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.
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.
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.”
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.”
Tom Sykes had been taken to the “Hospital General de Catalunya” for further examinations after his serious accident in the second FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) main race on Sunday.
These confirmed that Sykes has suffered severe concussion and the attending physicians would like to keep him under observation. No further injuries have been determined. As things stands, it is anticipated that Sykes will be able to leave hospital on Wednesday.
The next event in the 2021 WorldSBK season will take place at Jerez de la Frontera (ESP) this coming weekend. It is not yet clear whether Sykes will be able to race there.
“We are in constant contact with Tom,” says BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers. “He is in good spirits and is back to his usual self, cracking jokes. We are delighted that he has come through this accident relatively well. He remains under observation due to the severe concussion, but no further injuries have been determined. We now have to wait and see what this coming weekend will look like. We will provide more information as soon as we get it. We would like to thank the track marshals, the medical staff at the circuit and in the hospital, and everyone who helped Tom so well after his accident and who are continuing to help him.”
Following his impressive performances as a rookie in the 2021 FIM Superbike World Championship, Yamaha has confirmed that Andrea Locatelli will remain on a Yamaha until at least the end of the 2023 season.
Locatelli has enjoyed a sensational first season in the WorldSBK championship, which sees him now sit fourth in the standings heading into the final five rounds. After four race weekends where he continued to get to grips with the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK, the Italian’s breakthrough weekend came at the TT Circuit Assen, where he scored his first podium finish.
Andrea Locatelli
“I’m really happy to be extending my contract with Yamaha for two more years. For me, it’s a great opportunity. We have a really good group, a good team and a good bike, so I think in the future we can do very well. I’m so excited to be here and to continue to be a part of the Yamaha family. I’d like to say a special thanks to Andrea Dosoli, Eric de Seynes [Yamaha Motor Europe President & CEO], and everyone at Yamaha for giving me this opportunity. Now, we have two more years to try to improve together and achieve the best possible results.”
Since the Dutch round, the 24-year-old is yet to finish outside the top four with further podiums coming at Most and, most recently, Magny-Cours. His performances had already triggered a clause in his contract seeing him remain with Yamaha for 2022, but both the manufacturer and rider are keen to continue this relationship into 2023, where Yamaha hopes to help him challenge for race wins and championship titles.
Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha Motor Europe, Road Racing Manager
“We are delighted to confirm that Andrea will remain with the Yamaha family until at least the end of the 2023 WorldSBK season. He has been an integral part of Yamaha’s step-up program, and has demonstrated what our vision has been over the last few years. We expected that ‘Loka’ would be fast this year, but very few anticipated that he would already be challenging for podiums at such an early stage in his WorldSBK career. We want to secure him for the future and help guide him towards even greater success, and this new contract will give us the best opportunity to help him achieve that.”
Locatelli stepped up to the 2021 WorldSBK grid following a record-breaking FIM Supersport World Championship campaign that saw him take 12 victories and the title, which he clinched with three rounds to spare in Barcelona. His climb from WorldSSP rookie to WorldSBK front-runner perfectly represents Yamaha’s step-up program and its commitment to giving young riders the opportunity to realise their potential. Locatelli’s crew chief is Australian Andrew Pitt.
Epis, who is no stranger to the WorldSBK paddock having raced in WorldSSP for several seasons following his first appearance in the European Junior Cup, is understandably excited to make his FIM Superbike World Championship debut in 2021.
In recent years Lachlan has contested the FIM Europe STK600 series before he moved into Supersport in 2016, where he scored his first World Supersport Championship points during the 2017 season finale at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.
Lachlan Epis
“I was quite surprised to receive a call last week about an opportunity to race in WorldSBK with Outdo TPR Team Pedercini. With no racing going on in Australia for the next few months due to the pandemic it was a no brainer to book a flight to Europe to compete with one of the most established and respected teams at one of the highest levels of racing. I’ve raced multiple seasons in World Supersport, including another replacement rider gig in 2020, so I know two of the three tracks I’m going to next. Barcelona will be a new challenge for me and I’m looking forward to it! I have to say a big thank you to the team as racing in world Superbikes has been a goal since I first came to Europe in 2014. Can’t wait to get stuck in next week!“
Over the past couple of seasons, he has raced in both the British and Australian Superbike series and recently hit his best form on home soil with NextGen BMW.
He will ride alongside team-mate Loris Cresson. The 23-year-old Belgian has only scored three points so far this season on the Pedercini ZX-10RR and recorded a last place finish at Magny-Cours last weekend, 67-seconds behind the race winner.
Epis will join the team from the Catalunya round that will be staged on the weekend of September 17-19.
Lucio Pedercini
“I am happy to bring Lachlan back to the World Superbike paddock. He is a young rider who has made a big step in the last few years. We look forward to working with him for the remainder of 2021, beginning at the next round in Spain, and are excited to see what he can do. For the Australian fans it will also be great for them to have a local rider to cheer.”
Once a strong force in World Superbike, the series has not had an Australian on the permanent entry list since 2016.
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round Eight Magny-Cours
On the track Toprak Razgatlioglu made a clean sweep of all three race wins at Magny-Cours for the eighth round of the World Superbike Championship with Jonathan Rea finishing second in all three bouts.
However, a protest by KRT after the end of proceedings on Sunday saw Toprak demoted to second place in the Superpole Race results. The protest alleged that Toprak exceeded track limits on the final lap and it was upheld by Stewards.
Pata Yamaha Team Manager Paul Denning was happy neither with the process or the outcome and expressed his displeasure.
Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Team Manager
“It’s disappointing of course. This weekend we saw incredible fighting between the two Championship protagonists. For our team, the first time we’ve won all three races. For Toprak, the first time he’s won all three races. An amazing sporting spectacle and amazing respect between these two fantastic riders. And then, after the end of Race 2 where we had been on pole position because of the result of the Superpole Race, the stewards made a decision after a protest that there was a tiny infringement on the last lap from Toprak touching the green on the exit of 9 and 10.
“This was caused by a protest from Kawasaki. It’s disappointing because honestly, genuinely, it’s not something we would’ve done. When a rider has gained zero advantage and you’re talking about 5mm of the rear tyre just touching the green, something that race direction had seen themselves, checked from the live footage, decided there absolutely was not a problem because there was not any advantage and it wasn’t clear he was on the green. But after they received the protest, they had to use all the tools they have, and this includes the onboard footage from Jonathan’s bike. They were able to see that there was a small amount on the green. If this is the way Kawasaki want to play, then maybe the sporting atmosphere will change a little bit.”
Looking at the facts though it was a fairly cut and dried affair, and I am pretty sure if the shoe was on the other foot Yamaha would have taken the same course of action. However, if the officials were on the ball then a protest would not have been required, the penalty would have not been delayed and nobody would have a bad taste in their mouth. Footage of the transgression can be seen here.
WorldSBK Superpole Race
The ten laps of the Tissot Superpole Race began with the battle between pole man Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu for the top step of the podium, as well as the one between Andrea Locatelli and Alex Lowes for third.
Razgatlioglu set a new record on the second lap and gained the upper hand against the defending World Champion to move into the race lead. However, the latter had no intention of letting him run away at the front. Rea closed the gap that had been created, breaking the newly set race record once again on the sixth lap and looking for his chance to attack.
In the meantime, Leon Haslam, Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark engaged in a heated battle for sixth, with Redding prevailing over the Honda and BMW riders, moving into fifth place behind Andrea Locatelli.
In the final lap, Jonathan Rea pulled out all the stops and the championship leaders locked horns in a heart-stopping battle, overtaking back and forth several times, but in the end it was Razgatlioglu who came out on top, crossing the finish line first just three-tenths of a second ahead of Jonathan Rea, with a well-deserved third place going to Alex Lowes.
Subsequently, Toprak Razgatlioglu was penalised for exceeding track limits, so the win went to Jonathan Rea, with the Yamaha rider relegated to second place.
WorldSBK Superpole Race Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
/
2
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.148
3
A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+5.282
4
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+6.643
5
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+7.384
6
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
+8.119
7
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+9.515
8
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+9.888
9
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+11.325
10
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+11.683
11
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+11.979
12
T. Sykes
BMW M 1000 RR
+12.231
13
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+12.502
14
L. Mahias
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+21.597
15
T. Rabat
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+22.318
16
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+25.630
17
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+26.090
18
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+27.204
19
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+30.022
20
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+33.524
Not Classified
RET
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
9 Laps
WorldSBK Race Two
Sunday afternoon’s Race Two gave Toprak Razgatlioglu his second win of the weekend to extend his Championship lead over Jonathan Rea.
The Turk got the better start from pole position and initially held the lead of the race but used a wider line through the long right-hander of Estoril, allowing Rea to sneak up the inside to take the lead. On the run down to Turn 5, Alex Lowes wanted to get involved in the lead battle but Razgatlioglu and Rea were able to keep him at arm’s length.
Scott Redding was running in third from the early stages of the race after jumping up from the second row of the grid as he claimed his first podium of the weekend after a challenging weekend for the British rider. Third place for Redding meant he lost ground in the Championship to leader Razgatlioglu, while Rea also gained on Redding in the standings.
The race-winning move came on Lap 11 after an incredible two laps of battling between Razgatlioglu and Rea with the Turkish star overtaking Rea into the Turn 5 hairpin of Adelaide on Lap 10 before the six-time Champion responded into the Imola chicane. Rea retained the lead of the race for just another lap before Razgatlioglu was able to pass Rea again into Adelaide. The pair battled it out throughout the race before Rea settled for second after making a save in the closing stages of the race.
Andrea Locatelli claimed fourth place after another strong weekend for the Italian rookie, finishing two seconds behind Redding at the end of the race. Chaz Davies claimed a top five finish for his first since Race 2 at the TT Circuit Assen, with Davies and Alvaro Bautista both putting pressure on Locatelli for fourth place.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi was seventh, around two seconds back from Bautista, with Michael van der Mark in eighth. Dutchman van der Mark had been running in the top four but a scary incident with Locatelli on the start-finish straight meant he lost time and positions and was unable to respond to get back to the front of the group. He faced let pressure from Garrett Gerloff for eighth but held on with the American in ninth, with Tom Sykes rounding out the top ten.
Axel Bassani continued his strong form with 11th place although the Italian rider did lose time to the group ahead, with Christophe Ponsson claiming 12th place for a strong result in front of his home fans. He battled throughout the race with compatriot Lucas Mahias directly behind Ponsson.
Japanese rookie Kohta Nozane claimed his best result of the French Round with 14th place and two points, with Tito Rabat completing the points. Rabat had got ahead of the Ponsson-Mahias battle but fell back in the latter stages of the race.
Jonas Folger claimed 16th place, missing out on a point by just over a second, while Argentinean rider Leandro Mercado was two seconds back in 17th place. Loris Cresson was the last of the classified runners in 18th place.
Despite a strong start to the race, Alex Lowes crashed out of the race in the early stages of the race with an accident on the entry of the Nurburgring chicane, with Lowes retiring from the race. Leon Haslam had an accident at the same corner shortly after, forcing the Honda rider out of the race.
WorldSBK Race Two Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
/
2
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
2.908
3
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
8.406
4
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
10.329
5
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
10.734
6
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
11.467
7
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
13.901
8
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
15.640
9
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
16.254
10
T. Sykes
BMW M 1000 RR
20.911
11
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
39.410
12
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
42.808
13
L. Mahias
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
43.057
14
. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
44.106
15
T. Rabat
Ducati Panigale V4 R
48.202
16
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
49.557
17
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
51.981
18
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
1’07.692
Not Classified
RET
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
17 Laps
RET
A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
20 Laps
Quotes
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“For me an incredible weekend, because this was my dream – to make three wins together in one weekend, and I am really happy. Ok, somebody else decided we did not win the Superpole Race but for me, I won the race and I enjoy this fight a lot. We did everything we can so also big thanks to my team because they did an incredible job. Every race they improve my bike and also we are fighting every race for the win. I am not looking at the championship because I am always focused every race for win and for good points, and also this race, I try only to win. Finally again we made a great win in Race 2 and I am really happy today.”
Jonathan Rea
“It seems like we are having some issues to stop the bike as soon as the grip of the rear tyre drops. When the tyre is fresh for ten laps I feel quite confident, quite good. I knew if I was going to have a solid chance to have a race win then it would be the Superpole race. We made some big set-up changes, so massive kudos to the guys in the garage because we never give up. We just wanted to keep improving the bike. We could see in the cooler conditions I could use the SC1 tyre, but as soon as the temperature comes up it moves too much for my riding style. I need that extra stability that the 508 tyre brings. We are a so over-geared for the exit of the first gear corners and the final chicane. I was losing too many metres.”
Andrea Locatelli
“It was a fantastic race for me today, because I needed to push until the end because I have the pressure behind me. We are very fast during the weekend, I take a podium yesterday and stay every time in the top four, this is really good! Today it was not easy and it’s still my first time at this track compared to the other riders, but we work really well, don’t make a mistake and I think this is the recipe to make the good results. In Race 2, I did not see Michael after I overtake him in the last corner, I sensed something but I didn’t see when he touched me. We touch a little bit but this is the race and I am happy that everything is okay. Now we have a good level but we need to do something more to try to stay with the front group. It has been an excellent season so far, and I am now P4 in the championship which I never thought would be possible!”
Scott Redding
“I’m satisfied with this result, especially because during the weekend we were able to improve the bike, mainly in the braking phase which was the principal problem. I tried in the first part of the race to stay with Jonny and Toprak but then I preferred not to risk and bring home an important result for the team.”
Alex Lowes
“I probably should have been on the podium yesterday, crashing so close to the end, but I knew I had good pace around here so it is nice to get back on the podium in the Superpole Race. I have been struggling in the last few months with some issues. Such a shame after the Race Two crash. Disappointed on one hand as honestly it’s the best I’ve been riding all year and yet this is my worst points haul of the year. Racing is like that sometimes. I had an issue with the brake which didn’t allow me to enter T7 like I wanted and that caught me out, unfortunately. Anyway, my speed was there so now I’ll take the positive points and turn my focus to the next race which is the home race of the team at Montmelo.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
“All in all it wasn’t a bad weekend because we understood many things that can be useful in the next rounds. It’s clear that the result of Race-2 is not exciting; despite that, the pace was positive, on the level of Scott who finished on the podium. Obviously, we can’t be satisfied with a seventh place finish but I’ll come back home from this French Round with positive feelings”.
Michael van der Mark
“This morning’s Superpole race was alright. I had good pace and had a good feeling with the bike. I was just missing one or two tenths to stay with Scott Redding and fight for fourth place. I was confident going into the main race and had a strong start but then I started to struggle after a few laps. I had some moments with a few riders and lost a lot of time there but at the moment, the package is just not good enough to fight every corner with the other guys. In some corners we are losing too much time.”
Tom Sykes
“It was difficult today. Put me on a clear track and I can go front row, put me on a clear track again in warm up and we can be consistently in the top four. We just cannot ride with the others. Unfortunately, when I’m with the other riders it becomes a lot more stop and start and we can’t follow them when it comes to opening the gas. As soon as I got clear track my lap times came down and were not too far from the fifth position in terms of lap time, but we can’t bridge the gap at this level. There’s a lot of information to be looked at, I will see with the team where we can improve.”
Alvaro Bautista
“I’m generally happy with our weekend here at Magny-Cours. Today we made some modifications to the bike’s setup, especially the electronics, nothing huge but we saw a little improvement, which gave me more confidence. I felt a bit better with the bike and so in the Superpole race, where I normally struggle more, I was able to be competitive and make a good comeback from fourteenth on the grid in just ten laps. And my seventh-place finish allowed me to move forward two rows on the grid for race 2. In the afternoon’s higher temperatures, the track conditions were more tricky, more slippery. But the feeling was still better than it sometimes has been in similar conditions. I made a good start but then I chose the wrong line at the first braking point and lost some positions. I recovered again and was able to maintain a consistent pace, finishing sixth, which is the most I think we could do at the moment. Now we head to tracks that I really like, so we will keep working and see what we can do there!”
Leon Haslam
“My expectations after qualifying were a bit higher to be honest. We had some problems in the first two races, but in the final Superbike race I felt we made a good improvement with the bike. Unfortunately we finished the weekend with a fast crash but the changes and progression we made with the setting meant that I was more comfortable. So I’m disappointed that it ended like this, but I felt I was more comfortable than I had been all weekend, particularly in terms of front feeling and braking. So, having made that step, we can now look forward to the next round at Barcelona, a track at which we completed a very productive test a few weeks ago.”
Jonas Folger
“I struggled in the races when the tank was full, particularly on the opening laps. I was not able to hold my line in the corners, which meant I could not go on the attack. The final third of each race was better – that was the best section of the race for me. We must now find out why we have these difficulties with the full tank. I will also see what I can do differently as a rider, to ensure that I get the BMW moving better. On the whole, it was another tough weekend for us. We will now analyse everything and I will take a close look to see what I, personally, can do better. Hopefully things will go our way at the next race weekend at Barcelona.”
WorldSBK Championship Points
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Toprak Razgatlioglu
370
2
Jonathan Rea
363
3
Scott Redding
298
4
Andrea Locatelli
186
5
Alex Lowes
176
6
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
172
7
Tom Sykes
159
8
Michael Van Der Mark
154
9
Garrett Gerloff
147
10
Alvaro Bautista
115
11
Chaz Davies
114
12
Axel Bassani
100
13
Leon Haslam
78
14
Lucas Mahias
41
15
Tito Rabat
38
16
Kohta Nozane
32
17
Isaac Vinales
20
18
Christophe Ponsson
18
19
Jonas Folger
14
20
Eugene Laverty
14
21
Leandro Mercado
8
22
Marvin Fritz
6
23
Loris Cresson
3
24
Andrea Mantovani
2
25
Luke Mossey
2
WorldSSP
The final race of the Motul French Round in the FIM Supersport World Championship provided action and drama throughout the race which was Red Flagged on the opening lap, with Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) taking his first ever victory in WorldSSP, becoming the second-youngest race winner in the class, while Turkish star Can Öncü claimed his maiden podium as he finished in third place behind Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).
Like in Race 1 yesterday, there was an early Red Flag deployed after a crash on the opening lap involving Luca Bernardi (CM Racing), Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) at the Lycee Complex. Bernardi and Cluzel were taken to the medical centre following the crash, while Aegerter was able to take his bike back to the pits for his team to work on before the restart. Both Bernardi and Cluzel are conscious. Bernardi was diagnosed with a back injury and Cluzel with a head injury and cervical strain; both taken to Nevers Hospital for further assessments. The race after the Red Flag was shortened from 19 laps to 12.
Aegerter was able to re-join the race when the restart got underway and found himself as the de facto pole sitter with Bernardi not in the race, with the Swiss rider getting a good start to move into the head of the field. He found himself under pressure from Spanish rider Gonzalez and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) with the Turkish star making a move at the Turn 5 Adelaide hairpin as he gained around five positions.
Aegerter soon reclaimed the lead of the race and Gonzalez followed him through on Öncü to move into second before he made a move on Lap 2 on Aegerter into the Nurburgring chicane to take first place, although Championship leader Aegerter responded into the right-hander hairpin of Adelaide a lap later. The battle raged on until the final laps with Aegerter and Gonzalez going elbow-to-elbow right until the Lycee Complex; Aegerter looking to make a move into Turn 15 but Gonzalez was able to cut back to take the lead through the chicane.
Öncü dropped back from the lead two as the race progressed into the clutches of teammate Philipp Oettl, with the pair separated by just 0.195s at the finish line as Öncü claimed his first WorldSSP podium and the first for Turkey since Kenan Sofuoglu at Qatar in 2017. Oettl came home in fourth place as he responded from a difficult Saturday.
Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) claimed his best result of the 2021 campaign with fifth place after starting from the front row; and his first top five since his victory at Magny-Cours in 2017. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) claimed sixth place as he battled his way through the field after a difficult Superpole result.
Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) was seventh as his resurgence continued while Andy Verdoïa (GMT94 Yamaha) was eighth on his return to the Championship as the youngest ever race winner secured another top ten finish. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed ninth place ahead of Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team).
Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) was the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge competitor with 11th place, finishing two seconds clear of fellow WorldSSP Challenge competitor Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) in 12th. Swedish rider Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) was 13th ahead of 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) in 14th. Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) was the last points scorer in Race 2 as he secured 15th place, resisting the challenge from teammate Marcel Brenner and Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing).
After an impressive debut in WorldSSP Race 1, Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) had a more difficult Sunday after he crashed at Turn 8 on Lap 4 of 12, dropping the Spanish rider to the back of the grid. He was able to remount his Yamaha machine and made up enough time to challenge Eduardo Montero Huerta (DK Motorsport) for 24th place. Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) crashed in the closing stages of the races at Turn 1 on Lap 10, forcing the Finnish rider to retire.
WorldSSP Race Two Results
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
/
2
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.451
3
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta F3 675
+0.560
4
A. Verdoia
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.852
5
p. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+1.211
6
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.242
7
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.616
8
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.650
9
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+1.853
10
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.968
11
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.128
12
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.326
13
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.481
14
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.811
15
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.095
16
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+3.331
17
C. Bergman
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.576
18
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.899
19
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.083
20
D. Valle
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.254
21
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.606
22
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.711
23
D. Sanchis Martinez Esp
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.947
24
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+5.248
25
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
+5.603
26
L. Bernardi
Yamaha YZF R6
+1 Lap
27
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
+1 Lap
28
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
+1 Lap
WorldSSP Race Two Results Restart
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
/
2
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.155
3
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+1.438
4
P. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+1.633
5
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta
+1.964
6
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.900
7
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.243
8
V. Verdoia
Yamaha YZF R6
+6.303
9
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+6.626
10
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
+6.893
11
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
+8.458
12
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+10.976
13
C. Bergman
Yamaha YZF R6
+12.899
14
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+13.021
15
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+14.119
16
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+15.252
17
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+17.200
18
D. Sanchis Martinez Esp
Yamaha YZF R6
+17.801
19
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+20.769
20
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
+28.167
21
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+28.421
22
D. Valle
Yamaha YZF R6
+28.962
23
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+39.827
24
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
+46.769
25
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
+49.721
Not Classified
RET
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
3 Laps
RET
L. Bernardi
Yamaha YZF R6
/
RET
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
/
WorldSSP Championship Points
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Dominique Aegerter
302
2
Steven Odendaal
240
3
Philipp Oettl
178
4
Luca Bernardi
161
5
Manuel Gonzalez
158
6
Jules Cluzel
140
7
Federico Caricasulo
103
8
Can Alexander Oncu
90
9
Randy Krummenacher
84
10
Raffaele De Rosa
77
11
Niki Tuuli
69
12
Hannes Soomer
48
13
Christoffer Bergman
42
14
Marc Alcoba
40
15
Kevin Manfredi
31
16
Vertti Takala
21
17
Peter Sebestyen
21
18
Galang Hendra Pratama
21
19
Simon Jespersen
15
20
Andy Verdoia
14
21
Marcel Brenner
10
22
Stephane Frossard
10
23
Valentin Debise
9
24
Sheridan Morais
9
25
David Sanchis Martinez
8
26
Maria Herrera
7
27
Filippo Fuligni
6
28
Michel Fabrizio
6
29
Max Enderlein
5
30
Roberto Mercandelli
5
31
Federico Fuligni
5
32
Hikari Okubo
4
33
Massimo Roccoli
4
34
Luca Grunwald
3
35
Matteo Patacca
3
36
Unai Orradre
2
37
Daniel Valle
2
38
Ondrej Vostatek
2
39
Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias
1
40
Luca Ottaviani
1
41
Leonardo Taccini
1
42
Davide Pizzoli
1
43
Pawel Szkopek
1
WorldSSP300
The final race of the Motul French Round in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship was a typically enthralling encounter as Spanish rider Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) claimed his second victory of the weekend after a race-long battle with his rivals at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, as he beat title contender Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) by less than half a second.
Huertas and Championship contender Booth-Amos have been inseparable in the title battle and that continued on track in the 13-lap Race 2 encounter with just three tenths separating the pair at the end of the race, with Spanish rider Huertas extending his lead in the Championship standings with victory.
The pair had been battling it out in the traditional lead group but were able to hold the lead despite pressure from behind, with reigning Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) claiming third place just one tenth behind Booth-Amos, as well as finishing half-a-second clear of Dean Berta Viñales (Viñales Racing Team) in fourth.
Viñales has endured a tricky season in his first campaign in WorldSSP300 but the French Round could have provided a breakthrough for the 15-year-old Spaniard, having taken in his first point in Race 1 on Saturday he was challenging in the lead group and took the lead of the race on the penultimate lap. He fell down to fourth in the closing stages of the race, but still claimed his best result in his career.
He finished ahead of Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) by around a tenth after a strong ride for the Japanese competitor in fifth place. Italian Gabriele Mastroluca (ProGP Racing) claimed sixth place after a strong weekend for Mastroluca, while Yeray Ruiz (Yamaha MS Racing) was seventh in his debut WorldSSP Round. Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) claimed eighth place while South African rider Dorren Loureiro (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) was ninth and Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Kawasaki) rounding out the top ten.
2018 Champion Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) was 11th after fighting her way through the field while Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) claimed 12th place. Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team), the sole KTM rider in the field, was 13th with Mirko Gennai (Team BRcorse) and Marc Garcia (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) rounding out the points; Garcia back in the points on his return to the Championship.
Dutch rider Ruben Bijman (Machado CAME SBK) missed out on a points finish by just a tenth of a second as he came home in 16th place, ahead of Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) in 17th; the Italian started from the pit lane after an infringement of the engine allocation regulations. Petr Svoboda (WRP Wepol Racing) was 18th with Alessandro Zanca (Kawasaki GP Project) and teammate Alejandro Carrion completing the top 20.
Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) was the first retirement of the race after he crashed on the exit of Turn 13 and was unable to re-join the race, while Margo Gaggi (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) suffered a highside crash at Turn 3 on Lap 4. On the same lap, Dutch rider Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) crashed at Turn 5 which forced him out of the race, while Meikon Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) pulled into the pits in the early stages with a technical issue. Hugo de Cancellis (Prodina Team WoroldSSP) was running the lead group but had to retire when he had an issue with his chain on Lap 6.
Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) had an eventful Race 2 with the Spanish rider given a double Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding that led to a collision in the Warm-Up session. After taking one of the Long Lap Penalties, he was given a ride-through penalty but was forced to retire from the race after a crash at Turn 17. Vicente Perez Selfa (Machado CAME SBK) had a technical issue in the closing stages of the race, as did Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing). Bahattin Sofuoglu’s (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) race came to a premature end on Lap 12 after he made contact with the back of Booth-Amos, the incident forcing the Turkish rider out of the contest when fighting in the lead group.
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round Eight Magny-Cours
Toprak Razgatlioglu took victory with an incredible display of pace and consistency to win the opening stanza at Magny-Cours by more than four-seconds as he gained a five-point advantage over nearest rival Jonathan Rea at the Motul French Round.
Razgatlioglu got a good start and took the lead through Turn 1 but soon found himself shuffled back thanks to the run down to the Turn 5 hairpin of Adelaide. He responded when Rea took the lead and made a move on Lap 4 at Adelaide to reclaim the lead of the race before he was able to pull out enough of a gap to keep Rea at arm’s length.
Rea was able to respond as the laps progressed, closing the gap to just a couple of tenths but could not make a move stick before Razgatlioglu extended his lead out in front to more than a second ahead of Rea, holding on to secure his second victory in a row following on from his win in Race 2 at Navarra. Rea’s second place extends his winless drought to seven races since he won at Assen in Race 2. Razgatlioglu showed remarkable consistent pace throughout the 21-lap encounter, always lapping in the 1’37s bracket and he also becomes the first Yamaha rider to take 18 podiums in a single season.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claimed his third podium in WorldSBK with third place after he got a good start to the race to move up the field from fifth place, before battling the even faster-starting Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for fourth place; eventually passing the Italian at Turn 5 on Lap 12.
Rinaldi then gained a position on Lap 17 when Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed at Turn 8 on Lap 17, forcing the British rider out of the race. It meant Locatelli was able to claim third place with Rinaldi being promoted to fourth.
Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed fifth place after battling from ninth on the grid, with the Dutchman enduring a difficult morning with no running in Free Practice 3. He finished two seconds clear of Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) in sixth place as all five manufacturers were represented in the top six.
There was a stunning battle for seventh place during the race between numerous riders which came down to the final chicane. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) came home in seventh place with rookie Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finishing eighth and ninth. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) rounded out the top ten after starting inside the top six as the British rider fell back throughout the latter stages of the race.
American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed 11th place, behind the incredible battle for seventh place, just two tenths away from Haslam. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) started from eighth place and was unable to fight his way through the field as he fell back down through the order to take 12th place despite a Lap 19 crash as he looked to make a move on Sykes at Turn 13; Redding making no contact with Sykes but coming off his bike before he re-joined the race. Local rider Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport – Yamaha) was 13th at his home round as he claimed more points for his campaign, finishing less than a second ahead of Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team), with Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) rounding out the points.
Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) had a difficult race but came home in 16th place while Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) had a battle for 17th place that went down to the line; the duo separated by just 0.082s as Nozane beat Cresson. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the only other retirement apart from Lowes after he crashed out Turn 13 in the early stages of the race.
World Superbikes Race Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
/
2
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+4.467
3
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+10.285
4
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+13.283
5
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
+15.535
6
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+17.824
7
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+20.067
8
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+20.127
9
T. Sykes
BMW M 1000 RR
+20.150
10
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+23.763
11
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+23.977
12
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+38.551
13
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+44.742
14
T. Rabat
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+45.494
15
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+45.612
16
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+55.985
17
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+59.560
18
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+59.642
Not Classified
RET
22 A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
5 Laps
RET
36 L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
14 Laps
Rider Quotes
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P1
“For me it was a really good race, and also thank you to my team because again they have made an incredible job this weekend as we improve my R1. Also I really like this track! Yesterday, I try a race simulation focus on just good lap time – a consistent lap time – and also in this race, after I passed Johnny, I just try consistent lap times and it was enough! I wanted to keep a good gap on the last lap so I have space for the “stoppie” across the finish, this was nice to do at last! I try also tomorrow, I hope I am fighting again for the win. The short race will not be easy for me because Johnny is very fast, but all the top riders are also fast! My dream this weekend is for three wins, not easy I know… but we will try!”
Jonathan Rea – P2
“I did not realise that I had made eight Superpoles in a row until I saw it on the TV screen. That is pretty cool. And 100 Superpoles for Kawasaki as well, which is great. It was a really good day at school for me because I learned a lot. I can give some information now to the engineers in the pitbox and hope they can do something with it. It is clear we are quite on the limit of the package and are asking a lot from the front of the bike – in terms of stability and front tyre. When I was with Toprak I felt really good in sector one, up to the braking area of Turn Five. But, changing gear from first to second on the exit of T5 I lost all the time in the lap. During the rest of the lap I felt quite good. Eventually it was time to consolidate second position because Toprak was going away.”
Andrea Locatelli – P3
“I’m really happy about today, because it is my first race here in Magny-Cours in the dry conditions and also with the Superbike! In the first part of the race, I tried to overtake Rinaldi but it was so difficult because I lose a little bit on the straight and in the corner I needed to change my “standard” braking and we compromise also on the exit of the corner. But I got in front and I try to push, and also I take my rhythm and try to close the gap to Alex. In the end, we make another podium and it’s excellent for us. I think we work very well during the weekend, we don’t make any mistake and I think we have a little bit more space to improve. I tried to push until the end today to understand the bike if we need to do this tomorrow, to push until the last lap, and the bike worked very well.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi – P4
“It was a pretty positive race also because we are coming from a quite difficult period. We decided to work in a different way during this weekend and I think this new approach has paid off. Unfortunately, the rear grip was never the best. In the end, I wanted to fight for the podium but in the last five laps, the tire dropped a lot. We will try again tomorrow”.
Michael van der Mark – P5
“I think if you look at the result it isn’t that bad, but it’s a shame I lost so much time in this morning’s session. In the races, I had a good feeling with the bike and we wanted to try something different in FP3, but we couldn’t do so. So now in the race I am struggling a little bit and unsure whether yesterday’s setting was better or not. But anyway, I am happy with the points, and I am looking forward to tomorrow’s two races.”
Alvaro Bautista – P6
“I really enjoyed today’s race and making a comeback from fourteenth on the grid to sixth across the line. This morning I struggled to complete a good lap time in qualifying. I don’t know why but I didn’t feel I had sufficient grip in the rear tyre, so even if I pushed hard, I couldn’t be particularly fast. I was only able to improve by a couple of tenths with respect to the times I was setting with the race trye. I was confident for the race though, because I knew we had good race pace, so it was important to make a good start and try to stick with the guys ahead. And that’s exactly what we did so I’m happy, because I feel we did the best we can right now. For tomorrow it would be good to score a top-nine position in the sprint race so that we have a better start position for the second race, in which the aim is to try and improve further.”
Tom Sykes – P9
“It was another good Superpole but I am disappointed with the race today, and disappointed at not being able to race with the other bikes. Riding in the group, we struggled with the engine temperature and braking performance all through the race unfortunately. We were quicker in the turns but couldn’t get close on the straights to make a pass on the brakes. So, it was a frustrating race but we will have to have another go tomorrow.”
Leon Haslam – P10
“Qualifying went well for me today and I was also able to set a 37.0 with the same tyre combination I later raced with. Unfortunately though, right from the first lap of race 1, I had some issues in braking which forced me to just manage the situation every lap. I was at least seven tenths slower than I was in the practices, and so it felt like a very long race as a result. The fact I dropped three or four places in the final stages was my mistake, as I ran off track. So not the best result for me in the end, because after this qualifying and considering how the weekend was going, I felt we should have been able to finish top five. It could have been sixth place, if it hadn’t been for that mistake near the end.”
Scott Redding – P12
“It was a very tough race. I never had any grip both on the front and on the rear. I tried to hold on until the end even though the feeling was not the best. Then I crashed. In conditions like these, when the temperature is high but not very high, we have difficult problems to solve. Anyway, I hope to do better tomorrow in terms of results”.
Alex Lowes – DNF
“I felt good in all the sessions today. In Superpole on my second qualifying tyre I didn’t manage to improve my time and made a small mistake in Turn 15 but my first qualifying lap was still fast enough to be fourth on the grid. My start was not the best and I went back to fifth place, but I soon got back past Locatelli and Rinaldi to third. I stayed with Jonathan and Toprak a little bit but I did not have the pace mid-race. When Locatelli started catching me I tried to push again but I was on the limit of the front. It has been a while since I was on a podium so I kept pushing and unfortunately made a mistake on the front. To not finish the race is not positive but how I am riding, how I feel on the bike, is a lot more positive. To be as fast as I am feels great and we will get two more chances tomorrow.”
World Superbikes Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Toprak Razgatlioglu
336
2
Jonathan Rea
331
3
Scott Redding
277
4
Alex Lowes
169
5
Andrea Locatelli
167
6
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
163
7
Tom Sykes
153
8
Michael Van Der Mark
142
9
Garrett Gerloff
140
10
Alvaro Bautista
102
11
Chaz Davies
101
12
Axel Bassani
95
13
Leon Haslam
77
14
Lucas Mahias
38
15
Tito Rabat
37
16
Kohta Nozane
30
17
Isaac Vinales
20
18
Jonas Folger
14
19
Eugene Laverty
14
20
Christophe Ponsson
14
21
Leandro Mercado
8
22
Marvin Fritz
6
23
Loris Cresson
3
24
Andrea Mantovani
2
25
Luke Mossey
2
WorldSSP
The original race of 19 laps was Red Flagged on the opening lap after an incident involving Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti), with the Italian coming off his bike before his Kawasaki machine went barrel rolling on the grass. With the amount of damage to his bike, the decision was made to Red Flag the race, with Race 1 restarted after with a 12-lap distance. Fabrizio was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the incident, before being declared unfit with multiple contusions and abrasions. The restarted race also gave Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) a second chance after his MV machine suffered a technical issue on the opening lap, but he was able to join the restarted race.
Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) was unable to keep the lead from the start as Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) jumped the Sammarinese rider into Turn 1, with Bernardi falling to fifth before he started to fight his way back through the field. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) had a good start as well as he looked to claim a home victory, applying pressure to Aegerter in the first part of the race
Spanish rider Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) had an eventful race as he battled for a top four finish with Championship contender Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), with the South African rider battling back after a difficult Tissot Superpole session. Aegerter was able to go on to take his ninth victory of the season but Odendaal was able to claim second place with a Lap 11 move on Cluzel at Turn 5, with French rider Cluzel claiming his fourth podium of 2021 with third.
Gonzalez finished in fourth place as he narrowly missed out on a podium place by just 0.168s ahead of polesitter Bernardi in fifth with the pair separated by just one second. Bernardi was able to maintain a top five finish despite a challenging race, finishing ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing).
There was a battle between the two Kawasaki Puccetti Racing teammates as Philipp Oettl and Cam Öncü fought over seventh place, with Oettl able to finish ahead of his Turkish teammate by just two tenths. Italian rider Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was ninth while Andy Verdoïa (GMT94 Yamaha), returning to the Championship, claimed a top-ten finish with tenth.
2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Racing) battled back from 19th place to claim 11th place, while Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) was 12th as the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider. Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) was 13th for his highest-placed finished of the 2021 season. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) claimed 14th place as he secured points on his WorldSSP debut after moving up from WorldSSP300; both Orradre and Verdoïa have competed in WorldSSP300 and moved up from the class to success in WorldSSP, with Verdoïa the youngest ever race winner in WorldSSP after his win at the Catalunya Round in 2020. Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing), returning to competition following injury, secured 15th place.
Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) was unable to take to the restarted race after he had an issue on the Warm-Up Lap, before his bike was collected by Vincent Falcone (TFC Racing) on the grid, with wildcard Falcone also not taking the restarted race; both riders taken to the medical centre for a check-up. Debise was diagnosed with a left wrist radius fracture and declared unfit, while Falcone was declared unfit and transported to Nevers Hospital for further assessment after being diagnosed with a cervical strain and thorax contusion. Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) retired from the race after a crash on Lap 3 at Turn 13, while Tuuli retired after an incident on Lap 8 at the same corner. Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) was another retirement in the 12-lap race, along with Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team).
WorldSSP Race Results
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
/
2
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.869
3
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.188
4
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.356
5
L. Bernardi
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.348
6
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.957
7
P. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+4.931
8
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+5.159
9
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+6.565
10
A. Verdoia
Yamaha YZF R6
+6.869
11
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+7.352
12
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
+9.000
13
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+13.891
14
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
+14.146
15
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+16.784
16
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+17.134
17
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+23.338
18
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+23.485
19
D. Valle
Yamaha YZF R6
+24.643
20
D. Sanchis Martinez
Yamaha YZF R6
+25.864
21
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+35.114
22
C. Bergman
Yamaha YZF R6
+37.260
23
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+37.468
24
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
+52.638
Not Classified
RET
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta
5 Laps
RET
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
5 Laps
RET
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
7 Laps
RET
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
10 Laps
RET
V. Falcone
Yamaha YZF R6
11 Laps
RET
V. Debise
Yamaha YZF R6
/
RET
M. Fabrizio
Kawasaki ZX-6R
/
WorldSSP Championship Standings
Rider
Rider
Points
1
Dominique Aegerter
282
2
Steven Odendaal
230
3
Philipp Oettl
165
4
Luca Bernardi
161
5
Jules Cluzel
140
6
Manuel Gonzalez
133
7
Federico Caricasulo
94
8
Randy Krummenacher
82
9
Can Alexander Oncu
74
10
Raffaele De Rosa
70
11
Niki Tuuli
58
12
Hannes Soomer
48
13
Marc Alcoba
40
14
Christoffer Bergman
39
15
Kevin Manfredi
26
16
Vertti Takala
21
17
Galang Hendra Pratama
21
18
Simon Jespersen
15
19
Peter Sebestyen
15
20
Marcel Brenner
10
21
Valentin Debise
9
22
Sheridan Morais
9
23
David Sanchis Martinez
8
24
Maria Herrera
7
25
Andy Verdoia
6
26
Filippo Fuligni
6
27
Stephane Frossard
6
28
Michel Fabrizio
6
29
Max Enderlein
5
30
Roberto Mercandelli
5
31
Hikari Okubo
4
32
Massimo Roccoli
4
33
Federico Fuligni
4
34
Luca Grunwald
3
35
Matteo Patacca
3
36
Unai Orradre
2
37
Daniel Valle
2
38
Ondrej Vostatek
2
39
Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias
1
40
Luca Ottaviani
1
41
Leonardo Taccini
1
42
Davide Pizzoli
1
43
Pawel Szkopek
1
WorldSSP300
Adrian Huertas and Tom Booth-Amos both started from the front row and immediately looked to stay in the lead group, which started to fragment as the 13-lap race. Initially at around 11 riders, it soon reduced to six before Huertas looked to have a gap on the field with around five laps to go. Booth-Amos was able to close the gap with two lap record lap times in the final few laps before challenging Huertas on the final lap; Booth-Amos managing to save a slide coming out of the final corner on the final lap but was able to hold on to second place with Huertas claiming the win. Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) claimed a home podium with third place, missing out on second place by just two tenths despite the save from Booth-Amos.
South African rider Dorren Louriero (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed fourth place after a strong performance in Race 1, finishing ahead of Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Kawasaki) on his return to the Championship as he replaced James McManus at the team. Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) was in the top six but some four seconds back from Mogeda, while he was almost five seconds clear of Gabriele Mastroluca (ProGP Racing) in seventh.
The sole KTM rider in the field, Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team), claimed eighth place and another top ten finish in the 2021 campaign while Brazilian Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) was ninth in the 13-lap race, with Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) missing out on ninth place by just one tenth of a second.
Meikon Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) was two seconds away from a top ten finish as he came home in 11th place, while Dutch rider Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) was 12th . Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) had an eventful race after starting from the middle of the pack, being forced down to 26th place in the early stages before fighting back to finishing in 13th. Ruben Bijman (Machado CAME SBK) was 14th with Dean Berta Viñales (Viñales Racing Team) claiming his first points of the season with 15th despite a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start.
There was drama in the closing stages of the race at Turn 13 when Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) came together and ended up in the gravel. Buis was able to recover to finish in 25th but Turkish star Sofuoglu was a retirement from the race; both riders had been fighting in the lead group throughout the race.
Hugo de Cancellis (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) was a retirement on Lap 2 of the 13-lap encounter after a technical issue through the Turn 5 Adelaide hairpin. A lap later, Alejandro Carrion (Kawasaki GP Project) and Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) came together at the same corner with both riders retiring from the race. Johan Gimbert (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini) retired on Lap 6 after he crashed on his own at Turn 5. Victor Rodriguez Nuñez (Accolade Smrz Racing) was the fifth retirement when he crashed at Turn 3 on Lap 7, forcing the Spanish rider out of the race. Yeray Ruiz (Yamaha MS Racing) suffered from technical problems at Turn 5 which forced the Spanish rider out of the race, as well as Petr Svoboda (WRP Wepol Racing). Adrien Quinet (Machado CAME SBK) also retired.
On Lap 11 of 13, Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) retired from the race after a crash at Turn 7, an incident that meant teammate Meuffels had to take a trip through the gravel. Yeray Saiz Marquez (Viñales Racing Team) retired with a technical problem in the closing stages of the race while wildcard Alexy Negrier (Alexy Moto Racing) crashed at Turn 6 right at the very end of the race.
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round Eight Magny-Cours
The opening day of WorldSBK action from the Motul French Round at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours saw Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) storm to the top of the standings. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished the opening day second quickest and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) third. The afternoon’s session was dry, after what had been a damp FP1 in the morning.
Toprak Razgatlioglu put in a long stint on the same tyres and set 11 mid-1’37s out a 13-lap run, showing his sensational consistency as he led the way for the main portion of the season and continued to improve his pace.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P1
“Today in the first Free Practice, with the bad conditions it was not a really an easy start and for me it is also the first time I ride a Yamaha at this track in the dry conditions. We change some set-up for FP2 and I am feeling much better! I tried a race simulation of 15 laps – which was very, very positive. We are happy because we found a good improvement in the afternoon, the R1 is working very well here and now we are ready to race. We need to win again, and I aim to fight for the victory.”
Team-mate Andrea Locatelli was a little bit behind his teammate as he adapts to Magny-Cours on a WorldSBK bike. Tracking his teammate at various points throughout the session. Come the end of the day, it was Razgatlioglu who was fastest, whilst Locatelli ended up in 11th, as he continues to get used to the R1 around the French circuit.
Andrea Locatelli – P11
“It was a difficult first day in the end, but also I am happy – we don’t see a top position overall but we work very well. We tried to make a long run this afternoon, it is my first time here in Magny-Cours with this bike and the pace was not so bad! For sure we need to try to search for a little bit more speed, especially in sector two, but in general I am happy because it is the first time. We need to work a little bit around the bike and also I need to understand the track, but tomorrow we can improve. It’s not easy, I have never seen the track in the dry because last year in WorldSSP I only ride in the wet conditions, but we will see what is possible and for sure we will try to get the maximum.”
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was up inside the top six as he continued to get to grips with the Magny-Cours circuit in the dry conditions for the first time in his career. Having been inside the top two positions for the last seven races, Redding is coming into the Motul French Round in fine form and was good in the mixed conditions in the morning. Redding finished the afternoon in second with teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi down in ninth, with work to do for the Italian.
Scott Redding – P2
“It was quite a weird day for me as I have never ridden on this circuit in dry conditions. For this reason, in the first part of the session, I focused mainly on finding the feeling with the circuit. Then I was able to find my pace and things went much better. We are in the right direction and I think we can improve tomorrow”.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi – P9
“In FP1 we didn’t take any risks on a track that was half dry and half wet. In the afternoon we worked a little differently compared to other races, lapping a lot and reducing the set-up work. The feeling is quite good even if obviously we need to improve. At the end of the day, we are all pretty close to each other and I think that if we work well tomorrow morning we’ll be able to make a good race“.
The Kawasaki pairing of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and team-mate Alex Lowes were in good form as they took to the dry Magny-Cours circuit. Rea set a consistent pace and for the majority of the session, was sitting well inside the top five, whilst Lowes was also right with his teammate. The British duo worked away hard until the end of the session, before finishing third and eighth respectively, having been first and third in the morning’s damp-but-drying session. Rea’s in-touch with his Championship rival Razgatlioglu, but the Turk’s pace might well be giving him the edge over the race distance if conditions are to remain the same across Saturday and Sunday.
Jonathan Rea – P3
“I did not feel completely comfortable on the bike today. I feel consistent, just consistently slow! In that last part of braking and tipping into the corner I feel I am losing a little bit. Aside from that, some areas where we have been really strong in the past, like sector one, I have been struggling. There are a lot of bumps in Turn One and the bike is not really absorbing them so well. It is taking the edge off full commitment because the bike is moving around. It is just a case of going through what we have learned this afternoon and comparing it with what we have had in the past. We know the bike works well here and we will try to make a step for tomorrow.”
Alex Lowes – P8
“It was a good day – and my first day around Magny Cours on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR in dry track conditions. Last year we had every session wet, which made it a strange weekend! The bike feels good and I really enjoyed it this afternoon in FP2. It was nice and consistent and we have a couple of areas we know to improve in for tomorrow. A positive first day in France for me.”
The Independent charge was led by Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) in fourth place, with the Welshman going well at a circuit he took a podium at in his most recent race at the circuit. The next Independent came from Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and the American was constantly improving his time all the way to the end of the session. The two were the only riders inside the top ten from Independent teams but Davies in particular looks strong, with the Ducati rider constantly within the top five throughout the dry FP2 session.
It was a bright start to the weekend for one side of the Honda garage as Leon Haslam (Team HRC) completed the top five, showing his strengths around the Magny-Cours circuit. However, on the other side of the garage, Alvaro Bautista was down in 12th place, with the Spaniard working away on the Honda with it being his first day of dry weather running on the bike since joining the team. The potential is there this weekend, and with dry weather scheduled for the remainder of the weekend combined with wet running at the start of the day, Team HRC could be set for a stronger weekend than in recent rounds.
Leon Haslam – P5
“We had no information for this track with the Honda, as last year it was wet, so the first dry laps we’ve completed here were this afternoon. Things weren’t so bad as far as lap times are concerned. There are still some areas in which we need to improve but the things we’ve found in testing can definitely help us make a step here. That wasn’t the case in Navarra, which probably was one of the most difficult weekend for us so far sadly, but at this circuit I think we’ve already made a step. We are trying to improve on corner entry mainly, and front feeling too. Here we have three corners where we are struggling, the stop-stop type of corner, but in the first sector, the fast flowing one, the bike is very strong. So we’ll keep working as we always do and we will see where we can go.”
Alvaro Bautista – P12
“Finally we had a dry session here at Magny Cours this afternoon, a first one for us with Honda, because last year it rained the whole time and this morning the track was wet. We did a little bit of tyre testing to get some feeling in the dry and I have to say that the new asphalt is quite good, there are not many dips, especially considering that we’re coming from Navarra. We tried to improve our grip at maximum lean angle and our traction, the two areas where we suffer the most really. In the end, we are a little behind in the classification, but the times are very close and the gap is not too great. Tomorrow we will try to improve as much as we can because even a few tenths will make the difference in terms of our position. It’s important to complete a good qualifying lap to secure a good grid position. We are usually stronger in the second half of the race so starting as far ahead as possible will be important.”
The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team enjoyed a good day’s work, as Tom Sykes took sixth place and was top BMW overall, although teammate Michael van der Mark was second in the mixed conditions in the morning session. Unfortunately for van der Mark, the Dutchman suffered a technical problem at Turn 11 during FP2, cutting his track action short. Sykes was just less than half a second from Toprak’s time, whilst van der Mark completed the top overall, edging out Locatelli by just 0.018s.
Tom Sykes – P6
“Session one was obviously not too valuable, so the plan was to get our head down for session 2 but unfortunately, we did have a little bit of an issue with the bike but luckily I was able to get back to the pits. The guys did a fantastic job of turning it around and getting me back out there, so we had to miss a little bit of our schedule out and ultimately, we did have to compromise our plan. The good thing was that we were still in the top 6, but for sure we will look to improve on this tomorrow and keep working to get into the top 5.”
Michael van der Mark – P10
“To be honest this day has not been that bad. This morning we had to wait until the track was dry and when we had a dry line, I felt fast on the bike and had a good feeling with the BMW M 1000 RR. In FP2, I started really well but struggled with stopping the bike as it felt a bit nervous, so we tried to solve that. Towards the end of the session with a fresh tyre I made a mistake when on a good lap, and then unfortunately we had a mechanical issue right at the end of the session. But overall, I am feeling good with the bike. We haven’t changed too many things, so the base of the bike feels good. We just need to make the bike a little more stable on braking.”
The best of the rest consisted of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) who was 13th but just 1.096s from top spot and was more than a tenth clear of local hero Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 14th. Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) was 15th on his Magny-Cours debut, ahead of Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team), with the Spaniard suffering an off-track excursion. Another home-hero Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport Yamaha) was 18th, ahead of Isaac Viñales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura), Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) – who crashed at Turn 8 – and Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing). Cresson’s previous teammate, Jayson Uribe, isn’t at Magny-Cours due to travel issues.
World Superbikes Combined Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
1m37.138
2
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.208
3
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+0.288
4
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.334
5
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+0.407
6
T. Sykes
BMW M 1000 RR
+0.469
7
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.497
8
A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+0.530
9
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.633
10
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
+0.670
11
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.688
12
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+0.704
13
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+1.096
14
L. Mahias
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1.230
15
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+1.781
16
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R IN
+1.908
17
T. Rabat
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+2.060
18
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+2.269
19
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+2.393
20
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+2.646
21
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+3.453
WorldSSP
There was a big accident in the opening stages of the WorldSSP session with Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Hikari Okubo (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) going down at Turn 3, with Okubo being taken to the medical centre for a check-up. By the end of the session, it was Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) on top of the standings, leading for most of the afternoon.
Dominique Aegerter was in fine form throughout the afternoon’s running, with the Swiss bouncing back after losing his time in the opening session of the weekend for a yellow flag infringement. Aegerter kept improving right into the closing stages and had the better of Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing), with the Italian up in second after leading the way in FP1. Finding form at a circuit he’s more familiar with. He edged out the youngest ever WorldSSP race winner Andy Verdoïa (GMT94 Yamaha), as he flew the French flag up in third place.
Verdoïa’s teammate Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha), with the Frenchman in fourth and finding a good rhythm at his home circuit. In fifth place and making it three French riders inside the top five was Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha), with the wildcard going well and giving the home crowd to cheer about. Up in sixth place was Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti), as he returns to the track he won at back in the 2017 campaign, although he didn’t improve on his time.
Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was in seventh, as the German rider aims to get back to the front although he’s not found it easy on the opening day of action. Turkey’s Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the next of the Kawasaki’s in the order and eighth, just under a quarter of a tenth clear of Steven Odendaal in ninth place. Both riders set 20 laps, one more than Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in ninth, as the German rider aims to get back to the front although he’s not found it easy on the opening day of action. Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) completed the top ten as he gets up to speed with the Magny-Cours layout.
Notable names outside of the top ten include Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team), who was on a good final lap before losing his time due to exceeding track limits, dropping to 12th, whilst Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) was lead WorldSSP Challenge rider in 13th. Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) was only 14th. Hannes Soomer’s (Kallio Racing) return saw him in 25th, whilst Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) graduates to WorldSSP for the rest of the year and his first day of action saw him in 26th.
WorldSSP Combined Times
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
1m41.314
2
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.029
3
A. Verdoia
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.046
4
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.064
5
V. Debise
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.295
6
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta F3 675
+0.347
7
P. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.412
8
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.522
9
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.546
10
L. Bernardi
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.639
11
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.761
12
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.809
13
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.905
14
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.921
15
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.017
16
M. Fabrizio
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+1.034
17
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.115
18
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+1.296
19
C. Bergman
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.340
20
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.458
21
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.660
22
D. Valle
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.749
23
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.824
24
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.850
25
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.852
26
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.860
27
D. Sanchis Martinez Esp Wrp Wepol Racing
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.878
28
H. Okubo
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+2.013
29
V. Falcone
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.624
30
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.082
31
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.315
32
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.255
WorldSSP300
WorldSSP300 Championship leader Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) headed Friday’s running in both wet and dry conditions, with his time over eight-tenths clear of his nearest rivals on the dry track ahead of the Motul French Round.
Huertas was fastest in the first 30-minute session in wet but drying conditions and continued that form into the second session with a time of 1’52.859s, comfortably the fastest time of the day. The only dry running in the afternoon was interrupted by a Red Flag with just over two minutes to go when Miguel Santiago Duarte (Yamaha MS Racing) suffered a mechanical issue at Turn 8, with the session ending early.
Reigning Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) was in second as he looks to close in on the Championship leader, but he was eight tenths back from Huertas. Reigning Champion Buis had a four-tenths advantage of Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) in third place, with the field closing up behind Booth-Amos; with the top three in the Championship also the top three in the standings after Friday.
Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) claimed fourth place after a challenging day which included a highside crash at the final corner in this morning session, but he was able to re-mount and re-join the session. Australian Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed fifth place in a strong session, only one-tenth behind Booth-Amos.
Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) was another who had a strong session with sixth place, finishing ahead of Daniel Mogeda (Team# 109 Kawasaki) who claimed seventh on his WorldSSP300 return. Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) secured eighth after the two 30-minute sessions with Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) and Hugo de Cancellis (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) rounding out the top ten.
Dutchman Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) had a crash in Free Practice 1 after a highside exiting the final chicane but was able to re-join the session and responded by taking 11th place in the combined classification. Victor Steeman (KTM Freudenberg WorldSSP Team) was 12th with Yeray Ruiz (Yamaha MS Racing) in the top 15 on his debut. Gabriele Mastroluca (ProGP Racing) was 14th with Marc Garcia (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) in 15th upon his return to the Championship.
Wildcard entrant Alexy Negrier (Alexy Moto Racing) crashed during the second practice session in the afternoon and was unable to re-join the session, with the crash occurring in the opening stages of the 30-minute outing at Turn 15. Filippo Maria Palazzi (ProGP Racing) was declared unfit after Free Practice 1 after a crash at Turn 7. Although he was able to re-join the session, he was taken to the medical centre and ruled out of the weekend with a right wrist contusion.
Sylvain Markarian (Leader Team Flembbo) also suffered from a crash in Free Practice 1, but was able to take his bike back to the pit lane and go out, while Antonio Frappola (Chiodo Moto Racing) crashed and returned to the circuit at Turn 13; Markarian claiming 30th place and Frappola 39th. Vicente Perez Selfa (Machado Came SBK) had a technical issue in FP1 but was able to claim 18th place after Friday’s running.
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round Eight Magny-Cours
This weekend the Superbike World Championship circus moves to Nevers Magny-Cours circuit for the eighth round of season 2021.
Inaugurated over 60 years ago in 1960, the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit is 4411 metres long and has nine right-handers and eight to the left, with a minimum bend radius of 5 metres and a maximum of 474.45 metres plus a finishing straight which measures 250 metres in length. The maximum slope uphill is 2.38 per cent, with a 2.68 per cent descent.
This track is characterised by sudden deceleration and re-acceleration changes, interspersed with medium length straights and plenty of altitude changes. In its default layout it also provides a hairpin (Adelaide) with one of the heaviest braking points present among the international circuits, arriving from a fast straight. The asphalt has a smooth and regular surface and therefore offers little natural grip, especially in case of low temperatures or in the wet. Moreover, in some points the riders are called to brake in the downhill sections putting the front tyre under stress.
After twenty-one races, the WorldSBK Riders Standings of the Superbike World Championship has never been so close, with Jonathan Rea, and Toprak Razgatlioglu on level points (311 points), followed by Scott Redding with 273 points.
Razgatlioglu took his first ever win at Magny-Cours back in 2014 in the STK600 class, of which he’d be Champion in 2015. Then, he took a first STK1000 podium there in 2016 with second, before in 2019, his first WorldSBK win in a final lap shoot-out with Jonathan Rea came from 16th on the grid. He doubled up in the Superpole Race but with it being wet in 2020, he’s yet to show his strengths at the track on a Yamaha.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“For me, France is a special place because of my first wins in 2019, but like I have said before: we focus only on the next races ahead. I am not thinking about the championship! I like the Magny-Cours circuit a lot, it has fast sections and areas for hard braking which I enjoy. My team has been working hard at every round to give me the best R1 for the races, and we have been ready to fight everywhere. It will not be easy, Jonny and Scott [Redding] are very strong, but we will see.”
However, if Toprak’s ready for the challenge then so is his title rival Jonathan Rea – he’s won eight races at Magny-Cours, all of them for Kawasaki and apart from 2016, it has been every year. Add on to that the fact he’s been on the podium in all but one race at Magny-Cours on a Kawasaki (Race 2, 2017), then you’d be hard-pushed to find someone with a better track record.
However, Rea’s coming into France on the backfoot, having relinquished his Championship lead and, in the last six races, handed 37-points to Razgatlioglu. Both enjoy the track and have already had final lap battles there before.
Jonathan Rea
“After the last few races, on new circuits for us, I am really excited to got to Magny Cours. It is a circuit where I have a lot of special memories, where we have been many times in the past, so we have a lot of data. Thankfully we had a full day of really nice weather at a Portimao test last week to keep working with the set-up of our Ninja ZX-10RR. I felt very good there and the condition fo the bike was very good. The bike set-up for Magny Cours is very similar to Portimao. It has a lot of heavy braking area but also changes of direction which really suit our bike. Now, with six rounds remaining in the championship we are past the halfway point and the next races will come along in very quick succession. The target is of course to win and to build some positive momentum into the last part of the year, which is going to be very intense. But I am excited, very motivated and can’t wait to get to France.”
Edging closer with each round is Scott Redding, as the Ducati star is now 38-points behind the top two in the title race, having been 81 back just six races ago. Redding’s been in top form lately; seven straight podiums and all of them within the top two positions. It’s a devastating run of form which neither Razgatlioglu nor Rea have matched so far this year. Redding’s in the best form of his career and with a win at Magny-Cours in 2020 to keep his title hopes alive, he’s one of the favourites.
Scott Redding
“Last year I enjoyed racing on a circuit that was new to me. It’s clear that this time I’ll have a little more experience and that could be important to get off to a good start right away. My goal is to continue on the path we have taken in the last few very positive races.”
In stark contrast, Redding’s Ducati team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi had a subdued weekend at Navarra where he took 15 points, but a return to the top six will be welcome at Magny-Cours, as he did in 2020.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
“We can’t hide the fact that the last period has not been particularly positive for us. Now it’s time to turn the page. The contract signed for next season will give me great serenity to start working well with the team since FP1 on Friday.”
Toprak’s Pata Yamaha team-matre Andrea Locatelli also hopes be back on the podium, having now established himself as a solid front-runner. He took a WorldSSP win at Magny-Cours in 2020, can he convert that into strong pace in WorldSBK though?
Andrea Locatelli
“Last year Magny-Cours was a new circuit for me in World Supersport, so I will focus on the references with the R1 WorldSBK in Free Practice in the beginning. I think we can do very well there, I like the layout and we have been strong now for the last three rounds. The goal is to get closer to the front, so I hope we can keep working and carry the momentum this weekend. For sure I would like to improve on our “standard” position of fourth, which is becoming something funny with my team! If we can work on a good set-up on Friday, I think it will be possible to push on the maximum to get some good results again.”
Rea’s Kawasaki team-mate Alex Lowes aims to fight for the podium despite a persistent injury, but he was on the podium twice at Magny-Cours for Kawasaki in 2020, so the pace is there.
Alex Lowes
“For Magny Cours I have some good memories from last year on the Kawasaki, with the podiums in rain conditions. I am hoping it is dry this time because we didn’t get any dry laps last year in Magny Cours, so I want to try the Ninja ZX-10RR around there in the dry. It is a track I have always enjoyed going to and I have always gone quite well at. I have said it for the last few races but the target is to be back, fighting for the podium. So that is the target for Magny Cours.”
It was an impressive weekend for BMW at Navarra, as they seemingly found form in the hotter conditions in comparison to where they had come from in the past couple of seasons. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) achieved his tenth front row for BMW at Navarra and capitalised on that with two top-six finishes in Race 1 and the Superpole Race, before taking fifth in Race 2. He was on the front row at Magny-Cours in 2020 as part of BMW’s first ever Superpole 1-2, when Eugene Laverty took pole.
Tom Sykes
“I am definitely looking forward to the French round of the WorldSBK at Magny-Cours. It’s a circuit which has given the BMW podium success in the past and obviously for me my target is to add to that. The aim is also to maintain our recent improvement in form that we found for example at Navarra. That is the target for the weekend. Of course, there is still work to be done with the new BMW M 1000 RR so we will try our best to find the best balance and compromise to do this inside the race weekend.”
On the other side of the BMW garage, Michael van der Mark didn’t have the same weekend as Sykes, with seventh, eighth and ninth being the Dutchman’s results at Navarra. However, six Magny-Cours podiums could propel van der Mark back to the sharp end.
Michael van der Mark
“Magny-Cours is a track which I really enjoy riding. It always suits me. It has a bit of everything; fast and flowing sectors, stop-and-go corners, so it is a bit of a mix. Regarding the set-up of the bike, you also need to find some compromise here and there because it has all these different type of corners. I really love the first sector; that is one of my favourite parts of the track, but also the last sector is always nice for some good overtaking. I am looking forward to the weekend. We have improved our BMW M 1000 RR a lot and at Navarra, we struggled more with the high temperatures and I think we will not have that at Magny-Cours, so hopefully we have a bit more stable weekend. At Navarra, we made a big step lap-time wise in qualifying. Unfortunately for me it was so tight that I was still tenth, but if you look at the lap times, I made a huge step. We improved the performance there, so that is what we really need at Magny-Cours as well.”
Over at Honda, it was another difficult round endured by Team HRC as Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam worked hard to break into the top ten once again. For Bautista, there was just one point-scoring ride across the weekend with eighth in Race 2, whilst Leon Haslam’s only points came in Race 1 with 13th. Both lie outside the top ten in the Championship but could break into it it this weekend, with Bautista level on points with previous team-mate Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven).
Alvaro Bautista
“Magny-Cours is always tricky, largely due to the weather as you never know if it’s going to be wet, mixed conditions or whatever. Last year we barely had an opportunity to ride in the dry, so we don’t have much data in those conditions. The track has a bit of everything anyway, hard braking, long turns, and many changes of direction. It’s a tricky one, but we’re keen to continue our development and are focused on rounding out the season in the best way possible. I want an enjoyable end to my season with HRC.”
Leon Haslam
“Magny-Cours has been good for me in the past. Last year I battled hard with Toprak and others for fourth place, before unfortunately suffering a highside just before the end of the race. In the wet, I’m confident that we can fight for the podium this time, while in the dry, I know we’ve made progress and hopefully it can be a kinder circuit to us than some of the others so far.”
The Independent battle is as fierce as ever and whilst Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) has taken a slight dip in form across the last two rounds, he’s comfortably clear of the next-best Independent rider Chaz Davies by 43 points.
However, closing in on Davies is young Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), who is now just five-points behind the Brit and has leap-frogged Leon Haslam in the standings.
For Gerloff, he was fast in the rain of Magny-Cours in 2020, whilst Chaz Davies took a double win back in 2016 and won again in 2017. Axel Bassani’s form is somewhat unknown in WorldSBK, but back in World Supersport, he took his best ever finish with fourth in 2016.
The rest of the Independent battle is being fought further down, with Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 14th place, but going to his home-round full of confidence after two wins in the last three races held at the track in WorldSSP.
Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) tackles Magny-Cours for the first time and is three points behind Mahias, whilst Yamaha’s Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) will also go to Magny-Cours for the first time, after what seemed like a bit of a breakthrough at Navarra.
Isaac Viñales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) returns to action after a positive COVID-19 test prior to Navarra, with Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) next up, just five points back.
Jonas Folger
“Magny-Cours is a great circuit. We competed as wildcard starters in the French Championship there last year. I am happy that we did that, as it means that I am familiar with the circuit now. It is a very challenging circuit, including a real range of corners. There is a pretty long straight, some slow corners. Sometimes it flows and then you have a bit of stop-and-go – it has a bit of everything. I hope that we make a good start to the weekend, work well with the BMW from the word go and that our race results then build on recent races.”
Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport Yamaha) heads for his home round and will hope to impress, whilst Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) aims for points once more. Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and team-mate Jayson Uribe also aim for points, particularly Uribe who is yet to score.
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed his second consecutive WorldSBK win in a row and the ninth of his career after a commanding victory on Saturday at Navarra as he closed the gap to title rival Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) down to 45-points in the Championship standings.
As the lights went out for the first race of the weekend, Redding got the jump over pole-sitter Rea into Turn 1 but Redding’s advantage did not last long as Rea fought back at the Turn 6-7 section of the circuit to re-take the lead, also withstanding an early challenge from rookie Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) on the opening lap.
At the start of Lap 6, Redding got a better run out of the Turn 15 right-hand hairpin to make a move on Rea into the incredibly fast right-hand Turn 1, getting the move completed just before they turned in before pulling out a gap of over a second on Rea over the next handful of laps.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was a rider making moves from the start as he battled from eighth place to fourth on the opening lap and found himself behind team-mate Locatelli, but spent numerous laps behind him before he was finally able to pass his rookie team-mate on Lap 7 after the Italian ran wide.
Rea was running in second place but survived a couple of mistakes at Turn 9, a big moment before running wide a on Lap 15, losing around two-seconds to Redding but did not lose out to Razgatlioglu in either the race or the Championship battle; Rea extending his lead over Razgatlioglu to seven-points.
There were plenty of battles up and down the field as riders searched for the best possible position, with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) coming home in fifth place behind Redding, Rea, Razgatlioglu and Locatelli, with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in sixth and Dutch team-mate Michael van der Mark in seventh.
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) had a battle in the latter stages of the race over eighth place, with American star Gerloff unable to make a pass on the youngest rider on the WorldSBK grid, Bassani holding on to take eighth place with Gerloff in ninth. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) completed the top ten after a challenging opening race, the Italian involved in battles in the midfield throughout.
Rookie Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed 11th place after a strong race battling throughout the field ahead of Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) in 12th; Rabat involved in a long battle with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) with the British rider coming home in 13th place. Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) scored his first points since Race 2 at MotorLand Aragon with 14th place, with Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport – Yamaha) completing the points. Ponsson found himself on the ground at Turn 3 after an incident involving Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) on Lap 3 at Turn 3 but was able to re-mount his Yamaha machine to secure one point in Race 1; Mercado retired from the race.
Three riders finished the race but were unable to claim a points finish in Race 1 at Navarra with Suzuki wildcard Naomichi Uramoto (JEG Racing) finishing in 16th place, just two tenths behind Ponsson and narrowly missing out on points. Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) had been running in the points-paying positions during the 23-lap race but fell down the order to finish 17th, with teammate Jayson Uribe in 18th; the American having a crash on Lap 13 at Turn 13 but able to recover to finish the race.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had an incident on his own at Turn 11. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) retired from the race after he crashed on his own at Turn 9 while, at the same time, Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) had a crash at Turn 12 but was able to re-join before bringing his machine back to the pits.
Scott Redding – P1
“I’m really happy because it was not an easy race with such a high temperature. But we managed to find the ideal conditions to race at our best. Since the first laps, I had confidence, the feeling was excellent, I felt comfortable. The World Championship? I just want to keep thinking race after race. I’m doing my best, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team and Ducati are doing their best. Let’s continue like this.”
Jonathan Rea – P2
“What a lap in Superpole! I really got the best out of the tyre but I was overcooking a few corners, missing some apexes, so I was really surprised at the lap time. I was a little bit nervous about the start of the race. It was very important to be at the front and we had quite a good start, but Scott was just a little bit better. At the beginning I felt I could go to the front and when Scott went quite wide in T5 and T6 I went on the inside and passed him. From there I just kept my rhythm until he blasted me on the straight. After that I thought, ’I’m there’ but then the front started to heat up, stability started to go down and the front was moving. Over-pushing the front, I had a few slides and enough to tell me to brake a bit earlier. I lost as much as one second during one mistake and Scott went away. I did not feel he was destroying us lap-by-lap when it was constant, the gap was quite similar, so I feel we can make some changes on the front tomorrow to make a step forward.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P3
“The race was not easy for me because of the very hot conditions, but it was the same for everybody. After five laps the feeling was like the front tyre was destroyed, there was a very early drop in performance, and every corner I feel like I nearly crash but I try my best. We are happy because again we arrive on the podium and take good points for the championship – but this is not enough for me. Tomorrow I want to try to win. Johnny and Scott were very fast today, but in the second lap I lost time with a big mistake with a missed shift so they got away. After I try again to catch but we did not have enough for second or first position because they were very fast. Tomorrow I will fight again – it is not easy in the heat, especially with the tyres, but we will see.”
Andrea Locatelli – P4
“The race for sure was not easy today but I say that we need to fight a little bit because in these conditions we were not quite strong enough. Also yesterday the feeling with the bike was not so bad but today we lost a little bit with the heat. In the end it was a good race because the gap to win is a little bit closer – it’s not so big! We had a little bit of a problem with the gear change, I missed some shift during the first and second lap and so I lost the gap with the front riders. We need to be happy though because we have another good result and for sure, tomorrow we try to find another solution to go a bit faster compared to today and then we will see. But today we did a good job overall.”
Alex Lowes – P5
“In Superpole I felt quite good and my laps were not too bad. I used a race tyre and two Q tyres. On the second one I made a mistake in the last sector. It was so close. Jonathan and Scott did good laps but behind it was only a couple of tenths, not even that. I ended up seventh and the position was not ideal coming from the third row. In the race I had a good start and was fourth until Toprak passed me. I thought I would sit behind those guys out front but I wasn’t fast enough because I was struggling with the front. I was a bit quicker than the guys behind so it was a bit of a boring race for me. But it was a long race – and hot. I used the Race One experience to try to be consistent and understand how I can improve for Sunday.”
Tom Sykes – P6
“It was not too bad. We had a good qualifying and starting from the front row is always a nice target. Coming off the start, another rider came by me and almost took my handle bar so I had to close the gas and a Kawasaki had gone by. So the first lap wasn’t very good and then, to be honest, behind Alex Lowes on the first couple of laps, it was just a bit too steady so I need to have a look at that for tomorrow. I need to try to get a better start and first couple of laps but after that I just settled into the rhythm that we found yesterday afternoon. It looks like everyone was suffering a little bit more today because the times were slower than yesterday afternoon. I really struggled with the front end of the bike with the turning and some of the rear traction so for sure it was a difficult race to manage. We had to change the way to approach some corners et cetera and try to find a way to ride around those problems so we’ve got a lot of work to do tonight and hopefully we can improve the set-up for these hot conditions tomorrow.”
Michael van der Mark – P7
“To be honest, I was expecting a lot more. This morning, we made a huge step in performance and in lap time consistency. Also in Superpole, we’ve made a good step. I was tenth but the gap to P5 was really close. I was happy with that, but in the warmer conditions in the race the bike just did not react like in the cooler conditions. It’s normal but I struggled too much so we need to find a solution for tomorrow.”
WorldSBK Race One
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
/
2
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+2.519
3
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
+5.894
4
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+9.405
5
A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+16.219
6
T. Sykes
BMW M 1000 RR
+20.600
7
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
+24.158
8
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+26.497
9
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+26.718
10
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+29.602
11
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+39.387
12
T. Rabat
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+41.316
13
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+44.338
14
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+48.470
15
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+1m21.773
16
N. Uramoto
Suzuki GSX-R1000R
+1m21.956
17
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1m30.006
18
J. Uribe
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1 Lap
Not Classified
RET
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
17 Laps
RET
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
17 Laps
RET
L. Mahias
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
20 Laps
RET
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
20 Laps
WorldSBK Championship Points
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Jonathan Rea
286
2
Toprak Razgatlioglu
279
3
Scott Redding
241
4
Alex Lowes
154
5
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
141
6
Garrett Gerloff
134
7
Andrea Locatelli
132
8
Tom Sykes
131
9
Michael Van Der Mark
122
10
Chaz Davies
89
11
Alvaro Bautista
84
12
Axel Bassani
81
13
Leon Haslam
71
14
Lucas Mahias
36
15
Tito Rabat
30
16
Kohta Nozane
30
17
Isaac Vinales
19
18
Eugene Laverty
14
19
Jonas Folger
10
20
Christophe Ponsson
8
21
Leandro Mercado
7
22
Marvin Fritz
6
23
Loris Cresson
3
24
Andrea Mantovani
2
25
Luke Mossey
2
WorldSSP
Drama and tension throughout the opening race of the FIM Supersport World Championship’s first visit to the Circuito de Navarra as Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) secured a sensational victory for the seventh time this season after a race-long battle with Championship rival Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) at the Pirelli Navarra Round.
The opening laps of the race were unpredictable as the lead riders exchanged positions consistently. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) were the big winners as the lights went out with Spanish rider Gonzalez took the lead of the race from second, while Odendaal moved into second from fourth as Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) fell to fifth.
After an impressive Friday and Saturday at Navarra, Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing) moved into the podium places at the start of the race, challenging Gonzalez for second place in the opening laps after Gonzalez lost out to Odendaal. Gonzalez was able to respond on Lap 6 to re-take the lead in search of his first WorldSSP victory. Aegerter dropped down the order in the opening laps but fought back to be in the lead group on Lap 7 as he worked his way back through the field.
Aegerter’s fightback meant he was directly behind Odendaal in the middle phase of the race and soon found himself in second, behind Odendaal, as the pair made a move on Gonzalez on Lap 8 of the 20-lap encounter, with the top two in the Championship running as the top two in the race. On Lap 9, Aegerter made an aggressive move at the Turn 15 hairpin that ends the lap, but Odendaal was able to respond on the start-finish straight at the start of Lap 10.
Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) was another who battled his way up through the order including two aggressive moves into Turn 15 and joined the lead group, before an incredible move into the fast right-hander of Turn 1 on Gonzalez to move into third. He tried a similar move through the first two fast right-handers on Aegerter, but the Swiss rider was able to defend into Turn 3. With eight laps to go, Odendaal made a move on Turn 1 on Aegerter before Aegerter responded through Turns 2 and 3 to regain the lead. Aegerter eventually got past Odendaal and went on to claim victory at Navarra with Odendaal in second and Bernardi third; unable to take advantage of the battling duo ahead although he did battle Odendaal for second throughout the final laps.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed fourth place in the thrilling encounter with his former teammate, Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) in fifth, his joint-best result since his WorldSSP campaign. Just half-a-second separated Cluzel and Caricasulo at the end of the race, with Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) coming home in sixth place.
German Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished seventh after battling his way up through the field, finishing a second clear of teammate Can Öncü after the Turkish star battled his way up from 24th to eighth in Race 1. Jespersen lost ground as the race progressed but still claimed a stunning ninth place ahead of Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti); Jespersen taking the first top-ten finish for a Danish rider in WorldSSP since 2011 when Robbin Harms at Aragon.
Indonesian Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) came home in 11th place after a strong Race 1 at the Circuito de Navarra ahead of the returning Hikari Okubo (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) in 12th; Okubo making his WorldSSP debut in place of the injured Shogo Kawasaki. David Sanchis Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing) was 13th on his WorldSSP debut with Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) and Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) completing the points.
Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had a crash but was able to re-join the race, although he brought his Kawasaki machine into the pits later on. Eduardo Montero Huerta (DK Motorsport), Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias (Yamaha MS Racing) and Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) also retired from the race. Gonzalez was taken to the medical centre following the crash. Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) had an off in the closing stages of the race and brought his Yamaha machine back into the pitlane.
Gonzalez was out of the race after he crashed at Turn 9 after being shuffled out of the lead group, bringing to an end his record-equally run of points-scoring finishes of 25 consecutive WorldSSP races in the points, a record that stretched back to his WorldSSP debut at Phillip Island in 2020. Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) was a late retirement after he had an incident at Turn 13 after a strong showing in the race, running inside the top ten.
P1 Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)
“It was a very good day for me. It’s very hot out here in Navarra and it was a long 20-lap race, but we had a great battle in the first few laps, a lot of overtaking, big battles to get the lead. When I had the lead, I could go at my own pace and in the end, I had a three-second advantage.”
P2 Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)
“It was quite a hard race today, the temperatures were really, really hot. When Aegerter passed me, I held on for a little while. I thought I could try to block pass him again but I just didn’t have it in me. Unfortunately, we have to settle for what we can. It’s a long run in the Championship, not that I’m thinking of that, but it is important. The maximum we could take was 20 points today.”
P3 Luca Bernardi (CM Racing)
“Today was a very hard race, very hot. Step by step, I worked with my team and I have a good feeling with the bike. It was a very hard race and in the last lap I tried to take second position.”
The opening day of action was as fierce as ever as the seventh round of the Superbike World Championship got underway at Circuito de Navarra in Spain.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) led the opening session however an increase in temperature during the afternoon left Rea in seventh for the vast majority of that session. Conversely, Alex Lowes made good improvements throughout the afternoon as the heat became more of a factor. As the chequered flag waved at the end of the day though, it was still Rea on top overall thanks to his marker in FP1, whilst Lowes was tenth.
Jonathan Rea
“We had two very different sessions today to confirm some items that we used at the recent Montmelo test. I felt OK getting up to speed with the track and the bumps. When the temperature came up in the afternoon it changed the track little bit, so the grip level dropped. We went back to some components that we had been using previously in FP2. Basically we confirmed that we had been going in the right way at the Montmelo tests.”
Alex Lowes
“I actually felt good on the bike today. Our lap times don’t reflect how I felt out on track. With the bike set-up we are looking to improve our corner entry, especially in the trail braking area, to be ready for Race One on Saturday. That’s the area we are going to focus on most of all. The circuit layout is fun – I like it.”
Having led most of the afternoon session, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was in good form in the FP2 heat of Navarra. Despite most of the riders struggling to improve on their morning times due to the higher temperatures and greasier track surface. In the end, Toprak was able to top FP2, and was second overall thanks to his better time in FP1.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“Today we are happy because it was a good start on Friday to finish second position overall for fastest times. For me, the race simulation is the most important but we are very strong, and also I am feeling like my bike is much better in the second session. We are feeling ready to race, but we will see because I think it will not be an easy race – very hot in Navarra! We will see, maybe it is not easy but I will try again to fight for the win.”
Team-mate Andrea Locatelli was once again right in the mix as the Italian continues to grow in stature. He was in third for the majority of the session before finishing fourth at the flag, and fifth overall at the end of the day.
Andrea Locatelli
“In the end, I’m very happy because we have worked very hard on this first day and finished in a good position – P4 in the second session where conditions were hottest, P5 overall. We tried to search for a good rhythm in the heat and the feeling with the bike is not so bad. For sure for tomorrow we will try to improve a little bit more and try to take some more speed especially in sector four because we lose a little bit here. In general, I’m confident and tomorrow we will improve – but we will see, it will not be easy because it is so hot! Tomorrow we will be ready to race.”
Third place on the combined timesheets was Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), the British rider picking up his strong pace from the last round at Most. In the closing stages of FP2, it was Redding who was looking strong as he made gains throughout various sector times but returned to the pits with a technical issue in the final minute of the session. His team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi also improved throughout the afternoon, finishing third in FP2 and actually improving his time from the morning, one place behind Redding. Overall, however, it was Redding third and Rinaldi seventh.
Scott Redding
“It was a very positive day and I must admit I had a lot of fun. I completed a lot of laps and even when at the end of FP2 the team asked me to come back to the box, the feeling was so good that I kept lapping then running out of gas. That’s good, also because the pace was strong even in the afternoon with the higher temperature“.
Michael Rinaldi
“We encountered some difficulties today. This morning I didn’t have a good feeling with my bike while in the afternoon, on a much warmer tarmac, we were able to improve while the others struggled a bit more. For this reason, I’m quite satisfied even if we have to work to make a small step forward“.
The battle for Independent supremacy is set to be a big one this weekend; Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took the honours on the overall times but in FP2, he suffered a crash at Turn 4. This afternoon’s pace was still enough however, although Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) is a serious contender this weekend and looks like he may be able to go with Gerloff, although grid position will be vital. Gerloff was fourth overall, Davies sixth, whilst another Independent rider who impressed were Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) who was 11th overall but the fastest in the final sector in FP2.
Eighth place in the combined times was Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), with the Spaniard particularly strong in the morning session before setting his fastest FP2 time on his final lap of the session. Whilst Bautista was the lead Honda, team-mate Leon Haslam had a positive afternoon as he improved his time in comparison to the morning to finish in 14th, although he was still left in 15th in the combined times, despite being the third-fastest through the opening sector in the afternoon heat.
Alvaro Bautista
“We tested here a couple of months ago and conditions remain similar now, in that the track is still bumpy. It’s a challenging one, with many slow corners – I think the most enjoyable section is the first fast corner. This morning we had issues with the braking, my bike rather unstable, so in the afternoon we tried to work on this but the track conditions were hotter and so we had less grip. I tried some different compounds but the grip, particularly at the edge of the tyre, was very low. We have some more ideas for tomorrow anyway, and this morning we weren’t so far from the front, so let’s see if we can find something to improve the bike’s stability and rear grip.”
Leon Haslam
“This morning we had a small crash, unfortunately it came when I put a new tyre in so results in the end were not so good. We are having some problems trying to stop the bike. Conditions this afternoon were very hot, and we spent most of the session trying to understand how to improve in terms of corner entry because we had the same issue as in the morning and I could not go any faster with the new tyre. We still have some work to do tomorrow, but we knew this circuit would be tough. We are competitive at many tracks, but the very tight corners are one of the areas in which we need to improve, and this circuit in particular has a lot of these. It’s a good track at which to test our weak points anyway, and we will keep trying and pushing for this.”
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took BMW into ninth place and was one of the many riders who couldn’t improve their time in the afternoon session. Sykes was less than a second off the top spot, whilst his team-mate Michael van der Mark couldn’t crack the top ten on the opening day; the Dutchman completed 38 laps but was 11th, something he will hope to improve on as the weekend evolves.
Tom Sykes
“It’s not been a bad day. We have been understanding the package off the back of a test in Catalunya and we understood a few of the parameters. This afternoon in the hotter conditions we really looked at some of the tyre selection that Pirelli have brought here. I was overall happy with our consistency and the pace at the end on used tyres. Hopefully now we have got a lot of information of that and overnight we will now make some fine adjustments and try again tomorrow. It is looking like it is going to be a very hot weekend so hopefully we can maintain that pace from FP2.”
Michael van der Mark
“I think if you look at the position from today it is not really where we want to be. This morning I felt good on the bike and did some OK lap times, but the times from 7th to my position are really close. Unfortunately, my fastest lap got cancelled so that is why I am back in eleventh place. I think otherwise I potentially would have been 7th which is not so bad. This afternoon was good for us in the warmer conditions to try some things on the bike and see how it works, I was happy with the bike it just seems we are missing some things in a few areas. I think we can fix this and be higher up the grid tomorrow.”
The rest of the field saw Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) in 13th, Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) in 14th – the Spaniard however showing flashes of hope throughout – and then the returning Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 16th, despite an FP1 technical issue and FP2 crash at Turn 15, although he was OK on both occasions. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 17th, although he was third-fastest in the final sector in the afternoon, ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport – Yamaha) in 18th and another returnee, Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team), in 19th. Wildcard Naomichi Uramoto (JEG Racing) completed the top twenty overall, ahead of Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and his teammate, American Jayson Uribe.
WorldSBK Friday Combined Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
1m37.629
2
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.123
3
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.164
4
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.453
5
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.468
6
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.600
7
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.841
8
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+0.902
9
T. Sykes
BMW M 1000 RR
+0.907
10
A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+0.935
11
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
+1.081
12
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+1.194
13
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+1.364
14
T. Rabat
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+1.419
15
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+1.578
16
L. Mahias
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1.858
17
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+2.197
18
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+2.863
19
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R IN
+3.070
20
N. Uramoto
Suzuki GSX-R1000R
+3.388
21
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+4.024
22
J. Uribe
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+4.627
WorldSBK Championship Points
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Jonathan Rea
266
2
Toprak Razgatlioglu
263
3
Scott Redding
216
4
Alex Lowes
143
5
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
135
6
Garrett Gerloff
127
7
Tom Sykes
121
8
Andrea Locatelli
119
9
Michael Van Der Mark
113
10
Chaz Davies
89
11
Alvaro Bautista
84
12
Axel Bassani
73
13
Leon Haslam
68
14
Lucas Mahias
36
15
Tito Rabat
26
16
Kohta Nozane
25
17
Isaac Vinales
19
18
Eugene Laverty
14
19
Jonas Folger
8
20
Christophe Ponsson
7
21
Leandro Mercado
7
22
Marvin Fritz
6
23
Loris Cresson
3
24
Andrea Mantovani
2
25
Luke Mossey
2
WorldSSP
Spanish rider Gonzalez heads into the Navarra Round on the back of his first two WorldSSP podiums and, in buoyant mood, posting a 1’41.181s in the morning Free Practice 1 session to top the times for the day with the 19-year-old not able to improve his best time in the afternoon session. Aegerter, leading the Championship, was able to improve in the second 45-minute session but it was not enough to overhaul Gonzalez, claiming second place but just 0.016s behind. Four tenths away from the leading duo was Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) as the Italian rider showed strong pace on Friday at Navarra despite a crash at Turn 3 in the morning Free Practice 1 session; the former WorldSBK rider was able to re-join the session following the crash.
Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing) had an eventful day as the Danish rider replaced the injured Hannes Soomer at Kallio Racing as he secured fourth place in the combined standings on his WorldSSP debut, but also had a crash in the second session of the day at Turn 15. French rider Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was fifth fastest after posting a time of 1’41.781s, an improvement from Free Practice 1 and good enough for second place in the afternoon session. 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) rounded out the top six with a strong showing from the Swiss rider as he searches for a return to the rostrum. Krummenacher’s time was just 0.014s slower than Cluzel.
Currently second in the Championship, Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was seventh after Friday’s action at Navarra and finished more than six tenths down on Gonzalez’s time while Sammarinese Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) was eighth after finding almost seven tenths of a second between FP1 and FP2. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) secured a top ten finish with ninth place ahead of Finnish compatriot Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing); the top nine in the standings separated by just one second.
Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) has shown remarkable consistency in the 2021 campaign so far with six podiums from ten races and will be hoping he can improve on his 11th place finish on Friday, although the German did lose his best lap time in FP2 for slow riding; his overall best time coming in the morning session. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 12th and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 13th despite the Turkish rider having a crash at Turn 9 in the second session.
VFT Racing’s Marcel Brenner secured a top-15 finish after Friday action with 14th place with Borja Gomez, replacing Pawel Szkopek at Yamaha MS Racing rounding out the top 15. Just two tenths of a second separated Öncü in 13th and Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) in 19th place, showing how competitive the field is in WorldSSP.
David Sanchis Martinez, who is taking the reins of WRP Wepol Racing’s Yamaha YZF R6 machine from Danny Webb, claimed 16th place while Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias, replacing the injured Marc Alcoba at Yamaha MS Racing, was 17th. Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was 18th with Bergman 19th and Hikari Okubo (G.A.P MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti), standing in for the injured Shogo Kawasaki and making his return to the Championship in 20th; Okubo also the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider.
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