Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was unstoppable in today’s Superpole Race and race two of Phillip Island’s FIM Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) opener, earning victories in both outings to add to his dominant display in race one yesterday.

The first ever Tissot Superpole race saw Bautista creating one more bit of WorldSBK history while on debut, as thehe fast-paced 10-lap encounter was a thriller from lights-out to chequered flag – the perfect way to celebrate the start of a new WorldSBK era!

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) swept majestically into the lead at turn one, race one winner on Saturday, Bautista placed second but was glued to the rear end of the reigning world champion. By the end of the first lap, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) had come up to third position – briefly taking Bautista for second place, only for the Ducati Panigale V4 R to blast past.

Soon, it was the battle we had all waited to see, with Alvaro Bautista able to conquer Jonathan Rea and pass him down the Gardner Straight. However, unlike in race one on Saturday, the Spaniard was unable to make a break away from Rea, who stayed with him – a completely different story in comparison to the first race of the season yesterday.

Leon Haslam was pushed back briefly to fifth position by Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) but soon managed to retake fourth and then halfway into the Tissot Superpole Race, took back third place from Lowes.

With seven laps to go, Rea pushed ahead of Bautista at turn two, only for the championship leader to push back in front at Turn 4 – the gloves were off with the battle we had all waited to see. Rea briefly took the lead back, but Bautista’s Ducati power soon put him in front at the end of the lap. Rea put a bold move on the 34-year-old at turn one immediately after, like the breath-taking pass he put on Marco Melandri in race two last season.

The battle raged on behind after Haslam had broke away to secure third, as Alex Lowes, Michael van der Mark, Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and teammate Marco Melandri all battled hard. The quartet of Yamaha YZF R1s duked it out and tripped up over each other, ending any chance they had of mounting a top three charge.

On the final lap, Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) wiped out Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) at the infamous turn four.

At the flag, Alvaro Bautista held off Jonathan Rea’s onslaught to take the first ever win in the Tissot Superpole Race to start from pole position in race two. Rea secured second with teammate Leon Haslam completing the top three. Fourth and fifth was credited to Lowes and van der Mark. Australian wildcard Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) was 16th.

The final race of the Yamaha Finance Australian round went the way of Bautista, who completed a dream WorldSBK debut. The Spaniard becomes the first rider to win both WorldSBK races on his debut weekend since John Kocinski – also for Ducati – at Misano in 1996.

Initially taking the lead at turn one, Bautista started putting time into Haslam, who managed to pass teammate Rea at Turn 4. van der Mark made a fast start and was fourth whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi escalated from eighth on the grid into fifth, with Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) remaining sixth.

At turn one on lap two, Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) made a brief appearance into sixth, passing Melandri, only for the Italian to repay the compliment to his former WorldSBK teammate. Back in the fight for second position, Haslam began to pull away from Rea, the reigning Champion not having things his own way.

Marco Melandri got his way ahead of van der Mark and immediately set about closing down the KRT pairing of Haslam and Rea. Further up the road, Alvaro Bautista was building his own gap, setting the fastest lap to confirm his relentless pace. The gap between the two Kawasakis was now at 0.5s, with Haslam seemingly able to put distance between Rea. Behind Melandri and van der Mark, Lowes was back into sixth.

Further down the order, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was making good progress from 16th on the grid and was now ninth, almost passing Laverty at turn 10 but deciding to wait for another time.

Whilst throughout most of the weekend the rivalry between Bautista and Rea was headlining, Haslam and Rea started to get close on circuit too. From lap seven, the reigning world champ started to close his new teammate down and with just eight laps to go, the Northern Irishman made his move at turn one, only for Haslam to take him back at turn four with a traditional block pass.

This started a succession of nine passes between the pair. Haslam put an audacious Jonathan Rea-style pass on the four-time champion at turn one, with Rea responding immediately almost every time. Behind the squabbling Kawasaki riders, the Yamaha riders of Melandri and van der Mark decided to have their own fight, passing and re-passing, hindering their chances of taking the fight to Rea and Haslam, less than half-a-second up the road at times.

Van der Mark was up to fourth at turn four with four laps to go, although Melandri got back ahead at turn 10. However, despite all of the fighting with the Kawasaki Racing Team and Yamaha riders, Alvaro Bautista was oblivious to the squabbling left in his wake. The 2006 World Champion crossed the line to become a WorldSBK winner for a second time, with the Tissot Superpole Race win also going to the Spanish sensation.

Rea eventually took second place ahead of Haslam, whilst van der Mark finished fourth ahead of teammate Alex Lowes, who put in a stunning late charge to demote Marco Melandri to sixth. Chaz Davies finished a fine seventh place and ended a poor weekend with his best result,

with reigning WorldSSP Champion Sandro Cortese completing the top eight once more. Laverty took ninth place and his joint-best finish of the weekend, whilst rounding out the top 10 was Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team). Herfoss retired from proceedings. The WorldSBK now heads to Thailand for round two on 15-17 March.

Detailed results

Australian wildcard Toparis finishes an impressive 11th.

The 2019 FIM Supersport World Championship (WorldSSP) started with a bang at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, with thrilling overtakes, dramatic crashes and pit-stops all shaping the opening race of the year, but it was Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) who ultimately took out top honours.

With the starting lights turning to green, it was a lightening start by Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) from third on the grid, ahead of Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) and teammate Krummenacher.

By the end of lap one, Caricasulo slipstreamed his way into the lead and but not for long, as Swiss teammate Krummenacher did the same to Caricasulo. Cluzel relegated to third after leading for the opening lap. Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing) and Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) rounded out the top five.

On lap three, Raffaele De Rosa suffered a big highside crash on the exit of turn two, ending his bid for a podium at the start of the year. He wasn’t the only crasher on the opening lap, as Estonian Hannes Soomer (MPM WILSport Racedays) crashed at turn six. Back at the front, Jules Cluzel began closing the leading duo of Krummenacher and Caricasulo down, making it a trio of Yamahas at the front of the field.

Caricasulo managed to fight his way past his teammate at turn one, where he stayed for just over a lap. Krummenacher managed to get his lead back at turn four, shaking his head at teammate Caricasulo as the two battled on circuit. Cluzel’s lap times dropped off, leaving him around a second adrift of the BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team Yamahas. Having taken the lead, Krummenacher pitted first for the mandatory tyre change at the first possible chance. Cluzel followed him in.

With Caricasulo out at the front, trying to make up as much time as possible with a clear circuit, it would all come down to which side of the BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team garage would be quicker. As Caricasulo pitted for the mandatory stop, the rear tyre jack was left attached to the YZF R6 Yamaha upon exit, costing the Italian a chance to fight with his teammate for the win. He exited in third place, once the pit stop phase was complete.

MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s day went from bad to worse as rookie, Federico Fuligni crashed at turn 10 on his WorldSSP debut. Fuligni and De Rosa will seek to fight back at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.

As the race entered the final stages, Jules Cluzel was handed a 1.3s penalty, after his pit intervention time was too fast. With Caricasulo charging hard in third position, Cluzel had pressure to retain his second place.

One position that hasn’t looked in doubt throughout testing and the Yamaha Finance Australian round was first place. Randy Krummenacher celebrated his 29th birthday in style by starting the season as he did in 2016 – with a glorious victory – his third victory of his WorldSSP career! Cluzel fended off a charging Caricasulo as they completed the podium in that order.

Hector Barbera finished in fourth at the end of the race, having a great ride from seventh on the grid – the Spaniard’s experience coming to the fore. Thomas Gradinger completed the race in fifth place, as his quest to give Austria a first ever WorldSSP podium continues. Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was a superb sixth, ahead of Corentin Perolari (GMT94 YAMAHA),

Peter Sebestyen (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and his teammate Jules Danilo. Belgian rider Loris Cresson (Kallio Racing) completed the top 10, which subsequently featured eight different nationalities. Australian wildcard Tom Toparis (Landbridge Transport Yamaha) finished an impressive 11th. WorldSSP now heads to Thailand for round two on 15-17 March.

Detailed results

News 24 Feb 2019

Vinales edges Rins for fastest time in Qatar MotoGP testing

Image: Supplied.

Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) topped the first day of the Qatar test, putting in a 1m55.051s to head the grid after a late charge for supremacy.

It was close though, with the Suzuki of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) just 0.108s back – and the two set those laps close together on track. As always when action returns to Qatar, track conditions need to improve throughout the day and it was therefore fairly late on that a lot of the action took place – and the latter part of the day when Vinales blasted to the top.

That 1m55.051s to put Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP on top was one of 50 laps completed by Vinales on day one, and the signs look good for the factory – with teammate Valentino Rossi not far back as he completed the top five after 47 laps.

Team director Massimo Meregalli confirmed the engine had already been decided and that focus was first on comparing data with that from Sepang. Aero, however, remains up in the air – with more to try for the Iwata marque at Losail.

Petronas Yamaha SRT, meanwhile, had more positives – first for rookie Fabio Quartararo. Quickest debutant by a stretch on Saturday, the Frenchman was a stunning seventh overall and less than two tenths off Rossi after 49 laps. Franco Morbidelli was a little further down after the first session, ending the day seven tenths further back in P14.

Alex Rins put in a similar lap count: 48. The Spaniard showed more good form for Hamamatsu factory Suzuki after threatening the top on the first days of the Sepang test too, and this time rookie teammate Joan Mir began the test further up the timesheets as he ended the day in P11.

Suzuki had a new exhaust on show and team manager Davide Brivio confirmed that the chassis is defined, the engine spec is decided and said that focus was now on fine tuning and the details – including some final aero checks and work on the suspension and settings.

So behind the duo at the top, who came next? Both Mission Winnow Ducatis, with Andrea Dovizioso leading teammate Danilo Petrucci by a mere 0.044s – although they were half a second back. Both put in less laps than some of their competitors, with Dovi doing 29 and Petrucci 37. The latter was only just ahead of Rossi, but 0.010s can make the difference in MotoGP.

Team manager Davide Tardozzi says, like many up and down pitlane, focus is now on the details – but the Borgo Panigale factory plan to make their final aero decision on Sunday.

Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) kept the good news rolling for Ducati machinery as he ended the day in P6 after 44 laps, happy there’s more room to improve, too, but Alma Pramac Racing, who starred in the Sepang test, were a little further back on day one in Qatar. Francesco Bagnaia was P15 after a 1m56.738s, with teammate Jack Miller in P19.

Miller said, however, he spent the session doing six to eight lap runs, testing different parts – and lacking the time to be able to put in a tyre to push for a hot lap.

Another surprise on Saturday came from the fastest Honda: Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). The Japanese rider showed more top pace and put in 45 laps. Teammate Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) spent some time testing parts for HRC and finished the session in P18.

Reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), whose shoulder remains less than 100 percent after surgery, ended the day in tenth and, like in Sepang, put in only 34 laps. But he was positive and said he’s now back to riding in his more natural style, and he had his first crash of the season with no consequence.

On the other side of the garage, the return of Jorge Lorenzo saw the ‘Spartan’ struggle in braking as he comes back from a broken scaphoid, and he focused on continuing to understand the bike. Despite not so many laps and not too many new things to try as yet, the five-time world champion did mention his desire to modify the seat in an effort to make his new machine a little more ergonomic.

Repsol Honda team manager Alberto Puig said work on engine and aero is continuing until the last moment for the team – because every possibility is something worth trying – and a new exhaust was one thing spotted.

Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) impressed on day one. The Spaniard, who took the Austrian factory’s first premier class podium at Valencia last season, was the trailblazer once again as he finished up Saturday’s action in P9 after 47 laps. Teammate Johann Zarco put in 53 laps and was P16, around eight tenths back, and he was just 0.121s ahead of rookie KTM rider Miguel Oliveira on the Red Bull KTM Tech3.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team manager Mike Leitner specified they’re working on confirming chassis and aerodynamic modifications, and said the goal was to first finish off the test program from Sepang and then find a base setting for the race – as you’d expect. He also added that the items on the agenda are now less, something that speaks of the scale of KTM’s development program given the amount of track time already gone in preseason.

Aprilia, meanwhile, slotted into P12 and P13 with Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone respectively – despite crashes for both. Espargaro did 34 laps and confirmed the bike is a definite improvement on last year’s, and Iannone catapulted himself up the timesheets after struggling with illness and missing much of the Sepang test.

The Italian managed 30 laps and was only 0.089 off Espargaro by the end of the day. One key thing the Noale factory were spotted trying was an aero fairing.

Detailed results

Aiden Wagner (Yamaha) and Wayne Maxwell (Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia) have weighed in on the controversial clash between them on the final turn of race two at Phillip Island’s Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) opener, the duo expectedly sharing mixed views on the incident.

Maxwell, who narrowly beat Wagner in the opening encounter, capitalised when negotiating lapped traffic to make a pass for the lead on the Yamaha privateer with just a number of corners remaining.

In a desperate attempt, Wagner endeavoured to regain P1 at the fast-paced final turn, however his efforts saw him collide with Maxwell’s front-end, ultimately resulting in a heavy fall for the factory Suzuki rider as the number 28 earned victory on return to the ASBK.

“That was one of the more crazy races I’ve been in,” Wagner explained. “There was a lot of bar-banging, rubbing, and whatever happened in turn 12 – Wayne left the door open and I took the opportunity.

“I didn’t mean to run into him or make contact, but you know, we were making contact the whole race – down the straights and in the corners – I think Cru ran over my arse at one point.

“That’s racing – I’ll buy him a beer afterwards for this. Wayne has always been good to me – I didn’t mean to take him out in any way, but I got the race win this afternoon on the privateer Yamaha.”

Former champion Maxwell, evidently frustrated with the events that unfolded while nursing his left hand, labelled the manoeuvre as unacceptable.

“Look, Aiden ran wide on turn five on the last lap and I made a nice clean pass,” Maxwell stated. “I went into the last corner and just came back into the apex then he just took my bar out and I went down.

“It was pretty forceful – contact in a fourth-gear turn probably isn’t acceptable. That’s racing, he got the win – congratulations to those guys. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s racing, and the rest of the year.”

The duo will face off again tomorrow morning for the final ASBK race of the weekend, while races two and three of the 2019 FIM Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) will also take place.