The Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” had been one of Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) best tracks in terms of results, and that continued in 2023 at the Emilia-Romagna Round. The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship headed to the first of two visits to Italy in early June and it was a weekend for the passionate Ducatisti to remember on the Adriatic Coast. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) scored his fourth hat-trick as the Bologna-based manufacturer used a special yellow livery at Misano, whilst Rinaldi was also on form, but it’d end on a sour note for the #21. Recap Race 1 and Race 2 HERE and watch Tissot Superpole Race highlights on YouTube – don’t forget to subscribe!

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) were nose-to-tail throughout Race 2, with the #21 getting ahead on Lap 3 and remaining there until Lap 15, when the Turk came back through. Two-time Misano winner Rinaldi stayed in touch, but this turned too literal on Lap 17. On the run into Turn 1, Rinaldi slightly misjudged the gap to Razgatlioglu and made contact with the rear of his Yamaha machine. The Turk continued but Rinaldi’s dreams of a third podium in three races on home soil were in tatters in the gravel.

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Five bikes are going in search of success in the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, including Yamaha with their YZF-R1 machine. With riders Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and teammate Andrea Locatelli at the factory Yamaha team, as well as three other teams running the bike, the Japanese brand have enjoyed a lot of success in 2023. You can check out all the details from the Yamaha R1 in the stunning gallery at the top of this page!

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Every day is a learning day, apparently. So, whilst the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is on a well-earnt summer break after eight rounds, take a look through some of the biggest takeaways from the year so far. Whether it’s the title fight, Kawasaki’s plight, a new star’s might or the transfer market’s dynamite, we hope you find this recap a delight. Take the plunge below!

THE TITLE RACE ISN’T OVER: Bautista leads as Razgatlioglu’s momentum builds

OK; you may have a license to say ‘well, that’s stretching it’ but hear us out; after Imola’s Race 1, the gap between Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) was 98. In just four races, that was halved to 49 and it could’ve been 44 after Race 2 at Most if it wasn’t for a tyre failure whilst leading for the Turk. Yes, it was wet, yes it was a flag-to-flag, yes Bautista crashed etc, but these are all things that can happen in racing. Sometimes, its rider error, other times bad luck, some occasions with slightly more favourable conditions, the list of variables goes on. That’s why the Championship isn’t over yet. Razgatlioglu has had good momentum of late and been able to fight with Bautista longer into the race and he’s shown he can beat him. Magny-Cours is up next, a track he loves – can a surprise come his way there?

KAWASAKI’S STRUGGLES ARE REAL: podium the target most rounds

After the two overseas rounds, it would have been easy to say that when we get back to Europe, the form will level out. In some ways, it has done; Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) hasn’t suffered in the same way he did in the dry of Australia and Indonesia, but he’s not bounced back straight into victory contention either. The aging base of the ZX-10RR has seen Rea ride more on the limit than ever before, sometimes over the limit in his bid to make up the shortfalls of his machine. However, podiums have been achieved and in the drizzle of Most’s Race 1, an intermediate tyre choice saw him take a first win of the year. He’s back in third place in the Championship standings but the package is no longer a Championship challenger; Rea has a contract for 2024 to stay with Kawasaki but rumours are growing about a possible move to Yamaha. Time will tell.

BASSANI’S STEP FORWARD: confirmed pace for the #47, a win only a matter of time?

From unsung hero to race win contender, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) has been having a phenomenal 2023. A real revelation for Lorenzo Mauri’s team, he’s been competitive at almost every round. A first podium of the year came at Misano, but it was on the second trip to Italy where he really shone. A race leader in both full races at Imola, most notably the second race where he battled with Toprak Razgatlioglu for victory, the #47 has been a joy to watch at times. At the same time, with more race pace, has come an improved Friday and Saturday, meaning the 24-year-old Venetian is becoming more of a full package. In the last four rounds, he’s scored the fourth-highest number of points, whilst he’s comfortably ahead of the second factory Ducati of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with 207 points to Bassani and 147 to Rinaldi. The two’s rivalry has also spiralled in 2023, with a particular high point in Barcelona. Bassani’s goal is to win a race; with four rounds and 12 races to go, he’s one to keep an eye on.

PETRUCCI’S PROGRESS: from first thought woes to podium celebrations

After the opening two rounds of 2023, Danilo ‘Petrux’ Petrucci wasn’t sure if it was the right decision to make a return to World Championship action, but now, he’s sure it was the correct move. The double MotoGP™ Grand Prix winner has mounted the podium on three occasions: the first at Donington Park in Race 2, which led to fabulous scenes of celebration for team boss Marco Barnabo, whilst the second and third were a P3 and P2 at Most, the latter after a final lap battle with Jonny Rea. Petrucci has shown he’s competitive and whilst the first win eludes him for now, he’s improving with each outing on the bike. Upcoming rounds will be key if he’s to win before the year ends, whilst Bassani is 52 points ahead of him in the standings.

HONDA AND BMW STRUGGLE: a familiar story, but improvements are coming

It’s been a tricky 2023 for both Honda and BMW, for different reasons. A podium gave reason to celebrate for Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and the rest of the Honda camp, but they’ve not looked like repeating that at any point since. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) has suffered more crashes than in the same period of 2022 and hasn’t repeated his podium achievement of 12 months ago either; he was also injured in a crash with Petrucci at Misano, but Honda’s results haven’t shown the step they’ve made. For BMW, it’s been slightly different; Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) was uncompetitive at the start of the year and unhappy too, with just six top ten finishes in the opening 15 races. Then, form turned around at Donington Park with a P4 in Race 2, whilst he was fast again at Most, but no podiums. As for teammate Michael van der Mark, the Dutchman was in good form at Mandalika before a big crash, whilst another massive incident at Assen side-lined him until Most. Both are in a fight for fourth in the Manufacturers’ Championship standings and are bringing upgrades at the upcoming Aragon test; for BMW, they’ll introduce their super concession.

THE TRANSFER MARKET IS OFF THE SCALE: silly season but when the rumours are plausible…

If you’d have said at the start of 2023, start of the racing season or even, the start of the Imola WorldSBK weekend that there are rumours about Jonathan Rea moving to Yamaha, you’d probably be laughed out the paddock. However, the rumours have been put to all concerned and whilst being clear that they are rumours, there’s talk of change for the six-time World Champion – who is “thinking a lot right now” into summer. Then, there’s the second factory Ducati seat, with Rinaldi seemingly surplus to requirements and with his future not clear. We move to BMW, who have already signed Razgatlioglu, but are yet to commit to who his teammate will be, with both Redding and van der Mark apparently contracted for next year and keen to stay, whilst Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) has a place confirmed to stay where he is. Honda haven’t spoken much but with Iker Lecuona doing more MotoGP™ racing, is it something he’s looking for in his future? 

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After the drama of Assen, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship head to Spain in a new time of year and the scorching Spanish sun. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosted the 2023 Catalunya Round and the Catalan venue was once again brought the battles and rivalries like in previous years. Catch up on all the action from Race 1 and Race 2 HERE and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel when you watch the Tissot Superpole Race highlights on the official WorldSBK channel!

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) celebrated his new 2024 contract in style as he took a home hat-trick, but it was teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi who was at the heart of all the action. Fighting at the top end of the field, he was running close to Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and made a forceful move on the #47 heading through Turn 3 to get ahead. Bassani looked to respond immediately, and the pair took different lines heading out of Turn 10 and into Turn 11 before they made contact. Rinaldi went tumbling into the gravel and out of the race, while Bassani was given a Long Lap Penalty for his role before finishing in seventh. The drama continued into the post-race debriefs as Rinaldi branded it a “dirty move” and that Bassani “lost more than I did”, while Bassani said it was a “normal contact in racing”. Bautista went on to make it a hat-trick, whilst Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed in the Superpole Race on the final lap from the podium battle, whilst Razgatlioglu would go on to beat Rinaldi on a run to the line for P2 in Race 2.

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Enjoying summer holidays, the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s five-week break between races is arguably one of the busiest, particularly for the ever-present rumour mill. However, Team HRC have had a busy schedule too, what with the Suzuka 8 Hours event in Japan – one of Honda’s most important races – and an upcoming test at MotorLand Aragon. Meanwhile, in action at Silverstone and in place of the injured Alex Rins in MotoGP™, Iker Lecuona has also had additional duties. From the opening eight rounds, highs and lows have been around the Honda camp, and we caught up with team manager Leon Camier to talk about the year.

“WE’VE MADE A STEP, BUT SO HAS EVERYBODY ELSE” – progress, but from all

“To be honest, I’d say it’s been quite a difficult season,” said Leon Camier, never one to call a spade an earth-digging implement. “We analysed the results very well, and our performance, lap times and everyone else’s. We’ve made a step, but so has everybody else. There seems to be a couple of extra riders in the top six group that makes it more difficult. Results-wise, it looks quite bad on paper and for sure, we’re not happy in this position and our goal isn’t to be here; it’s to be fighting for Championships and wins week-in, week-out. We have a lot of work to do, but this is a process too. We have to understand, keep working and we have to keep working as hard as we can.”

Asked directly ‘what’s missing’, Camier said that all aspects of the bike need to improve: “That’s a good question! We understand the direction we’d like to go but it’s a step-by-step process. Japan’s working hard behind the scenes but we need time. We need to keep chipping away and working on our weak points; there’s not one weak point, there are several that we need to work on across all areas of the bike. Hopefully at the test at Aragon, we’ll have some items to evaluate and then we’ll work for 2024 as well.”

So far in eight rounds, one podium by Xavi Vierge at Mandalika has been achieved, the first rostrum for the #97. He’s the top rider in the Championship too, holding on to P10 overall and just 16 points from the Kawasaki of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). As for Iker Lecuona, the team’s star rider in 2022, it’s been something of a horror show. A disaster at Mandalika and Assen came after a solid start at Phillip Island. A bounce back in form came in Barcelona when he took a best of fourth in the Superpole Race, whilst he was out injured at Misano after a Superpole Race crash with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team). Donington Park and Imola were both difficult, although he did return Honda to the top ten in the latter’s Race 2, whilst it was a top five at Most in Race 1’s tricky conditions.

“WE’LL HAVE SOME NEW PARTS TO TEST” – can Honda get back in their top six target?

Discussing the team’s aims and ambitions for the remainder of the season, the top six is the target, whilst importance was stressed on the Aragon test on the 29^th and 30^th August: “We’d like to be back inside the top six consistently this year, that’d be a good achievement from where we are now. As I said, we’ll have some parts to test at Aragon that will hopefully be used at the end of the year. So, let’s see what happens; when Japan brings the parts, hopefully we make progress and we’ll go from there. It’s important that we make a step from there until the end of the year. Also, we know that these tracks that we’ve been at haven’t been ideal for us, they’re weak tracks for us at the minute. We have to take this into consideration, but we need to be fast at every track, it’s as simple as that.

“The parts that we bring now will determine what we bring for 2024. Each thing we bring, it changes again what we need from other parts of the bike. Each area of the bike, we need to improve, we’re working on this and we understand this but it’s one step at a time; you can’t just put three things on a bike and expect it to work.”

“HOPEFULLY, WE’LL HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT SOON” – 2024’s plans nearing

Finally, a coy Camier didn’t reveal too much about the rider line-up for 2024, saying: “Nothing at the minute but hopefully, we’ll have an announcement soon. I don’t have anymore details at the minute.” When probed further and with the suggestion that we could expect breaking news in the summer break, Camier’s one-word “possibly” was as much as he was willing to give away.”

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Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) will stay with Yamaha for the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after inking a new contract. The Swiss rider secured a promotion to WorldSBK this season after a second successive WorldSSP title and has impressed throughout his rookie season, leading Yamaha to renewing his contract for 2024 and securing his services for a second consecutive season.

The #77 first joined the WorldSBK paddock with Ten Kate Racing Yamaha in WorldSSP in 2021 and won the title after a long fight with Steven Odendaal. Aegerter won 10 out of 21 races in his first title-winning campaign, including two victories at the team’s home round at the TT Circuit Assen. He backed that up with an even more dominant title in 2022, with 17 wins in the 23 races he took part in as he beat Lorenzo Baldassarri. In the same year, he won the MotoE™ World Cup as he claimed two world titles in the same year and headed into WorldSBK as a two-time WorldSSP Champion.

In his rookie WorldSBK campaign, the 32-year-old raised eyebrows as he put his Yamaha YZF-R1 machine on the front row at Phillip Island despite smoking up the rear tyre on his final flying lap, and he also repeated this feat at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Swiss rider has a best finish of fourth in his rookie campaign, narrowly missing out on a rostrum by two seconds behind Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) at Assen in Race 2.

Aegerter also has a wealth of Moto2™ World Championship experience to his name having contested 168 races in the intermediate Grand Prix class, taking one win and one pole position. He tested Suzuki’s MotoGP™ challenger last year and impressed as he stepped onto a Grand Prix machine during his WorldSSP campaign. In 2024, he will be back on the YZF-R1 machine for Yamaha although which team he will race for is yet to be disclosed.

Discussing his renewal with Yamaha, Aegerter said: “I’m very happy to continue with Yamaha for 2024. I hope we can achieve great results and make some history together. It helps to continue with the same bike. We have some data that we collected this year, because WorldSBK has a lot of different electronics. We could adapt the electronics to my riding style, and it helps when we go to the same tracks next year that we already start on Friday with a better basic setup. I will know what to expect from the bikes and the racetracks. I hope we can increase the level and try to make it a better season. The season is still long for 2023 so we will try to achieve some great results. I’m still waiting for a podium; it’s one of my goals for this season. For next year, we’ll try to be better and be in front more often, trying to fight more consistently in the top five to try to be on the front row, and in the first group and to maybe fight for the podium. One day, I want to win a race as well.”

Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager, Andrea Dosoli, added: “It’s been a pleasure for us to see our double Supersport World Champion, Dominique, adapting so quickly to WorldSBK. He has impressed us all, starting from the first race, where he put in a phenomenal Superpole performance to secure a front-row start at Phillip Island. I don’t think there is a better way to introduce yourself to your teammates and rivals! His progression since then has been solid, improving every weekend and finishing as the top independent rider in three races so far. I am confident that he will add to this number before the end of the year, which is why I am pleased to announce the extension of the current agreement for a further season. I wish Dominique and his team all the best as they continue their progression, and we hope they reap the rewards they deserve.”

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After two incredible rounds in Australia and Indonesia, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was back on European soil with the iconic TT Circuit Assen set another memorable show. A change of continent did not change the on-track action with plenty to talk about after a dramatic Dutch Round. Recap all the action from Race 1 and Race 2 HERE and enjoy highlights from the thrilling Tissot Superpole Race on our YouTube channel – make sure to subscribe on YouTube and be part of the WorldSBK community, to not miss any content!

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fastest in Tissot Superpole but a three-place grid penalty for Race 1 dropped him to fourth, meaning six-time Champion and Assen’s most successful rider Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) started from P1. This didn’t prevent the #1 from scoring his second triple of the season with the top three covered by four seconds in Race 1, whilst it was just under two seconds in the Tissot Superpole Race. Race 2 was the most dramatic of the three as Rea’s torrid start to 2023 took another dip: he crashed out on Lap 6 at Turn 9, leaving him fifth in the standings and already 101 points behind reigning Champion and arch-rival Bautista. Bautista was 56 points clear of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) at the top of the Championship.

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Defending World Champion and 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) will take part in the Malaysian Grand Prix in MotoGP™ as a wildcard with the Aruba.it Racing Team. The round, set to take place from the 10^th – 12^th November, comes two weeks after the close of the 2023 WorldSBK season and is the third-to-last Grand Prix of the MotoGP™ year.

DUCATI’S SUCCESS IN BOTH CLASSES: Bautista set to sparkle?

Bautista is enjoying a stunning title defence is WorldSBK this season; 18 wins – a new record for wins in a single season – 21 podiums from 24 races, three pole positions and 74-point advantage in the Championship standings, the #1 really is in the best form of his career. Ducati’s success is also being mirrored in MotoGP™; coming into the year as reigning World Champions with Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia, who is also donning the #1, Ducati have won seven out of nine GPs in 2023, along with seven of the new format Sprints.

A 1-2-3 in the current standings and with six out of the eight Ducati bikes inside the top ten, Bautista is undoubtedly stepping onto a competitive package. The Spaniard, who gets an early birthday treat as a wildcard one week before he turns 39, has enjoyed two tests on the GP23 machine and was impressive with his times, despite not setting a time attack run. For the second test, Bautista was key to testing 2024 parts for the Italian manufacturer.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: Bautista returns to MotoGP™

Speaking about heading back to the MotoGP™ paddock to race for the first time since 2018, the multiple Grand Prix winner and MotoGP™ podium finisher said: “I’m really happy to be able to race in MotoGP™ as a wildcard at Sepang, a track that I really like and that I’m happy to be back at since it’s not on the WorldSBK calendar. The tests with the Ducati Desmosedici GP gave positive feedback: the feeling was good, and I had fun. I want to sincerely thank Ducati and Aruba.it because, without them, it would have been impossible to have this opportunity.

“At the same time, I would like to say that this MotoGP™ race will be a bonus for me and not a priority. That’s why we must stay focused on the WorldSBK Championship, which is the only thing that matters now. I want to stay focused for this last part of the season, which will be very demanding, with many races in a short time. The feeling with the Panigale V4R machine is good, and I hope to continue on this path. Then, when the season ends, we’ll think about going to Malaysia and having fun. Now I’ll have a little holiday, and then we’ll be back at Magny-Cours.”

Bautista’s time in the Grand Prix paddock saw him pick up the 2006 125cc World Championship, before being a title contender in the 250cc class. For 2010, he graduated to the factory Suzuki team in MotoGP™, picking up plenty of top ten finishes, which included two fifth place finishes at Barcelona-Catalunya and Sepang. He was a podium contender throughout 2011 with the team, but when Suzuki left the Championship at the end of the year, Bautista moved over to the Gresini Honda outfit for 2012, notching up a first rostrum in the premier class at Misano. He took two more podiums for the team, his last in MotoGP™, as he moved to Aprilia to develop their early comeback into the class for 2015, achieving top ten results. He then moved to Ducati for 2017 and 2018 with the Aspar Racing Team, taking a best of fourth in his second Grand Prix with the team in Argentina. One of Bautista’s last memories from MotoGP™ was his mighty performance at Phillip Island in the factory team, replacing the injured Jorge Lorenzo, when he battled for the podium before taking P4.

TURNING BACK TIME: those who shone doing the same

Making a wildcard hasn’t been easy in MotoGP™ from WorldSBK, but there’s been an array of success stories. Who can forget the magnificent Troy Bayliss’ return to Valencia in 2006, when he dominated the race to be a rare wildcard race winner in MotoGP™, whilst in 2008 at Donington Park, Ben Spies was a wildcard replacement for the injured Loris Capirossi, qualifying a fine P8 and scoring points in P14 – this preceded Spies’ move to WorldSBK for 2009. The American made another appearance in 2009’s finale at Valencia, when he was P7 on the Sterilgarda Yamaha M1 machine ahead of a full-time MotoGP™ switch in 2010. Back in the early days of WorldSBK, eventual-four-time World Champion Carl Fogarty wildcarded at the 1993 British Grand Prix at Donington Park, when he was set to score a podium but ran out of fuel on the run to the line on the last lap, losing out to fellow Brit and privateer Niall Mackenzie, who took his last Grand Prix podium.

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With the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship on a summer break, team managers from up and down the grid have been reviewing their season. Paul Denning, Team Principal at the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team, spoke about the first eight rounds of the campaign after the Acerbis Czech Round. He also reviewed the Championship fight between Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and whether there could be new parts on the R1 machine at the next round.

“THE GAP TO THE LEADER SHOULD BE MUCH CLOSER THAN IT IS” – 2023 so far

Razgatlioglu sits second in the Riders’ Championship with five wins to his name, whilst Andrea Locatelli is two places behind. Between them, they have given Yamaha 28 podiums with the majority, 22, coming from the #54. Currently, the 2021 Champion trails Bautista by 74 points after closing the gap by 95 to 49 after the Most Tissot Superpole Race. However, a Race 2 crash from the lead due to an unfortunate rear tyre failure allowed Bautista to re-extend his lead back up to 74 points.

Reflecting on the season so far, Denning said: “We have to say ‘good’ really. We’re in second and fourth positions in the Championship. The gap to the leader should be much closer than it is. The events of Most Race 2, where Toprak suffered a tyre failure, were ridiculously unlucky when it looked like we were going to win the race, means the gap is much bigger than we’d like. This we can’t control. In general, the performance of the team and the riders has been great. Just the outright performance gap, let’s say, with the machine leading the Championship is perhaps a little bit too much. We were getting very close!”

“THERE IS HOPE!” – the title fight is still alive

Whilst the gap between Razgatlioglu and Bautista increased at Most, Denning refused to rule the Turk out of the title fight with four rounds, 12 races and 248 points on the market across Magny-Cours, Aragon, Portimao and Jerez. With Razgatlioglu leading in Race 2 before his tyre failure, the gap could have been 44 points heading into the summer break or, if Bautista had won ahead of Toprak, 54, but the gap got back up to 74 points, more than a round in hand.

Talking about the ‘never say never’ attitude, Denning commented that he thought the title was still a possibility: “I think very much so and Most has shown that, both positive and negative. We won the Superpole Race and looked like we could’ve, but honestly, would’ve won Race 2. That means there is hope. Any rider can make mistakes. We got super unlucky in Race 2. I guess, there is a negative to say, it’s probably only that Toprak has suffered two DNFs. One because another rider crashed and took him down at Phillip Island and one at Most. It’s a real pity when that’s the case. When we come back to Magny-Cours, we’ll be positive and smiling and just do our best as always.”

“WE NEED TO TAKE THAT FINAL STEP” – Locatelli edging closer all the time

The Yamaha #55 is enjoying his best season to date in WorldSBK in terms of podiums and points. He has six podiums to his name this season – the same as he managed in 2021 and 2022 combined – while he has 227 points after eight rounds. He had 186 after Round 8 in 2021 (Magny-Cours) while he was on 173 at this stage last year when Barcelona hosted the eighth round. However, the Italian is still chasing a first WorldSBK win.

Expanding on Locatelli’s campaign, and what he needs to do next, Denning said: “It’s been a little bit up and down. We need to reach the level of performance of Phillip Island, Mandalika and Imola and do that more consistently. Donington was very positive, it’s a track he’s struggled at in the past. In general, the level is growing and growing. Imola is a tough track, and he hadn’t ridden there for 10 years. He performed super well. If he can do that at Imola, for me, he can do it anywhere. We just need to build his confidence so he’s ready to go so that he feels that he deserves to be on the podium and then the next step is to try to win a race. We’ve seen with many riders, when they finally break through that barrier and they’re able to win, the self-belief goes up. He doesn’t make many mistakes, he’s very consistent, we just need to take that final step for him to believe he’s a winning rider.”

“WE HOPE TO BRING NEW MATERIAL TO MAGNY-COURS” – no Aragon test for Yamaha

Although Yamaha have opted not to go to Aragon for the upcoming two-day test at the end of August, they have a development programme in place as they look to close the gap on their rivals. Test rider Niccolo Canepa is part of this, and Denning revealed he will be testing some new material for the YZF-R1 with the aim of bringing them to the French Round.

Denning said: “We only have one remaining test day for each rider. The end of August at Aragon is like hell on earth. I’m not quite sure what we can learn with one day there. We prefer to put the team’s time and the development guys’ time into the development of the bike. They will be doing some more testing with Nico Canepa and some new stuff, and we hope to bring some new material to Magny-Cours off the back of that which can slightly improve the performance.”

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After the shaken-up order of Round 1 in Australia, the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship headed back west – albeit slightly – to Indonesia for one of the most tropical rounds of the season on Lombok. The second round didn’t disappoint either, with plenty of ups and downs to take note of. Enjoy our round recap of Race 1 and Race 2 here, whilst the Superpole Race is on YouTube here – don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE!

Race 1 in went to Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) whilst Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a horror show, slipping to P9 at the end. A red flag at the start of the Superpole Race opened Sunday action with a bang, but it got worse for Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), who got his leg run hit by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) whilst braking for Turn 10, leaving him with several fractures. The biggest moment came when Rea went to pass Bautista at Turn 12, pushing him off-line and the #1 crashed out. In Race 2, another red flag with a crash for Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) halted Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) charge to a win, meaning that on the restart, he didn’t have a new tyre. Caught in the final laps by Bautista who went on to win, Rinaldi ran off on the last lap at Turn 10, allowing Razgatlioglu and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) to complete the podium, a first for Vierge; Rinaldi took P4. Bautista led Razgatlioglu in the title race by 37 points heading for Europe.

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