News 30 Sep 2019

Rea seals fifth-straight WorldSBK crown in Magny-Cours race two

Image: Supplied.

The Pirelli French Round will go down in the history books of the Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), as Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea clinched a fifth-consecutive title at Magny-Cours.

It began with Turkey’s first-ever winner in Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) and finished with Rea winning race two to become the championship’s first ever five-time champion following early misfortune for nearest rival Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

Starting from pole position for the first time in WorldSBK, Razgatlioglu couldn’t make the same lightning start which saw him leap up the order in the two previous races. Rea edged up the inside into turn one to grab the lead but he wouldn’t stay ahead for long, as Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) used the slipstream to hit the front at the Adelaide hairpin.

The moment which ultimately proved decisive in the 2019 series came on lap two as Razgatlioglu lost the rear of his Kawasaki on the exit of turn 13. As the Turkish rider fought to control the slide, Bautista was powerless to avoid the race one winner and both riders were eliminated on the spot. With the words ‘Bautista out’ displayed on his pit-board next time around, Rea now knew that a race victory would see him make history.

Van der Mark was keen to ensure that Rea didn’t have an unchallenged run to a fifth WorldSBK crown, keeping the Ulsterman at bay until the Imola chicane on lap six. The Dutchman didn’t trail for long with the Yamaha proving a formidable motorcycle down the back straight towards turn five, an advantage van der Mark utilised to power past on lap eight.

As the race ticked over half distance, Rea mounted another attack on the leader with Van der Mark going defensive into Adelaide. The championship leader was wise to this tactic though and drew alongside into the following Nurburgring chicane, making the move stick on lap 13. With Van der Mark no longer close enough to make use of the slipstream next time around, Rea had the margin he needed to ease clear.

Despite a valiant effort from Van der Mark, the advantage grew to over one-second, allowing Rea to close out the final laps and claim his 12th victory of 2019. This one was the sweetest of all though as he completed one of the great WorldSBK comebacks. From 61 points behind, Rea now holds an unassailable 129-point advantage and a place in the history books as the first ever five-time WorldSBK champion.

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) completed the team’s first double-podium of the season with a close third, consolidating third in the championship standings, while Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who was heavily delayed in the early collision between his teammate Bautista and Razgatlioglu, recovered to finish fourth, overtaking home favourite Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) on lap 14. Despite a late challenge from the Frenchman, he was forced to settle for fifth, completing a positive weekend at his home round as the Top Independent Rider in race two.

Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) closed out the final European round of his WorldSBK career with a strong charge from 15th on the grid to sixth, winning a close three-way fight on the last lap. The Italian finished just a tenth of a second clear of Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) right behind the pair in eighth. Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) was ninth, finishing clear of Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing).

Unpredictability reigned in a dramatic WorldSSP race at the Pirelli French Round as championship favourites Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) both crashed out to leave the championship open.

This allowed Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) to claim his first win of the season after a thrilling last lap scrap with Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing), with Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing) third. It was Kawasaki’s first WorldSSP victory since Kenan Sofuoglu at Portimao in 2017, ending Yamaha’s 24-race winning streak in the class.

The championship now moves on to Argentina at the Circuito San Juan Villicum with Krummenacher retaining his ten-point lead over team-mate Federico Caricasulo, while Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) still holds an outside chance of the crown after scoring sixth on Sunday.

The Pirelli French Round saw a special moment in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship as Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) claimed her second victory of the season, while also handing over her crown to Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) who clinched the 2019 title with second place ahead of Scott Deroue (Kawasaki Motoport).

Detailed results

News 29 Sep 2019

Breakout WorldSBK victory for Razgatlioglu on Saturday in France

Image: Supplied.

Despite a disappointing Tissot Superpole session, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) made WorldSBK history at the Pirelli French Round by becoming the first Turkish winner in the championship’s history.

Many-Cours produced one of the races of the WorldSBK season so far as five different riders lead at various stages, before Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed out of the lead three laps from home.

That seemingly handed victory to Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), before a stunning final lap saw Razgatlioglu take the spoils, despite starting from the sixth row.

As the race got underway, Rea came under immediate pressure from Van der Mark with two almost colliding into the Adelaide hairpin on lap one. Their duel allowed Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to storm through from sixth on the grid to second by the end of lap one.

Sykes’ progress continued on lap two as he used the corner speed of the BMW to overtake Rea at Estoril, although the leading group was growing and growing with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) joining the action from 11th on the grid, while a remarkable early charge brought Razgatlioglu into play.

On lap three, Davies became the third different leader in as many laps but the Welshman’s challenge came to a dramatic end moments later with a crash into turn 15. Davies’ lost the front-end of his machine with second-placed Razgatlioglu fortunate to stay upright despite slight contact from the errant Ducati.

The chaos allowed Sykes a moment of breathing space but the BMW rider was quickly reeled in, losing the lead to Van der Mark on lap six. With the battle continuing to rage in the leading group, van der Mark was able to open up a slight advantage while Rea came under intense pressure.

Razgatlioglu was able to edge ahead, setting the fastest lap in the process, but Rea ultimately regained P2 from the Turkish rider shortly after half-distance, allowing him to give chase after Van der Mark, who was 1.2 seconds ahead.

Behind the leading trio, Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) had established himself in an excellent fourth with Sykes settling in fifth after an all-action start. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was holding sixth but the Briton was coming under increasing pressure from Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was also in the thick of the action but a highside at the final chicane eliminated him five laps from home. With clear track in front, Rea began his relentless chase of Van der Mark, wiping out his advantage heading into the closing stages.

With three laps remaining, the leading pair were together but Van der Mark’s hopes of a second victory of 2019 were extinguished when the front end of his Yamaha folded into the Adelaide hairpin, the pressure proving too much.

Rea seemed on course for a 12th victory of the season, beginning the final lap one second clear of Razgatlioglu but a stunning final lap from the Turkish rider brought him right into the tail of the Ulsterman entering the last sector.

Under braking for turn 15, Toprak dived up the inside with Rea keen to avoid a costly collision, opting to settle for second. The fight for the final podium spot also went down to the wire with Sykes rallying in the latter stages to overhaul Baz, securing BMW’s fourth podium of the season. Baz held on to fourth while Bautista recovered to fifth.

Lowes faded to finish a distant sixth while Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) marked his return from injury with seventh, Honda’s best result of the 2019 season so far. Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) finished eighth, with Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) and Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) completing the top 10.

After showing a preview of his potential on Friday afternoon, Kyle Smith (Team Pedercini Racing) proved to be in a class of his own in the wet, claiming his first-ever pole position in WorldSSP.

The championship battle looks set to play out from the second row after a fascinating Tissot Superpole session at Magny-Cours. Smith leads the front row ahead of Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) and Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing).

The championship challengers went head-to-head in the dying seconds with Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) securing a narrow advantage over his teammate Randy Krummenacher, despite missing out on the front row for the first time this season. Caricasulo will line up fourth, with Krummenacher sixth.

In WorldSSP300, Scott Deroue (Kawasaki Motoport) took a much-needed pole position ahead of Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) with points-leader Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) set for a tough battle tomorrow from the fifth row, while Australian teammate Tom Edwards starts out of 22nd position.

Detailed results