As the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock moved from Australia to Indonesia for the Motul Indonesian Round, one question being asked was whether Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) would be able to bounce back from a tricky season-opening round. At the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit, Rea had another difficult weekend as he scored only 13 points in three races including crashing out of Race 2 when running in the top five.
Rea was fourth in Friday’s Free Practice 2 session, the faster of the two Friday practice sessions, which also put him in the same position in the combined standings. In Saturday’s practice, he took sixth place in the standings before taking fifth place in the Tissot Superpole session although his best time was half-a-second down on polesitter Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK). Despite fifth in Superpole, Rea started Race 1 from eighth place after being given a three-place grid drop by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards for slow riding in Superpole.
The six-time Champion was unable to make progress and was classified in ninth place in Race 1, his worst finish since Race 1 at Magny-Cours last year. In the Superpole Race, starting from fifth, Rea took fourth place behind teammate Alex Lowes but this was also a complicated affair: the race was red flagged after Rea crashed at Turn 2 on Lap 2, a lap after Lowes, Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) had come together. The pair took to the restarted race from the original positions to take third and fourth.
In Race 2, Rea had been running in the top six in the restarted race and moved up to fifth after passing Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) on Lap 8. However, a lap later, Rea’s race came to an end when he crashed out at the high-speed Turn 7 after losing the front of his ZX-10RR machine. After the round’s action concluded, Rea elaborated on his Indonesian Round and what went wrong for him across the three days of action.
Rea said: “It has been a very difficult weekend, with not so many positives. We, step-by-step, found a better direction. The track here in Mandalika has been quite inconsistent from Friday, when the grip level was really low, but we understood on race day that the grip level was incredibly high. So, we never nailed the setup perfectly, but I felt that we got better. In the races I felt my rhythm was OK but unfortunately in the Superpole Race I found some traffic in front of me and it was very difficult to pass. But I felt my pace was quite good. In Race 2 I lost the front. Not exactly quite sure why, but it is quite windy in that area. I think the wind just picked the front up.
“I am frustrated, and I found it very difficult to pass anyone on acceleration or on the brakes. I was riding over my head sometimes on the brakes and in the corners trying to stay with the group. But we have to accept this tough weekend, try to learn from it and then put it behind us when we head back to Europe. We will have much more information now. So even as we are disappointed, we need to keep our heads up and keep fighting. I feel Assen is a great track to come back to with some strong results.”
Race 2 in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was a rollercoaster affair for Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit. The Italian rider had led throughout the shortened and restarted Race 2 during the Motul Indonesian Round but found himself in fourth place at the chequered flag behind teammate Alvaro Bautista as well as Toprak Razgatligolu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC).
The original race was red flagged on Lap 8 after a crash at Turn 11 involving Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) with Rinaldi more than two seconds clear of Razgatlioglu at their last completed timing point. In the seven full laps prior to the red flags, Rinaldi had started from seventh, was fourth at the end of Lap 2, second a lap later and took the lead on Lap 4.
He started the restarted race, which ran to a distance of 14 laps, from pole position and was able to maintain first place until Lap 13 of 14 when Bautista overtook him. The Spaniard had been closing in on his teammate throughout the closing stages and made a move into Turn 10 to demote Rinaldi into second place. On the final lap, Rinaldi went wide at the same corner which allowed Razgatlioglu and Vierge through as the Spanish rider took his first WorldSBK podium and demoted Rinaldi to fourth place.
Looking back on his weekend, and explaining what happened on Lap 14, Rinaldi said: “I’m upset because on Saturday, I made a mistake and crashed. On Sunday, I said I cannot change the past and I will try to push and see what happens. On Friday, we showed our strength. I started Race 2 and I felt good. I made a lot of overtakes. I was feeling good and I started to get my rhythm and lapping pretty quickly. When I was 2.5 seconds clear, there was a red flag. I said, ‘come on… maybe it’s not my time today!’. I went into the pits. We started the race again, but the problem was I started, like everybody else, with used tyres. We didn’t have new tyres. I used the fronts on Friday which meant that after a few laps I didn’t have front grip. I was pushing and my pace was pretty quick. Only Alvaro in the last part of the race was similar to me but then I dropped. When I dropped, I didn’t want to make a mistake. In Warm Up, when the tyres dropped, I crashed. I knew what the limit was, and I just wanted to bring the bike home. I almost did but on the last lap I almost crashed again. To try and have control of the bike, I took the focus off the brakes and as soon as I looked at the braking zone, I was late. I made a mistake and finished fourth. This year, we’ve shown our speed is there. After leading almost all the race, and not getting a podium at least, I’m upset.”
Rinaldi had shown strong pace throughout the weekend but also had a couple of crashes, including in Race 1 on Saturday and in Sunday’s Warm Up session. He also revealed in the Superpole Race that he had an issue in the opening laps which left him down the order to finish in seventh place; the reason why he started Race 2 there. He said: “In the Superpole Race, I had an issue with the engine brake. In the first two laps, as soon as I braked, the rear tyre locked, and I went wide two times. I changed the engine brake and I took it off more or less. I was able to lap quickly but I already lost too much time in the opening laps, so I finished at the back. Maybe it was not my lucky weekend.”
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After fighting illness throughout the Motul Indonesian Round, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was able to claim his best MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship result to date with seventh place in Race 2 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit. Gardner was forced to miss Saturday’s action through illness but responded in style throughout Sunday’s two races to fight his way through the field.
As Gardner missed out on Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session, he was forced to start the Tissot Superpole Race from the back of the grid. As he was unable to finish in the top nine in the shortened eight-lap fight, he once again started from last place in Race 2 which was red-flagged and restarted, with the restarted race shortened to 14 laps.
The grid for the restarted race was based on each rider’s last completed timing point and the Australian rookie was 11th at this point, meaning he gained positions for the second start and he used this to his full advantage. He climbed up the field once again to finish in seventh place, recording his second top-ten finish in his short WorldSBK career but also his best result to date with seventh place.
Looking back on Sunday, Gardner said: “I don’t feel amazing, to be honest. After yesterday, I thought today’s not even possible. We pushed hard to come back. We tried in Warm Up and it was okay. The Superpole Race wasn’t so bad. Finally, we made Race 2. Unfortunately, we had to start from last but, in the end, we had a good race and managed to come back to seventh. It wasn’t bad. Honestly, it was a good race and a positive day. It was really difficult. I’m glad it’s over and I went to go rest at home now!”
With a gap in the calendar to come, Gardner also elaborated on what his plans were for the break. He said: “We have testing at Montmelo, a two-day test and there are a few things there we want to try that’ll be important. The other days, I’ll be training and on the other days I’ll be working a little bit on my cars.”
Race 2 in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was a mixed affair for Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit during the Motul Indonesian Round. The British rider finished the race in tenth spot but last ground when the red flags were deployed right after he had a small crash, meaning he had to start the restarted race from 14th place.
Redding was battling with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in the early stages of Race 2 when the pair came together at Turn 16 with Locatelli able to continue and Redding down on the track. The British rider re-mounted his M 1000 RR but, with the red flags deployed, the grid for the restarted race was taken from each rider’s last completed timing point. This meant Redding dropped out of the top ten and started from 14th.
The British rider was able to fight back again to take tenth spot in Race 2 in Indonesia as he looks to build on some solid pace throughout the weekend. It was also a strong showing from teammate Michael van der Mark with the Dutchman finishing Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race inside the top eight, while he was in the fight for another top ten finish in Race 2 before he had a huge highside and an accident with Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) brought out the red flags.
Discussing his Sunday in Indonesia, Reddingsaid: “I crashed in the main race trying to overtake. In the races, it was a better day for me today after a disappointing day yesterday. I felt better already in the Warm Up and in the race I felt pretty good this morning. In Race 2, I felt good but then I had the small crash and it was a restart; I had to start 14th instead of eighth. The field is so tight at the moment it’s really hard to make any difference. I managed to move up in the beginning and then made a small mistake at Turn 1 because the wind was really strong, then nothing, then really strong and changing direction every other lap. I made a small mistake, dropped back, and ended up P10. It’s the first time this year that I’ve felt more feeling with the bike and feeling like I can actually push with the bike. I hope we can continue this on for the rest of the season.”
The factory BMW test will complete some test days before they head to the iconic TT Circuit Assen for the Dutch Round in April as they look to keep refining their 2023 M 1000 RR, with Redding discussing after the Indonesian Round where he would like to continue improving the bike. The 2023 model, which includes several upgrades including to the aerodynamics and a new gearbox, has completed two rounds of the 2023 season so far with a best result of sixth.
Talking about where he wants to improve, Redding said: “For me, it’s getting the bike to turn a bit more and we need to get more acceleration. I follow some guys on the exit and the acceleration is just unbelievable. Some guys have a step between. I can see that it’s actual drive they’re getting, and I feel like we if we can make a step, it’ll make us more competitive and be able to ride with a bit more ease. We’re always trying to close the gap in acceleration and then we’ve pushed a lot with the front. If we can improve this, I’ll be happy.”
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
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.
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).
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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