The 2020 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship heads back to the MotorLand Aragon venue for the second weekend of the back-to-back rounds. After a dramatic Prosecco DOC Aragon Round, the 2020 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship remains at the exciting Alcañiz venue for a second weekend and the Pirelli Teruel Round. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) extended his lead at the top of the standings to ten points after two wins picked up last weekend, but Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) is hot on his heels, making for yet another thrilling dynamic in the Championship race.
Topping the standings and winning twice at a circuit he’s not been renowned for winning on, Jonathan Rea’s classy showing saw an extension to his advantage after Race 2. The Ulsterman now has five wins at a track where Ducati have also been the manufacturer to beat. Can Rea do the same again this weekend and consolidate the Championship lead further?
Jonathan Rea
“We will come back to the Motorland circuit on Wednesday evening again after a couple of days of relaxing. Next weekend won’t be so stressful because we have a base set-up from the test and the recent race. My mechanics this past weekend did not want to change the bike too much. They asked me to change some things in my riding style. FP12 and FP2 will be calmer next week, because we have a lot of information. If the temperatures are the same it should be a calm weekend.”
Aragon WorldSBK
Team-mate Alex Lowes will certainly hope for improvements; a huge Race 1 crash coupled with just 11 points being scored has seen him slip to sixth overall. A podium is required for the early-season Championship leader.
Alex Lowes
“After a difficult first weekend in Aragon I am looking forward to getting back there in a few days time. It started promisingly last weekend, with good pace on Friday and Saturday morning and then the start of the first race. After the crash we sort of lost our way a little bit. I was feeling the physical effects too, as it was a pretty big knock. I certainly felt a bit stiff when I woke up on Monday morning so I need to relax for a few days, recharge, get nice and healthy and then attack the weekend like we started last weekend. We have a few ideas with the bike too, and my target is to get back on the podium in green.”
Scott Redding was able to take a Race 1 victory and second in the Tissot Superpole Race but a fourth in Race 2 saw him lose his Championship lead that he picked up on Saturday afternoon. The British rider knows that he must take some points from Rea this weekend to swing the momentum in his favour. It was a welcome reignition of the rivalry between Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati) and Jonathan Rea in Race 2, the two battling hard with 4 laps to go. Davies is eager for a first win of 2020 and to reclaim MotorLand Aragon as his own. Fourth in the standings, he’s closing in fast.
Chaz Davies
“The first race weekend here in Aragon was solid. We were fast since Friday then, unfortunately, the qualifying did not allow us to start in the first positions forcing me to push hard in the first laps. Feelings are good but it is clear that we are still missing some details to be at the top. The team is also working a lot in direct contact with Ducati at Borgo Panigale to produce the step that will allow us to fight for victory in the next three races“.
Scott Redding
“It’s the first time we’re going to back-to-back on the same circuit. If I have to be honest, I’m not a big fan of this format because I really like changing circuits. We will have to go through free practice again after the tests and the first race weekend, but this is a situation that all riders will have to face. The goal is to start the weekend with more incisiveness than we did a week ago. The team is working on this aspect and I have the utmost confidence“.
Redding leading Rea last weekend
It was the worst weekend of the season for the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team pairing of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark. Toprak’s best result was sixth whilst van der Mark put in a valiant ride to complete the podium in Sunday morning’s Tissot Superpole Race. The Dutchman will hope to build on that pace and fulfil his and the bike’s potential in the upcoming Teruel event, whilst Razgatlioglu desperately needs a podium or victory; 65 points back from Jonathan Rea, the title could start slipping from his grasp if a big result isn’t achieved soon.
Michael van der Mark
“I’m looking forward to this weekend again – last weekend was really positive, we made some big progress over the previous years but we were just missing a bit of pace especially over the second part of the race. We have a lot of ideas for this weekend to try on the bike, and the weather will be a little bit warmer than last week so it might be harder to keep the pace, but I’m pretty sure we’ve got some good ideas to fix it. I’m really looking forward to starting on Friday morning when we can start trying those ideas in Free Practice.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“It was a difficult race weekend for me in Aragón, but it is good because we are here again and we can improve! I felt good in some laps – I was very fast in Sunday warm up in cold conditions – but over race distance I suffered too much with rear grip. We can improve my R1 a lot, I think, and also I can work on my own riding on this track to keep the tyre. Michael was ahead of me last weekend, so the first target is to fight with him and I hope this means we are both battling for the podium.”
Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Team Principal
“It will be a “first” for the team and riders to roll out in FP1 on Friday morning on the same circuit that we have just finished Race 2 at a few days previously! Extreme circumstances demand extreme measures, and we have to thank Dorna and the Aragón MotorLand facility for supporting the WorldSBK championship in this way. Conditions should be a little warmer this weekend and this can have a big effect on the grip levels, but in the end our main focus can only be improvement – small detailed steps for Michael and something of a “reset” for Toprak and his R1 in order to elevate his performance to the levels we know he is capable of. As they say in Spain, Vamos!”
One of the big stories heading to the Pirelli Teruel Round is that Honda, after just four rounds of the CBR1000RR-R SP, are on the podium. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) put in a superb ride, managing his softer compound SCX rear tyre to the end of the race to pick up a rostrum, just 3.5s behind the victory. He and Honda are genuine podium threats this weekend and after so much testing and now a race weekend, maybe they could even challenge for victory. Team- mate Leon Haslam was seventh in Race 2, filling the Brit with confidence ahead of the first ever Pirelli Teruel Round at MotorLand.
Alvaro Bautista
“I spent a couple of days at home and enjoyed them but now we are already focusing on next weekend. Racing at the same track means we have a lot of useful data to analyze but we must wait and see how the conditions are, because it seems that the weather might be much warmer. So we must understand the new “limits” of the track. Our target remains the same, to keep improving and making further steps forward. Obviously in the space of just one week we won’t really have anything new, but we can definitely fine-tune some more details in terms of bike setup.”
Leon Haslam
“I’m looking forward to racing at Aragón again this weekend. We still have some work to do but already in testing I thought that the podium might be possible at this track and now Alvaro has proved this to be true. In race 2 I had better feeling and so I hope we can carry this forward and work well right from Friday so that we can improve on last weekend’s performance across all the practices and races.”
Bautista claimed his first podium for Honda and Honda’s first podium since Magny-Cours in 2016
It was a weekend to forget for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. Tom Sykes crashed in Tissot Superpole, leaving him in his worst grid position after Superpole since 2011, whilst Eugene Laverty had a mechanical issue before Race 1 even started. Neither rider scored points in Race 1 or the Tissot Superpole Race, whilst Sykes was 12th and Laverty 14th in Race 2. They’ll be hoping for better results during the Teruel meeting and that at least a good Superpole can propel them up the order, so they can fight at the very front. Watch out for a vast BMW improvement this weekend.
The Independent battle is raging; Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) is now top ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) with 15 points between them. Rinaldi’s first podium could come soon, perhaps even this weekend, whilst Baz needs a stable race weekend in terms of results. Behind them are Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) and Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), separated by just a point. Gerloff was in the battle for seventh with Fores in Race 2 and the Spaniard himself took a best result of the year with eighth in Race 1. Gerloff’s teammate, Federico Caricasulo, was ninth again in Race 1 whilst Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) aims for more a top ten return.
Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) had a good showing in Race 1 until a crash but got his first points since Australia in Race 2. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) took his Ducati to 12th in Race 1 for his best result of 2020 and aims for more this weekend. will Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Honda Team) took his first point of the year in Race 1, and Roman Ramos (OutDo TPR Kawasaki) will once again deputise for the injured Sandro Cortese. Lorenzo Gabellini is absent after Althea parted company with MIE Racing.
A titanic battle between the two Championship leaders ended with Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) taking victory as well as the points lead in the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship after the sensational battle at the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round at MotorLand Aragon after holding off multiple challenges throughout.
Aragon WorldSBK
Redding started the race from third place and held position in the early stages while polesitter Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) fought his way back through the field after a poor start, Rea back in the lead after just a couple of laps.
Redding had to work his way forward after a bad start
Rea was passed by Redding on Lap 7 of 18 but was able to keep with Redding after the overtake although not able to make the move; the Ducati’s straight-line speed helping keep Redding ahead.
Rea, Redding, Davies
As Rea continued to pressure Redding, the pair went side by side with Rea looking to make his way back into the lead but a mistake on Lap 14, where Rea went wide, allowed Redding to stay in front.
Redding, Rea and a chasing Davies
Davies was able to get by Rea just a few laps later and started to close in on Redding, finishing the race just three tenths behind Redding as they battled for the lead; the pair claiming a Ducati 1-2 finish after Davies battled through from ninth, with Rea claiming a podium on his 150th start for KRT. The result means Redding moves back into the Championship lead but with plenty of points still available to claim.
Scott Redding – P1
“I’m really happy because until this morning the feeling was certainly not the best one. Maybe something has changed in the Superpole, but the conditions were not ideal. I tried to stay focused, thinking only of not losing contact with the leading group to achieve a good result. During the race, the feeling with the bike grew, and I managed to take this great victory that I dedicate to the whole team that never gave up doing an extraordinary job“.
Chaz Davies – P2
“It is clear that the starting position did not help me, but I got off a good start, and in the first laps, I managed to keep a good pace to recover positions. The feeling was positive, and I closed the gap between the leading group and me. I tried to manage the tires then when I saw that Scott and Rea were gaining advantage I pushed to the maximum. I think if I had one more lap, I could have overtaken Scott, but he was still very good at defending himself without allowing me to attack him“.
Marco Zambenedetti (Ducati Corse Superbike Technical Coordinator)
“It was an excellent first race. We confirmed the good feelings we had already in the tests of two weeks ago with Chaz, while with Scott, we made a little more effort and still managed to find a solid base of set up. Also, the result obtained by Michael Rinaldi (P4) confirms the goodness of the work we are doing. This gives us great confidence ahead of the next five races that we will compete on this circuit, but it is clear that there is still room for improvement. We still have to work, and we will try from tomorrow to do it better than the others“.
Jonathan Rea – P3
“We were just lacking a little something today in the race but I was really happy with the Superpole qualifying session. We worked on a bit of a ‘time attack’ in the beginning, then when I put the Q rear tyre in I had some traffic behind – but I needed to find the rhythm and we took pole position. In the race I felt really good with the bike but I just could not fight. I had a really bad start but I tried to put my head down in the beginning and got to the front. When I got track position and Scott came through he did a really good job keeping up a good rhythm. I was just about there, but not close enough to go through. It was good in the first three sectors, and it was only two or three tenths of a difference, but when guys like Chaz and Scott are on it you cannot afford to lose that kind of time in a critical area. It was frustrating because at the start of the race I felt comfortable to let Scott lead and the pit-board gap was increasing to third place. We will put our heads together tonight and come back stronger tomorrow.”
#AragonWorldSBK at MotorLand Aragon – Race 1. 1. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) 2. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.304 3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.123
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (GoEleven Ducati) once again secured a fourth-place finish in 2020 as his impressive form continued, with the Italian rider putting on a late-race move on Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) finishing in fifth place. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) was another rider who fought his way back through the field as he finished in sixth place, after starting outside the top 10, although finished ten seconds behind his team-mate.
Michael van der Mark – P5
“We made some changes this morning on the bike after yesterday, and I was feeling strong. In FP3 I felt really good with the bike and then in Superpole I was happy with my lap, but it was just not enough to be on the first two rows because the field was so close. Eighth was not ideal but I did at least have a decent start in the race, gaining a couple of places in the first few laps. I had good pace but I struggled in some areas to stay with the guys in front of me. That meant I had to play catch up every lap and at a certain point I was just a little bit slower and struggling more. I’m happy with the overall pace and unfortunately Rinaldi passed me at the end, but I think if we can improve the bike on some small areas, for sure we can fight for a podium tomorrow.”
Michael van der Mark
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P6
“In the race, we made a good start but in the end the rear grip didn’t feel too great, similar to Portimao. Normally we would try a different set-up for this and usually that would work well, but in the race after five or six laps I felt the grip drop and then in the last few laps there was another big drop. Sixth position is OK, but I’m not happy because normally if there is a good feeling with the grip I can go with the front group. We will try maybe a different set-up to help this, and I will also try to improve – we will see tomorrow.”
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was classified in seventh place despite starting on the front row and taking the lead at the start as Baz looked for another podium in 2020. There was a battle between Baz and Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) towards the end of the race with the pair separated by just a second at the end of the race. Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha) finished in ninth place with Leon Haslam (THRC) completing the top ten.
Leon Haslam – P10
“I made a good start but we had a small problem right from lap one which saw me drop three or four seconds through the central part of the race. In modifying my riding style, I was then able to set lap times that weren’t so bad, even catching one guy at the end. To be honest, I’m quite happy because I was able to understand a few things after thinking that I might have to come into the garage due to the problem. So in the final stages my times were not so bad and now we’ll fix the issue we had so that I’m set for tomorrow’s races.”
It was a strong race performance from Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) as the Argentinian rider claimed an 11th place finish, ahead of Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) in 12th. Roman Ramos (OutDO Kawasaki) marked his 100th WorldSBK start with a points finish as the Spaniard completed his first race since his return to the Championship, ahead of another mid-season returnee in Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team). Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda) secured his first points finish of the season with 15th in Race 1 at MotorLand Aragon and also claimed the team’s first points of 2020.
Eugene Laverty (BMW) finished in 16th place after a dramatic rush to start the race; the Irish rider coming off his bike on the lap to the grid with the team fixing his machine on the grid. Laverty was given a ride-through penalty during the race but was able to finish ahead of Lorenzo Gabellini (MIE Racing Althea Honda).
Eugene Laverty – DNF
“My first lap in Superpole was my fastest one and I wanted to build from there but unfortunately I had problems with the front when I wanted to go with the qualifying tyre at the end and I wasn’t able to get a lap in as I went off the track. So starting from way down the field is always going to be tough but unfortunately in the sighting lap, we had a brake issue so I had to jump off the bike. I managed to get the bike back to the grid and the guys worked fantastically to repair it just about on time to get me starting the race. But unfortunately we ended being given a ride-through penalty because we were still working on the bike after the three-minute mark. Then Christophe Ponsson had a massive crash in front of me and I had to go through the gravel to avoid him. So just everything that could go wrong did in a sense. I just have to forget today and work towards tomorrow.”
Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing) had a crash during the race at the corkscrew section which put the Frenchman out of the race on his Aprilia while Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a spectacular high-side that left the KRT stricken in danger over the crest of the hill, it was amazing that all the other riders managed to avoid him as he scrabbled to safety.
Alex Lowes – DNF
“I was working with a race setup at the start of Superpole in the cooler conditions, so when I used the Q tyre I knew I could do a good lap. It was a shame to just miss out on the front row but fourth place was good. I did a couple of race simulations in the recent Aragon test so I was confident of my pace. I wanted to get a good start, which I did, and then when Scott passed me on the back straight I thought, ‘OK, just sit here’. Then I crashed and I need to check the data because it was a strange one. It spun a lot, to the point where the traction control could not save me, and then it kicked back a lot. A strange crash in an unexpected area but the good thing is we have five more races here at Aragon and my pace is pretty strong.”
Tom Sykes (BMW) pitted in the early stages of the race with the British rider retiring while Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) also suffered a crash in the first half of the race. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) and Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) both retired from the race after separate incidents on the same lap.
Alvaro Bautista – DNF
“It was a pity about the crash as we were running a strong race. The fact is that over the first laps I struggled to get into a rhythm because, at the moment, I must ride the bike in a certain way to be fast and have to force it a lot to make it turn for example. This doesn’t help when you are fighting with other riders. That was the case again today at first while I was part of the group. Once I had some space, I could ride much faster and was catching the fourth placed rider when I just lost the front. When you are pushing so hard it can happen. One good thing is that we were able to improve on our speed in the Superpole compared to the other rounds. As for tomorrow, we have some ideas to try and help us improve in the early stages, so let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”
Tom Sykes – DNF
“It was a pity as the BMW S 1000 RR is just so easy to manage and so enjoyable and it feels like what I expect from a race bike. Regarding my crash in Superpole, I think I was just a little bit caught out. I did not to anything stupid but obviously I ran over the edge of the tyre on the front. It was a little bit my mistake and was disappointing because today with the set-up that we got, I have to say credit to all the guys, things were coming to the right place. In Superpole I was on a potential pole position lap so obviously disappointment that I made a mistake. I left myself with a lot of work in the race but we made a good start and I was in a position where I felt comfortable, knowing that the lead is only a couple of seconds down the track. We had a very good race pace all weekend and today we were got to see if it was where it needed to be. But then we had a technical issue which was only a small oil leak but we had to pull out. Looking at the lap times I think we would have been able to be very strong. We’ll keep working and tomorrow is another day.”
Superbike Race One Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
S. Redding
Ducati
0.000
2
C. Davies
Ducati
+0.304
3
J. Rea
Kawasaki
+2.123
4
M. Rinaldi
Ducati
+7.453
5
M. Van Der Mark
Yamaha
+8.365
6
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha
+18.851
7
L. Baz
Yamaha
+20.226
8
X. Fores
Kawasaki
+26.971
9
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha
+27.054
10
L. Haslam
Honda
+29.283
11
L. Mercado
Ducati
+30.270
12
S. Barrier
Ducati
+40.070
13
R. Ramos
Kawasaki
+42.267
14
M. Melandri
Ducati
+54.075
15
T. Takahashi
Honda
+57.737
16
E. Laverty
BMW
+59.805
17
L. Gabellini
Honda
+1m22.202
Not Classified
RET
M. Scheib
Kawasaki
5 Laps
RET
A. Bautista
Honda
6 Laps
RET
G. Gerloff
Yamaha
12 Laps
RET
A. Lowes
Kawasaki
14 Laps
RET
T. Sykes
BMW
14 Laps
RET
C. Ponsson
Aprilia
16 Laps
WSBK Championship Points
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Scott Redding
157
2
Jonathan Rea
152
3
Toprak Razgatlioglu
113
4
Chaz Davies
95
5
Michael Van Der Mark
93
6
Alex Lowes
91
7
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
66
8
Loris Baz
63
9
Alvaro Bautista
55
10
Tom Sykes
47
11
Leon Haslam
42
12
Xavi Fores
22
13
Garrett Gerloff
22
14
Marco Melandri
19
15
Federico Caricasulo
19
16
Eugene Laverty
16
17
Sandro Cortese
14
18
Leandro Mercado
12
19
Maximilian Scheib
10
20
Sylvain Barrier
5
21
Christophe Ponsson
4
22
Román Ramos
3
23
Takumi Takahashi
1
Supersport Race One
A familiar face stood on top of the FIM Supersport World Championship podium at MotorLand Aragon as Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), the only rider to win a WorldSSP race in 2020, continued his streak with victory at the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round as he made it six race wins in his first six races.
FIM Supersport World Championship podium at MotorLand Aragon
The battle for the lead between Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha), Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and teammate Lucas Mahias reached a peak on Lap 2 as Cluzel went from fourth to first, passing both Oettl and Mahias, with Locatelli following him through into second place.
Both Cluzel and Locatelli were able to break away from the leading group as the duo engaged in a titanic battle until the third lap; Locatelli making a move on the inside of Turn 16 on Cluzel. It was a move he had tried a lap before but on that occasion Cluzel was able to respond into Turn 1 but was unable to the second time around. Locatelli then extended his lead throughout the race to claim victory, with Cluzel in second place as he secured another podium in 2020, finishing ahead of Oettl in third.
FIM Supersport World Championship podium at MotorLand Aragon
Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) secured a top four finish as three manufacturers finished in the first four places as Mahias, who had been in the lead group and involved in the epic battle in the opening laps, finished in fifth place. Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) and Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) had a titanic battle for sixth place which went down to the final lap; South African Odendaal regaining the place on the final lap to secure a top six finish with Viñales seventh.
Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) were also involved in a battle just behind Odendaal and Viñales, with Gonzalez holding on to finishing eighth with Webb in ninth. Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) looked to be fighting at the front but fell back throughout the race, eventually finishing the 15-lap race in tenth place.
Alejandro Carranza Ruiz (EMPERADOR Racing) was the highest place WorldSSP – Challenge rider with 11th place overall in the race, finishing just ahead of Federico Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Turkish star Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team). Maria Herrera (Altogoo Racing Team) secured her first points of the season with Patrick Hobelsberger (Dynavolt Honda) completing the points paying position.
Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) was unable to capitalise on his career-best result from Superpole as he retired from the race, along with Lachlan Epis (MPM Routz Racing Team), Stefano Valtulini (Blackflag Motorsport) and Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing).
P1 Andrea Locatelli (BARDHAL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
“Six victories is incredible. The feeling is good every time. Today, we pushed but we stay calm because tomorrow is a harder day. We have another race but I’m confident and I’ll push again tomorrow.”
P2 Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha)
“I’m happy. It’s a strong race, it’s a difficult weekend because the length of the circuit is making a bigger gap compared to the bigger circuits. It’s nearly impossible to fight with him, it’s not possible to be honest. I tried to save what I can. In the other race, I’m the best of the others. We cannot explain what happened but I am happy to score 20 points and I’m focussed on tomorrow to make some improvements because Oettl rode really well, he pushed me the whole race and I need to improve a little bit for tomorrow.”
P3 Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
“I’m really happy to be on the podium again. It was a hard race, especially in the beginning until I found a good rhythm. After Lucas Mahias and Isaac Viñales had a small discussion at Turn 1, I thought now is the time to push and make a gap. That was exactly the right thing to do in that moment so I’m really happy for the team and tomorrow we can have another good race.”
#AragonWorldSBK WorldSSP at MotorLand Aragon – Race 1 1. Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) 2. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +3.221 3. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +5.206
Supersport Race One Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
A. Locatelli
Yamaha
0
2
J. Cluzel
Yamaha
+3.221
3
P Oettl
Kawasaki
+5.206
4
R. De Rosa
MV Agusta
+6.387
5
L. Mahias
Kawasaki
+10.563
6
S. Odendaal
Yamaha
+14.968
7
I. Viñales
Yamaha
+14.980
8
M. Gonzalez
Kawasaki
+15.507
9
D. Webb
Yamaha
+15.622
10
C. Perolari
Yamah
+24.848
11
A. Ruiz Carranza
Yamaha
+28.292
12
F. Fuligni
MV Agusta
+28.639
13
C. Öncü
Kawasaki
+29.338
14
M. Herrera
Yamaha
+41.500
15
P. Hobelsberger
Honda
+41.565
16
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha
+42.531
17
H. Okubo
Honda
+42.566
18
A. Bassani
Yamaha
+46.602
19
L. Cresson
Yamaha
+54.928
20
A. Verdoïa
Yamaha
+59.339
21
L. Montella
Yamaha
+1m01.699
Not Classifieds
RET
H.Soomer
Yamaha
4 Laps
RET
43 S. Valtulini
Kawasaki
9 Laps
RET
83 L. Epis
Yamaha
11 Laps
RET
56 P. Sebestyen
Yamaha
12 Laps
Supersport Championship Points
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Andrea Locatelli
150
2
Jules Cluzel
110
3
Lucas Mahias
73
4
Philipp Oettl
65
5
Corentin Perolari
63
6
Steven Odendaal
59
7
Raffaele De Rosa
55
8
Isaac Viñales
53
9
Manuel Gonzalez
47
10
Hannes Soomer
39
11
Can Alexander Öncü
27
12
Danny Webb
27
13
Alejandro Ruiz Carranza
13
14
Peter Sebestyen
13
15
Miquel Pons
9
16
Federico Fuligni
9
17
Patrick Hobelsberger
6
18
Loris Cresson
6
19
Andy Verdoïa
4
20
Kevin Manfredi
3
21
Axel Bassani
3
22
Maria Herrera
2
23
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus
2
24
Galang Hendra Pratama
1
25
Luigi Montella
1
WorldSSP 300 Race One
In a race full of thrills and spills in FIM Supersport 300 World Championship, it was Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) who claimed victory by almost seven seconds the second largest margin of victory in WorldSSP300 history and the largest at MotorLand Aragon. While Buis was able to dominate out in front, there was a titanic battle for the podium with four riders separated by just four tenths.
FIM Supersport 300 World Championship Aragon
Buis pulled away from the lead group after starting from pole position and completed the 10-lap race unchallenged as he claimed his first victory in dominant fashion; the second largest victory margin of all time. He finished ahead of Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) who moved into the Championship with another podium finish as well as Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki) not finished the race after a late-race clash with Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO). Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) finished in third placed; the Spaniard claiming his first podium since Magny-Cours in 2018.
De Cancellis finished the race in fourth place despite the late-race collision with Deroue; the Frenchman able to continue and secure a strong result ahead of Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) in fifth. It is the first time this season that Booth-Amos has not finished on the podium when he has finished the race, having scored three podiums and a retirement prior to the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) completed the top six after he fought his back from the back of the grid having been forced to start at the back of the grid with a tyre pressure infringement.
FIM Supersport 300 World Championship Aragon
Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) finished in seventh place with Victor Rodriguez Nunez (2R Racing) in eighth place and Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) finished in the top nine but within 1.1 seconds of Carrasco in second place; showing how competitive the WorldSSP300 Championship is. Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) completed the top 10 as he held off the challenge from Alan Kroh (Yamaha MS Racing) by just 0.057s.
Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) finished in 12th place with Adrian Huertas (ProGP Racing), Alfonso Coppola (Kawasaki GP Project) and Oliver König (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) completed the points by finishing in the top 15.
It was a race of attrition with various riders suffering from retirements including Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing YamahaWSSP300); the Turkish rider still in contention in the Championship but is now 17 points back in the title race. Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team), Kim Aloisi (ProGP Racing), Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing), Tom Bercot (ProGP Racing), Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project), Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT), Felipe Macan (Team Brasil AD 78), Gabriele Mastroluca (GP Project) and Sylvain Markarian (Yamaha MS Racing) all failing to finish the race following various incidents throughout. Aloisi was taken to the medical centre for a check up but has been declared fit since.
P1 Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT)
“The race was very difficult. At the beginning, I tried to make a gap but there was a lot of wind. They showed me the pit board and the gap was big enough, so it was okay for me.”
P2 Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300)
“The race was really difficult. In Tissot Superpole, I made some mistakes and we had to start towards the back, so it was difficult to fight at the front. With the wind it was really hard. I was trying to pull away from the group, but it was impossible. Jeffrey was very, very fast so he won but I’m very happy to be back on the podium. It was not easy, so it’s a good result for us. We have to focus on tomorrow’s race as it’ll be important to be back on the podium.”
P3 Mike Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300)
“I’m really happy. After one and a half years without a podium, it’s nice to be back! It was a good fight with the whole group. I am so happy and want to thank my team, my sponsors and all the people who trusted me after last season as this is for them.”
#AragonWorldSBK WorldSSP300 at MotorLand Aragon – Race 1 1. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) 2. Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) +6.870 3. Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) +6.895
After the raucous Valentino Rossi mad seaside of the Riviera di Rimini, MotoGP now heads for the unique backdrop of MotorLand Aragon.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) arrives on home turf with an aptly numbered 93-point lead. The last three races though have shown that the reigning Champion doesn’t always get his own way…
Aragon is known as a stringent test on tyres
Marquez has won four times in the premier class at Aragon, including the last three in a row. If he does it again this weekend there is a slight chance Marquez can set himself up to possibly seal the title when MotoGP visits Thailand early next month.
Marc Marquez
“After a fantastic win in Misano I am excited to race again, especially in Aragon where I really feel like I am at home as it is so close to Cervera. It’s where the most people from my hometown come to watch and always the fans help to give me something extra. We have a good lead in the championship but it doesn’t change how we approach the weekend, we keep pushing and trying to achieve our maximum. Let’s see what happens in Aragon!”
Quartararo and Marquez pushed each other to the limits and beyond them at Misano
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) seems a good bet as someone who will be aiming to derail Marquez’ assault on Aragon, and coming from two podiums in a row he’s on good form, although he’s never won at MotorLand in the premier class.
Maverick Vinales
“After the Misano podium I‘m feeling extra optimistic about coming here in Aragon. Like every Spanish round, this GP is very special to me because the fans and atmosphere are great, and I really like this track. We have been doing good work in the previous rounds, so I expect to be fast here too. We will try to stay focused on our goal, we want to keep improving during every race weekend. We‘ve seen our potential get better and better since starting the second half of the season, so I think that we can do a good job.”
Maverick Viñales currently leads the Yamaha effort but it’s tight between the top three Yamahas
Team-mate Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) will also be aiming for the podium, with the top three in the championship just over 20-points away. The Italian legend has been encouraged by the recent slew of new parts that Yamaha has produced, and the competitiveness of all the Yamaha riders that was demonstrated last weekend in Italy.
Valentino Rossi
“After the race in Misano we have travelled to Aragon for a back-to-back race. We‘ve seen at the San Marino GP what we need to work on, so that‘s what we will be focusing on during this weekend – though Aragon is a difficult track for us, historically. We always struggled here, but this time we arrive after some good races. For sure we will have to work hard this GP, but we hope to be more competitive than we have been in the past.”
Valentino Rossi is five-points behind Vinales and no doubt be aiming to be leading Yamaha
Plenty of eyes will once again be on Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), the rookie had a stunning race in Misano, taking the reigning Champion to the wire and putting up a fight on the last lap. In the end it was another podium and not a maiden win, but it’s the closest the fast Frenchman has come to the top step so far – and in some serious style. Can he do it again this weekend? If he does it, Rookie of the Year will start to look less like a probability and more like a formality.
Fabio Quartararo
“Fighting with Marc at Misano means that I’m going to Aragon with a lot of confidence. It showed how good a job we did there, and only five days after getting off the bike in a really good condition I get to ride again. The long straights aren’t too much of a problem for us, because we showed at the Red Bull Ring and at Misano that as long as you make a good start and five strong laps at the beginning you can be in the fight. The first target will be to be on the front row again, because we need to ensure a good start, and then we’ll try and do our best as always.”
Man of the moment Quartararo will be looking to challenge MM’s dominance at MotorLand Aragon
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), meanwhile, is looking for a comeback. The number 42 hails from mere kilometers away from MotorLand to make it a true home venue for the Suzuki rider. After defeating Marquez with his stunning move at Silverstone, Rins faltered at Misano and crashed out – so motivation will be higher than ever. He also slipped to fourth in the standings with the mistake on the Riviera di Rimini, so Aragon is a chance to get back into that top three and stake his claim on another podium at least.
Alex Rins nudging Marquez to the finish at Silverstone
The man who moved above Rins at Misano was Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) who, despite a tougher few rounds of late, has kept raking in the points to put himself back behind teammate Andrea Dovizioso in the standings.
Danilo Petrucci
“I really like the Alcañiz circuit, even though for a variety of reasons I have never scored any good results here. I hope the time has come to change all that and overturn the trend of the last few races. At Silverstone and Misano I was quicker in the race than during practice, so from now on I have to constantly improve during the weekend to start up at the front on the Sunday. The team is doing a great job, but we must make a further step forward to tackle the final part of the season in a positive way and defend third place in the standings, which at this moment is my main target.”
Danilo Petrucci currently sits third with a two-point lead over Rins
Misano was also tougher weekend than many expected for the Borgo Panigale factory though, so can they bounce back at MotorLand? Traditionally a tougher track for Ducati than some, a good few eyes will be on the two Italians in red and Dovizioso will be aiming to repeat his impressive performance from last year.
Andrea Dovizioso
“Motorland is one of the most unusual tracks in the calendar. In the past I had never really scored any good results, but last year we were very competitive and we finished second, so we arrive at the race weekend with this memory and this mentality. Obviously, as we could see at Misano, each race is a world unto itself and everything can change from one year to another, but we will try and be fast to get in amongst the leading positions throughout the weekend.”
Andrea Dovizioso is closest to leader Marquez but almost 100-points separate them heading into Aragon
In the fight for top Independent Team rider, it’s also close, although Quartararo’s Misano masterpiece put him back above Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), and gave him some breathing space ahead of Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) for now. Is another twist coming in Round 14? Crutchlow certainly will want to score big and bounce back from a crash on the Riviera di Rimini and Miller made good progress forward on Sunday in San Marino.
Marc Marquez – Aragon MotoGP 2018 – Round 14
Making life increasingly difficult for the riders who started the season bothering the top five, top eight and top ten is Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), however. A stunning performance from the Spaniard in qualifying at Misano gave KTM their second front row of the season, and the number 44 brought it home in seventh at the flag, battling the likes of Rins and the Ducatis.
Pol Espargaro has impressed more than a few times this season, and home turf at Aragon will see him pushing to do the same. And there’s News on the other side of the KTM garage: after announcing in the summer that Johann Zarco would be parting ways with the Austrian factory for 2020, the switch has come early and it’s test rider Mika Kallio who takes over for the remaining races of this season. How will Kallio fare in a full-time seat? And can KTM profit even more from the Finn’s feedback as they continue their huge development push?
Johann Zarco will not be on the grid at Aragon after KTM demoted him in favour of Mike Kallio
At Aprilia, meanwhile, it’s also home turf for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and he’s been on the podium at the track before – his only rostrum in the premier class.
Aleix Espargaro
“Aragón is a track where I have always done rather well. I like the layout and I expect to do better than in Misano. We know what our limits are. Right now, the best strategy is to always give 100%, trying to get the most out of the technical package we have available to us.”
Aleix Espargaro
Team-mate Andrea Iannone was forced to sit Misano out after hurting his shoulder and could find it tough going at Aragon.
Andrea Iannone
“Since Misano I have been working to recover from the shoulder injury. Unfortunately we don’t have much time. The situation is not perfect but only after the medical checkup will I know if it will be possible to race. My aim is to be there, even if I have to grit my teeth.”
Andrea Iannone
Aprilia factory test rider Bradley Smith will contest this round also.
Bradley Smith
“It’s good to be back on the track for my last wildcard of the season. We have done a lot of work behind the scenes on various tracks. We were in Aragón just a few days ago for a test. This weekend, my goal will be to help the official team ahead of the overseas rounds. It will be interesting to see where we are with respect to our competitors since everything evolves very quickly in MotoGP. This will help me understand where to focus our work for the rest of the season and in preparation for 2020.”
Bradley Smith on the Aprilia MotoGP bike at Jerez earlier this year
Could Aragon be the place where Lorenzo finds his mojo…?
A promising start to the San Marino GP has Jorge Lorenzo confident of more improvements to come in Spain. Suffering from less physical discomfort after the race, Lorenzo and his Repsol Honda Team are eager to return to track to continue closing the distance to the front. With two premier class wins and seven podiums to his name at the Aragon circuit, Lorenzo has enjoyed significant past success. Will this be the turning point….?
Jorge Lorenzo
“Aragon is a circuit I like and have had good results at in the past and in Misano we started the weekend well so I am hopeful we can be strong. Our objective is to keep closing the distance to the front as I improve physically and finish better than we did in Silverstone and in Misano. It will be good to race in front of the home fans before we begin the tour overseas.”
Jorge Lorenzo
Misano is unique and Motor Land the same – in a completely different way. Can Marquez extend his lead in the final race before the flyaways? Or will the likes of Viñales, Quartararo and Rins fight back?
Alvaro Bautista got a dream start, blasting clear into the lead by Turn 1. However, there was drama behind as Jonathan Rea and Markus Reiterberger collided on the line, leaving the German rider on the floor in the middle of the pack. He was able to get up, but his race was certainly over.
Bautista cleared out and left the rest of the field to battle for the podium positions
Tom Sykes was able to give some positivity to the German manufacturer, as he got into second position, ahead of Alex Lowes. There was more carnage on the opening lap, as Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado and Alessandro Delbianco crashed at Turn 12.
Chaz Davies was moving up the order very quickly, into fourth by Lap 2, racing up from eighth on the grid. Jonathan Rea had also made a great start, up to fifth position, whilst the rider who had suffered the most in the opening laps was German, Sandro Cortese, who was now down to seventh as Michael van der Mark moved through on his Yamaha compatriot.
As the race progressed, a mistake from Alex Lowes at the final corner allowed Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes to come through, whilst Chaz Davies also got in on the action. Four riders, representing four manufacturers, side-by-side down the straight for second position. Meanwhile, way out in the lead, Bautista achieved a new lap record, with 1’49.755 cementing his position as the rider to beat in WorldSBK.
Davies, Rea, Lowes
Tom Sykes soon dropped back behind the main protagonists but Eugene Laverty was right in the mix, picking up places and soon, was amongst the leading group. The Irishman made it into fifth position in the final third of the race, before also making a bold move with three laps to go on Lowes at Turn 12. The Irishman was now fourth and looking good for a podium.
Jonathan Rea was looking good for second place and continuously hounded Chaz Davies through Turns 3, 4 and 5. Rea led the battle going on to the final lap, with Davies all over the rear-end of the reigning four-time champion. Eugene Laverty was able to make his way to the back of the duo, looking hard for a way ahead of Davies. Into Turn 14, Davies was lining Rea up for a move down the back straight before Eugene Laverty clipped him and crashed out. Davies stayed aboard but the damage had been done.
Davies, Rea, Lowes
Completing the race without any such drama, Alvaro Bautista took a seventh win, whilst Jonathan Rea took a seventh second position and Chaz Davies in third place – his first podium of the 2019 season. Laverty’s crash promoted Alex Lowes to fourth and a resurgent Tom Sykes, who picked off Cortese and van der Mark in the closing laps. Thus Sykes was fifth with the Dutch and German stars behind, eighth place was taken by Toprak Razgatlioglu, ahead of a disappointing Leon Haslam in ninth and top Kawasaki after Tissot Superpole, Jordi Torres; the 31-year-old Spaniard taking his first back-to-back top tens of the season.
Alvaro Bautista
Outside of the top ten, it was Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Racing) ahead of a dejected Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), with second-row starter Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) down in 13th. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Racing) and disappointed Eugene Laverty concluded the points.
Bautista’s win makes it 348 for Ducati, meaning an iconic 350 at Aragon this weekend can still happen. It is his seventh consecutive win and Spain’s first at a Spanish circuit since Ruben Xaus in Race 1, at Valencia in 2007 – also riding a Ducati. Chaz Davies’ podium means it is the first time two Ducati riders have been on the same podium in almost an entire year: MotorLand Aragon Race 2.
Alvaro Bautista – P1
“It’s a fantastic feeling to win a race but to do it in your home race is even more special, and I’m so happy for all the Spanish fans. I tried from the beginning to set my pace and get some advantage from lap 1, trying not to lose concentration. Although I had a comfortable lead on the others, I really enjoyed myself a lot with the bike today, sliding into and exiting the corners but I was always focussed on my riding. At the end to win the race and become the first Spanish rider to win in Aragón is truly a dream, especially with all my family and friends here!”
Alvaro Bautista – P1
Jonathan Rea – P2
“The race position today could not be any better and we achieved the maximum, even from tenth place on the grid. It was an eventful race for me and very exciting, with a lot of passes. All in all, we are very happy with the points and being on the podium, but still a little bit disappointed and bemused by the gap to the front, which is too big. In Superpole we made some mistakes as a team, both myself and the guys, from a time management side. We planned for two laps on the qualifying tyre but I was released a little bit too late then I made a mistake on my first lap and sat up in sector one, thinking to conserve the tyre for one last effort. But, when I came across the line, I realised my Superpole lap time was from the race tyre in the earlier laps.”
Jonathan Rea – P2
Chaz Davies – P3
“I’m really satisfied with today’s result, more so for my team and my side of the garage than me, because they’ve been working so hard all through the winter. It’s not easy when things are not going so well, but we’re always working hard looking for answers and trying our best whether its tenth or here on the podium. I had a nice battle with Johnny and Alex, I really enjoyed it. It felt like I probably had better pace but I wasn’t able to get out of the group. I had a couple of issues at the end of the race that kept me out of the fight for second otherwise things were quite solid with the guys running for the podium this season.”
Chaz Davies – P3
Alex Lowes – P4
“It was a good battle today. It’s a shame it wasn’t at the front; there was someone a bit too far up the road, but I felt with six or seven laps to go I could hold on to second place. Even when Johnny Rea came past me, I still felt like I had the pace to fight back but then, with just three laps to go, there was a big drop in rear grip and I couldn’t keep the same pace. It was a little disappointing at the end of the race but, apart from that, I enjoyed it and it was good to get a strong race under our belt to give the guys some information, because with the cooler weather this morning we’ve not had too much consistent track conditions this weekend. Now I’m looking forward to trying to improve the R1 a little bit more, ready for tomorrow.”
Alex Lowes – P4
Tom Sykes – P5
“I think for how early we are in the project, the programme has just started a few months ago, it is really impressive what the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team has achieved so far. We’ve made small changes to the bike, of course now we are playing a bit with the electronics, but I think the biggest difference to the previous rounds is that we have a lot more corners here, I think it’s clear to see that we are consistent in the first sectors and we are only losing out in the last sector. In Superpole, I was a bit angry with myself going wide on the last corner as it could have been pole position but the target was front row and then top 5 for the race and we have achieved that. On the grid, as the temperatures were quite cool, I opted for the harder rear tyre. It wasn’t too bad but after a few laps I could see that the sun would come out and temperatures rose. But I enjoyed the race. I was battling with some guys who were on the softer tyre but the RR chassis is certainly working really well. I am enjoying riding the BMW S 1000 RR and I’m quite satisfied. It was my decision on the tyre and I just got caught out a bit with the rising temperature. But we definitely got some good information for tomorrow. I’m really excited what’s to come during the season and for now I still think we can make a better race tomorrow.”
Tom Sykes – P5
Michael van der Mark – P6
“We made some changes to the bike this morning, but we still didn’t find the right setting for me and that impacted on my Superpole performance. For the race we decided to take a bit of a gamble with the set-up and, even on the way to the grid, I knew it was one that would pay off. I got a good start, but then Reiterberger crashed right in front of me and I hit something, so I lost a bit of time there. Right from the start I had a better feeling with the bike and my pace was much better, but I was struggling on corner entry, with the rear locking and sliding a bit too much. It meant I could stay with the guys battling for second in front of me, but it was difficult to find somewhere to put in a pass. I tried a few times, but as soon as the grip dropped then I was struggling even more on corner entry and couldn’t maintain the pace. I lost a position at the end, which is a shame, but the positive is that we made a massive step with the bike and we’re in a much better position now for the two races tomorrow.”
Michael van der Mark – P6
Sandro Cortese – P7
“I think today was a good day. P2 was our best result in qualifying so far and in the race we closed the gap to the front guys a lot. In Race 2 in Thailand the gap to the podium was 25 seconds and here it was only eight seconds that separated me from Johnny Rea, who was on the podium. In both races I was seventh, but it was two different seventh places and it’s the gap to the front that is important. So far I think we’ve made a really good job, we learnt a lot about what we need to improve for and I’m looking forward to the two races tomorrow.”
Leon Haslam – P9
“We have been struggling to get the bike to stop and I think I chose the wrong tyre for the race, the hard one. We knew that it was a good 0.6 or 0.7 per lap slower initially but I have not had the laps to do a race run on a soft one. With the temperatures being cool we did not go for it – and it looks like everyone else did. So there was a little bit of a mistake there and I think it cost me a lot. I got a real bad initial start. I think my pace after that wasn’t that bad, even though I was on the harder tyre and it was maybe enough to battle with that group fighting for fifth, that sort of area. We need to re-think things for tomorrow.”
Leon Haslam – P9
WSBK Race 1
Pos
Rider
Bike
Gap
Rel.
1
19 A. BAUTISTA
Ducati Panigale V4 R
0.000
0.000
2
1 J. REA
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
15.170
15.170
3
7 C. DAVIES
Ducati Panigale V4 R
15.650
0.480
4
22 A. LOWES
Yamaha YZF R1
18.204
2.554
5
66 T. SYKES
BMW S1000 RR
20.165
1.961
6
60 M. VAN DER MARK
Yamaha YZF R1
22.419
2.254
7
11 S. CORTESE
Yamaha YZF R1
23.333
0.914
8
54 T. RAZGATLIOGLU
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
27.929
4.596
9
91 L. HASLAM
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
28.243
0.314
10
81 J. TORRES
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
28.411
0.168
11
2 L. CAMIER
Honda CBR1000RR
39.126
10.715
12
33 M. MELANDRI
Yamaha YZF R1
39.240
0.114
13
21 M. RINALDI
Ducati Panigale V4 R
47.782
8.542
14
23 R. KIYONARI
Honda CBR1000RR
59.879
12.097
15
50 E. LAVERTY
Ducati Panigale V4 R
1’37.121
37.242
Not Classified
RET
52 A. DELBIANCO
Honda CBR1000RR
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////
RET
36 L. MERCADO
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
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////
RET
28 M. REITERBERGER
BMW S1000 RR
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#AragonWorldSBK at MotorLand Aragon: Race 1 1. Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) 2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +15.170 3. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +15.650
WSBK Championship Points
Alvaro Bautista (ESP) Ducati (149 points)
Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (118 points)
Alex Lowes (GBR)Yamaha (82 points)
World Supersport
The World Supersport championship returned to the MotorLand Aragon circuit in dry conditions for the Tissot Superpole session. A flurry of action at the end of the session saw Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing) become the first Austrian to secure a pole position in the history of the WorldSSP championship.
The Austrian rider put in a great lap with a masterful last sector to secure Austria’s first pole position in WorldSSP history. Gradinger also becomes the first Austrian since Christian Zaiser at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in 2007 to start on the front row. Second position on the grid went to Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), whilst his teammate, Randy Krummenacher, completed the all-Yamaha front row.
Federico Caricasulo
Heading up row two, championship leader Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) will hope for a fast start in order to battle hard to retain his championship lead, with him and Krummenacher level on points. Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) was fifth, with Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse) in sixth, the first non-Yamaha on the grid.
Randy Krummenacher
Row three will see 2017 WorldSSP champion Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in seventh and less than half-a-second from pole position. Corentin Perolari (GMT94 YAMAHA) finished in eighth place despite a fast crash at Turn 16, with Japanese star Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in ninth. Completing the top ten was Hannes Soomer (MPM WILSport Racedays) for Honda, making it the second time in three Superpole sessions in 2019 that all four manufacturers have enjoyed top ten representation.
The leading Europe Supersport Cup rider was Kyle Smith (Team Pedercini Racing), in 13th place, as he makes his return to the WorldSSP field.
Pole position – Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing)
“We had a very positive start to the weekend. This is not one of my favorite track but I like it a lot and we did a very good job. It was a pity that the second free practice was held in wet condition but we were able to find a good setup and this makes us very confident for the race”.
Thomas Gradinger
WSSP Superpole
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time
Gap
1
36 T. GRADINGER
Yamaha YZF R6
1’53.972
0.000
2
64 F. CARICASULO
Yamaha YZF R6
1’54.091
0.119
3
21 R. KRUMMENACHER
Yamaha YZF R6
1’54.227
0.255
4
16 J. CLUZEL
Yamaha YZF R6
1’54.361
0.389
5
32 I. VINALES
Yamaha YZF R6
1’54.392
0.420
6
3 R. DE ROSA
MV Agusta F3 675
1’54.436
0.464
7
44 L. MAHIAS
Kawasaki ZX-6R
1’54.446
0.474
8
94 C. PEROLARI
Yamaha YZF R6
1’54.774
0.802
9
78 H. OKUBO
Kawasaki ZX-6R
1’54.894
0.922
10
38 H. SOOMER
Honda CBR600RR
1’55.280
1.308
11
86 A. BADOVINI
Kawasaki ZX-6R
1’55.591
1.619
12
80 H. BARBERA
Yamaha YZF R6
1’55.604
1.632
13
11 K. SMITH
Kawasaki ZX-6R
1’55.639
1.667
14
22 F. FULIGNI
MV Agusta F3 675
1’55.690
1.718
15
56 P. SEBESTYEN
Honda CBR600RR
1’55.924
1.952
16
74 J. VAN SIKKELERUS
Honda CBR600RR
1’55.938
1.966
17
84 L. CRESSON
Yamaha YZF R6
1’56.311
2.339
18
95 J. DANILO
Honda CBR600RR
1’56.556
2.584
19
30 G. VAN STRAALEN
Kawasaki ZX-6R
1’56.631
2.659
20
6 M. HERRERA
Yamaha YZF R6
1’56.715
2.743
21
48 X. NAVAND
Yamaha YZF R6
1’56.775
2.803
22
10 N. CALERO
Kawasaki ZX-6R
1’57.066
3.094
23
4 C. STANGE
Honda CBR600RR
1’58.236
4.264
24
15 A. COPPOLA
Honda CBR600RR
1’58.254
4.282
25
67 G. MATERN
Kawasaki ZX-6R
2’01.101
7.129
World Supersport 300
Two frenetic WorldSSP300 Tissot Superpole sessions saw action and drama right the way through, with Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) qualifying on pole position from Group A.
Hugo De Cancellis
Joining him on the front row also from Group A is Indonesian rider, Galang Hendra Pratama (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing) who is second, with fellow Group A rider Hugo De Cancellis (Team Trasimeno) completing the front row. With a gap of just 0.020 between first and second, it really is going to be a hard race to call on Sunday.
Galang Hendra Pratama
Row two sees Marc Luna Bayen (Kawasaki GP Project) in fourth place, ahead of the first of the Group B riders, Andy Verdoia (BCD Yamaha MS Racing), as the 16-year-old placed well in his fourth WorldSSP300 race of his career. Completing the second row is Guillem Erill (DEZA – BOX 77 RACING), making it three Spanish riders on the front two rows at home in Aragon.
Reigning champion Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) will start 13th, whilst fellow title rival and 2018 3rd-placed overall Scott Deroue (Kawasaki MOTOPORT) is only 15th. Marc Garcia, the returning 2017 WorldSSP champion could only manage 24th at his home circuit on his come back, just ahead of young Australia Tom Edwards.
The first ever WorldSSP300 last chance race was a thrilling encounter, as we awaited the six riders to come through to join the main grid on Sunday. Winning the race for the first time, Dutchman Jeffrey Buis (MTM Racing Team) was able to hang on the leading group of three, which consisted of Italian Jacopo Facco (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing) and Brazilian, Eliton Gohara Kawakami (BCD Yamaha MS Racing).
Behind the leading trio, a familiar name but a different rider: Bahattin Sofuoglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing by TSM) finished 10 seconds behind the winner but in fourth place, meaning he had done enough to get himself on the grid for the main race on Sunday. Joining him, Australian Tom Bramich (Carl Cox-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) and Frenchman, Joseph Foray (Prodina IRCOS Kawasaki).
Just missing out behind the second trio was French rider, Romain Dore (Team MHP Racing-Patrick Pons) and Portuguese rider, Tomas Alonso (Kawasaki GP Project).
With six different nationalities from this race going through to compete in tomorrow’s main WorldSSP300 race, it highlights the international mix to the championship, whilst also the parity that it can bring to the motorcycling world.
Pole Position – Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team)
“We worked a lot during the winter test and yesterday and today it was a good Tissot Superpole. My lap was not perfect but it was enough to get me into pole position. I am sure tomorrow we will be able to fight for the win or for the podium. Thanks to everybody and I am looking forward to tomorrow”.
