The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship moves from France to Italy for Round 9 of the 2024 season, visiting a new venue: the Cremona Circuit. Action starts on Friday at 09:40 (Local Time, UTC+2) with WorldWCR Free Practice followed by WorldSBK FP1 at 10:20. At 11:20, WorldSSP Free Practice takes place. In the afternoon, WorldWCR Tissot Superpole is at 14:10 with WorldSBK FP2 at 15:00 and WorldSSP Superpole at 16:00. On Saturday, WorldSBK FP3 kicks off the action at 09:00 before Warm Up sessions for WorldWCR and WorldSSP. WorldSBK Tissot Superpole session starts at 11:00, before racing gets underway at 12:45 for WorldWCR Race 1, followed by WorldSBK Race 1 and WorldSSP Race 1 at 14:00 and 15:15 respectively. Sunday’s action starts with Warm Up sessions in all three Championships from 09:00, before the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race at 11:10. Sunday afternoon’s schedule follows Saturday’s, with WorldWCR Race 2 at 12:45, WorldSBK Race 2 at 14:00 and WorldSSP Race 2 at 15:15.

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Friday, 20^th September (All times are Local Time, UTC+2)

09:40-10:05 – WorldWCR Free Practice

10:20-11:05 – WorldSBK Free Practice 1

11:20-12:00 – WorldSSP Free Practice

14:10-14:35 – WorldWCR Tissot Superpole

15:00-15:45 – WorldSBK Free Practice 2

16:00-16:40 – WorldSSP Tissot Superpole

Saturday, 21st September

09:00-09:20 – WorldSBK Free Practice 3

09:30-09:40 – WorldWCR Warm Up

09:50-10:00 – WorldSSP Warm Up

11:00-11:15 – WorldSBK Superpole

12:45 – WorldWCR Race 1 (12 laps)

14:00 – WorldSBK Race 1 (23 laps)

15:15 – WorldSSP Race 1 (19 laps)

Sunday, 22nd September

09:00-09:10 – WorldSBK Warm Up

09:20-09:30 – WorldWCR Warm Up

09:40-09:50 – WorldSSP Warm Up

11:00 – WorldSBK Superpole Race (10 laps)

12:45 –WorldWCR Race 2 (12 laps)

14:00 – WorldSBK Race 2 (23 laps)

15:15 – WorldSSP Race 2 (19 laps)

Source: WorldSBK.com

Two weeks on from a quite frankly unbelievable French Round, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heads to a brand-new venue and a step into the unknown with the Cremona Circuit hosting its first event, the Acerbis Italian Round. Famous for violins, the big question is who will hit the high notes and who will hit a flat one? 55 points separate Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the standings but with the former’s participation in the round uncertain, can Bulega take advantage of a potential Razgatlioglu absence and close the gap even further?

RAZGATLIOGLU’S PARTICIPATION TO BE CONFIRMED: pre-round checks to complete for ‘El Turco’

The big story coming into the round is whether Razgatlioglu will participate, with the #54 needing to pass medical checks in order to compete at Cremona after his huge FP2 crash at Magny-Cours left him with mild traumatic pneumothorax and ruled him out of racing in France. Should he be able to race, ‘El Turco’ will be hoping to secure good results at a circuit he’s been quick at in testing but, of course, a lot could depend on how he’s feeling on the bike. It could hand the initiative to Bulega who heads into his home round on the back of two wins on Sunday in France but also carrying a bit of a knock following his own spill in Race 1. After gaining 37 points on the 2021 Champion, Bulega will be aiming to make more gains in Italy.

THE OTHER TWO FROM THE TITANIC TRIO: needing to pass medical checks

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) were both declared unfit at Magny-Cours after two different crashes. Bautista crashed in the Tissot Superpole Race and fractured the eighth rib on his left side, while Rea underwent surgery on a thumb injury following his Race 1 crash at the same time as Bulega. Both will need to pass pre-round medical checks to race, with Rea stating in his vlog that his recovery would be 2-3 weeks. Bautista is in the top three of the Championship but faces increasing pressure from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) for third, with the #22 eight points behind Bautista.

THE ITALIAN JOB: can the home heroes find success at Cremona?

Bulega leads the Italian contingent in the standings but the others have plenty to fight for at Cremona. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) are locked in a battle for fifth, with just 20 points separating them with ‘Petrux’ leading. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) sits eighth in the standings and 26 points behind Locatelli in sixth; Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), a race winner in France after 1,070 days, is seventh with the Dutchman hoping he can continue to stand on the podium. Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has shown signs of progress on the ZX-10RR machine, including at a recent test alongside teammate Alex Lowes, and will be looking to continue that on home soil. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) has had a difficult year but what better place to secure a best result of the season than home soil?

PRE-ROUND TESTING: several teams hit Aragon

Despite a hectic schedule in WorldSBK, some teams and riders ventured to MotorLand Aragon, including the KRT duo of Alex Lowes and Bassani, Team HRC’s Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge, Iannone and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). Honda tried new suspension components with Lecuona stating they’ll use them at Cremona, while Sam Lowes revealed progress over race runs on used tyres. Will their positivity translate into more progress at Cremona?

IN STRONG FORM: another podium to come for Gerloff?

American star Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) has been fighting at the front in the last couple of rounds, including a podium at Magny-Cours. Will the #31 be able to repeat that or will teammate Scott Redding put himself in contention for a rostrum after he has also been further up the field in recent rounds? Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) has one podium this season and he’ll be hoping to fight for top Yamaha honours once again. Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) and Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) will be aiming to secure points finishes, as well as Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda).

WILDCARDS: Delbianco returns, Bridewell’s back for the first time since 2019

After his replacement ride with the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team at Magny-Cours, in place of Dominique Aegerter, Alessandro Delbianco returns as a wildcard with the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team for the Italian Round. Elsewhere, there’s also a wildcard for reigning British champion Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK). Bridewell tested at Cremona with Honda back in the summer and will now get his chance on the world stage for the first time since 2019, when he finished tenth in Race 2 at Jerez, albeit on a Ducati. It will also give an opportunity for Team HRC to work together with Xavier Beltran’s team, which feature’s Bridewell’s BSB crew chief, Chris Pike, formerly Jonathan Rea’s teammate until 2014. Adam Norrodin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) won’t race at Cremona, with Portuguese rider Ivo Lopes once again standing in for the Malaysian.

Watch the highlights show from Magny-Cours HERE, read the Official Programme for the Italian Round HERE, and watch everything from Cremona using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now 50% off!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heads to the Cremona Circuit next time out and Honda Racing UK have announced that reigning British champion Tommy Bridewell will compete at the Acerbis Italian Round as a wildcard. Bridewell will compete on a WorldSBK-spec CBR1000RR-R and he has experience of both the Championship and Cremona after he took part in a test there in the summer alongside Team HRC’s Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge.

Bridewell claimed last year’s British Superbike title when running with the Paul Bird Motorsport outfit on a Ducati Panigale V4 R with eight wins and 18 podiums. He left the team at the end of the season to join Honda Racing UK, where he leads the standings with two wins and 13 rostrums this season, with three rounds left as part of the championship’s ‘showdown’ format. He holds a 19-point lead over Kyle Ryde, who will wildcard at Jerez.

The team and Bridewell tested at Cremona back in May, alongside the WorldSBK Team HRC squad, to evaluate the possibility of a wildcard appearance. During that test, Honda Racing UK and Team HRC worked closely together and that will continue during the Italian Round with Bridewell’s wildcard appearance. It will be his first time racing in WorldSBK since 2019, when he raced at Jerez with Ducati machinery and scored points, as he did at Imola earlier in the season. He also made appearances in 2010 with Honda and 2008 with Suzuki, although didn’t score points on those occasions.

Discussing his first WorldSBK appearance since 2019, Bridewell said: “I’m here to race; it’s what I love doing so I’m really looking forward to it to be honest. We had hoped to join the WorldSBK race at Donington but unfortunately the stars didn’t quite align for this to happen. I really enjoyed the Cremona wildcard evaluation a few months ago so it’ll be great to have the opportunity to put into practice some of the things we learnt from this and keep on building the momentum ahead of the final few races of the BSB season.”

Team Manager Havier Beltran added: “We are delighted to take this opportunity and participate at the World Superbike race at Cremona next weekend. The prospect of continuing to work closely with our HRC colleagues in the WorldSBK paddock was a chance not to be missed.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

A handful of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship teams ventured to MotorLand Aragon for testing between the French and Italian Rounds, including the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK with riders Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani. With a new surface at Aragon, teams were collecting valuable data ahead of the round in a couple of weeks, while being able to work on setting up their machines for what could be a challenging weekend at a pivotal part of the season.

The team were preparing for the Aragon Round but also used the test to continue developing the ZX-10RR machine, which will remain on the grid in 2025 despite KRT morphing into the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team squad with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing squad. The test was therefore a good chance to prepare for the round but also continue developing the current bike ahead of next season.

Conditions at the 5.077km were dry but windy, with Lowes and Bassani having to deal with an extra challenge at the test, but it still proved to be productive for the duo. The #22 completed two race simulations as the team worked on understanding tyre life on the resurfaced circuit while working on different tyre combinations. Bassani had a particular focus on the electronics side of the bike while trying something new on the front of his bike.

Reviewing the test, Lowes said: “Another positive test overall. We found challenging conditions with the wind, but I felt good with the bike. We managed to try some different tyre combinations. I think tyre life could be an issue over race weekend, depending on the track temperature and conditions. The new surface is quite a lot different to the old surface. We collected some good information from two full race simulations, and we did a lot of laps. Now I am ready to go home, have a birthday weekend with the family and recharge the batteries ready for the back-to-back race weekends coming up shortly. Thanks to the team for their big effort in this past week.”

Bassani added: “We have had two days on track at Aragon and we improved some parts on the bike. I think it has been a productive two days of testing. The new asphalt, for sure, has a lot of grip. We used the SCO tyre and once the SCX. This final afternoon there was increased wind but in general we worked a lot on the electronics, and we also tried something new on the front. It was working well so I hope it will also be nice in Cremona. It has been a long two days because testing shortly after a race weekend it is never easy work. But the team was good, and we did a lot of laps. I am really happy about the work from the team and the improvements we found.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and teammate Iker Lecuona left testing at MotorLand Aragon feeling optimistic after two days of action to prepare for upcoming MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rounds. Honda had new components to try from suspension supplier Showa while they were also getting to understand the grip offered by the new surface at Aragon following the resurfacing at the Spanish venue.

Honda had been struggling in the first part of the season but have changed their fortunes in recent rounds, including at Magny-Cours with both Vierge and Lecuona were consistently in the top ten in dry, wet and mixed conditions. Honda will be hoping to continue that form through the final four rounds of the season, and the Aragon test will be part of that after being able to understand the new asphalt at Aragon but try new items which Lecuona stated is something they would try at future rounds.

At the two-day test, where Honda completed 1.5 days of testing, the Japanese manufacturer focused on bike setup ahead of the Aragon Round in a couple of weeks, but also had items to try from Showa on their suspension. Both Vierge and Lecuona were positive after completing the test, with Vierge declaring they ‘found some positives’ and Lecuona stating the test was ‘quite good’ after completing their programme.

Reviewing the Aragon test, Vierge said: “We’ve finished the Aragon test with good feelings. It’s been really good to come here because with the new asphalt, everything’s changed. It was good to work on that. We focused the work on bike setup a lot and some different things on suspension. We found some positives. The new asphalt, on the racing line, has amazing grip. We need to adapt our bike to that. We made good progress and we finished with good race pace and a not-so-bad fast lap. I’m happy with that and now we move to Cremona, where we had the opportunity to have some test days which will be super important because it’s a new track on the calendar. The last rounds have been positive and I’m really looking forward, so let’s continue on the same line as the last races.”

Teammate Lecuona added: “We did one-and-a-half days of testing because we did all the jobs, and in the afternoon on Day 2, it got very windy. We used the test to learn the track with the new asphalt. Everything changed. It was also to try some setups on the suspension area. Showa came here with new items, new ideas to try on the bike. We found something that we’ll try at the next round at Cremona next week. Overall, it was quite good.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The racing action from the Motul French Round might be fresh in the memories for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field, but that hasn’t stopped a few riders heading to MotorLand Aragon for a test. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) ventured to Spain from France to test at a venue which he knows from his time in Moto2™ but will be new to him on a World Superbike machine ahead of the round in a couple of weeks.

The #14 completed 94 laps during his one day of testing at the Spanish venue with a best lap time of 1’48.757s. That time – while direct comparisons can’t be made due to conditions and a new surface – was around eight tenths slower than the pole record, a 1’47.973s set by Jonathan Rea for Kawasaki in 2023. It was, however, just over two tenths quicker than the race lap record, again held by Rea, which is currently a 1’49.028s.

Lowes was injured at the Autodrom Most in Race 2 when he crashed at Turn 1 and suffered from a left collarbone fracture, which forced him to sit out of the Portuguese Round. The Brit hit the track at Estoril a few days later to make his comeback during a test and returned to racing action at Magny-Cours, although didn’t score points after retiring from Race 1 and Race 2 and finishing 16^th in the Tissot Superpole Race.

“That was a long but positive day of testing which came at a good time for me to get some laps in after the injury lay-off,” started Lowes when speaking about his one-day test. “The shoulder is a bit sore, but I felt we made good progress throughout on a track that I really enjoy and know very well from my time in Moto2™. That was why my feeling on the bike was immediately better and the team did a great job with some changes to give me some confidence and feeling again. After a tough weekend at Magny-Cours this was the best possible day we could have had, and I really appreciate the team making a big effort to come to this test in such a busy period. We found a step improving my pace over the longer distance on used tyres and now I’m looking forward to being back in Aragon in a couple of weeks.”

Aragon is a circuit Lowes knows extremely well with his experience from Moto™, winning three races there in total – in 2016 and two in 2020 – with all three victories coming after he claimed pole position. He also has a podium finish, claiming third in 2015 after starting from P4. He won there in WorldSSP in 2012, showing his pace at the circuit on numerous occasions and he’ll be hoping he can use a mixture of his previous success and strong test to be back in the mix after a few difficult rounds.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Two riders stepped onto the top step of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship rostrum at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, with a contrast in their win totals. For Unai Calatayud (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team), his Race 1 victory was his first in the class, but Race 2 winner Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) recorded his 13^th in WorldSSP300, extending his record as the rider with most wins after a hard-fought win during the Motul French Round.

Calatayud made his WorldSSP300 debut in 2022 and then returned in 2023 although failed to trouble the points-scoring places, securing points finishes twice – both at MotorLand Aragon – but not scoring in his other six races. Nevertheless, he secured a seat for this season and has shown a huge step forward in outright results. A podium in Race 1 at Assen was, until the French Round, the highlight when he claimed second before his first victory came at Magny-Cours in tricky conditions.

Expanding on what it means to be a race winner on the world stage, Calatayud said: “This is incredible. The race was very difficult with all the people and the track conditions. I did my best on the last lap and took my first victory in the World Championship. On the last lap, I was in third or fourth position and I was sure I could get to first. I tried and in the last sector, I passed two or three riders and did the last corners perfectly.”

Two-time Champion Buis is gunning for a record-breaking third title and victory in France helped him get back into the fight although he still has a lot of work to do, with the #1 trailing points leader Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) by 53 points with 100 remaining across the final four rounds. His victory was his second of the season, after he won the season-opening race in Barcelona back in March.

Reflecting on his return to P1, the Dutchman said: “It’s incredible to be back in top spot especially in the 100^th WorldSSP300 race. It’s always special to win this. We needed this for the team and all the guys working on the KTM because they want to see the result, and also, I do. It was a very important win and also, we’re getting back in the Championship. It’s a big gap but never say never. Just focusing and pushing for Aragon. After the restart, I needed to start again from P10. In the first lap, I managed to get back into P1. I have a very good feeling with this bike and it’s a perfect way to end the weekend.”

With two thrilling races in France, the complexion of the Championship standings did change a little bit with Mahendra taking the lead. The Indonesian rider is on 164 points, giving him a 12-point lead over Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) who did not score in Race 1 at Magny-Cours and finished fourth in Race 2. Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) sits in third, on 138 points, with Buis on 111.

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Source: WorldSBK.com