, but this is the job. I want to thank all my guys and also Yamaha, because we have the new contract now and I stay with Yamaha and this great team for two more years. I am really happy for this and for sure we try to push every day, every session, to stay in front.”

Jonathan Rea – P6

“In the Superpole Race I had a really good bike set-up; my guys changed the bike throughout the weekend. It was a lot of fun, fighting with Toprak and the rhythm was very fast in a five lap race. It was more about who wanted it than who was most clever with set-up. Overall it was a difficult weekend because we didn’t maximise our potential, both in Race One and Race Two. In the final race today, right from the start, I really struggled in the braking area to stop the bike. On Friday we made a long race simulation with the bike and it felt OK but I still had a drop of pace about lap 14. But today my pace in the middle of the race was terrible. I was just getting pushed into all the corners. I couldn’t be fluid with the bike. It was a real surprise and disappointing because I think we could have been much more competitive.”

Alex Lowes – DNF

“It’s a shame to be taken out of the final race. We had worked really hard on our used tyres all weekend so I believe we could have had a solid end to the weekend. The Superpole Race was good for us so it was a shame Bautista passed me on the final lap to lose a podium position! We tried the SC1 front and I didn’t have as much confidence on the brakes with this tyre so it was hard to pass him back on the final lap. In Race Two I didn’t get the best start; sometimes the clutch grabs differently to how I expect and this caused me to end up back in the pack a little bit. I got knocked off from someone inside of me. I took a big impact from my bike in the face and also got my right hand and wrist caught, so now we are going to hospital in Barcelona to get it checked. A big thank you to all the Catalan fans. It’s the team’s home race and I really wanted to be on the podium for them this weekend. Due to some bad luck it wasn’t the weekend we wanted.”

WorldSBK Catalunya Sunday Results

Source: MCNews.com.au

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Nine Catalunya Saturday Report

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Three Ducati riders stood on the podium after the opening race of the Catalunya World Superbike weekend in what was the first time since 2012 that the Italian machines had locked out the rostrum.

A late charge from Scott Redding saw him take maximum points ahead of Axel Bassani in what was the rookies first podium finish. Michael Ruben Rinaldi rounded out the podium ahead of Jonathan Rea.

Championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered a machine failure which forced the Pata Yamaha to retire and thus score no points, thus Rea will take a six-point lead into Sunday’s two battles.

Redding’s win edges him a little closer to the top two in the championship. Redding is now 47-points behind Razgatlioglu and 53-points behind Rea, but there are a lot of championship points still to be scored before this championship is decided.

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WorldSBK Race One Report

Jonathan Rea quickly hit the front as the race got underway while Axel Bassani battled his way through the pack and fought with Razgatlioglu in the first half of the race before the pair closed the gap to Rea. ‘

Eventually they both found their way past Rea, and Bassani then took the lead after Razgatlioglu pulled over with a technical issue.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – DNF

“Today was the first time I’m very fast in the wet conditions, my team give me a great bike and I could take the lead for the last laps… until the electrical problem arrived. So, I am surprised and happy about this performance, because you know I am not normally so fast in wet conditions, and normally I try my best just for a good position. But, I see that I can go to the front after I pass Johnny – and I say, this race is my race, we can win in the rain! I think every rider had a problem with entry to the corner and also rear sliding. My feeling was much better after some laps, with Bassani a little bit fighting, but also after I pass Johnny we go together. Then feeling good and I ride better because I know which corners I am sliding and I try also different lines for better grip. I am still surprised because wet conditions I am not normally fast, so this is a big improvement for me. After electrical problem of course I am very angry, but this weekend is not finished and also many races left this year – also two races tomorrow. I try my best, I try again for the win.”

As the 20-lap race progressed, the two factory Ducati riders of Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Scott Redding started to hit their stride.

In the closing stages, Redding passed team-mate Rinaldi for second and then put a move on Bassani for the lead with a handful of laps to go.  After hitting the front Redding managed to pull away from Bassani to secure the victory while Rinaldi rounded out the all-Ducati podium.

Scott Redding – P1

“The first few laps were really difficult. From the middle of the race, though, I started to gain confidence. If I have to be honest, when I arrived close to the podium group and saw two Ducatis in front of me I thought, “I’ll take some risks but I want to win”. I’m very happy to have given this satisfaction to my team. Let’s keep on thinking race by race and then we’ll take stock at the end of the season”.  

Axel Bassani – P2

“It’s a very strange situation but I’m very, very, very happy! It was such a difficult race because the asphalt was very slippery. I tried to stay focused. It was very strange to stay with Jonny and Toprak for the first time. A lot of emotions. I’m very happy. I say thank you to all my team, my family. I cried for the entire last lap because it was emotional! Fantastic.”

Michael Rinaldi – P3

“I was really upset about the rain because my race pace in dry conditions was really positive. However, I remained focused and only thought about pushing. At the end, I tried to attack Bassani but in the last two laps, it was not easy to ride because of the water coming from his slipstream. Anyway, I am very satisfied and I hope to get another good result in the dry tomorrow“.

New championship leader Jonathan Rea claimed fourth ahead of Michael van der Mark who applied late pressure to Rea.

Jonathan Rea – P4

“A very tough race, especially in those conditions when it comes on you ten minutes before the race starts. In the beginning, when it was fully wet, I felt great. I got a horrendous start but I could lead at the end of the first lap, passing a lot of riders. We hadn’t ridden here in the wet this weekend so you get a little bit nervous, also about the set up. What’s the right set-up direction to go in? I feel like we just got that a little bit wrong. We went full wet in the rear – a full really wet set up – but there was no standing water on the surface. The track was just wet. After three or four laps the rain stopped so when the temperature came up I was really struggling, because we were not putting weight on the tyre. Coming out of the corners the bike was just ‘sitting’ onto the tyre and spinning. On the brakes I felt quite good! When Toprak and Bassani came past I could see that they had a lot more traction. One of the hardest fought fourth places of the season.”

Michael van der Mark – P5

“This morning in FP3 I felt really good. I had good pace after making some changes to the bike which I felt comfortable with. In Superpole I was quite happy with my laps. P9 on the grid wasn’t ideal, but I knew we had a good bike for the race. The race then was wet. I had an OK start and got into a good rhythm and started to pass people. At a certain point in the race I was feeling really confident but I felt the bike spinning as soon as I picked the bike up out of the corner, especially compared to the other riders. For me it was an enjoyable race but it was also really frustrating as I had the feeling that if I had a little more grip on the exit I could have been up there fighting for the podium. Anyway, this is another race done and we learnt a lot from it. We have to find the solution when it’s wet again to get more drive grip.”

Alex Lowes claimed sixth place ahead of Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes while Alvaro Bautista claimed ninth and Chaz Davies rounded out the top ten a nose ahead of the first Yamaha home, Kohta Nozane.

Alex Lowes – P6

“Sixth was OK today, but this track is one of the more difficult ones for us. You have the bike on its side for a long time to come back to the late apexes of the corners. Free Practice Three this morning was quite good, Superpole was also, and in the race when I saw it was going to wet I thought I was going to be quite strong and  challenge for the podium. In the rain I am normally pretty fast but today I did not have the grip. I was sliding a lot on corner entry, the back was really sliding, and on the exit I could not get the bike to drive. It was a long race. I enjoyed it, but not to be in the position I was in. On the other side, it was easy to have no points today, so it can always be worse. I honestly thought that I rode well so I can’t complain. I just have to try and do better tomorrow.”

Leon Haslam – P7

“Qualifying was positive and we were not so far off, similar to Magny-Cours really. We have a more stable dry setting anyway, that’s for sure. But I was still looking forward to racing in the rain because I felt we might have the opportunity to perhaps go for the podium. Unfortunately though, right from lap one I really struggled with corner entry. I tried to get around it, and was able to fight with a few riders, but I honestly feel that I could have been faster if we had chosen a slightly different engine-brake setting. We’ll see how the weather is tomorrow and if we can fight for a better result”.

Tom Sykes – P8

“It obviously was great to get pole position in Superpole but then at the race start, I went from pole position to 15th. In the rainy conditions I got on a lot of paint on the track after half a metre so the bike spun up twice. It was unfortunate because in the early laps we had good speed and then everybody seemed to go quite flat so it was difficult to make the difference, so it was a disappointment but it is like it is. The bike was working very good in a lot of areas, just missing entry grip on the rear. This is something to look after for tomorrow and then we will get our next chance.”

Alvaro Bautista – P9

“This morning’s track conditions were much better than yesterday and we were able to lap faster in the final free practice session, but then in qualifying we really struggled. The rear tyre was spinning a lot and I didn’t have any grip, which meant I couldn’t make a really good lap, so we started very far back in Race 1. The first part of the race was difficult, as the rear tyre was still spinning a lot. I changed mapping and started to feel better, especially with the engine brake and traction control. As a result, I started to gain some confidence and increase my pace and, from the middle of the race onwards, I was able to race with similar pace to the front group. We made up a few positions, after which the gap was too big. We have collated a lot of information anyway, so let’s see what kind of weather we will have tomorrow and if we can use today’s experience to get a better result”.

Andrea Locatelli finished in 12th place after falling down through the order as the race wore on, eventually finishing four-tenths clear of French rider Lucas Mahias. Isaac Viñales was 14th with Leandro Mercado taking the final point from Race 1 with 15th.

Andrea Locatelli – P12

“It was a very difficult race for me, because I try to start very well and also in the first corner I made the second position, but in the end during the race I spin a lot on the rear tyre – I don’t know what the reason is but I still try to get the maximum on the wet condition. When I tried to open the gas, I continued to play with the throttle but I can’t go forward in the exit of the corner and so I lose many seconds just spinning, spinning! But, now we need to forget a little bit! We just need to understand what happened today, then we need to forget and stay focused on the next race because tomorrow we have another two races. I feel positive and also today we will learn something, and then we will see tomorrow. For sure, if we have dry conditions we are ready to fight with the front group!”

Samuele Cavalieri took home 16th place on his first start of 2021 with the Barni Racing Team with Christophe Ponsson in 17th. Loris Cresson came home in 18th place ahead of Jonas Folger and Lachlan Epis in 20th on his WorldSBK debut in difficult conditions.

Epis finished a lap down with a best lap of 2m04.070. The fastest lap of the race was recorded by Scott Redding at 1m56.166, but even that was 15-seconds slower than a regular dry pace at Catalunya, underlining the difficulty of the conditions.

Garrett Gerloff did not even make the race start after a crash on the Sighting Lap as he lost the rear of his Yamaha YZF R1 machine on the kerbs on the exit of Turn 10 and on the run through Turn 11, damaging his bike and preventing him from gridding up for the 20-lap encounter.

Catalunya WorldSBK Race One Results

WorldSBK Championship Points

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WorldSSP

After two years away from the top step of the podium in the FIM Supersport World Championship, Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) was back on top after a rain-affected Race 1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Hyundai N Catalunya Round after switching tyres in the early stages of the race.

Only two riders stayed out at the end of Lap 2 when the rest of entire field pitted, Loic Arbel (Andotrans Team Torrento) and Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) the only riders opting to stay out. While they gained track position initially, the switch of tyres proved to be the better strategy.

Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) came out of the pits first but Odendaal, along with a number of other riders, were subsequently penalised for a pit-stop that was quicker than the mandatory stop time length of 1min-21secs that is enforced for safety reasons and had the time difference added to their total race time.

Nonetheless Krummenacher was able to pass Odendaal on track and went on to build a gap of around 16-seconds by the end of the 18-lap encounter.

Spanish rider Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) moved into second place, and De Rosa then pushed Odendaal back to fourth, but after his time penalty was applied he was relegated to eighth.

Turkish star Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) started the race from tenth place but soon find himself leading the race at Turn 1 after an incredible start, with Öncü finishing the race in fourth place after a late-race battle with teammate Oettl. Oettl was another who was penalized for a pit intervention time infringement, with 1.995s added to his time.

Arbel was the only rider who stayed out of the pits throughout the race and, despite losing time on slick tyres as the track was wet but drying, finished in sixth place in his first race in the Championship, less than a second behind Oettl in the final classification. Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) had a strong race as his comeback from injury continues finishing in seventh place, ahead of Odendaal.

Odendaal’s teammate, Peer Sebestyen, was eight seconds back from Odendaal in ninth place with Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) tenth on his return to the Championship.

Simon Jespersen (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), competing in place of Dominique Aegerter, came home in 11th place but had a 17.795s pit intervention time penalty added to his time, having initially crossed the line in ninth place.

Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) was 12th place with Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in 13th; the Indonesian given a 19.450s penalty for a pit intervention time infringement.

Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) was 14th despite a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start with Ludovic Cauchi (GMT94 Yamaha) completing the points on his WorldSSP debut.

Young Australian Billy van Eerde kept his nose clean to cross the line in 22nd place on what was his World Supersport debut.

WorldSSP Race One Results

WorldSSP Championship Points

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WSSP300

It was a run to the line to decide multiple positions in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with 2020 Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) claiming his second victory of the 2021 campaign by just one tenth of a second ahead of Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing).

Championship contender Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) scored no points after a Turn 1 crash.

Young Aussie Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) crashed out at Turn 5 on Lap 8.

WorldSSP300 Race One

WorldSSP300 Championship Points

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Catalunya WorldSBK Schedule

2021 WorldSBK Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au