Aragon Friday Wrap

Friday running for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship continued with more ups, downs and surprises. Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati) set a time of 1’50.543 in Free Practice 1 as he looked to make it eight or more wins at MotorLand Aragon, but the challengers are close behind as Friday showed a close and competitive field.

Davies’ time was set in the morning session and it was enough to top the timings for Friday running despite finishing sixth in Free Practice 2. Davies’ Ducati team-mate, Scott Redding, improved in Free Practice 2 to finish third in the afternoon but he was outside the top six in the overall classification, finishing in eighth place overall.

Chaz Davies – P1

“I’m very happy to have finished today in first position but especially for how we worked in both FP1 and FP2. We started this morning with the set up with which we ended the test two weeks ago and the feeling was positive since the first laps. This allowed us to immediately understand which was the right direction to follow. We must continue to work on the tires because we will have different solutions available and we will have to understand which will be the best one in view of the race“.

Scott Redding – P8

“We struggled a bit this morning but since the early laps of FP2, we have been able to make some improvements, step by step, working a lot with used tires. We still have to figure out how to solve some details but we will continue to work with great confidence. The weather conditions? Maybe they will be a bit different tomorrow but it will be the same for all riders. The important thing is that we have made important steps forward on the set up to improve ourselves“.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (GoEleven Ducati) continued his recent impressive form with second overall, less than a tenth away from Davies’ time as the pair made it a Ducati 1-2 after Friday running.

Reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) was third onboard his machine while team-mate Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) had an eventful afternoon session, improving his time from Free Practice 1 to finish seventh in the combined classification for the day despite a crash at Turn 14 with around 10 minutes left to go in the session.

Jonathan Rea – P3

“I felt okay with the bike today because we had a test here a few weeks ago. We understood the base set-up. In the second session we made a big change with the wheelbase of the bike to understand how it is working in these hotter conditions. I think we will go back to what we had this morning and at the test. It seems like tomorrow is going to be a little bit cooler so we can understand the tyres in the morning FP3 session and make a final race plan from there. We have a good idea that our bike will work OK in the cooler conditions, so tomorrow’s target is to make a time attack in Superpole to get a good grid position and then make a solid 18 laps. I feel excited about it because there are a lot of guys in the front, quite close together, so we need to do our homework tonight and come back swinging tomorrow.”

Alex Lowes – P7

“We came here with the set-up we had at the test and I felt quite good on the bike. I had a little problem in the morning session so I did not do my first long run continuously but my lap times were quite good – when you put a full lap together. I stayed on the same tyre because I feel like the race is going to be more like this morning’s cooler temperatures and it looks like it is going to be like that on Saturday. In the afternoon I was fast, really, able to do 1’51 laps for the two longer runs and improve my time. I knew we should be fast because we worked really hard at the recent test here and we found some good stuff for the bike set-up. Then I got a bit excited at the end and fell during the last FP2 run, which was a shame. I had just put on a fresh tyre and went in a bit fast. But the bike is working well, especially in hot conditions, and that is what has come on most since the test.”

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) was another who had an up and down day; his time in Free Practice 1 good enough for fourth overall but a crash and a technical issue in the morning session hampered the Spanish rider. Bautista did leave the pit lane during Free Practice 2 but did not set a lap time; instead doing out and in laps only.

Alvaro Bautista – P4

“This morning I felt very good on the bike right from the start. It’s true that we have tested here a few times, so we have a lot of references for this layout and a clear direction with the setup, but it is still good to have been able to ride strongly straight away. We just made some little adjustments in order to be consistently fast and then towards the end I suffered a small crash, but with no consequences. After that we had an issue with the engine which we are now checking. Being at a good point with the bike’s setup, this afternoon we wanted to focus on tyre choice but unfortunately some other issues during FP2 prevented us from executing our plan. We now have more time available to work on the bike and so we’ll use tomorrow’s FP3 for our final preparation ahead of Race 1.”

Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was classified in 11th for the day after showing some consistent pace across both sessions.

Leon Haslam – P11

“This morning was disappointing as we were only able to complete three or four fast laps because we had some small problems. But honestly the times came quite easily considering the limited number of laps made. In the afternoon session we were able to match our earlier lap times despite the hotter conditions. We didn’t do everything we had planned but it was good to get some laps under our belt, especially in those warmer conditions. We had a small crash right at the end, but it was nothing major and I’m looking forward to continuing our work tomorrow, in what should be cooler conditions.”

Tom Sykes (BMW) started the weekend with a new contract for 2021 and showed why the BMW outfit has kept him for next year with fifth overall in the standings despite a technical issue in Free Practice 1.

Tom Sykes – P5

“I am very happy and relaxed. We came here knowing already we had lost two days off track time to our competitors from the test, but I have the experience and spun a lot of laps here. Unfortunately, we had a few setbacks today which lost us a lot of time in Free Practice, but the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team have responded accordingly, we were still able to get through a lot of information for tomorrow. So overall I am happy with the way day 1 finished and I am looking forward to Superpole and Race 1 tomorrow.”

Team-mate Eugene Laverty was down in 16th place, around 1.5 seconds off Davies’ pace after learning that he will lose his seat next year.

Eugene Laverty – P16

“Overall P16 this morning, I was pretty slow as I didn’t go for the fresh tyre in FP1 but the temperatures were hotter which means the tyre didn’t work as well. We did finish in P10 in FP2 which showed some signs of progress. We have been playing a little bit of catch up as the other guys have had a test here last week. Strangely I have been struggling with the feeling in the front, it kept closing a lot in final breaking so the key for tomorrow is to work on that and gain some confidence in that area. Portimao was good step forward for me in qualifying however I was still on that third row, my aim is to get up onto the second row. We have some work to do if we want to get there but being on those two rows gives you a chance to go with the boys at the front come the race.”

Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) was the fastest Yamaha rider in the field with sixth place overall, less than half a second away from the top time. Baz, who stood on the podium for the first time in six years in WorldSBK at Portimao, beat both factory Yamaha riders Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) and team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu; the pair classified ninth and tenth respectively.

Michael van der Mark – P9

“We had a good test here but the bike feels a bit different than it did then, so we have worked to tweak the set-up a little bit. I think if you look back at today’s results, the position isn’t really an indication of where we are – our pace is really good and the feeling on the bike is too, so we just have to get everything together. The race pace is solid, so I’m not really worried about that, just some small things to find some extra grip and overall performance – then we are ready.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P10

“Today was not a bad start, we tried to find more grip with the bike because it is very important for this track and for the rear tyre life, and we want to fight for the win. Now we are ready with a good set-up and tomorrow morning we will try again to make another step forward. We will see if it is possible to fight for victory in Race 1. It’s not an easy track but I feel we are improving step-by-step.”

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) finished just outside the top ten with 12th overall after the two practice sessions, with the American rider showing his potential at points throughout the sessions but unable to break into the top ten. His GRT Yamaha teammate, Federico Caricasulo, was classified in 14th place with Maximilian Scheib (Orelac Kawasaki) separating the two Yamaha riders.

Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti) finished the day in 15th place, the first rider whose lap time was below the 1’52 mark. He was just over a tenth fastest than Marco Melandri (Barni Ducati) in 17th with Roman Ramos (OutDo Kawasaki) finishing 18th on his return to WorldSBK action.

Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance), and Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) were 19th and 20th respectively, just ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing); Ponsson having a crash at Turn 16 during Free Practice 2. MIE Racing Althea Honda Team duo Takumi Takahashi and Lorenzo Gabellini completed the standings after Friday’s running.

WorldSBK Friday Combined Times

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World Supersport

FIM Supersport World Championship action continued on Friday and there was a familiar name at the top of the timesheets as Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Yamaha) topped the day’s running after two Free Practice sessions. The WorldSSP rookie’s time of 1’54.308, set in Free Practice 2, was enough to top the timesheets.

Locatelli was not the only rider to improve in the second practice session with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) also making a step forward in terms of lap time as he finished second overall, but almost seven tenths down on Locatelli’s time. The Frenchman will be hoping he can challenge Locatelli in Tissot Superpole and both races as he did in the early stages of racing in Portimao. Cluzel’s teammate, Corentin Perolari, finished the day in tenth place.

Hannes Soomer’s (Kallio Racing) continued to show impressive pace on Friday and finished the day classified in third place; his time of 1’55.149 from Free Practice 1 enough to be third overall. Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) also showed strong pace with fourth overall as the team look to mount a challenge at the top of the field.

Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the day in fifth place as he was ahead of Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse); the sole MV representative in the top 10 with his time of 1’55.774, the Italian looking to continue his form after picking up his first podium of the season in Portimao. Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) was seventh overall, just ahead of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in eighth.

Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) finished in ninth after both practice sessions; Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) ending up just outside the top ten in 11th. Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) finished in 12th overall for the day with Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) in 13th.

Alejandro Ruiz Carranza (EMPERADOR Racing Team) finished the day in 14th place; as the highest place WorldSSP Challenge rider, finishing just ahead of Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing). Turkish sensation Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) finished in 16th place while Aussie newcomer Lachlan Epis showed signs of improvement and made his way to P19 just ahead of Maria Herrera despite missing almost all of FP2 with more mechanical problems.

WorldSSP Friday Times

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WorldSSP300

As FIM Supersport 300 World Championship action got underway for the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round, it was Hugo de Cancellis (Trasimeno Yamaha) who topped the timesheets at MotorLand Aragon; but with little to separate the top six as the competitive Championship continued to show how unpredictable it is.

De Cancellis’ time of 2’07.623 was set in the morning Free Practice 1 session when track temperatures were lower; the French rider looking to assert his authority early on in the weekend. He was just ahead of Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki) with just 0.012s separating the top two; both de Cancellis and Deroue edging away from Deroue’s MTM Kawasaki teammate Jeffrey Buis; the Dutchman almost two tenths behind his team-mate.

2018 Champion Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec ) finished the day in fourth place, around three tenths off the pace of de Cancellis, with Jerez race winner Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS) in fifth place. It showed how competitive the Championship is with so many riders separated by not a lot and this continued with Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) in sixth place, also three tenths off the fastest time of the day.

Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) was classified in seventh place on combined times, around half a second back from de Cancellis, with Tom Bercot (ProGP Racing), Australia’s Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) rounding out the top ten. There were just six-tenths separating the top ten as everyone looked to show their pace ahead of two races at the Aragon Round.

Oliver König (MOVISIO by Freudenberg Jr Team) was classified in 11th place, ahead of Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing), Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT), Alfonso Coppola (Kawasaki GP Project) and Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) completing the top 15; the top 15 within a second of the fastest lap of the day.

Tom Bramich placed 41st on combined times on the Carl Cox RT Motorsports Kawasaki in what is a 52-rider field.

There were incidents throughout the afternoon for Matyas Cervenka (Smrz Racing – Willi Race), Gabrielle Mastroluca (GP Project) and Sylvain Markarian (Yamaha MS Racing), with the three classified in 48th, 33rd and 16th respectively.

WorldSSP300 Group A and B Friday Times

Source: MCNews.com.au

Two rounds at Aragon over two weeks

WorldSBK riders return to the track after a short summer break this weekend for the second seasonal double-header of the Motul FIM World Superbike Championship that will start with round four of the calendar, on the Spanish track of MotorLand Aragón. They will then reconvene the following weekend for the fifth round of what is expected to be an eight-round series this year.

The Spanish MotorLand Aragón circuit has historically rather aggressive asphalt, especially harsh towards the rear tyres; in fact, the surface has a rather pronounced roughness that could cause tyre wear problems. In addition, the sand that is sometimes carried by the wind and deposited on the asphalt can cause loss of grip and drifts towards the centre of the corners. The front tyres, in addition to the wear caused by the aggressiveness of the asphalt, are also called to withstand violent braking at the end of the straight opposite the pits and the steep slopes, which cause high loading on the front end.

A slender four-point margin at the top of the Championship standings sees Jonathan Rea (KRT) holding off Scott Redding (Aruba Ducati), but with the last four wins at Aragon going to Ducati, it could all change this weekend.

Three wins at the Aragon circuit and coming off the back of the first hat-trick of the season, Jonathan Rea aims to continue his success and build on his Championship lead. The fourth Championship leader in just three rounds, Rea’s dominant triple at Portimao means he brings with him confidence, something that’ll be crucial in the back-to-back events.

Jonathan Rea

“I am excited to go to Aragon especially as we have done a lot a lot of riding in the last few weeks, at Jerez, Portimao and then the recent Aragon test, so I feel really good on the bike. That test was an opportunity to ride the circuit in hot summer conditions. We have not done that in a number of years, because we use it as a winter test track. The bike was working really well in the heat, which confirmed our new base setting. Looking to this weekend itself the temperatures could be cooler than we had at the test – maybe in the mid-twenties on raceday – which will be nicer on the body but may throw us a curve ball. So, we need to make sure we are prepared on Friday to get a set-up that is user friendly, fast and consistent. The target will be to win races.”

KRT on a whole had an extremely positive test too, as Rea’s team-mate Alex Lowes topped the overall timesheets at the end of day two. Fourth in the standings, he wants to reassert himself and get a first podium since his Race 2 win at Phillip Island; he took his first Aragon rostrum in 2019 for Yamaha.

Alex Lowes

“We had a test at Motorland recently and I am looking forward to the races even more now. At the recent Portimao race, and a little bit in Jerez, due to the vast differences in track temperature compared to the winter, it was almost like learning things again on the Friday. With a race on Saturday you are almost straight into it. So for this round I am looking forward to continuing on the hard work from the Aragon test. We had a good feeling with the bike and the target for me is to get back on the podium with the Ninja ZX-10RR. Motorland is a track I really enjoy and I cannot wait to get out there again.”

Dominant. Dazzling. Ducati. A mighty record at MotorLand Aragon since 2015 means that the Bologna manufacturer are the squad to beat. Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati) is sixth in the standings, but he’s got five Aragon wins for Ducati and two more victories from 2013 with BMW. Ducati also won the three races at Aragon in 2019 with Alvaro Bautista and now, another ex-MotoGP star is onboard the Panigale V4 R in Scott Redding. The rookie had a tricky Portimao and relinquished the lead in the title race. Four points split him and Rea and with Aragon welcoming the two heavyweights for thrilling action, could we see the first head-to-head battle between them?

Chaz Davies

“I’m excited to go back to racing also because we will have two consecutive race weekends on the same circuit where we have got important results. That’s why our expectations are great. The competition is stiff and it will not be easy to repeat those result but we will go on track with all the confidence and the potential to fight for the podium in every race“.

Scott Redding

“They will be two very important race weekends in Aragon. The test we did two weeks ago allowed us to make improvements on the bike that will help me during the race and for this I am very happy. It will be important to find the right feeling from the very first laps to be competitive throughout the weekend. I can’t wait to get on track“.

Whatever happens, you can be guaranteed that Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) will be in the fight. The Turkish star suffered his first crash of the season at Portimao in Race 2 but remounted to finish eighth, whilst he was only seventh at the Aragon test after trying new items. It could be a tough round for the 23-year-old, but he’ll be up for the challenge regardless. Team-mate Michael van der Mark lies fifth in the standings, two places and 21 points behind him. An upturn in form has seen the Dutchman on three of the last five podiums and Aragon, whilst not his or Yamaha’s best track, could see the return of van der Mark to the top.

Seventh in the standings is Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), with him and the Honda effort enjoying recent rounds and starting to make an impression towards the front of the field. A best result of the season in fifth in Race 2 at Portimao sets the Spaniard up for great things at a track he dominated at last year. Coming off the back of a strong MotorLand Aragon test, Bautista could be in line for a first podium of 2020. Team-mate Leon Haslam has never won at Aragon, but he was on pole in 2015; will he be able to challenge at the front of the grid this weekend, and push towards the rostrum places? Both Hondas are making steps and back-to-back rounds at one circuit will be just what they need.

Alvaro Bautista

“We collected a lot of data during the latest test we completed at Aragón after the Portimão round, and so we have some ideas for the upcoming races. It will be a tough double-header of course, particularly physically, with similarly hot conditions to Jerez and Portimão, but we must be ready to work hard all the same. Our target is clear, or rather to keep improving the feeling with the bike and our performance on the bike. The results will come if we continue to take steps forward. This bike feels increasingly like “my” bike and I’m looking forward to the next rounds.”

Leon Haslam

“I’m looking forward to the weekends in Aragón. It’s probably the best opportunity we have, because we’ve already tested there twice and so we understand what’s required. So hopefully we can go into the weekend focusing more on fine tuning, rather than testing big things. Our pace in testing was quite good, though we still need to work on some details in the hotter conditions. But I’d say it’s one of our best chances to be fighting for the top spots.”

BMW were absent from the MotorLand Aragon test but return to the place where they achieved a first front row since their factory comeback in 2019. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is only tenth in the Championship and did the double at Aragon back in 2014, whilst Eugene Laverty is down in 14th overall, but picked up a first top ten of the season in Portugal. Both Tom and Eugene have been missing a bit of pace during the race but with both riders experienced at Aragon, they’ll be hoping to make progress and challenge for their first top five finishes of the 2020 season. Sykes recently extended his contract with BMW (Link) and will race for the German brand again in 2021, where his team-mate next season will be Michael van der Mark.

Tom Sykes

“I am very much looking forward to the double-header in Aragón. We are continuing a string of races in very hot conditions and in the Spanish climate. Obviously we have done some preparation for this, but we have some work to catch up with our opposition. I do believe we have some areas on the circuit where the chassis of the BMW S 1000 RR can be very good. So we will continue our work on Friday where we left off in Portugal and I believe we can go there, keep working in the way that we have been doing recently, and get the best result we can. For now, we still have areas to work on and that’s where we will continue in this upcoming event.”

Eugene Laverty

“I’m looking forward to this double header at Aragón. I’ve watched both F1 and MotoGP races at the same track on consecutive weekends lately and it’s been interesting to see many drivers and riders improve on their second visit. With this being my first time riding the BMW S 1000 RR at the Aragón circuit I expect to make strides forward over the course of the two weekends. Last time out at Portimão I really felt that we had a great bike for Sunday but unfortunately I crashed early in both races, one my own doing and the other not. The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team has done a fantastic job bringing the bike forward over the past few rounds as we’ve worked to resolve our weakness in the slow 1st and 2nd gear corners. We’re only going to get stronger from here on in.”

Leading the Independent teams to Alcañiz is Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) with eighth overall. He was back on the podium at Portimao after six years away but another Race 2 crash means he comes to Aragon slightly on the backfoot, especially given that he and the Ten Kate squad haven’t visited with Yamaha machinery. A point behind is the in-form Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven), who made his WorldSBK debut at Aragon. The Italian is in the best form of his career, with the last four results being in the top eight – including two top five finishes. The next Independent is America’s Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), racing for the first time at Aragon, having tested there before.

Gerloff’s team-mate Federico Caricasulo was on the WorldSSP podium at Aragon and comes from his WorldSBK first top ten at Portimao; they are 12th and 17th in the standings respectively. Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) was the first winner at Aragon back in 2011 and returns for more in 2020, as Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti) has happy memories there too, leading a race in 2018. Chile’s Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) is back on track and keen for points at a circuit he knows from STK1000 and Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) hopes for another top ten. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) aims to build on his first point of 2020 from Portimao and Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda) and teammate Lorenzo Gabellini seek their first points of 2020.

WorldSBK action starts at the generously appointed Motorland circuit on Friday 28 August, and as usual there will be three WorldSBK races in all. Race one, over 18 laps, takes place on Saturday 29 August, the Tissot-Superpole sprint race on Sunday morning and then finally a full distance race two, on Sunday afternoon. See below for the weekend schedule in Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Given the peculiarities of running a global motorsport series during a global pandemic the Aragon round this coming weekend will be followed just a week later after by the Teruel round, albeit at the same Motorland venue.

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 WorldSBK calendar updates

An additional round has been added to the 2020 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship. The Circuito Estoril, situated just 30km from the Portuguese capital city of Lisbon, will host the WorldSBK class, along with the FIM Supersport World Championship and the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship from the 16th – 18th of October.

The event will replace the Riviera di Rimini Round at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” as the season-ending round and will be the first time in WorldSBK history that two rounds will be held in Portugal. The track has been on the WorldSBK calendar in the past: the first year of the Championship in 1988 and in 1993, the most recent occasion. The Estoril round has not yet decided about the presence of fans and on-site external media, but a decision will made at a more relevant time, in accordance to the protocols of the moment.

Estoril has a rich history in motorcycle racing and from 2000 to 2012, held the Portuguese Grand Prix in MotoGP. In recent years, it has hosted the FIM CEV Repsol Junior World Championship and for 2020, will see a return to World Championship status with the arrival of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Estoril has previously been on the WorldSBK calendar in the past: the first year of the Championship in 1988 and in 1993, the most recent. The Estoril round has not yet decided about the presence of fans and on-site external media, but a decision will made at a more relevant time, in accordance to the protocols of the moment.

Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK Executive Director

“The addition of a second round in Portugal on the calendar is very important for the growth of WorldSBK in the Iberian Peninsula and specifically Portugal. It will add a challenge to a lot of the paddock as most haven’t visited this track, bringing an extra dynamic to the Championship as the season readies for a spectacular round at this returning venue. I would like to thank the FIM and the circuit for their cooperation and desire to be part of the 2020 calendar.

“We tried very, very hard to bring WorldSBK action to Italy in 2020. A rescheduled date was pending but finally, the decision was not taken lightly to cancel the round for this year. However, the new agreement of three more years of WorldSBK racing at Misano will commence next season and it will be a privilege to step back into the grounds of a track that has a unique atmosphere like no other. The venue has so much history in motorcycle racing and is one of the most passionate places we visit in WorldSBK, and securing this until at least 2023 promises to be a positive step back to normality for all involved.”

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of all parties involved, the Riviera di Rimini Round of the 2020 Championship at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” has been cancelled. 2020 was the final year of the current contract and despite the cancellation, a new three-year deal has been secured to bring the fastest production-based Championship in the world to the Adriatic Coast again. 2021 will mark the 30th year of WorldSBK’s presence at the track, with it being on the calendar in all but two years of racing.

2020 WorldSBK Calendar

1. March 1 – Phillip Island
2. August 2 – Jerez
3. August 9 – Portimao
4. August 30 – Aragon
5. September 6 – Aragon
6. September 20 – Catalunya
7. October 4 – Magny-Cours
8. October 18 – Estoril

Source: MCNews.com.au

WorldSBK Aragon Test

After the restart of the 2020 WorldSBK season with the two rounds recently held in Jerez (Spain) and Portimao (Portugal), many WorldSBK riders this week visitied the Motorland circuit of Aragon (Spain) for two-days testing in view of the double round that will take place on the same circuit across the two consecutive weekends between late August and early September.

Hot and sunny weather made way for drops of rain as the second of two days of testing came to an end on Friday, with Britain’s Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) topping the second day of running. Lowes was the only rider to lap the 5.344km MotorLand Aragon circuit under 1’50s, showing promise before Motul FIM Superbike World Championship heads for two Rounds at the circuit.

Alex Lowes – P1

“Today was good because like I said yesterday we learned a lot and put all the pieces together. Even on the first day I felt a little bit better in the hotter conditions than I did at Jerez or Portimao. The front of the bike felt a lot better. I had a lot more confidence on the brakes to turn the bike and this was really encouraging for me. On the rear of the bike, right at the end of the day we made some changes. Unfortunately, because of the rain that finally arrived we could not quite confirm if this was better or worse. We will have to focus on this on the Friday when we come here for the first race weekend. But today was very positive for us.”

Marcel Duinker – Crew Chief for Alex Lowes

“We had some difficult races in Jerez and Portimao. Through winter testing in Phillip Island we had a nice track condition, a lot of grip available but in the last two hot races at Jerez and Portimao we had some difficulties in more slippery track conditions. So the target of this Motorland test was to improve mainly in this area. We did a good amount of laps and followed our test programme. In the end we reached our target. I have got a rider with a smile on his face so we are ready for the Aragon race weekend.”

Rea made it two Kawasakis in the top three as he lapped nearly four-tenths slower than his KRT team-mate, with Rea not working on anything new but looking for an improved setup for the ZX-10RR.

Jonathan Rea – P3

“It has been a really positive two days, first to come here and do a lot of jobs that we would have to do in the race weekend – like understand the tyre options, defining the base set-up and also working on tyre set-up. I feel we are quite sure of our base set-up now to start on Friday morning of the first race weekend. We are also just familiarising ourselves with this track. We had some new chassis items here, to try and get some more front confidence. We still need to confirm them in the winter tests, as that work was more about 2021. All in all, we worked with everything we wanted to test and I felt good with the track straightaway. I understood the bike and we worked in a good way. Our effort was very constant, my lap times were constant and I feel we can leave here in a positive frame of mind.”

Pere Riba – Crew Chief for Jonathan Rea

“After the Covid situation, a long break, the championship changes, and then the recent races being held in a really hot conditions, the approach was a bit different here. Already in Jerez the bike was working well and we made a different balance to save the tyres in hot conditions. We kept this base and this bike balance and we just tried to give time to the rider to understand the limits. Afterwards, we can improve the weak points with this base bike. Motorland is one of the tracks with a long straight and normally it has been a track not so easy for our package, especially in the last sector. But this Motorland test has been positive and the focus was to find turning with our base bike for the starting point of race weekend. We will have two consecutive weekends here, so six races, and I think this will mark the result of the championship a lot. I am very proud of the job everyone did at this test. We also tried to improve the electronics and suspension and to continue to collect information for the future. It has all been very positive.”

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) was Lowes’ closest challenger on day two, with the Dutchman lapping almost three-tenths slower than Lowes.

Michael van der Mark – P2

“The main objective was to find the right set-up with the track temperature. On the first day, we tried a lot of different things on the bike and we had plenty of data to look through ahead of Friday. We had a really positive second day and I was much more comfortable on the bike. We tried many changes, which we never would be able to do on a race weekend. The team managed to find a good set-up for the front of the bike that worked well with the rear, so I was really happy. We also found improvements for the warmer conditions and I was able to be more consistent. A really positive test overall.”

Turkish sensation Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) was seventh fastest following day two running, just over a second away from Lowes’ pace setting time, with Razgatlioglu attempting to improve rear grip on the YZF-R1.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P7

“We had a good start to testing, trying many parts and in the afternoon the bike felt much better. I had more rear grip, which we had targeted as an area to focus on, so overall it was a good first day. We continued to test a number of things on Friday, focusing again on the rear grip throughout the day. This is very important for the Aragón races. We didn’t have a chance to put the qualifying tyre on this afternoon, so didn’t get to go for a fast lap. Overall, we are happy and I’m looking forward to the next race.”

Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Team Principal

“These two days in Aragón have been very useful and important, despite the extended, tough schedule for all the crew. We were able to clarify the advantages of some development parts previously introduced in the Barcelona test and to further understand how we could use the strong points of these components, while avoiding compromises elsewhere. Of course, with two back-to-back race events coming up at this circuit, we also had to work on specific track set-up and make sure we can compete strongly in a couple of weeks on our return to Aragón. Thanks to all the team and to Yamaha’s engineers – it has not been easy adding this test to the Jerez and Portimão races, but everybody has shown full commitment and we have been able to make some definitive steps forward.”

Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was the sole Honda rider present on day two with the British rider finishing the day in fourth place. Haslam, and Honda, have been evaluating new items for the bike throughout races since racing resumed, but with the MotorLand Aragon allowing to test and evaluate in a calmer way with more track time available. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) did not test on day two having taken part on day one, with Haslam riding over the two days.

Leon Haslam – P4

“As this is a new project, we’ve been trying to develop and test during race weekends which isn’t easy of course. So we’ve worked on many things across the Jerez and Portimão weekends where, like here, it was cooler in the morning and then very hot in the afternoon, but the difference is that here we’ve been able to test things more calmly and make clearer evaluations as to where we are right now and where we need to work. I think we’ve had a very productive two days here, and I’m pleased with what we’ve got done and my overall performance, particularly in terms of my pace on day two.”

Alvaro Bautista

“This test has been useful as we finally had chance to test a few items that HRC had already brought to the last rounds but that we didn’t have time to try there. Having completed our work programs on day one, we did not ride on day 2 to keep the extra test day in case we need it further down the line. We collected a lot more data and now have clearer ideas ahead of the Aragón races. They are going to be tough, and hot just like Jerez and Portimão, but our goal is simple – to improve both our feeling with the bike and our performance. The target is to continue to take steps forward while also closing the gap to the leaders. I feel increasingly comfortable on the bike and am looking forward to improving further in the next races.”

Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and Ducati team-mate Chaz Davies were fifth and sixth respectively. British rookie Redding was focusing on improvements in the braking area as it’s an area Redding believes Kawasaki and Yamaha are strong, after spending day one working on grip and the front end; Redding completing the most laps during day two with 67. Davies continued to focus on race pace as he looks to improve his already good record at Aragon.

Scott Redding – P5

“It has been a productive two days. We have been concentrating a lot on working with used tyres in the sigh of the next two weekends here at Aragon and we have been able to make some good progress since the first day of testing. We didn’t try the qualifying tyres but it wasn’t important. Now we will enjoy a few days off to return to Aragon in ideal conditions“.

Chaz Davies – P6

“I’m satisfied for these two days of testing also because after the two races at Jerez and Portimao we had the chance to test solutions that are part of our development program. We had positive indications on many aspects while for other details we will have to work in the next few days to understand how to improve further. The feeling, however, was positive“.

Roman Ramos claimed top Independent honours during the test as he lapped around 0.6s seconds slower than Razgatlioglu as the Spanish rider tested a race engine, having used a test engine on day one. He was faster than Maximilian Schieb (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) with the Chilean focusing on long-run pace and tyre management to improve feeling throughout the second half of the races. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) rounded out the field of all-day runners with the Frenchman working on the front end to give him more confidence onboard his Ducati Panigale V4 R, with Barrier believing they need to make a small step forward.

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WorldSBK Aragon Test Top Six

1. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’49.807
2. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +0.286s
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.389s
4. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) +0.442s
5. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.528s
6. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.702s

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Aragon Records

• Pole Record 1’49.049 (167,61 Km/h) A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R, 2019)
• Race Record 1’49.755 (166,53 Km/h) A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R, 2019 RC1)
• All Time Record 1’49.049 (167,61 Km/h) A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R, 2019)
• 2019 Race 1 Winner A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R)
• 2019 Superpole Race Winner A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R)
• 2019 Race 2 Winner A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R)

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2020 WorldSBK calendar

1. March 1 – Phillip Island, Australia
2. August 2 – Jerez, Spain (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
3. August 9 – Portimao, Portugal (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
4. August 30 – Aragon, Spain (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
5. September 6 – Aragon, Spain (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
6. September 20 – Catalunya, Spain (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
7. October 4 – Magny-Cours, France (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
8. November 8 – Misano, Italy (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)

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WorldSBK Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

WorldSBK reduced to eight rounds

The Argentinean Round of the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has been postponed until 2021. The round was originally scheduled for the 9th – 11th of October and was to enter its third year of WorldSBK action. With their contract to host a round lasting for three years, the round will take place as part of the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and therefore will be able to host the Argentine audience for the third season, a year later than originally planned, with a date still yet to be confirmed.

All parties involved examined and evaluated every possible scenario to make sure the event went ahead as planned. However, given the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent health and safety concerns, travel restrictions and logistical challenges, the solution is to postpone the event until 2021. With the Argentinean Round at the Circuito San Juan Villicum originally signed up for three seasons starting back in 2018, the 2020 event – whilst not going ahead – will be transferred to form part of the 2021 WorldSBK Calendar. The round has been a great success and has been history-making for many reasons, with 2021 scheduled to be no different.

Orlando Terranova – CEO of Grupo OSD

“We are very sorry to postpone the third event to next year. However, we are committed to actions aimed at being able to live with COVID-19 by lowering the risks. We understand that the economic impact of the event in the hotel industry, suppliers and regional economies was always great and therefore we hope that next year we can work to help with the movement of the provincial economy. We take this opportunity to thank the support and teamwork with the Governor of the Province of San Juan, Mr. Sergio Uñac, the Secretary of State for Sports of the Government of San Juan, Mr. Jorge Chica and all the authorities of the province that make the event possible. What remains for the future is to wait for the world to find a vaccine in order for us to define a calendar for 2021, which will surely be a different date from the one scheduled so far, but will be in the aim to protect the care of all spectators, athletes, organisation and the people of San Juan.”

Updated 2020 WorldSBK calendar

1. March 1 – Phillip Island, Australia
2. August 2 – Jerez, Spain (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
3. August 9 – Portimao, Portugal (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
4. August 30 – Aragon, Spain (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
5. September 6 – Aragon, Spain (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
6. September 20 – Catalunya, Spain (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
7. October 4 – Magny-Cours, France (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)
8. November 8 – Misano, Italy (WSBK-WSSP-WSSP300)

WorldSBK Championship Standings

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WorldSSP

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 WorldSBK Round Three – Portimao

The Motul FIM Superbike World Championship standings have a new leader in 2020 following Race 2 at the Motul Portuguese Round as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) moved to the top of the standings following his third race win in 2020 at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

After taking victory in the earlier Superpole Sprint race, Rea initially faced a challenge from Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) in the final encounter of the weekend. Toprak came up the inside at Turn 1, but Rea swept around the outside of both Razgatlioglu and Baz to keep the lead and pulled out a gap to claim a dominant victory; moving to the top of the Championship by four points.

Scott Redding (Aruba Ducati) claimed a stunning second place after making up three places from his starting position, the British rider ensuring Rea could not pull too far away in the Championship standings, having an almost race-long battle with Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha); the Dutch rider finishing the 20-lap race in third place.

Redding’s Ducati team-mate, Chaz Davies claimed a fourth place finish as he fought his way through the field, finishing two seconds clear of Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) as the Spanish rider secured his best finish of the 2020 season; battling his way through the field to secure a top five finish. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven) claimed a sixth place finish after showing another solid performance as he continued his impressive recent form.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad) secured a seventh placed finish for BMW, two seconds back from Rinaldi but almost 12 seconds clear of the recovering Razgatlioglu in eighth; the Turkish sensation battling back from a crash at Turn 5 to claim a points finish. He battled with Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha) in the latter stages of the race, taking advantage of the Italian running wide at Turn 5 with just a couple of laps to go.

Leandro “Tati” Mercado (Motocorsa Kawasaki) secured his best result of 2020 with 10th place, holding off a challenge from American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) who finished 11th. Gerloff had an incident with five laps to go with Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti) with the pair coming together at Turn 2; Fores having to retire from the race while Gerloff could continue.

Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad) bounced back from a Turn 5 crash to claim points with 12th place, while Leon Haslam (Team HRC) finished 13th; also after a fall at Turn 5.

Marco Melandri (Barni Ducati) finished in 14th place with Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) in 15th; Frenchman Barrier securing his best result of 2020 as he picked up the final point available in Race 2.

Baz was forced to retire after a high-speed crash at Turn 15 in the early stages of the race while Maximilian Scheib (Orelac Kawasaki) retired from the race following an incident on Lap 2. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) joined the list of fallers at the Turn 5 hairpin as he came off his bike on Lap 7, remounting the bike but bringing it back to the pitlane to end his race early.

Rea taking the Championship lead means there have now been four different Championship leaders after Razgatlioglu, Lowes and Redding.

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WorldSBK Quotes

Jonathan Rea

“That was a perfect weekend. The fastest laps, pole position and three race wins. I do not think it was the result, but it was the way that we made the result this weekend. I could really enjoy the bike. It is strange, because sometimes fighting for a sixth place, like we did in Jerez last time, feels like I was riding 100%. Giving everything to finish sixth. This weekend I could do whatever I wanted and kept increasing the gap at the front. It is an incredible feeling as a rider. I knew Portimao was going to be a good track, and I was talking myself into a good result, but we did not come here in the winter tests so I knew it could also be a difficult weekend. I did not start well on Friday in FP1, but we were able to just work calmly together and understand the bike.”

Scott Redding

“It was a really hard weekend for us. We were kind of in damage limitation mode, I knew I could ride for the podium, but the bike wasn’t really working that well for us. I really wanted to get a podium here because I knew Jonny was going to win all three races after I saw his pace. It’s okay as you have tracks like that that suit bikes better, but it isn’t acceptable to finish fifth and then seventh is not ideal. We changed a lot of the bike and in the warm-up lap and told the team that I didn’t feel good. I felt good and could run with Jonny for quite a few laps. My target was to get a gap and then to manage because I knew I was going to suffer at the end. We managed to pull out second and I think that’s the best job we could’ve done here today.”

Michael van der Mark

“I’m really happy with this race. From the start, I stayed on a consistent pace and people were making mistakes. I kept in my rhythm, I felt quite good and I struggled a little bit with the front tyre. In the end, I was with Scott. I was fast but I wasn’t stronger, so I had to wait until he made a mistake. I went in front but again hit neutral and lost that gap, and then couldn’t pass him. We had a similar level; he was stronger in some points than I was. I’m really happy with this podium, the temperatures went up again and the bike felt good again. Massive thanks to the team because this morning I was very disappointed.”

Alex Lowes

“It was a shame in race two because I am really sad to have crashed out of that podium fight. After two fourth places it would have been really nice to finish the weekend off with a podium finish. That was not the case. I am not sure what I did wrong, really. The track was getting hot and slippy, and I just lost the front of the bike. Every weekend I am learning more, learning more about the bike, and these conditions were a little bit different again. I am going to focus on the test we have got coming at Aragon soon, improving a few areas of the bike set-up – and myself riding the bike – and I look forward to the races we will have in Aragon in a few weeks’ time. Apart from the last race it was a pretty solid weekend in Portugal.”

Chaz Davies

“The goal is always to bring home a trophy but I have to admit it was still a good race. I take this fourth place with satisfaction, especially after all the problems we had this weekend. Unfortunately, the contact with Laverty in SuperPole Race forced me to start from the fifth row and this didn’t allow me to stay with the front group. The race pace, however, was very good and for this reason, I am satisfied. Now we move to Aragon for two-days testing. It will be an important opportunity to prepare for the next six races“.

Serafino Foti (Team Manager Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“It is clear that after the strong weekend in Jerez we expected to get better results in Portimao. We experienced a lot of difficulties both Friday and Saturday and we were not able to put our riders in the best conditions to be competitive. I would like to thank our guys who, after analyzing Saturday’s race data, did a great job allowing us to improve our performance in Race 2. Our task is to continue to work with great concentration and never give up. In three days we will be at Aragon to prepare in the best possible way for the next double round at Motorland“.

Michael van der Mark

“Let’s start this morning with the Superpole Race – we thought in warm-up that we had found a good solution, but that turned out not to be the case and it was a real struggle from the start. I was so disappointed because I thought with the temperature a little lower than the normal race time that I would have a good chance to be on the podium, but I could do no better than seventh in the end. In the second race this afternoon, we made some changes again and to be honest from the start I wasn’t that quick but everybody’s pace was a lot slower than yesterday. I saw many people making mistakes and just tried to keep my own rhythm and stay calm, which was quite difficult. One-by-one, I caught some guys up and close to the end I caught Scott. I couldn’t really pass him until he made a mistake – but just after that I missed a gear and I lost the gap that I had pulled from him. After that I got right back onto his wheel, I was faster but he was stronger, I just had to wait for him to make a mistake but he didn’t. I’m happy with this podium though, and was also happy with the difference in the feeling of my R1 this afternoon compared to the first race.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“Today it was both good and bad! We started well with second place, another visit to the podium and important points in the Superpole Race.. Race 2 also started relatively well, although I had some issues with the front tyre feeling early on, I was sliding a lot. Unfortunately, I had a slow crash at Turn 5 but, luckily, didn’t damage the bike and was able to rejoin the race. In the end I managed to work my way back to eighth place and pick up valuable points for the championship, but I was disappointed because normally I could have fought for another podium finish. Now we head to Aragón for the next race and we will try to get a good position there to fight for the championship. The test next week at the same circuit will be very important to work on the tyres and a good set-up for the race.”

Paul Denning – Team Principal Pata Yamaha

“Following yesterday’s double podium, the plan was to further improve the R1s for both riders and make another step today. The Superpole Race was run at a ferocious pace at the front using the soft tyres, and Toprak was unable to quite match the pace of Rea but scored another superb second place. Mikey was disappointed with the bike balance in the Superpole Race but kept it sensible to finish seventh and it was great to see his crew make a good step in performance for Race 2 this afternoon. This improvement enabled him to close down Scott Redding and secure a third place finish that could have been even better but for a small error a few laps from the end. Toprak was unfortunately faced with no grip and a bad feeling from the first lap of Race 2, and we were lucky to be honest that his R1 was not damaged too badly when he lost the front at turn five. As a result, he was able to mount a charge back to eighth place, score some decent points and re-secure third position overall in the championship. For the Pata Yamaha team, it’s a slightly strange situation once again: four podiums in three races, beaten only by a rider who has won 12 races at this venue and clearly was the class of the field, and yet to once again feel slightly frustrated that we didn’t fully maximise our potential. Our hardworking crew travels up to Aragón for a further test in the Spanish heat on Thursday and Friday, and we’ll be looking to further improve the performance ready for the double-header.”

Loris Baz

“I am really happy with the podium! We made big changes to the electronics compared to yesterday in a completely different direction. It was a lot better. I moved up to third and held onto it until the end. It’s a huge relief! It’s been difficult for quite a while and it feels good to finish on the podium. It is my first podium since 2014, my first podium since my return to WorldSBK, the first podium for team Ten Kate since 2016 and the first podium for the team with a Yamaha. A lot of “first times” which feels good… I am really happy and would like to dedicate this result to all the people that have believed in me since I came back to WorldSBK as well as those who had doubts about my ability to go fast. The second race was strange. I crashed on the first lap in the fastest corner of the circuit. Luckily, I did not hurt myself. I am a bit bruised everywhere but for a crash at 200 km/h I am ok. There were many crashes and the pace was slower.. I think there was less grip… I am sorry to the team to finish off like this but we got our first podium under our belts and that’s what we need to remember. We will try to get a few more in Aragon.”

Tom Sykes

“It’s been one of those weekends. We definitely had some limitations, mainly on straight-line performance but we just kept working hard. The whole of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team had a good plan, we tried to utilise what we had available to our best advantage so having said that, in some areas we were very close to where we needed to be. I do believe there are positives to take, I think everyone has seen I have been struggling on engine performance. Especially off the start going into first, second and third gear I lose a lot of track position, but hopefully this is something we can address in the short term but for now we have to be pleased with what we are getting out of the chassis. I have enjoyed the races today. The track was testing and a lot of people over-stepped the mark and to be honest to come away sixth, seventh and eighth is not what my CV is happy with, but it’s all about building those blocks and getting into the next phase of the programme.”

Eugene Laverty

“To hit the deck in both races today was devastating. In the Superpole race, I got caught up in the Chaz Davies crash. Chaz tried to overtake me and took me out so it’s a case of wrong place at the wrong time. In the final race, I made a great start, gaining six positions and I was going for it from the start but unfortunately I lost the front in T5. I remounted to try get back some positions and after a few laps I understood why I crashed. It was because the track conditions today were a lot greasier than the rest of the weekend. I wasn’t cautious enough, I was on the attack from the get go and ultimately it cost me. I regained positions to get twelfth place which is the least I could do for the team after having such a tough weekend.”

Shaun Muir – BMW Team Principal

“The sprint race turned out to be a good race for Tom; he rode pretty hard and I’m pleased he could get up into sixth position. It was probably the best race he has had in a while, so I am happy about that. Eugene unfortunately got taken out by another rider which summarises his weekend really; when he finds momentum, he gets taken out. Despite that he picked up 10th position on the grid for race two and made a reasonably good start, obviously desperate to get himself further up the field but unfortunately ran hot into T5 and lost the front, but managing to re-join the race and claw points back for 12th. Tom got off the line well for race two but got swallowed up into T1 dropping down to P13. He did well to battle through the field and with riders dropping out it promoted him up, but I think with the deficit on horsepower it really shows it up. Again, with that replaced I think we can be fighting for regular podiums and we know that. The bike is handing beautifully, it corners well, it brakes well and the electronics work good. We could just do with that extra bit of grunt and top speed to make this bike potentially a race winning package. I’d just like to add a huge thank you to all of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team staff; it has been a difficult two weeks on the road from Jerez last week, to Portimão this week and the work our team has put has been second to none. The guys will now have a well-earned break before heading into the back to back rounds four and five at Aragon in a fortnights’ time where we will be recharged and giving it our all.”

Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director

“In general, it was a pretty satisfying day. We achieved that we can show a more stable performance over race distance. This morning, starting from fourth on the grid, Tom claimed a well-deserved sixth place in a tough battle. That was satisfying and showed the chances for the second race. Tom had a good start, but then he struggled in the first corners, especially corner five, and lost a few seconds. Due to a few opponents’ falls, he slipped up to seventh place. After the first laps, his pace was between position four and seventh and was again stable, even if we had the same problem with the engine performance as yesterday. All in all, it was a solid performance. Eugene’s day was quite unlucky. He was involved in a crash with Chaz Davies in this morning’s Superpole race. In the main race, Eugene got off to a very good start, but unfortunately fell through his own fault at the notorious turn five and was then able to fight his way up to twelfth place. We will now analyse the lap times. We have definitely made technical progress this weekend which should bring us forward in the upcoming races.”

Alvaro Bautista

“Our aim today was to try and improve on yesterday’s feeling. This morning in the Superpole race, I lost quite a lot at the start and then couldn’t make up the lost ground given the limited laps. In the second Superbike race, I started from the same position as yesterday and again found that I was having to make a lot of effort in the early stages to hold my position. The track was more slippery this afternoon and we saw a few crashes, so you have to manage the situation and adapt the best you can. I understood how much I could push, and I tried to ride according to that limit. The good thing is that we can be constant throughout the race. We are definitely taking small steps forward, and we’re happy we’re making progress of course, but we want to be further forward.”

Leon Haslam

“The sprint race was not bad over the first few laps, and it was nice to be up there in the mix, but from about mid-race we started to have some issues. We managed to just hold onto ninth to finish inside the points zone so that was better than nothing. We made some small steps in the final race of the day and things felt a little better. I was battling with Chaz for fifth but unfortunately on around lap seven or eight I had a problem and crashed. It was the first time I felt I could really fight so it was a little frustrating, but at least I was able to get back on the bike and finish the race. We have another test coming up, so we’ll be using that to try and solve some of the problems we’ve had this weekend as we prepare for the next rounds.”

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WorldSBK Race 2

WorldSBK Championship Standings

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WorldSSP

History was made at the Motul Portuguese Round as rookie Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) claimed his fifth consecutive FIM Supersport World Championship win, becoming the first rider to achieve the milestone; Locatelli claiming his second victory at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

Locatelli had to fight his way back from fourth despite starting from pole position, with both Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha), teammate Corentin Perolari and Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) all getting ahead of the Championship leader. Locatelli quickly passed Viñales and Perolari but had to fight his way past Cluzel; the pair battling for half the race before Locatelli got by on Lap 9. Cluzel completed the 17-lap race in second place with Spanish rider Viñales claiming the final podium place.

It means Locatelli extended his Championship lead even further following his record-breaking race after fighting his way through the field to claim victory, with Locatelli now 35 points clear of Cluzel at the top of the standings; more than the 25 points available for a race victory in a WorldSSP race.

Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) claimed a fourth-placed finish in Race 2 at Portimao as he got by Perolari, with the Frenchman falling back behind Philipp Oettl during the race and then Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) on the race to the line; Oetll finishing in fifth with Gonzalez pipping Perolari to sixth place by just 0.045s.

Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) closed in on the battle between Oettl, Gonzalez and Perolari as he missed out on a higher-placed finish by just one tenth of a second; the Estonian gaining almost half a second in the second half of the final lap to miss out by the barest of margins. Soomer was four seconds clear of Miquel Pons (H43 Team NOBBY), who secured a top 10 finish in a wildcard appearance in WorldSSP. Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) completed the top 10 following a battle through the field.

Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) completed the race in 11th place with Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) finishing 12; the Italian coming off his bike on Lap 11 of 17 at Turn 5 but able to re-join the race to claim a points finish, beating WorldSSP Challenge rider Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team) by just over a tenth of a second; Manfredi the highest-place WorldSSP Challenge rider. Loris Cresson (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) finished 14th with Indonesian rider Galang Pratama Hendra (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) picking up the final point from the race.

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the first faller in the race as he came down at Turn 2 on the opening lap, retiring from the race shortly after. Lachlan Epis (MPM Routz Racing Team) was not classified following a crash on the exit of Turn 3; Epis able to get up of his own accord but taken to the medical centre for a check-up. It was a somewhat strange crash and comes after a struggle with set-up that sees Epis considering a return to Australia.

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Andrea Locatelli – P1

“It’s an incredible job and we win everything! We stay calm and we worked a lot, we need to understand what the problem was in the first part of the race. For me, the track is not so easy and Jules was very fast, and for the final race we are stronger and thank you very much to the guys because every time, they do an incredible job.”

Jules Cluzel – P2

“I gave everything yesterday and today. I knew this was a circuit I’m faster than a lot of guys, especially Locatelli as well, because in practice I was feeling good with the used tyres. We are still trying to understand but more races are coming, and we still finish second. Yesterday I said to the team, and we decided to try to win. I was losing the front everywhere and losing so much time on the straight. Today, we started again but I felt like I was going to crash at every corner. I still fight and try but I understand in the end that I can’t, so I decided to concentrate on the gap to Viñales because he was riding really fast it was not easy. I am really happy with second place. We are the best of the rest, it’s a little bit disappointing because of that, but I’m racing doing what I love, and I need to enjoy these things.”

Isaac Viñales – P3

“I’m finally here on the podium. I tried hard at Jerez, but it was not possible because I had many problems. I tried yesterday and got nothing. Today, I’m on the podium and I’m very happy. Thank you to the team for all the work.”

WorldSSP Race 2

WorldSSP Championship Standings

WorldSSP300

The on-track action from the Motul Portuguese Round came to an end with a thrilling FIM Supersport 300 World Championship race with a dramatic seven-way battle for the win which was won in dramatic fashion by Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) after a Red Flag was deployed with just two laps to go.

Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) was able to get to the front of the field and had looked to be building a gap at the front. Deroue was able to close up a gap of around half-a-second to take the lead with about seven riders in contention for victory during the first eight laps of the 10-lap race. The red flag meant results were taken from the final timing point all riders crossed.

Deroue was able to hold on to the lead throughout the race despite challenges from numerous riders. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) claimed second place during the dramatic race after battling his way through from the fifth row of the grid, with Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) securing his first WorldSSP300 podium; following on from his history-making pole position from Tissot Superpole on Saturday.

Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) claimed a fourth-placed finish in Race 2 with Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300 finishing in fifth place as kept pace with the Championship leaders as he looks to mount his own challenge; with Deroue taking the Championship leader. Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) finished sixth.

Australian Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) claimed a seventh place finish despite a dramatic finish after a crash with Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300); the pair colliding at Turn 5 with Carrasco unable to return back to the pits and therefore not being classified in the race.

Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) finished in eighth place with Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) in ninth. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) completed the top 10; just two seconds off the lead.

Gleen van Straalen (EAB Ten Kate Racing) finished in 11th place, holding off Enzo De La Vega (Machado came SBK) and Oliver König (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team). Alfonso Coppola (Kawasaki GP Project) and Tom Bercot (ProGP Racing) rounded out the points paying positions with a strong 15th place finish.

The race was red flagged after an incident between Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) and Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) on the run from Turn 4. Booth-Amos almost came off his bike down the start and finish straight just moments before after clipping the rear of Okaya, but the British rider was able to continue after the incident with Okaya.

There was an incident at Turn 3 on Lap 1 as Maximilian Kappler (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) and Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) with the pair both retiring from the race before it really got going. There was also an incident between Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO) and Nick Kalinin (Battley-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki); with both riders not finishing the race although Kalinin did ride his bike back to the pits.

Australian Tom Bramich hjadn’t made it through to the Main after finishing eighth in the preceding Last Chance Race while a top six is required from promotion through to the Main.

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Scott Deroue – P1

“I’m feeling great at the moment. It was a very difficult race because in the cooler conditions we’re very fast but in the warmer conditions we are struggling a little bit. Today it was really warm, so I was struggling a little bit to be honest but, just really happy to finish first. Thanks to the team and Kawasaki.”

Unai Orradre – P2

“It was a very, very difficult race. I’m so happy because yesterday we crashed. The track is difficult for the Yamaha bike, but I fought in the first group and the position is so important. Thanks to the team because they worked a lot yesterday after the crash, thanks to Yamaha and all my sponsors.”

Yuta Okaya – P3

“I’m happy to get my first podium in this class. The race was very fast, I was at the maximum of my limits to follow Scott and Ana, but they were riding well in this race. I want to say congratulations to Scott.”

WorldSSP300 Race 2

WorldSSP300 Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 WorldSBK – Round Three – Portimao
Saturday Wrap

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed a dominant five-second victory to reassert himself in the Championship fight at Portimao overnight.

It was the perfect way to bounce back from Rea’s worst race finish in six years when he finished sixth at Jerez in Race 2 by taking a commanding victory from pole position, with no one able to match the Northern Irishman throughout the 20-lap race. Rea was initially challenged by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) but a stunning lap time on Lap 4, half a second quicker than Razgatlioglu, saw him pull away from the Turk.

Razgatlioglu finished a comfortable second, five seconds behind Rea but almost two seconds clear of his Pata Yamaha team-mate Michael van der Mark as Yamaha secured two spots on the podium; showing impressive pace in both Tissot Superpole and Race 1 to cement their status as front runners in WorldSBK.

Alex Lowes (KRT) finished in fourth place after starting the race in third, having battled his way back through the field in an epic battle with Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha), Scott Redding (Aruba Ducati) and, initially, van der Mark. While van der Mark was able to escape after passing Baz and Lowes at Turn 2 on Turn 10, the rest continued their epic battle. Van der Mark also dramatically lost pace when he had a false neutral on his bike, losing around six tenths before fighting back for a podium.

Redding had initially made his way from eighth to fight for a podium but lost pace in the latter stages in the race, as he fell back to Lowes on Lap 15 before Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven) passed him on Lap 18 at Turn 1 before Baz followed him through at Turn 3. It meant Rinaldi finished fifth, continuing his impressive recent pace, ahead of Baz as the two Independent riders claimed a top six finish. Redding finished in seventh place, just holding off the challenge from Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad); Sykes claiming a top 10 finish after starting fourth.

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) finished in ninth place after showing some late-race pace to apply the pressure to Sykes and Redding, but the Spanish rider was unable to gain enough. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad) claimed a top 10 finish as BMW scored a top 10 finish with both riders. Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati) finished in 11th place, holding off the challenge from Leon Haslam (Team HRC) by one tenth as they crossed the line.

Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti) finishing in 13th place onboard his Kawasaki, holding off a late-race challenge from Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha); the pair having a drag race to the line with Spanish rider Fores holding on by just 0.042s. Gerloff’s team-mate, Federico Caricasulo, claimed the final point paying position in the race with 15th.

Sandro Cortese (OutDo Kawasaki TPR) was the only rider who crashed during the race, as he fell on the last lap at Turn 11, but Cortese is conscious following the accident. The German was transferred to Faro hospital following the incident where he will undergo surgery to stabilize a fractured vertebrae, with Cortese currently showing no signs of neurological impairment. He also suffered from a fracture of the right tibial bone.

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Jonathan Rea – P1

“A great weekend so far. We arrived focused on the race and we knew it was going to be a hot 20 laps. The work we have been doing in the summer in the ‘pre-season’ before the restart has been really good, especially in the heat. I was able to understand the level of tyre drop and adjust my position on the bike accordingly. I really enjoyed the race because when the gap on the pit board is increasing, it is a lot of fun. Thanks to all the Kawasaki Racing Team because I think we got the best out of the Ninja ZX-10RR today. We learned a lot for tomorrow as I think this is the first time I did 20 laps in succession this weekend. Just at the end of the race there are still some things we can try to improve for tomorrow. All-in-all, a really positive day.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P2

“We tried for a win today, but it wasn’t possible as Jonny was so fast. I tried for a good position, I followed Jonny for maybe four or five laps but after that he went. I started sliding too much, so finished in second position. I’m happy and tomorrow we try a different setup for a better position.”

Michael van der Mark – P3

“I’m really happy with this podium. If I look back at the race, I was really comfortable with the bike. My bike went in neutral, so I went off track, and I had some moments at Turn 9 so it wasn’t easy. I’m happy to get back on the podium, and it’s great to have Toprak on the podium as well. I think we just need to make some small changes on the bike for tomorrow, especially when it’s warm, but I’m happy with this podium and it feels great to see some fans around the track again.”

Alex Lowes – P4

“I chose the SCX rear tyre and to be honest I do not think it was working so well in the afternoon because I had so many big slides at the start. Like all the other guys I had some problems with the front grip at the end but I felt that I could manage quite well and I kept my pace. For my first proper go in attack mode around here on the Kawasaki, I have had quite a good day and I am hoping to make some improvements for tomorrow. I was hoping I could challenge for the podium but unfortunately not. I think I can improve myself a bit and we can also improve the bike set-up, so our target is to do a bit better on Sunday.”

Scott Redding – P7

“Despite the problems in qualifying I got off to a good start and managed to get my way through the field to reach the podium positions. The feeling, though, wasn’t the best. I struggled to get the bike working in the right way throughout the race and in the last 6/7 laps things got worse. I gave my best to defend the position as long as I could. We have to work tonight to solve the problems and get in the right conditions to fight for the podium tomorrow“.

Tom Sykes – P8

“To get P4 in qualifying today, I was a little disappointed, but realistically it was not a bad thing. Initially we had a good start, but as soon as I selected 2nd and 3rd gear into T1 we lost multiple track positions. We are still giving away some deficit in terms of horsepower, but if you look at sectors 2 and 3, we are extracting a good performance of the chassis on the BMW S 1000 RR. The only downside to the race was the fact that I had to ride the bike differently. I felt in the corner entry and in mid corners that I was being held up, which is fine, however it doesn’t allow me to carry the speed onto the straights as I am not able to sling shot out of the exits. I believe If we had the same engine performance as some of the competition we could of had great potential in that race.”

Alvaro Bautista – P9

“If you look at the final result it might not be so obvious, but I feel we made a step forward with our performance compared to Jerez. I lost some ground and positions in the very first laps of the race, but once I’d passed a few riders and could lap alone, my pace was in line with that of the guys fighting for the podium. So, although the result might not reflect it, I’m happy with our performance, aside from the early stages. Of course, the race is 20 laps long, so we must improve also over the first laps. My feeling, especially in terms of front grip, was better than in Jerez anyway, so we’ll keep working to fine tune the bike without making any major changes to the setup and we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

Eugene Laverty – P10

“The team in the garage worked really hard today due to the engine problem in the morning. There was actually a big question mark if we even could get into the Superpole, so a big thanks to the team – the guys worked full gas, it was very close, but they made it in time. So the Superpole result today was the main thing after this morning and I was fine with it. Afterwards the race itself was hard, but okay for me. I lost a few positions at the start, had a good race in the middle, but lost the gap in the group in front. Tomorrow I will try to do another step and try to get the maximum out.”

Chaz Davies – P11

“It’s been a very difficult day and I must admit I’m disappointed, especially after the weekend in Jerez when feelings and results were very positive. I have had problems with the bike since the early laps and we will try to understand what happened to find a solution for tomorrow’s two races“.

Leon Haslam – P12

“We had some small problems in qualifying, although the qualifying tyre helped us to some extent. I also made a small mistake, but overall lap times were pretty close and I was only a couple of tenths from fourth I think. Unfortunately, race 1 proved to be difficult for me. Right from the start, I was struggling with some small setup issues and with the rear grip and I felt I was going backwards rather than forwards. The lap times weren’t so bad, but it was tough and so we need to make some changes for tomorrow. We’ll see what we can do.”

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Superbike Race One Results

WSBK Championship Points

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Supersport Race One

Action in the FIM Supersport World Championship resumed with Race 1 at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve as Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Yamaha) claimed victory at the Motul Portuguese Round as he equalled a record set three years ago by WorldSSP legend Kenan Sofuoglu.

Sofuoglu won four consecutive races in WorldSSP on three occasions, the most recent time coming in 2017, a record Locatelli has now equalled following an epic battle throughout the first 11 laps of the 17-lap race to claim his fourth consecutive victory in his rookie season. Locatelli had been battling with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) throughout the race and, despite pulling a gap of around one second, Cluzel was starting to come back at Locatelli.

He pulled out around half-a-second on Lap 11 to close the gap to 0.6s but while pushing hard to close the gap and apply pressure, he came off his bike at Turn 5. He was able to remount and continue the race, re-joining in sixth place. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti) was able to take advantage of Cluzel’s error to come home in second place with Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) completing the podium after a titanic three-way battle including a drag race to the line with Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) and Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing).

Perolari and Cluzel initially jumped Locatelli at the start of the race, putting Locatelli under pressure to fight back. Locatelli was able to pass both at Turn 1 on Lap 2 before the Italian battled for a few laps with Cluzel, passing him on Lap 6 before pulling out a gap. It turned out to be the race-winning move to secure his fourth consecutive win; the first time it’s been done to start a season.

Perolari finished in fourth place, jumping Viñales on the run to the line after Viñales lost out to de Rosa and Perolari; the Spanish rider initially passing de Rosa on the final lap at Turn 12, an ambitious move that looked to clinch a podium. However, both de Rosa and Perolari were able to pass him on the run down to the line. The trio were separated by just 0.018s across the line. Cluzel finished the race in sixth place following his crash.

Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti) finished the race in seventh place, having almost been in a race of his own as he finished six seconds behind Cluzel but more than one second clear of South African rider Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing). Odendaal had a titanic battle with Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) for eighth place, with the Estonian missing out by 0.096s as they raced to the line.

Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) completed the top 10 as the 2019 WorldSSP Champion continued his adaption to WorldSSP machinery, finishing 6.3s clear of Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing). Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) finished in 12th with Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge competitor with 13th overall.

Wildcard Miquel Pons (H43 Team NOBBY) finished in 14th place with Loris Cresson (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) picking up the final point. There were a number of incidents throughout the race with Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Ream), Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing), Luigi Montella (DK Motorsport), Federico Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) all failing to finish.

Australia’s Lachlan Epis kept his nose clean to cross the line in 18th place ahead of Maria Herrera.

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P1 Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)

“I have no words because it is incredible. We work very well every time, every session. Winning is our objective and we have succeeded, so far, every time. The feeling today in the race is so difficult because the wind is not so easy, and we need to understand a bit more for tomorrow. I’m confident and we’ll push hard.”

P2 Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)

“It was not an easy race with the start. There was a lot of wind and my bike is not nice in these conditions. The bike is a little bit big and it’s very difficult. Also, the track temperature was a little bit warmer compared to the Free Practice and Superpole and the bike is a little bit strange. When I saw it was not possible to be at the front, I just tried to save the position. After Jules crashed, I reduced the pace because I was a little scared that I would crash because the conditions were really difficult. It’s nice for me, it’s nice for the Championship and also for Kawasaki. Thanks to my team for all this work.”

P3 Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)

“In the race, I’m very happy because from this morning I had a good feeling but I made a mistake and started from ninth on the grid. I concentrated and tried to get a good start, stay concentrated every lap and never gave up. In the end, I got the podium and I’m very happy. I want to say thank you to my family.”

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Supersport Race One Results

Supersport Championship Points

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WorldSSP 300 Race One

FIM Supersport 300 World Championship race action returned in sensational fashion at the Motul Portuguese Round with a titanic battle for the race win between 2018 Champion Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec Racing) and Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, in a race that was shortened following a crash on the start-finish straight.

Carrasco and Buis took advantage of polesitter Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasako MOTOPORT) crashing in the early stages of the race at Turn 5 to make a break on the rest of the field. It meant Carrasco and Buis were able to pull a gap on the field, leaving them around two seconds clear as it became a two-way battle for victory. Carrasco held on for victory to claim the Championship lead ahead of Buis. Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM Racing) completed the podium after he battled his way through the field from the fifth row of the grid.

Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) missed out on the podium by just 0.006s from when the results were taken at the last completed timing point; the crash on the start and finish straight causing the red flag following Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) coming off his bike but his machine continuing down the track. Ieraci was able to get up of his own accord following the incident. Bahattin Sofuglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300) finished in fifth while Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) completed the top six.

Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) finished in seventh place despite running in the lead group during the early part of the race, a mistake meaning the Spanish rider fell back. He was able to battle his way back to seventh place, 0.024s ahead of Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) who finished in eighth and Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) in ninth. Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) completed the top 10; with just five seconds separating the top 10.

Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing) finished the shortened race in 11th place with Ukrainian rider Nick Kalinin (Battley-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) finishing in 12th place. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Ten Kate Racing), Alejandro Carrion (Smrz Racing – Willi Race) and Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) completed the points.

It was a race of attrition with a number of retirements throughout. There was a Lap 1 crash between Tomas Alonso (Team Tomas Alonso), Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO) and Tom Bercot (ProGP Racing).

Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) had a technical issue in the early stages of the race while countryman Tom Bramich didn’t quite make it to the Main after finishing eighth in the preceding Last Chance Race while a top six is required from promotion through to the Main.

Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) and Oliver König (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) collided on Lap 2 while Okaya went down on Lap 4 of the race.

P1 Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec Racing)

“I’m really happy. The race was really difficult because it was very windy. We could not match the lap times we did in Free Practice, but I tried to push from the beginning. I thought I had some more pace than the others. The race was quite easy because from the first lap, I have a gap. I think we did a really good job throughout the weekend and now it’s important to focus on tomorrow’s race. I think we have to improve a little bit but we will be there so it’s going to be good to try to fight for the victory again.”

P2 Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT)

“It was a difficult race at the beginning. I tried to follow Ana and it was okay, we made a little gap. It was a red flag that ended the race but it was a good race for me and I want to say thanks to my team and my family. Let’s go to the next race.”

P3 Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki)

“I didn’t really expect the podium so I’m pretty happy. The front two guys were on another level today. I’m happy with the result today despite making it hard for myself coming back from 13th today. It’s also a new circuit for me and it’s a little it difficult, I’ve not been here and it’s not the easiest place to learn. I’m happy to come away with third and keep aiming for the Championship as that’s the goal at the end of the year. Thanks to my team for putting a good bike out as always and Kawasaki.”

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WorldSSP 300 Race One Results

1. Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec Racing)
2. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) +0.057
3. Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) +4.123
4. Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) +4.129
5. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300 +4.394
6. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) +4.408

WorldSSP 300 Championship Points

1. Ana Carrasco (ESP) Kawasaki (54 points)
2. Tom Booth-Amos (GBR) Kawasaki (52 points)
3. Bahattin Sofuoglu (TUR) Yamaha (46 points)

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Portimao WorldSBK Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 WorldSBK

Round Three – Portimao

WorldSBK riders took on the challenges of Portimao overnight for their first two practice sessions ahead of this weekend’s third round of the championship.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) set the pace for the day; his time set in FP1 was good enough to top Friday proceedings ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). Baz topped FP2 but his time of 1’42.522 was four-tenths off Razgatlioglu’s time from the morning. Razgatlioglu’s teammate, Michael van der Mark, ended the day sixth fastest overall.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P1

“Fastest time on Friday is always a good start! I know in Jerez, for me it was a really bad start on Friday, and today I am feeling happy because the bike is incredible to ride here. We tried a different set-up and now we are ready for the race. Tyre choice will be important, because again we have hot conditions with the tyres sliding and so we will see tomorrow. Now I am feeling much better on the bike, so I will continue to ride like this, for the qualifying tyre we will change the set-up a little but the work we did today is very important for the race distance, which is my focus.”

Michael van der Mark – P6

“I’m quite happy with the bike now, and already from the start it felt quite good. We were struggling a little bit on corner entry and this morning we couldn’t really find the solution. In the afternoon, during the session we made a big change on the front of the bike and immediately I felt a lot better, I could stop the bike and this was what I was looking for from the R1. There are still some areas to improve, but to be honest my pace in the afternoon, after this morning, I was quite happy with it and the feeling of the bike means I can ride it easily and focus on the areas we have to improve.”

Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Team Principal

“It’s been a really constructive Friday, probably the best one of this “strange” season so far! Given such a strong winter test performance for Toprak at this track, there was some doubt about going back to the winter test setting or continuing with some of the development settings we’ve used in Jerez. But finally, his R1 seems well balanced and he is able to produce good lap times on new tyres or old. We worked very hard to do a 14-lap race simulation in the heat of the afternoon. Certainly compared to last weekend in Jerez, Toprak and his crew are better prepared going into Saturday. Michael also had a very positive day with second position this morning. In the afternoon he chose not to use the softer tyre option and continued to work on bike balance, which allowed us to produce more rear grip and better corner entry with used tyres. We know here in Portimão that Michael is formidable and when he finds a consistent rhythm he can run with anybody! Let’s see what tomorrow brings, but right now, the Pata Yamaha team, the riders and the R1 are looking in good shape.”

Third fastest was reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) as he made it two manufacturers in the top three, Rea missing out on second place for the day by just 0.045s to French rider Baz. Rea’s Kawasaki team-mate, Alex Lowes, finished in eighth place overall.

Jonathan Rea – P3

“Today has been interesting because there is a lot less grip on the track than there was last season when we were able to be super fast from the early laps. This race weekend it took a little bit of time for the track to get some rubber down and we were able to go faster in the afternoon, even with hotter temperatures. That means that the track is getting better and better. We have been understanding the tyre options that are available to us. I made a longer run in the second session to understand how the bike is behaving and to set-up the electronics a little bit better for the end of the race. We have our front tyre choice all set for tomorrow and there is still a question mark over which rear tyre to use. We have some more time in the morning to understand. But the bike is working well over race distance already and I am feeling a lot better than I did at Jerez. The bike is ‘talking’ to me a little bit more and I understand what is happening when the grip drops. It has been pretty positive.”

Alex Lowes – P8

“Our opening day was pretty good and I am quite happy with the bike, really. I want to improve a little bit in some of the longer, faster corners; I am just missing a little bit of position in the front with the bike set-up. But I felt quite good during my long run this afternoon and did a lot of laps at the same pace as my best lap. Obviously, it is my first time here with the Kawasaki. Because I have done so many laps here on other bikes it is quite a lot different in terms of how to ride my Ninja ZX-10RR to get the best from it, so it takes a bit of time to understand how to ride some parts of the track. I think almost all the other guys tested here in February. I found a good feeling this afternoon and I think I am quite a bit better than I was in Jerez, so that is quite positive.”

Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s impressive form continued as he finished fourth for the day, following on from his fourth-place finish at Jerez. The Italian rider was just 0.017s away from matching the time of five-time Champion Rea; Rinaldi continuing to show his rapid pace by being classified as the fastest Ducati rider.

Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was fifth place while his team-mate Chaz Davies ended  the day in 12th.

Scott Redding – P5

“It’s been a pretty good day. Maybe we struggled a bit in the FP1 where I couldn’t find my best rhythm. I was a bit worried about the gap at the end of the morning practice but in the afternoon – with the new tyre – things went much better. We still have some work to do ahead of Race 1 tomorrow but we are extremely confident“.

Chaz Davies – P12

“It’s a new challenge at a different circuit to Jerez. We have worked hard to figure out which tyres to use in tomorrow’s race. We probably didn’t go in the right direction in terms of set up this afternoon. They weren’t very productive FP2 but we will work a lot tonight to figure out how to fix some details and be ready for tomorrow“.

In seventh was Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) as he lapped around six-tenths slower than Razgatlioglu’s pace setting time. He was around four tenths quicker than Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) as the duo continue to battle it out for the one remaining BMW seat for 2021.

Tom Sykes – P7

“I really feel as a team we are starting to get a good understanding now. Its quite clear to see we are having some little issues on track, we worked hard in Jerez in the hot conditions and got very little reward from it following two technical issues. We arrived here in Portimao with another plan and I have to say I am very happy with what we have achieved from the information gathered. This afternoon when we put more of a chassis package we wanted straight away in FP2 made a big improvement. We made 3 changes in the 3 exits we made in FP2 all in preparation for tomorrow so I am looking forward to tomorrows Superpole and Race 1.”

Eugene Laverty – P10

“We learned a lot today. We didn’t make any great performances but we are managing to figure out our woes from Jerez. At the Barcelona test the bike was working really good in long distance we just didn’t have that early pace on the fresh tyre in Jerez. Now we understand what we need to do, we made some changes today to chassis angle and looked at preserving the tyre for the end of the race. The first sector we are lacking, with the new tyre we are not so strong….and I think if I stayed out on the tyre longer and longer I would get faster, which is unusual and is something we are looking in to.”

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) was the lead Honda rider on Friday as he finished the day in ninth place, around one tenth ahead of teammate Leon Haslam. Bautista had a crash at Turn 5 during Free Practice 2 but he was able to remount his Honda and continue lapping the Portimao circuit as Free Practice 2 continued.

Alvaro Bautista – P9

“Today has been a positive day I’d say. My feeling this morning was not the best but we made some small adjustments this afternoon and these gave me more confidence. I was lapping more consistently even on used tyres and despite a small crash in turn 5, I can say I’m happy with what we’ve done. Perhaps the lap times could be better, but the feeling with the bike is good and I think we can take another step tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.”

Leon Haslam – P11

“I was happy with the morning’s work. We completed the whole session with one tyre and I was in the top three or four in terms of lap times, so it was all going well. Then this afternoon things were a little tougher, firstly physically, because I’ve been suffering from an abscess on a tooth which meant I had to visit the Clinica and get some medication from the doctors. And in addition, we tried a few things during the second session that perhaps took us in the wrong direction. So the aim for tomorrow is to reset; hopefully my tooth will be better too, and we can hit the ground running.”

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) was 13th overall for the day aboard his Yamaha YZF R1 with him and teammate Federico Caricasulo completing the most laps of anyone for the day – with American rider Gerloff completing 42 and Caricasulo 45. The pair were separated by Sandro Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR), Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) and Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).

Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) finished the day in 18th place onboard his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, finishing around 0.030s faster than Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) as the Italian continued his WorldSBK comeback. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) was 20th in the combined classification, ahead of Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team), wildcard Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing) and Lorenzo Gabellini (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team).

WorldSBK Friday Combined Times

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World Supersport

Andrea Locatelli bounced back from a crash to go quickest in the second practice session with a 1’45.598. He held off the challenge from Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) who finished the day in second place. Spanish rider Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) was third overall for the day, two-tenths away from Locatelli.

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the day in fourth place to show his pace towards the front of the field, fending off Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) by just one tenth. De Rosa finished ahead of Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha); the Frenchman rounding out the top six with a time of 1’46.260.

Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) finished the day in seventh place; clinching a spot in the top 10 of the combined standings by just a tenth of a second with strong competition throughout the field. The gap between Gonzalez in seventh and Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) in eighth was just 0.024s; showing just how competitive the WorldSSP field is. Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) was in ninth with Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) completing the top 10 despite a technical issue in the latter stages of Free Practice 2.

Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) was 11th with Kevin Mandredi (Altogoo Racing Team) in 12th, the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider, just ahead of Turkish sensation Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team), Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) and Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing).

Australian newcomer Lachlan Epis was 18th quickest, 2.861-seconds from the benchmark set by Locatelli.

Dynavolt Honda duo Patrick Hobelsberger and Maria Herrera, making her return to WorldSSP, were 21st and 24th respectively, with Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) and teammate Andy Verdoïa in 22nd and 23rd respectively.

WorldSSP Friday Times

1. Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
2. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.068
3. Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) +0.202
4. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.464
5. Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.550
6. Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.662
   18. Lachlan Epis (MPM Routz Yamaha) +2.861s

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WorldSSP300

FIM Supersport World Championship’s season continued with the Championship heading to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve for Round 2 of the 2020 season, the Motul Portuguese Round. The times were topped by Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) with a time set in the first free practice session as he struck first ahead of two races this weekend.

The Dutchman’s time of 1’57.400 was enough to be fastest for the day as he denied Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) top by just 0.006s; showing just how competitive the WorldSSP300 field is throughout the grid. Deroue’s MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT teammates, Jeffrey Buis, Koen Meuffels and Yuta Okaya finished 30th, eighth and 11th respectively.

Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) finished the day in third place, just half-a-tenth behind Deroue, Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) was fourth fastest after the two practice sessions, finish about three tenths off the lead pace from Deroue; but still within range of Deroue’s pace with the competitive field. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) came home in fifth place with Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing) rounding out the top six. Everyone in the top six managed to improve their lap times in Free Practice 2, with just Deroue lapping slower compared to Free Practice 1.

Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing by Yamaha WorldSSP300) finished the day classified in seventh place, less than half a second off the pace, despite a crash in Free Practice 2, as the race winner from Jerez continued his front running pace. Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil 78 AD) was classified ninth with Championship leader Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) rounding out the top 10.

Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) finished the day in 12th place ahead of another winner from Jerez, Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing). Oliver Konig (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) was classified in 14th place after the day’s running with his teammate, Jan-Ole Jahing in 15th. The gap between Orradre and Jahing was just 0.002s; showing how close the field is in WorldSSP300.

Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO), who had shown great pace in the two Jerez races, was classified down in 20th place but within a second of the leading pace. Christian Stagne (Freuedenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) finished the day in 21st place.

Australians Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO) is in 32nd place after not setting a lap time in Free Practice 2 for some reason, while countryman Tom Bramich ranked 45th at the end of day one.

WorldSSP300 Group A and B Friday Times

1. Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT)
2. Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) +0.006
3. Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) +0.053
4. Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) +0.325
5. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) +0.343
6. Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing) +0.369
   32. Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkInGo) +1.458s
   45. Tom Bramich (CarlCox RT SKM Kawasaki) +2.198s

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Portimao WorldSBK Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 WorldSBK

Round Three – Portimao

After having successfully completed the Pirelli Spanish Round at Jerez de la Frontera two weeks WorldSBK now heads to the wonderful circuit that is Portimao in what is one of my favourite countries in Europe, Portugal.

The third round of the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship will take place from 7th to 9th August and as per Jerez double races are scheduled over the weekend for the three Championship classes, as the riders will hit the track on Saturday for Race 1 and on Sunday for Race 2, in addition to the Tissot Superpole race for WorldSBK.

The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve was designed by architect Ricardo Pina and was inaugurated exactly ten years ago. This track is 4592 metres long, with 9 right-handers and six left-hand corners and a configuration with a maximum gradient of 57 metres, a long turn radii that goes from 23 metres to a maximum of 207 metres, and a finishing straight which has a total length of 835 metres. It is very demanding but a truly magnificent riders circuit and second only to Phillip Island in this scribes eyes.

The Portuguese circuit remains one of the circuits that best brings out the capacity of the tyre to operate in extremely different conditions because of its altitude changes and demanding blind entry curves. Specifically, the rear tyre must go from low to extremely high temperatures, the front must be able to come into the turns mentioned above quickly and precisely. Unlike the rear, which undergoes few but intense mechanical/thermal stresses, the front is always engaged in slow turns with a quick entry and small curvature radii (tight corner) which forces the rider to brake sharply, sometimes downhill.

The most challenging part for the tyres is the last turn which is 350 metres long and takes 6.5 seconds to navigate, and due to the wide turning radius (about 150 metres), the bike is in constant acceleration and goes from 150 to 250 kph at a lean angle of about 50-degrees. So there is a remarkable increase in temperature on the side of the tyre affected by the lean, particularly for the rear tyre which must withstand the high temperature while simultaneously ensuring strong lateral force and allowing the bike to accelerate, it is a ballsy corner… Corners 5, 8, 11, 13, and 14 have on the contrary a very tight radius (about 30 metres), which forces the rider to brake to an extremely low speed. Halfway through the turn the bike needs the rear tyre, which is very cold, to provide strong longitudinal acceleration up to 1G at a lean angle of 50°. The tyres are particularly cold, especially coming into the left handers (numbers 5 and 13).

Marco Zambenedetti – Ducati Corse Superbike Technical Coordinator

“It’s a track with a very particular layout, with many ups and downs and for this reason, it will be important to interpret it well. One critical point is the presence of several bumps, while I think a strong point for us could be the exit from the last corner where we can exploit not only the engine but above all the aerodynamics, an aspect where Ducati has always been at the forefront even in bikes derived from production model“.

So far this year in WorldSBK we have had four different winners in the opening six races and new riders have been making their mark.  Championship leader by 24 points after the first two rounds, rookie Scott Redding (Ducati) heads to round three confident. The Brit took his first wins of his WorldSBK career at Jerez and with the Ducati Panigale V4 R winning Race 2 with Alvaro Bautista in 2019, he could add to that tally.

Scott Redding

“Portimao is an almost new circuit for me. I only raced here once in my career, then I came back for the tests in January. I must admit, though, I had good feelings. It is a track that I really like, that I find fun and the feeling in the tests was positive. We’ve come from an exciting and satisfying weekend and I can’t wait to get on my Ducati Panigale V4 R on Friday morning“.

Team-mate Chaz Davies enjoyed a return to podium form at Jerez and finished second in Race 2 to Redding, securing Ducati’s first WorldSBK 1-2 since Assen in 2012. Davies was second in Race 1 at Portimao in 2019 and looks good in 2020; don’t discount him.

Chaz Davies

“I hope I can confirm the positive trend we had in Jerez de la Frontera. Last year we achieved a good result on this track as I finished second in Race-1. I think we have improved a lot compared to that race and I am sure we have all the credentials to do well. The weather conditions will be different here. We are ready and determined to face this weekend“.

A contrasting weekend at Jerez for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK); leader in Race 1 and Tissot Superpole Race winner, yet off the pace in Race 2 and outside the top five in a race for the first time since Laguna Seca in 2014. But if one track can host a Rea revival then Portimao is it, as he has the most wins (nine), most podiums (17) and shares the record for pole with Tom Sykes, (three).

Jonathan Rea

“Portimao is a circuit that has been kind to us in the past and it suits the nature of our bike. There are a lot of areas where we can exploit the strengths of our Ninja ZX-10RR. I enjoy the challenge of the circuit as it is very undulating and it is the closest thing you get to a motocross track. The changes of elevation and blind corners; it really takes a lot of rider input and set-up to make a perfect lap. I am looking forward to starting on Friday with the team again and the emphasis will be on understanding how our base set-up works there, especially in the heat. We will possibly face hot temperatures like we have just had this past weekend. We will confirm everything because it was working pretty OK in Jerez. Our goal is to improve the feeling, work toward the races and at the end the target is to win.”

KRT team-mate Alex Lowes was the Championship leader coming into Jerez, but he’s third going to Portimao; he’ll be in the mix again after his first podium at the venue last year.

Alex Lowes

“I am looking forward to Portimao after not the easiest weekend in Jerez but I learned a lot about the bike. I had not had too much experience of the Kawasaki in the heat so the past weekend was about understanding it and learning the best way to ride the bike and adapt my style to the bike rather than chasing a setting. We made some good steps and hopefully that will put us in a good position at Portimao. It is not the easiest track but it is one I really enjoy. I think that the Kawasaki is going to work well there. I am looking forward to trying it for the first time on the ZX-10RR. I am happy we have had only had a few days until we get back out, because we were building momentum over the weekend in Jerez. We can just focus on starting on Friday morning and building from there. It is going to be good fun.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) lies fourth and has four podiums so far this year, but two technical DNFs have left the Turk behind. He was a podium runner at Portimao in 2019 and set impressive times at the rollercoaster in testing on his Yamaha. If he can have a round without issues, it could transcend into something special. On the other side of the garage, Michael van der Mark also suffered a mechanical issue at Jerez but took a first rostrum of 2020 in the same meeting. He has a best result of second at Portimao; can he go one better in 2020?

Occupying seventh in the Championship is Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), who is promising in 2020. In contention in Spain, Portugal and Portimao await the fastest Independent rider of 2020 so far. Just ten points behind van der Mark in sixth, a special duel awaits in the Algarve. Baz has his own threat for Independent honours; Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s (Team GOELEVEN) stunning Jerez results sent shockwaves through the paddock. A fourth place in Race 2 – after passing Lowes and Rea – gave a fairytale result for the Italian. Can both riders battle at the front again?

Lying between Baz and ninth-placed Rinaldi in the standings is Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC); the 2019 runner-up won Race 2 for Ducati last year. Two races in the points at Jerez and with potential there, Portimao’s intricacies will test Honda, but it should be a track that suits both rider and bike. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) has four podiums at Portimao, including one for Honda in 2008’s Race 2. Tenth overall and yet to finish outside the points, a strong weekend calls the ‘Pocket Rocket’.

Alvaro Bautista

“In Jerez we collected a great deal of information to work with in Portimão. It will be very important to be able to combine this data with what we got from winter testing in order to try and be more competitive than we were in Jerez. We have some ideas and we’ll see if they work once we get there. Portimão is a challenging track as it’s bumpy and has a lot of undulation. It might not be easy, but we really need to take a step forward with respect to Jerez.”

Leon Haslam

“I think Portimão can be a good track for us as the Honda is very fast and the circuit’s main straight is one of the best places to pass. It also requires a lot of hard braking and one of the things we’ve been working on is our straight-line braking, so I can say I’m looking forward to it. It’s a real rollercoaster of a track, where we see some big wheelies, so there are various things to manage but I hope we can use our third event to better understand where we need to continue working.”

It was a dismal Jerez for BMW; Tom Sykes’ (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) third place start was the only real highlight after a Race 1 technical problem. Sixth in the Tissot Superpole Race was followed up by 11th in Race 2, so Sykes comes to Portimao in search of a much-needed result. Two wins at Portimao will lift his confidence and BMW’s best result in 2019 at Portimao was seventh. For teammate Eugene Laverty, Portimao’s almost been like a home event for him and like Sykes, has won there twice. 17th in the standings, the Irishman needs a turnaround in luck and form.

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Portimao WorldSBK Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au