Honda signs Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge for its factory WorldSBK squad
Honda has announced that it has reached an agreement with Spanish riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge to compete on its official World Superbike Team in 2022 aboard the factory Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade.
Lecuona, 21-year old rider from Valencia, made his debut in the Moto2 World Championship in 2016 and is currently completing his second year in MotoGP.
Iker Lecuona has shown glimpses of brilliance on the Tech3 KTM MotoGP bike this year, particularly in the wet
24-year-old Xavi Vierge was born in Barcelona, and is concluding his sixth season in the Moto 2 World Championship.
Xavi Vierge is currently 11th in the Moto2 World Championship standings and has only scored one podium this year, a third place
The Bonovo action BMW Racing Team will expand its involvement in 2022 and run two BMW M 1000 RR motorcycles in the series. In the saddle will be two well-known WorldSBK riders: Eugene Laverty (IRL) and Loris Baz (FRA).
35-year-old BMW works rider Laverty has been racing in WorldSBK since 2011 and enters his third season with BMW Motorrad Motorsport in 2022.
Eugene Laverty
“I’m very happy to continue with BMW Motorrad and join the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team for the 2022 World Superbike season. It is fantastic to remain in the BMW WorldSBK family. The past six months have been tough for me as a rider and so I’m very grateful for the continued support and belief from everyone involved in this project. I’m very motivated to repay that faith in my abilities and I feel confident that following a solid winter testing campaign we can arrive ready and competitive at round one.”
Eugene Laverty
Baz also comes with plenty of WorldSBK experience: The 28-year-old Frenchman rode a BMW S 1000 RR in WorldSBK in 2018 and made his Superbike World Championship debut in 2012 and started in the series for three years, before switching to MotoGP from 2015 to 2017. He then returned to WorldSBK. In the 2021 season, Baz has been riding in MotoAmerica but has also impressed on a number of outings in WorldSBK. His WorldSBK record to date: two wins and 20 podiums. Baz will now be a BMW works rider in the 2022 season.
Loris Baz
“I am really happy to be back in WorldSBK so I want to thank BMW and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team for giving me this opportunity. I think that I have shown during these two rounds in Spain and Portugal that I have the pace to fight at the front in this championship. BMW is the brand that grew the most in the second part of the season. I have closely watched how the bike was improving. I have been racing with BMW before so I know a lot of people there and also, I have been competing with MGM Racing for one race back in 2012. I am really happy and really excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to trying the bike and to starting to work together with the team and BMW. Thanks again to all the people involved in this project.”
Loris Baz
Jonas Folger (GER), who lined up in WorldSBK with the Bonovo MGM Racing team in 2021, will be looking for a new challenge after what has been a difficult season for him. The cooperation in the WorldSBK has been terminated by mutual consent.
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“The course is set for a successful second season together for BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team in the WorldSBK. The team and we have gained a lot of experience in the first year of our cooperation, and that now forms the basis as we continue to move forward together. The two riders starting for the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team also underline our ambition. We are very pleased that Eugene Laverty remains a part of the BMW works rider family and lines up with us in his third season. Although the 2021 season was not always easy for him, he showed a lot of fight and was very committed to our project. At the same time, we are pleased to have Loris Baz on board. Having spent a season on the BMW S 1000 RR in 2018, he is now part of the BMW works rider family. Loris has more than impressed on his WorldSBK outings this season. We are confident that, with their skill and experience, Eugene and Loris will help move the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team forward. We would like to thank Jonas Folger. It is a shame that his debut season in WorldSBK did not play out as we were all hoping. However, he and the team never gave up and always worked hard. We are very grateful to him for that tireless commitment.”
Jürgen Röder – Team Owner Bonovo action BMW Racing Team
“I am overjoyed that we are heading into the next year as a strong BMW Team and that two top riders like Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz will be in the saddle of the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team bikes. The goal is for the two BMW teams to cooperate even more closely. It is great for us to have two strong riders on board. Particularly Eugene, who has been on the BMW for a few years, is an extremely analytical rider, and provides feedback that can be excellently incorporated in the further development of the bike. He knows all the structures at BMW, and who he needs to contact and when, and is obviously a great addition to the team. I think 28-year-old Loris is a great young rider. We have seen what he is capable of. He has done well in MotoAmerica, has returned to World Superbike and has achieved some very impressive results. It is a real godsend for me to have someone like him in our team. I think we have a real chance of consistently finishing in the top ten with both riders next season. That is obviously a real asset for the whole BMW family. At this point, I would like to thank Dr. Markus Schramm and Marc Bongers again for integrating us so closely in the BMW structure. We will do everything we can to live up to this privilege that has been bestowed upon us. At the same time, I would like to thank Jonas Folger for his commitment. He showed great character when came to me and said that he would not be able to add anything to the team in 2022, and that he would not be taking up my option of continuing together in WorldSBK. I find that incredibly impressive. We still have a very good relationship, and that will remain the case.”
Michael Galinski – Team Manager Bonovo action BMW Racing Team
“We are pleased to be able to take this step together with Jürgen Röder, and are very proud of our two riders. In Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz we have two excellent riders. Loris has started in many classes, such as MotoGP and Superbikes, on many different manufacturers’ bikes, including BMW and Yamaha. He recently showed what he is capable of at the race in Portugal: two third places as a reserve rider is no mean feat. We are very pleased to have him on board. Eugene has been slightly below par this year, as he was unable to ride for a long time. He is a great development rider and will help us to develop the bike together with BMW. All in all, we are now on equal footing with the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. They also have two tall riders on the bike, in Michael van der Mark and Scott Redding. Loris, as the third tall guy, will be able to contribute to the development in this regard. Eugene is not quite as tall, but nevertheless we are all moving in the same direction together. We are looking forward to the coming season!”
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round 12 – Circuito San Juan Villicum, San Juan
Superpole Race
The 10-lap Tissot Superpole Race was decided by a drag race to the finish line at the Circuito San Juan Villicum with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) dicing it out for Superpole Race honours.
Toprak Razgatlioglu narrowly beat Scott Redding to the line in the Superpole Race
Toprak Razgatlioglu claimed the lead of the race into turn one after leap-frogging pole-sitter Scott Redding while Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was straight into podium contention from fifth on the grid and immediately battling with Razgatlioglu and Redding.
At the end of lap three, Redding lost ground to Razgatlioglu after running wide at the final corner, allowing Rea to put pressure on the Ducati rider while the Turkish star was able to extend his lead at the front of the field.
Redding was able to spend a few laps recovering the time to Razgatlioglu before putting pressure on the race leader and taking the battle up to him all the way to the line; Redding looking to make a move into turn six and seven but Razgatlioglu responded to hold on to the line by just 0.046s.
World Superbike Superpole Race Results RAZGATLIOGLU Toprak TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK 16’20.713 REDDING Scott GBR ARUBA Racing – Ducati 0.046 REA Jonathan GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK 3.419
As in Saturday’s race one, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) lost ground at the start of the race but was able to fight back to claim fourth place, his best dry-weather result, in the Superpole Race after passing Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in lap three; Lowes would drop back to ninth in the closing stages of the race.
Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) once again battled it out on track with the Dutchman coming out on top to claim fifth place, with Italian rookie Locatelli in sixth and one second back from van der Mark.
After topping warm-ip on Sunday morning, Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed seventh place after making progress from his starting spot, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in eighth place; the Italian had battled his way up the order before losing a couple of spots in the latter stages of the race. Lowes will complete the third row after finishing ninth.
World Superbike Superpole Race Results
RAZGATLIOGLU Toprak TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK 16’20.713
REDDING Scott GBR ARUBA Racing – Ducati 0.046
REA Jonathan GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK 3.419
BASSANI Alex ITA Motocorsa Racing 5.407
VAN DER MARK Michael NDL BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team 8.556
LOCATELLI Andrea ITA PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK 9.608
GERLOFF Garrett USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK 9.821
RINALDI Michael Ruben ITA ARUBA Racing – Ducati 10.415
LOWES Alex GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK 12.063
HASLAM Leon GBR Team HRC 15.170
BAUTISTA Alvaro SPA Team HRC 15.685
RABAT Tito SPA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing 18.017
DAVIES Chaz GBR Team GOELEVEN 18.470
NOZANE Kohta JPN GRT Yamaha WorldSBK 20.327
LAVERTY Eugene IRE BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team 20.341
MERCADO Leandro ARG MIE Racing HONDA Team 21.262
VINALES Isaac SPA ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA 21.534
CAVALIERI Samuele ITA TPR Team Pedercini Racing 26.152
PONSSON Christophe FRA Alstare Yamaha 27.693
RIBODINO Luciano ARG OUTDO Kawasaki TPR 47.417
SOLORZA Marco ARG OUTDO Kawasaki TPR 51.079
Race Two
Argentinian action in WorldSBK race two at the San Juan circuit saw the championship top three engaged in a hard-fought 21-lap battle with Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) coming out on top, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) second and Toprak Razgatlioglu third (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK). In earlier weekend racing, Razgatlioglu won Saturday’s race one and the Sprint, while Rea took two podiums – a second in race one and a third in Sunday’s quick dash.
The Turk now holds a 30 point lead over Rea (531 to 501 points) with Redding back in third on 465 points, with the title-decider in the 2021 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship going down to the wire and to be decided at the final round, a month away at Indonesia’s Mandalika International Street Circuit on November 19-21.
Rea, Razgatlioglu, Bassani
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) got a good start from third on the grid while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) led from pole position. The pair battled through the first three laps, with Redding joining the fray, and Rea taking the lead briefly before being pushed down to third on the fourth lap of 21.
Redding, Razgatlioglu, Rea
On lap five, the Ducati star moved up to second with a pass on Rea before passing Razgatlioglu, while Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continued his strong form as he battled the championship’s top three for a podium position.
Razgatlioglu leads
Rea was able to respond to move into second and looked to take the lead, but the Turkish star was able to resist the challenge on lap six. At the start of lap nine, Redding made a move on Rea into turn one to move up into second place, with Razgatlioglu still out in front, although Redding did make a move into turn eight, with Razgatlioglu responding instantly.
Razgatlioglu, Rea, Redding
On lap ten at turn seven, Redding overtook Razgatlioglu to capture the lead, with Rea almost able to pass the Turkish star into Turn 8 but Razgatlioglu responded to keep second place. The move allowed Redding to escape the thrilling battles, with the fight between Razgatlioglu, Rea and Bassani continuing.
Rea cut back under Razgatlioglu into turn seven to briefly move into second place on lap 14 but Razgatlioglu regained the position under braking into turn eight. On Lap 16, Rea made the crucial overtake to move into turn one but Razgatlioglu fought back until turn five with the pair side-by-side throughout the sequence. After this, Rea was able to break away to claim second place ahead of Razgatlioglu, with Redding claiming his first victory since Catalunya.
Redding was pumped
Bassani dropped away from the lead trio in the closing stages but still recorded fourth place after another excellent race for the Italian rookie as he withstood a late challenge from Ducati stablemate Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) by just half-a-second at the end of the 21-lap race. With the top four battling it out in the early stages, Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was running in the lead group with fifth place before he was passed by Rinaldi, eventually coming home in sixth place.
Yamaha stablemates Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in seventh and eighth respectively with American star Gerloff missing out in seventh spot by just three tenths at the end of the race. Despite missing out on seventh place, Gerloff’s points, coupled with teammate Kohta Nozane finishing in 14th place, was enough for GRT Yamaha to claim the Best Independent Teams’ title in 2021.
Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) battled it out for ninth place in the closing stages of the race with just eight tenths separating the duo as they crossed the line. Bautista, a race winner at San Juan for Ducati but making his first appearance on Honda machinery in Argentina, battled back from 15th place after missing out on a top-nine spot in the morning Tissot Superpole Race.
Rinaldi, Locatelli, Haslam
Bautista’s Team HRC team-mate, Leon Haslam, was 11th with both Team HRC riders taking points for the team’s first appearance at San Juan. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed 12th place ahead of Spanish compatriot Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in 13th with Viñales showing strong pace throughout the weekend. Nozane took 14th place with home hero Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado 15th (MIE Racing Honda Team) – coming home with points despite running wide at turn one late on in the race.
Irish rider Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), still standing in for Tom Sykes, finishing in 16th place and half-a-second clear of Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) in 17th and Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) in 18th. Two Argentinean riders finished in 19th and 20th with OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing duo Luciano Ribodino and Marco Solorza rounding out the field.
World Superbike Race Two Results
REDDING Scott GBR ARUBA Racing – Ducati
REA Jonathan GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
RAZGATLIOGLU Toprak TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK
BASSANI Alex ITA Motocorsa Racing
RINALDI Michael Ruben ITA ARUBA Racing – Ducati
VAN DER MARK Michael NDL BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
LOCATELLI Andrea ITA PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK
GERLOFF Garrett USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK
DAVIES Chaz GBR Team GOELEVEN
BAUTISTA Alvaro SPA Team HRC
HASLAM Leon GBR Team HRC
RABAT Tito SPA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
VINALES Isaac SPA ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA
NOZANE Kohta JPN GRT Yamaha WorldSBK
MERCADO Leandro ARG MIE Racing HONDA Team
LAVERTY Eugene IRE BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
PONSSON Christophe FRA Alstare Yamaha
CAVALIERI Samuele ITA TPR Team Pedercini Racing
RIBODINO Luciano ARG OUTDO Kawasaki TPR
SOLORZA Marco ARG OUTDO Kawasaki TPR
Rider Quotes
Scott Redding
“The thing is I didn’t feel that great and, in the beginning, there was a lot of fighting and then Bassani came past. I didn’t want to go back more, I tried to come back. I got quite aggressive, I said I would show my aggressive side if that’s what it needs to be. I got to the front and gave it all back. I started to get the rhythm again, I saw they were fighting again and then I didn’t make a mistake. I knew once I got through the first two sectors, I was safe with my pace. I just got a really good rhythm, corner after corner, and that was it and the rest was history.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu
“I am, again, very close to a triple win but I tried my best in the race. In the last three laps, I tried every lap, feeling the limit. Also, I tried for second position but after I settled for third position. I said this morning it wouldn’t be an easy Race 2 because everybody was very strong. I am happy. I am again on the podium.”
Jonathan Rea
“I was really happy with how I felt on the bike, and more so in Race Two. We did something really strange with the bike set-up that you wouldn’t consider and it transformed the bike, especially the grip level I had from the beginning. I have been struggling all weekend to make the tyres work – and then I had it. The combination of SC2 front and SCX rear tyre really worked. Today I had traction and feeling and I could play with the bike. In Race Two I just lost a bit of time behind Toprak and Scott was able to really go. I really want thank my team today, especially Pere because he never gave up investigating my problems. In this weekend, in this race, we could find something good. We won’t give up and we will keep working really hard. I enjoyed the race and I enjoyed being here in Argentina, so thank you to all the fans who came out to see us. It was really nice to see them. I am really looking forward to Indonesia.”
Alex Lowes
“The weekend started off well and I felt a good step in my performance, compared to the last few rounds, with my hand. The first race was really good with fourth place finish but then on Sunday when I woke up after the effort we put in yesterday I was in a lot of pain. We tried to ride in the Superpole race but I just didn’t have enough power. So we had to make the decision to stop the weekend early. The good thing is that this is another track, on another weekend, where we have shown our speed. Obviously it is disappointing given all the effort it has taken to be here not to compete in all three races but we have to look at the positive points and focus on going forward.”
Alex Lowes
Michael van der Mark
“It has been a good Sunday. This morning in warm-up, we tried something different with the bike but in the end we weren’t really sure so we went back to yesterday’s set-up. In the Superpole race, I had a good race, I had fun and enjoyed it a lot. I had some good battles and was pretty fast, faster than yesterday. It was nice to start from fifth on the grid for race two. I had an okay start and was in the group fighting for the podium. To be honest, in the beginning I was struggling a bit with the full fuel tank. Towards the end of the race I was alone but I was riding a good pace and it was nice to see what we can do. I think that it has been an overall good weekend. We take some good points home and it was nice to be able to fight with the guys for the podium today in race two but for sure we need to be a little bit faster.”
Michael van der Mark
Garrett Gerloff
“It was nice to start the day with a very good pace and the Yamaha R1 felt great. Unfortunately, I had a really difficult time at the beginning of both races, which prevented us from getting much better results. I was able to make progress, but not as much as I would have wanted. It’s frustrating because I know our potential is way better than this, we just need to put the pieces together so we can use the pace that we have and try to move up the leaderboard.”
Eugene Laverty,
“Altogether, from my side, it has been a very tough weekend. I struggled to make progress. We changed the bike to improve my feeling and we never made any major breakthrough. Also in the last race to finish outside the points after giving my everything over the entire race was a bitter pill to swallow so I am disappointed with my performance. All the guys in the team deserved a better result but unfortunately I wasn’t able to deliver it. Thanks for this great opportunity to be in the team for these three rounds. I am just disappointed with myself that I could not do more.”
Alvaro Bautista
“Today we tried to improve our feeling with respect to yesterday because I’ve been struggling all weekend here to be honest. By making some adjustments to the electronics, we took a small step forward and my pace improved a little bit in the Superpole race as a result. Then in Race 2 we made another small step in terms of feeling, and I was able to maintain a more consistent pace, almost one second faster than I had been up until that point. Let’s say that we have progressed during the weekend but unfortunately not enough to run closer to the front. We’ve struggled at this track, yes, but I think that the work completed and the information gathered will be useful to the technicians in the future. I thank HRC as always because they continue to work really hard. Now we have time to rest up after so many weeks and races in a row. It’s almost a month until the last round in Indonesia, at a track that is new for everyone, so we will see; it’s always interesting to discover a new track.”
Leon Haslam
“To be honest, the result was essentially what we expected. I struggled over the last six laps or so in race 2, as we had a similar brake problem as in the previous race, but generally the bike was quite stable and Alvaro and me were together for a good part of the race. I finished all three races in tenth or eleventh place, which is more or less where we thought we’d be here; we did what we could. On Wednesday I will be in Barcelona for a minor surgery on my bicep tendon (right arm), something we’ve been managing during recent rounds, and then, if the recovery is as quick as it should be, I’ll be fit for Indonesia where I hope to finish the season strong.”
World Superbike Championship Standings
Toprak Razgatlioglu 531
Jonathan Rea 501
Scott Redding 465
Michael Rinaldi 278
Andrea Locatelli 270
Michael Van der Mark 236
Alex Lowes 213
Garrett Gerloff 213
Axel Bassani 199
Alvaro Bautista 180
Tom Sykes 167
Leon Haslam 134
Chaz Davies 131
Kohta Nozane 54
Loris Baz 53
Supersport Race Two
Frenchman Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6), after taking pole position on Saturday, started well and maintained the lead from flag to flag in the final Supersport race of the weekend.
Supersport Race Two
On the first corner, an accident forced Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6) and Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6) – the latter in the running for the championship title – to re-join the race in last place.
Gonzalez and Odendaal went down
Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R), lying second, challenged the race leader throughout, never letting him pull away, whereas behind him in third position was Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6), leader in the overall championship standings.
Cluzel took the race victory
Due to a crash six laps from the end, any hope Steven Odendaal may have been holding out for the world title slipped away in Argentina and he handed the 2021 WorldSSP World Champion title to Aegerter. In the early part of the race, Jules Cluzel set a new record before finishing first ahead of Oncu and Aegerter.
P1 Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha)
“Amazing! It’s a perfect weekend, I’ve never done that. It’s crazy, I’m so happy. As I say every time, I’m racing to enjoy and this weekend I enjoyed it so much. Let’s enjoy this moment, keep the mood like this for the last race. It was a crazy race, I really pushed hard from the beginning to the end. I did a really fast lap time at the end to try to make a gap to Öncü, but he was really strong today. Congratulations to him, congratulations to Aegerter to be World Champion. I want to wish a happy birthday to my grandmother because she is 80 today.”
Supersport Race Two Results J. Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) C. Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R) D. Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
P2 Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
“This weekend, we worked very hard. From Friday, we were strong and on Saturday we were trying to push, and we finished third because the other two guys were a little bit faster. This morning, Kenan told me that we needed to do a low 1m42 every lap, so we did it and we finished second. I’m really happy. I tried to just follow Cluzel and I had a really good feeling. I’m very happy and will try to do it again in Indonesia.”
P3 Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)
“It’s fantastic to finish with the World Championship early… I don’t know what to say, I’m a little lost for words! It’s nice to be on the podium and to be World Champion. Just to say a big thanks to the Ten Kate team, they did a fantastic job. Today, the bike was better than yesterday. We were a little bit lucky at the first corner. We had a fantastic season, we had ten wins, many podiums and it’s just an amazing season. In my rookie season, to finish first is very nice. I hope tonight I can celebrate with some Argentinean fans, with my team and, for sure, we will have a big party tonight with some espresso!”
Supersport Race Two Results
J. Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
C. Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
D. Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
H. Soomer (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
P. Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
V. Debise (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
V. Takala (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
G. van Straalen (EAB Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
M. Brenner (VFT Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
M. Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
L. Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
P. Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
S. Morais (Wójcik Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
U. Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
J. Buis (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
M. Petratti (Yamaha MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) Rt. S. Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6) Rt. N. Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti / MV Agusta F3 675) Rt. A. Gonzalez (VFT Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) Rt. R. De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
Dominique Aegerter 2021 World Supersport Champion
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Dominique Aegerter was crowned the 2021 FIM Supersport World Champion at San Juan. Aegerter headed into this weekend with a 54-point lead in the championship, but could only manage fifth in Race 1, finishing just behind title rival Odendaal. The Swiss rider now needed to outscore Odendaal by two points on Sunday, and after the South African fell at Turn 1, it all-but guaranteed that the 2021 rookie would be crowned champion. He fought to a third-place finish, his 14th podium of the season, and became Yamaha’s ninth and the team’s 10th WorldSSP champion.
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Dominique Aegerter was crowned the 2021 FIM Supersport World Champion at San Juan.
Dominique Aegerter – World Supersport Champion
“The first world title is amazing to get. It’s difficult to analyse right now, I can’t wait to celebrate with the team. I’ve waited at least 25 years to be world champion, now I am. It wasn’t easy, I’ve been working hard but I’m so happy to have achieved this goal. I didn’t feel the pressure, I was focused and pushing every lap in the second race just to get the best result I could. I lost many places at the start but my goal was to fight for the podium. I had the information that P4 was OK, but for me it wasn’t OK, so I built a gap. The last lap was an emotional lap and when I go over the line, I am world champion. I knew the title would be possible from the moment I signed the contract with the Ten Kate Yamaha team. They are very successful, the Yamaha R6 is very successful, and I could see how much the whole crew, both at the track and back in the workshop, were working towards the championship. Thank you to everyone, I am just super happy.”
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Dominique Aegerter was crowned the 2021 FIM Supersport World Champion at San Juan.
Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager
“Congratulations to Dominique and Ten Kate Yamaha for the first title with us. Dominique has been impressive, he won 10 races and has dominated the championship to the point where he has won the title with one event to go, despite missing two race in Barcelona. He was able to manage the championship and stay calm, which shows how strong he is mentally and highlights his commitment. Our sport is about working as a team, and without a strong team it’s impossible to achieve good results. Ten Kate Yamaha are an important partner for us and have done an amazing job.”
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Dominique Aegerter was crowned the 2021 FIM Supersport World Champion at San Juan.
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Dominique Aegerter was crowned the 2021 FIM Supersport World Champion at San Juan, after finishing third in Sunday’s dramatic race. Aegerter headed into this weekend with a 54-point lead in the championship, but could only manage fifth in Race 1, finishing just behind title rival Odendaal. The Swiss rider now needed to outscore Odendaal by two points on Sunday, and after the South African fell at Turn 1, it all-but guaranteed that the 2021 rookie would be crowned champion. He fought to a third-place finish, his 14th podium of the season, and became Yamaha’s ninth and the team’s 10th WorldSSP champion.
Dominique Aegerter – World Supersport Champion
Dominique Aegerter – World Supersport Champion
“The first world title is amazing to get. It’s difficult to analyse right now, I can’t wait to celebrate with the team. I’ve waited at least 25 years to be world champion, now I am. It wasn’t easy, I’ve been working hard but I’m so happy to have achieved this goal. I didn’t feel the pressure, I was focused and pushing every lap in the second race just to get the best result I could. I lost many places at the start but my goal was to fight for the podium. I had the information that P4 was OK, but for me it wasn’t OK, so I built a gap. The last lap was an emotional lap and when I go over the line, I am world champion. I knew the title would be possible from the moment I signed the contract with the Ten Kate Yamaha team. They are very successful, the Yamaha R6 is very successful, and I could see how much the whole crew, both at the track and back in the workshop, were working towards the championship. Thank you to everyone, I am just super happy.”
Dominique Aegerter – World Supersport Champion
Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager
“Congratulations to Dominique and Ten Kate Yamaha for the first title with us. Dominique has been impressive, he won 10 races and has dominated the championship to the point where he has won the title with one event to go, despite missing two race in Barcelona. He was able to manage the championship and stay calm, which shows how strong he is mentally and highlights his commitment. Our sport is about working as a team, and without a strong team it’s impossible to achieve good results. Ten Kate Yamaha are an important partner for us and have done an amazing job.”
Dominique Aegerter – World Supersport Champion
2021 World Supersport Championship Standings
Dominique Aegerter 381
Steven Odendaal 313
Manuel Gonzalez 275
Jules Cluzel 241
Phillipp Oettl 241
Can Oncu 163
Luca Bernardi 161
Federico Caricasulo 142
Randy Krummenacher 140
Raffaele De Rosa 137
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Dominique Aegerter was crowned the 2021 FIM Supersport World Champion at San Juan,
Kawasaki recently went back to the future with a corporate move back to a traditional Kawasaki River Mark logo for the new business structure now termed Kawasaki Motors Ltd.
Jonathan Rea and the KRT ZX-10RR in retro livery
To celebrate the launch of Kawasaki Motors Ltd and the worldwide use of the River Mark logo, Jonathan Rea, Alex Lowes and the whole Kawasaki Racing Team created replicas of two iconic models that represents this unique Kawasaki Heritage.
KRT ZX-10RR in retro livery
The green bike in particular is good enough to put a horn on a jellyfish…
KRT ZX-10RR in retro livery
Rea and Lowes are racing with this livery this weekend in Argentina for the penultimate round of the World Superbike Championship.
KRT ZX-10RR in retro liveryKRT ZX-10RR in retro liveryKRT ZX-10RR in retro liveryJonathan ReaKRT ZX-10RR in retro liveryKRT ZX-10RR in retro livery
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round 12 – Circuito San Juan Villicum, San Juan
The battle to be crowned champion in the 2021 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship raged on overnight with the opening race of the weekend at the Circuito San Juan Villicum. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) went head-to-head, with birthday-boy Razgatlioglu coming out on top and extending his lead to 29 points.
Qualifying second, Razgatlioglu started on the front row, with Rea in the second row in grid positive five. Both got good starts for race one and were the leading two riders after turn one while polesitter Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crashed early on.
Rea had the early lead
The Turkish star came into the Argentinean round with a 24-point advantage over Rea and extended that by five points with victory in race one, leading every lap and eventually finishing around five seconds clear of Rea after the 21-lap battle, celebrating his 25th birthday with his 50th WorldSBK podium, and the 12th win of his campaign.
The Turk moved through to the lead and pulled away
Toprak Razgatlioglu
“This weekend we are very strong. This race was not easy for me because I’m pushing every lap for a consistent lap time. I tried to make no mistakes. We are here and I’m very happy. Also, thanks to my team who did an incredible job this weekend. Every session, they are improving my bike. It’s also a very special day for me because it’s my birthday!”
Toprak Razgatlioglu
Rea was able to put pressure on Razgatlioglu in the opening stages of the race but soon saw his championship rival pull away from him, with the gap up to more than three seconds by the end of lap nine before Razgatlioglu found another couple of seconds across the second half of the race to win by 5.295 seconds. Rea’s second place came off the back of a difficult Friday where he lost most of free practice 2 after a crash, and fifth place in Superpole to start from the second row.
The Turk moved through to the lead and pulled away
Jonathan Rea
“I was pretty happy with that and no regrets, I did my maximum. I just struggled in some areas of the track, especially sector three I was losing a lot of time there. That punch from nine, across to ten, 11 and then the flip-flop, I was losing too much time. I felt good in the rest of the track. We’ve been changing the bike quite a lot. I really messed up not having that time in FP2 to understand the bike, the package and the tyres but the pretty good news for us is that we made the SCX tyre work for the whole race. It was quite consistent, my rhythm was strong, it caused me no problems in the front and that bodes well for tomorrow. We’ll try to make a few extra steps and we can try to get a little bit closer.”
Jonathan Rea
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed the tenth podium of his WorldSBK career with third place after passing Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) at around half-distance of the race.
World Superbike Race One Results RAZGATLIOGLU Toprak TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 34’29.479 REA Jonathan GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 5.295 RINALDI Michael Ruben ITA ARUBA Racing – Ducati Ducati 9.417
Bassani had started from the front row for the first time in his WorldSBK career but fell back at the start before fighting back into third, before Rinaldi was able to pass him. Rinaldi’s podium was Ducati’s 980th podium in WorldSBK.
Axel Bassani
The battle for fourth raged on between Bassani and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), with Lowes, using a Top Gun-inspired livery to mark Kawasaki’s 125th anniversary, making the move through turns six and seven to move into fourth before fending off the Ducati rider down the back straight into turn eight, with Lowes finishing in fourth place and Bassani in fifth.
Lowes got the better of Bassani
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was another who had a strong start as the lights went out but soon found himself falling back down the order as he battled with Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK); with the Dutchman claiming sixth place and Gerloff seventh. Locatelli ended the race in eighth place after starting from sixth place.
Pata Yamaha celebrate victory
Redding ended the 21-lap race in ninth place after battling his way back from the back of the field after his turn one spill, passing numerous riders to secure a top-ten finish despite the early setback, with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) rounding out the top ten after withstanding late challenges from his rivals but unable to keep Redding behind. Bautista went down early on.
World Superbike Race One Results
RAZGATLIOGLU Toprak TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 34’29.479
REA Jonathan GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 5.295
RINALDI Michael Ruben ITA ARUBA Racing – Ducati Ducati 9.417
LOWES Alex GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 12.808
BASSANI Alex ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati 13.980
VAN DER MARK Michael NDL BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 15.007
GERLOFF Garrett USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 16.876
LOCATELLI Andrea ITA PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 19.265
REDDING Scott GBR ARUBA Racing – Ducati Ducati 27.176
HASLAM Leon GBR Team HRC Honda 31.571
RABAT Tito SPA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 34.474
DAVIES Chaz GBR Team GOELEVEN Ducati 36.241
LAVERTY Eugene IRE BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 37.072
CAVALIERI Samuele ITA TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 41.103
NOZANE Kohta JPN GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 43.220
MERCADO Leandro ARG MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 48.516
PONSSON Christophe FRA Alstare Yamaha Yamaha 53.695
SOLORZA Marco ARG OUTDO Kawasaki TPR Kawasaki 1’39.426
RIBODINO Luciano ARG OUTDO Kawasaki TPR Kawasaki 1 Lap
World Superbike Championship Standings
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (503 points)
Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (474 points)
Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (431 points)
World Supersport
The first race of the FIM Supersport World Championship’s first visit to the Circuito San Juan Villicum since 2019 was won in a dominant display by French rider Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) as he kept up his record of winning every race at San Juan Villicum with a five-second margin as racing got underway for the Motul Argentinean Round.
World Supersport
As the lights went out for the 19-lap race, Cluzel briefly lost the lead of the race into Turn 1 to the fast-starting Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) as he out-braked Cluzel into the opening corner but found himself behind the Frenchman after Turn 2 as Cluzel struck back. The pair were able to build a gap to the chasing pack, which was headed by Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in the opening couple of laps.
Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) soon found himself ahead of Odendaal before Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) made a move on his title rival for fourth place into Turn 1 at the start of Lap 4. From there, Odendaal found himself going backwards after running wide on a couple of occasions.
Cluzel was able to resist the early challenge from Öncü to maintain his lead throughout the 19-lap race as he claimed his second victory in three races and his third at the San Juan Villicum venue, maintain his perfect record in Argentina. Gonzalez and Öncü spent a few laps battling with each other for second place, with Gonzalez making the crucial move on Lap 13 at Turn 1. Cluzel’s victory meant he claimed his 60th podium in WorldSSP while it was also Yamaha’s 115th win. Öncü claimed his second podium of his WorldSSP career and became only the second non-Yamaha rider to finish on the podium at San Juan Villicum after Lucas Mahias in 2019.
Odendaal battled his back way through the field to finish in fourth place after passing Aegerter on Lap 14 at Turn 8, but the South African was unable to pull away and Aegerter kept the pressure on, setting his personal best lap time on the penultimate lap. As the final lap started, Aegerter made a move at Turn 1 but ran wide, allowing Odendaal to keep fourth place with Aegerter in fifth.
World Supersport Race Results
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha)
Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) +4.774s
Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +7.000s
Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. Yamaha WorldSSP Team) +11.169s
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +11.324s
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round 11 – Portimao
The rollercoaster venue that is Portimao provided more ups and downs in the battle for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came back from crashes in the opening two races before an emphatic victory on Sunday afternoon, as championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) crashed out of the race at turn 15. The Turk put the crash down to a strange fault with his front fender that caused him to have front end slides.
Rea’s victory narrowed the gap at the top of the championship back down to 24-points ,which means that with two rounds and six races still remaining, the war for the championship is far from over.
WorldSBK now heads to Argentina on the weekend of October 17, before the finale is staged at Indonesia’s new Mandalika International Street Circuit on November 21.
WorldSBK Superpole Race
After the rain that fell over Portimão during the warm-up sessions, the Algarve circuit was in the drying-out stage and put the teams to a hard test in terms of tyre choices. All the riders eventually chose rain tyres and the Tissot Superpole Race got underway on schedule with Aussie rookie still making the start despite a crash on the warm-up lap.
Jonathan Rea made the best start of all the riders, moving immediately into the race lead, but then crashed out later on that opening lap. Most also thought that his championship chances also disappeared in the gravel trap but there was to be more twists and turns in the afternoon…
With Rea out of the race Scott Redding took over as the new leader ahead of Michael van der Mark, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Loris Baz.
During the first half of the race, the Dutch BMW rider demonstrated a pace that was distinctly superior to that of his rival, putting in the fastest laps to then snatched the race lead.
On the other hand, Razgatlioglu was unable to find the pace and dropped back five positions.
Holding on to second place was Redding ahead of Loris Baz and Leon Haslam, battling it out for the podium, whereas Andrea Locatelli and Álvaro Bautista were fighting for fifth.
Michael van der Mark made all the right moves in the final laps, taking his first win of the season and BMW’s first victory since the 2012 season, with an advantage of more than five-seconds ahead of Scott Redding and more than seven seconds over Loris Baz, who celebrated his second podium of his wild-card weekend.
WorldSBK Portimao Results Tissot Superpole Race 1. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 2. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.140s 3. Loris Baz (Team GoEleven) +5.479s
Locatelli took fourth ahead of Bautista while championship leader Razgatlioglu took only four-points from his sixth place finish.
WorldSBK Superpole Race Results
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
/
2
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+5.330
3
L. Baz
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+7.066
4
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+9.264
5
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+9.753
6
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
+16.745
7
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+19.047
8
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+19.115
9
E. Laverty
BMW M 1000 RR
+20.901
10
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+28.977
11
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+31.057
12
S. Cavalieri
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+38.997
13
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+41.330
14
T. Rabat
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+51.079
15
G. Ruiu
BMW M 1000 RR
+55.894
16
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+56.194
17
L. Epis
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1m23.343
Not Classifieds
RET
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
5 Laps
RET
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
/
RET
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
/
RET
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
/
WorldSBK Race Two
The start was delayed due to a technical issue when the riders were lining up on the grid, with the delay meaning the race distanced was reduced one lap to 19 laps.
WorldSBK Race Two
Starting from tenth place, Jonathan Rea was on the move from the get-go and was second by the end of the opener, while Toprak Razgatlioglu moved into third place.
Redding, Rea, Razgatlioglu
Rea made his move for the lead through the fast turn nine left-hander on lap two on Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), relegating the British rider who had led from the start. At the start of lap two, Razgatlioglu passed Rea into turn one before the six-time world champion responded.
The trio were battling throughout the opening laps, with both Razgatlioglu and Rea able to take advantage of Redding running wide at turns five and ten on the same lap.
Razgatlioglu made a move on Rea down the start-and-finish straight to move into the right-hander of turn one at the start of lap seven, before Rea responded at turn ten.
At the end of lap ten, Razgatlioglu crashed at turn 15, the same place Rea did in race one, forcing the championship leader out of the race.
Rea went on to take the 110th win and the 210th podium of his career, narrowing the gap in the championship to 24 points.
Rea’s victory means both he and Razgatlioglu have scored 25 podiums this season, the first time it has happened in WorldSBK history. The top two in the Championship are also tied with 25 podiums and 11 wins each.
2021 Portimao WorldSBK Results Race 2 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 2. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +5.425s 3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +12.289s
At the start of lap 13, Loris Baz moved up into podium contention after his third-place start in race two after overtaking Andrea Locatelli into turn one; Alvaro Bautista had tried to pass both of them but Baz was wise to it, cutting back on the Spanish rider to re-take third place.
Loriz Baz and Alvaro Bautista
Two laps later and Bautista looked to make a move through the opening couple of corners with Baz defending and keeping the position. The battle went on through lap 16 and 17 with Bautista looking to make the move into turn one each time and Baz responding into turn two.
On lap 18, Bautista looked to make a move on Baz into the turn five hairpin, with Bautista running wide and Baz looking to reclaim the place. Through the exit of the corner, the pair made contact with Bautista coming off his bike and retiring from the race.
Baz held on to cross the line in third place, while Locatelli came home in fourth place after withstanding a late surge from fellow Yamaha rider Garrett Gerloff in fifth place. After the race, Baz was sanctioned with a one place position drop, demoting him to fourth place and promoting Locatelli to third; the Italian’s fourth podium of his rookie campaign.
Michael van der Mark was sixth after starting from first place, five seconds clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi with the Italian suffering from a right ankle sprain and contusion and a right hip contusion following his Tissot Superpole Race crash. He battled with Leon Haslam throughout the race with the pair separated by just three tenths at the end of the 19-lap encounter.
Italian rookie Axel Bassani continued his strong form with ninth place, after battling with Rea during the open lap of the race, eventually finishing two tenths clear of Eugene Laverty as he scored points again while standing-in for Tom Sykes.
Laverty finished five-seconds clear of Leandro Mercado in 11th place, who was also clear of Spanish rider Isaac Viñales in 12th place.
Japanese rookie Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 13th, just over a second behind Viñales, with Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) rounding out the points. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) was the last of the classified runners in 16th place.
Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was the first retirement of the race after a crash at the start of lap three, with the Belgian rookie taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the incident. Cresson was diagnosed with a concussion and a left knee injury and was transported to Portimao Hospital for further assessments.
Cresson’s team-mate, Lachlan Epis, retired from the race with technical problems while Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) also suffered from technical issues during the early running and brought his bike back to the pits. Wildcard Gabriele Ruiu (B-Max Racing Team) was also a retirement from race two after completing 10 laps.
Toprak Razgatlioglu – DNF
“In the rain, after I see Jonny crash again, I close gas and just finish to focus on Race 2, because my feeling was not so good compared to Barcelona wet race. Race 2 was just bad luck for me, because something on my front fender was broken and after it entered the front tyre, and then front sliding, this is very bad luck! I say ‘why not possible to be broken on the straight, when it gives no problem?’ ‘Why broken on the last corner!’ But this is life, this is racing. I’m not happy because I was fighting for the win, but I crash and it was not my mistake. I am not looking back at this, I am only looking to focus on the next race. Every race weekend it is still changing in the championship. I am focused on the Argentina race now, and I am fighting again for the win – if I win, I take the points but I am still not looking!”
Jonathan Rea – P1
“Complicated is the word, disappointing is a better word. I’m really frustrated because my team put me in such a good position to capitalise this weekend and I threw it away. I made two silly mistakes by being impatient when my bike was working well, and I had a rhythm. I’ve already apologised to them. I was really upset with myself after the Superpole Race and I just said to the guys that we had nothing to lose. We’ve been in this position before. Let’s just try to enjoy my bike.”
Looking back on Race 2 where he started in tenth after his sprint demise, Rea added: “I sat on the grid with no pressure. I just wanted to make a really good start. I had such a perfect launch; I was just going forward. It was the best start of my season. From that point, I was able to gain good track position, be clever with my passes and tried to put sectors two and three to good use. I really struggled going down that start straight into the headwind. When I could keep in front for a few laps, I knew that I was trying to keep my rhythm. I saw Toprak was out so that gave me some breathing space, I could really not buck the rhythm, enjoy the race and ride to the pit board. That was a nice feeling.”
WorldSBK Race Two Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
/
2
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+5.425
3
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+12.289
3
L. Baz
Ducati Panigale V4 R (Demoted)
+8.905
5
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+13.956
6
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
+15.289
7
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+20.639
8
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+20.933
9
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+26.031
10
E. Laverty
BMW M 1000 RR
+26.276
11
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+31.493
12
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+41.117
13
. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+42.583
14
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+48.074
15
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+51.009
16
S. Cavalieri
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+57.467
Not Classified
RET
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
2 Laps
RET
G. Ruiu
BMW M 1000 RR
9 Laps
RET
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
10 Laps
RET
T. Rabat
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
13 Laps
RET
L. Epis
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
15 Laps
RET
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
17 Laps
World Superbike Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Toprak Razgatlioglu
478
2
Jonathan Rea
454
3
Scott Redding
424
4
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
249
5
Andrea Locatelli
249
6
Michael Van Der Mark
211
7
Alex Lowes
199
8
Garrett Gerloff
193
9
Alvaro Bautista
174
10
Axel Bassani
169
11
Tom Sykes
167
12
Leon Haslam
123
13
Chaz Davies
120
14
Loris Baz
53
15
Kohta Nozane
51
16
Lucas Mahias
44
17
Tito Rabat
41
18
Eugene Laverty
37
19
Isaac Vinales
32
20
Christophe Ponsson
31
21
Leandro Mercado
25
22
Jonas Folger
21
23
Samuele Cavalieri
10
24
Marvin Fritz
6
25
Loris Cresson
3
26
Andrea Mantovani
2
27
Luke Mossey
2
WorldSSP
The FIM Supersport World Championship action concluded at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in thrilling style with Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) claiming his fifth win of the season and denying Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) a Portimao double by just 0.011s across the line in Race 2 for the Motul Portuguese Round as the South African cut his gap in the Championship.
World Supersport
Although Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) got a good start as the lights went out, Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was the rider on the move as he battled his way up from seventh to lead at the start of the second lap after passing three riders into Turn 1, with the action on the opening lap setting the tone for the rest of the race.
Soon, a lead group of nine riders formed with Odendaal leading as the seventh lap started before, he was passed by Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) into Turn 1, with the lead constantly changing throughout the 17-lap race. As Lap 10 ended, Odendaal ran wide throughout the final corner and lost time and positions, allowing Cluzel to take the lead of the race with the South African dropping down into the mid-pack of the lead group.
The race would go down to the wire between Odendaal and Cluzel, as the lead group fragmented in the second half of the race, with the South African claiming victory for the fifth of his season and his first since Race 1 at Most, ahead of Cluzel who doubled up on podiums at Portimao. The pair were separated by just 0.011s at the end of the 17 laps, with Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) claiming his first podium since 2019 at the same venue. Just 0.364s separated the podium trio at the line.
Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) had been in the lead group but a mistake at Turn 1 dropped him down the order, with Championship leader Aegerter in fifth place as he saw the gap closed in the Championship with Odendaal’s victory, with Gonzalez just six tenths separating Gonzalez and a race victory. Yari Montella (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed sixth place in Race 2 of his debut WorldSSP Round, ahead of 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing). Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) was another who had been competing in the lead group but a Lap 16 crash at Turn 4 forced him out of the race with just a few laps to go.
German star Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the lead Kawasaki runner in eighth place, finishing just ahead of Hungary’s Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in ninth with Sebestyen claiming his best result of the season. Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) got a good start and was competing in the front group in the first half of the race but finished the race in tenth place.
With Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) finishing in 11th place, the Italian rider claimed the WorldSSP Challenge title for 2021 as he retained his crown. Manfredi leapfrogged Caricasulo due to his three points, with Caricasulo only entering the WorldSSP Challenge for two rounds as a replacement for Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing). David Sanchis Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing) secured points with 12th place ahead of Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) in 13th.
Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had shown strong pace throughout the majority of the race but a late crash at Turn 13 on Lap 16 put the Italian rider down the order, with De Rosa re-joining the race and finishing in 14th place. German rider Patrick Hobelsberger (Bonovo MGM Action) rounded out the points-paying places with 15th place, just 0.003s behind De Rosa.
De Rosa’s fellow Italian rider, Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) was 16th ahead of teammate Marcel Brenner in 17th, with the Swiss rider battling his way back through the field after an early issue to finish just a second behind his teammate. Ondrej Vostatek (IXS-YART Yamaha) claimed 18th place with Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) and Bill van Eerde (IXS-YART Yamaha) rounded out the top 20.
Eduardo Montero Huerta (DK Motorsport) did not take part in the final race of his campaign, as a WorldSSP Challenge competitor, due to a technical issue. Leandro Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was the first retirement of the race after he had a Lap 3 crash at Turn 13, while Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) had a spectacular highside at Turn 2 on Lap 4, putting him out of the race; Orradre was taken to the medical centre for a check-up. On Lap 11, Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) crashed out of the race at Turn 5.
WSSP Race Two Results
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
/
2
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.011
3
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.364
4
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.629
5
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.196
6
Y. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+5.247
7
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+6.721
8
P. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+9.428
9
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
+9.758
10
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+18.317
11
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
+19.119
12
D. Sanchis Martinez
Yamaha YZF R6
+20.426
13
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+20.461
14
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+21.766
15
P. Hobelsberger
Yamaha YZF R6
+21.769
16
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+31.62
17
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+32.732
18
O. Vostatek
Yamaha YZF R6
+33.367
19
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.991
20
B. Van Eerde
Yamaha YZF R6
+40.843
21
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
+41.1
22
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+41.139
23
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+44.35
24
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+125.425
Not Classified
RET
P. Romero Barbosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
1 Lap
RET
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta F3 675
2 Laps
RET
G. Van Straalen
Yamaha YZF R6
7 Laps
RET
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
14 Laps
RET
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
15 Laps
RET
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
/
WSSP Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Dominique Aegerter
354
2
Steven Odendaal
300
3
Manuel Gonzalez
249
4
Philipp Oettl
232
5
Jules Cluzel
191
6
Luca Bernardi
161
7
Federico Caricasulo
142
8
Randy Krummenacher
140
9
Raffaele De Rosa
137
10
Can Alexander Oncu
127
11
Niki Tuuli
112
12
Hannes Soomer
72
13
Christoffer Bergman
47
14
Peter Sebestyen
44
15
Marc Alcoba
40
16
Kevin Manfredi
36
17
Marcel Brenner
26
18
Galang Hendra Pratama
24
19
Vertti Takala
23
20
Simon Jespersen
22
21
Yari Montella
16
22
Andy Verdoia
14
23
Glenn Van Straalen
13
24
David Sanchis Martinez
12
25
Patrick Hobelsberger
11
26
Loic Arbel
10
27
Stephane Frossard
10
28
Valentin Debise
9
29
Sheridan Morais
9
30
Stefano Manzi
7
31
Matteo Patacca
7
32
Maria Herrera
7
33
Federico Fuligni
7
34
Filippo Fuligni
6
35
Michel Fabrizio
6
36
Max Enderlein
5
37
Roberto Mercandelli
5
38
Hikari Okubo
4
39
Massimo Roccoli
4
40
Leonardo Taccini
4
41
Luca Grunwald
3
42
Ondrej Vostatek
3
43
Unai Orradre
2
44
Daniel Valle
2
45
Ludovic Cauchi
1
46
Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias
1
47
Luca Ottaviani
1
48
Davide Pizzoli
1
49
Pawel Szkopek
1
WorldSSP300 Race Two
The Spanish rider was crowned Champion on Saturday and followed that up with a resounding victory in the final race of the season
The final race of the 2021 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship provided some of the same drama and excitement at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve as the rest of the season has as newly-crowned Champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) claimed victory in Race 2 for the Motul Portuguese Round in a typically-frantic encounter to round out the 2021 campaign.
World Supersport 300
The first half of the 13-lap race involved riders looking to try to break away but it was the 2021 Champion, Huertas, who was able to do so with just a handful of laps to go, extending his lead at the start of the penultimate lap to more than two seconds as he ended the season in scintillating style for his sixth victory of a record-breaking season; decorated in a special gold livery on his Kawasaki machine and his helmet. Huertas’ victory was the 25th for Spain in the Championship, as well as the eighth of his career which equals teammate Jeffrey Buis’ (MTM Kawasaki) from 2020.
British rider Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) had challenged for the title in 2021 but an injury sustained in Catalunya derailed his title aspirations, but he was able to secure second in the Championship after finishing second in Race 2 after Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) retired from the race following a late-race crash which forced the 2020 Champion out of the race, with Buis taking third in the Championship. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) had crossed the line in third place but was given a three-second time penalty in lieu of a Long Lap Penalty after it was deemed he had being riding irresponsibly, meaning he was classified in 17th place, while Iñigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) claimed third place.
Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) backed up his third place in Race 1 with fourth place in Race 2. Rookie Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed a second successive top-six finish during his debut weekend, although the German rider had crossed the line in fifth place but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. He would have finished in fourth but for the penalty, which initially demoted him to sixth before gaining a place with Sofuoglu’s penalty.
Dutch rider Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) was in sixth place ahead of Oliver König (Movisio by MIE), with the Czech rider claiming another top-ten finish but just 0.081s away from Meuffels. Mirko Gennai (Team BRcorse) was in eighth, two tenths clear of Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) in ninth and Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) who rounded out the top ten.
Gabriele Mastroluca (ProGP Racing) was 11th ahead of Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project); Sabatucci had crossed the line in 12th but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. Like Geiger, Sabatucci benefitted from Sofuoglu’s penalty to be classified in the position he had originally finished in before his own penalty.
Meikon Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) was 13th, although the gap to Sabatucci was recorded as 0.000s following the Italian’s penalty for a track limits infringement. Kawakami held on to 13th place ahead of Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) who claimed 14th spot and Yeray Ruiz (Yamaha MS Racing) who claimed the final point. The Dutchman had been running towards the front of the field in the early stages of the race but dropped back as the race progressed.
Ruiz was just 0.038s clear of Alex Millan Gomez (2R Racing) as Millan Gomez missed out on a point by the smallest of margins. Harry Khouri’s (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) season came to an end with 18th place in Race 2, ahead of the penalised Sofuoglu, finishing 0.060s clear of Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing). Alessandro Zanca (Kawasaki GP Project) rounded out the top 20.
Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) was the first retirement of the race with a technical issue shortly after he had a crash at Turn 5, with the Race 1 winner retiring from the race on Lap 9 of 13. Alfonso Coppola (Team Trasimeno) was the second retirement of the race as he crashed out on Lap 10 at Turn 13.
With five wins and seven podium places, Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) became the 2021 WorldSSP300 Champion at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve overnight.
After being challenged by Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) and dethroning team-mate Jeffrey Buis, preventing him from being the first back-to-back Champion in WorldSSP300, it was Huertas’ consistent performances throughout the season which ensured he led the title race since Aragon Race 2, winning his first world title during the Motul Portuguese Round.
After starting his career in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and in the European Talent Cup back in 2018 and 2019, he moved to the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship in 2020. He concluded his first season in 17th place with 43 points.
For the 2021 season, he switched to the MTM Kawasaki squad, the team that won the 2020 WorldSSP300 Championship and that also took seven wins throughout the season. Huertas started his second season on a high as he took his first victory in the category in Aragon Race 1. He then claimed five wins over the season, becoming the first rider with five wins in a season in WorldSSP300 with his win in Race 2 in Magny-Cours.
Adrian Huertas
With a 56-point advantage over his closest competitor Jeffrey Buis, Adrian Huertas becomes the fourth Spanish WorldSSP300 Champion, as Spain continues to dominate the class with four titles in five seasons, stopped only by the Netherlands’ Jeffrey Buis in 2020. In 2022, Huertas will look forward to consolidating his brilliant 2021 season and cementing himself as a name to watch out for in the not-too-distant future.
Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was crowned the 2021 WorldSSP300 Champion
Adrian Huertas, MTM Kawasaki
“I feel quite more comfortable now because in Jerez, I suffered a little bit. Then I kept working this week at home with my physical trainer. I preferred to go back home instead of staying here in Portimao for holidays. Then, I think this is a compensation because finally, I managed to be on the podium and to win the Championship. I’m really happy I want to thank all my team, Ludo from MTM, Fabien from Kawasaki, because they gave me the support I needed to become WorldSSP300 Champion. Without their help, it wouldn’t have been possible to be World Champion so I’m really happy for everybody to my mother, to my father because they have done a lot of things to be here and then finally, the hard work pays off so all of us could be rewarded. I’m really happy and I want to keep working and keep dreaming.”
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round 11 – Portimao
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) raced to victory, his first in WorldSBK at the Algarve circuit in Portimao and his 11th of the year, whilst Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed at speed from the lead of the race at turn 15. The Championship gap is now 45-points with Toprak leading the way, whilst Rea loses more ground.
WorldSBK Portimao Race One Report
In what was one of the most intense opening five laps of the season, neither Razgatlioglu or Rea wanted to give an inch as they duelled hard. On lap two, Rea put a superb pass on Razgatlioglu at turn 11 but Toprak held on at turn 12, firing his Yamaha back through.
Redding- Razgatlioglu, Rea
Rea tried again at turn 13 but ran slightly wide, whilst Razgatlioglu scythed back through, colliding with Rea. The fight continued as Rea had a huge moment at turn one on lap five before getting under Razgatlioglu again at turn 11, whilst race leader Scott Redding ran wide at turn 13, with Rea coming back through to the lead. Then, disaster, as Rea tucked the front at turn 15, his Kawasaki ZX-10 RR barrelling through the gravel.
Rea crashed out
At the front, Scott Redding was leading the way until Toprak took back the lead at turn 1 with just less than four laps to go, and whilst Redding continued to try and retaliate, he couldn’t keep Toprak at bay. Razgatlioglu delivered Yamaha a first Portimao win since Marco Melandri in 2011.
Speaking after the race, Razgatlioglu said: “It wasn’t an easy race because Jonny and Scott were very strong. After Jonny’s crash, we are fighting with Scott; we are fighting with both of them, but I am happy, because we win again. Some corners, I wasn’t very strong because I felt some electronic problems but tomorrow, I think we will improve. We will come back again stronger, every race we are improving and also yesterday, I didn’t feel very good whereas now, the bike is much better.”
Redding chasing Razgatlioglu
Talking about the battle with Redding, Razgatlioglu said that his strategy to wait until the closing stages of the race paid dividends: “It wasn’t easy because he is strong. We are fighting again but after I understood that we are together, I decide to wait for the last two laps. In the last two laps, I try my best again and we made it.”
After the crash Jonathan Rea was taken to the medical centre, where he was diagnosed with multiple contusions and a left elbow abrasion. He will be reviewed on Sunday morning prior to Warm-Up. Up until race one, it had been a sparkling weekend for Rea, who said on Friday that he ‘felt like he had his bike back’ and that he could ‘do things on the bike that he’d not been able to do all year’. Topping Friday and Saturday morning practice sessions, Rea was second on the grid after Superpole, but couldn’t convert it in to championship points.
Talking at the end of the day about his crash and the race until that point, Rea commented: “I am relatively OK, just a little bit beaten up because when I crashed and hit the gravel, I started tumbling. Apart from some bumps and bruises, relatively, I am quite fine. I can’t say ifs and buts because I crashed; I know my pace was good but inside the battle, it wasn’t good because every time I had track position, there was a bike on the inside releasing the brake. I couldn’t really make any rhythm. When Scott made the mistake at Turn 13, I thought ‘OK, I have to go’ because if I can’t go on the straight with some advantage, then I’ll be in the battle again. Congratulations to the guys at the front, I felt like I could’ve been there battling because my pace all weekend has been quite strong. I have another chance tomorrow, so we’ll try to do a good job.”
Adding in his media debrief on Saturday and reflecting on the battle with Razgatlioglu, Rea expressed that he’s ready for the challenge, even if Toprak can be without “consideration” when going for an apex: “I don’t want to put s**t on Toprak about how he rides, because he is clearly doing a good job and he’s not even at his limit. However, the guy he’s passing is on their limit with the bike and tyres and the combination of everything.
“I’m ready to fight like that and I’m going to fight like that”
“I don’t want to complain too much; I’m ready to fight like that and I’m going to fight like that. I can shake his hand after that and not complain, but I’m happy to let the brakes off and use him as a berm. That’s pretty much what he did to me at Turn 13; he committed to the pass on the apex. I’m not going to grumble; rubbing is racing. He can train on his kart track in Turkey, but I grew up motocrossing, and that’s also hard.
“Of course, there’s a line and these are big bikes and you can’t just come from miles away to make a pass because you feel brave in yourself that you can stop at the apex. I don’t know if Scott was complaining a lot but I don’t want to cry about it because I get labelled a cry-baby… I can roll my sleeves up to.”
The fight for third was an ongoing affair throughout the 20-lap encounter with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) starting from third place holding onto that position until around the mid-way point of the race before he dropped positions, with Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) working his way up to third place on lap 12.
Haslam looked on course for a top result
There was plenty of action between the six riders in contention for a podium, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), Haslam and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) all running wide at turn one at various points of the race.
As the race progressed, Bautista was unable to pull out a gap to the chasing pack with Loris Baz (Team GoEleven) and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) chasing Bautista, Baz making the move at turn one before van der Mark and Locatelli, still chasing third, made contact at turn five with Locatelli retiring and van der Mark bringing his bike back to the pits; the incident will be investigated after the race by the FIM WorldSBK stewards. With the pair out of contention for the podium, Baz and Bautista battled for third place with the Spaniard coming out on top. At turn 15 on the final lap, Bautista crashed out of the race with Baz inheriting third place, his first podium since his WorldSBK return.
Loris Baz – P3
“It’s a good holiday! I said I took it like holidays and I just want to thank Team GoEleven and Ducati because they gave me this opportunity and it’s amazing. I had so much fun riding this bike, improving session by session since Jerez. Just wanted to have fun. I was disappointed for the first time this morning; I could not use the Q tyre. It’s such a big difference and I thought it would be tough to fight for the podium. I knew I had the pace yesterday but starting from ninth is never easy. I made my way through. I had a nice fight with Alvaro. I saw he was on the limit with the front, so I just tried to show him I was there. I hope he’s okay because it’s a bad place to crash. So happy. It’s my holidays and it’s the best I’ve ever had!”
Loris Baz
Rinaldi finished the race in fourth place after the incredible battle for third place, with Haslam eventually coming home in fifth place after starting from the front row. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed a solid sixth place, just three tenths behind Haslam in fifth place.
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continued his strong rookie campaign with seventh place ahead of Argentinean star Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda) claiming eighth place – his best result of the 2021 campaign. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) battled up for ninth with Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) claiming tenth.
Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) missed out on the top ten by just over half-a-second but came home in 11th place, just ahead of Italian Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team); Cavalieri just a second behind Viñales. 2014 Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) scored points on his first WorldSBK race onboard Kawasaki machinery, with Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) rounding out the points.
Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was the last of the classified riders with the Belgian missing out on a point by just 0.079s. Cresson’s teammate, Lachlan Epis, retired from the race after bringing his bike into the pits, while Gabriele Ruiu (B-Max Racing Team) was also a retirement from the race, along with Rea, Locatelli, van der Mark and Bautista.
WorldSBK Portimao Race One Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
/
2
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.691
3
L. Baz
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+10.628
4
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+12.901
5
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+13.305
6
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+13.596
7
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+26.961
8
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+28.826
9
E. Laverty
BMW M 1000 RR
+29.654
10
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+39.061
11
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+39.703
12
S. Cavalieri
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+40.669
13
T. Rabat
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+41.275
14
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+41.412
15
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+52.815
16
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+52.894
Not Classified
Ret
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
1 Lap
Ret
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
5 Laps
Ret
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
6 Laps
Ret
G. Ruiu
BMW M 1000 RR
12 Laps
Ret
L. Epis
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
13 Laps
Ret
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
16 Laps
WSBK Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Toprak Razgatlioglu
474
2
Jonathan Rea
429
3
Scott Redding
395
4
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
240
5
Andrea Locatelli
227
6
Alex Lowes
199
7
Michael Van Der Mark
189
8
Garrett Gerloff
180
9
Alvaro Bautista
169
10
Tom Sykes
167
11
Axel Bassani
159
12
Chaz Davies
120
13
Leon Haslam
115
14
Kohta Nozane
48
15
Lucas Mahias
44
16
Tito Rabat
41
17
Loris Baz
33
18
Eugene Laverty
30
19
Christophe Ponsson
29
20
Isaac Vinales
28
21
Jonas Folger
20
22
Leandro Mercado
20
23
Samuele Cavalieri
10
24
Marvin Fritz
6
25
Loris Cresson
3
26
Andrea Mantovani
2
27
Luke Mossey
2
WSSP600
The FIM Supersport World Championship race action kicked off on Saturday afternoon at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve with a long-awaited return to the top step for Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) over after the Frenchman claimed a hard-fought win in Race 1 for the Motul Portuguese Round, finishing less than half-a-second clear of his nearest rival.
Jules Cluzel took victory
The drama started from the beginning of the 17-lap race with Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) taking to the front of the field at the start of the race before he lost places in the closing stages of the opening lap, with Turkish star Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) briefly taking the lead of the race, before Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) and Cluzel came through.
Aegerter found himself dropped down to fourth place but soon found his way back in the podium places as he passed Öncü for third place. On Lap 6, Öncü found himself bundled down the order into sixth place as Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) came through, while Gonzalez lost the lead of the race and fell down to fifth behind De Rosa and Tuuli.
Aegerter made his move for the lead of the race in Cluzel into Turn 1 at the start of Lap 10 with the Swiss rider looking to add to his already-impressive win tally in his rookie campaign, but just a lap later Aegerter was down in fourth place after losing out to Cluzel, Gonzalez and De Rosa into Turn 1. On Lap 13, Tuuli made his move on Aegerter to demote the Championship leader into fifth, while out in front Gonzalez had re-taken the lead of the race at the expense of Cluzel.
At the start of Lap 14, Tuuli was up into the podium places after a move into Turn 1 as Cluzel made his move onto Gonzalez in the latter stages of Lap 14, with Gonzalez responding despite pressure from Tuuli into Turn 1 on Lap 15. Tuuli dropped back from the podium fight in the closing stages, as did De Rosa, with Cluzel making his move at the start of the final lap before holding in to claim his first victory since San Juan 2019, almost two years later. Such was Cluzel’s pace in the closing stages, the French rider was able to smash the lap record on the final lap of the 17-lap battle as he posted a 1’44.783s.
Gonzalez finished in second place ahead of Aegerter in third; the Swiss rider backing out of a move on Gonzalez in the closing stages of the race to extend his Championship lead over Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team). De Rosa claimed fourth place ahead of Tuuli in fifth, with Odendaal rounding out the top six after closing in on the lead group in the second half of the race.
Aussie teenager Billy van Eerde crossed the line 20th, his best performance since debuting in the class a few weeks ago.
WSSP600 Race 1 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
/
2
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.389
3
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.565
4
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.669
5
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta F3 675
+1.099
6
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.486
7
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+5.519
8
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+9.051
9
P. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+9.272
10
Y. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+9.464
11
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
+18.124
12
P. Hobelsberger
Yamaha YZF R6
+18.372
13
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+18.698
14
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+22.048
15
O. Vostatek
Yamaha YZF R6
+32.635
16
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+32.649
17
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+33.216
18
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.180
19
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.225
20
B. Van Eerde
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.614
21
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.784
22
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
+39.682
23
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+53.667
24
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+1m00.976
25
P. Romero Barbosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+1m11.124
26
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
+2 Laps
Not Classified
RET
G. Van Straalen
Yamaha YZF R6
3 Laps
RET
D. Sanchis Martinez Esp
Yamaha YZF R6
12 Laps
RET
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
13 Laps
RET
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
15 Laps
WSSP600 Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Dominique Aegerter
343
2
Steven Odendaal
275
3
Manuel Gonzalez
236
4
Philipp Oettl
224
5
Jules Cluzel
171
6
Luca Bernardi
161
7
Raffaele De Rosa
135
8
Randy Krummenacher
131
9
Federico Caricasulo
126
10
Can Alexander Oncu
121
11
Niki Tuuli
112
12
Hannes Soomer
69
13
Christoffer Bergman
47
14
Marc Alcoba
40
15
Peter Sebestyen
37
16
Kevin Manfredi
31
17
Marcel Brenner
26
18
Galang Hendra Pratama
24
19
Vertti Takala
23
20
Simon Jespersen
22
21
Andy Verdoia
14
22
Glenn Van Straalen
13
23
Loic Arbel
10
24
Patrick Hobelsberger
10
25
Stephane Frossard
10
26
Valentin Debise
9
27
Sheridan Morais
9
28
David Sanchis Martinez
8
29
Stefano Manzi
7
30
Matteo Patacca
7
31
Maria Herrera
7
32
Federico Fuligni
7
33
Yari Montella
6
34
Filippo Fuligni
6
35
Michel Fabrizio
6
36
Max Enderlein
5
37
Roberto Mercandelli
5
38
Hikari Okubo
4
39
Massimo Roccoli
4
40
Leonardo Taccini
4
41
Luca Grunwald
3
42
Ondrej Vostatek
3
43
Unai Orradre
2
44
Daniel Valle
2
45
Ludovic Cauchi
1
46
Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias
1
47
Luca Ottaviani
1
48
Davide Pizzoli
1
49
Pawel Szkopek
1
WSSP300
Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was crowned the 2021 Champion during the Motul Portuguese Round after team-mate Jeffrey Buis retired from the race after contact with Huertas, while French rider Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) claimed his maiden WorldSSP300 victory; the 20th different winner in the class.
Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was crowned the 2021 Champion
As the lights went out, the two riders in Championship contention jumped to the front of the field with Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) holding the lead from pole position despite heavy pressure from Jeffrey Buis. As the third lap of the race got underway, Huertas had managed to battle his way in front after losing out, before Buis found himself shuffled down the order as Huertas re-took the lead of the race.
Buis lost out in terms of the lead group and had to battle to make sure he could re-join the group fighting for victory and he was able to do so, finding himself battling again with his teammate on Lap 7 of 13, taking the lead on Lap 8 of the race. As the ninth lap started, Buis attempted an overtake on Huertas into the Turn 3 hairpin with the Dutchman retiring from the race, enough to crown Huertas as the 2021 Champion.
The battle for race victory went down to the wire in Portimao and it was Di Sora who would go on to claim victory in Race 1 by just 0.067s, his first victory in WorldSSP300 and also the first victory for France in the class, with Huertas finishing second place after Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. Okaya’s podium means he claimed his third podium of 2021 and the fifth of his career.
Turkish star Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) was in fourth place after battling his way up the grid to finish inside the top four, ahead of the returning Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) in fifth place; Booth-Amos had missed the Spanish Round at Jerez due to an injury sustained in Catalunya. Rookie Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed sixth place after a strong result for the German rider, finishing 0.005s clear of Iñigo Iglesias (SMW Racing).
Young Aussie Harry Khouri crossed the line in 24th place.
An illustrious Superbike World Championship career will come to an end at the close of season 2021 with Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) announcing his retirement from WorldSBK ahead of this weekend’s round ten at Spain’s Jerez circuit, closing a decade long career in WorldSBK that started in 2012.
Davies has finished runner-up in WorldSBK on three occasions, in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and third placed on another two occasions as he often fought for the title throughout his career. The British rider also had two full seasons in WorldSSP and won the title in 2011 by 50 points over his nearest rival, ensuring he will go down in history as a WorldSSP world champion. In that 2011 campaign with Yamaha ParkinGo, Davies claimed six wins and eight podiums on his way to the title and earning a 2012 WorldSBK seat onboard Aprilia machinery.
Chaz Davies at Imola in 2017
His debut season started a run of ten consecutive seasons scoring podiums in WorldSBK while he has taken victories in all but two of his campaigns. For 2013, Davies switched to BMW machinery which featured a win on BMW’s home turf at the Nurburgring before switching to Ducati for 2014 for this third manufacturer in three years. He remained with the factory Ducati team until the end of the 2020 season, taking them close to the title on numerous occasions throughout an illustrious career. For his last campaign in WorldSBK, Davies had been competing on the independent Ducati outfit, Team GoEleven, taking one podium at the start of the season.
Chaz Davies was also victorious at Aragon in 2018
An emotional Davies announced at Jerez that the 2021 season would be his last, saying: “I just wanted to say that unfortunately in some ways, and fortunately in others, this will be my last season in WorldSBK. It’s obviously a decision that has not come easily, it’s taken a lot of thought because I’m a strong believer in when you’re done, you’re done. To me, the timing seemed right to make this decision. Like I said, very difficult and a lot of deliberation especially being here at the circuit again! It even felt different walking in a couple of hours ago to make this announcement. You need to change something in your head. Here we are. There’s a lot of reasons behind it and like I said, a lot of deliberation and wondering whether it’s the right move but I’m very confident and I’m both happy and sad at the same time that it is the right decision. Ready to turn the page and open up the next chapter.”
Chaz Davies was on the top step of the podium at Catalunya in Race Two last year
Out of Davies’ 32 WorldSBK victories, 28 of them came onboard Ducati machinery as he finished runner-up in the Championship on three occasions while 89 of his 99 podiums came with the Bologna-based manufacturer. After eight seasons riding Ducati’s bikes, where he took the record for most starts for the manufacturer with 211, Davies created lots of good memories for both himself and the manufacturer and he reflected on those during his press conference.
“I’ve had so many good times and I think the, for me, one of the most special things I’ve experienced in all these years was winning races on Italian soil,” said Davies. “Especially at Imola, just down the road from Bologna, and I can genuinely say there’s no feeling like it. It’s just pinch yourself city. All the Ducatisti are there in force. It really does feel like something special. I can reflect on it now, but in the moment, I was like ‘you’ve got to remember this because these are the days that are beyond sweet’. A lot of good times, a lot of good people.”
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