It’s time to make the MOST of this weekend and CZECH out the battles on track; right, now the obvious puns are out the way, it really is time for the Acerbis Czech Round. Round 8 of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship gives an old-school vibe but this retro layout has definitely proved a modern classic on the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship calendar. Last lap battles in our two previous visits have given pivotal moments in the title races, with 2023 set to be no different. With a swing of the pendulum in Italy, which way will it go in the Czech Republic.
MOMENTUM WITH RAZGATLIOGLU: can he get the deficit down further?
After a Sunday double at Imola, the rub of the green is with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), as he heads to Most, where he’s won four races in previous visits. Capitalising on Alvaro Bautista’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crash on Lap 1 at Imola, the Turkish star will aim to repeat his wins from last time out and as he said, “the Championship isn’t over.” Five rounds remain and then next two are what you’d consider Toprak territory; another mistake from Bautista and a win from Toprak and we could see Bautista’s lead cut by more than half ahead of summer.
The question is this however: does Bautista look like making another mistake? No; he didn’t at Imola either though. Touching the white line and, in his own admission, perhaps with “too much confidence” after a feisty scrap in the Superpole Race with rival Razgatlioglu, it was the first Bautista blunder of 2023. Last year, his first one came at Donington Park but he bounced back after that; time will tell if he can do the same again. His record at Most for Ducati is good; three podiums and a win in Race 1 – giving Ducati their 1000th podium – means he’ll be in contention again, but will he be more cautious? As a reminder, he leads Razgatlioglu by 70 points. The full standings are here.
BATTLE FOR THIRD OVERALL: Rea and Locatelli ready for latest scrap
Battling hard at Imola and sharing the podium spoils on Sunday with a rostrum each, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) will be duking it out to have P3 in their pocket before the summer holidays. ‘Loka’ was back on the podium on Sunday for the Superpole Race and returned as a race leader last time out for the first time in two years; he had good pace in the first half of the race. Not happy with tyre decisions made in the box, he’ll aim to iron them out this weekend to be competitive for a maiden win. As for Rea, he hailed it as “one of the best” weekends of 2023 with third in both feature-length races and fourth in the Superpole Race; he and Kawasaki never won at Most unlike Yamaha and Ducati, something he’d like to change Seven points split the 2020 WorldSSP Champion and the six-time WorldSBK Champion.
INDEPENDENT GAINS: more of Imola’s prowess at Most?
Fighting valiantly but in the end being denied with four laps to go, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) took a joint-career-best P2 at Imola in Race 2 and won a lot of fans with his tenacity as race leader throughout the weekend. Now he heads to Most, a circuit he knows and that is somewhat similar to Imola with fast, sweeping corners and an undulating layout. Expect Bassani to be competitive again. It’s as close to a home round as Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) gets and he’ll want to impress, whilst it’s an all-new experience for Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), who will have the task of getting his head around Most’s wild layout. After a P6 in Race 2 last time out, Brad Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) misses the Acerbis Czech Round to fix an ongoing shoulder issue; he’ll be back at Magny-Cours.
REDEMPTION IN THE OFFING: Rinaldi, Lowes and factory stars keen to strike
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had his most consistent weekend of the year despite being injured, with three top five finishes – the first time he’s managed it all season. He crashed out of the podium battle early on in Race 2 at Most last year, whilst Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) slid out of Imola’s Race 2 and heads to a track where he crashed last year too, albeit whilst being ill. 20 points split both, with ‘Petrux’ in the middle.
Then, there’s the BMW of Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK), who is making plenty of headlines about his future in recent rounds; no announcement was eventually made at Imola, but on his Instagram last week, he announced that he’ll be staying in WorldSBK, but that was all. Either way, a good weekend at Most like years gone by will be just what he needs going to summer, although he’s had drama with Razgatlioglu after last lap battles both in 2021 and 2022. Will it be a hat-trick in 2023, at a circuit where Redding and the BMW were more competitive with a podium last year? He’s re-joined by teammate Michael van der Mark this weekend, subject to the Dutchman’s medical check on Thursday. The 2014 WorldSSP Champion missed last year and has a best of seventh at what is, with no German round, as close to home as BMW get. Finally, at Honda, Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) returned to the top ten at Imola and they’ll hope to be right on the pace in the Czech Republic; teammate Xavi Vierge seeks an improvement in his Superpole performance on his return to Most.
WORK TO DO: the battle for a top ten before summer
Down the order and outside the top ten, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) prepares for a first taste of Most’s layout and is keen to get inside the top ten overall, whilst further back, Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) aims to impress, at a round where it’s possible that the team’s 2024 plans will be decided. He’s just behind Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) who occupies 14th overall and after a disappointing Imola that showed potential, he’ll take to Most for the first time on BMW machinery. Again, his German-based team will consider Most as a home round. After finishing the two full races at Imola as top BMW – the first time since joining the project in 2022 – teammate Loris Baz hopes to deliver another timely reminder as he rides for his own future, whereas Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) hopes that he can be competitive after a tough Imola.
COMPLETING THE FIELD: a home-hero ready to get stuck in
Heading home, it’d be the perfect time for Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) to deliver points; he took his only podium in World Championship competition at Most in WorldSSP300 two years ago. Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) is subject to a medical check if he travels to the Czech Republic, otherwise it will be a home-round replacement for the Czech-based team, who will also have Eric Granado tackling Most for the first time. Isaac Vinales (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) took a strong P12 in Race 1, 2021, and has his eyes on points once again. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) completes the order and searches for his first points of 2023.
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Source: WorldSBK.com