Tag Archives: World Superbike

Competition, News, WSBK

Bautista battles back to take Race 2 victory at Mandalika, Vierge claims maiden WorldSBK podium

Leave a comment

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s visit to the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit for the Motul Indonesian Round featured another dramatic race in Race 2 as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fought back to claim victory in Indonesia in a red-flagged Race 2 after battling with teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi. It was also a memorable race for Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) as he claimed his first WorldSBK podium after a strong Indonesian Round.

FIGHTING BACK: Bautista fights from tenth to first…

The original race was red flagged at the start of Lap 8 after an incident at Turn 11 involving Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) with both riders retiring from the race and unable to take the restart. Van der Mark was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. The Dutchman was diagnosed with fractures to the base of the middle phalanx on his fourth and fifth fingers on his left hand. The starting grid for the restarted race was based on the last completed timing point for every rider and the race distanced reduced to 14 laps for the restarted race.

Rinaldi started the restarted race from pole position and, despite losing momentum at the start, was able to hold that throughout the opening laps of the 14-lap race. The Italian was able to take advantage of the battling behind him, including between teammate Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) for second place. Bautista overtook Razgatlioglu on Lap 4 at Turn 15 to move into second place before setting his sights on his teammate.

The gap was at over one second at when Bautista passed Razgatlioglu before the reigning Champion started closing in on teammate. Bautista, who started the original race from tenth place after a Superpole Race crash and then fourth for the restarted race, lost time when he ran wide at Turn 1 when the gap was down to half-a-second, losing around one second, before he closed down the gap again. By Lap 11, Bautista had closed the gap back down to a tenth. Bautista made the move on his teammate on Lap 13 of 14 at Turn 10 to move into the lead of the race. Bautista had opted to switch tyres in the red flag period as he switched from the SCX tyre for the original race to the SC0 for the restarted race.

On the final lap, Rinaldi ran wide at Turn 10 and lost two positions to Razgatlioglu and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in third place with Vierge taking his first WorldSBK podium after claiming third place after he started the restarted race from third on the grid. He was running in the chasing group throughout Race 2 and was able to take advantage of Rinaldi running wide to move into the podium places behind Razgatlioglu, who had been fighting for the podium throughout the restarted race.

Bautista was able to claim his 37th victory in WorldSBK and his fifth out of six races in 2023, while it was also his 60th podium for Ducati. This number puts him level with Troy Corser in terms of podiums for the Italian manufacturer and he sits exactly 40 behind Carl Fogarty. Razgatlioglu’s second place moved him level with Aaron Slight on 87 WorldSBK podiums while Vierge became the 128th rider to take a podium in WorldSBK.

IN THE TOP SIX: six seconds separating the top six

Rinaldi ended up in fourth place and less than a second clear of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in fifth place with the two Italians separated by just 0.780s at the end of the race. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) continued his impressive Indonesian Round with sixth place with Petrucci less than a second behind Locatelli in sixth place. Locatelli had briefly led the original race but lost ground shortly afterwards, dropping him down the order on the grid for the restarted race.

IN THE TOP TEN: fighting from the back

Australian rookie Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) overcame illness to record his best WorldSBK result to date with seventh place despite starting the original race from last place after missing Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session. Gardner was 11th on the restarted grid and moved up the order to finish ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing). Bassani had been in the top four but was penalized for irresponsible riding in the original race and ordered to drop one place. As he looked to allow Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) through, Razgatlioglu was able to sneak through and Bassani lost two places. To take eighth place. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was ninth in Race 2, ahead of Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

COMPLETING THE POINTS: leaving Indonesia with point

American star Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) finished directly behind Redding with 11th place and the pair were separated by only two tenths at the end of the race. Rookie Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took 12th spot ahead of Lowes in 13th and Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) with the Italian bettering his previous best WorldSBK result set in Race 1. Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE MS Racing HONDA Team) rounded out the last of the classified riders and the points scorers with 15th place.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from Race 2

Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) did not get underway when the lights went out after he had a technical issue on the grid, with the Czech rider retiring from the race. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) brought his bike into the pits after five laps and, as he was not classified when the red flag was shown, did not take to the restarted race. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed out of the race after he crashed at Turn 7 with the six-time Champion taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Rea was diagnosed with a right distal thigh deep abrasion following his check-up.

The top six following WorldSBK Race 2, full results here:

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +1.218s

3. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +3.050s

4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.068s

5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +4.848

6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +5.838s

Fastest lap: Alvaro Bautista, Ducati – 1’32.247

Championship standings

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 112 points

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 75

3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 70

4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 51

5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 47

6. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 44

Watch more WorldSBK action throughout 2023 using the WorldSBK VIdeoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News, WSBK

WSBK 2019 Form Guide | Who can knock off Jonny Rea..?

Leave a comment

Here is your 2019 WorldSBK pre-season form guide ahead of Phillip Island’s kick-off of the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship next February 22-24.

The grid forecast for February is hot with a grid of seasoned pros going into battle against World Champions from the Grand Prix ranks, as well as a couple of hotshots returning to the production series for the Yamaha Finance backed season opener at Phillip Island.

The new three-race format also launches at the island, with the 10 lap Sunday morning sprint adding to the 2 x 22 lap traditional WorldSBK races.

A three-day ticket at $120* as it includes free Paddock Access and can be purchased at www.worldsbk.com.au or Ticketek.

Click Here for Phillip Island WSBK/ASBK weekend schedule

Led by reigning world champion Jonathan Rea, 10 riders on the 2019 WorldSBK grid have won a total of 181 races between them. Rea has a whopping 71 one of those, followed by Tom Sykes (34), Chaz Davies (29), Marco Melandri (22), Eugene Laverty (13), Leon Haslam (5), Ryuichi Kiyonari (5), Michael van der Mark (2), Alex Lowes (1) and Jordi Torres (1).

WSBK Test Jerez Nov GeeBee Jonathan Rea
Jonathan Rea – Image by GeeBee

Haslam and Kiyonari return to the WorldSBK ranks in 2019 – the latter for the first time since 2009! – while the grand prix stars are Spaniard Alvaro Bautista and German Sandro Cortese. And they bring with them major firepower: Bautista was the 2006 125cc champion and went onto win 16 races in the lightweight and intermediate classes before moving into MotoGP, where he was a three-time podium finisher; while Cortese was the 2012 Moto3 champion and in 2018 clinched the world supersport title in his first attempt.

WorldSBK 2019 Form Guide

Four-time world champion Rea will remain at home with his Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK. But there’s been a change on the other side of the garage, as Haslam joins the squad. Signing a one-year deal, the British champion returns to WorldSBK for the first time in 2015 – although we have seen him every year since then during wildcard appearances.

WSBK Test Jerez Nov GeeBee Leon Haslam
Leon Haslam inherits Tom Sykes’ crew chief as the BSB Champion takes Sykes’ place in the Kawasaki WorldSBK squad, while Sykes will be on the new BMW S 1000 RR for season 2019

It’s a similar story over in the Aruba.it Racing Ducati garage, with Davies remaining in the team for a sixth season as he rides the sensational new Panigale V4 R. But he will also have a new face on the other side of the garage, as Bautista joins the factory team for 2019. Davies has finished runner-up on three occasions in WorldSBK but will have his eyes on the world title. For Bautista, his pace in early testing has been impressive.

WSBK Test Jerez Nov GeeBee Alvaro Bautista Panigale VR
WSBK Test Jerez Nov GeeBee Alvaro Bautista Panigale V4 R

There will be no changes at the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team, as van der Mark and Lowes line up with their YZF-R1s for the third season in a row. Both riders took their first WorldSBK wins in 2018; van der Mark took the double victory around Donington Park, and Lowes followed with the race two win around Brno.

WSBK Test Jerez Nov GeeBee Michae VanDerMark
Michael van der Mark – Image GeeBee

Welcoming the return of BMW as a factory support, the BMW Motarrad WorldSBK Team, run by Shaun Muir Racing, will be lining up on the grid with reigning STK1000 champion Markus Reiterberger and 2013 WorldSBK champion Sykes. Reiterberger, who dominated the STK1000 class on a BMW in 2018, has experience in WorldSBK, while Sykes boasts some of the most experience in the paddock.

BMW S RR Action
2019 BMW S 1000 RR

Fielding a third Ducati Paniagle V4 R in 2019 will be the Barni Racing Team, which has signed Michael Ruben Rinaldi. The Italian already has one year of experience in the WorldSBK class under his belt. Joining the best independent team of 2018, who secured six podiums last season, his experience and relationship with Ducati will no doubt help to continue this into 2019.

WSBK Test Jerez Nov GeeBee Chaz Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R – Image GeeBee

Making the step up from the European Superstock 1000 Championship, Alessandro Delbianco will line up on the grid with the new Althea MIE Racing Team as it makes the switch to Honda in collaboration with the mighty Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) as it returns to the championship for the first time since 2002.

Still without an official team name, Althea will be collaborating with Moriwaki and HRC for 2019. British rider Leon Camier will stick with Althea and Honda after a tough season, while Japanese legend Kiyonari will ride for HRC.

Honda WorldSBK Camier CQ
Leon Camier

Camier had a strong start to 2018 with but ended in 12th overall after being plagued by injury and bike problems. Kiyonari has 53 race starts to his name, with three wins overall and experience in many national superbike championships.

Yamaha will be offering a second factory supported team in 2019, with Cortese and Melandri lining up for the GRT Yamaha WSBK Team. Cortese is keen to adapt his riding style for the new season ahead. Bringing in Melandri to join him, the veteran heads back to Yamaha for the first time since 2011 and was a WorldSBK race winner in 2018, so the duo will soon find the right direction for the team.

WSBK Test Jerez Nov Day GeeBee Marco Melandri
Marco Melandri back on a Yamaha – GeeBee Image

Sticking with the same team for 2019 will be Toprak Razgatlioglu, who heads into his second season with Kawasaki Puccetti Racing. The young Turkish star was able to secure two podiums in 2018, as he continues to get to grips with the ZX-10RR. Securing the STK1000 title in 2017, Razgatlioglu has a natural speed which he is continuing to define with the WorldSBK machine.

Last but not least, Torres has recently announced he will be making his return to the WorldSBK paddock after a brief stint in MotoGP as a replacement rider. The Spanish rider is joining Team Pedercini Racing for 2019, and will make his debut on the Kawasaki machine, debuting on the ZX-10RR.

MotoGP Aragaon Rnd Torres
Jordi Torres – Aragon MotoGP 2018 – Round 14

The full WorldSBK grid begins pre-season testing again in late January, with the final shakedown at Phillip Island on February 18-19 ahead of round one and the three-race formula debut, an 18-lap world supersport race and nine national support races in superbike, supersport and supersport 300 – the start of the 2019 Aussie title.

Tickets now on sale

As an extra bonus at WorldSBK, all three-day ticket holders are gifted free paddock access kids 15 and under^ are free.

A three-day general admission is $120* secured in advance, or $230* when you add camping to your purchase an available at www.worldsbk.com.au or Ticketek.

*All ticket prices quoted purchased in advance and subject to Ticketek service and handling fees. Book now and save on gate prices.

^Children 15 and under are free and must be accompanied by a paying adult.

Click Here for full weekend WSBK/ASBK Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au