Alex Lowes will remain an integral part of the Kawasaki Racing Team for the coming seasons, having agreed a new multi-year deal that will take him into his third year as an official Kawasaki WorldSBK rider.
KRT Manager – Guim Roda
“Alex started with KRT during the Covid pandemic. He needed to learn quickly and concentrate on making championship points in those first three months; not easy. For 2021 he started the season strongly and we are all working to make those important steps to improve the performance of the overall package. We are so happy to have Alex and he is highly motivated to continue with the KRT project. With this two-year agreement we are convinced that we will now build on these firm foundations to create the strongest package with him, Marcel, his Crew Chief, the Ninja ZX-10RR and the entire KRT organisation.”
Contract signing was witnessed by Mr Masatoshi Yoshioka, Director of Corporate Planning Division, Kawasaki Motors Europe
As well as returning as a full KRT Superbike rider next year Alex will also strengthen his bond with Kawasaki and his KRT squad as he and Jonathan Rea will be joined by 2021 Kawasaki superbike debutant, Lucas Mahias, to compete in the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours race later this year.
With a race win and seven other podiums to his credit since he joined Kawasaki in 2019 Lowes continues to find a greater affinity with the new Ninja ZX-10RR, his team and his pit crew, led by Marcel Duinker.
Alex Lowes
“I am really happy to have signed once more with the Kawasaki Racing Team, the most successful team in the current era of WorldSBK.
“After a strange first year in the team last year due to the global situation and with such a short season it has been good to start this year at some different tracks and I am understanding the bike a lot more. It has also been slightly frustrating this year because I feel like we started strongly but the results are not quite where we would want them to be right now. We have a lot of potential and I am still in the top four of the championship, close to the top three, which is the target for this year.
“I will be working hard for the next few weeks to make that next step to be regularly challenging for the podium. Honestly, I feel like it is close, so with this team and all these guys around me – with the relationships we have been building – everything is in place now to push things forward.
“I am really thankful to stay in the team next year, and proud of the faith that Kawasaki has shown in me. In our job there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than the results that you see on the track so I am really happy about this new deal with KRT. A massive thanks to all the guys behind the project, to Guim and Biel Roda, Steve Guttridge and all the people at KHI in Japan for believing in me again.”
Not long after the third and final 22-lap race of the 2020 Superbike World Championship opening weekend at Phillip Island had come to its conclusion, in what had been a full-on drag race to the line that witnessed Alex Lowes taking the measure of his new Kawasaki team-mate and five-time WSBK world champion Jonathan Rea by just 0.037s, Rea thought a few things through.
Jonathan Rea
“With Alex, it’s always a fresh experience when you have a new team-mate coming into the team,” offered Rea of his Kawasaki Racing Team team-mate for 2020 and beyond. “I think Alex is quite easy to get on with and he’s showing good potential and now he’s on one of the best bikes and on one of the best teams in the paddock.”
Alex Lowes beat Jonathan Rea to the chequered flag in the third race of the Phillip Island WorldSBK season opener – Image by Rob Mott
New to the Kawasaki Racing Team after six years of lining up for both Suzuki and Yamaha, and with previously only one race win coming his way at Brno in 2018, 29 year-old Lowes who placed a fighting third to rea and Alvaro Bautista in the 2019 WSBK title brawl, now goes to the starting grid armed with a works Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Alex Lowes – Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
And it is with that ZX-10RR that Lowes will fight team-mate and, arguably, the greatest WSBK racer who ever existed, Rea with. First, though, and like everyone else who might be scanning their eyes upon this piece, he’ll need to ride out the pandemic clampdown.
“Yeah, obviously, we’re in lockdown in England, so my wife Corinne and I leave the house for exercise or to go to the supermarket to get food, so we’re not doing too much,” said Lowes from his home in England. “It’s been four weeks like this. It’s a little bit of an inconvenience, but obviously we have to do it to try and get on top of the virus. Yeah, there is nothing to do. Obviously, we haven’t been able to ride since Australia. We can go and do some running and cycling outside in England, but it’s a little bit boring, really, because we’re itching to get back on the bike, but it is the same for everybody. We just have to be as positive as we can.”
Alex Lowes got to spray the bubbly on the podium at Phillip Island – GeeBee Image
Recently the organisers of the WSBK mooted that they will move forward, all systems go, with the aim of firing the season back up the first weekend in July at Donington Park in England. Having a date to hit, any sort of date, is music to Lowes’ ears, yet most everything is still in’ to be determined’ mode.
“Yeah, because you’re always working towards something, but at the minute, we don’t know if it’s going to be a few weeks or a few months,” Lowes explained. “We don’t really have that information. That’s always the hardest thing – when you’ve got no deadline or no plan or something you need to get done. Like in school when you get homework and it is due on Friday. Yeah, you might do it later, but at least you know you need to do it. At this minute and with our racing, we just don’t know.
“I’ve stayed in close contact with the team,” continued Lowes. “We speak once or twice a week on FaceTime with a big group chat, which has been quite good. We’ve been able to speak and to see how everyone is getting on. Obviously, we’ve got mechanics in Spain and Italy. Our crew chief is in Holland and we have other guys working, so we’re spread around Europe and we’ve been catching up and I’m trying to see how the situation is in each different country, but it has been nice to see them going and obviously it would be nice to see them in person as soon as possible.”
Alex Lowes’ crew chief is Belgian Marcel Duinker
Meanwhile in England, Lowes’ brother Sam is also holding station in beating back the COVID-19 darkness and it is there that Alex is keeping an eye on his twin brother and Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc DVS Moto2 racer Sam.
“Yeah, my brother is actually living really close now,” pointed out Lowes. “He lives near the Isle of Man, so he’s just around the corner from me. I’ve spoken with Michel Van Der Mark a few times as we were fairly close after three years together at Yamaha as team-mates and we were friends, as well. After that, no, not really. I’ve just been sort of enjoying some time at home and spending some time with the wife. We’d certainly rather be getting out doing some things, but I think we have another three weeks in lockdown here in England. We still have to be patient.”
Lowes on the grid at Phillip Island – GeeBee Image
Lowes has also been working together, on and off the racetracks, with the sensational Jonathan Rea, a racer going after his sixth straight WSBK title.
“I’ve always gotten on with Johnny well and you don’t need to say anything about his results as he’s a guy to beat, it’s been really nice. The team is fantastic and I really enjoy the team and if Johnny and I get on, it makes it a lot easier and better for everybody, so the dynamics with the team have been really good. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”
Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
169 races, 22 podium finishes and two wins into his WSBK career, Lowes talked about the new reality of his racing surroundings, the Kawasaki Racing Team member quite enthused by his team and their way of doing thing.
“Yeah, definitely, Eric, it has been an eye opener for me with how well them guys do things and I definitely feel like all of that is going to help me make a good step forward with my riding and my results,” said Lowes. “Like I’ve said, it has been very positive and I’ve really enjoyed working with and getting to know all the guys, obviously Jonathan included. He does a lot of things really well, so I’m sure there is plenty that I can learn from him. Obviously, we’ve got a delayed start now, but the testing the first three months together have been really, really good.
“Even this winter, and even though I felt good on the bike, we didn’t have too good weather, so I didn’t get too many dry laps, so I feel like there is a lot more I can improve on with my relationship with the bike. I’m real confident with my decision with Kawasaki and I’m happy to be working with all the guys, and like I said, whether it is next month or two months or whenever the time is, I’m surely going to be at the front. That’s all you can ask for as a rider and it has given me a lot of motivation.”
Alex Lowes – TBG Image
All things – and all three races – considered, the season opening race weekend at Phillip Island went quite well for Alex Lowes and his ZX-10RR. Lowes was second by a mere 0.007 seconds to Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatliouglu in race one, fourth in the Tissot Superpole race to Rea on Sunday morning, and won the spectacular third and conclusive race in a straight-up dogfight with Rea chasing him hard all the way to the flag.
“Yeah, it went well. I felt good on the bike during all the winter testing. In Australia, I worked really hard during the test and on old tyres because there is something about tyres and being fast at the end of the race at Philip Island. For me, the homework paid off. Marcel, my crew chief, and I had a really good plan during the test, we work well together and it was just nice to get a couple of podiums and grab the first win early in the season and so I’ve got all of that off my back now and I can just enjoy it when we do get back to racing again. I’m just going to try and be as consistent as possible and want to fight for more wins every weekend. Yeah, Australia was fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from my first weekend with the new team.
“As far as how I saw the competition in Australia, we knew what the Ducati is if you look at what Bautista did last year. The Ducati guys are going to be strong. Honda coming back as a factory team is great and they’ve got a couple of strong riders. Van Der Mark I know him very well from over the last few years, so he is going to be strong as well as so is the entire Yamaha team. And Jonathan has always been on the Kawasaki and we have seen what he has done. The frustrating thing right now is that we are having some of the best racing that we’ve had in World Superbike and the closest competition so it is such a shame we can’t be out there every weekend putting on a show for all the fans because it is so much fun to be involved in World Superbike.”
KRT 1-2 in WorldSBK Race Two at Phillip Island – GeeBee Image
So Alex, can you do it? Can you ultimately win the WSBK World Championship?
“Yeah, that’s my goal and my dream and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to join the Kawasaki team. I wanted to go up against Jonathan on the same bike. Yeah, I believe I can be World Champion. I still have a lot to learn and a lot to improve, but with these guys around, I know I can do it. It’s going to be about being patient and understanding that it is still going to be my first year on the Kawasaki. Even if it ends up being a champion next year, I can’t expect too much. I want to be consistent and fight for wins wherever I can. The belief is there. The motivation is there. I’m just excited to get back and see the guys and get riding again, but right now we have to do the right thing and stay at home and that’s it! There’s not much else to say, really!”
Kawasaki have unveiled the official KRT FIM Superbike World Championship machinery and graphics package at the team launch in Barcelona, as the team prepares to head on-track as action resumes at Phillip Island at the end of the month.
The Kawasaki Racing Team – WSBK 2020
The Kawasaki official riding line-up will feature five-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea aboard the latest race specification Ninja ZX-10RR, while joining him is exciting new signing for the 2020 season Alex Lowes.
Jonathan Rea & Alex Lowes – Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
With winter testing in Europe now complete – in the usual monochrome winter tests colours – Jonathan Rea finally presented his new leathers at the team launch. He answered the question of how it feels to face another season laden with opportunities.
Jonathan Rea & Alex Lowes – Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
Jonathan Rea
“We have had a solid pre-season where I felt fast and consistent and the target is to win another championship – for the team, Kawasaki and myself. Tonight is the start of another great year together. This is the time when it all becomes real and it is really fitting to do it in our team workshop where all the hard work goes in preparing our bike and our season. It has been particularly nice to do it in front of many of our sponsors and the family and friend of our mechanics. Not long until the season starts now!”
Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
WorldSBK race winner and former BSB Champion Alex Lowes was also excited to be unveiling the 2020 package, joining the ‘Green Team’ for the new season.
Jonathan Rea & Alex Lowes – Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
Alex Lowes
“I have been with the team for a few months now but we have had the chance to show our supporters and sponsors the final colours for our championship challenge tonight. It has been great to be part of this team and it was really nice to be seen in Kawasaki green for the first time. This has been a fantastic event, especially with all the team here in their own regular working environment. After this, it is down to Australia for the first race of the season.”
Alex Lowes – Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
KRT Team Manager Guim Roda confirmed that he and his staff were motivated as ever. Not to mention very and proud to be able to have all the team’s partners and supporters made welcome in his literal home environment.
Jonathan Rea & Alex Lowes – Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
Guim Roda – KRT Team Manager
“For the 2020 season, we decided to make the team launch in our KRT headquarters because we have improved our workshop environment and we wanted to show our friends and sponsors the place we work from to make all the racing activities for KRT in WorldSBK. This is a magic moment in which all the staff were involved, each one helping make this the most attractive launch possible. We have in the next months a very hard job to do, because expectations – again – are so high and this do not allow us to have big margin to not keep winning. To win is a result of the job well done. To make good job it is very important to have the correct working environment to make the job in the best way possible. Today we hosted the team launch from the base we want to keep making WorldSBK history from with our riders Rea and Lowes.”
Jonathan Rea & Alex Lowes – Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
As the team now packs up for the first of the 13-rounds that will make up the 2020 season, the first official WorldSBK test will take place at Phillip Island, on Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 February. Race weekend in Australia will start on Friday 28 February and finish on Sunday, the first day of March.
Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK 2020
KRT Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK Reveal Team Launch GB
British rider Alex Lowes will join Jonathan Rea in the official Kawasaki Racing Team set-up in 2020. Lowes is a proven race winner and 18-times WorldSBK podium finisher, having been a regular in the series since 2014.
Lowes, a BSB champion before he joined the WorldSBK ranks, is a regular podium challenger and currently sits third in the 2019 WorldSBK points table, with two rounds and six races remaining. As well as his WorldSBK experience Alex has won the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours race three times in succession, from 2016 to 2018.
Guim Roda – KRT Team Manager
“KRT welcomes a 27 year old rider with a lot of pace and good experience. Our target is to ‘polish’ Lowes and try to make him a candidate for the title too. And he has a long career ahead. He has shown very good skills during these years and for sure the potential is there. We’ll try to use all the tools at our disposal in KRT to help him show his best.”
Alex, brother of Moto2 rider Sam, will take the next steps on his career path inside the championship-winning KRT squad, riding alongside five-time champion Rea.
Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Racing Manager
“All at Kawasaki would like to send a warm welcome to Alex, who will join the elite Kawasaki Racing Team for next season in WorldSBK – partnering up with the all-time greatest Champion Jonathan Rea inside our Factory team. Alex is known to be a very hard worker and shows 100% commitment in every race. This attitude, combined with his talent and a clear enjoyment of his job, means that we are very confident that, along with the great staff we have inside KRT and on the Ninja ZX-10RR, this will be the start of a very exciting new era for all.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea ensured the 2019 Pirelli French Round will go down in the history books, after Sunday began with Turkey’s first ever winner Razgatlioglu claiming victory in the Superpole Race and culminating with Jonathan Rea winning Race 2 to become the championship’s first ever five-time champion following early misfortune for nearest rival Alvaro Bautista.
Toprak Razgatlioglu – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
In World Supersport Lucas Mahias took the win, with favourites Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo both crashing out, with 10-points separating the two crashers at the head of the standings.
Ana Carrasco claimed victory in the World Supersport 300 class, while Manuel González extended his championship lead to claim the 2019 title, becoming the youngest rider to ever do so.
Manuel González – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Superpole Race
22-year-old Toprak Razgatlioglu made it two out of two at the Pirelli French Round, clinching a stunning Tissot Superpole Race victoryafter another battle withJonathan Rea, who as a result created the mathematical possibility of securing a fifth WorldSBK crown in race two.
Toprak Razgatlioglu – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
As the lights went out, Michael van der Marklaunched into an early lead, slipping up the inside of Jonathan Rea into the first corner. Leon Haslam maintained third withTom Sykes climbing two places to fourth. Chaz Davies and Toprak Razgatlioglu were both big movers, improving up to eighth and tenth respectively.
The Razgatlioglu roll continued on the second lap, gaining three places in an incredible move on the brakes into the Adelaide hairpin, overhauling Chaz Davies, Alex Lowes and Michael Ruben Rinaldi. In the meantime, Jonathan Rea had managed to wrestle control away from Michael van der Mark, easing up the inside at the Imola chicane.
Eleven places had been gained in the first two laps, and two more would follow for Razgatlioglu on lap three, as the remarkable prowess of the Turkish rider on the brakes took him past Tom Sykes at the Adelaide hairpin, before Leon Haslam relinquished third three corners later. When Michael van der Mark was overtaken at Adelaide shortly before half distance, the stage was set for a repeat of yesterday’s last lap battle for the lead in race one.
On lap seven, the comeback was complete with the Turkish Puccetti Racing rider storming up the inside of Rea into his favourite overtaking spot, the Adelaide hairpin. The world champion stayed in touch with Razgatlioglu, and even threatened a counter attack on the final lap, but the Ulsterman couldn’t quite get his Kawasaki stopped into turn five, opening the door for Toprak to ease past on the exit and claim his second victory in a row.
Leon Haslam – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
The fight for the final front row spot in race two went down to the last lap as well with Chaz Davies, who had earlier made light work of Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes, chasing down the Yamaha of Michael van der Mark.
The Dutchman held on for third in the end, with Davies ensuring he will head the second row of the grid this afternoon in fourth. Alvaro Bautista produced a strong recovery to finish fifth, setting similar lap times to the leaders at various points of the race, but the Spaniard must avoid any mistakes in race two to keep Jonathan Rea waiting for the title. Alex Lowes was sixth, and will complete row two on the grid for race two.
Chaz Davies – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Loris Baz returned the favour after losing out to Tom Sykes in the latter stages of race one. The Frenchman delighted the home crowd by snatching seventh on the last lap with Leon Haslam falling back to ninth by the chequered flag, the last of the points scorers.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi rode a strong race to tenth as all 20 starters completed the Tissot Superpole Race at Magny Cours. By virtue of his strong performance in Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session, Rinaldi will head the fourth row for race two later this afternoon.
Toprak Razgatlioglu topped the Superpole Race podium from Rea and Van Der Mark – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Race 2
Starting from pole position for the first time in WorldSBK, Toprak Razgatlioglu couldn’t make the same lightning start which saw him leap up the order in the two previous races. Rea edged up the inside into Turn 1 to grab the lead but he wouldn’t stay ahead for long, as Michael van der Mark used the slipstream to hit the front at the Adelaide hairpin.
Jonathan Rea – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
The moment which ultimately proved decisive came on Lap 2 as Razgatlioglu lost the rear of his Kawasaki on the exit of Turn 13. As the Turkish rider fought to control the slide, Alvaro Bautista was powerless to avoid the Race 1 winner and both riders were eliminated on the spot. With the words ‘BAUTISTA OUT’ displayed on his pit-board next time around, Rea now knew that a race victory would see him make history.
Alvaro Bautista had his hopes dashed after being caught up in Razgatlioglu’s crash – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Michael van der Mark was keen to ensure that Rea didn’t have an unchallenged run to a fifth WorldSBK crown, keeping the Ulsterman at bay until the Imola chicane on Lap 6. The Dutchman didn’t trail for long with the Yamaha proving a formidable motorcycle down the back straight towards Turn 5, an advantage van der Mark utilised to power past on Lap 8.
As the race ticked over half distance, Rea mounted another attack on the leader with van der Mark going defensive into Adelaide. The championship leader was wise to this tactic though and drew alongside into the following Nurburgring chicane, making the move stick on Lap 13. With van der Mark no longer close enough to make use of the slipstream next time around, Rea had the margin he needed to ease clear.
Alex Lowes – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Despite a valiant effort from van der Mark, the advantage grew to over one-second, allowing Rea to close out the final laps and claim his 12th victory of 2019. This one was the sweetest of all though as he completed one of the great WorldSBK comebacks. From 61 points behind, Rea now holds an unassailable 129-point advantage and a place in the history books as the first ever five-time WorldSBK champion.
Alex Lowes completed the team’s first double-podium of the season with a close third, consolidating third in the championship standings, while Chaz Davies, who was heavily delayed in the early collision between his team-mate Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu, recovered to finish fourth, overtaking home favourite Loris Baz on Lap 14. Despite a late challenge from the Frenchman, he was forced to settle for fifth, completing a positive weekend at his home round as the Top Independent Rider in Race 2.
Marco Melandri – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Marco Melandri closed out the final European round of his WorldSBK career with a strong charge from 15th on the grid to sixth, winning a close three-way fight on the last lap. The Italian finished just a tenth of a second clear of Leon Haslam with Tom Sykes right behind the pair in eighth.
Leon Camier capped off an impressive comeback to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with ninth place, finishing a second clear of Jordi Torres. Elsewhere, there were points for French wildcard Sylvain Barrier in 13th but disappointment for Sandro Cortese who was forced to retire midway through the race while running in the top ten.
Jonathan Rea topped the Race 2 podium from van der Mark and Lowes – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Jonathan Rea – P1
“I can quite believe it. It has been an incredible year so far, and a year I have never given up, I’ve kept believing in myself, believing in my bike, believing in my crew and believing in my effort. After the fourth race, it was so tough to keep turning up when you know that he is going to be so difficult to win, but in the mid-season, we turn things around. I don’t have so many words right now, because I did not expect this today. I had no idea what was going to happen. If I would win today, what was the point situation, but I knew when I got the sign that Bautista was out that I could mathematically have the chance. And I did it! Thanks to all my team, all my family and all the people who have been working with me, Kawasaki, the sponsors, all the people that made this possible. It’s a huge team effort, and I couldn’t be here without them.”
Jonathan Rea – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Michael van der Mark – P2
“I tried everything today! We improved the bike a bit in some area but toward the end, we lost quite a lot from Johnny but I really enjoyed this race and we had a nice battle! Of course, I saw that Alvaro was out so I knew Rea wasn’t going to do any crazy thing. I tried to stay with him, I passed him a few times but in the end he was a bit stronger. I want to thank my team because we got another podium.”
Michael van der Mark – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Alex Lowes – P3
“I have got a little bit of good luck at the start of the race with the accident that happened in front of me. But after that, I felt strong on the bike and I was able to ride in 1’37 and catch Jonathan and Michael. Unfortunately, I pushed a lot in the middle and when I got there my front tyre was worn out a lot, so I couldn’t fight with van der Mark in the end but I am pleased with the podium and it set us out nicely for the final two fly-aways of the year.”
Alex Lowes – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Chaz Davies – P4
“In both races today I finished in fourth place, which in itself is not a bad result, but I feel I could have got a lot more. In race 2 I almost got caught up in the incident between Toprak and Álvaro so took avoiding action by going off the track. Unfortunately, I came off the grass at four seconds back and finished the race with the same gap that I was unable to make up. It was so frustrating not to get the chance to fight for the win, because the pace was there.”
Chaz Davies – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Loris Baz – P5
“Every race we close the gap to the race winner, and the same was true this afternoon. I’m much happier than I was yesterday, because yesterday I was not so happy with the bike and how I rode the last laps, but today was much better. This morning was also strong, but we had a technical issue after five laps and I just had to ride the bike to the end, although I still managed to beat Leon and Tom. This afternoon I lost again time at the beginning with Michael Rinaldi and Leon, but once past them I was as quick as the top guys over the remaining 15 or so laps. I’m happy; we didn’t quite make the podium, but we need to remember where we’ve come from and that we’re now up there and fighting with the factory bikes. We’re doing our job and I’m sure we’ll be up there challenging for the podium really soon.”
Loris Baz – 2019 WorldSBK Round 11, Magny-Cours
Álvaro Bautista – DNF
“Fortunately physically I’m OK after the crash, I’m just a bit disappointed because I think in race 2 I was able to fight for the win. For sure the weekend was tough, it was a new track that I’d never seen before and there was very little time to ride in dry conditions. Yesterday in the first race I managed to improve the feeling with the track and made up a lot of positions, while today in race 2 I made a good start and felt really good with the bike up at the front. Unfortunately, I was involved in Razgatlioglu’s crash at Turn 13 and his mistake caused my retirement. It’s a pity to finish in this way but it’s all part of racing. Congratulations to Jonathan Rea because he had a great season. During the championship Jonathan has always been able to get the best out of every situation, and for sure we didn’t lose the title because of this race.”
Yamaha Motor Europe have announced that they will part company with Alex Lowes after the final round of the 2019 FIM Superbike World Championship season in Qatar, with the rider not offered the same role into 2020.
Alex Lowes
Lowes has been part of Yamaha’s WorldSBK program since the Japanese manufacturer returned to the premier production racing series in 2016. In a partnership that has spanned four seasons, Lowes and Yamaha have completed 106 races, in which Lowes finished on the podium on 15 occasions.
The highlight of Lowes’ time with Yamaha undoubtedly came in 2018 at Brno in the Czech Republic, when the Briton got the better of his teammate in a closely-contested Race 2 to take his first WorldSBK race win.
Alex Lowes – Brno 2018
But the successful partnership between Yamaha and Lowes extended further than just the WorldSBK paddock. The 29-year-old was also a key member of the Yamaha Factory Racing Team that took three consecutive victories at the prestigious 8 Hours of Suzuka, only missing out on an unprecedented fourth win this year by the narrowest of margins.
Yamaha Motor Europe thanked Alex Lowes for his significant contribution to their racing achievements and wished him every success for the future, with the President of Yamaha Motor Europe Eric de Seynes thanking Lowes.
Alex Lowes
Eric de Seynes – President, Yamaha Motor Europe
“I would like to start by saying thank you to Alex, not just for the success we have enjoyed together in WorldSBK and at Suzuka, but also for his commitment to Yamaha and our Superbike project, which he has been an integral part of from the beginning. It was a difficult decision not to continue with Alex in the same role for the 2020 season but it was also our sincere hope that he would remain within the Yamaha family. We knew there was a risk and, unfortunately, that risk has turned out to be real and Alex will not be on a Yamaha next season. Working with Alex these past four years has been a real pleasure for me and on behalf of both Yamaha and myself I wish Alex every success for the future.”
WorldSBK riders completed their second and final day of Official Portimao Test around Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal. Sun shone down on both days, and scorching weather saw riders dealing with different track conditions between the two daily sessions, with the asphalt temperatures reaching nearly 50 degrees in the afternoon.
Alex Lowes – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
With that bear in mind, riders hit the track early this morning again, putting in their best laps and continuing from where they left off yesterday before the temperatures soared once again.
Pata Yamaha WorldSBK rider Alex Lowes was the fastest rider at the end of Day 2, after setting the quickest lap time in 1’41.153 this morning with qualifying tyres. While trying new chassis components and different soft tyres, the British rider took time also to understand his physical condition.
During the break, Lowes had surgery to solve a tendinitis problem in his arms, but after two days of testing, he is now sure to be fit and ready for the round in September. On the other side of the garage, it was an eventful day for Michael van der Mark, who had a small crash in FP1 and experienced a technical problem twice in FP2. Despite that, the Dutchman cannot be disappointed with his results as he set the fourth fastest lap time with Q tyres.
Alex Lowes – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
It was a stronger day also for the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK riders. Jonathan Rea closed again as second fastest just 0.218 s behind Lowes, with his best lap time improved of more than a second compared to the first day.
Jonathan Rea
“The test was really good and to be honest I needed to test. I was a little bit slow in waking up yesterday. I have had a great summer break but I was not only readjusting to riding again. With the momentum I had from the endurance spec bike in Suzuka, I felt really fast coming here. At a circuit I am really strong at, I did not really feel I had much more yesterday. But this morning I woke up and we found a better lap time and also more consistency. In the heat of the afternoon I was much better compared to the opening day. I feel really positive.”
Jonathan Rea – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
Teammate Leon Haslam was sixth, not far from the top of the time screens. While both riders spent Day 1 focusing on their overall package, today they worked mainly in preparation for the next WorldSBK round here in Portugal.
Leon Haslam
“We had a lot of things to evaluate and we ended up – on race tyres – the second quickest to Johnny. I was the only one who did not use a qualifier, an ‘SCX’ or a prototype tyre. So race tyre-to-race tyre we were just a couple of tenths off where Johnny was. We made a big step here and we were 0.7 seconds faster than we were in pre-season testing at Portimao, and in hotter conditions. I felt we got through all our items and it was a really positive test. It shows me as sixth on the time sheets but that is purely down to others using a qualifying tyre.”
Leon Haslam – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
After feeling unwell overnight, Toprak Razgatlioglu had to cut short his final day of testing. Third quickest today after two positive days, the Turkish rider prepared for the race weekend and tried different qualifying strategies with the rest of the season in mind.
Toprak Razgatlioglu – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
It was a shorter day also for Alvaro Bautista due to pain in his shoulder, after sustaining an injury at the U.S. round, who also decided to sit out from FP2. The Spaniard completed the Portimao Test ninth overall ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who had a small crash with no consequence at the end of FP2. The Italian preceded the other official Ducati of Chaz Davies, who had a different swingarm and other new items to test. Completing the group of Ducati riders, Eugene Laverty finished eighth.
Álvaro Bautista
“These two days of testing have been very positive even though on the second day we weren’t able to do many laps. Unfortunately, the shoulder is not yet in a perfect condition and I felt a bit of pain. We preferred to stop early so as not to make things worse and to be in the best condition in a couple of weeks’ time. In any case, yesterday we did a lot of laps and all things considered I’m happy because I found a good feeling again with my Panigale. This was the first test since the last round at Laguna Seca, now we’ve got a few more days to fully recover.”
Alvaro Bautista – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
Chaz Davies
“It was a good two days and great to get back into the swing of things and actually just verify the progress that we have made since the test here in January. Coming here six months later, I felt like the bike responded pretty good all in all. Over the two days we worked on the chassis mainly, things felt good and the bike was working well. I go away from here pretty confident and can’t wait for the final part of the season to start.”
Chaz Davies – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
Loris Baz was the rider to put in the largest number of laps – 146 laps across the two days. Today the Frenchman found an improvement on his opening day pace as he set the fifth fastest lap time in 1’41.718. It was a busy test for Baz, as he was trying new tyres compounds and working on improving the weak points of his Yamaha YZF R1.
Continuing with his busy schedule, Sandro Cortese set the seventh fastest lap time, while teammate Marco Melandri closed thirteenth behind Tom Sykes. The latter had different items to test on his BMW S1000 RR but together with his teammate Markus Reiterberger (15th) they were able to gather enough information to work on for the next round.
Sandro Cortese – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
Kawasaki Independent Team riders Jordi Torres and Leandro Mercado closed 14th and 16th respectively, as they both worked to improve the overall package of their ZX-10RR machines across the two days.
Moriwaki Althea Honda Team riders Takumi Takahashi and Ryuichi Kiyonari finished seventeenth and nineteenth respectively as they both worked on the base setup of the Honda CBR1000RR, while Ducati wild card entry Silvain Barrier closed 18th overall.
Takumi Takahashi
“This track is quite difficult, and it is not easy to set good lap times. Having said that, I tried my best over these two days and ultimately, we were able to improve our settings and our lap times but honestly not by as much as we would have liked. Anyway, all in all, it has been a good experience.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari
“I really enjoyed these two days of testing. We tried many different settings and even if I did not make any really big improvements in terms of lap times, I feel that the potential is there to do a good job with the bike’s setup when the race weekend arrives. So, I look forward to coming back in September for the Portuguese round.”
Official Test Portimao – Two-Day Combined Superbike
A. LOWES (GBR, Yamaha) 1’41.153
J. REA (GBR, Kawasaki) 1’41.371 +0.218
T. RAZGATLIOGLU (TUR, Kawasaki) 1’41.428 +0.275
M. VAN DER MARK (NED, Yamaha) 1’41.489 +0.336
L. BAZ (FRA, Yamaha) 1’41.718 0.565
L. HASLAM (GBR, Kawasaki) 1’41.758 +0.605
S. CORTESE (GER, Yamaha) 1’42.035 +0.882
E. LAVERTY (IRL, Ducati) 1’42.055 +0.902
A. BAUTISTA (ESP, Ducati) 1’42.087 +0.934
M. RINALDI (ITA, Ducati) 1’42.124 +0.971
C. DAVIES (GBR, Ducati) 1’42.161 +1.008
T. SYKES (GBR, BMW) 1’42.172 +1.019
M. MELANDRI (ITA, Yamaha) 1’42.212 +1.059
J. TORRES (ESP, Kawasaki) 1’42.264 +1.111
M. REITERBERGER (GER, BMW) 1’42.457 +1.304
L. MERCADO (ARG, Kawasaki) +1’42.712 1.559
T. TAKAHASHI (JPN, Honda) 1’43.544 +2.391
S. BARRIER (FRA, Ducati) 1’44.111 +2.958
R. KIYONARI (JPN, Honda) 1’44.474 +3.321
World Supersport
BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team rider Federico Caricasulo was the fastest among the WorldSSP riders. The Italian set the quickest lap time in 1’45.281 ahead of compatriot Raffaele De Rosa.
Federico Caricasulo – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
Race winners Jules Cluzel set the third fastest time despite a small crash in the afternoon today. The Frenchman closed ahead of the Yamaha of Spanish rider Isaac Viñales who worked well during both days.
Championship leader Randy Krummenacher was the fifth quickest around Portimao after having set the pace at the end of Day 1 yesterday. The Swiss worked on improving his feeling with the front end of his bike, testing also his physical conditions.
Randy Krummenacher – 2019 Portimao WorldSBK Test
Krummenacher returned to the tarmac at Portimao after suffering a slight knee injury at the beginning of the two-month summer break, but he looks now to have fully recuperated.
Official Test Portimao – Two-Day Combined Supersport
Alvaro Bautista’s winning streak continued at Assen despite a max-rpm penalty and weather, with the weekend’s racing all held on Sunday, while the Sprint was cancelled. Taking both race wins the 34-year-old from Talavera de la Reina now equals Jonathan Rea’s consecutive winning streak of 11, albeit with Rea’s race wins being full length races.
Alvaro Bautista
The weekend saw Rea and Michael van der Mark swap the final podium positions each claiming a second-place result and third-place result, with Bautista leaving Assen on 236 points to Rea’s 183. Van der Mark sits fourth in the standings on 115, 11-points behind teammate Alex Lowes.
WorldSBK Race 1
It was a brilliant start by Markus Reiterberger, who was up to second position, demoting Michael van der Mark, while Leon Haslam was fourth. Rocketing through on the first lap from eighth, Jonathan Rea was fifth by the end of the lap one, before getting his teammate for fourth at Turn 1 at the start of lap two.
Markus Reiterberger
As the race settled down, Michael van der Mark began to drop back, unable to fight off a rampant Jonathan Rea. Soon, the Dutchman had Alex Lowes for company, whilst out front, Alvaro Bautista was beginning to stretch Reiterberger. Rea was starting to close but not enough to get on terms with Reiterberger straight away.
Chaz Davies was in a battle with Tom Sykes, before starting to pull away in the middle of the race. Behind Sykes in the same battle were the leading Independent riders, consisting of Jordi Torres and Toprak Razgatlioglu. The two riders swapped positions rather aggressively between Turns 1 and Turn 2. The Spaniard still able to stay ahead of the Turkish rider.
Chaz Davies
With five laps to go, ‘Pocket Rocket’ Leon Haslam had started to line up the rear end of Alex Lowes’ Yamaha, as the two continued to battle and fight. Despite trying to pull away, Haslam was able to remain with Lowes and eventually, with three laps to go, made the pass at the final chicane. However, a mistake by Haslam at Turn 7 allowed Lowes back ahead, making for a great last lap between the two.
Leon Haslam
However, at the front, it was business as usual for Alvaro Bautista, who made history to take the win at Assen and become the first rider to win the opening ten races of a WorldSBK season. Jonathan Rea finished second once again in another damage limitation ride, whereas it home-hero Michael van der Mark who completed the podium – his first of the season. Alex Lowes put in the ride of his life with a determined fourth position, ahead of WorldSBK returnee Leon Haslam.
Jonathan Rea
A fine ride by Markus Reiterberger saw him take a stunning sixth position, whilst Chaz Davies was seventh, a further 1.8s behind the German revelation. It was a big battle on the final run to line between Jordi Torres and Toprak Razgatlioglu, with the Spaniard holding on for eighth position and Toprak in ninth. A dejected Tom Sykes could only manage tenth.
Leon Camier
Outside of the top ten, Leon Camier was in eleventh, with Marco Melandri recovering to 12th ahead of his teammate Sandro Cortese. Eugene Laverty couldn’t replicate his Aragon success and was 14th, whilst Ryuichi Kiyonari rounded out the points. Hector Barbera was two laps down in 16th.
Bautista’s win makes it the first for Ducati at TT Circuit Assen since Sylvain Guintoli in 2012, Race 1. He is also the first rider ever in WorldSBK history to take ten victories in the opening ten races. There were no crashers in the race, but Italians Alessandro Delbianco and Michael Ruben Rinaldi retired.
Alvaro Bautista
WorldSBK Race 1 – Assen
A. BAUTISTA ESP ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati
J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +3.130
M. VAN DER MARK NED Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team +4.934
A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team +10.679
L. HASLAM GBR Kawasaki Racing Team +10.859
M. REITERBERGER GER BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +15.105
C. DAVIES GBR ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati +17.001
J. TORRES ESP Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki +20.227
T. RAZGATLIOGLU TUR Turkish Puccetti Racing +20.276
T. SYKES GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +21.748
L. CAMIER GBR Moriwaki Althea Honda Team +32.686
M. MELANDRI ITA GRT Yamaha +38.777
S. CORTESE GER GRT Yamaha +43.075
E. LAVERTY IRL Team Goeleven +46.018
R. KIYONARI JPN Moriwaki Althea Honda Team +46.293
H. BARBERA ESP Orelac Racing VerdNatura +2 Laps
WorldSBK Race 2
Once more, WorldSBK went to war on the famous TT Circuit Assen layout, with ten riders in the leading group in the early stages. However, after an incredible start, Jonathan Rea couldn’t hold off Alvaro Bautista any longer, as the Spaniard battled through to take an 11th race win of the year!
Jonathan Rea in the lead in Race 2
A frantic first lap saw Jonathan Rea erupt through the grid from eighth and was already up to the lead by Turn 5, in what was an impressive opening few corners from the reigning four-time champion. Alvaro Bautista was placed in second but under some serious pressure from home-hero, Michael van der Mark. Leon Haslam was also right in the mix during the opening laps, whilst Alex Lowes and Chaz Davies completed the top six.
Alex Lowes
The race unfolded, and Jonathan Rea was putting in a fantastic effort to defend from Bautista, standing the bike up on the apex of Turn 5 in order to back Bautista up into the chasing pack. Chaz Davies was able to climb up the order and got as high as third, while Michael van der Mark was being pushed back down the order, to fifth.
Chaz Davies
On lap six, Bautista, who had been continuously probing and searching for a way ahead of Rea, made his move at the fierce Turn 8, slamming his Ducati down the inside. The move rattled Rea, who needed to fight back straight away to get a hold of Bautista before he stretched away. The Northern Irishman was then passed by Chaz Davies at Turn 9 and Ducati were first and second at Assen.
Leon Haslam
Rea was soon back into the second place, getting ahead of Davies at the final chicane. Alex Lowes was still ahead of his teammate, but Leon Haslam was the rider who looked rather ominous, lapping quicker than the two Yamaha riders ahead. Just behind, it was another solid ride from Markus Reiterberger who was seventh for the majority of the race.
Markus Reiterberger
From the middle of the race, it was a phenomenal ride from Michael van der Mark, who was lapping far quicker than everyone ahead of him, including Bautista at one point. The Dutch rider was heroic, bridging a huge gap in short time to catch Jonathan Rea with just three laps remaining.
At Turn 13, around the outside, a brave van der Mark roared ahead, with Rea now facing losing more points to Bautista. As Rea went backwards, it was his teammate Haslam who suffered a similar fate after looking so strong, sliding back behind the BMWs of Reiterberger and Tom Sykes.
Tom Sykes
With the last lap upon us, Bautista had secured enough of an advantage to secure another win, and despite a desperate attempt by Rea at Turn 10 to get ahead of van der Mark – where they collided – it wasn’t enough, with the crowd’s favourite battling hard to remain ahead.
Bautista took the victory but on a run to the line, Rea got alongside van der Mark, but the Dutch star held on ahead of the reigning four-time WorldSBK Champion! Fourth position was secured by Alex Lowes ahead of Chaz Davies, whilst Markus Reiterberger held off Tom Sykes on a run to the line for his second consecutive sixth position.
Alvaro Bautista
In eighth position, Leon Haslam struggled home, some 20 seconds behind race winner Bautista. He was only just ahead of the two Independent Kawasaki riders of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jordi Torres, completing the top ten in that respective order.
Sandro Cortese
Outside of the top ten, it was Sandro Cortese in 11th and Leon Camier in 12th, whilst Eugene Laverty could only manage 13th. Marco Melandri completed a miserable weekend in 14th after a fierce battle with those ahead of him, whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi was the last point-scorer. Hector Barbera was 16th ahead of Alessandro Delbianco. Ryuichi Kiyonari retired.
Ryuichi Kiyonari
Bautista’s win is a new record in WorldSBK, having won the opening 11 WorldSBK races of a season. He gives Ducati their 352nd race win in WorldSBK and their 27th at the TT Circuit Assen. It is also Spain’s 48th win in the WorldSBK class.
With his 11th win, it puts him level with Jonathan Rea in terms of consecutive race wins, something the reigning champion only achieved last year! It also puts him level with Ruben Xaus, Regis Laconi and Stephane Mertens with number of wins in their WorldSBK career.
Alvaro Bautista claims the overall win from Michael van der Mark and Jonathan Rea
Álvaro Bautista – P1
“I’m very happy because I won two races at a circuit which was maybe not very favourable for us, and where the Kawasakis had always won in the past. The weekend didn’t get off to the best start on Friday, but in any case we managed to be consistent and competitive. Today we did two full-distance 21-lap races and I can tell you that I used up all my energy, but my training helped me a lot. In the first race in the morning there were very cold conditions, but I tried to get a good start and set my own pace right from the start. I was able to open up a bit of a gap on my rivals and manage the situation well to go on to win Race 1. In Race 2 to be honest I didn’t expect to see Rea ahead of me at Turn 4 because he was on the third row, but he made an incredible start. In the early laps I was taking it easy, trying to stay up and study him well but I could see that his pace was a bit slow so I decided to pass him. I always tried to give my all, in fact we also improved on the circuit record, so it was another wonderful weekend.”
Álvaro Bautista
Michael van der Mark – P2
“Today was proper old school Superbike, with two long races in one day. This morning we had to go with the harder rear tyre because the track was quite cold. It made the bike difficult to ride because the rear was spinning quite a lot and there wasn’t so much feeling, but we knew this would be the case and it was definitely the right choice for the race. In the second race the temperature had risen enough to go with the soft option rear, but the pace at the start of the race wasn’t as high as I’d expected. I could see Johnny in front of me, but I was battling with a few riders and trying not to lose position, so I couldn’t chase earlier in the race. I tried to stay calm and, once clear of the battles, I managed to close the gap to Johnny and was planning to make the move with two laps to go. But then the opportunity came to go around the outside of him in a fifth gear corner a lap early, so I took it. After that we had a good battle, I think we touched at least once around the back part of the circuit, but we were both struggling for grip at that point. The team did a great job with the bike this weekend, so thanks to them, and a big thank you to the Dutch fans for their support, in what were very cold conditions for anyone sat in the grandstands. I’m happy we could repay them with two podiums today.”
Michael van der Mark
Jonathan Rea – P3
“I felt good in the fight and my team gave me a good bike to fight with and keep the gap quite stable for a while. I enjoyed today and it was like good old Superbike, two long races in one day. I feel like the only difference today was that I had a shorter time to take lunch and prepare for race two. But it was not anything extraordinary. I really feel like we maximised our potential with the bike this weekend. I felt good with the bike and we were stronger in some sectors and weaker in others compared to Alvaro. Even in the cold conditions I felt like the grip level was really, really good but at the end when the tyres were dropping, I lost a lot of grip. The bike became more physical to ride. Apart from that I was very impressed with the potential of the tyres and I was able to run quite consistently in the start to middle of the second race. I am pretty content.”
Jonathan Rea
Alex Lowes – P4
“I didn’t feel so strong in the colder conditions of the first race this morning, but it was good to get into a bit of a battle with Leon in the race and even better to beat him to fourth place on the last lap. I felt a lot stronger in the second race, when the slight increase in temperature meant we could run the soft rear tyre. I got up into third after passing Michael and I felt quite good, but then when he came back past me there were a couple of sections where he was a bit stronger than me and I couldn’t quite stay with him. I have to be happy with two fourth places, as this was the best we could do here today, so I’ll take the points and start looking now towards the next race in Imola. Congratulations to Michael and the team, as it was great to see a double podium again today. There’s a fantastic atmosphere in the team and we’re making steps forward every week, which is good to see and great to be a part of.”
Alex Lowes and Andrew Pitt
Chaz Davies
“Jumping onto the podium at Aragón was great then coming here and not getting a podium could be a bit of a disappointment, but I felt like I put together a decent second race. The first race was tough, I had a bit of contact with Johnny in the first corner, got pushed out and just didn’t make any progression in the race. The second race was good, I got a decent start and got up to second for a lap but then just struggled a bit with the balance of the bike after six or seven laps and in the longer corners in particular. We need to look at that and become more comfortable in these areas. It would have been nice to stay in the fight close to the podium, but it just goes to show that we have some work to do to improve in every track.”
Chaz Davies
Markus Reiterberger – P6
“I am really happy. The weekend in Assen was great and a big thank you goes to my team for their hard work. We have taken another step and I felt really good on the RR all weekend. I got off to a great start in the opening race and was able to match the pace at the front of the field for the first few laps. After seven or eight laps, however, I had a few issues with the grip on the rear tyre – there was quite a lot of movement entering and exiting the corners. I took wider lines and consequently made two mistakes, and I was forced off while overtaking on one occasion. Despite this, however, I was able to finish in the top six. The second race also went well. We made a few changes to the balance of the bike. Unfortunately, my start was not so good in race two and we lost a few positions. I was able to maintain the same level for a relatively long time. In the end, I fancied myself to finish fifth, but I lost a lot of time behind (Leon) Haslam. That allowed (Chaz) Davies to escape in fifth place. We can now recharge our batteries a bit and prepare for the next races. We are heading in the right direction and will continue to work on further improving the chassis.”
Markus Reiterberger
Tom Sykes – P7
“Everyone has seen the potential of the BMW S 1000 RR is high considering how early the project is. Although the positions weren’t what I was hoping for today, on the positive side we have gained a lot of information. I was able to see where I am losing out and during the race that was confirmed it. We will try to improve now where we are missing out and moving forward we know that we progress on this in the next race. Markus rode really well today, I knew he would be strong from his race here last year on the Superstock bike. One of the positives we can take forward is that in general the RR is working in the right direction. We have been consistently around five seconds from P2 in most races so given my experience and the level of the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team, I think we will get to where we need to be throughout the season.”
Tom Sykes
WorldSBK Race 2 Results – Assen
A. BAUTISTA ESP ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati
M. VAN DER MARK NED Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team +4.688
J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +4.706
A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team +10.073
C. DAVIES GBR ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati +13.667
M. REITERBERGER GER BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +15.373
T. SYKES GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +15.387
L. HASLAM GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +20.915
T. RAZGATLIOGLU TUR Turkish Puccetti Racing +22.922
The FIM Supersport World Championship was a yet another fair-bashing, head-to-head squabble, with nothing but pure action prevailing throughout the 18-lap encounter. In a group of six riders, it would be Federico Caricasulo who would take his first win of the season, to claw back points on his championship-leading teammate!
WSSP Race Start
It was a frantic opening lap that saw Raffaele De Rosa lead into Turn 1, whilst Randy Krummenacher slotted into second position. It was a rapid start for Austrian rider Thomas Gradinger who was up to a mighty third position, whereas the same could not be said for Federico Caricasulo, who dropped down as far as eighth on the opening lap from second position on the grid. Hannes Soomer maintained his starting position on the opening lap, with fourth position ahead of Jules Cluzel in fifth.
Raffaele De Rosa
Krummenacher took the lead of the race at the end of the opening lap, whilst title rival Jules Cluzel had pushed his way through the field to be fantastic second by Turn 6. It was a good opening few laps of the race for the pairing of Lucas Mahias Hikari Okubo, running well within what started out as a leading group of nine riders.
The group then fragmented, with top five escaping and initially leaving Lucas Mahias behind. However, it was a strong mid-race that brought Mahias back into the fight, bridging a big gap and setting the fastest lap of the race at the same time.
Federico Caricasulo
Federico Caricasulo had begun his fight back and was already up to second, courtesy of mistakes of other riders. Raffaele De Rosa was also putting hard moves on riders, with a bold move at Turn 1 for third position, shoving Cluzel off line and back to sixth. Momentarily, this allowed Krummenacher and Caricasulo to escape.
However, just half a lap later, De Rosa crashed out at Turn 9, under pressure from Thomas Gradinger and trying to get back in the fight for the lead.
Lucas Mahias
The Italian was OK, remounted but returned his MV Agusta to the pits for a second non-score of the WorldSSP season. Now with the leading group down to five riders, the gloves were starting to come off!
The final lap soon beckoned and having stalked teammate Krummenacher for the majority of the second half of the race, Caricasulo put in a classy, sophisticated pass at Turn 8 to lead the race for the first time with just half a lap left to go. Krummenacher rode closely for the remaining few corners but wasn’t able to get back ahead!
Federico Caricasulo claims the win
Caricasulo took the victory ahead of his teammate, whilst Thomas Gradinger made history for Austria as he gave the nation their first WorldSSP podium. Jules Cluzel was off the podium for the second consecutive race in fourth, whilst Lucas Mahias took his best finish in 2019 with fifth, a little over a second back of winner, Federico Caricasulo.
Corentin Perolari was a strong sixth position, holding off Hikari Okubo and Isaac Viñales. Rounding out the top ten, Glenn van Straalen was ninth and put on a fantastic display in front of his massive home crowd, whereas completing the top ten was Jules Danilo, who finished as top Honda, following a late crash for Estonian, Hannes Soomer.
World Supersport Podium – Assen – 1) Federico Caricasulo, 2) Randy Krummenacher, 3) Thomas Gradinger
Federico Caricasulo – P1
“I’m really happy to win, especially here in Assen, which is not one of my favourite tracks. I worked hard all weekend with the team to make sure I had the best bike possible today and, in the race, I tried to ride more with my head than my heart. I took it fairly easy from the start, as I was running the harder option front tyre and knew it would take time to get up to temperature, but the pace was there from the start and I was able to work my way up to the leading group quite quickly. It’s a great feeling to win my first race of the season and the first with this team and I want to thank everyone in the team for such a fantastic job.”
Federico Caricasulo
Thomas Gradinger – P3
“I am so happy! In Aragon we showed we could be in the fight for the podium, but just missed out in the end, so it’s like a dream to come to the very next race and actually finish on the podium for the first time. It was a really tough race, especially at the start, but I managed to work my way up to the leading group and into third place with six laps to go. Once there I just tried to defend the position to the very last lap and it was amazing to cross the line in third place to finish on the podium finally. Big thanks to me team, my crew and my family, who have worked so hard for me. It’s just amazing.”
Lucas Mahias – P5
“The feeling from this race is that one thing is good and one thing not so good. I am happy because I followed the leading group closely and the gap to first position is very small. But I am a little bit disappointed because it is difficult in some places on the track. When I exit turn four, I lose on that sector and then I have to push very hard in the third and fourth sectors to come back. I finished every lap just behind, lap after lap. So I realised that it would be impossible to win, but I continued to push in case I could get onto the podium somehow. I am happy because the feeling on the bike is really great and the chassis is perfect. I got a good feeling back at this race and that is very good for the future. Thanks to the team because race-after-race they improve the set-up.”
Lucas Mahias
World Supersport Race Result – Assen
F. CARICASULO ITA BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team
R. KRUMMENACHER SUI BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team +0.032
T. GRADINGER AUT Kallio Racing +0.223
J. CLUZEL FRA GMT94 YAMAHA +0.580
L. MAHIAS FRA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing +1.277
C. PEROLARI FRA GMT94 YAMAHA +13.748
H. OKUBO JPN Kawasaki Puccetti Racing +13.873
I. VINALES ESP Kallio Racing +13.959
G. VAN STRAALEN NED EAB Racing +20.784
J. DANILO FRA CIA Landlord Insurance Honda +21.632
World Supersport Standings after Assen
Randy Krummenacher 90
Federico Caricasulo 73
Jules Cluzel 69
Thomas Gradinger 40
Hikari Okubo 37
Corentin Perolari 34
Lucas Mahias 32
Raffaele De Rosa 31
Isaac Vinales 27
Hector Barbera 22 …19. Tom Toparis 5
World Supersport 300
WorldSSP300 once again put on a phenomenal show to complete has been an incredible Motul Dutch Round for the World Supersport 300 championship. 19 riders battled hard to see who would take the victory in front of a packed Assen crowd, which eventually saw Manuel Gonzalez take a second career win!
Jan-Ole Jahnig leads the World Supersport 300 at Assen
Pole position was taken by Galang Hendra Pratama, who got an incredible start and led by Turn 1. However, despite the big initial gap, the race was far from over, as Manuel Gonzalez pushed through to lead, whilst Hugo De Cancellis also came through the field. Teammate Omar Bonoli was also a prominent figure in the leading group, along with Ana Carrasco, Scott Deroue and Nick Kalinin.
As the leaders swapped and changed in frantic fashion throughout the race, there were some massive accidents. Tom Edwards crashed at the ferocious Turn 7, with his bike taking a huge beating on Lap 3. Also crashing in front of him at the same corner and on the same lap, were Kevin Arduini and his teammate, Jack Hyde.
Manuel Gonzalez leading
In a race which saw riders drop back and then surge forwards, one of the most notable improvers was Bruno Ieraci, who qualified in 28th place but was up in the lead on the final lap, having to fend off the likes of Ana Carrasco and Manuel Gonzalez!
It was chaos at the final chicane, as all 19 riders looked to try and make up as many positions as possible. Contact between Jan-Ole Jahnig and Manuel Gonzalez forced the Spaniard off track at the final chicane, but he crossed the line in first! Scott Deroue was in third place as the chasing pack crossed the line, with 2.3s covering the top 19!
Scott Deroue
After a small pause as race direction looked at the results, Gonzalez maintained his victory while Jahnig was forced to drop a place for exceeding track limits! Deroue took second in front of his home fans, whilst Jahnig was third and achieved his first podium! Nick Kalinin was fourth whilst Hugo De Cancellis was fifth.
Manuel Gonzalez – P1
“Again victory, but it was so difficult. Last week it was in the last corner and here again in the last corner. We did really good work in all the practice and qualifying sessions. The bike was very good but it was difficult for me to overtake in the corners. In the straights I could manage to pass and in the last sector I wanted to be first! So thanks to the team for all the work they have done.”
Manuel Gonzalez
Scott Deroue – P2
“It is always special to be at home and take a podium in front of your friends, family and sponsors. Last year we were strong in Imola as well but in the last lap we crashed. In the other races we were strong so I think the rest of the season we can do the same, and that is my goal. Aragon and Assen are really slipstream races but in Imola and Donington, for example, it is more about pace and corners. There are not so many straights. So I am really looking forward to the other races to see how fast we are there.”
Scott Deroue
World Supersport 300 Race Results
M. GONZALEZ ESP Kawasaki ParkinGO Team
S. DEROUE NED Kawasaki MOTOPORT +0.143
J. JAHNIG GER Freudenberg KTM Junior Team +0.320
N. KALININ UKR Nutec – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki +0.417
H. DE CANCELLIS FRA Team Trasimeno +0.450
O. BONOLI ITA Team Trasimeno +0.500
B. IERACI ITA Kawasaki GP Project +0.588
A. CARRASCO ESP Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300 +0.780
A. VERDOÏA FRA BCD Yamaha MS Racing +0.945
V. STEEMAN NED Freudenberg KTM Junior Team +1.009
World Supersport 300 Podium – Assen – 1) Manuel Gonzalez, 2) Scott Deroue, 3) Jan-Ole Jahnig
Matches Neil Hodgson’s nine on a roll winning streak
Randy Krummenacher claims Supersport win – Gonzalez heads WSSP300
Tom Edwards 19th – Tom Bramich 24th in WSSP300
Alvaro has further cemented his place in the history books over the weekend, continuing his unbeaten run at Aragon with two more race wins and the Tissot Superpole Sprint victory for a clean sweep of the weekend.
Alvaro Bautista cleaned up at Aragon WSBK
This makes it nine wins in a row for the 34-year-old from Talavera de la Reina, matching the record of 2003 WorldSBK champion Neil Hodgson in opening race wins, as well as claiming Ducati’s 350th win in World Superbikes, while his eighth race win earlier in the day matched Troy Bayliss’s record for Ducati from 2006.
Alvaro Bautista
Álvaro Bautista – P1
“It has been an extraordinary weekend for me. Winning three races here in Spain in front of my family, my friends and the Spanish fans was really great. In all three, I was able to make my own strategy, that is get a fast start and maintain my own pace. For sure the conditions in the three races were different, especially today in the Superpole Race which took place in the morning when it was very cold. Luckily it got a bit warmer for Race 2, but you could really feel the wind. Despite this, I was able to stay focussed, understand the situation on the track and push hard all the way. In the end we have won nine races out of nine and I’m so happy about that. The team has done an incredible job, we are on the right path and I’d like to thank Aruba, all Ducati and my team because the congratulations should also go to them.”
Alvaro Bautista
Tissot Superpole Race
The Tissot Superpole Race for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship provided exciting action from lights-out to the chequered flag. Off the line Bautista was yet again the rider with the best start, leading into turn one. However, there was mayhem behind as Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Michael van der Mark collided and crashed, ending the Dutchman’s 22-race streak of point-scoring positions. He finished 15th in the end, whilst Rinaldi went to the medical centre.
Superpole Race Start
Bautista soon streaked away, leaving the battle for second to rage on. Sandro Cortese was running second until Alex Lowes made his way ahead at turn 12. Chaz Davies tried a similar move a lap later at turn 16 but couldn’t make the apex, running wide and dropping down to fifth – allowing rival Jonathan Rea to make up a position.
Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty battled hard. Ahead of them, Sandro Cortese was starting to drop back as Lowes, Rea and Davies made their respective moves on the German Rookie.
Chaz Davies
With five laps to go, there was another retirement as Markus Reiterberger’s miserable weekend continued, this time with mechanical gremlins. His teammate Tom Sykes was enjoying a much better race, having dropped down to seventh after the opening lap, he was now fifth and pushing hard for a second consecutive top five of the year.
The battle for second was starting to take place though, as Lowes slipstreamed his way passed Rea down the back straight, achieving the move at turn 16 with just five laps left to go. Two laps later, Rea almost hit the rear end of the Yamaha-man at turn one, allowing Chaz Davies to now get in on the action.
Jonathan Rea
A lap later, it was a shoot-out and Rea tried to get ahead of Lowes at turn one, but the Englishman fought back. At turn four, Rea finally fired his way through and despite Lowes looking to fight back, Rea held on. The final lap soon beckoned but no moves were made, despite Lowes’ best efforts.
However, it was the dominant Alvaro Bautista who took yet another win in his WorldSBK career, holding off Rea and Lowes. Chaz Davies was a solid fourth, whilst Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty completed the top six; the front two rows for the last race of the weekend.
Alvaro Bautista
Row three saw Leon Haslam in seventh, after a fairly quiet weekend which has seen him absent from the front. Joining him would be Jordi Torres and Sandro Cortese in eighth and ninth respectively.
World Superbike Tissot Superpole Race Top 10 – Aragon
A. BAUTISTA ESP
J. REA GBR +5.791
A. LOWES GBR +5.906
C. DAVIES GBR +6.052
T. SYKES GBR +9.217
E. LAVERTY IRL +9.921
L. HASLAM GBR +10.221
J. TORRES ESP +11.961
S. CORTESE GER +13.712
T. RAZGATLIOGLU TUR +14.218
Superbikes Race 2
Alvaro Bautista took his ninth consecutive race win in the final Aragon battle to equal 2003 WorldSBK champion Neil Hodgson in winning the opening nine races of the season, as well as giving Ducati their 350th WorldSBK win.
WorldSBK Race 2 Start – Sunday Aragon
Bautista took the lead from pole position, seeing-off Jonathan Rea into turn one. For the first time this weekend, every rider made it through the opening corners without drama. Chaz Davies was an early improver and up to third place, while Alex Lowes was a strong fourth despite dropping back. Tom Sykes wasn’t the fastest starter and dropped back, allowing a rapid-starting Jordi Torres and Eugene Laverty to get in close proximity.
Davies made his move on lap two, to pass Rea and push the reigning four-time champion back into the jaws of the chasing pack. An action-packed second lap saw passes galore, with Tom Sykes making an error at turn 12 to allow Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres through – Torres now sixth from eighth on the grid, one of the strongest showings in WorldSBK by the Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki.
Chaz Davies
Alex Lowes was starting his comeback through the order, up to third position and ahead of Rea, who was starting to look vulnerable. Rea was now in fourth and his teammate, Leon Haslam and Eugene Laverty, were closing in.
On lap eight, Davies began to pull away and put some distance between himself and Lowes. Rea ran wide and took teammate Haslam with him; the Kawasaki riders were not looking like they were going to be able to mount a podium challenge. Lowes challenged Davies but was not able to make a pass. Further down the order, Toprak Razgatlioglu retired.
Leon Haslam
With Laverty dropping back from the battle for second and not able to initiate a challenge for the podium, Rea was starting his own resurgence, passing Lowes and pursuing Davies. Two laps later, and Haslam made his way past Lowes at turn one, pursuing his teammate and Davies in second.
Whilst Rea looked set for a guaranteed podium, teammate Haslam had other ideas and got ahead of the Ulsterman, taking over as the leader in the Kawasaki challenge. A lap later, and Rea repaid the compliment in identical fashion.
Rea chases down Bautista
The penultimate lap beckoned, and it was Rea and Davies who renewed their rivalry. Rea put his trademark passing move on Davies at turn 4, slicing under the Welshman, only for the 2011 WorldSSP champion to fight back at turn 5. Leon Haslam, after initially being dropped by half-a-second, was now right back in the battle for the podium.
On the final lap, a mistake by Davies at turn one allowed Rea to come straight through and put in the lap of his life to put distance into Davies. Haslam wasn’t able to capitalise on the mistake by Davies and whilst Davies was coming back towards Rea into the final corner, there was nothing he could do to get ahead.
Bautista took the win, ahead of Rea by another huge margin; the ninth time that those two have finished in that order in 2019.
Alvaro Bautista
Davies completed the podium for the second time at the Aragon Round, whilst Haslam and Lowes completed the top five. Laverty took sixth, ahead of Jordi Torres, Michael van der Mark, Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Sandro Cortese.
Marco Melandri was a dejected 11th, with Sykes right behind, having faded mid-race. Leon Camier and teammate Kiyonari were 13th and 14th respectively, whilst Markus Reiterberger finally finished at MotorLand Aragon, with 15th.
Alvaro Bautista – P1
“It has been a very special weekend for me, winning the three races in front of my fans! I enjoyed a lot the weekend. It was special for me here in Spain. Now we go to Assen, a race track which is different from this and where the weather changes so fast. It will be also my first time with the new bike, but we go there very confident and I can’t wait to be on the bike again.”
Alvaro Bautista
Jonathan Rea – P2
“It was a tougher Sunday than I expected and the strategy was different. Especially in the sprint race, I lost a lot of rear traction at the end. We think it was a consequence of being so fast in the beginning. During the 18-lap race I decided to be calmer in the beginning but when Alex Lowes came through he had a good pace with Chaz Davies. I started to panic a little bit that maybe these guys had an extra gear. And then Leon came past, so I had to step up and really use the tyre that I was conserving. My body language was a lot different at the end of the race because I really put my head down and maximised where we were strong. It looks like our bike is really creating a lot of traction in the long corners, which is positive. Our corner entry is not so bad. It was nice to see Leon in the front as well because our data becomes more relevant to compare and we can try to move the bike set-up forward together.”
Jonathan Rea
Chaz Davies – P3
“It was a strong weekend for me, but I’m a bit disappointed about losing second place in Race 2. At the start of the last lap, I went in deep at Turn 1 and left the door open for Johnny, after which there wasn’t much chance of getting it back. At any rate, I was happy to back up yesterday’s result with another third position. It wasn’t easy in the wind, but we worked well this weekend to make big progress and I hope to build on that next weekend at Assen.”
Chaz Davies
Stefano Cecconi – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team Principal
“It was another perfect weekend for Álvaro, which makes us really happy, but we are just as satisfied by the fact that Chaz got back on the podium and that he is getting more and more accustomed to the new Panigale V4 R. We hope that he will continue this string of positive results in the next few races.”
Leon Haslam – P4
“Starting from the fourth row was not ideal in the first two races so we used the sprint race to get back into it. The team has done mega-well from really struggling on Saturday morning to being able to battle for second place for Johnny. What a turnaround. I am really happy about what we have done here and I feel quite positive. In the sprint race I did not get the best of starts but it got me a better grid position for the final race. We made some steps in being able to pass people in the last race as well.”
Leon Haslam
Alex Lowes – P5
“After the podium in the sprint race this morning I was a little bit disappointed with fifth in Race 2, as I was expecting to be able to fight a little bit harder and longer with Jonathan and Chaz. It was nice to be battling with Leon again, after a couple of tough races for him, and we were nice and close a few times, especially into turn one! It was good fun, but I just didn’t have enough to stay in the battle until the end. The last two rounds have been strong ones for us and I’ve really enjoyed riding the R1, but now we just need to find small improvements so that we can fight it out over the last few laps of the race. Now I can’t wait to get to Assen, a track I and the Yamaha enjoy.”
Alex Lowes
Tom Sykes – P12
“Honestly, it has been a very positive weekend for the entire BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. I feel that we have again made some steps forward. I am very impressed and also there have been a lot of people inside the racing paddock who have commented on the potential of the BMW S 1000 RR, so I think we are heading in the right direction and are definitely making good progress. Everything was good, we were top five in most of the sessions and with the exception of my mistake in Superpole almost could have had pole. In the final race we did not have the correct rear traction, which is a shame because the bike did not change and on the same tyre I was so fast during the race weekend, so with my honest opinion and with my experience I certainly feel we perhaps did not have a tyre that was to its full potential. It was a bit of a disappointment on a great weekend but this is part of racing. Sometimes these things happen and we will be making up for this moving forward.”
Tom Sykes
World Superbike Race 2 Top 10 – Aragon
A. BAUTISTA ESP
J. REA GBR +6.867
C. DAVIES GBR +7.127
L. HASLAM GBR +7.581
A. LOWES GBR +11.549
E. LAVERTY IRL +16.797
J. TORRES ESP +17.825
M. VAN DER MARK NED +18.788
M. RINALDI ITA +19.329
S. CORTESE GER +20.351
World Superbike standings following Aragon
Alvaro Bautista 186 points
Jonathan Rea 147
Alex Lowes 100
Michael Van Der Mark 79
Leon Haslam 74
Marco Melandri 63
Chaz Davies 56
Sandro Cortese 56
Tom Sykes 39
Jordi Torres 35
Michael Ruben Rinaldi 35
Toprak Razgatlioglu 32
Eugene Laverty 27
Leon Camier 17
Markus Reiterberger 15
Leandro Mercado 11
Ryuichi Kiyonari 9
Alessandro Delbianco 3
World Supersport
The FIM Supersport World Championship saw an intriguing race in the first part of the 16-lap encounter, before a traditional fairing-bashing battle took place in the final part of the race. Eventually, it was Randy Krummenacher who took the win to extend his championship lead at the top of the WorldSSP title race!
World Supersport kicks off at Aragon
Starting well from pole position, 22-year-old Austrian Thomas Gradinger couldn’t fend off a courageous Federico Caricasulo into Turn 1, as the Italian took the lead. For Caricasulo’s teammate, Randy Krummenacher, it was another poor start, which saw Jules Cluzel take advantage. One rider who achieved a good start was Raffaele De Rosa, who, from sixth on the grid, was soon into fifth, ahead of Lucas Mahias and his Japanese teammate, Hikari Okubo.
Randy Krummenacher
Caricasulo and Gradinger pulled away, with a 1.7 second gap after just two laps of the MotorLand Aragon circuit. The battle for third saw Randy Krummenacher take advantage of Jules Cluzel at Turn 1 on lap three, and a lap later, it was De Rosa’s turn to pick off the fading Frenchman.
However, with the gaps forming, it was the riders in third and fourth who soon started lapping the faster times, and soon the 1.7s gap soon evaporated, with two back-to-back fastest laps coming from De Rosa on laps six and seven.
Jules Cluzel
Despite Cluzel languishing in an isolated fifth position, the battle raged behind him, with Mahias, Okubo and Corentin Perolari and Europe Supersport Cup rider, Kyle Smith. Smith was able to get as high as sixth before dropping back, with Perolari coming through towards the end.
The battle at the front was now between four bikes and also, with a different race leader. Thomas Gradinger came through and passed Caricasulo at Turn 4, to become the first Austrian rider to lead a WorldSSP race. Austria’s dream of a WorldSSP race winner started to look like it was finally going to come to reality.
With four laps remaining, it was a wild WorldSSP race which saw Gradinger make a mistake at the final corner, dropping from first to fourth. Four riders abreast down the main straight, Caricasulo and De Rosa took over, whilst Krummenacher watched on holding his breath in third. The last lap was set to be a thriller, as De Rosa took the lead when Krummenacher made a mistake at Turn 12. Were we about to see the first non-Yamaha win for the first time in almost a year-and-a-half?
Federico Caricasulo leads
The last lap came around quickly and soon, the gloves were off! Krummenacher passed his teammate at Turn 1 and soon went in pursuit of race leader De Rosa. Gradinger was still in the battle in fourth, but unable to make any passes on the final lap, achieving his joint-best result.
Down the back straight and Krummenacher slipstreamed his way through, before slamming his Yamaha down the inside of De Rosa’s MV Agusta. Through the final corner and over the rise to the finish line, Krummenacher took a second win of the season, whilst De Rosa took his first podium of the year, with fellow countryman Federico Caricasulo in third. Gradinger was fourth.
Behind the leading quartet, Jules Cluzel’s damage limitation efforts saw him conclude in fifth position, with teammate Corentin Perolari, who took his best finish of the season. Lucas Mahias finally got the better of his teammate Hikari Okubo for seventh place, whilst Kyle Smith was top ESS rider in ninth. Completing the top ten was Isaac Viñales, who recovered to tenth after running wide in the early stages.
Kyle Smith
Completing the points was Peter Sebestyen, who was top Honda in the race after Hannes Soomer crashed on the final lap. Teammate Jules Danilo was just 0.116s behind him, whilst Federico Fuligni was a further 0.314s back. 14th and 15th went to Loris Cresson and Maria Herrera respectively.
Krummenacher gave Yamaha their 81st WorldSSP win, whilst giving Switzerland their first win on European soil, as well as achieving the nation’s 16th podium – putting them one behind the United States overall, 22 years after the first Swiss rider achieved a podium, with Yves Briguet at Monza, 1997.
Randy Krummenacher
“It was a really tough race. After the warm-up, I felt like I could have the chance to go away in the race, but the final laps were not that easy for me. When I finally got to the front, I tried hard to go away, but I made a little mistake and went wide. Fortunately, the final lap came out perfectly. I came out of the slipstream, brake a little bit later and I won! Thanks to my team and my family that always support me”.
It was a crazy return to action for the WorldSSP300 championship at the Motocard Aragon Round in 2019, with a flurry of action from the start to the end, making for an incredibly exciting season in prospect. The winner of the first race of the season was 16-years-old Manuel Gonzalez, whilst defending champion Ana Carrasco crashed out at Turn 13, making her title defence even harder work for the remainder of the season.
WorldSSP 300 at Aragon – Image by GeeBee Images/2Snap
From lights out, it was a great start from Indonesian rider, Galang Hendra Pratama took the lead and to the amazement, led the field safely through the opening corners, with no casualties in a packed grid. Gonzalez took the lead early on but there was no escaping, as he oscillated back-and-forth, as riders passed each other to try and establish a constant running order.
As the race went on, Victor Steeman, Hugo De Cancellis and Maximilian Kappler all battled it out, whilst Andy Verdoia and Jan-Ole Jahnig joined the leading group.
It was a disaster in the middle of the race for the reigning champion, Ana Carrasco, as she crashed out after tangling with Koen Meuffels, who in-turn was having a tricky race having won at the track last season. Other falls consisted of sole Turkish rider Bahattin Sofuoglu crashing at Turn 2, as well as Indonesian Hendra Pratama, who crashed after contact with Verdoia at Turn 10; the Marc Marquez corner.
Scott Deroue
As the race reached the closing stages, all kinds of different riders entered the battle, with Omar Bonoli, Scott Deroue and Nick Kalinin all got in on the action. All three of them had raced through the field from 14th, 15th and 16th, all looking to take the opening win of the season from the lowest grid positions in WorldSSP300 history (that record held by Manuel Bastianelli of Prodina IRCOS Kawasaki, from 13th on the grid at Misano in 2018.
Into the last lap and it looked like we would get a victory from 14th, as Omar Bonoli took over at the front; the 17-year-old looking like he had the pace, before De Cancellis came passed at Turn 7 and immediately looked to break away. However, a fantastic move at Turn 9 by Manuel Gonzalez soon saw a last lap battle.
Manuel Gonzalez
Into the final corner and Gonzalez made a move to the lead and pushed De Cancellis wide, holding on to the lead to take his first ever win as the second-youngest rider in the class! Completing the podium was Scott Deroue, starting his championship challenge off in fine style.
Behind them, Jahnig, Verdoia and Steeman, whilst completing the top ten was Bonoli, Bruno Ieraci who in-turn had come from the back of the grid after a penalty, 2018 Aragon winner Koen Meuffels and Maximilian Kappler.
Outside of the top ten were Robert Schotman, Mateo Perdeneau, Filippo Rovelli, Nick Kalinin and 2018 runner-up, Mika Perez. 2017 champion, Marc Garcia (DS Junior Team) could only manage 25th position on his return to the championship.
Manuel Gonzalez – P1
“I don’t have words to describe how happy I am. I really enjoyed riding today. The race was not easy, and especially the final lap was extremely difficult. There were many riders taking advantage of the slipstream on the straight, and it made it hard to keep the position. In the last corner, I was able to overtake De Cancellis and take victory. Thanks to my team for all the work they have done during this weekend”.
Manuel Gonzalez
Scott Deroue – P3
“Yes it was incredible to come through for a podium. This weekend was quite hard and in qualifying I was not really good. I was not in the best place on the grid so I knew we had to something. I was just pushing, pushing – like unbelievably hard. I think this is one of my best races ever. I already won some races in this class but I think this race was the best ever.”
Scott Deroue
Ana Carrasco – DNF
“It is a pity to not score. We had some issues in the practice sessions and I started the race from the fourth row. In the race itself I felt myself to be very fast, and comfortable, so much so that we actually set a new lap record. Some bikes had better acceleration but in braking and top speed I was super strong. In the crash two guys in front of me touched and I had to close the throttle – then someone hit me from the back. It is a shame because I am sure I could have finished on top. I just want to say thanks to all people that came to see me here at Motorland, to my team and Kawasaki. I am on the bike again in only four days, at Assen – I can’t wait!”
Ana Carrasco
Top performing Australian was Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) in 19th, while Tom Bramich (Carl Cox-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) claimed 24th. Jack Hyde didn’t make the cut into the main race, finishing ninth in the Last Chance Race.
The first stop back in Europe for WorldSBK season 2019 sees the Spanish circuit of Aragon welcoming riders this weekend.
WorldSBK heads to Aragon
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
Alex Lowes
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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
World Supersport
After two edge-of-your-seat races to kick off the year, MotorLand Aragon is ready to host the third race of the FIM Supersport World Championship. If the last few years are anything to go by, the Motocard Aragon Round could play a decisive role in the fate of this year’s championship race. The last four winners of the Spanish race have gone on to clinch the title later in the season – and in unfavourable news for the co-championship leaders, none of them entered Aragon at the top of the standings.
Randy Krummenacher
Two men have been the outstanding stars of the early stages of the World Supersport season. Randy Krummenacher proved to be utterly dominant in the first round at Phillip Island, following that up with a conquering comeback to second position at Buriram. But Krummenacher has always finished the second round at the top of the standings – can he keep up the pace at the third time of asking, after eventually falling back in both 2016 and 2018?
Jules Cluzel
Jules Cluzel meanwhile has enjoyed his best start to a WorldSSP season, sitting on 45 points alongside Krummenacher. The Frenchman was unshakeable in Thailand, fending off countless attacks from the riders preceding him, and seems determined to take the crown this year after last year’s dramatic finale. But MotorLand Aragon is a bit of a bogey circuit for the Frenchman, with three DNFs and a solitary podium in six races. Could Cluzel’s luck change for the better in 2019?
Federico Caricasulo – Image by GeeBee
The men following them in the standings will be hopeful of extending the WorldSSP Spanish streak, starting with the man sat third in the standings. After two consecutive third-place finishes, Federico Caricasulo finds himself 13 points adrift, nonetheless also consolidating his best start to a WorldSSP season. The young Italian finished runner-up in Spain in 2018 and is the only rider to have led in both races this year. Caricasulo will certainly be in contention in every session.
The home fans will also have two strong contenders to rally on. Héctor Barberà and Isaac Viñales have both finished a race in fourth position in 2019 and are guaranteed to fight for the rostrum positions at a track which both men know to perfection, albeit not on World Supersport machinery.
Lucas Mahias – Image by GeeBee
The switch over to Kawasaki machinery may not have worked out yet for 2017 world champion Lucas Mahias, but the Frenchman will remain spirited and combative, seeking inspiration from his 2017 Aragonese win. Teammate Hikari Okubo also with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Team meanwhile will continue pushing the limits of his ZX-6R, after two strong performances in Australia and Thailand.
Raffaele De Rosa and MV Agusta Reparto Corse are seeking a first podium at the Spanish track, coming off a strong top-five performance in Thailand, while both CIA Landlord Insurance Honda representatives push to close the gap with their rival machinery.
The FIM European Supersport Cup riders will also make their first appearance on the calendar, with a former race winner in Kyle Smith joined by two French newcomers: Xavier Navand and Gaetan Matern.
The third round of the World Supersport season gets underway on Friday 5th with free practice, followed by the Superpole on Saturday.
World Supersport Championship Points Standings
Pos
Rider
Bike
Points
1
Jules Cluzel
Yamaha
45
2
Randy Krummenacher
Yamaha
45
3
Federico Caricasulo
Yamaha
32
4
Hector Barbera
Yamaha
22
5
Hikari Okubo
Kawasaki
20
6
Corentin Perolari
Yamaha
14
7
Isaac Vinales
Yamaha
13
8
Loris Cresson
Yamaha
13
9
Lucas Mahias
Kawasaki
12
10
Peter Sebestyen
Honda
12
11
Raffaele De Rosa
MV
11
12
Thomas Gradinger
Yamaha
11
13
Jules Danilo
Honda
7
14
Hannes Soomer
Honda
6
15
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus
Honda
6
16
Tom Toparis
Yamaha
5
17
Rob Hartog
Kawasaki
2
18
Glenn Van Straalen
Kawasaki
2
19
Maria Herrera
Yamaha
1
20
Ayrton Badovini
Kawasaki
1
World Supersport 300
Since 2017, the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship has been a very welcome addition to the WorldSBK paddock, with 10 race winners and a further nine podium finishers in just two seasons of racing. This year over 50 men and women from 16 different countries and five continents will challenge for the WorldSSP300 crown.
Aragon Supersport 300 – 2018 WSBK
Reigning champion Ana Carrasco is looking to kick off her title defense in fine style at her home circuit – the Spaniard looking to make more history and become the first rider ever to win back-to-back WorldSSP300 titles, as well as looking to become the first female solo rider to do so. Carrasco has yet to achieve a podium placing at MotorLand Aragon, so whatever the result after the opening race, the championship looks set to come alive.
Tough opposition is led in the form of Marc Garcia, who returns to the 2019 line-up, looking to take back his crown he earned in 2017. Garcia failed to finish in Aragon in 2017 so will be looking to start his season strongly.
Previous race winners at MotorLand Aragon, Scott Deroue in 2017 and Koen Meuffels in 2018, will also be part of the battle again in Spain, with both showing great potential towards the close of 2018. Meuffels is hoping to give KTM a win in the class again, whilst Deroue will hope to head to the Netherlands a week later in fine form.
2018 championship runner-up Mika Perez will be hoping to improve his championship position this year and kick-start his title-tilt from MotorLand Aragon, where he has finished third for the past two seasons. South African rider Dorren Loureiro had a strong end to 2018 and has been eighth in the past two seasons at MotorLand Aragon, making him a protagonist at the sharp end.
Popular Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama is leading the Yamaha charge and looking to secure a third class-victory in as many seasons. MotorLand Aragon will be a test for the 20-year-old, as he has never scored points at the venue before.
Other notable names include Borja Sanchez, who is without a win in his WorldSSP300 career but has gathered three podiums. Manuel Gonzalez also comes into the season as one of the potential front-runners, having ended his 2018 campaign with three third-places.
Riders will be split into two groups from Friday for Free Practice and Qualifying the following day, with the first-ever Last Chance Race taking place on Saturday afternoon.
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