2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round 12 – Circuito San Juan Villicum, Argentina
This weekend the San Juan Villicum Circuit in Argentina will host the penultimate round of the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship. The circuit was built in 2018 and lies at the foot of the Andean cordillera, not far from the border with Chile. The track is 4276 metres long and its layout includes a total of 17 curves, 7 right-handers and 10 to the left with a width of 16 metres. The circuit is anti-clockwise.
Circuito San Juan Villicum
This is a very fast track where WorldSBK riders crack the 300 km/h barrier, especially on the start/finish straight that measures more than a kilometre, and between corners 7 and 8 there is an even longer straight.
El Villicum rises at the foot of the Andes at an altitude of about 650 metres above sea level and for that reason it is subject to a wide temperature range between the early hours of the morning and the late afternoon.
Only the World Superbike and Supersport classes will race in Argentina and at the season finale to be staged in Indonesia on the weekend of November 21 as the World Supersport 300 category had their final round last time out in Portugal.
With a 24-point lead heading into Argentina, Toprak Razgatlioglu can mathematically clinch the title this weekend. In short, Razgatlioglu must lead by 62-points or more before heading to Indonesia, even with countback taken into consideration. He has ten full race wins, compared to Rea’s current five so even if Rea won the remaining four full races and it finished level, Toprak already has a countback lead in his pocket.
For Toprak to clinch the Championship on Sunday, he must finish ahead of Rea in Race 1 (or score one point more than him as a minimum). That means if Rea wins Race 1, the title race is guaranteed to go to Indonesia. In terms of San Juan form, Razgatlioglu took a second podium of his career in WorldSBK’s first race there in 2018 and took three rostrums in 2019.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“I like the circuit in San Juan, and had some podiums there before – but we will see. I always say, I am focused only on fighting for the win in the next race, the championship is still changing every weekend! The team are working hard to give me a good bike every time and every race, every session we are improving. We will work to find the best race set-up on Friday with race simulation in Free Practice and then we will see.”
Whilst Toprak must beat Rea on Saturday to have a shot at the title on Sunday, Jonathan Rea must beat Razgatlioglu in Race 1 to guarantee the title race goes to Indonesia. The defending six-time World Champion has won four of the five races held at San Juan and he’s been on the podium in all of them – joined by Toprak in four of those.
Rea has momentum as despite crashing out of the lead twice at Portimao, he did manage to take victory in Race 2 whereas Toprak crashed due to a mechanical failure. The Ulsterman has a pivotal Saturday ahead, which is coincidentally Toprak’s birthday, as he goes to retain his crown. It is unsure if Alex Lowes will be fit to race.
Jonathan Rea
“I am very excited about the potential for Argentina. Villicum is a track that I have enjoyed in the past. It is relatively new to the WorldSBK calendar but I think I have won four out of the five races there. I enjoy the layout of the track; it is quite quirky. It seemed impossible to do flyaway rounds this year so credit to the San Juan Government, Dorna and everyone for making it happen. And all the teams as well, because it is really tough to plan a long haul round with all the restrictions – but we are going. I am looking forward to it. After feeling really good and strong on the bike in Portugal it is good to go to Argentina now and hopefully carry that confidence on. Of course, it is time to think about the championship. We need to keep that in our minds, work hard and try to decrease the deficit in points. The target is to come away from Argentina with a smaller deficit in the championship, to take the fight to the final round.”
Waiting to pick up the pieces and vastly making up ground, Scott Redding is still in Championship contention. 54 points back of the #54 of Razgatlioglu and on the podium in all of the last six races, and in eight of the last nine, Redding can’t be more than 61 points back of Razgatlioglu after Sunday. Redding closed the gap by 20 points at Portimao and with the kind of form he’s in, he may be able to do more in Argentina, even if it’s a new track for him. The Ducati’s top speed advantage will be handy on this fast track.
After a first win in eight years, BMW arrive in Argentina with plenty of reason to smile. Michael van der Mark stormed to a Superpole Race win in the wet at Portimao and was a solid top six contender all weekend. He’s now sixth in the Championship standings, 38-points adrift of Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Andrea Locatelli ahead of him.
Michael van der Mark – BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“Personally I enjoy the San Juan track. It has a bit of everything, but there are a lot of tight corners, a lot of combinations and I am looking forward to going there. I think the organisation and Dorna did a fantastic job to make it happen. It is a World Championship and it is nice to go overseas and to go to Argentina. I think that already at Jerez, we started to make steps with the bike with some different set-up and we did a similar thing in Portimão which worked out really well. We were a bit unlucky with the crash in race one and a mechanical problem in race two but it seems that with the change we made on the bike, we can be really more competitive. It is always a question mark how it will go on a different track but at least we go there with a lot of confidence and knowing we can try a lot more things with the set-up now.”
On the other side of the BMW box, Eugene Laverty will again stand-in for the recovering Tom Sykes. Laverty has had a top five at the Circuito San Juan Villicum, and was seventh in his most recent race there in 2019.
Eugene Laverty – BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“Firstly I must say a big well done to Dorna and all the teams for making this Argentinian round happen. This is the first time that we’ve travelled outside of Europe since the global pandemic really took hold 18 months ago and that’s a sure sign of progress. I really enjoy the Villicum circuit layout and I’ve enjoyed good results here in previous years. We made progress last time out at Portimão finishing in the top 10 in all three races and slowly but surely the bike is beginning to feel more like my bike. We’ll continue working on the chassis set-up to improve braking and turning during Friday practice as we aim to make another step closer towards fighting for that top 6 this weekend.”
It was a story of ‘what could’ve been’ for Honda at Portimao, with Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) once again showing podium potential. Unfortunately, the promise was left unfulfilled as Bautista crashed from third in the last corner of the last lap in Race 1 before he was then later taken out by Loris Baz two laps from home. Bautista heads to San Juan with the same potential, and he won on his first visit to San Juan in 2019. With big gains and podium aims, Bautista is keen to make up ground in the standings and get more rostrums to his name. Then, there’s Leon Haslam (Team HRC), with the British rider going in search of back-to-back front rows for the first time since Aragon and Assen back in 2015. He’ll also hope to add his name to the podium this weekend, having been in the mix at Portimao.
Vlog is now LIVE folks. Bit of a rollercoaster this week.
What a hectic few weeks. Three WorldSBK races on the bounce & now only one week until Argentina. This ones going down to the wire by the looks of things. Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round 11 – Portimao
The rollercoaster venue that is Portimao provided more ups and downs in the battle for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came back from crashes in the opening two races before an emphatic victory on Sunday afternoon, as championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) crashed out of the race at turn 15. The Turk put the crash down to a strange fault with his front fender that caused him to have front end slides.
Rea’s victory narrowed the gap at the top of the championship back down to 24-points ,which means that with two rounds and six races still remaining, the war for the championship is far from over.
WorldSBK now heads to Argentina on the weekend of October 17, before the finale is staged at Indonesia’s new Mandalika International Street Circuit on November 21.
WorldSBK Superpole Race
After the rain that fell over Portimão during the warm-up sessions, the Algarve circuit was in the drying-out stage and put the teams to a hard test in terms of tyre choices. All the riders eventually chose rain tyres and the Tissot Superpole Race got underway on schedule with Aussie rookie still making the start despite a crash on the warm-up lap.
Jonathan Rea made the best start of all the riders, moving immediately into the race lead, but then crashed out later on that opening lap. Most also thought that his championship chances also disappeared in the gravel trap but there was to be more twists and turns in the afternoon…
With Rea out of the race Scott Redding took over as the new leader ahead of Michael van der Mark, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Loris Baz.
During the first half of the race, the Dutch BMW rider demonstrated a pace that was distinctly superior to that of his rival, putting in the fastest laps to then snatched the race lead.
On the other hand, Razgatlioglu was unable to find the pace and dropped back five positions.
Holding on to second place was Redding ahead of Loris Baz and Leon Haslam, battling it out for the podium, whereas Andrea Locatelli and Álvaro Bautista were fighting for fifth.
Michael van der Mark made all the right moves in the final laps, taking his first win of the season and BMW’s first victory since the 2012 season, with an advantage of more than five-seconds ahead of Scott Redding and more than seven seconds over Loris Baz, who celebrated his second podium of his wild-card weekend.
WorldSBK Portimao Results Tissot Superpole Race 1. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 2. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.140s 3. Loris Baz (Team GoEleven) +5.479s
Locatelli took fourth ahead of Bautista while championship leader Razgatlioglu took only four-points from his sixth place finish.
WorldSBK Superpole Race Results
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
/
2
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+5.330
3
L. Baz
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+7.066
4
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+9.264
5
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+9.753
6
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
+16.745
7
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+19.047
8
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+19.115
9
E. Laverty
BMW M 1000 RR
+20.901
10
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+28.977
11
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+31.057
12
S. Cavalieri
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+38.997
13
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+41.330
14
T. Rabat
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+51.079
15
G. Ruiu
BMW M 1000 RR
+55.894
16
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+56.194
17
L. Epis
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1m23.343
Not Classifieds
RET
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
5 Laps
RET
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
/
RET
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
/
RET
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
/
WorldSBK Race Two
The start was delayed due to a technical issue when the riders were lining up on the grid, with the delay meaning the race distanced was reduced one lap to 19 laps.
WorldSBK Race Two
Starting from tenth place, Jonathan Rea was on the move from the get-go and was second by the end of the opener, while Toprak Razgatlioglu moved into third place.
Redding, Rea, Razgatlioglu
Rea made his move for the lead through the fast turn nine left-hander on lap two on Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), relegating the British rider who had led from the start. At the start of lap two, Razgatlioglu passed Rea into turn one before the six-time world champion responded.
The trio were battling throughout the opening laps, with both Razgatlioglu and Rea able to take advantage of Redding running wide at turns five and ten on the same lap.
Razgatlioglu made a move on Rea down the start-and-finish straight to move into the right-hander of turn one at the start of lap seven, before Rea responded at turn ten.
At the end of lap ten, Razgatlioglu crashed at turn 15, the same place Rea did in race one, forcing the championship leader out of the race.
Rea went on to take the 110th win and the 210th podium of his career, narrowing the gap in the championship to 24 points.
Rea’s victory means both he and Razgatlioglu have scored 25 podiums this season, the first time it has happened in WorldSBK history. The top two in the Championship are also tied with 25 podiums and 11 wins each.
2021 Portimao WorldSBK Results Race 2 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 2. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +5.425s 3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +12.289s
At the start of lap 13, Loris Baz moved up into podium contention after his third-place start in race two after overtaking Andrea Locatelli into turn one; Alvaro Bautista had tried to pass both of them but Baz was wise to it, cutting back on the Spanish rider to re-take third place.
Loriz Baz and Alvaro Bautista
Two laps later and Bautista looked to make a move through the opening couple of corners with Baz defending and keeping the position. The battle went on through lap 16 and 17 with Bautista looking to make the move into turn one each time and Baz responding into turn two.
On lap 18, Bautista looked to make a move on Baz into the turn five hairpin, with Bautista running wide and Baz looking to reclaim the place. Through the exit of the corner, the pair made contact with Bautista coming off his bike and retiring from the race.
Baz held on to cross the line in third place, while Locatelli came home in fourth place after withstanding a late surge from fellow Yamaha rider Garrett Gerloff in fifth place. After the race, Baz was sanctioned with a one place position drop, demoting him to fourth place and promoting Locatelli to third; the Italian’s fourth podium of his rookie campaign.
Michael van der Mark was sixth after starting from first place, five seconds clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi with the Italian suffering from a right ankle sprain and contusion and a right hip contusion following his Tissot Superpole Race crash. He battled with Leon Haslam throughout the race with the pair separated by just three tenths at the end of the 19-lap encounter.
Italian rookie Axel Bassani continued his strong form with ninth place, after battling with Rea during the open lap of the race, eventually finishing two tenths clear of Eugene Laverty as he scored points again while standing-in for Tom Sykes.
Laverty finished five-seconds clear of Leandro Mercado in 11th place, who was also clear of Spanish rider Isaac Viñales in 12th place.
Japanese rookie Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 13th, just over a second behind Viñales, with Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) rounding out the points. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) was the last of the classified runners in 16th place.
Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was the first retirement of the race after a crash at the start of lap three, with the Belgian rookie taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the incident. Cresson was diagnosed with a concussion and a left knee injury and was transported to Portimao Hospital for further assessments.
Cresson’s team-mate, Lachlan Epis, retired from the race with technical problems while Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) also suffered from technical issues during the early running and brought his bike back to the pits. Wildcard Gabriele Ruiu (B-Max Racing Team) was also a retirement from race two after completing 10 laps.
Toprak Razgatlioglu – DNF
“In the rain, after I see Jonny crash again, I close gas and just finish to focus on Race 2, because my feeling was not so good compared to Barcelona wet race. Race 2 was just bad luck for me, because something on my front fender was broken and after it entered the front tyre, and then front sliding, this is very bad luck! I say ‘why not possible to be broken on the straight, when it gives no problem?’ ‘Why broken on the last corner!’ But this is life, this is racing. I’m not happy because I was fighting for the win, but I crash and it was not my mistake. I am not looking back at this, I am only looking to focus on the next race. Every race weekend it is still changing in the championship. I am focused on the Argentina race now, and I am fighting again for the win – if I win, I take the points but I am still not looking!”
Jonathan Rea – P1
“Complicated is the word, disappointing is a better word. I’m really frustrated because my team put me in such a good position to capitalise this weekend and I threw it away. I made two silly mistakes by being impatient when my bike was working well, and I had a rhythm. I’ve already apologised to them. I was really upset with myself after the Superpole Race and I just said to the guys that we had nothing to lose. We’ve been in this position before. Let’s just try to enjoy my bike.”
Looking back on Race 2 where he started in tenth after his sprint demise, Rea added: “I sat on the grid with no pressure. I just wanted to make a really good start. I had such a perfect launch; I was just going forward. It was the best start of my season. From that point, I was able to gain good track position, be clever with my passes and tried to put sectors two and three to good use. I really struggled going down that start straight into the headwind. When I could keep in front for a few laps, I knew that I was trying to keep my rhythm. I saw Toprak was out so that gave me some breathing space, I could really not buck the rhythm, enjoy the race and ride to the pit board. That was a nice feeling.”
WorldSBK Race Two Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
/
2
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+5.425
3
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+12.289
3
L. Baz
Ducati Panigale V4 R (Demoted)
+8.905
5
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+13.956
6
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
+15.289
7
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+20.639
8
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+20.933
9
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+26.031
10
E. Laverty
BMW M 1000 RR
+26.276
11
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+31.493
12
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+41.117
13
. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+42.583
14
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+48.074
15
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+51.009
16
S. Cavalieri
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+57.467
Not Classified
RET
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
2 Laps
RET
G. Ruiu
BMW M 1000 RR
9 Laps
RET
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
10 Laps
RET
T. Rabat
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
13 Laps
RET
L. Epis
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
15 Laps
RET
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
17 Laps
World Superbike Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Toprak Razgatlioglu
478
2
Jonathan Rea
454
3
Scott Redding
424
4
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
249
5
Andrea Locatelli
249
6
Michael Van Der Mark
211
7
Alex Lowes
199
8
Garrett Gerloff
193
9
Alvaro Bautista
174
10
Axel Bassani
169
11
Tom Sykes
167
12
Leon Haslam
123
13
Chaz Davies
120
14
Loris Baz
53
15
Kohta Nozane
51
16
Lucas Mahias
44
17
Tito Rabat
41
18
Eugene Laverty
37
19
Isaac Vinales
32
20
Christophe Ponsson
31
21
Leandro Mercado
25
22
Jonas Folger
21
23
Samuele Cavalieri
10
24
Marvin Fritz
6
25
Loris Cresson
3
26
Andrea Mantovani
2
27
Luke Mossey
2
WorldSSP
The FIM Supersport World Championship action concluded at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in thrilling style with Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) claiming his fifth win of the season and denying Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) a Portimao double by just 0.011s across the line in Race 2 for the Motul Portuguese Round as the South African cut his gap in the Championship.
World Supersport
Although Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) got a good start as the lights went out, Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was the rider on the move as he battled his way up from seventh to lead at the start of the second lap after passing three riders into Turn 1, with the action on the opening lap setting the tone for the rest of the race.
Soon, a lead group of nine riders formed with Odendaal leading as the seventh lap started before, he was passed by Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) into Turn 1, with the lead constantly changing throughout the 17-lap race. As Lap 10 ended, Odendaal ran wide throughout the final corner and lost time and positions, allowing Cluzel to take the lead of the race with the South African dropping down into the mid-pack of the lead group.
The race would go down to the wire between Odendaal and Cluzel, as the lead group fragmented in the second half of the race, with the South African claiming victory for the fifth of his season and his first since Race 1 at Most, ahead of Cluzel who doubled up on podiums at Portimao. The pair were separated by just 0.011s at the end of the 17 laps, with Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) claiming his first podium since 2019 at the same venue. Just 0.364s separated the podium trio at the line.
Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) had been in the lead group but a mistake at Turn 1 dropped him down the order, with Championship leader Aegerter in fifth place as he saw the gap closed in the Championship with Odendaal’s victory, with Gonzalez just six tenths separating Gonzalez and a race victory. Yari Montella (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed sixth place in Race 2 of his debut WorldSSP Round, ahead of 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing). Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) was another who had been competing in the lead group but a Lap 16 crash at Turn 4 forced him out of the race with just a few laps to go.
German star Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the lead Kawasaki runner in eighth place, finishing just ahead of Hungary’s Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in ninth with Sebestyen claiming his best result of the season. Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) got a good start and was competing in the front group in the first half of the race but finished the race in tenth place.
With Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) finishing in 11th place, the Italian rider claimed the WorldSSP Challenge title for 2021 as he retained his crown. Manfredi leapfrogged Caricasulo due to his three points, with Caricasulo only entering the WorldSSP Challenge for two rounds as a replacement for Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing). David Sanchis Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing) secured points with 12th place ahead of Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) in 13th.
Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had shown strong pace throughout the majority of the race but a late crash at Turn 13 on Lap 16 put the Italian rider down the order, with De Rosa re-joining the race and finishing in 14th place. German rider Patrick Hobelsberger (Bonovo MGM Action) rounded out the points-paying places with 15th place, just 0.003s behind De Rosa.
De Rosa’s fellow Italian rider, Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) was 16th ahead of teammate Marcel Brenner in 17th, with the Swiss rider battling his way back through the field after an early issue to finish just a second behind his teammate. Ondrej Vostatek (IXS-YART Yamaha) claimed 18th place with Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) and Bill van Eerde (IXS-YART Yamaha) rounded out the top 20.
Eduardo Montero Huerta (DK Motorsport) did not take part in the final race of his campaign, as a WorldSSP Challenge competitor, due to a technical issue. Leandro Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was the first retirement of the race after he had a Lap 3 crash at Turn 13, while Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) had a spectacular highside at Turn 2 on Lap 4, putting him out of the race; Orradre was taken to the medical centre for a check-up. On Lap 11, Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) crashed out of the race at Turn 5.
WSSP Race Two Results
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
/
2
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.011
3
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.364
4
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.629
5
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.196
6
Y. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+5.247
7
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+6.721
8
P. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+9.428
9
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
+9.758
10
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+18.317
11
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
+19.119
12
D. Sanchis Martinez
Yamaha YZF R6
+20.426
13
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+20.461
14
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+21.766
15
P. Hobelsberger
Yamaha YZF R6
+21.769
16
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+31.62
17
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+32.732
18
O. Vostatek
Yamaha YZF R6
+33.367
19
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.991
20
B. Van Eerde
Yamaha YZF R6
+40.843
21
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
+41.1
22
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+41.139
23
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+44.35
24
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+125.425
Not Classified
RET
P. Romero Barbosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
1 Lap
RET
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta F3 675
2 Laps
RET
G. Van Straalen
Yamaha YZF R6
7 Laps
RET
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
14 Laps
RET
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
15 Laps
RET
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
/
WSSP Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Dominique Aegerter
354
2
Steven Odendaal
300
3
Manuel Gonzalez
249
4
Philipp Oettl
232
5
Jules Cluzel
191
6
Luca Bernardi
161
7
Federico Caricasulo
142
8
Randy Krummenacher
140
9
Raffaele De Rosa
137
10
Can Alexander Oncu
127
11
Niki Tuuli
112
12
Hannes Soomer
72
13
Christoffer Bergman
47
14
Peter Sebestyen
44
15
Marc Alcoba
40
16
Kevin Manfredi
36
17
Marcel Brenner
26
18
Galang Hendra Pratama
24
19
Vertti Takala
23
20
Simon Jespersen
22
21
Yari Montella
16
22
Andy Verdoia
14
23
Glenn Van Straalen
13
24
David Sanchis Martinez
12
25
Patrick Hobelsberger
11
26
Loic Arbel
10
27
Stephane Frossard
10
28
Valentin Debise
9
29
Sheridan Morais
9
30
Stefano Manzi
7
31
Matteo Patacca
7
32
Maria Herrera
7
33
Federico Fuligni
7
34
Filippo Fuligni
6
35
Michel Fabrizio
6
36
Max Enderlein
5
37
Roberto Mercandelli
5
38
Hikari Okubo
4
39
Massimo Roccoli
4
40
Leonardo Taccini
4
41
Luca Grunwald
3
42
Ondrej Vostatek
3
43
Unai Orradre
2
44
Daniel Valle
2
45
Ludovic Cauchi
1
46
Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias
1
47
Luca Ottaviani
1
48
Davide Pizzoli
1
49
Pawel Szkopek
1
WorldSSP300 Race Two
The Spanish rider was crowned Champion on Saturday and followed that up with a resounding victory in the final race of the season
The final race of the 2021 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship provided some of the same drama and excitement at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve as the rest of the season has as newly-crowned Champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) claimed victory in Race 2 for the Motul Portuguese Round in a typically-frantic encounter to round out the 2021 campaign.
World Supersport 300
The first half of the 13-lap race involved riders looking to try to break away but it was the 2021 Champion, Huertas, who was able to do so with just a handful of laps to go, extending his lead at the start of the penultimate lap to more than two seconds as he ended the season in scintillating style for his sixth victory of a record-breaking season; decorated in a special gold livery on his Kawasaki machine and his helmet. Huertas’ victory was the 25th for Spain in the Championship, as well as the eighth of his career which equals teammate Jeffrey Buis’ (MTM Kawasaki) from 2020.
British rider Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) had challenged for the title in 2021 but an injury sustained in Catalunya derailed his title aspirations, but he was able to secure second in the Championship after finishing second in Race 2 after Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) retired from the race following a late-race crash which forced the 2020 Champion out of the race, with Buis taking third in the Championship. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) had crossed the line in third place but was given a three-second time penalty in lieu of a Long Lap Penalty after it was deemed he had being riding irresponsibly, meaning he was classified in 17th place, while Iñigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) claimed third place.
Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) backed up his third place in Race 1 with fourth place in Race 2. Rookie Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed a second successive top-six finish during his debut weekend, although the German rider had crossed the line in fifth place but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. He would have finished in fourth but for the penalty, which initially demoted him to sixth before gaining a place with Sofuoglu’s penalty.
Dutch rider Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) was in sixth place ahead of Oliver König (Movisio by MIE), with the Czech rider claiming another top-ten finish but just 0.081s away from Meuffels. Mirko Gennai (Team BRcorse) was in eighth, two tenths clear of Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) in ninth and Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) who rounded out the top ten.
Gabriele Mastroluca (ProGP Racing) was 11th ahead of Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project); Sabatucci had crossed the line in 12th but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. Like Geiger, Sabatucci benefitted from Sofuoglu’s penalty to be classified in the position he had originally finished in before his own penalty.
Meikon Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) was 13th, although the gap to Sabatucci was recorded as 0.000s following the Italian’s penalty for a track limits infringement. Kawakami held on to 13th place ahead of Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) who claimed 14th spot and Yeray Ruiz (Yamaha MS Racing) who claimed the final point. The Dutchman had been running towards the front of the field in the early stages of the race but dropped back as the race progressed.
Ruiz was just 0.038s clear of Alex Millan Gomez (2R Racing) as Millan Gomez missed out on a point by the smallest of margins. Harry Khouri’s (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) season came to an end with 18th place in Race 2, ahead of the penalised Sofuoglu, finishing 0.060s clear of Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing). Alessandro Zanca (Kawasaki GP Project) rounded out the top 20.
Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) was the first retirement of the race with a technical issue shortly after he had a crash at Turn 5, with the Race 1 winner retiring from the race on Lap 9 of 13. Alfonso Coppola (Team Trasimeno) was the second retirement of the race as he crashed out on Lap 10 at Turn 13.
We win and we lose together. This bunch of humans deserve this feeling tonight! I thank God everyday that you came in my life! #vamos
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📸 @geebeeimages
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@krt_worldsbk @alpinestars @araieu @monsterenergy @showaperformance @oakleymotorsports @insidebikes #team65
With five wins and seven podium places, Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) became the 2021 WorldSSP300 Champion at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve overnight.
After being challenged by Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) and dethroning team-mate Jeffrey Buis, preventing him from being the first back-to-back Champion in WorldSSP300, it was Huertas’ consistent performances throughout the season which ensured he led the title race since Aragon Race 2, winning his first world title during the Motul Portuguese Round.
After starting his career in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and in the European Talent Cup back in 2018 and 2019, he moved to the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship in 2020. He concluded his first season in 17th place with 43 points.
For the 2021 season, he switched to the MTM Kawasaki squad, the team that won the 2020 WorldSSP300 Championship and that also took seven wins throughout the season. Huertas started his second season on a high as he took his first victory in the category in Aragon Race 1. He then claimed five wins over the season, becoming the first rider with five wins in a season in WorldSSP300 with his win in Race 2 in Magny-Cours.
Adrian Huertas
With a 56-point advantage over his closest competitor Jeffrey Buis, Adrian Huertas becomes the fourth Spanish WorldSSP300 Champion, as Spain continues to dominate the class with four titles in five seasons, stopped only by the Netherlands’ Jeffrey Buis in 2020. In 2022, Huertas will look forward to consolidating his brilliant 2021 season and cementing himself as a name to watch out for in the not-too-distant future.
Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was crowned the 2021 WorldSSP300 Champion
Adrian Huertas, MTM Kawasaki
“I feel quite more comfortable now because in Jerez, I suffered a little bit. Then I kept working this week at home with my physical trainer. I preferred to go back home instead of staying here in Portimao for holidays. Then, I think this is a compensation because finally, I managed to be on the podium and to win the Championship. I’m really happy I want to thank all my team, Ludo from MTM, Fabien from Kawasaki, because they gave me the support I needed to become WorldSSP300 Champion. Without their help, it wouldn’t have been possible to be World Champion so I’m really happy for everybody to my mother, to my father because they have done a lot of things to be here and then finally, the hard work pays off so all of us could be rewarded. I’m really happy and I want to keep working and keep dreaming.”
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round 11 – Portimao
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) raced to victory, his first in WorldSBK at the Algarve circuit in Portimao and his 11th of the year, whilst Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed at speed from the lead of the race at turn 15. The Championship gap is now 45-points with Toprak leading the way, whilst Rea loses more ground.
WorldSBK Portimao Race One Report
In what was one of the most intense opening five laps of the season, neither Razgatlioglu or Rea wanted to give an inch as they duelled hard. On lap two, Rea put a superb pass on Razgatlioglu at turn 11 but Toprak held on at turn 12, firing his Yamaha back through.
Redding- Razgatlioglu, Rea
Rea tried again at turn 13 but ran slightly wide, whilst Razgatlioglu scythed back through, colliding with Rea. The fight continued as Rea had a huge moment at turn one on lap five before getting under Razgatlioglu again at turn 11, whilst race leader Scott Redding ran wide at turn 13, with Rea coming back through to the lead. Then, disaster, as Rea tucked the front at turn 15, his Kawasaki ZX-10 RR barrelling through the gravel.
Rea crashed out
At the front, Scott Redding was leading the way until Toprak took back the lead at turn 1 with just less than four laps to go, and whilst Redding continued to try and retaliate, he couldn’t keep Toprak at bay. Razgatlioglu delivered Yamaha a first Portimao win since Marco Melandri in 2011.
Speaking after the race, Razgatlioglu said: “It wasn’t an easy race because Jonny and Scott were very strong. After Jonny’s crash, we are fighting with Scott; we are fighting with both of them, but I am happy, because we win again. Some corners, I wasn’t very strong because I felt some electronic problems but tomorrow, I think we will improve. We will come back again stronger, every race we are improving and also yesterday, I didn’t feel very good whereas now, the bike is much better.”
Redding chasing Razgatlioglu
Talking about the battle with Redding, Razgatlioglu said that his strategy to wait until the closing stages of the race paid dividends: “It wasn’t easy because he is strong. We are fighting again but after I understood that we are together, I decide to wait for the last two laps. In the last two laps, I try my best again and we made it.”
After the crash Jonathan Rea was taken to the medical centre, where he was diagnosed with multiple contusions and a left elbow abrasion. He will be reviewed on Sunday morning prior to Warm-Up. Up until race one, it had been a sparkling weekend for Rea, who said on Friday that he ‘felt like he had his bike back’ and that he could ‘do things on the bike that he’d not been able to do all year’. Topping Friday and Saturday morning practice sessions, Rea was second on the grid after Superpole, but couldn’t convert it in to championship points.
Talking at the end of the day about his crash and the race until that point, Rea commented: “I am relatively OK, just a little bit beaten up because when I crashed and hit the gravel, I started tumbling. Apart from some bumps and bruises, relatively, I am quite fine. I can’t say ifs and buts because I crashed; I know my pace was good but inside the battle, it wasn’t good because every time I had track position, there was a bike on the inside releasing the brake. I couldn’t really make any rhythm. When Scott made the mistake at Turn 13, I thought ‘OK, I have to go’ because if I can’t go on the straight with some advantage, then I’ll be in the battle again. Congratulations to the guys at the front, I felt like I could’ve been there battling because my pace all weekend has been quite strong. I have another chance tomorrow, so we’ll try to do a good job.”
Adding in his media debrief on Saturday and reflecting on the battle with Razgatlioglu, Rea expressed that he’s ready for the challenge, even if Toprak can be without “consideration” when going for an apex: “I don’t want to put s**t on Toprak about how he rides, because he is clearly doing a good job and he’s not even at his limit. However, the guy he’s passing is on their limit with the bike and tyres and the combination of everything.
“I’m ready to fight like that and I’m going to fight like that”
“I don’t want to complain too much; I’m ready to fight like that and I’m going to fight like that. I can shake his hand after that and not complain, but I’m happy to let the brakes off and use him as a berm. That’s pretty much what he did to me at Turn 13; he committed to the pass on the apex. I’m not going to grumble; rubbing is racing. He can train on his kart track in Turkey, but I grew up motocrossing, and that’s also hard.
“Of course, there’s a line and these are big bikes and you can’t just come from miles away to make a pass because you feel brave in yourself that you can stop at the apex. I don’t know if Scott was complaining a lot but I don’t want to cry about it because I get labelled a cry-baby… I can roll my sleeves up to.”
The fight for third was an ongoing affair throughout the 20-lap encounter with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) starting from third place holding onto that position until around the mid-way point of the race before he dropped positions, with Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) working his way up to third place on lap 12.
Haslam looked on course for a top result
There was plenty of action between the six riders in contention for a podium, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), Haslam and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) all running wide at turn one at various points of the race.
As the race progressed, Bautista was unable to pull out a gap to the chasing pack with Loris Baz (Team GoEleven) and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) chasing Bautista, Baz making the move at turn one before van der Mark and Locatelli, still chasing third, made contact at turn five with Locatelli retiring and van der Mark bringing his bike back to the pits; the incident will be investigated after the race by the FIM WorldSBK stewards. With the pair out of contention for the podium, Baz and Bautista battled for third place with the Spaniard coming out on top. At turn 15 on the final lap, Bautista crashed out of the race with Baz inheriting third place, his first podium since his WorldSBK return.
Loris Baz – P3
“It’s a good holiday! I said I took it like holidays and I just want to thank Team GoEleven and Ducati because they gave me this opportunity and it’s amazing. I had so much fun riding this bike, improving session by session since Jerez. Just wanted to have fun. I was disappointed for the first time this morning; I could not use the Q tyre. It’s such a big difference and I thought it would be tough to fight for the podium. I knew I had the pace yesterday but starting from ninth is never easy. I made my way through. I had a nice fight with Alvaro. I saw he was on the limit with the front, so I just tried to show him I was there. I hope he’s okay because it’s a bad place to crash. So happy. It’s my holidays and it’s the best I’ve ever had!”
Loris Baz
Rinaldi finished the race in fourth place after the incredible battle for third place, with Haslam eventually coming home in fifth place after starting from the front row. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed a solid sixth place, just three tenths behind Haslam in fifth place.
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continued his strong rookie campaign with seventh place ahead of Argentinean star Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda) claiming eighth place – his best result of the 2021 campaign. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) battled up for ninth with Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) claiming tenth.
Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) missed out on the top ten by just over half-a-second but came home in 11th place, just ahead of Italian Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team); Cavalieri just a second behind Viñales. 2014 Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) scored points on his first WorldSBK race onboard Kawasaki machinery, with Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) rounding out the points.
Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was the last of the classified riders with the Belgian missing out on a point by just 0.079s. Cresson’s teammate, Lachlan Epis, retired from the race after bringing his bike into the pits, while Gabriele Ruiu (B-Max Racing Team) was also a retirement from the race, along with Rea, Locatelli, van der Mark and Bautista.
WorldSBK Portimao Race One Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
/
2
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.691
3
L. Baz
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+10.628
4
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+12.901
5
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+13.305
6
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+13.596
7
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+26.961
8
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+28.826
9
E. Laverty
BMW M 1000 RR
+29.654
10
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+39.061
11
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+39.703
12
S. Cavalieri
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+40.669
13
T. Rabat
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+41.275
14
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+41.412
15
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+52.815
16
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+52.894
Not Classified
Ret
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
1 Lap
Ret
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
5 Laps
Ret
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
6 Laps
Ret
G. Ruiu
BMW M 1000 RR
12 Laps
Ret
L. Epis
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
13 Laps
Ret
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
16 Laps
WSBK Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Toprak Razgatlioglu
474
2
Jonathan Rea
429
3
Scott Redding
395
4
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
240
5
Andrea Locatelli
227
6
Alex Lowes
199
7
Michael Van Der Mark
189
8
Garrett Gerloff
180
9
Alvaro Bautista
169
10
Tom Sykes
167
11
Axel Bassani
159
12
Chaz Davies
120
13
Leon Haslam
115
14
Kohta Nozane
48
15
Lucas Mahias
44
16
Tito Rabat
41
17
Loris Baz
33
18
Eugene Laverty
30
19
Christophe Ponsson
29
20
Isaac Vinales
28
21
Jonas Folger
20
22
Leandro Mercado
20
23
Samuele Cavalieri
10
24
Marvin Fritz
6
25
Loris Cresson
3
26
Andrea Mantovani
2
27
Luke Mossey
2
WSSP600
The FIM Supersport World Championship race action kicked off on Saturday afternoon at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve with a long-awaited return to the top step for Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) over after the Frenchman claimed a hard-fought win in Race 1 for the Motul Portuguese Round, finishing less than half-a-second clear of his nearest rival.
Jules Cluzel took victory
The drama started from the beginning of the 17-lap race with Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) taking to the front of the field at the start of the race before he lost places in the closing stages of the opening lap, with Turkish star Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) briefly taking the lead of the race, before Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) and Cluzel came through.
Aegerter found himself dropped down to fourth place but soon found his way back in the podium places as he passed Öncü for third place. On Lap 6, Öncü found himself bundled down the order into sixth place as Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) came through, while Gonzalez lost the lead of the race and fell down to fifth behind De Rosa and Tuuli.
Aegerter made his move for the lead of the race in Cluzel into Turn 1 at the start of Lap 10 with the Swiss rider looking to add to his already-impressive win tally in his rookie campaign, but just a lap later Aegerter was down in fourth place after losing out to Cluzel, Gonzalez and De Rosa into Turn 1. On Lap 13, Tuuli made his move on Aegerter to demote the Championship leader into fifth, while out in front Gonzalez had re-taken the lead of the race at the expense of Cluzel.
At the start of Lap 14, Tuuli was up into the podium places after a move into Turn 1 as Cluzel made his move onto Gonzalez in the latter stages of Lap 14, with Gonzalez responding despite pressure from Tuuli into Turn 1 on Lap 15. Tuuli dropped back from the podium fight in the closing stages, as did De Rosa, with Cluzel making his move at the start of the final lap before holding in to claim his first victory since San Juan 2019, almost two years later. Such was Cluzel’s pace in the closing stages, the French rider was able to smash the lap record on the final lap of the 17-lap battle as he posted a 1’44.783s.
Gonzalez finished in second place ahead of Aegerter in third; the Swiss rider backing out of a move on Gonzalez in the closing stages of the race to extend his Championship lead over Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team). De Rosa claimed fourth place ahead of Tuuli in fifth, with Odendaal rounding out the top six after closing in on the lead group in the second half of the race.
Aussie teenager Billy van Eerde crossed the line 20th, his best performance since debuting in the class a few weeks ago.
WSSP600 Race 1 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
/
2
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.389
3
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.565
4
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.669
5
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta F3 675
+1.099
6
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.486
7
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+5.519
8
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+9.051
9
P. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+9.272
10
Y. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+9.464
11
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
+18.124
12
P. Hobelsberger
Yamaha YZF R6
+18.372
13
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+18.698
14
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+22.048
15
O. Vostatek
Yamaha YZF R6
+32.635
16
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+32.649
17
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+33.216
18
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.180
19
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.225
20
B. Van Eerde
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.614
21
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
+38.784
22
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
+39.682
23
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+53.667
24
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+1m00.976
25
P. Romero Barbosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+1m11.124
26
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
+2 Laps
Not Classified
RET
G. Van Straalen
Yamaha YZF R6
3 Laps
RET
D. Sanchis Martinez Esp
Yamaha YZF R6
12 Laps
RET
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
13 Laps
RET
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
15 Laps
WSSP600 Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Dominique Aegerter
343
2
Steven Odendaal
275
3
Manuel Gonzalez
236
4
Philipp Oettl
224
5
Jules Cluzel
171
6
Luca Bernardi
161
7
Raffaele De Rosa
135
8
Randy Krummenacher
131
9
Federico Caricasulo
126
10
Can Alexander Oncu
121
11
Niki Tuuli
112
12
Hannes Soomer
69
13
Christoffer Bergman
47
14
Marc Alcoba
40
15
Peter Sebestyen
37
16
Kevin Manfredi
31
17
Marcel Brenner
26
18
Galang Hendra Pratama
24
19
Vertti Takala
23
20
Simon Jespersen
22
21
Andy Verdoia
14
22
Glenn Van Straalen
13
23
Loic Arbel
10
24
Patrick Hobelsberger
10
25
Stephane Frossard
10
26
Valentin Debise
9
27
Sheridan Morais
9
28
David Sanchis Martinez
8
29
Stefano Manzi
7
30
Matteo Patacca
7
31
Maria Herrera
7
32
Federico Fuligni
7
33
Yari Montella
6
34
Filippo Fuligni
6
35
Michel Fabrizio
6
36
Max Enderlein
5
37
Roberto Mercandelli
5
38
Hikari Okubo
4
39
Massimo Roccoli
4
40
Leonardo Taccini
4
41
Luca Grunwald
3
42
Ondrej Vostatek
3
43
Unai Orradre
2
44
Daniel Valle
2
45
Ludovic Cauchi
1
46
Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias
1
47
Luca Ottaviani
1
48
Davide Pizzoli
1
49
Pawel Szkopek
1
WSSP300
Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was crowned the 2021 Champion during the Motul Portuguese Round after team-mate Jeffrey Buis retired from the race after contact with Huertas, while French rider Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) claimed his maiden WorldSSP300 victory; the 20th different winner in the class.
Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was crowned the 2021 Champion
As the lights went out, the two riders in Championship contention jumped to the front of the field with Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) holding the lead from pole position despite heavy pressure from Jeffrey Buis. As the third lap of the race got underway, Huertas had managed to battle his way in front after losing out, before Buis found himself shuffled down the order as Huertas re-took the lead of the race.
Buis lost out in terms of the lead group and had to battle to make sure he could re-join the group fighting for victory and he was able to do so, finding himself battling again with his teammate on Lap 7 of 13, taking the lead on Lap 8 of the race. As the ninth lap started, Buis attempted an overtake on Huertas into the Turn 3 hairpin with the Dutchman retiring from the race, enough to crown Huertas as the 2021 Champion.
The battle for race victory went down to the wire in Portimao and it was Di Sora who would go on to claim victory in Race 1 by just 0.067s, his first victory in WorldSSP300 and also the first victory for France in the class, with Huertas finishing second place after Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. Okaya’s podium means he claimed his third podium of 2021 and the fifth of his career.
Turkish star Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) was in fourth place after battling his way up the grid to finish inside the top four, ahead of the returning Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) in fifth place; Booth-Amos had missed the Spanish Round at Jerez due to an injury sustained in Catalunya. Rookie Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed sixth place after a strong result for the German rider, finishing 0.005s clear of Iñigo Iglesias (SMW Racing).
Young Aussie Harry Khouri crossed the line in 24th place.
2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Round 11 – Portimao
Kawasaki Racing Team riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes finished first and second fastest respectively after the first day of practice at the WorldSBK Championship round in Portimao.
In bright morning sunshine Rea and Lowes finished FP1 in first and third positions, riding on a new track surface from that used in the 2020 race weekend. The KRT duo recently tested at Portimao and used that prior knowledge to good effect in their early preparations for the three WorldSBK races that will take place this weekend.
Jonathan Rea
In FP2 Alex moved up one place to second in the combined timesheets to complete a KRT 1-2, with Jonathan finally 0.191 seconds ahead of Lowes.
Alex Lowes
The conditions at Portimao have been universally warm and dry since the WorldSBK paddock arrived after the recent Jerez round, with the track temperatures almost reaching 50-degrees in FP2.
Rea and his crew made several set-up changes from FP1 to FP2 and as a consequence Rea was not only the fastest rider over a single lap but made real advances in his race pace on used tyres.
Rea, the most successful rider at Portimao in recent years, was 0.217 seconds ahead of the next best non-Kawasaki rider, with his main championship rival Toprak Razgatlioglu fifth overall today.
American Garrett Gerloff was this quickest ahead of Leon Haslam.
Jonathan Rea – P1
“I’m very happy with the bike and the work we did today. We made some quite significant changes to our set-up between session and I felt more comfortable on the bike; probably the most comfortable I have felt all season. I feel relieved in some ways and excited for tomorrow to see what it brings. I was able to keep quite a high-paced rhythm over a long run and just kept getting faster and faster. Normally when you keep the rhythm high in the beginning the tyre drop is quite significant, but I was able to keep the tyre and manage it. Especially at a track like this, where you put a lot of energy into the tyre around the long last corner, I have been quite strong. Great work from all the team and I am looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow. I feel ready.”
Alex Lowes – P2
“It was not bad for the first day and I felt pretty good on the bike. We had a good test here, maybe a month-and-a-half ago. At this track on our bike it seems to be pretty good. The bike is stable and it is fun to ride it here. I still need to check of I can ride in the races here. We have made a good start to this weekend but now I am going to the Clinica for checks and then I will see how the hand feels in the morning. Today was good and my hand feels better than it did a week ago, but it has been very boring sitting for a few days with a cast on!”
Garrett Gerloff – P3
“It was a good day. I am really enjoying the track and the new surface they put down, as there is a lot more grip especially with high temperatures. Last year it was very hot during all the races, which made it very difficult to find grip. But this time, the Yamaha R1 feels good. I thought that, thanks to the new surface, there would be less bumps, but the track feels as bumpy as before to be honest. At least, there is more grip when you hit the bumps, and the bike is not as affected by them as before, which is positive. I feel good, and the goal is to have a solid qualifying session and a good start in both races in order to stay close to the top guys. I ran laps both on the Pirelli SC0 tyre and on the 415 tyre: they feel very similar and I believe that the difference between them will only show in the last laps.”
Garrett Gerloff
Leon Haslam – P4
“We went into this weekend with quite a different approach in terms of the chassis. So losing time this morning wasn’t ideal, but it was my fault, I was going that little bit too fast and hit the white line. The boys did a fantastic job to basically build a new bike for FP2. We stuck with the hard tyre throughout that session, and so I was really surprised we finished P3. To be honest, the times feel quite comfortable and although we have work to do in certain areas, I admit I was surprised to end up in that position today. As for tyres, I think I can make the harder solutions work better and I don’t seem to get the advantage that some riders find with the “X” solution. It’s a lot about the riding here too though, considering the kind of track it is, so a combination of things come into play. Hopefully with our new approach we can be a little bit more consistent both in practice and the races too.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P5
“It was difficult, because I have a little bit of a “cold” again, but we try a good set-up for the race. Not easy for me to try the long run, but result was not bad! We improved the bike again this afternoon, a big step compared to last year and new asphalt has more grip, but we will see what is possible in the race. Today we worked just for the race consistency, and not try to focus on the lap time this afternoon – we are not looking at the position today. I say again, not bad but we will see tomorrow.”
WSBK Portimao Friday Combined Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
1m41.466
2
A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+0.191
3
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.217
4
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+0.250
5
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.283
6
L. Baz
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.294
7
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.520
8
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+0.633
9
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+0.649
10
A. Locatelli
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.706
11
M. Van Der Mark
BMW M 1000 RR
+0.858
12
A. Bassani
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+1.179
13
I. Vinales
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1.310
14
L. Mercado
Honda CBR1000 RR-R
+1.387
15
E. Laverty
BMW M 1000 RR
+1.691
16
J. Folger
BMW M 1000 RR
+1.855
17
C. Ponsson
Yamaha YZF R1
+2.400
18
K. Nozane
Yamaha YZF R1
+2.471
19
S. Cavalieri
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+2.847
20
T. Rabat
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+2.886
21
G. Ruiu
BMW M 1000 RR
+3.002
22
L. Cresson
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+3.309
23
L. Epis
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+4.032
WSSP
The last of the triple headers for the FIM Supersport World Championship got underway at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve for the Motul Portuguese Round, with Spanish rider Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) breaking the all-time lap record for the Portuguese venue in the morning Free Practice 1 session, and that was good enough to set the fastest time of the day.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was second quickest after a strong day for the Frenchman; Cluzel topping Free Practice 2 in the afternoon while finishing second in FP1. Cluzel’s former team-mate, Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) was third on Friday, his best time coming in the morning session.
Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was fourth after initially finishing eighth in the opening session, before responding in FP2 with the second fastest time in the afternoon. His nearest rival in the Championship, Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), was directly behind him in fifth place with Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) rounding out the top six after bouncing back from technical issues in FP1.
Australian youngster Billy van Eerde was 30th on Friday, four-seconds off that new lap record set by Gonzalez.
WSSP Portimao Friday Combined Times
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
M. Gonzalez
Yamaha YZF R6
1m44.188
2
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.170
3
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.341
4
D. Aegerter
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.405
5
S. Odendaal
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.430
6
N. Tuuli
MV Agusta F3 675
+0.633
7
C. Oncu
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.766
8
P. Oettl
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.768
9
R. De Rosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.792
10
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.050
11
Y. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.052
12
P. Hobelsberger
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.193
13
M. Brenner
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.378
14
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.398
15
G. Van Straalen
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.661
16
C. Bergman
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.665
17
D. Sanchis Martinez
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.681
18
K. Manfredi
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.908
19
H. Soomer
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.912
20
F. Fuligni
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.998
21
U. Orradre
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.138
22
L. Taccini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+2.153
23
O. Vostatek
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.271
24
V. Takala
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.618
25
M. Herrera
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.724
26
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.786
27
A. Viu
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.838
28
S. Frossard
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.025
29
L. Montella
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.594
30
B. Van Eerde
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.004
31
P. Romero Barbosa
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+4.561
32
E. Montero Huerta
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.685
33
S. Kawasaki
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+5.054
WSSP300
Tom Booth-Amos topped both timesheets for the 30-minute Friday practice sessions with a 1’56.273s, posted in the morning Free Practice 1 session, the fastest time of the day by just 0.009s ahead of Championship leader Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki). Iñigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) was in third place, 0.010s off top spot, in a very tight top three after both sessions.
The top six times in the combined classification came from FP1 with Uruguayan rider Facundo Llambias (Machado CAME SBK) in fourth after another strong showing from the first rider from Uruguay to compete in WorldSSP300. Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) was the second MTM Kawasaki rider in the top six, with reigning Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) completing the top six.
Harry Khouri was 23rd on Friday and had a small crash in FP2.
FP- P1 I’m very happy with the bike and the work we did today. We made some quite significant changes to our set-up between session and I felt more comfortable on the bike; probably the most comfortable I have felt all season. I feel relieved in some ways and excited for tomorrow to see what it brings. I was able to keep quite a high-paced rhythm over a long run and just kept getting faster and faster. Normally when you keep the rhythm high in the beginning the tyre drop is quite significant, but I was able to keep the tyre and manage it. Especially at a track like this, where you put a lot of energy into the tyre around the long last corner, I have been quite strong. Great work from all the team and I am looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow. I feel ready to fight
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