2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Nine Catalunya – Sunday Report

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A tyre gamble played into Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s hands in World Superbike’s Race Two at the Barcelona circuit of Catalunya on Sunday, with the Italian Ducati rider taking the weekend’s final victory over Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Ducati’s Scott Redding.

Defending champion Jonathan Rea could not maintain the pace of the front runners while running the development tyre, crossing the line in sixth, but brought home the shortened Superpole Sprint win earlier in the day.

Coupled with a win in the midday shortened Sprint and a fourth on Saturday, Rea closed the gap on points leader Razgatlioglu to one-point in the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, 399 to 398 points. The next round is at Spain’s Jerez circuit next weekend (Sept 24-26) followed by Portugal’s Algarve on October 1-3 to make for a triple-header.

Razgatlioglu’s weekend was a mix of highs and lows with the Turk sidelined by electronic issues in Saturday’s race, but managing consistent second place finishes on Sunday.

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WorldSBK Superpole Race

Sunday’s Superpole Race saw Toprak Razgatlioglu take an early lead from P2 on the grid, with Jonathan Rea hot on his heels and immediately on the attack. Scott Redding and Andrea Locatelli were running third and fourth.

Lap 3 saw proceedings brought to a halt, following an accident involving Ducati’s Chaz Davies and Lucas Mahias, resulting in a red flag, with riders lining back up on the grid for a five-lap restart.

Once again Rea and Razgatlioglu were the main contenders battling it out in a back and forth on the restart, before Alvaro Bautista moved into second place, displacing Raz.

Razgatlioglu wasn’t going to leave that undefended however, reigning Bautista in and reclaiming second, with Rea taking the Superpole win. Razgatlioglu had to settle for third.

Outside the top three, Lowes finished fourth, with Rinaldi fifth. Completing the top-10 was Bassani, Haslam, Gerloff, Ponsson and Mercado.

Australian Lachlan Epis was making his World Superbike debut and finished in P16 after showing improvement to his lap times across the weekend.

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WorldSBK Race Two

Race two started with more drama, the red flags out on lap two of the 20-lap race following an incident involving Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) at turn one. Although conscious, Sykes was taken to the medical centre and was diagnosed with a head injury and concussion and transferred to Catalunya Hospital for further assessments.

In the 19-lap restart, Rinaldi made a fast start and moved into the lead ahead of Razgatlioglu and Rea. Razgatlioglu went with Rinaldi throughout the 19-lap encounter but Rea dropped back with ailing tyres.

Early on Razgatlioglu held the early lead over Rinaldi, but the Turk’s dominance lasted for just a handful of laps before the Italian took control, extending his charge to the finish line to claim victory by more than three-seconds.

With Rea battling for a podium spot, he fought to keep Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) at bay, but his attempts were in vain with the Italian rookie passing him on lap 10 before Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) followed through.

At the start of lap 18, Redding made a move on Locatelli into turn one for third place with Redding using the SC0 tyre, along with race leader Rinaldi, while rivals were struggling on the SCX rubber. Bautista followed Redding through a lap later at the same corner.

The result saw Rinaldi claimed his first win since the Tissot Superpole Race at Misano, finishing ahead of Razgatlioglu and Redding.

Bautista just missed out on a podium place with fourth place, with Locatelli was in fifth.

Rea came home in sixth place, more than four seconds down on the battle for the podium, but three seconds clear of American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in seventh. Gerloff was the top independent rider and finished ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in eighth.

Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed ninth place with Japanese rookie Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) taking his first top-ten finish in a full-length race with tenth.

Honda secured a points finish with both riders as Leon Haslam (Team HRC) crossed in 11th place, five seconds clear of Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) in 12th. Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) was 13th in race two after a strong weekend for the French rider.

Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had an incredible battle for 14th place with Argentinean rider finishing just 0.081s clear of rookie Viñales. Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) was the last classified rider in 16th place.

Alex Lowes’ (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came to an end at turn two on lap one after he came off his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, and headed to medical centre where he was diagnosed with a left wrist contusion.

Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) and Australia’s Lachlan Epis (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) were mixed up in the back grid drama, with Epis retiring from the race after seven laps.

Lachlan Epis – DNF

“Firstly I want to say sorry to Alex (Lowes). By the time Jonas (Folger) had decided which way he was going it was too late for me to avoid him at the start of Race 2. Aside from that it was a challenging weekend. I hadn’t been on a bike since June in Australia and there was a lot to learn. Race 1 was wet, and it was my first time riding the Kawasaki in these conditions. I didn’t have the confidence to push as I wanted to, but we brought it home in one piece which was the target. I didn’t feel so bad in the Superpole race, and I am happy with the step we made. I tried to make the restart in Race 2 after the initial incident, but I had to wear a set of Loris’s leathers which was also a bit strange. He is a lot smaller than me, and it was ultimately just too difficult to ride in his suit. Overall, I am pleased with the weekend and looking forward to riding again on Friday in Jerez.”

Mahias joined the restarted race but brought his bike back to the pits and retired from the race, while Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) also did not finish the race.

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Rider Quotes

Michael Ruben Rinaldi – P1

“I’m really happy about this win because we arrived from a difficult moment. Yesterday after the rain I was a little bit upset because I knew we had a strong pace in the dry. We managed third which wasn’t bad. I said, ‘today is my day, I need to go for it’. The tyre choice was difficult actually because everyone was going for the soft, but last year I saw there was too much drop at the end of the race. I took a risk, but it worked, so really happy about that.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P2

“Today, I’m very lucky because I passed Michael and after my tyre had a big drop. The last three or four laps, I was fighting for second position because he went alone. I’m really happy and very lucky because we didn’t have one more lap, and if we had one more lap maybe I would’ve been fifth or sixth. We are happy to be on the podium again. For me, it was a very strange weekend. Yesterday, we had an electronic problem. I was very fast and I was going to win but we faced the electronic problem. Today, I did my best again. It wasn’t an easy race because front sliding, front tyre finish and also rear tyre. I think it was a problem for all riders.”

Scott Redding – P3

“To be honest, I thought I had one more lap! When I saw Toprak, I thought ‘set him up for the straight’ so I don’t stress the bike too much. I saw the flag and thought ‘no way’. It happens, it was a good race. I would’ve been happy with a top five. A good start before the restart. Restart, back to position, go again. I struggle on second starts back to back, so the start wasn’t great. Got pushed back a little bit. Got my head down and started finding my rhythm. I didn’t feel comfortable, I just felt stable the whole race. This was good because last year I had a big drop. The SC0 seemed to pay off. We were risking but we were forced into that decision, we didn’t have another option. It was a blessing in disguise, so I was happy with that. It was an up and down weekend.”

Alvaro Bautista – P4

“Today I honestly had completely different feeling compared to yesterday. With much more grip, I felt that I could push and that the bike helped me in this. In the Superpole race, I made a good start and gained some positions, so when I saw the red flag, I was frustrated because I was feeling so strong. After the second start, I just tried to stay focused and not make any mistakes. Third position was a fantastic result, and a well-deserved reward for the non-stop work the team and engineers are doing. In Race 2, higher temperatures meant that the conditions worsened, and the feeling too. There was less grip, and it was also more difficult to stop the bike. I just tried to understand the track and do my best. Towards the end, I had some small issues with the brakes, maybe due to the temperature. I ran a little wide at turn one and lost contact with the podium group. I recovered but couldn’t quite get close enough to them. Anyway, I’m happy, as it has been a solid weekend. It seems that in the last few races we’ve worked out some details together, identifying a good base set-up and more consistent in terms of reducing the gap to the front. I hope we can continue this trend until the end of the season.”

Andrea Locatelli – P5

“This was a very difficult race, because we lose completely the grip on the rear tyre. But in the end, I am a little bit happy because we do a really good job today. This morning we lost the opportunity to start in the front with the Superpole Race but, in Race 2 we tried to get the maximum and we push every lap – I’m really happy with this. For us, it’s not such a lucky weekend because also yesterday we had a little bit of a problem in the wet conditions but yeah, I repeat in the end we need to be happy because we closed the weekend well. Now we have Jerez and Portimao, and for sure we try to stay focused to get the maximum. We are faster and stronger, we are in the front group and for this I am really happy. Also, really, thanks to my team for all the work they have done this weekend because also we make a lot of crash! It is not so easy, but this is the job. I want to thank all my guys and also Yamaha, because we have the new contract now and I stay with Yamaha and this great team for two more years. I am really happy for this and for sure we try to push every day, every session, to stay in front.”

Jonathan Rea – P6

“In the Superpole Race I had a really good bike set-up; my guys changed the bike throughout the weekend. It was a lot of fun, fighting with Toprak and the rhythm was very fast in a five lap race. It was more about who wanted it than who was most clever with set-up. Overall it was a difficult weekend because we didn’t maximise our potential, both in Race One and Race Two. In the final race today, right from the start, I really struggled in the braking area to stop the bike. On Friday we made a long race simulation with the bike and it felt OK but I still had a drop of pace about lap 14. But today my pace in the middle of the race was terrible. I was just getting pushed into all the corners. I couldn’t be fluid with the bike. It was a real surprise and disappointing because I think we could have been much more competitive.”

Alex Lowes – DNF

“It’s a shame to be taken out of the final race. We had worked really hard on our used tyres all weekend so I believe we could have had a solid end to the weekend. The Superpole Race was good for us so it was a shame Bautista passed me on the final lap to lose a podium position! We tried the SC1 front and I didn’t have as much confidence on the brakes with this tyre so it was hard to pass him back on the final lap. In Race Two I didn’t get the best start; sometimes the clutch grabs differently to how I expect and this caused me to end up back in the pack a little bit. I got knocked off from someone inside of me. I took a big impact from my bike in the face and also got my right hand and wrist caught, so now we are going to hospital in Barcelona to get it checked. A big thank you to all the Catalan fans. It’s the team’s home race and I really wanted to be on the podium for them this weekend. Due to some bad luck it wasn’t the weekend we wanted.”

WorldSBK Catalunya Sunday Results

Source: MCNews.com.au

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Nine Catalunya Saturday Report

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Three Ducati riders stood on the podium after the opening race of the Catalunya World Superbike weekend in what was the first time since 2012 that the Italian machines had locked out the rostrum.

A late charge from Scott Redding saw him take maximum points ahead of Axel Bassani in what was the rookies first podium finish. Michael Ruben Rinaldi rounded out the podium ahead of Jonathan Rea.

Championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered a machine failure which forced the Pata Yamaha to retire and thus score no points, thus Rea will take a six-point lead into Sunday’s two battles.

Redding’s win edges him a little closer to the top two in the championship. Redding is now 47-points behind Razgatlioglu and 53-points behind Rea, but there are a lot of championship points still to be scored before this championship is decided.

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WorldSBK Race One Report

Jonathan Rea quickly hit the front as the race got underway while Axel Bassani battled his way through the pack and fought with Razgatlioglu in the first half of the race before the pair closed the gap to Rea. ‘

Eventually they both found their way past Rea, and Bassani then took the lead after Razgatlioglu pulled over with a technical issue.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – DNF

“Today was the first time I’m very fast in the wet conditions, my team give me a great bike and I could take the lead for the last laps… until the electrical problem arrived. So, I am surprised and happy about this performance, because you know I am not normally so fast in wet conditions, and normally I try my best just for a good position. But, I see that I can go to the front after I pass Johnny – and I say, this race is my race, we can win in the rain! I think every rider had a problem with entry to the corner and also rear sliding. My feeling was much better after some laps, with Bassani a little bit fighting, but also after I pass Johnny we go together. Then feeling good and I ride better because I know which corners I am sliding and I try also different lines for better grip. I am still surprised because wet conditions I am not normally fast, so this is a big improvement for me. After electrical problem of course I am very angry, but this weekend is not finished and also many races left this year – also two races tomorrow. I try my best, I try again for the win.”

As the 20-lap race progressed, the two factory Ducati riders of Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Scott Redding started to hit their stride.

In the closing stages, Redding passed team-mate Rinaldi for second and then put a move on Bassani for the lead with a handful of laps to go.  After hitting the front Redding managed to pull away from Bassani to secure the victory while Rinaldi rounded out the all-Ducati podium.

Scott Redding – P1

“The first few laps were really difficult. From the middle of the race, though, I started to gain confidence. If I have to be honest, when I arrived close to the podium group and saw two Ducatis in front of me I thought, “I’ll take some risks but I want to win”. I’m very happy to have given this satisfaction to my team. Let’s keep on thinking race by race and then we’ll take stock at the end of the season”.  

Axel Bassani – P2

“It’s a very strange situation but I’m very, very, very happy! It was such a difficult race because the asphalt was very slippery. I tried to stay focused. It was very strange to stay with Jonny and Toprak for the first time. A lot of emotions. I’m very happy. I say thank you to all my team, my family. I cried for the entire last lap because it was emotional! Fantastic.”

Michael Rinaldi – P3

“I was really upset about the rain because my race pace in dry conditions was really positive. However, I remained focused and only thought about pushing. At the end, I tried to attack Bassani but in the last two laps, it was not easy to ride because of the water coming from his slipstream. Anyway, I am very satisfied and I hope to get another good result in the dry tomorrow“.

New championship leader Jonathan Rea claimed fourth ahead of Michael van der Mark who applied late pressure to Rea.

Jonathan Rea – P4

“A very tough race, especially in those conditions when it comes on you ten minutes before the race starts. In the beginning, when it was fully wet, I felt great. I got a horrendous start but I could lead at the end of the first lap, passing a lot of riders. We hadn’t ridden here in the wet this weekend so you get a little bit nervous, also about the set up. What’s the right set-up direction to go in? I feel like we just got that a little bit wrong. We went full wet in the rear – a full really wet set up – but there was no standing water on the surface. The track was just wet. After three or four laps the rain stopped so when the temperature came up I was really struggling, because we were not putting weight on the tyre. Coming out of the corners the bike was just ‘sitting’ onto the tyre and spinning. On the brakes I felt quite good! When Toprak and Bassani came past I could see that they had a lot more traction. One of the hardest fought fourth places of the season.”

Michael van der Mark – P5

“This morning in FP3 I felt really good. I had good pace after making some changes to the bike which I felt comfortable with. In Superpole I was quite happy with my laps. P9 on the grid wasn’t ideal, but I knew we had a good bike for the race. The race then was wet. I had an OK start and got into a good rhythm and started to pass people. At a certain point in the race I was feeling really confident but I felt the bike spinning as soon as I picked the bike up out of the corner, especially compared to the other riders. For me it was an enjoyable race but it was also really frustrating as I had the feeling that if I had a little more grip on the exit I could have been up there fighting for the podium. Anyway, this is another race done and we learnt a lot from it. We have to find the solution when it’s wet again to get more drive grip.”

Alex Lowes claimed sixth place ahead of Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes while Alvaro Bautista claimed ninth and Chaz Davies rounded out the top ten a nose ahead of the first Yamaha home, Kohta Nozane.

Alex Lowes – P6

“Sixth was OK today, but this track is one of the more difficult ones for us. You have the bike on its side for a long time to come back to the late apexes of the corners. Free Practice Three this morning was quite good, Superpole was also, and in the race when I saw it was going to wet I thought I was going to be quite strong and  challenge for the podium. In the rain I am normally pretty fast but today I did not have the grip. I was sliding a lot on corner entry, the back was really sliding, and on the exit I could not get the bike to drive. It was a long race. I enjoyed it, but not to be in the position I was in. On the other side, it was easy to have no points today, so it can always be worse. I honestly thought that I rode well so I can’t complain. I just have to try and do better tomorrow.”

Leon Haslam – P7

“Qualifying was positive and we were not so far off, similar to Magny-Cours really. We have a more stable dry setting anyway, that’s for sure. But I was still looking forward to racing in the rain because I felt we might have the opportunity to perhaps go for the podium. Unfortunately though, right from lap one I really struggled with corner entry. I tried to get around it, and was able to fight with a few riders, but I honestly feel that I could have been faster if we had chosen a slightly different engine-brake setting. We’ll see how the weather is tomorrow and if we can fight for a better result”.

Tom Sykes – P8

“It obviously was great to get pole position in Superpole but then at the race start, I went from pole position to 15th. In the rainy conditions I got on a lot of paint on the track after half a metre so the bike spun up twice. It was unfortunate because in the early laps we had good speed and then everybody seemed to go quite flat so it was difficult to make the difference, so it was a disappointment but it is like it is. The bike was working very good in a lot of areas, just missing entry grip on the rear. This is something to look after for tomorrow and then we will get our next chance.”

Alvaro Bautista – P9

“This morning’s track conditions were much better than yesterday and we were able to lap faster in the final free practice session, but then in qualifying we really struggled. The rear tyre was spinning a lot and I didn’t have any grip, which meant I couldn’t make a really good lap, so we started very far back in Race 1. The first part of the race was difficult, as the rear tyre was still spinning a lot. I changed mapping and started to feel better, especially with the engine brake and traction control. As a result, I started to gain some confidence and increase my pace and, from the middle of the race onwards, I was able to race with similar pace to the front group. We made up a few positions, after which the gap was too big. We have collated a lot of information anyway, so let’s see what kind of weather we will have tomorrow and if we can use today’s experience to get a better result”.

Andrea Locatelli finished in 12th place after falling down through the order as the race wore on, eventually finishing four-tenths clear of French rider Lucas Mahias. Isaac Viñales was 14th with Leandro Mercado taking the final point from Race 1 with 15th.

Andrea Locatelli – P12

“It was a very difficult race for me, because I try to start very well and also in the first corner I made the second position, but in the end during the race I spin a lot on the rear tyre – I don’t know what the reason is but I still try to get the maximum on the wet condition. When I tried to open the gas, I continued to play with the throttle but I can’t go forward in the exit of the corner and so I lose many seconds just spinning, spinning! But, now we need to forget a little bit! We just need to understand what happened today, then we need to forget and stay focused on the next race because tomorrow we have another two races. I feel positive and also today we will learn something, and then we will see tomorrow. For sure, if we have dry conditions we are ready to fight with the front group!”

Samuele Cavalieri took home 16th place on his first start of 2021 with the Barni Racing Team with Christophe Ponsson in 17th. Loris Cresson came home in 18th place ahead of Jonas Folger and Lachlan Epis in 20th on his WorldSBK debut in difficult conditions.

Epis finished a lap down with a best lap of 2m04.070. The fastest lap of the race was recorded by Scott Redding at 1m56.166, but even that was 15-seconds slower than a regular dry pace at Catalunya, underlining the difficulty of the conditions.

Garrett Gerloff did not even make the race start after a crash on the Sighting Lap as he lost the rear of his Yamaha YZF R1 machine on the kerbs on the exit of Turn 10 and on the run through Turn 11, damaging his bike and preventing him from gridding up for the 20-lap encounter.

Catalunya WorldSBK Race One Results

WorldSBK Championship Points

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WorldSSP

After two years away from the top step of the podium in the FIM Supersport World Championship, Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) was back on top after a rain-affected Race 1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Hyundai N Catalunya Round after switching tyres in the early stages of the race.

Only two riders stayed out at the end of Lap 2 when the rest of entire field pitted, Loic Arbel (Andotrans Team Torrento) and Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) the only riders opting to stay out. While they gained track position initially, the switch of tyres proved to be the better strategy.

Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) came out of the pits first but Odendaal, along with a number of other riders, were subsequently penalised for a pit-stop that was quicker than the mandatory stop time length of 1min-21secs that is enforced for safety reasons and had the time difference added to their total race time.

Nonetheless Krummenacher was able to pass Odendaal on track and went on to build a gap of around 16-seconds by the end of the 18-lap encounter.

Spanish rider Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) moved into second place, and De Rosa then pushed Odendaal back to fourth, but after his time penalty was applied he was relegated to eighth.

Turkish star Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) started the race from tenth place but soon find himself leading the race at Turn 1 after an incredible start, with Öncü finishing the race in fourth place after a late-race battle with teammate Oettl. Oettl was another who was penalized for a pit intervention time infringement, with 1.995s added to his time.

Arbel was the only rider who stayed out of the pits throughout the race and, despite losing time on slick tyres as the track was wet but drying, finished in sixth place in his first race in the Championship, less than a second behind Oettl in the final classification. Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) had a strong race as his comeback from injury continues finishing in seventh place, ahead of Odendaal.

Odendaal’s teammate, Peer Sebestyen, was eight seconds back from Odendaal in ninth place with Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) tenth on his return to the Championship.

Simon Jespersen (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), competing in place of Dominique Aegerter, came home in 11th place but had a 17.795s pit intervention time penalty added to his time, having initially crossed the line in ninth place.

Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) was 12th place with Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in 13th; the Indonesian given a 19.450s penalty for a pit intervention time infringement.

Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) was 14th despite a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start with Ludovic Cauchi (GMT94 Yamaha) completing the points on his WorldSSP debut.

Young Australian Billy van Eerde kept his nose clean to cross the line in 22nd place on what was his World Supersport debut.

WorldSSP Race One Results

WorldSSP Championship Points

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WSSP300

It was a run to the line to decide multiple positions in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with 2020 Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) claiming his second victory of the 2021 campaign by just one tenth of a second ahead of Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing).

Championship contender Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) scored no points after a Turn 1 crash.

Young Aussie Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) crashed out at Turn 5 on Lap 8.

WorldSSP300 Race One

WorldSSP300 Championship Points

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Catalunya WorldSBK Schedule

2021 WorldSBK Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au