Race Direction at Phillip Island have announced that the Sunday afternoon World Supersport race has been shortened to 16 laps, with a compulsory pit-stop for all riders to change their rear tyre, no later than lap 10. In the event of a wet race the race duration will also be 16 laps, with no mandatory pit stop if using racing wets, however the maximum number of laps on a dry tyre still needs to be observed.
World Supersport at Phillip Island
The announcement mirrors a similar situation in 2019, where a mandatory pit stop was also added to the World Supersport race due to Phillip Island’s highly abrasive surface.
The World Superbike class is uneffected, and will race as normal.
Here’s the full release from Race Direction:
The World Supersport Race (Yamaha Finance Australia Round) will have a compulsory pit stop. The race distance will be 16 laps for a ‘dry’ race.
– No more than 10 race laps are allowed for any rear dry tyre.
– The Riders must enter pit lane to change tyre no later than the end of lap 10.
– The race tyre that is fitted on the grid and will start the race MUST have a tyre sticker fitted.
The second tyre does NOT require a tyre sticker.
A race started as ‘wet’ the race distance will be 16 laps. No mandatory pit stop is required, provided the conditions below are met:
– A wet rear tyre is used for the complete race
– In the case of starting the race with a wet rear tyre, the team may decide to change to a dry rear tyre but must respect the maximum limit of 10 racing laps for that tyre.
Any rider doing more than 10 laps with a rear dry tyre will be black flagged (sighting, warm up and slow down laps are not counted).
In the case of a restarted race, the maximum number of laps to be covered will be 10.
The Superbike Races will remain at their originally published race distance.
Five time World Champion Jonathan Rea has emphasised that consistency will be key to netting a sixth FIM Superbike World Championship, speaking at the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Season Launch at an overcast Phillip Island today.
Speaking at the launch, which also marked the 30th year of World Superbike at Phillip Island, Rea said he was happy to be back at the Island with Kawasaki.
Jonathan Rea
“I’m super excited, I think the biggest thing for me is the continuity with the Kawasaki Racing Team. It’s a long championship in Superbike now, with the addition of the Superpole race we have 39 races per year, so it means consistency is even more key than ever.”
Jonathan Rea – Image by TBG
As dominant as the Northern Irishman has been in recent seasons, he’s still acutely aware of the need to stay one step ahead of his championship rivals, “It’s always exciting because there’s so many fast guys here, so many guys can step up on any given weekend and we’ve got to be ready for that.”
Championship rival Alvaro Bautista led Aruba.IT Ducati to a clean-sweep of race wins on his WorldSBK debut in Phillip Island last year. Now having moved across to HRC, he has played down chances of repeating his early 2019 season success, saying there is more work to do to get the Honda to the front of the WSBK field.
Alvaro Bautista
“Last season was a new challenge, it was a new championship, new tyres, new tracks, so I enjoyed it a lot. It was incredible to start a new era (joining WorldSBK) winning the races. But this is a different situation. Everything is brand new and we have a lot of work to do. I will try to do my best, but I don’t think that will be like last season.”
Alvaro Bautista – Image by TBG
At PATA Yamaha, Michael van der Mark will be coming to grips with his new 2020-spec steed.
Michael van der Mark
“It’s not a massive change, when we tested in Jerez and in Portimao we improved a lot, and it was good to see on this track which is completely different the bike was working well again. We just keep making small steps so I’m really happy so far.”
Michael van der Mark – TBG Image
Moving up from winning the British Superbike Championship last year, Aruba.IT Ducati’s Scott Redding was quickly comfortable in the WSBK paddock.
Scott Redding
“It feels really good to be honest. We’ve had a couple of tests now so I’ve had time to settle with the team and my bike. Now going into a race weekend everything’s new to me for a race weekend so I just need to take it a step at a time.”
Scott Redding – Image by TBG
One adaptation that Redding will have to make is getting used to the Tissot Superpole race, with the sprint format still a bit of an unknown for the Ducati rider.
Scott Redding
“I’ve kind of no strategy whatsoever! Just try and go behind somebody that’s going fast and see what happens! Here I think it’s more difficult because tyre wear is quite a big factor, so going from the long race to the short race I’m not so sure. I’ll just go on the moment and see and try and battle it down to the last lap.”
Scott Redding – Image by TBG
BMW’s Eugene Laverty has been encouraged by the performance of the BMW so far but says there’s still a little bit of work to do to bridge the gap to the front runners.
Eugene Laverty
“I’m really pleased with the work we did in the Winter. I can see last year the bike with the chassis was steering really well. Especially at a track like this with fast flowing corners it’s really nice. During the winter they worked a lot on the power delivery and the electronic strategy. I think a big step forward was made. It’s nice to have that factory involvement again, it’s a proper effort.”
Eugene Laverty – TBG Image
In Supersport, Australian Wild Card Oli Bayliss will make his World Supersport debut with Cube Racing this weekend, in addition to his regular ASBK duties. Bayliss Junior will have a busy weekend ahead, but he’s confident of a good showing in his first World Championship appearance.
Oli Bayliss
“So far it’s been really good, we’ve only had two days testing and all the riders are going so fast. If we can keep on improving then hopefully we can go a bit better. A top 15 would be really good, we’re not fighting for the podium or anything.”
Oli Bayliss – Image by TBG
The 2020 event marks 30 years of World Superbike at Phillip Island, with the circuit is locked in to continue hosting the event until 2027.
Practice for the Yamaha Finance Round of the 2020 Yamaha Finance Round begins tomorrow (28 Feb) from Phillip Island.
“It has been a positive test all-in-all. Even though some sessions were hindered a bit by the weather, we have been able to confirm a lot of items from the balance side, to try to get the bike to turn more naturally. That was out focus coming here, knowing what we knew from last year. I felt good with the bike and tested two different front tyres. Both gave good but different sensations so it is more about understanding which one we go towards the weekend with. You never really know in this race. We have done race distance on all the tyres we used and I feel fast and consistent with all. But you never really know until the race. It is clear at this track that you can go all out and be really fast but you tend to run into issues at the end of the race. So it is more about trying to make your consistent rhythm easy and I feel like we have a bike that is quite user-friendly. That is positive to go into Friday with.”
Jonathan Rea – TBG Image
Loris Baz – P2
“For us the season can start, we are ready. The past two days we have done a lot of work, tried many things and we can look back on, once again, a very positive test. We have been able to test many things back-to-back with our eyes on the coming weekend. However, there are a few areas where we need to find something for the races, but I am very satisfied and I am very confident going into the season opener. I am sure that I will have a great season together with this team.”
Loris Baz – GeeBee Image
Tom Sykes – P3
“I’m very happy with the way things have gone. We had very successful winter tests, didn’t get too carried away with the lap times and really focused on the set-up of the BMW S 1000 RR. We really got through a strong test programme and when we came here to Phillip Island, it has paid off. As soon as I rolled out, the bike felt very good and we were able to work on the little parameters that we had in store before the race weekend. Overall, I’m happy with the outcome. We have a lot of information that we will study over next days and we will try to come back strong for the race weekend with a good base set-up. Regarding my goals for the season opener: obviously everybody is here trying to win races. I just want to be more consistent throughout the season but we always have to aim for the podium, always have to try to make that podium into a race win and obviously here it is not different.”
Tom Sykes – GeeBee Image
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P4
“We worked to have good grip and a bike that turns well and again we will try more with these things with my R1 on Friday. We are happy because for me it is very important that I could ride the R1 at this track in dry conditions. This final afternoon I rode more in a race style and it was not bad; quite good really. But on Friday we will try another new set-up for even better grip. It is important to do race simulations and our laps were consistent. I felt good. Michael was also fast in race conditions so we will see how things are in the races. Phillip Island races can start slow, slow and then fast – I remember last year we started with 1’32 laps times then after some laps we went into the 1’31s. But we will have to see, because this is 2020, not 2019!”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – TBG Image
Leon Haslam – P5
“We’ve made some steps forward today, despite the windy conditions being a bit of a problem this afternoon. Unfortunately, there is never enough time, especially considering how many elements we have to test but we’ve got a lot done here. Our lap times are not bad and I’m quite happy with our consistency in terms of the tyres. Overall, I feel we’re making good progress although the testing only tells us so much of course. We won’t know exactly where we are until we race, so we’ll know more come the weekend – it’s going to be interesting.”
Leon Haslam – TBG Image
Scott Redding – P6
“I’m very pleased with what we’ve done. They were two important days in which we worked on many aspects. We have closed the gap to front guys and the feeling with the bike is definitely positive. It’s a shame about today’s crash but the important thing is that there were no consequences. Maybe we still need to improve on the single lap but the race pace data is very positive”.
Scott Redding – TBG Image
Michael van der Mark – P7
“I am quite happy with our test and the 2020 R1. Our main goal was to improve our race pace and save our tyres. Yesterday we did a long run, which was really positive, and today we tried some different things with the rear suspension and the pace was there again, especially in a race simulation. So, I am really happy with how the test went but unfortunately this morning when I was on my way to my fastest lap I crashed, so that was a shame. But if you look back at the race simulations they were pretty good. Today I did 20 laps and the tyres were still fine. You have to start the race with a different approach than normal here but this is not my first time in Phillip Island, so we know this. At the beginning I think everyone will be a little bit conservative but at the end we will see who is the strongest. It is always going to be a surprise in this race!”
Michael van der Mark – TBG Image
Eugene Laverty – P9
“I’m a typical rider, I always want more time, an extra day to be ready but it has been a good couple of test days. We’ve worked a lot towards race preparation because you have concentrate on 20 laps not just on one lap and that has been our focus. We still have some work to do to do that fast lap time as for example Tom has been able to do but I’m confident that we will get there. We need to be fighting up there for the podium because this bike’s capable of it at this track. We’re feeling prepared. We need some more dry time on Friday to find our one lap pace but I’m confident that for the long distance, we will be there.”
Eugene Laverty – TBG Image
Alvaro Bautista – P10
“This test has been very important for us of course and I think we’ve made progress. With respect to yesterday, my feeling with the Fireblade was a little better this morning, while this afternoon was a little trickier in the wind and on a more slippery track. We’ve also tested tyres today, finding positives and negatives as is always the case, and we also attempted a long run in order to collect as much data as possible ahead of the first races. All this information is really important as we move forward and I’m confident we can take another step forward this coming weekend. The potential, power and speed are all there, now we just need to work to be able to effectively harness it all.”
Alvaro Bautista was the busiest rider over the two days, putting in 126 laps – TBG Image
Chaz Davies – P11
“It’s been a busy couple of days. If I’m honest, I think I found a good feeling, maybe not great but still positive even if we still have to perfect the set up for the race. Compared to the first day of testing, however, today the feeling was better. It is clear that we still have a lot of work to do but there is a lot of confidence and above all a lot of desire to start the season in the best possible way.”
Chaz Davies – TBG Image
Alex Lowes – P12
“Obviously it has not been as easy to find the right feeling and set-up on the bike as I would have liked coming here but also it is the first time on the bike on such a strange track layout. It is so fast here, with lots of changes of direction. How I felt on the bike earlier in the winter tests was not quite the same here, so we worked a bit on the set-up. I got a little bit frustrated a couple of times, made a couple of mistakes, but the last session it was a bit better and we have found a base set-up that I can go into the weekend with. I am looking forward to getting my first race weekend in green started in a few days from now.”
Alex Lowes – TBG Image
Garrett Gerloff – P16
“This is my first time here in Phillip Island and I am really enjoying the track. The only thing is that it has been a bit more difficult than I had originally imagined because of how fast the track is. For example, if I make one small mistake it becomes a huge mistake by the time I get to the corner. It’s been hard to be precise and I am working on it. Also we are making a big step in the bike set up because this track is pretty different than the other tracks where we have been testing in the last few months, so I think it requires a different set up. I think today in the second session we made a big step in the right direction. I am definitely looking forward to the weekend, I think it was nice that we had two days of testing but yesterday we only tested about 2 hours of the 4 hours because of weather and other track conditions. Luckily today we had more time, but I still feel like more laps would be beneficial. I am looking forward to getting back on track on Friday and I have a game plan!”
Federico Caricasulo – P17
“The feeling is getting better and better. We have tried out several strategies and by the last session we have determined which direction to take. This will be a good base for Friday. For the rest of the race weekend we will try to get closer to the front. As my personal objective, TOP10 would be a very good result for myself.”
Takumi Takahashi – P19
“I’m glad I was able to get back out for some additional track time this afternoon and that the weather conditions allowed us to work without interruption. It was a bit windy but that was not a problem for me. I must say thanks to my technicians who all worked very hard yesterday and this morning to get me back out on track, as it was important to try and complete as many laps as possible. We still have a lot to do, in terms of both bike set-up and me learning the track, but I’m looking forward to Friday when my first WorldSBK race weekend will begin.”
Pere Riba – Crew Chief for Jonathan Rea
“Before coming here, and it is the same as every year, we knew this is the real first time that you can see everybody – all the teams, riders and manufacturers – and there are some new bikes and riders – so before you come here you are expecting to see where everybody is. Now we can understand where everyone is. Last year was tough for us even if Johnny finished all the races in second place; Alvaro was really strong and riding really well. We struggled with the rear tyre so before we came here I studied this aspect and we focused 100% on the most important points of this track. Phillip Island is quite unique and we have to save the tyre for race distance. But at the same time you have to be fast. We worked calmly with Johnny and he understands what this track asks of him, so step-by-step we focused and followed all the items we wanted to test – all the plans – so we are happy.”
Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Team Principal
“I don’t think any team or manufacturer finishes the Phillip Island test with all the boxes ticked and all the answers they might have been looking for put into place. However, despite a few more details still to improve, in general, we are very happy with the work completed and the raw pace of both riders and the R1. The crew have done a great job, including on Mikey’s side to get a badly damaged bike ready during the second free practice today. Now the job is to simply make a clear plan for the race weekend and find a couple of tenths where we can, but more importantly, provide the guys with an R1 that can do 22 strong and consistent laps on Saturday and Sunday – our goals are certainly higher than they were at this circuit a year ago.”
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“In general, we are well prepared for the season opener. After the tests in Jerez and Portimão we had some open points that we were able to continue and to confirm here in good conditions. Now we have to make our choice for the race weekend. Tom’s pace is strong and we now have to try to keep it over the race distance. With Eugene, we have identified a few things we will work on for the weekend to also further improve his pace. Our goal for the opening round is: we want to start from the front row and I think that we have the chance to get onto the podium.”
Shaun Muir – Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“We’ve had two good days of testing here in Australia. On Eugene’s side, we’ve had a lot of information to work through and we had satisfying results, mostly with the electronics and his feel for the delivery of the power. That has been his focus area and while we are happy so far we will take some of this work into Friday. On Tom’s side we’ve had a huge list of items for him to test over the two days. We are pretty happy with where we are. We’ve not managed to do much race simulation due to the extensive test items, so that will be Fridays focus. We know we can qualify very well and aim to be on the front row in qualifying. But it’s not about qualifying, it’s about the race and we know that to be in contention for a podium position, we need to do consistent fast lap times in the latter parts of race. To do so and to be on the podium is definitely the goal for the season opener.”
Marcel Duinker – Crew Chief for Alex Lowes
“We did not finish where we would have wanted to finish in the timesheets but we were fast and competitive over race distance, which is very positive. We did most laps during this test, which was one of our targets. This is a special track and we did not have too many laps in the previous winter tests before we got here. The overall package of Alex and the bike are still fresh and therefore I am sure we can improve our performance for the weekend.”
Phillip Island WorldSBK Testing Final Combined Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
1m30.448
2
L. Baz
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.076
3
T. Sykes
BMW S1000 RR
+0.120
4
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.292
5
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000RR-R
+0.434
6
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.437
7
M. Van Der Mark
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.629
8
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.959
9
E. Laverty
BMW S1000 RR
+0.988
10
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000RR-R
+1.005
11
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+1.085
12
A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1.112
13
S. Cortese
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1.117
14
X. Fores
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1.205
15
M. Scheib
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1.362
16
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+1.493
17
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R1
+1.496
18
L. Camier
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+2.228
19
T. Takahashi
Honda CBR1000RR-R
+5.866
Phillip Island WorldSBK Testing Tuesday Afternoon Top Speeds
Ahead of the Australian opening round of the 2020 World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island, 34-year old Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) has topped a shortened opening session at Phillip Island, after Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda) left oil on track through turns three and four, forcing a halt of the proceedings.
Tom Sykes led the morning session
Tom Sykes was the only rider to drop into the 1:30s, boasting a 1:30.938, with Pata Yamaha’s Michael Van Der Mark nearest on 1:31.252 with teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu only 0.023s further off the leading pace.
Defending world champion Jonathan Rea was fourth overall for the morning, 0.557s off the leader, with the Kawasaki Racing Team rider 0.446s faster than new teammate Alex Lowes, who was seventh and clocked in the 1:32s.
Ten Kate Racing – Phillip Island WorldSBK Test
Ten Kate Racing Yamaha’s Loris Baz was fifth fastest, while Scott Redding was fastest Ducati on the Aruba.it Racing V4 R. Teammate Chaz Davies was eighth, with 1:32.117.
Completing the top ten was Leon Haslam (Team HRC) and Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).
Alvaro Bautista, riding the Team HRC Honda CBR1000RR-R was 11th as he comes to terms with the new Honda machinery at Phillip Island, where he dominated in 2019 on board a Ducati.
Eugene Laverty joins Sykes with BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Second BMW Motorrad WorldSBK rider Eugene Laverty was 12th with a 1:32.893, almost two-seconds off leading pace, with Sandro Cortese (Outdo Kawasaki TPR) in 13th.
Federico Caricasulo made the move up to the premiere class in WorldSBK in 2020 after finishing second overall in WSSP in 2019, joining the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team for the new season, along with American Garrett Gerloff who was 17th posting a 1:34.184.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Leon Camiere were 15th and 16th, both on Ducati Panigale V4 R machinery, with Team GoEleven and Barni Racing Team respectively.
Team GoEleven – Phillip Island WorldSBK Test
Maximilian Scheib was 18th on the Orelac Racing Vednatura Kawasaki, while Takumi Takahashi was 19th on the MIE Racing Althea Honda.
Despite overcast conditions and rain north of Phillip Island, competitors remain hopefully for dry conditions for afternoon sessions, as activities recommence on track.
Phillip Island WorldSBK Testing – Monday FP1
Pos.
Rider
Nat.
Team
Gap
1
T. SYKES
GBR
Motorrad WorldSBK Team
1’30.938
2
M. VAN DER MARK
NED
PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK
0.314
3
T. RAZGATLIOGLU
TUR
PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK
0.337
4
J. REA
GBR
Kawasaki Racing Team
0.557
5
L. BAZ
FRA
Ten Kate Racing Yamaha
0.671
6
S. REDDING
GBR
ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati
0.85
7
A. LOWES
GBR
Kawasaki Racing Team
1.111
8
C. DAVIES
GBR
ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati
1.179
9
L. HASLAM
GBR
Team HRC Honda
1.29
10
X. FORES
ESP
Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
1.476
11
A. BAUTISTA
ESP
Team HRC
1.731
12
E. LAVERTY
IRL
BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
1.955
13
S. CORTESE
GER
OUTDO Kawasaki TPR
2.406
14
F. CARICASULO
ITA
GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team
2.594
15
M. RINALDI
ITA
Team GOELEVEN
2.736
16
L. CAMIER
GBR
Barni Racing Team
3.159
17
G. GERLOFF
USA
GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team
3.246
18
M. SCHEIB
CHI
ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA
4.64
19
T. TAKAHASHI
JPN
MIE Racing
5.408
World Supersport
Andrea Locatelli, who joined the BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team for the 2020 World Supersport season, led the morning World Supersport Free Practice 1 results, ahead of the MV Agusta Reparto Corse duo of Randy Krummenacher and Raffaele De Rosa, with the pair +0.276 and +0.309s off the leader’s pace.
Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) completed the top five , with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) sixth.
Oli Bayliss
Top Honda was Hikari Okubo on the Dynavolt Honda, while Australian Oli Bayliss was 19th on board the Cube Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
Phillip Island, Victoria – February 28 – March 1, 2020
With less than two weeks till Christmas there’s great deals to be had on 2020 Australian WorldSBK tickets at Phillip Island, starting at three-day passes for just $125, with a chance to win a spot on the World Superbike grid for Saturday’s race one with online purchases made before December 24. What better Christmas present could you think of, than seeing all the action at Phillip Island next February 28 to March 1.
World Superbike at Phillip Island runs February 28 through to March 1, 2020
Christmas shopping for World Superbike tickets is super-easy and the price is right. Just jump online to book at https://tickets.worldsbk.com.au (link) and make sure you buy before December 24 for the chance to win a spot on the World Superbike grid for race one.
You can purchase a three-day General Admission ticket with Free Paddock Access for just $125*. Want to spend a little more? Buy a 3-Day Bar SBK ticket for $265* giving access to three under-cover viewing areas at the circuit’s most thrilling corners – Doohan Corner, Siberia and Lukey Heights. Bar SBK ticket holders also get access to the exclusive grandstand at Doohan Corner, along with parking at Siberia and Lukey Heights and prime Superscreen viewing from each facility.
Phillip Island will play host to the 2020 World Superbike Round One
Add four nights on-circuit camping for an extra $110* per adult, while kids 15 and under are free to enter and camp, if accompanied by a full-paying adult.
2020 WorldSBK field shaping up to be a cracker
We’re looking at a cracker of a 2020 WorldSBK field with the Kawasaki king Jonathan Rea facing threats from every angle. Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam have headed to Honda and will campaign the all-new Honda CBR1000RR; Yamaha’s added young gun Toprak Razgatlioglu, Texan Garrett Gerloff and WorldSSP’s Federico Caricasulo to its stable; while Eugene Laverty has joined Tom Sykes at BMW.
Jonathan Rea – Image by Rob Mott
Ducati also looks red-hot, with British Superbike champ, Scott Redding joining Chaz Davies on the Panigale V4R; while Rea’s new garage mate, Alex Lowes, looks pretty happy on his 2020 Kawasaki.
New names on the grid include Japan’s superbike master, Takumi Takahashi with Honda and from Chili, Maximilian Scheib on a Kawasaki; while returning for another shot at world superbike stardom are the likes of Spain’s Jordi Torres and Xavi Fores, France’s Sylvain Barrier and Argentina’s Leandro Mercado.
A weekend at the World Superbike Championship is a pure action fest of back-to-back racing from World Superbike and World Supersport, plus the opening round of the Australian Superbike Championships for Australian Superbike, Supersport and Supersport 300.
Tom Sykes – 2019 Phillip Island WSBK
Plus an added bonus with World Supers, is that every three-day ticket includes free access to the paddock and Paddock Show, plus bring your bike and ride the service roads to your favourite viewing spot.
Phillip Island is just two hours south of Melbourne and to make it affordable and an awesome getaway gift, couple your ticket with on-circuit camping for four nights for just $110* extra per adult for four nights. Situated right above Southern Loop and close to the go-kart track, Visitor’s Centre, and the History of Motorsport Display, the campground has spectacular views over Bass Straight and the circuit.
Phillip Island will also host Australian Superbike, Supersport and Supersport 300 support categories – Image by TBG
Plus kids 15 and under accompanied by a full-paying adult are free, so make it a family affair. Crafty shoppers, who are coming to world supers, can give their kids the Christmas gift of a weekend at the Supers and it won’t cost a cent – a great way to balance the Christmas budget.
For a taste of race-pace at the island, here’s 2019 Australian Superbike Champ, Mike Jones; Suzuki’s Josh Waters and Yamaha’s Dan Falzon to take you on a high-speed jaunt around the scintillating 4.445km Phillip Island circuit, world supers-style.
Ho ho ho…Get Christmas shopping today and sort your weekend getaway for the sizzling opening round of the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, Yamaha Finance round, next February 28-March 1 at Australia’s motorcycling mecca, Phillip Island. Tickets at https://tickets.worldsbk.com.au/ (link)
Phillip Island World Superbike tickets on sale now
*All ticket prices quoted are advance (more expensive at gate) and subject to Ticketek charges, ** Kids 15 and under free to enter and camp, accompanied by a full-paying adult
During the week leading up to the opening round of the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, it was noticeable on first sight of the 2013 Superbike World Champion, Tom Sykes, that there is a renewed vigour and spring in his step. A beaming smile with a “heeey-oop” heavy in a Yorkshire twang, rather than the more sullen demeanour we witnessed last season.
The last couple of years have been especially challenging for the 33-year-old, not only having to contend with a dominant team mate in his business life, but the real challenges had come in his personal life. That is now behind him and Tom has now come full circle after the break down of his marriage, with a new lease on life.
The “old” Tom Sykes has returned
Tom Sykes
Signing with the new look BMW Motorrad WSBK Team, led by the vastly experienced Shaun Muir, and complete with factory support from Germany.
The head of BMW Motorrad, Markus Schramm, stated on the weekend that BMW is in the WSBK field for the long haul, and won’t be happy until they have at least one World Championship trophy in the Bavarian locker.
2019 marks Sykes’ 11th full season in the WSBK paddock, a period that has yielded one championship (in 2013), and five top-three championship positions since 2012, including 34 race wins on the green beasts, as well as being Mr Superpole over the last six years.
Tom Sykes – Image by Rob Mott
Also for the first time in a number of years, the second fiddle is no long his as he is the lead in the BMW orchestra. Last year was Sykes’ worst season since 2011, with only one win (at Assen), but with consistency he still managed to wind up fourth overall, behind his teammate Jonathan Rea, Chaz Davies and Michael van der Mark.
The BMW project to join the 2019 title was only finalised back in May last year, so there is still a lot of forward progress expected and demanded by all concerned in the team.
Additionally, off-track happenings in his private life did not make for a happy person in recent seasons. The combination of the two pressures, in business and at home, had taken their toll on a guy that used to be the joker in the paddock.
Tom Sykes – Image by TBG Sport
Tom Sykes, will be joined by BMW faithful Markus Reiterberger, and is ecstatic with the new uniform and the S 1000 RR. Last week gave plenty of indications that the old Tom is the new Tom.
MCNews.com.au caught up with him for a chat over the weekend.
Tom Sykes Interview
Mark Bracks: Tom Sykes, first up, sum up round one for us.
Tom Sykes: “Yea, quite good. I’m really happy with where things are progressing, the whole of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team is working really quite flawlessly, so I’m really just enjoying riding the S 1000 RR. We’re certainly making progress. In a lot of areas, wow, working on the chassis, electronics, suspension, there’s a lot of stuff. So we’re just slowly working through it.”
Tom Sykes – 2019 Phillip Island WSBK
Mark Bracks: Have you worked with Shaun before?
Tom Sykes: “No this is the first time.”
Mark Bracks: What’s the biggest – I know they are both in-line fours,– what’s the biggest difference between the BMW and the Kawasaki?
Tom Sykes: “Well, you know I could really go into detail, but it might give the game away, let’s just say that the engine characters are quite different, but certainly something which I’ve been looking for, and like I said it is proven. I enjoy riding the BMW, so we’ll just work around what we’ve got and keep improving.”
Tom Sykes – 2019 Phillip Island WSBK – TBG Image
Mark Bracks: What stage is the engine development at? Full race pack engines?
Tom Sykes: “I’m the wrong person to answer that, I like to think there’s plenty more in the tank, and I think when you take into account, that when the green light was given on this project, the time to start doing a lot of research into the tuning aspect was obviously quite limited.
“It’s probably not the place to say too much, but what I will say on the other hand is that [considering] when the green light was given, where we are at now is absolutely incredible. Given my experience I’d probably say that no one else could have done any better, the work the guys have done to turn up here at Phillip Island with all the parts and the spares, and get on the grid and to be as competitive as we are, is a credit to all them boys involved.”
Tom Sykes – 2019 Phillip Island WSBK
Mark Bracks: Where’s your best and worst corners here?
Tom Sykes: “The main sector when you need big melons would do it pretty well, through the hayshed and through that area. I’m not shy when it comes to there, our worst area is the straights really, a couple of the guys in the box were thinking the last sector is probably not as sharp as it should be.
“I said don’t worry we’re missing a little bit down the straight, which is obviously most of the last sector, but you know I’ve got some experience behind me, and like I said to the boys, on the quiet, I really feel we’re doing our job through the corners, so the rest will come naturally as we develop the engine on the S 1000 RR.”
Tom Sykes – 2019 Phillip Island WSBK
Mark Bracks: This really has invigorated your passion and penchant for racing, hasn’t it?
Tom Sykes: “The last few years have been difficult on and off the track, obviously I just enjoy racing motorcycles and I just want the opportunity to show my potential again. Personally, now things are getting a lot clearer after my recent private life dramas, and I’m now putting that behind me. That clarity is also influencing my on-track action, and like I said really really enjoying it all. You know the S 1000 RR is a bike which I’ve probably been looking for, for a couple of years anyway, like I said it’s so early in the development stages that to be where we are is really impressive and I’m grateful for this opportunity from SMR, and BMW.”
Tom Sykes – 2019 Phillip Island WSBK
Mark Bracks: So your personal life and professional life is in the best spot for a while?
Tom Sykes: “For at least probably three years at least, so you know it’s now where I can hopefully start to work again and make things happen. You know what, it’s one of those ‘on the business side of things’, it is what it is. I don’t think it’s a big problem swapping the teams, but on the personal side, I really feel like I’m getting rid of a black cloud that’s been following me around, so that’s certainly going to help on the business end of the equation.
“I think what’s good is that it is a clean slate, a real clean slate and I’m just grateful that I’ve got so much experience to not get lost in the early stages of development, because it’s very easy to do. I think with my experience and the quality of the team and the manufacturer around me, we’ve been able to work together very efficiently, in this respect.”
Tom Sykes – 2019 Phillip Island WSBK
Sykes claimed seventh in Race 1 at the 2019 opening round at Phillip Island, before taking 11th in the Sunday Superpole Sprint Race, with a strong start marred by running wide on the opening lap and losing a number of positions. The final race of the weekend saw Tom Sykes claim 13th place, with a total haul of 12 points to kick off the season.
Tom Sykes – 2019 Phillip Island WSBK
Shaun Muir – BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal
“We’ve got to be realistic and we have probably reached our goals for the first time we have raced the BMW S 1000 RR. So we are very happy. We have had no major incidents and I think that we have proved that the bike is going to be competitive very soon. We clearly have our limitations at the moment and we will work hard on sorting them out in the break until the next races. Both riders rode very well and both have been very patient to understand that we need to work for the development parts to come through. So from my side the overall summary is that we can look forward to a very competitive bike over the course of the season. We just need to be patient and wait for that to arrive.”
“If you told me before we came to Australia, that we would make a weekend like this I can’t believe it, but we rode really well, my team worked really hard in the two days of test, and for the weekend we were ready for the fight. In the morning, in Superpole Race we had a great battle and I enjoyed it a lot. In the afternoon it was difficult, because the track condition was a bit worse than in the morning, but in any case I was able to make a good pace and at the end, I pushed a bit more harder than yesterday, yesterday it felt like I could push harder and the tyres didn’t drop off a lot. Today I tried and was watching Jonny this morning, I knew in the afternoon he will try to stay with me, so I had to try to push a bit harder at the beginning. I did it and got some advantage, so at the end I could win. It’s a fantastic weekend, thanks to Ducati and to my team and congratulations to them, as they work really hard.”
Alvaro Bautista – Image by Rob Mott
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) – 2nd overall
“Very happy with my weekend, it was massive damage limitation coming here, it’s not really the strongest track for me or my bike, but to come away with outright lap record and pole position, with three second places, we couldn’t ask for much more. Congratulations to Alvaro, you know it takes a big job to come here as a rookie and to win three races in a row, so big congrats to him.”
Jonathan Rea – Image by Rob Mott
Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK) – 3rd overall
“Today I was expecting s bit more. In the Superpole race I had a few mistakes at the beginning and lost a lot of positions. I tried to come back but it was a really short race. In Race 2 I got a good start and had good pace in the beginning. Once I caught the two Kawasakis I decided to wait a bit because for the tyre it’s a very difficult race, but when Johnny passed Leon for the first time I tried to push into the middle, but the rear tyre left me there and I had to slow down my pace and just try to finish the race. Unfortunately van der Mark and Lowes passed me back, but I still think that for us it’s been a very good weekend. It’s been a difficult winter but the races are different, so I’m feeling good and I think the next races can be even better.”
Marco Melandri – TBG Image
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) 4th overall
“I lost quite a lot of time at the start behind Eugene Laverty; the Ducati is so fast in a straight line that I couldn’t pass him cleanly, then I didn’t want to panic and try and go too fast, as it’s easy to wear out the tyres, as we saw in the sprint race. I just stayed calm and almost timed it right at the end. It’s a bit frustrating because I felt that, looking at the times, I probably had the pace to challenge the Kawasakis for a podium but when you’re three seconds behind at the end of the second lap then, round here, it’s hard to make that time up. It’s a shame, but I’ll take fifth place and see if we can have a stronger round next time out in Thailand.”
Alex Lowes – Image by Geebee
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) – 5th overall
“I got a really good start and my pace was fast, but I was a little worried about using the tyre too quickly. I didn’t want to slow down, as I wanted to stay with the two Kawasakis, but when Marco came past me I felt like I was having to push the tyre just a little bit too much to stay with him. I just decided to do my own rhythm, which was not as quick as I’d have liked, but I knew it was the only way to ride the race. Towards the end the Kawasakis were slowing and so was Marco, which allowed me to catch and pass him on the last lap. I’m happy enough with fourth place after struggling all weekend with the durability of the tyres. We had some problems but we still picked up a lot of points here in Phillip Island.”
Michael van der Mark
Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) – 6th overall
“It was good to get on two podiums today. In the ten-lap sprint race I was a little cautious and I got caught behind the Yamahas, so I settled. I thought I had a little bit in hand to catch Jonathan in the final race. I tried to make my own rhythm for the first four laps. After this I tried to save the tyre and which then created a group of five riders. It was a nice easy rhythm and I was feeling good with my pace. Johnny and I had some good passes; good battles. My plan was to go away with two laps to go, then he passed me into turn one and I ran a little wide. At the same time he went 0.4 of a second faster. I went with him and caught him up on the last lap but I felt like I had been caught out a little bit. To battle with Jonathan in my first race weekend of the year, with his record in this class, I am happy. ”
“Overall it’s been a really good weekend for me, with eighth place in both races and also seventh in the sprint race. For my very first WorldSBK weekend I think It’s been positive, even if we had some issues with the tyres during the weekend and a small technical issue in race two, which meant I was happy to finish in eighth place. Top ten was the goal and we managed that in both races, I learned a lot over the weekend and it was much better than during testing and now I can’t wait for Thailand.”
Sandro Cortese
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing Ducati #7) – 8th overall
“We managed to make some progress in race 2 and I felt a bit better with the V4 R, which is the most important thing. After yesterday’s result, we had nothing to lose so the guys in the team made some major changes that allowed me to slightly improve my race pace. I’m still a bit disappointed because we didn’t expect this result, but we picked up a lot of useful data to understand what I need for the next race. My congratulations to Álvaro, because he was really impressive all throughout the weekend.”
Chaz Davies – TBG Image
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) – 9th overall
“It has been a challenging day but I have to say that our results do not reflect where we really are. It is just unfortunate that at the moment the bike still has some limitations in the straight line performance but it’s still very early days and on the positive side we have a very good chassis set-up. During the race we were able to make some good passes but then lost it again on the easy part of the track. We have shown we are capable of running in the top 5 during all tests and practices and when we are riding alone, so we know which area we have to work on the bike. We have some race mileage under our belt and I know that now the entire BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team will work hard to keep progressing like we did in the winter.”
Tom Sykes
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) – 11th
“In the sprint race I did not start well and my front tire started to slide almost immediately. I could still finish in ninth place, but unfortunately on the last lap another driver bumped me and made me fall. I got back in the saddle but I could not do better than fifteenth. In race 2 I had a good start. When I was joined by Davies I followed him and I went up to the seventh place. Unfortunately, my rear tire started to deteriorate. The rubber and a small technical problem forced me to retire. A real shame because I could have won a good result. I will try to get back to Thailand in the next round.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu
Michael Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team) – 12th overall
“The overall opinion on the weekend is positive, we have always been growing until the race this morning where I managed to go strong. In race 2, despite a good start, I immediately realized that something was wrong. I tried to stay on track, but a few laps from the end I had to stop at the pit. I wanted to come back to finish the race and try to understand if we could solve the problem, but at that point the result was compromised. Now we will try to understand well what happened so that the inconvenience does not occur again.”
Michael Rinaldi – Image by Rob Mott
Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) – 14th overall
“Things unexpectedly turned out more complicated today, but this was our first race and we still have a few bits and pieces to adapt. There is still some important work to do on the bike and we need to keep pushing to get the results we want. Rivals are strong, but I am certain that we will be back stronger in Thailand”.
Jordi Torres – Image by Rob Mott
Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) – 15th overall
“Today was much better than yesterday. I really enjoyed the race. Even though I missed my goal, the top 10, I could at least see that it was possible. I would have had the necessary pace if I had not started so far back after difficulties in qualifying and if I had done a better start. In the race itself I had a better feeling from the beginning on and above all more self-confidence. Although the grip level was even worse at today’s high temperatures than yesterday, we did a good job and took another step in the right direction. I was able to out-brake some opponents and gain a lot in the corners – that’s what our BMW S 1000 RR is really phenomenal in. Unfortunately overtaking is still difficult for us because we lose at the corner exit and on the straight. I take the positives: the top 10 were possible, the feeling is better and the direction is right. I would like to thank the entire team that works tirelessly to make this progress possible. We are competing in the world championship, that’s not a walk in the park. We are a very young project and the potential is definitely there. Now I can’t wait until we are heading to the next races.”
Markus Reiterberger – Image by Rob Mott
Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) – 16th overall
“Yesterday I felt really good and felt we had the potential to be pushing with Melandri and Cortese, but in this morning’s race I didn’t have the same feeling and struggled to do what I wanted on track. This afternoon I felt better on the bike, but I lost some time early on and that did not help of course. There are still a few areas where we are losing in fact. We have definitely made some progress over the weekend, some really good progress. But we have still work to do to get to where we want be. It will be a step by step process of improving.”
“It was important to finish all the races over the weekend and to gain as much data and experience as possible. This morning we improved our position compared to yesterday, and it was good to be able to do so over a shorter distance, even if I didn’t score any points. We made another little step in the afternoon and reached the points zone, but of course we need and want to do better than this.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari
Alessandro Delbianco (Althea MIE Racing Team)
“Our first race weekend hasn’t gone as we’d hoped of course. Unfortunately, I made a mistake this morning that didn’t allow us to finish the sprint race and then, in race 2, a crash in the initial stages prevented me from reaching the line. Luck was not on our side here, but it’s all experience that we will take with us to the next rounds.”
Alessandro Delbianco
Team Managers
Stefano Cecconi, CEO Aruba and Team Principal
“It was virtually a perfect weekend for Álvaro, he dominated almost every session and showed he had the margin to manage every situation. We have got off to the best possible start, but we must remain with our feet firmly on the ground and continue to work hard to achieve the maximum results possible on the other tracks with both of our riders.”
Alvaro Bautista – Image by Rob Mott
Andrea Dosoli (Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager)
“Overall we can be happy with the performance we have shown in Australia; a very consistent performance by all four riders who were in the top eight in three races here. This shows the maturity of both and the operation at the racetrack. We were also able to confirm the performance of the bike that we saw during winter testing at a racetrack where we’ve struggled a little in the past. It was also gratifying to see that our YZF-R1 was competitive in the hands of Michael and Alex, who have a lot of experience with the bike, and also with Marco and Sandro, who were racing the bike for the first time here in Australia. While this weekend was a good start to the season, it is also clear where we have to improve, so we leave here satisfied but also motivated to close the gap further to our competitors. Seeing our four bikes fighting together on the track is a clear sign that our project is going in the right direction and for that I’d like to thank the riders, the teams and all the Yamaha staff for their hard work and dedication.”
Alex Lowes
Shaun Muir – BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal
“We’ve got to be realistic and we have probably reached our goals for the first time we have raced the BMW S 1000 RR. So we are very happy. We have had no major incidents and I think that we have proved that the bike is going to be competitive very soon. We clearly have our limitations at the moment and we will work hard on sorting them out in the break until the next races. Both riders rode very well and both have been very patient to understand that we need to work for the development parts to come through. So from my side the overall summary is that we can look forward to a very competitive bike over the course of the season. We just need to be patient and wait for that to arrive.”
Tom Sykes – Image by Rob Mott
Giordano Mozzi Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki Team Manager
“Not bad, we had a lot of fun and today we had a good chance to score a P8-P9 in WorldSBK with Jordi, displaying a good race pace and competitiveness. The second race has also been a bit unlucky, but we managed to put in great lap times especially in the second part, which makes us positive for Thailand. Badovini finally had the chance to ride a competitive bike in WorldSSP and this means that the whole team worked in the right direction”.
Alvaro Bautista is the new kid on the block of the WSBK and he is certain to get into some pretty heavy street fights as he establishes himself in the World Supers gang. He is definitely not adverse to a good old brawl after his days in the tiddlers of 125cc and 250cc GP racing ascertain, before his graduation to the cauldron of MotoGP.
Álvaro Bautista – Image by Geebee
Of those that have switched from GP to World Supers, Bautista, at 34 years old, has arguably the second best resume behind Max Biaggi: A 125cc World Championship in 2006, second in the 2008 250cc championship behind the late Marco Simoncelli and three podiums during his nine years in MotoGP.
Not too bloody shabby.
Last year he scored 12 top ten finishes in MotoGP. An impressive result on what was a second, or maybe third-tier Ducati, so it is somewhat of a surprise to see that he was squeezed out of the MotoGP paddock.
However, with such impressive stats, Ducati showed faith and offered the seat in the factory WSBK team, at the expense of Marco Melandri. After two days testing and topping the sheets on both days with consistent sub lap record performances Bautista was, naturally, upbeat.
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image
His best lap of the two days (1:30.303) would have put him eighth on the grid of last years Oz GP (in front of Petrucci). In reality last year he qualified 12th, some two seconds slower with a 1:32 lap, although he progressed from Q1 to Q2 with a blistering time of 1:29.851.
Trivial statistics, yes, but remember what Carlos Checa did when he dropped back to the World Superbikes with no where near the record of Bautista?
Bracksy joined the media scrum to get the low down on his two days of testing.
Alvaro Bautista Interview
Alvaro Bautista: “It was a positive day for us, we worked in the morning to make another step forward with the setup, like we did yesterday, but we didn’t find what we expected, so at the end we came back in the afternoon to try and see how the bike works after the same laps. In the afternoon we tried to do a long run and we did it, but I had to stop after three laps because it’s starting some sprinkling.
“Then I restarted again with the same tyres, the same spec, and I’m quite happy because the feeling with the bike was good, the pace was quite fast and at the end I felt the drop off of the tyre, especially in the last four laps. The tyres went down a lot. But you know, normally in the race you try to always manage the tyre consumption and also your energies. Today it was not necessary to manage, so I tried to push hard from the beginner and I didn’t have a big big problem until the last four laps, specially at the tyre, when too much drop.
Alvaro Bautista – Image by TBG Sport
“But in any case I’m happy because also, we get some data for the weekend, for the electronics to try to save a little bit more of the tyre, and to try to don’t feel last a big drop from the tyre. So we work with the electronics to help me to manage this situation.”
“The only question mark for me is, I mean to say something of the tyre, because the pace is I think good, but then when the tyre comes down/drop, but I think the problem is for everybody not just for me, no? Also you know at the beginning of the long run I was more than half race, I was doing 30s, faster than the lap record of the track, so I think when you are so fast, the tyre is more used and at the end you have more problem. But in normal race, maybe you can manage specially in the first half of the race, to push more at the end, or depends how you feel. So today nothing to manage, just tried to push the maximum as possible and I did, and I saw the results.”
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image
“There was less strong wind than yesterday, but the track today was a bit cooler, and with this tyre if it’s too hot, the tyre is worse. Yesterday the track temperature was over 40 degrees, today it was in between 30-35 degrees, so the condition was better for the tyres. For that I think the other riders can improve. I didn’t try to improve my lap time from this morning, because our target is to do the long run.
“In the afternoon I did one exit before the long run, just to understand the front tyre, because in the morning, I had to use the soft compound in the front, but for me it’s not the best tyre for the race. In the afternoon I did one start, with the hard – to see that everything was good, and then the long run as we didn’t have enough from the hard tyre to try in the morning. So for this, I didn’t try to push in the afternoon to make a better lap time.”
Do you think 29s possible if you push?
Alvaro Bautista: “At the moment, no more riding and yesterday nobody can make a 29, but I think nothing is impossible, with tyres or with qualifying tyre, we’ll see.“
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image
Is the feeling better here than at Jerez? With the heavy braking into turn four, with the tyre strength?
Alvaro Bautista: “In Jerez I don’t know if because it’s a new surface or what, but the feeling with the bike, was not really good. The most important was Imola was a new track for me. But also here we started to work here with the bike, just yesterday the bike was from Ducati and I ride the same bike. But with some data we decided to make some modifications, the geometry here, and for sure today we did nice step forward. Maybe with this tyre now I arrive at Jerez and can go faster. But when you don’t know the bike and you don’t the tyres, you have to adapt and start to work and understand, so for me, I think we don’t arrive today the maximum yet, so we are on the right way, but still much work to do.”
But it’s not impossible to win?
Alvaro Bautista: “We’ll see in the races, everything can happen no? At the moment I feel very comfortable and my target is try to give to the riders that in the past of the superbikes, to give them a bit more stress *laughs*.”
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image
You’ve started already.
Alvaro Bautista: “Exactly that’s my target at the moment, win a race, we’ll see, that would be my first race in superbike and my first race for these bikes, so for sure we’ll try our maximum, at the moment, and the pace is quite good and the race is saturday or sunday, so not now.”
Mark Bracks: This might be a stupid question but the main different between this and the MotoGP bike.
Alvaro Bautista: “The power… you feel it especially in the track like this one, that are very fast, exit from the corner I remember with the MotoGP, just the bike push a lot. This bike seems like it seems like you are stop. So that’s the biggest difference.”
As the dawn of a new season beckons in the Superbike World Championship there has been a lot of focus on the rpm limits imposed on the various new models in the title chase this year.
Much of that focus has been aimed at the new Ducati Panigale V4 R, and how high it is allowed to rev compared to other machines in the class, and/or whether the bike appears, again, to have an “unfair” advantage compared to the rest of the field.
Alvaro Bautista proved dominant at the official Phillip Island Test on the Ducati V4 R
To get the low down, Bracksy hunted down the FIM WSBK Technical Director, Scott Smart, to get the inside story on the process used to achieve the results that were implemented into he new Tech Regs for 2019 season.
Scott Smart is the FIM WSBK Technical Director, and was born in to a family of motorcycle racers and is related to the late, great Barry Sheene. He has a degree in Physics and has raced in the British Superbike Championship, World Supersport and Grand Prix in the 500cc and 250cc categories.
Over the years he has run his own teams and been involved in both the mechanical and electronic aspects of motorcycles, from building and tuning engines, to producing the wiring harnesses for a number of BSB teams. He has also acted as a crew chief in MotoGP, whilst continuing to race. But since 2014 he has been the FIM Technical Director for the Superbike World Championship.
Scott Smart – Image by GeeBee
Scott Smart Interview
Mark Bracks: So the changes for the year, what do they entail and what do they mean?
Scott Smart: “Basically we’ve got a bunch of new riders on a bunch of new bikes and as a result they need starting points for the revs. The way the revs starting point works; you take the street bike, check where the rev limiter is, which is the most horrifying thing on the dyno runs in the factory, and that gives us standard street bike max revs, and we add three per cent to that and it gives us a figure.
The V4 R in the hands of Alvaro Bautista and boasting the 16,350rpm rev limit was the talk of the town – Image by TBG Sport
“We also do a bunch of dyno runs and step tests to let us know to the nearest 100rpm to where the maximum power is. We then add 1100rpm to that, and of those two figures we use the lower ones. That way none of the manufacturers can put a fake really high rev limiter in it. We get basically a sensible point of the power curve to define the rev limit, relative to the street bike.”
Mark Bracks: That answers the question everyone is asking me, why the Ducatis have so many more rpm to play with…
Scott Smart: “So basically when you rev that thing on the dyno, it’ll go to 16,500rpm in top gear, unreal – you’ve never seen it before in a 1000cc superbike. So in most gears it’s 16,000rpm, and top gear is up to 16500rpm. Almost like over-run, I don’t want to even think what speed you could do on the thing, and it also makes quite a lot of horsepower doesn’t it.
“If we based it on 16,000 or 16,500rpm plus 3 per cent we’d be 16,500-16,600 plus, or 17,000 in top, but that would be unrealistic, as the bike makes its peak horsepower at 15,250, so we add the 1100 to that, and get 16,350rpm, which is where we set the rev limiter and that seems pretty reasonable. But it does seem to be ripping down the straight quite quickly.”
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image
Mark Bracks: So nothing can change this weekend, but is it still a three meeting thing?
Scott Smart: “The official way we do it is every three meetings, unless we rock up at the first race and realise it’s a complete disaster. If you actually look at the time sheets the Ducati does have the highest top speed, but looking at the lap times it’s only in the hands of one rider. It’s not all four Ducatis are romping away by a second a lap.
“It’s just one Ducati that’s quickest and the next best is 10th at the moment, so it’s obviously a hard motorcycle to ride. So as a result there’ll be no knee jerk, emergency reaction. It’s in the rules in case the starting point is completely wrong, but from the results I’ve seen so far, that’s not going to be needed. It’s looking like it’ll shape up to be a pretty good race.”
Jonathan Rea – Image by Geebee
Mark Bracks: With tyres you always have a problem here, but the weather isn’t going to be the same today as it will be on Sunday, it’ll be warmer.
Scott Smart: “If it gets really hot, the grip will actually be going down, which is actually easier on the tyres. But looking at the weather report we’re looking at 25-27 degrees and maybe a bit of a clearer sky, so it’s going to be tough on the tyres. They developed a bunch of different new tyres, but that’s all been done in overcast quite chilly conditions, and like we said, it’s going to be warmer, and until they test the tyres on Friday, nobody really knows. The idea was – every year since I’ve had this job – that this would be the first year without problems…”
Is there any suggestion that Pirelli just make a special tyre for here?
Scott Smart: “They basically do make specials for here, the question mark has been, can you make one that’s two seconds a lap slower that lasts, and I think that’s been the aim, but it’s a really grippy aggressive surface here, so it doesn’t seem to matter, even if you take away all the grip, it still grips, as the surface is so grippy, so it just tears the tyre to pieces. Unfortunately it looks like we’ll have problems again.”
Mark Bracks: With that 10 lap sprint race, will they be running a softer tyre so they can go harder?
Scott Smart: “In Europe there will be a softer tyre, here it’s still the normal race tyre.”
Mark Bracks: Tyre allowances, because of the extra race?
Scott Smart: “It changes slightly, but it’s quite dynamic anyway, it’s not the same every weekend, as it’s not the same tyres every weekend. Some championships like BSB have a soft and a hard, the same every week. MotoGP it’s not actually the same tyres there either. But here Pirelli has developed tyres more for the circuits and usually there should be eight of the two favourites, and five or six of the other options. Actually what they thought was going to be the allocation for the weekend, will be shuffled up a bit now, as they’ll try and provide more of the harder wearing tyres.”
Giorgio Barbieri, Pirelli Head of Motorsport Operations Interview
With Mark Bracks
Mark Bracks catches up with Pirelli’s Head of Motorsport Operations, Giorgio Barbieri, to discuss the unique stresses that Phillip Island puts on tyres, tyre solutions for 2019 and how testing panned out this week.
Mark Bracks: Giorgio, so the solutions, what did you bring this year?
Giorgio Barbieri: “We didn’t forget Phillip Island! It is impossible to come here, to not make an interesting test. We are always looking what’s happening in the Aussie championship and we are quite happy because we had the majority agree the results are good.
Alvaro Bautista topped the official WorldSBK Test at Phillip Island
“The competitive national championship is growing, and I saw some riders participating in an international race out of Australia as well, which is good, including the Suzuka 8 Hour.
“When we come here for WorldSBK we always meet the same problems, usually in the first two day test session, things are OK. While yesterday (Monday) we started seeing something strange already as far as blistering, not a problem with temperature – I wouldn’t try to give you an excuse – but what I can consider is that this is the first race of the year for everyone, not all the teams work during the winter, so they are not so used to preparing certain bikes for the race.
“Probably if you came at the end of the season the bike riders and teams are perfect and the work is easier. The first race of the season is very difficult so you can see some very different performance from the teams, not only in lap time – as yesterday the lap times were already too fast. But also to run the tyres under a lot of pressure, so they’ll run longer, so we can see what we can do for the race weekend.
Tyres have historically been an issue at Phillip Island… including last year
“To be frank, I was so excited about the flag by flag race last year, it was a very big show. We tried to put this formula into the WorldSBK [the pit stop] as it’s very interesting, but the teams are not all agreed on this form. I don’t know what we’ll do for the weekend, I wouldn’t like to arrive at the decision at the last moment because someone has problems and someone does not. So it’s a matter of preparation. But if the field is not ready… We’ll discuss after two days of evidence, and the conditions may change, the track may improve. It’s not just a case of 15 to 20 laps, it’s all about everyone using the same formula.
“We take all of the last season, in order to have a bigger campaign to study for the race tyres, we analysed all the tyres from every single race, to understand the level of fatigue and stress after the race, so we have some numbers now in mind. That’s why we prefer to prepare the special solutions for when we come here, considering what spares we got.
“But as usual when we come here, everything is changed around.
Mark Bracks: How many tyres did you bring for the test and the weekend?
Giorgio Barbieri: “We brought for the teams two rear Superbike and two rear Supersport, in reference to the last year’s race, and one new one. Nothing asymmetrical. This is part of the reason why the approach to this race is always difficult for us. We would like to make this race just like everywhere else around the world. But this is not the place so common.
Jonathan Rea – Image by Geebee
“Our philosophy is this one, we would like to give your riders here a different type of tyre for Phillip island and another tyre for the rest of the races in the national championship. They need a range that works over the national championship. So if I have to improve my range in my work on WSBK, I can’t consider the race different to all the other fields, this is one point of strength, and one point from the other side.
“Pirelli has to decide, like MotoGP has different tyres every race, playing with the compound, or with WSBK the tyres have to work here, the United States, Africa, and this is the problem.
“For the race, it’s just a matter to see what happens here today. We have other specification already for the race, Superbike and Supersport, but before we put something different it creates more confusion with the team’s work.”
Mark Bracks: The latest spec’ we have for the Aussie Superbikes were bigger.
Giorgio Barbieri: “We developed the new sizes in Imola and Misano, and then we tested here. Last year we brought a new size, a 265, slightly bigger than the standard 260 for Phillip Island. The teams said, it seems fine, seems interesting, so after the race, they use 50/50 old and new ones, SC0/SC1, so it seemed like it was something more than just a tyre for Phillip Island. So we brought it to Imola, then from Imola to all the races.
Alex Lowes – Image by Geebee
“So all the teams moved from the old size to the new one. From Misano we improved the front as well to balance, and by the end of the season everyone used the big one. So for Phillip Island from this point of view, I had to ask to develop new tyres from the range, and as soon as the result were so fine, so far, we put it into production, the new sizes as a SC1 and SC0, and given to all the markets. Now we make our development in the World Superbike Championship, but we would like the markets to test the new sizes to understand how much they prefer this to the standard ones.
“So now we have all the standard range [260] and the new ones [265]. This year we’ll work to create the whole range of compounds in the new sizes, and at the end of the season we can decide whether to keep the old one or the new one. Australia was the first country all over the world to tell me that they would like to have this as the range of tyres and homologate for the championship and I trust my riders.
“So it’s interesting to me that the country with just three choices of sizes decided to homologate and take the new one.”
Mark: In the ASBK test, the feedback was that it would want to fall into the corner quicker.
Giorgio Barbieri: “After Imola the riders asked for a different front, as the rear was pushing more the front, so we needed a bigger front, and stiffer front, so now all the WSBK are using the bigger front. Why are people using the little one? Because they aren’t confident yet. So I asked Gary [Crilly] when the other guys arrive, like Bayliss, Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki they will have the chance to ask the WSBK technician what to do to the bike to prepare for the new sizes, and they will immediately make upgrade to their performance. If they start from nothing it will take time, if they take the experience gained in WSBK, they’ll gain time.”
Troy Bayliss testing the new Pirelli tyres in the earlier ASBK test- Image by TBG
Mark Bracks: The Australian Superbike tyre is the same as the WSBK then?
Giorgio Barbieri: “Absolutely.”
Mark Bracks: What about Supersport? In the last couple of years we’ve seen, delaminating, more-so in the race and more critical.
Giorgio Barbieri: “Supersport is more so difficult, because of the size rims. We can’t make a bigger tyre due to the rim sizes being too narrow, so we make it bigger but then it stretch on the rim. We don’t have so many tester, Superbike has many testers more than Supersport.
Aussie Tom Toparis is wild carding in Supersport – Image by TBG Sport
“So we agreed with Dorna to do one test in Portugal in August for Supersport as well, and we’ll concentrate the test on Australian tyres. In order to have more experience in Supersport about this. In Supersport they lean more, less electronics, and higher temperature on the tyres than the Superbikes sometimes, which is why they cook the tyre more.”
Mark Bracks: So in Portimao in August, you’ll be testing there because it’s a little bit similar to Australia?
Giorgio Barbieri: “Portimao we know is very hot and the long corner, brings you down in the lane, is where we see the next highest temperature to Phillip Island, but 20-30C less, but more than all the other circuit in Europe, so this is something, not enough but something. If you come here [Phillip Island] in December and you make a test, you might not have any problem, but come in February and *click*…
World Superbikes will head to Portimao for a test later in the year, including for Supersport
“Several years ago we brought the Ducati’s from Europe, and we brought Troy Bayliss to test, we made a test here in December, the test were perfect, we tried to race and… I don’t really know what to do in this place.
“It’s almost impossible to find the right condition to test. Or we have to convince ourselves to make something completely different than what we normally like to make to suit these conditions for the laps we need.”
Mark Bracks: How different are the Supersport tyres, do they have a stiffer sidewall?
Giorgio Barbieri: “Yes and some of them do and are testing now. In Superbike as well they have a carcass stiffer than the usual one, and it’s a little heavier than the usual one as we make some reinforcement inside. But the thing is, is this the point or not?”
Mark Bracks: I was going to say with the extra weight, more inertia, more heat…
Giorgio Barbieri: “That might be why it’s not working. I hope to see some long run testing in the afternoon session.
Mark Bracks: Have you seen the difference in temperature between today and Sunday?
Giorgio Barbieri: “Yes, I saw the forecast but I’m not worried about this. It’s the heat generated into the tyre, it’s a matter of operative temperature, during the use. If the bike is loading the rear tyre in order to reach a certain level of temp, and overclimb this level and keep this higher level, you destroy the compound.
“So which way to keep this temperature down, is more in the team’s behaviour and the riders, and race administration. I know quite well how the MotoGP riders are used to managing the tyres, in the last lap they use it. But if they use this lap time in the beginning…
“In this championship they aren’t used to administrating the tyres, and in this place, this causes the problem. But yesterday we saw Bautista use an intelligent way to run very fast but keeping within the range and average temperature.
“This is the right attitude, I remember several years ago we tried with Troy Bayliss, he had the best Ducati, he was the man in this place, and he won the Race 1 with 12s advantage, and we saw some blister on the tyres. I said Troy, if we make like this in the second race, when the temp is higher, you will meet problems at the end of the race, try not to take 12s, but just the right amount, which was foolish to say to the rider. But he did, he came first on the second race, it was by 3s and the tyre was perfect. But it’s not my job to ask the riders and teams to administrate.”
Mark Bracks: So with the Supersport tyre, have you gone harder compound all over?
Giorgio Barbieri: “No, it’s always the same compound as used in Superbike, the mother of SC1, I don’t trust giving another compound will save us from the problem, because the more slip you’ve got the more temperature you’ve got. Here it’s always a combination of mechanical and chemical stress, one of the two creates the problem. So you have to keep the right amount of grip, and at the same time, not too much. More grip is the compound and more heating from the tread, but if you don’t give enough tread you get heating because of wheel spin.”
Alvaro Bautista – Image by Geebee
Mark Bracks: It’s the never ending chasing of the tail as they say… Is there any plan B for the tyres for the weekend?
Giorgio Barbieri: “We will discuss on Thursday in order to make a decision on the morning, rather than waiting for anything to happen on Friday. We will decide what kind of race we’ll have then!”
The count down is on for this weekend’s (Feb 22-24) season opener of the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, Yamaha Finance round at Australia’s spectacular Phillip Island. Racing looks set to be hot; and the weather is forecast to be perfect for fans and for on-circuit camping with 25-28 degree days predicted.
