News 14 Oct 2019

FIM issues statement over Argentina WorldSBK safety concerns

Image: Supplied.

The FIM has issued a statement after six riders withdrew from race one at Argentina’s penultimate round of the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) over safety concerns with track conditions.

Before the opening encounter, there was division between riders racing due to the dusty track conditions and subsequent lack of grip.

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team), Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) and Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) all elected to sit out the race one, however majority returned for the Superpole race and race two on Sunday.

The FIM statement read: ” At the request of the FIM in 2018, the circuit of San Juan was resurfaced to host WorldSBK in 2019. On Wednesday, 9 October, during the inspection of the track, the FIM safety officer requested the circuit management to wash the track to remove the dust that had accumulated during the last days to ensure the safety conditions necessary for the smooth running of the Argentinean round.

“After an intensive cleaning of the track, the homologation was issued on Thursday during a new inspection. This homologation procedure valid from Friday to Sunday is identical for each event of the championship and takes place on the Thursday preceding each race according to the FIM rules. On Friday evening during the safety commission meeting, the rider representatives expressed concern over the scorching conditions and its possible effect on the newly laid asphalt.

“In agreement with all the stakeholders (riders, representatives of FIM and Dorna), it was decided that a meeting would be held on Saturday at 12pm after the free practice session thre to make a new point on the situation. At this meeting all riders were happy with the improvement of the track conditions and it was unanimously decided to go ahead with the qualifying sessions and race.

“Nevertheless, after qualifying sessions, six WorldSBK riders decided not to take part in the race two hours later. The FIM wishes to remind that the safety of all riders is its priority and wish to emphasize that neither the scorching conditions nor the condition of the track surface at that precise moment justified the cancellation of the race.

“In addition and to provide a high level of marshalling, the FIM also provided a seminar for the 150 track marshals on Thursday at the San Juan circuit with the support of the national federation CAMOD.”

WorldSBK now heads to Qatar for the season-finale on 26 October.

News 14 Oct 2019

Double WorldSBK victory for Rea in Argentina

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Five-time world champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) picked up a double victory on Sunday at Argentina’s penultimate round of the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK).

Rea stormed to top honour in the Superpole race, defeating Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing), while the top five was completed by Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha).

Race two was a thrilling spectacle, with plenty of hard action and big moves all the way through the pack. Despite making his own mistakes and needing to fight in the early stages, Rea romped to win number two of the weekend, holding off the opposition.

Off the start and into turn one, the current world champion held on to his first position, whilst Bautista and Razgatlioglu battled behind. Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was a fast starter and into fourth, whilst Lowes and his teammate Michael van der Mark were fifth and sixth. Davies had dropped to seventh.

With the race beginning to take shape, Rea pulled away from Bautista, whilst Razgatliolgu was as relentless as ever, chasing down Bautista. Bautista and Rea in-turn were trading fastest lap times. Davies had picked off the Yamahas ahead of him one by one, using the top speed advantage of the Ducati Panigale V4 R down the long straights of San Juan to good effect.

The next target for the Welshman was Razgatlioglu, who was going to need to fight hard to resist the former WorldSBK runner-up. There was drama up front for Rea, who made a big mistake at turn eight and ran completely off the circuit, allowing Bautista to take the lead for the first time.

However, Rea wouldn’t give in and a lap later, on lap eight, Rea fought back and pushed his way back to the front at turn seven, shoving Bautista wide. The squabble between the two heavyweights allowed Razgatlioglu and Davies to close up.

With 13 laps left to go, Davies took third from Razgatlioglu with a strong move at turn 10 on the Turkish rider. The former WorldSSP champion from 2011 was now a move on a mission and soon, caught his teammate. Bautista tried to fight but Davies powered ahead of his teammate two laps later to take second. 2.6s to close down on the race leader, Davies had plenty of work to keep him occupied for the remainder of the race.

Bautista however was in more problems and with nine laps to go, as Toprak Razgatlioglu had regrouped and was immediately able to get ahead of the Spaniard, sweeping around the outside at turn three to take third from the race one winner. Bautista was losing time to Michael van der Mark hand over fist and needed to get to the end of the 26-year-old Dutchman got him.

Further down the field, Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was having an incredible race, climbing all the way up to the fringes of the top 10. The home hero picked off Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) and at turn 10 with eight laps left, dived up the inside of factory Kawasaki rider Leon Haslam to take eighth place.

A lap later, and Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) was up ahead of Haslam and Torres. Ahead of all of them, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) was a sitting duck. With four laps to go, Mercado got ahead of Rinaldi at turn 15, sparking a massive roar from the partisan crown trackside.

However, Laverty got ahead of the pair of them on the front straight, pushing Mercado back to eighth whilst the Irishman went in pursuit of his best result since Aragon. In terms of Mercado, he had come from 19th to eighth; an astonishing comeback.

Out front on the final lap, Rea was uncatchable and took victory for a fourth time in Argentina and now, extended his consecutive point-scoring finishes run to 45 – the first time a rider has ever achieved this. Chaz Davies was up into second whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu completed a stellar weekend with another podium, his sixth in seven races.

Fourth belonged to van der Mark whilst Bautista limped home to complete the top five. Alex Lowes was up to sixth. Eugene Laverty put in a strong ride up to seventh, but ride of the day went to home-hero Mercado, who stormed from last on the grid to eighth, much to the delight of the crowd. Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) was ninth ahead of Leon Haslam in 10th. Sandro Cortese slipped to 15th, having run as high as fourth in the early stages.

In the WorldSSP category, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed a thrilling win over Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing). The WorldSBK series now heads to Qatar on 26 October for the season-finale.

Detailed results

News 13 Oct 2019

Argentina WorldSBK race one belongs to Bautista

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The opening race of the Argentinean round at the Circuito San Juan Villicum would see a frantic race for WorldSBK’s second visit to South America. Coming out on top and returning to the forefront of the battle for wins, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) stormed to success.

With the race getting underway, it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who got the launch and barged his way ahead of Bautista at turn one, but Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) capitalised on the two ahead of him nearly colliding to take the lead.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was right in contention and nearly clashed with 2020 teammate van der Mark. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was a strong fifth place whilst Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had risen to sixth early on.

The race settled down, and the leading four began to battle with each other. Bautista set a strong pace out front, but Jonathan Rea’s relentless pace meant that a battle soon ensued out front. Swapping and changing between the top two in the championship.

A pattern began to form, with Bautista’s Ducati strong in a straight line but Rea’s Kawasaki able to be all over the Spaniard in the corners. Waiting to pick up the pieces were Razgatlioglu and van der Mark, whilst Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) began to pick his way through the field.

With 16 laps left to complete, Michael van der Marks started to drop back from the leading three, as the pace increased. Bautista began to slam in fastest lap after fastest lap and two laps later, Razgatlioglu was the next to be jettisoned from the leading group.

Jonathan Rea valiantly remained with the Spaniard, getting ahead briefly at turn six, only for Ducati power to prevail. Rea would stay on the back of Bautista for a few lap laps, but the five-time Champion couldn’t live with the pace of Bautista.

Meanwhile, Tom Sykes had dropped back, as had eighth-place starter Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team), down in tenth and battling hard with home-favourite, Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), both having superb races inside the top 10.

Behind them, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) had suffered badly and pulled into the pits, although he returned to the track later on. Further ahead of the battle for the lower positions in the top 10, Alex Lowes was being reeled in by Leon Haslam.

The battle between the two was now turning from contract signatures to on-track positions, although the ‘Pocket Rocket’ looked like he would have more pace than Lowes in the closing stages. However, it wouldn’t be the case and Lowes would eventually hold on to fifth position.

With Bautista clearing off at the front, the battle for second ignited, as Razgatlioglu closed in on Jonathan Rea. The Northern Irishman was making mistakes, particularly at turn six, allowing the Turkish star to get on terms. But neither would be able to challenge an incredible Bautista, who returned to winning ways after taking a round off at Magny-Cours.

Rea took second and resisted Razgatlioglu’s onslaught. The Turk wrapped up the accolade of Best Independent Rider in 2019. Fourth went to a determined Michael van der Mark whilst teammate Alex Lowes completed the top five.

Sixth position was Leon Haslam, who faded in the closing laps, whilst Tom Sykes was seventh and top BMW. Eighth place went to Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing), as the second Independent rider home. Leandro Mercado made it to ninth position to the delight of the home crowd, making up for missing FP3 and the Tissot Superpole session.

It was a second top ten of the season for a sensational Alessandro Delbianco, with the Honda rider making it all five manufacturers inside the top ten.

Before the race began, there was a division about riders racing due to the dusty track conditions. The following riders elected not to race, meaning 12 riders took to the track for race one: Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team), Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) and Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven).

In WorldSSP qualifying, Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed pole position over Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing) and Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha).

Detailed results

News 12 Oct 2019

Bautista tops WorldSBK Friday practice timesheets in Argentina

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With the track cleaning up and the riders becoming more and more comfortable, it was Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who leads the field into the remainder of the weekend, with his opposition playing catch up in Argentina Friday’s

The long straights of San Juan provided the perfect opportunity for the Ducati Panigale V4 R to stretch its legs, with Alvaro Bautista making the most of that chance. Making his debut at the Circuito San Juan Villicum, Bautista took to the Argentina asphalt like a duck to water and having led FP1, the Spaniard was on top again in FP2.

Chaz Davies (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) sat out much of the morning session but came to the fore in the afternoon on the much cleaner circuit. The Welshman was fourth overall and looks to be in for a strong weekend in Western Argentina.

Crowned champion last time out and blitzing to double success at San Juan last year, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) opened his weekend strongly. The undulations and aggressive direction changes suited the Northern Irishman’s style and he finished the day in second overall, despite leading the session almost to the chequered flag.

Teammate Leon Haslam had a much harder introduction to racing in Argentina, as he crashed heavily at turn 15 during the first moments of FP2. The ‘Pocket Rocket’ was battered and clattered but his steely determination saw him finish in seventh overall.

Leading the Independent charge in South America, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) was third come the end of the day, having been third in FP1. The Italian improved his lap time late on in FP2 and then lifted himself up the order on his last flying lap, finishing inside the top three.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was sixth on day one in San Juan. The Turkish rider, who took his first win back in France at Magny-Cours, looked in fine form and will be keen to repeat this achievement again. Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was two places behind in eighth.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was once again flying the German manufacturer’s flag, as he looks to dial himself in for another strong result aboard the S 1000 RR. Sykes completed more than 25 laps despite missing much of the first session, with the track being too dirty for the Brit’s liking.

Sykes completed the session strongly in fifth place, looking strong all through session. Teammate Markus Reiterberger struggled to gel with the Argentinean layout on his first appearance at the circuit and was down in 17th. The German rider managed to pull off a miraculous save at Turn 15.

Having locked out sixth to 10th in the morning session, Yamaha consolidated their pace in Argentina, albeit further down the top ten than they’d have liked. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was inside the top five for most of the session but completed proceedings in ninth position. Lowes’ top 10 start to his weekend comes just hours after the British ace was announced as Jonathan Rea’s teammate for 2020. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten.

Outside of the top ten, Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) gave the home crowd a pleasant 12th place, whilst 2018 pole-sitter Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was down in 14th. Top Honda honours went to his fellow countryman Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) in 15th, whilst Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) was off the pace at the back of the field.

In the WorldSSP category, it was Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) who topped the timesheets over Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) and Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team).

Detailed results