2019 WorldSBK

Round Nine – Laguna Seca

---

The 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship title race took yet another twist and turn around the undulations of Laguna Seca overnight. In a dramatic opening few laps, Jonathan Rea led the Ducati pairing of Chaz Davies and Alvaro Bautista, before another unthinkable error blew the championship wide open once again.

---

Laguna Seca Race One Report

Jonathan Rea started strongly to hold the early advantage from Bautista and Davies. Toprak Razgatlioglu also made a blistering start and was fourth by Turn 5 after shuffling Tom Sykes back to fifth.  Into the penultimate corner on the opening lap, Davies got ahead of Bautista and went in pursuit of Jonathan Rea.

New lap records came thick and fast, with Davies initially setting a new marker on Lap 2 before his team-mate bettered on Lap 3, becoming the first rider to set a 1m22s lap in race trim. One lap later and it was a disaster for Leon Haslam as the British rider hit the deck at the Corkscrew.

At the beginning of Lap 5, Davies challenged Rea and through Turns 1 and 2 and the Welshman took the lead but ran wide, with Rea slicing back through and sitting the Ducati rider up.

Alvaro Bautista was right in the mix and beginning to get into the swing of things but then tucked the front at Turn 5 and his Ducati Panigale V4 R was in the gravel once again.

With Bautista re-joining but out of the leading group, Jonathan Rea edged clear of Chaz Davies, with the top two stabilising until the end of the race, with Rea gradually extending his race lead out to five seconds. Toprak Razgatlioglu fought off a late charge from Tom Sykes to secure the final step on the rostrum.

Battles were being waged all the way through the field. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) pipping Jordi Torres for fifth in the final few laps. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) put in a strong ride to seventh from 15th on the grid, getting ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) late in the race.

An eighth win of 2019 for Jonathan Rea, who romped home ahead of Davies and Razgatlioglu.

Tom Sykes was fourth ahead of Alex Lowes, whilst Jordi Torres took his best result of the season in sixth. Van der Mark and Baz were next up in seventh and eighth, whilst Marco Melandri and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) completed the top ten.

The championship advantage now increases for Rea, with a 49-point lead over rival Alvaro Bautista.

---

P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“I want to thank all my crew, they gave me such a good bike here, and I felt good. Physically I was just heading my points and I could have ridden the bike all day long because I was having so much fun. The tyre dropped a little towards the end, but I had the job done. As soon as I snapped the cord, I was able to focus on myself and hit the point. It is a massive privilege to be here in the U.S., racing here under the sun, and I love this track, so let’s see tomorrow if we can try to repeat this performance, but it is going to be tough for sure”.

P2 – Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)

“We had a testing few rounds with a lot of difficulties, so it’s great to be back in parc fermé again. I missed this place! It was a tough race actually. I chose the soft rear tyre, which maybe wasn’t the best move, but it was a risk I wanted to take since I don’t have a lot to lose. So, I thought that I’d try to go away and try to use that tyre to the best effect in the early laps, but in the end, Johnny was in front, and I couldn’t see a way around. Then my tyre dropped, and I only had to try staying a little bit more constant. Nother than less, it was a good effort compared to the last few races, and I am really happy to be up here again”.

P3 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing)

“I am extremely pleased with this result today. Last year I suffered a big crash here, and this year we are on the podium! I knew that today getting on the rostrum would not be easy to achieve, but we took advantage of Bautista’s mistake. I tried to follow Johnny and Chaz then, but my bike was moving and sliding a lot. Maybe for tomorrow, we will make some changes to the bike setup to improve the tyre consumption, but for today I am really happy”.

---

Source: MCNews.com.au

Round Nine – Laguna Seca

---

After an action-packed Donington Park, the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship moves on with great pace to America’s Laguna Seca. One of the shorter circuits on the calendar, but highly technical, California’s WeatherTech Raceway will see riders keen for some good results before the European summer break.

Having come off the back of his first hat-trick in WorldSBK, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has overturned a 61-point deficit after the Tissot Superpole Race at Jerez, into a fruitful 24-point lead after his home round last weekend at Donington. Arriving in the USA as Championship leader. Rea has been victorious in three of the last four races at Laguna Seca.

Jonathan Rea

“Weekends like Donington do not come along very often but enjoyed it and now we are going to Laguna, which is another great track with great support. I cannot wait, and the people love Superbike there. It is a very iconic track, with The Corkscrew and Turn One as well. I had a really good weekend there last year and I enjoyed it. You get to ride your motorbike in the sun, so it is pretty cool. It is very important to stay healthy and arrive there in good shape because there is a long summer break after. We have to make it count.”

---

It is a new challenge for Bautista this weekend, a new perspective. No longer is he the hunted, but he is now the hunter. Bautista will be looking to strike back before going into the mid-season break, as he can’t afford to give more points away to Rea before the season arrives at circuits like Magny-Cours and Circuito San Juan Villicum.

Álvaro Bautista

“Unfortunately because of my crashes we are now in second place in the standings, which might be interesting for the championship but not so much for me! If I look at the layout of Laguna Seca, for sure I can say that it’s not one of the best tracks for us, because when we have bumps, and uphill and downhill sections, we could struggle, but like I have been saying all year I have no expectations. I prefer to go there, see what happens, start to work hard with my team and get the maximum from the weekend.”

---

Leon Haslam has a steady record at Laguna Seca, with numerous top ten finishes but is yet to stand on the podium in America.

Leon Haslam

“Laguna is the only circuit I have never had a podium at. I have managed to get a podium at every other current circuit in WorldSBK except there, so I am looking forward to trying to rectify that. That is my first aim of the weekend. The Kawasaki goes well there but I think the Ducatis may be strong too, more than they were at Donington – we will see. The last time I raced there was in 2015.”

---

Consistency really is key in 2019 and one rider who, against the odds, made it to the top ten at Donington Park was Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Third place in the championship may not be too safe from his team-mate Alex Lowes but despite his comeback weekend, the Dutchman maintained the bronze-medal position and now heads to the USA – a track where he has never been outside of the top ten, with his best result for Yamaha coming last year in Race 2.

Yamaha haven’t won at the famous Californian venue since 2000 with Noriyuki Haga, so can their current stars earn their stripes this year?

Brits do have a bit of a winning habit at the USA, just ask Tom Sykes. After giving BMW their second ever pole position last time out at Donington Park, he will be hoping that he can remount the podium for a third round in succession and, if possible, take a fourth win in the USA – his last one coming in 2016.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) is in rich form, with five podiums from the last four rounds – including his first ever double podium coming at Donington Park. Toprak suffered a huge accident there in 2018 but the 22-year-old Turk has given the crowd an underdog story so far in 2019.

One star who will certainly need a result is Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), as he’s looked off the boil since his Imola podiums. A struggle at Donington Park and Misano and bad luck at Jerez means that the Welshman – a three times a winner at Laguna Seca, including a double in 2015 – must steady the tide as soon as possible.

Chaz Davies

“The last couple of races have been really tough for me, especially last weekend at Donington, where I still had problems in getting the best feeling with the bike. So I’m looking forward to going straight to Laguna Seca before the summer break. It’s always been a decent track for me and I’ve had some wins there in the past, so it’s a good opportunity to try and improve our results before the break. We need it because we are simply not competitive enough at the moment.”

---

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) will be one rider who is tackling one of the most iconic racing venues in the USA for the first time. The 23-year-old Italian will be a debutant at the circuit, whilst contrastingly, 36-year-old veteran Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) will also venture to Monterey for the first time.

Fellow Honda rider, Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team), is another rider looking to make a strong first impression with the American venue, whilst reigning WorldSSP Champion, Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) will also ride Laguna Seca for the first time.

Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	Jonathan Rea	376
2	Alvaro Bautista	352
3	Michael Van Der Mark	206
4	Alex Lowes	192
5	Leon Haslam	187
6	Toprak Razgatlioglu	153
7	Tom Sykes	139
8	Chaz Davies	130
9	Marco Melandri	124
10	Sandro Cortese	96
11	Michael Ruben Rinaldi	85
12	Jordi Torres	76
13	Loris Baz	56
14	Markus Reiterberger	56
15	Leandro Mercado	38
16	Eugene Laverty	32
17	Leon Camier	26
18	Lorenzo Zanetti	21
19	Ryuichi Kiyonari	19
20	Alessandro Delbianco	18
21	Peter Hickman	14
22	Thomas Bridewell	12
23	Yuki Takahashi	11
24	Michele Pirro	10
25	Samuele Cavalieri	6
26	Hector Barbera	3

---

Source: MCNews.com.au