While Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was out in front at Donington Park, a few riders were quietly impressing as they searched for their best result in the FIM Supersport World Championship. One of these was Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) as he claimed fourth place in Race 2 during the Prosecco DOC UK Round while he also racked up an impressive 23 points across the round, the most he has scored in a single round since graduating to WorldSSP.

In Friday’s Free Practice 1, held in mixed conditions, Huertas completed 16 laps and his best time was around half a second down on pacesetter Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) as he finished seventh. Friday’s Free Practice 2 was held in wet conditions and the 2021 WorldSSP300 Champion was one of a handful of riders who did not set a time with track conditions worse than in FP1 thanks to the rain.

On Saturday, Huertas took fifth place in the Tissot Superpole session as he lapped around eight tenths down on Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) as the Italian obliterated the eight-year-old lap record. 19-year-old Huertas narrowly missed out on P4 on the grid when fellow Kawasaki rider, Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), pipped him by just 0.003s. In Race 1, Huertas was in the podium fight before dropping out of it in the closing stages of the 19-lap race as he finished in sixth, 12 seconds off the podium.

The gap to the podium reduced by a huge eight seconds in Race 2 as Huertas finished just four seconds off the rostrum in fourth. He was also just eight seconds down on Bulega in Race 2, a gap that reduced from 18 seconds in Race 1, as Huertas made a step forward to secure his best-ever result in World Supersport since making his debut in 2022. His 23-point haul from the UK, beating his previous best of 16 from the 2023 Emilia-Romagna Round.

Talking about his weekend, Huertas said: “It was a positive weekend. Little by little, race by race, I am recovering the feelings that I lost after the injury. The results are on show and both me and the team are making progress. I’m still not 100%, I have some discomfort, but I’ve learned to live with it. When you come back from an injury and don’t win, you need more time on track. In FP2 we decided not to go out on track, so I was able to do very few laps over the weekend. I hadn’t been able to try a long run either, so we went into the race a bit blind. But we knew how to solve it quite well.

“On Saturday, I had problems with the bike. The team made a small mistake in the choice of tyres and, in the race, we had a problem with the fuel pump, which gave me a failure and I was losing between half a second and eight tenths per lap. On Sunday. we went out with everything more in order and I was where I should have been.”

Expanding on his best WorldSSP result and weekend, Huertas added: “This will be the trend until the end of the season. I think they are the positions that I deserve. Imola will be a more complicated weekend because I don’t know the track. I’ve never been, when I was in WorldSSP300 it was the year we didn’t race there due to Covid-19, and we haven’t been back until now. It will be a somewhat more complicated weekend, but we’ll get it right. Then there are circuits that I quite like.”

Huertas is getting closer to the front of the field, a trend he showed in his first season before his injuries in Australia this year disrupted his season. He effectively missed both races at Phillip Island and Mandalika before returning at Assen and showing his potential again as WorldSSP returned to Europe. Currently 12^th in the Championship, the Spaniard will be looking to burst into the top ten sooner rather than later; he is currently five points behind Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in tenth. 

Discussing how far he is from his rivals, Huertas said: “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have much to do, I think I have nothing to envy of the riders ahead of me. The problem is that, due to certain aspects, I am not being able to reach them, but I hope to continue working with the team as up to now and find something. Even if the Kawasaki is at a disadvantage, we can replace it.”

Watch Huertas’ progress throughout 2023 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Donington Park proved to be a difficult round for Team HRC and riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship hit the United Kingdom. The team’s best finish in the three races was 11^th with neither Spaniard able to put their CBR1000RR-R machine into the top ten in either the Tissot Superpole session or the Prosecco DOC UK Round’s three races. Following the round, Lecuona and Vierge explained what went wrong and where they can improve heading to Imola.

Friday’s two free practice sessions were almost irrelevant to how the weekend unfolded due to the mixed conditions, but it was the only time a Honda appeared in the top ten. Lecuona took tenth, a second down on pacesetter Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), in FP1 which was mostly dry but with rain interrupting proceedings. Vierge finished this session in 17^th. In FP2, neither set a lap time as the ran intensified in the afternoon.

In the only fully-dry practice session, Lecuona took 13^th, more than two seconds down on Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at the top of the standings, with Vierge a further three tenths back in 16^th. Little changed, position wise, in the Tissot Superpole session either. Lecuona was 13^th again while Vierge dropped to 17^th although they had halved the gap between them and the leader compared to FP3.

In Race 1, Vierge took 11^th spot while Lecuona crashed out in the final few laps as the team lost some of their advantage over BMW in the Manufacturers’ Championship; BMW finished with two bikes in the top ten. Lecuona and Vierge were 13^th and 14^th in the Superpole Race while Lecuona was the sole finisher for the team in Race 2. He came home in 14^th while Vierge was forced to retire with a “small problem”. Honda scored seven points in the United Kingdom, while BMW closed the gap in the battle for fourth with a 24-point haul.

It contrasts massively from 2022 when Lecuona took a third-row grid slot for Race 1 and finished in eighth place, with Vierge just outside the top ten. Lecuona was seventh in last year’s Superpole Race while there was little to separate the duo in Race 2, with Lecuona completing the top ten and Vierge just over a second back in 13^th.

Reflecting on Honda’s woes, Lecuona said: “I don’t want to say anything in general. I struggled. We don’t know why. In Race 1 when I crashed, I didn’t do anything. Everything was the same but, at the end of the race with the used tyre, I crashed. I didn’t do anything special. It’s not an easy moment for us. We struggled a lot. We don’t understand anything.  It’s not the best way. On Sunday, we tried different things. In the morning, it worked. In the afternoon, my start was fine but the first lap, with the new base, I couldn’t have a good warm up on the rear tyre so I almost crashed at Turn 7. I fell behind Tito. My pace was really good, really strong in the mid 1’27s or lower. We made a small step. Now we need to understand why and what changed on the bike and why we struggled like this.”

Looking back on a ‘tough’ weekend, Vierge said: “Of course this weekend was a tough one for us, and we didn’t expect to struggle so much here really. As always, me and the team worked very hard to try and achieve the maximum possible in every session. We were unable to score points on Sunday – in the Superpole Race we were not fast enough and in Race 2 we made a good start and were lying mid-pack but unfortunately, we had a small problem that forced me to pit. It’s the first time it’s happened to be fair, and better for it to happen in a race where we were struggling anyway rather than during a weekend where we’re fighting for a strong result.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

A special auction aimed at raising funds for the communities affected by the devastating floods that occurred in Emilia-Romagna in May has begun on Tuesday, 4^th July. Teams and riders from the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship have generously donated a range of signed items, including personal equipment and bike parts, which will undoubtedly delight avid WorldSBK fans and collectors.

The auction, hosted on charitystars.com, will run until Saturday, July 15th, coinciding with the start of Race 1 at the Prometeon Italian Round at Imola, where WorldSBK riders will resume their thrilling battles on the track. This auction is the latest in a series of initiatives by the key players of the Motor Valley and the WorldSBK community which started last month during the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round held at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”.

Among the highly sought-after collectibles up for bidding are a signed helmet by 2021 World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, fairings from Ducati Panigale V4 R bikes ridden by Danilo Petrucci and Axel Bassani, and a host of other remarkable items.

WorldSBK enthusiasts are invited to place their bids now on charitystars.com, with all proceeds from the auction earmarked for the fund set by the Emilia-Romagna Regional Agency for Civil Protection. By participating in this auction, fans have a unique opportunity to support the ongoing recovery efforts and make a difference in the lives of those affected by the floods in Emilia-Romagna.

Source: WorldSBK.com

It’s done and dusted; the 2023 Prosecco DOC UK Round is in the history books, but Donington Park didn’t disappoint. Once again, the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship had loads of action on-track, but the off-track headlines have piled up as the halfway mark of 2023 is reached. The biggest talking points are in one place and this week, they’re British vindaloo-level spicy.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “I’ll drink a lot of beers by myself! I want to fulfil my dream to win a race here!”

A first podium in WorldSBK for Danilo Petrucci, who in true ‘Petrux’ fashion, was in good humour about his latest achievement: “Sincerely, I didn’t expect to be so strong, especially at the end! When I passed Gerloff, it was strange because I was so fast but in other parts where you can pass, I was so slow. So, I was always up and down. I got the smell of the blood in front and when I saw seven laps to go with two riders in front, I needed to try! I am so happy, especially for my team! They struggled at times in the past but in 2011, when I rode for them in STK1000, the team was so good, especially Marco. He’s so passionate about bikes and he deserves the best. This result is for him and the team! Marco just left… so nobody will pay the bill! I’ll drink a lot of beers by myself!”

The #9 also spoke about the challenge of returning to a World Championship and compared himself to… an elephant, having stepped away from MotoGP™ at the end of 2021: “At the beginning of the year, after the first two rounds, I said, ‘I don’t know if it was a good choice to come back to a World Championship’ because it’s a challenge. I quit racing in 2021 and I did like what elephants do and went far away! I went to Dakar and then, I won there! So, maybe I am still good with bikes!”

Finally, the latest rider to achieve a podium in both WorldSBK and MotoGP™ spoke of the high level in the WorldSBK paddock: “Everybody thinks that MotoGP™ is the pinnacle of racing, but you need to be in WorldSBK to understand that Alvaro, Toprak and Jonny are like the top guys in MotoGP™. All the others are really young and eager to stay in front and they want to beat you because you’re a MotoGP™ winner. They’re very hungry, so it’s tough! I’m not scared to say that I thought it was easier! I won in MotoGP™ and was on the podium sometimes, but in the end, it’s quite tough here. I want to be one of the riders that won at least one race in WorldSBK and MotoGP™. I want to fulfil my dream to win a race here.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK): “I’m very happy for Danilo, he’s getting better!”

Toprak Razgatlioglu couldn’t repeat his 2022 hat-trick in the UK but nonetheless spoke about his battle with Bautista in Race 2, whilst also praising Petrucci’s first podium: “I think after ten laps, the pace was faster. When Bautista got ahead, he did a 1’26.2 whereas before, it was 26.6, 26.7. Sometimes, hard braking isn’t enough; if my bike was fast on the straight, then I’m easily fighting with him. It’s also the tyres, not just the engine. His pace doesn’t drop because of the engine on the straight and the easy, gentle acceleration doesn’t eat the tyre. I just keep a good corner speed to follow him. I’m very happy for Danilo! He’s a strong rider! He did a good job at Misano but he crashed. Here, I am surprised! It was an unbelievable step. I think he likes the track and now, the Ducati works well here. I was surprised to see him in P3! Every race, he’s getting better.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “It’s f*****g impossible! He’s doing incredible!”

Speaking on Saturday afternoon about being able to battle Bautista, Rea stated how difficult it is but praised his rival on an exceptional performance in Race 1: “It’s f*****g impossible because when I saw that he passed Toprak, I thought Toprak was lining him up again. When I saw the grip on the right-hand side and his f*****g acceleration… I thought ‘Toprak’s Toprak, he’s going to pass him in the chicane’. When he got halfway down the straight, I thought ’he’s miles away, he’s never going to try!’. The funny thing is Alvaro’s not consuming the tyre, he had so much rear traction. He’s doing incredible.”

Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I’ve been having shit races and then you lose confidence in yourself”

A first top four of the season for Scott Redding, who overcame a difficult run into the round to get back into contention at home: “The setup of the bike is the same as we had last year. The bike is basically the same. When you have so many bad races, it’s hard to find the rhythm of how to ride correctly. It took me a bit of time in the races to build my momentum. The grip here is good so that helps with our issues. It’s crazy; it just turned up and it works. I had a bit more confidence; I’ve been having shit races and then you lose confidence in yourself and Saturday’s Race 1 gave me the confidence boost as I was coming strong at the end. I needed a good Superpole Race and got a bit lucky with the crash of Tom, but it gave me a good grid for Race 2, which is what I needed to get clear. I knew I had to stay calm, find my rhythm and come strong at the end.”

Redding praised the home crowd too, for getting behind him: “The fans were loving it this weekend! It was cool to see! When I was racing, I was thinking, ‘come on, f**k, a bit more, a bit more!’ and you know, I enjoyed these races! Instead of thinking that I want the race to end, I wanted a few more laps! The mindset is completely different when you have a feeling compared to when you don’t.”

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “Scott complains a lot about the BMW but when you see how much grip he had compared to us, you think ‘it can’t be that bad’”

With a major change on his ZX-10RR for Race 2, Alex Lowes spoke about the story of Sunday afternoon at home: “I changed quite a big dampening setting for the rear shock. It’s something I wouldn’t normally try but because we seemed to be struggling so much more than the others, it seemed quite positive. Gerloff was wild! He was making mistakes but then fast! I knew he was one of the fastest guys at the end of the race; he seems to lack pace at the start but at the end, he’s always one of the fastest guys. He made a couple of mistakes, I got ahead and I felt quite strong coming back to Jonny. With seven or eight laps to go, I was in trouble, especially at Turn 2 when we’re on the side of the tyre and just spinning, so I was finding it hard to just stay in there. Which is weird because Scott complains a lot about the BMW but when you see how much grid he had compared to us, you think ‘it can’t be that bad’.”

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I was on the limit…records are for when you retire”

Two more wins for World Championship leader Alvaro Bautista, but it wasn’t without his own challenges: “I was on the limit. With this cold wind, I struggled on Sunday morning. In the afternoon, I struggled to warm the tyres up. I’m not thinking about the Championship. I’m thinking about every single race and try to do the maximum that I can. I’m not worried that, records are for when you retire. The important thing is to enjoy the bike and the present.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The FIM Supersport World Championship reached the halfway stage of 2023 at Donington Park and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) capitalised on his rivals’ mixed weekends to extend his standings lead to 55 points. Bulega convincingly won Race 1 and Race 2 during the Prosecco DOC UK Round to take his tally of wins to eight for the season as he strengthened his grip on the World Championship.

Bulega claimed pole position with a record-breaking lap as he set a 1’29.323s to obliterate the previous eight-year-old lap record, with two of his flying laps underneath Kenan Sofuoglu’s record of 1’29.925s. The top three in Tissot Superpole went faster than the five-time Champion’s time but it was the Italian ace who secured a stunning pole position; Ducati’s first at the British circuit since Vittoriano Guareschi took pole in 2001.

The Italian resisted early pressure in Race 1 to win by 1.2 seconds although title rival Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) did reduce the gap from three seconds on Lap 15 to just over a second at the end of the 19-lap battle. Sunday’s Race 2 started off in a similar way before Bulega’s title rivals faltered to hand him victory and the Italian extended his Championship lead to more than a round’s worth of points.

Manzi crashed at Turn 11 on Lap 5 which dropped him down the order, with the Yamaha rider re-joining in tenth. On Lap 7, he passed three riders including Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) at Turn 1, with French rider Mahias forced onto the grass. The FIM Stewards gave Manzi a Long Lap Penalty for this incident which he took on Lap 10 before the Italian battled his way back up to fifth. Bulega’s other title rival, Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), crashed out of Race 2 on Lap 15 at Turn 12 as he scored no points, while he could only manage eighth in Race 1. The German’s results mean he has dropped to fourth in the standings, level with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) as they trail Bulega by 91 points.

Bulega, who has a 55-point lead over his nearest rival, said: “It was a perfect weekend, more than this is impossible. Two fastest laps, pole position, a lap record and two victories. It’s incredible. I enjoyed every lap at this beautiful track. Now, we’re already thinking about Imola, the next round and my home round. It will be very nice. It’s incredible to have this advantage, 50 more points in my pocket after this weekend and with good speed. This is the most important. I enjoyed it every time I went on track with my bike. I just want to continue this way and be fast in every race until the end of the year.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship descended on Donington Park for Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) home round as the six-time Champion looked for his first win of the season. The Northern Irishman was able to collect two podium finishes during the Prosecco DOC UK Round but was left ruing what might have been after coming within touching distance of a win in Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race.

Rea secured his 250^th podium in Race 1 as he claimed third place and he repeated that result in Sunday’s 10-lap battle although he narrowly missed out on victory by just half a second. 118-time race winner Rea had led for the first eight laps but found himself demoted to second on Lap 9 when Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) fought his way through, followed by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at the Foggy Esses on the final lap.

Discussing Bautista’s move and the Superpole Race, Rea said: “He parked it on the apex, which was a little bit naughty, I had nowhere to go. It was either release the brakes and go through the gravel or completely compromise any sort of counterattack. It’s an old hand move. Toprak did the same to me last year. One of those and I just got beaten. It was a tough one to swallow because I did so much in that race; leading for eight laps. To be done on the penultimate lap by Toprak and then by Alvaro when I was trying to set up a move on Toprak was a little bit frustrating.”

The Superpole Race results meant Rea was going in search of three podiums in a single round for the first time in 2023. He was in the top three for the majority of the encounter but dropped down to fifth in the closing stages. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) came by on Lap 18 before Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) followed him through a lap later.

Reflecting on Race 2, Rea added: “It was frustrating to lose the fight for the podium at the end. From the mid-part of the race, I ran out of rear traction. I was spinning a lot and the bike was moving. With Scott, I thought maybe I could fight in the last corners, but he put together a pretty good penultimate and last sector. It’s hard when the results are flipped; if I’d finished off the way I started in the Superpole Race; I’d have been super happy. It so goes that the start of my day was great and it didn’t end so well with a P5, but we learnt a little bit more about our bike. When the grip levels came up and more rubber went down on the track, we struggled. The good thing with testing is we’ve sort of ticked the box of helping the front of the bike. Now we need to manage the rear tyre a little bit better at the end of races.”

Next stop, Imola: watch all the action from Round 7 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has reached its halfway point after the Prosecco DOC UK Round at Donington Park; the sixth round of 2023 was a fantastic affair, and that is reflected in the stats. From first-time front rows and podiums to making even more history despite difficulties, the stats are in from Donington Park.

250 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) achieved his 250th WorldSBK podium in Race 1; he made it 251 with third in the Superpole Race.

156 – Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) took became the 156^th rider to start on a WorldSBK front row after Superpole, with his maiden front row in third at Donington Park.

129/34 – ‘Petrux’ took his first podium in WorldSBK at Donington Park in Race 2, becoming the 129^th different podium finish in the Championship. He’s also the 34^th to achieve at least one WorldSBK podium and one MotoGP™ podium.

99 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) managed a hat-trick of podiums this weekend, meaning he’s on 99 for his WorldSBK career. Imola will be his first chance to hit 100 – he took a first rostrum of the 2019 season in Race 1 at that circuit.

85 – Spain now has 85 victories in WorldSBK, courtesy of Bautista’s Race 2 win.

75 – 75 podiums for Alvaro Bautista, who matches Colin Edwards and Marco Melandri in tenth place in all-time WorldSBK podium rankings.

74 – Razgatlioglu and Rea stood on the podium together for the 74^th time in the Tissot Superpole Race at Donington Park, a new record for podiums shared together in WorldSBK. Previously, the record was 73, with Chaz Davies and Rea.

48 – 48 wins for Bautista in his career, which means two wins at Imola will see him become the fourth rider in WorldSBK history to achieve 50, after Jonathan Rea, Carl Fogarty and Troy Bayliss.

34 – Razgatlioglu’s 34^th career win came in the Tissot Superpole Race, matching Tom Sykes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) for sixth in the all-time rankings.

18 – 18 consecutive races on the podium for Yamaha, their best streak in WorldSBK.

17 – Andrea Locatelli becomes the 17^th rider to achieve 25 consecutive points-scoring finishes; it’s currently the biggest streak of 2023. The all-time record is Jonathan Rea at 48.

16 – 16 wins for Bautista in 2023, which means he is just one away from the record 17 in one season, held by Doug Polen from 1991 and Jonathan Rea from 2017 and 2018.

12 – Ducati’s 12-year wait for victory at Donington Park was ended by Bautista in Race 1 on Saturday, the first winner or the Italian brand since his compatriot Carlos Checa in Race 2, 2011.

11 – Bautista matched his 2019 record and Jonathan Rea’s 2018 record for number of race wins in a row at 11. He was beaten by Razgatlioglu in the Superpole Race, not able to set a new record.

4 – A best result of the year for Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who took fourth in Race 2.

0.537s – The Superpole Race podium of Razgatlioglu, Bautista and Rea was covered by 0.537s, the closest podium of the season so far.

Watch the 2023 season unfold and stay tuned with all the gossip with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Six rounds are done, six rounds are left to go in the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. There have been thrilling battles, fierce fights and plenty of drama in the first half of the season but attention has already turned to the second part of the campaign. Two rounds in July take place before the August break, and then there are four crucial rounds in six weeks to end the season in September and October. You can watch every single moment using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now HALF PRICE.

2023 has seen some incredible moments so far, from a stunning wet race in Australia, a dramatic conclusion to Race 2 in Indonesia, thrilling fights as WorldSBK returned to Europe and much more. Misano had a late-race twist for the podium fight while Donington featured the ‘Titanic Trio’ scrapping it out for victory as a rookie stunned for his first WorldSBK podium after taking a huge step forward in recent rounds.

World Superbike makes a return to the historic Imola venue next time out before the Autodrom Most, a circuit which has become an instant hit, hosts Round 8. A well-deserved summer break in August follows. Magny-Cours is the venue to resume WorldSBK action before an Aragon-Portimao double header and the season finale taking place at the stunning San Juan in Argentina. You can watch all the action in the second half of the season for just €34.99 when you subscribe for the second half of the season.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) currently leads the standings but faces stiff competition from his rivals after a hard-fought UK Round last time out. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) is looking to end his Yamaha association with the title before a switch to BMW, while there’s also an unpredictable battle for the bronze medal between Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing).

Not only will you be able to watch every session LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED throughout the rest of 2023, you will get access to an extensive historic archive. You can relive the best bits from recent seasons or take a longer trip down memory lane and enjoy classic races from years gone by. As well as archive content, you will get access to the ‘UNFILTERED’ series, a behind-the-scenes look at rounds, as well as ‘RELIVE’ videos; to catch up on all the action in a shorter time. Don’t forget there is also the post-round highlights show, a comprehensive review of all the action from each round.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season is halfway there, but some of the key headlines are surrounding the 2024 grid. Silly season is sillier than ever before, and the talk is centred around BMW for the time being. After Toprak Razgatlioglu’s bombshell switch from his current Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team to the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, the transfer market has hit overdrive and it shows no signs of relenting. Current factory BMW riders Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark are both vying to remain inside the factory camp, and both spoke to the media across the weekend to share their views on their 2024 whereabouts.

VAN DER MARK VYING TO PARTNER TOPRAK: “I have nothing to worry about”

Speaking on Friday, van der Mark – who has been out injured since his home round at Assen – was adamant in his future, saying that he’s got no reason be worried: “I’ve been staying home for a while now and I haven’t enjoyed it! I’ll be back on the grid next year, I have nothing to worry about. That’s all I can say.”

Asked about whether the idea is to continue with BMW or not, the Dutchman responded: “That’s my idea for sure… like I say, I have nothing to worry about and first of all, I need to be fully fit. We have had 2 years with a lot of injuries so hopefully, the bad luck is over.” Questioned on when we can expect an announcement, the 2014 WorldSSP Champion was coy: “I have no idea but we’ll see.”

The five-time WorldSBK race winner – including being the only one to achieve it with BMW in the last 10 seasons so far – also shared his thoughts on good friend Toprak joining the team for 2024, something he welcomed publicly at the time, giving intrigue about his own future: “I think it is good; Toprak is always motivated and pushes hard. He has a different way riding style, that’s for sure, so it will be interesting to see how he works on our bike. BMW is pushing really hard on development which is what we need, so the commitment is there and Toprak will be there. Everyone can’t wait to see what happens!”

REDDING PRIORITY TO STAY WITH BMW? “I have the BMW option which is important for me”

Across the box and Scott Redding has already confirmed that he has until July 15^th to decide whether he’d like to take up his option to remain with BMW or to walk away after two seasons. It’s been a tough two years for the #45, with no victories, although a strong home round at Donington Park could have given him plenty of food for thought regarding whether he stays or goes.

Speaking about his own future ahead of the round, Redding said that “time is running out” to make a decision, but his “priority” was to continue with BMW and in WorldSBK, although he’s “looking at all other options”, wherever that might be. He also said that “I need to believe in the project like they’ve believed in me, and I just think that this weekend, having a reset and regroup and to understand a bit more, will help me make some decisions for the future.”

So, the reset brought a first top four finish of the season and general competitivity across the full-distance races, so what did the 30-year-old say at the close of the weekend: “It feels nice to feel like Scott Redding on the bike! It’s been a tough season but to have the feeling of the bike talking to me, I can understand what to do and how to ride and be able to push the bike in the way that I want. It’s been an enjoyable two races!”

However, 2024 is where the juicy stuff is, so with the improved feeling, has it helped at all in his decision making? “There’s obviously a lot of talk going on at the moment and just to show people that I’ve still got it… I know that I have it and it is hard to convince people when the results aren’t showing. When I’m racing, I know what I can or can’t do but I can express that as much as I want but in reality, people don’t care, they want results. Sunday was good to be top BMW and come through so strong, I’m happy. I can come in and say ‘this is me able to ride a bike, not a passenger’ so I hope in the next races, we can have something good as well.”

Getting the spicy part of his future, Redding confirmed that he’s like to be staying in WorldSBK: “I think you’ll be seeing me in this paddock, that’s for sure. We need to see. I have the BMW option which is important for me and that’s where I’m at. Let’s see in the next couple of weeks and see if I can get something to be at the front.”

ALTERNATIVE OPTION: both are teammates to Toprak?

It’s unconventional but it has been done before and it is allowed. A team can field three bikes within one team and maybe if Redding does take up his option to remain and van der Mark stays – he said on the grid at Assen for the Dutch GP to MotoGP.com that his “teammate will be fast next year” when talking about Toprak’s arrival – then the rules do permit a three-bike team.

In 2008, the Alstare Suzuki outfit did this with riders Fonsi Nieto, Yukio Kagayama and Max Neukirchner and in the same year, the Ten Kate Honda team had Carlos Checa, Kenan Sofuoglu and Ryuichi Kiyonari in their team. In 2012, Effenbert Liberty Ducati had a three-rider team of Sylvain Guintoli, Jakub Smrz and the late Maxime Berger. In 2013, the Goldbet BMW outfit put an extra bike on the grid at Magny-Cours for a wildcard with Sylvain Barrier alongside regular riders Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies whilst in 2018, Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s presence expanded to three riders, albeit with Michael Ruben Rinaldi in the “Junior Team”, with riders Davies and Melandri up in the main factory setup.

Watch the 2023 season unfold and stay tuned with all the gossip with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Following in the footsteps of recent documentaries in ‘The Final Stunt’ and ‘The Return’, the latest WorldSBK documentary tells the story of one of the greatest season-long battles ever seen in motorcycle racing. ‘The Showdown – Imola 2002’ rekindles the magic of Sunday, 29th of September, 2002, when fierce rivals Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss duked it out for the Championship until the final lap of the season and ahead of our return to Imola in 2023, the magic remains unrivalled from over 20 years ago.

However, this latest WorldSBK documentary doesn’t just go back to the day of that famous race, but it looks at the 2002 season and how Troy Bayliss and Ducati’s domination at the start of the year couldn’t resist the late charge and tenacity of Colin Edwards and his Honda team. From six race wins and making history in the opening three rounds, the Championship lead was 58 points with nine races to go; it would need to be the greatest comeback ever seen for Colin Edwards to have a real chance at the title. Laguna Seca’s Race 2 welcomed a home win for Edwards and whilst Bayliss encountered bad luck in the next rounds – notably a scary Warm Up crash at the next round at Brands Hatch and a crash from the podium at the penultimate round at Assen – Edwards kept winning.

Arriving to Imola as the new Championship leader and going into the final race with just six points between them, the stage was set for one of the biggest battles in dramatic fashion. With a capacity 97,700 crowd watching on, countless passes for victory, the strategy of tactics and of course, the sensational, hair-raising final lap, the story and rivalry comes alive just like it did on the day itself.

With all of the emotion of that day revisited by people who were part of it first-hand, including Edwards and Bayliss themselves, Edwards’ crew chief Adrian Gorst, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi and Ducati project director Paolo Ciabatti. The most successful rider of all-time in WorldSBK, six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea, casts his mind back to that incredible day, whilst double WorldSBK Champion and current commentator within the paddock James Toseland reflects on it all too. There’s also valuable insight from journalists Gordon Ritchie and Carlo Baldi.

For many, this is you – the fans’ – favourite race of all-time and the one that remains synonymous with WorldSBK to this day. Now, you can enjoy it like you’ve never been able to before, with all the edge-of-your-seat drama, tense moments of doubt, illustrious times of celebration and the story from the stars themselves – from both then and now – in a compelling documentary.

Enjoy ‘The Showdown’ and plenty more original videos alongside our comprehensive LIVE coverage of the 2023 season with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com