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WSBK Aragon R1 | Another 15-second victory for Bautista

April 7, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

2019 WSBK
Round Three – Aragon

WSBK Superpole
Pos	.Rider	Bike	Time	Gap
1	A. BAUTISTA	Ducati Panigale V4 R	1’49.049	0.000
2	S. CORTESE	Yamaha YZF R1	1’49.414	0.365
3	T. SYKES	BMW S1000 RR	1’49.557	0.508
4	A. LOWES	Yamaha YZF R1	1’49.563	0.514
5	M. RINALDI	Ducati Panigale V4 R	1’49.689	0.640
6	E. LAVERTY	Ducati Panigale V4 R	1’49.722	0.673
7	M. REITERBERGER	BMW S1000 RR	1’49.779	0.730
8	C. DAVIES	Ducati Panigale V4 R	1’49.970	0.921
9	J. TORRES	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	1’49.984	0.935
10	J. REA	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	1’50.013	0.964
11	M. VAN DER MARK	Yamaha YZF R1	1’50.264	1.215
12	L. HASLAM	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	1’50.383	1.334
13	M. MELANDRI	Yamaha YZF R1	1’50.560	1.511
14	L. CAMIER	Honda CBR1000RR	1’50.812	1.763
15	L. MERCADO	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	1’50.822	1.773
16	T. RAZGATLIOGLU	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	1’50.985	1.936
17	R. KIYONARI	Honda CBR1000RR	1’52.716	3.667
18	A. DELBIANCO	Honda CBR1000RR	1’52.769	3.720

WorldSBK Race One

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.

WSBK Aragon R Rea — 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.

WSBK Aragon R Davies Rea Lowes VdMark — 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.

WSBK Aragon R Davies Rea Lowes — 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.

WSBK Aragon R Bautista — 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!”

WSBK Aragon R Bautista Celebrate — 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.”

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.”

WSBK Aragon R Davies VanderMark — 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.”

WSBK Aragon R Lowes Sykes — 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.”

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.”

WSBK Aragon R VanDerMark — 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.”

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	////	////
RET	36 L. MERCADO	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	////	////
RET	28 M. REITERBERGER	BMW S1000 RR	////	////

WSBK Aragon R Podium Bautista Rea Davies — #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.

WSBK Aragon WSS Caricasulo — 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.

WSBK Aragon WSS Krummenacher — 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”.

WSBK Aragon WSS Gradinger — 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.

WSBK Aragon WorldSSP Sat DeCancellis — 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.

WSBK Aragon WorldSSP Sat Hendra Pratama — 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”.

WSBK Aragon WorldSSP Sat Group — WorldSSP300

WorldSSP300 MotorLand Aragon Tissot Superpole

Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) 2’06.938
Galang Hendra Pratama (Motoport Kawasaki) 2’06.958
Hugo De Cancellis (Team Trasimeno) 2’07.532

Source: MCNews.com.au

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#AragonWorldSBK🇪🇸 ‪🏁 Aragon ‪🗓 Sunday 7 April ‪📋 SPRC ‪⌚ 11.00 (10.00 UK) ‪📺 Live Eurosport UK…

April 6, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

#AragonWorldSBK🇪🇸 ‪🏁 Aragon
‪🗓 Sunday 7 April ‪📋 SPRC
‪⌚ 11.00 (10.00 UK)
‪📺 Live Eurosport UK 2‬
‪☀‬11*C
‪🏍 10 mins
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook

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Rea Second In Aragon Race One

April 6, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

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. http://jonathan-rea.com/news/rea-second-aragon-race-one

Jonathan Rea took his Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10RR to a strong and determined second place at Motorland Aragon in the opening race
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook

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#AragonWorldSBK🇪🇸 ‪🏁 Aragon ‪🗓 Saturday 16 March ‪📋 Race 1 ‪⌚ 14.00 (13.00 UK) ‪📺 Live Eurosport…

April 6, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

#AragonWorldSBK🇪🇸 ‪🏁 Aragon ‪🗓 Saturday 16 March
‪📋 Race 1
‪⌚ 14.00 (13.00 UK)
‪📺 Live Eurosport UK 2‬
‪☀ 14*C ‪🏍 18 Laps
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News, WSBK

Four different brands in the top four at Aragon on Friday

April 5, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

Round Three – Aragon – Friday Report

Alvaro Bautista soon got down to work at Aragon to head the field once again as he edged towards the outright WorldSBK lap record at MotorLand Aragon. Rain started to fall towards the end of the session, meaning there were little improvements in the final two minutes.

Álvaro Bautista – P1

“The weekend here at Aragón has begun really well because I immediately found the right feeling with the bike, like in the first two rounds of the season. My confidence level with the Panigale V4 R continues to grow rapidly and here on my home circuit it all seems even easier. Today we did a good job but we have to keep one eye on the uncertain weather conditions for the weekend. I’ve never lapped with this bike in the wet and so in case of rain I will have to get used to the conditions very quickly. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’m very confident I can do a good qualifying run to start on the front row for race 1.”

WSBK Aragon Bautista — Álvaro Bautista – P1

Ducati Team-mate Chaz Davies failed to improve on his time and finished in ninth position. The Welshman had a few on-track issues, so will hope that they are put to bed ahead of the races on Saturday and Sunday.

Chaz Davies – P9

“This morning’s session was quite decent, but then I had a frustrating second session in the afternoon. We played around with the bike a little but it felt like it changed quite a lot, and I got a bit more comfortable with it at the end of the second session then three-quarters of the way round my fast lap I hit a wall of rain so had to abort. I felt we made a bit of progress with some of the vibration issues we’ve been having but it changed the bike quite a bit so there are pros and cons. With a good run I think we shouldn’t be in too bad a shape with race pace so we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) continued his strong start to the Motocard Aragon Round, improving his time to be just over half-a-second from Alvaro Bautista’s lap time. Lowes hasn’t achieved back-to-back front row starts since the Losail International Circuit in 2017 and looks set to put the record straight.

Alex Lowes – P2

“It was a good start to the weekend today. We stayed on the same tyres for this afternoon’s session and, while I couldn’t do a long run because I’m still struggling a little bit with my wrist and don’t want to work it too hard ahead of the race, my pace was quite strong and I felt good on the bike. It was certainly the best feeling I’ve had on this track, which is really positive, and now I’m looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow and trying to improve in a couple of areas.”

Team-mate Michael van der Mark however seemed subdued and was outside of the top ten for some of the session. In the final eight minutes, the Dutchman went tenth but would finish 12th overall.

Michael van der Mark – P12

“This morning wasn’t too bad; I felt quite good on the bike, the gap to Alex wasn’t so big and it was clear in which areas we needed to improve. This afternoon we had a small technical problem which meant I missed a few minutes at the start of the session, and after that I just struggled to feel comfortable on the bike. We reverted to a set-up closer to the one we ran this morning, which felt a little bit better and, together with a new set of tyres, allowed me to improve my lap time, but not as much as I expected. We have some work to do tonight, as I was struggling a bit mid-corner, but I’m confident we can find a solution ahead of qualifying.”

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) continued his pursuit at the front of the field, with the reigning four-time world champion putting a good lap in towards the end of the session to cement third position and just 0.023 from Alex Lowes’ Yamaha.

Jonathan Rea – P3

“Not too bad today but this morning I struggled with some things, on the bike and with myself in the way I was riding. Things were not happening naturally. This afternoon we made some changes and I felt immediately more at home. We were just evaluating and trying to make subtle changes because we do not have too much time anymore, with two sessions on Friday in 2019. You do not have another chance now to make a change. Pirelli have also brought some different front and rear tyres to test. On the front I tried the ‘C’ option tyre which is more like the SC2 family that I liked before. We are making progress.”

Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a quiet session and remained towards the rear end of the top ten, placing seventh on combined times and improving his time at the end of the session.

Leon Haslam – P7

“I am not too worried about our position in the rankings today but I was struggling a little bit. Not so much with the track but with the feeling while getting the bike stopped. It is one of those circuits where you have to be in a good smooth rhythm and at the minute I am not too confident getting the bike into the corners. It is something we are going to work on. The times are pretty close for the majority of them, around mid 1’50s, to low 1’51s. Round here, you have to be at that rhythm to be in the fight. I feel that we will be there, that is not an issue. I just have to get my confidence set, especially on corner entry.”

It was an impressive FP2 for 2013 WorldSBK Champion Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who put in a blistering lap time at the end of the session to go fourth overall. Sykes has won twice at Aragon and is looking to push the BMW further towards the pointy end of the field, pushing hard enough to suffer a small crash at Turn 1, losing the front end of the S1000RR.

Tom Sykes – P4

“I am really enjoying riding my BMW S 1000 RR here in Aragon, again we are still losing a lot of time in the final sector along the back straight however we are very strong in the corners. The second session we ended up in fourth which is quite good really considering many things. Rather than trying out long runs during the day I opted in making a few chassis and electronic changes so we had quite a lot to do. I had a small crash in T1 which set us back a little, but I am happy with information from today, I am expecting we put this together into an ever better package for tomorrow.”

His teammate, Markus Reiterberger, had a much better session than in the morning. The German placed in eighth overall, as the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team continue to improve their bike’s aerodynamics, as well as dominating the sector times in sector three.

Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) had his best session of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, improving to fifth overall. Top Independent rider, the Irishman has continued to build on the steps he and the team made in Thailand, making for a promising European stint of the season.

Fellow Independent team rival, Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was just a fraction off the 2013 runner-up’s pace in sixth position.

Sandro Cortese – P6

“A very positive opening. We worked hard between FP1 and FP2 because I struggled a lot initially this morning, but throughout the day we managed to improve a lot by making some big changes to the set-up of the bike. Of course, it was made more difficult by the fact that this my first time here on the Superbike and, while I know the racetrack, it’s different on the bigger bike. In FP2 the pace was there and now we need to see tomorrow how the race will go.”

Italian rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) was impressive and broke into the top ten, whilst also placing top Italian, as Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) struggled in 11th position.

Marco Melandri – P11

“it’s been one of the most difficult days in the Yamaha R1 for me. I arrived with good expectations, as I have always had good results at this track, but today was very difficult. I was struggling to brake, to get the bike stopped, and getting the bike turned was also an issue, so it was not easy. We tried a lot of different things, but the result was the same. Tomorrow we will try to find a solution in the final free practice session by making some changes to the character of the bike, especially in the areas where, at the moment, I don’t feel very comfortable.”

It was a disappointing day for the Moriwaki Althea Honda Team, who were 16th and 17th with Leon Camier and Ryuichi Kiyonari respectively.

Leon Camier – P16

“Of course, I’m not fully fit yet. It will take some time to get back to normal, despite not having needed an operation. That said, we are not where we want to be with the bike’s set-up either. We made a change for the second session, but it didn’t take us in the right direction. The positive thing is that we understand where we need to go with the bike in order to be faster but at the same time it’s not so easy to achieve the right setting. It takes time. Hopefully we will be able to make some steps tomorrow if the weather stays fine”.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – P17

“This morning I rode the Aragon track for the first time, and I must say I enjoyed it, even if it was a challenge at first. There are a lot of blind corners and to find the references and good lines took some time. I was feeling quite good towards the end of the session anyway. The afternoon session was disappointing as we were not able to make an improvement in terms of bike set-up. Weather conditions did not help of course but this was the same for everyone. Tomorrow we will start again with a positive mentality and do our best to improve”.

WSBK Aragon Kiyonari — Ryuichi Kiyonari – P17

2019 WSBK Aragon Friday Combined Practice Times

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’49.607
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.519
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.542

WSBK Aragon WorldSBK Friday Times — 2019 WSBK Aragon Friday Combined Practice Times

WorldSSP

The World Supersport championship was the final class to take to the track at MotorLand Aragon for the Motocard Aragon Round of the season. Unfortunately, the heavens opened at the end of the WorldSBK FP2, so the track was wet for the WorldSSP riders. With no improvement in the times, our best understanding of who has the pace going into the weekend comes from the morning session.

Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse) topped the timesheets and beat a pack of Yamahas behind him. With 16 laps set, De Rosa will be hopeful of the track time in the morning helping him improve the settings of his machine. Behind him, championship leader, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA). The Frenchman is hoping of extending his advantage over the field, after winning the WorldSSP race in Thailand. Completing the top three, Austrian rider Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing), who continues his quest to become the first ever Austrian on the WorldSSP podium.

WSBK Aragon WSS De Rosa — Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse)

Outside of the top three, it was Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team). The Italian rider was 0.416s from the top spot, whilst he had close company with Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) just 0.054s behind. Joint championship leader Randy Krummenacher was somewhat off the pace in FP1, down in sixth position and more than half-a-second from the leading MV Agusta F3 675 of Raffaele De Rosa.

Seventh was held by Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) who was top Spanish rider at the close of day one of WorldSSP action. 2017 WorldSSP champion Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was eighth and a second off of the pace set by De Rosa. Ninth position belonged to Corentin Perolari (GMT94 YAMAHA), as the Frenchman continued to progress through the session.

The top ten was completed by Dutch rider, Rob Hartog (Team Hartog – Against Cancer), however he will not be competing for the rest of the weekend because of an injury that had only being detected at Aragon, despite occurring at Phillip Island.

The top three at the end of the wet FP2 session were Lucas Mahias, ahead of Randy Krummenacher and Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing). Despite times being way down, it remains important to gather data, as wet practice may become useful should the weather take a turn for the worst on Sunday race-day.

2019 WSS Aragon Friday Combined Practice Times

Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse) 1’55.039
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.136
Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing) +0.313

WSBK Aragon WSS Friday Times — 2019 WSS Aragon Friday Combined Practice Times

WorldSSP300

The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship returned to action at the MotorLand Aragon circuit during the Motocard Aragon Round of the season. The curtain-raiser is set to be a thriller, with two groups vying for the top time.

In group A, it was 2018 MotorLand Aragon race winner Koen Meuffels (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) who led the way at the end of play on Friday. The young Dutch rider returning to a circuit which holds good memories for him. Behind him, Jan-Ole Jahnig (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) was close behind him, whilst popular Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing) completed the top three. Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and replacement rider Marc Bayen Luna (Kawasaki GP Project) were fourth and fifth respectively.

WSBK Aragon WorldSSP Meuffels — Koen Meuffels (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team)

Group B featured some big names such as Scott Deroue (Kawasaki MOTOPORT), Maximilian Kappler (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) and Dorren Loureiro (Nutec – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) making it just as competitive as Group A. At the top of the session was 18-year-old Dutch rider, Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team), with a time just 0.3s off the lap record; one that would’ve been good enough for second when combined with Group A. Behind him by 0.186s was Maximilian Kappler, whilst in third position was Scott Deroue, the Dutch rider starting his season positively.

Outside of the top positions in Group A, the reigning champion, Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP) in eighth, whilst in Group B, three-time podium finisher Borja Sanchez (Scuderia Maranga Racing) was 12th, whilst 2018 podium finisher at Imola, Kevin Sabatucci (Team Trasimeno) was 17th.

The quickest Australian was Jack Hyde in 29th ahead of Tom Edwards in 33rd and Tom Bramich in P40, in what is a huge 52-strong field of rders.

2019 WorldSSP300 Aragon Friday Combined Practice Times

Koen Meuffels (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) 2’08.099
Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) +0.104
Jan-Ole Jahnig (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) +0.132

WSBK Aragon WorldSSP Friday Times — 2019 WorldSSP300 Aragon Friday Combined Practice Times

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Top of the Town

April 5, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

Burger and a beer and Superbikes! I’d see you there but I’m a bit busy!

🏍🏍 W o r l d S u p e r b i k e s ! 🏍🏍 Join us this Saturday & Sunday to support one of our own in our Jonathan Rea Fanzone! 💪🏻 We even have an epic Jonny Rae Superbikes Burger!! 🤤🤤 Race Times: 1pm (Sat & Sun)
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🍔 Jonny Rea Superbikes Burger, Chips & Pint or Small Wine | £10
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook

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European Return For Rea And Kawasaki

April 3, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

It’s been a nice break since Buriram and Motorland is a good place to get back to business. I enjoy the track layout and we made some good progress last year during winter testing. We will continue to work on making more progress during Friday’s practice sessions. The layout is nice and flowing with lots of challenges during the lap, so finding a good set up for the race is crucial. It’s an important race for my team too, as their headquarters are just a few hours away in Granollers, near Barcelona. I expect lots of support and I’m excited to give it my all. http://jonathan-rea.com/news/european-return-rea-and-kawasaki

The 2019 FIM Superbike World Championship returns to Europe this weekend. Round three of the current campaign will take place
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook

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Bautista in control as WSBK heads to his backyard, Aragon

April 3, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

2019 WSBK – Round Three – Aragon

Alvaro Bautista carries 26-point lead into Aragon

The first stop back in Europe for WorldSBK season 2019 sees the Spanish circuit of Aragon welcoming riders this weekend.

MotorLand Aragón has historically aggressive asphalt, especially harsh to rear tyres, in fact, the surface together with temperatures that are not too high in April, can cause many tyre problems. In addition, the sand that is sometimes carried by the wind and deposited on the asphalt can affect grip and drifts towards the centre of the curve.

WSBK Rnd Thailand Sunday Bautista — Alvaro Bautista

The obvious favourite is a seemingly unstoppable Alvaro Bautista has recorded six wins out of six races in this beginning of the season, matching the rocket starts of Troy Bayliss in 2002 and Neil Hodgson in 2003: the latter went on to win the first nine races that year.

In Aragon Bautista will be already aiming for the second all-time string of wins, 9, recorded by Colin Edwards from Laguna Seca/2, 2002 to Imola/2, 2002, and repeated by Neil Hodgson in the aforementioned start of the 2003 season. The all-time record sequence was set by Jonathan Rea in the last 11 races of 2018.

However, funnily enough Spaniards do not have a great track record at Aragon. Carlos Checa is the only Spanish rider who achieved a pole, win or fastest lap in Aragon, he also recorded the fastest race lap in the very first race held here in 2011.

The last 12 wins in Aragon were all scored by British riders: since the first race in 2014 the winners have been Chaz Davies (7 times); Jonathan Rea (3); Tom Sykes (2). The Brits had taken over from Italy, which won the first four races at Aragon with Melandri (2) and Max Biaggi (2).

Ducati also has the first chance to reach the milestone of 350 WorldSBK wins during the Aragon race weekend.

WSBK Rnd Thailand Sunday Rea — Jonathan Rea

It feels odd to be mentioning history-making opportunities and not be referring to one of Jonathan Rea’s latest exploits with the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, but that has been the nature so far of the 2019 season.

Jonathan Rea

“It’s been a nice break since Buriram and Motorland is a good place to get back to business. I enjoy the track layout and we made some good progress last year during winter testing. We will continue to work on making more progress during Friday’s practice sessions. The layout is nice and flowing with lots of challenges during the lap, so finding a good set up for the race is crucial. It’s an important race for my team too, as their headquarters are just a few hours away in Granollers, near Barcelona. I expect lots of support and I’m excited to give it my all.”

But as they say, opportunity knocks at every man’s door, and the Northern Irishman has built much of his success on remaining cold and calculating through the toughest of times. MotorLand Aragon is not one of the four-time champion’s favourite tracks – in fact it’s one of just two on the 2019 calendar where he hasn’t achieved a double – but his focus will stay intact; Rea will be ready to pounce should the chance arise, as will team-mate Leon Haslam, who took pole position last time out in Aragon in 2015.

Leon Haslam

“Aragon is a circuit I last raced at in 2015 but I was on pole. I managed to score a podium there, so those are not bad memories. It has not been one of my favourite circuits but the lap times have been pretty competitive. My very first test with KRT was at Aragon last year, even though we lost some track time due to the weather. But the lap times still came pretty good. I am predicting that it is going to be a tough weekend this time. Jonathan’s record around there is really competitive. Chaz Davies goes pretty well there and Alvaro Bautista is going to be the man to beat, especially with the couple of big straights that there are at this circuit. I think it is going to be a big fight to get on that podium but obviously that is always my aim. My back is better, definitely ten times better, than it was in Thailand.”

WSBK Rnd Thailand R Haslam — Leon Haslam

Finding opportunity in adversity is what separates the greats from the rest, and few have suffered more setbacks in recent months than Chaz Davies on the Ducati with Aruba.it Racing. Come Race 1 it will have been nearly a year since the Welshman’s last race win, which happened precisely at the Alcañiz circuit.

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Chaz Davies TBG — Chaz Davies – TBG Image

Davies has built up a treasure trove of performances in Aragon, with seven hard-fought race wins and an additional three podiums. It may arrive a bit early for the Brit in his personal adaptation to the V4 R, but expect him to make several steps forward on his own road to redemption.

There was a certain sense of dèja-vu in Thailand as Yamaha’s Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark crossed the line in Race 2 in third and fourth, respectively, for the third time in a row; the same applies to independent standings runaways Marco Melandri and Sandro Cortese in sixth and seventh.

WSBK Rnd Thailand Sunday VanDerMark — Michael van der Mark

All four Yamaha riders have performed impeccably since Round One – in particular the Englishman, who has brought his superb pre-season form into the new season – but how much margin for growth is there? The first European showdown of the year could be an ideal moment to make that final step towards the top of the rostrum.

Alex Lowes

“I’m Looking forward to getting back to Europe and heading to Aragon this weekend. Normally when we arrive back to start the European phase of the championship it settles down a bit, but this year we have back-to-back races in Aragon and Assen, so it’s going to be a busy start. Aragon is a track that the majority of the riders enjoy; it’s a long lap, with quite a few changes in elevation and it’s quite technical, which means a lot of work with the guys on Friday to get the bike working really well. With the WorldSSP300 guys racing for the first time in Aragon the schedule is different compared to the two flyaway races, with less time between sessions, so we need to see how that works out. Thailand was a good weekend for us, with a podium finish in all three races, and I’m looking forward to carrying that momentum into the first European race weekend in Spain.”

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Marco Melandri TBG — Marco Melandri – TBG Image

Another manufacturer looking for the final piece to the puzzle is BMW, although Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger with the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team should find it in the form of an engine upgrade scheduled for later in the season. In the meantime, both men can look to the past to find inspiration: the former World Champion secured a dominant double here in 2014, while his partner emerged victorious last season from Spain on the road to the 2018 STK1000 title.

WSBK Rnd Thailand Sunday Sykes — Tom Sykes

Perseverance will be key for the BMW riders and much of the same can be said for the Moriwaki Althea Honda Team. Still recovering from a blameless crash in Thailand, Leon Camier will simply aiming to be on the grid in Spain. If the 32-year-old gets the go-ahead to race, expect him to keep on pushing the Fireblade to its limits, as the HRC-backed outfit continues seeking answers to find its groove in 2019.

WSBK Rnd Thailand Sunday Camier — Leon Camier

WorldSBK Championship Points Standings

Pos	Driver	Team	Points
1.	Bautista Alvaro	Ducati	124
2.	Rea Jonathan	Kawasaki	98
3.	Lowes Alex	Yamaha	69
4.	Van Der Mark Michael	Yamaha	61
5.	Melandri Marco	Yamaha	54
6.	Haslam Leon	Kawasaki	51
7.	Cortese Sandro	Yamaha	40
8.	Rinaldi Michael Ruben	Ducati	40
9.	Razgatlioglu Toprak	Kawasaki	25
10.	Sykes Tom	BMW	19
11.	Davies Chaz	Ducati	18
12.	Tore Jordi	Kawasaki	18
13.	Reirerberger Markus	BMW	14
14	Laverty Eugene	Ducati	12
15	Mercado Leandro	Kawasaki	11
16	Camier Leon	Honda	9
17	Kiyonnari Ryuichi	Honda	5
18	Delbianco Alessandro	Honda	3