2021 WSBK | MotorCycle News

2021 FIM Superbike World Championship
Pirelli Aragon Round 1

216 days will have passed since the last round of WorldSBK action, but now it’s game on at Aragon

The 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship fires back into life this weekend for the opening round of the season, coming from the MotorLand Aragon venue in Alcañiz, Spain. For the first time since 2004, the Championship starts in Europe and with new names, new bikes and refreshed team line-ups all playing a part, we could be in for one of the most unpredictable seasons yet.

Who will step up to take the battle up to the reigning six-time World Champion?

Jonathan Rea has a sparkling record at MotorLand Aragon. He’s never missed the podium since joining Kawasaki in 2015, a run of 17 a record on its own. He’s also aiming for a 100th win in WorldSBK, which would make him the first motorcycle racer in an FIM Road Racing World Championship to win 100 races in one class. He took three wins at Aragon in 2020 and aims to start his quest for a seventh title strongly. His teammate is Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who, despite a preseason testing injury, is ready to make a step in 2021. Rea and Lowes have the new Kawasaki ZX-10RR at their disposal, which features a new fairing and more powerful engine.

The charge to toppling Kawasaki comes from Ducati and they’ve got a strong line-up in 2021. 2020 runner-up Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) remains for a second season, with charismatic Italian sensation Michael Ruben Rinaldi alongside him. Redding took two wins at MotorLand Aragon last year, whilst Rinaldi took a first of his career before going on to take two more podiums throughout the rest of the Teruel Round. Both have tested extensively in preseason, including at Aragon, and with Ducati being the most successful manufacturer at the venue in terms of victories, it may add a different dynamic and complexion to the start of 2021.

The next-best manufacturer in 2020 was Yamaha, with Turkish-ace Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) taking fourth overall last year with three wins. Toprak struggled at Aragon in 2020, breaking into the top five only once from six races at the track, a venue which has been tricky for Yamaha in recent years. Razgatlioglu will have a new teammate for 2021 with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) stepping up, having dominated World Supersport last year, taking 12 wins – of which four were at Aragon. He’s been chipping away in testing, whilst Yamaha have a modified front fairing for 2021 and an evolved engine, as well the new Brembo front brake calipers. Are these steps enough to start the year in competitive fashion?

Whilst Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) and teammate Leon Haslam remain with Honda for 2021 and achieved an identical points tally in 2020, there’s still plenty of big talking points at HRC for 2021. The first is ex-WorldSBK star Leon Camier is the new team manager, having retired from racing after an injury-hit 2020. The other major change is the technological advances with the motorcycle, such as an upgraded engine, new exhaust system and seat unit, not to mention a swingarm that had been trialled in testing. The HRC engineers back in Japan have invested a lot of time into making the Fireblade CBR1000RR-R SP a constant front-running contender and with Aragon being the scene of the bike’s first podium in 2020 and the scene of plenty of preseason testing, it could be a strong start. After all, Bautista did win three races at the venue back in 2019, when he was a rookie…

The last of the five factories is BMW, who come out fighting in 2021 with an all-new M 1000 RR, the first Superbike derived from their M-series department. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) starts a third season with the German manufacturer and the season starts where he achieved the first front row for the manufacturer on their return in 2019. Sykes has more poles than anyone else at Aragon, whilst new teammate Michael van der Mark was a consistent front-runner in 2020 across both Aragon weekends. Still adapting to the new bike, which features winglets, a new engine and a whole host of other advances, van der Mark hopes to start 2021 in solid fashion.
The excitement’s building: the 2021 season starts NOW at Aragon!

Now to the Independent stars: the undisputed King of Aragon is Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven), who gets started with his new team. Seven wins and eight other podiums, Davies – the highest point-scorer of all riders from the final three rounds of 2020 – may be in the fight this weekend. Another top Independent threat comes from Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team), who took two podiums at the final round of 2020 and has the 2021-spec Yamaha for this year. Lots of testing, including at MotorLand Aragon, Gerloff should be at the front. Three other familiar names with Independent teams in 2021 are Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse), who debuts with the new team, Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team), with the Argentinean-ace starting a new challenge and Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha), who brings the iconic Alstare name back to WorldSBK.

There’s lots of rookies in Independent teams in 2021, with Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) being the fastest coming into the season, whilst ex Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) joins the grid from MotoGP. 2017 WorldSSP Champion Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) graduates and Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) brings his radical riding style to WorldSBK to fly the flag for Japan. Isaac Viñales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) steps up to the class, whilst one of the youngest teams on the grid is the TPR Team Pedercini Racing squad, with 22-year-old Belgian Loris Cresson and 23-year-old Italian Samuele Cavalieri. Finally, the youngest rider on the grid is Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), who has made a solid first impression during testing.

2021 WSBK – Aragon Round 1 Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au

2021 WorldSBK

Circuito Estoril Test – October, 2020

The 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season may have wrapped up, but attention has already turned to the 2021 season with a one-day test at the Circuito Estoril that was cut short by weather. The circuit had hosted the final round of the 2020 season and was being used by a handful of teams to work with new recruits or gain some valuable extra track time.

Eight riders took to the Portuguese track for the test including Championship runner-up Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), who topped the times, alongside new teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi; the Italian making the switch from Team GOELEVEN to ARUBA.IT Racing for the 2021 season. Rinaldi finished the day in third place, half a second down on his teammate.

Scott Redding

“We have tried a few things that will be useful next season and the result was positive. Despite the rain that forced us to close the test very early, we were able to gather positive information that Ducati can work on in winter. Now I’m going to take a little break but I’ll start training soon so that I can arrive in ideal conditions at the beginning of next season.”

Michael Rinaldi

“Unfortunately the rain ruined our plan but we still had the chance to complete a few laps to start collecting data to work on. The sensations are extremely positive. I was surprised by the 2020 version of the Ducati Panigale V4 R, especially the braking areas. I can’t wait to get back on track.”

Michael van der Mark got his first taste of the BMW S 1000 RR machine as he took to the track for the first time with his new team, alongside Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team).

Michael van der Mark joins Tom Sykes at BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

The BMW team had a development plan that included a new engine and a new gearbox, different chassis stiffness, carbon wheels and the aerodynamic package from the M 1000 RR; the package scheduled to come in after the team clarified some data.

Michael van der Mark joins Tom Sykes at BMW Motorrad WorldSBK — Michael van der Mark looked to be testing out the 2021 M 1000 RR, with the wings a notable change

Pictures of Michael van der Mark show him testing out the new M 1000 RR package, notably the inclusion of new M winglets, which we’ve also seen on the recently announced 2021 BMW M 1000 RR. For a full run down on the new model check out – New BMW M RR homologation special (link).

2020 FIM Supersport World Championship title winner Andrea Locatelli made his debut with the PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team as he used the test to help him get to know his new team and colleagues ahead of the 2021 season. Locatelli posted a time of 1’38.720s during the test before the rain fell in Portugal.

Andrea Locatelli

“Very nice first impressions, we didn’t do too many laps but the feeling with the Yamaha R1 is incredible immediately. It’s important to use this test to try to understand everything with the bike and now I am more confident, particularly with the braking. It’s the first time riding the R1 for me, and now we have a good base to work on ahead of the next test in Jerez. I’m really excited because the guys at Pata Yamaha are very professional and we are already working well together. I’m happy with the electronics and we need to understand the grip and tyres a little more, but step-by-step we are making some good progress. Before coming here, I talked with Andrew Pitt and Andrea Dosoli to ensure I got some experience within the team and the test was always a good opportunity for me. Today’s not a great day with the conditions but at least I’ve had some time to understand the bike and I’m really looking forward to the next one.”

Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK were present at the test with Alex Lowes as they aimed to help the British rider optimise the base setup and make preparations for upcoming tests, with the team not trying any new parts at Estoril. Lowes was the second-fastest rider during the test, around three tenths off Redding’s 1’36.581s.

Belgian rider Loris Cresson continued working with the OUTDO Kawasaki TPR team, where he made his WorldSBK debut during the Estoril Round, during the test after making the step up from WorldSSP where he had been competing during 2020, while Axel Bassani got his first taste of WorldSBK action as he tested for the Motocorsa Racing squad.

The test had been scheduled to finish at 6pm Local Time but the track action stopped early when the rain started to fall, with riders not taking to the track as the rain got heavier. It meant the day’s running came to a premature end with Redding on top, followed by Lowes, Rinaldi, Sykes, van der Mark, Locatelli, Bassani and Cresson.

Source: MCNews.com.au

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