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Mandalika Circuit in Indonesia says it’s ready for WSBK
Mandalika Circuit construction wraps up
Paving of the main track of the 4.31-kilometre Mandalika Circuit has completed with a ceremony held on Sunday. The completion of asphalting construction marked the Mandalika Circuit’s readiness to host the international FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK) from November 12-14, 2021. COVID notwithstanding that is….
Director of construction and development of the Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA), Dwianto Eko Winaryo, revealed that the newest Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA), said to be the best in the world, was used for the Mandalika International Circuit, giving it an edge over even Malaysia’s Sepang Circuit.
Dwianto Eko Winaryo – MGPA
“Not all circuits in the world use this type of asphalt. Because the product was only released in 2015. Several circuits with SMA are Silverstone, Dubai, and Phillip Island. Not even Sepang (has used SMA) because it was built in 2012.”
SMA is an asphalt mixture that is used to coat the top surface of the asphalt, Winaryo explained. The asphalt layer is intended to strengthen the structure of the surface layer of the track so that it remains strong through stone-by-stone contact.
To support the asphalting progress using SMA, the MGPA brought in coarse aggregate Tau stone from Palu, Central Sulawesi – famous for its hardness. But for the underlay asphalt, stone from North Lombok and East Lombok was used. Seven thousand tons of Palu stone were transported in two stages for the asphalting.
In addition, MGPA brought in cellulose fiber additives from Germany to glue the stone and asphalt. Meanwhile, the limestone filler was brought in from Ponorogo and Probolinggo, East Java.
Automotive expert Arief Kurniawan said once all its facilities are properly equipped, the Mandalika Circuit is likely to become the new favorite track for racing. He believes that the Mandalika Circuit would be able to beat even the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia and Chang Circuit in Thailand, which have already hosted MotoPG events.
Arief Kurniawan
“The circuit has a unique selling point, the location is in a special economic area, and the beach is also beautiful. Even though the access (to the) road is still difficult, but in the next four to five years the access will be easy, it takes a process. Surrounded by panoramic views of the hills and the sea on the southern coast of Lombok Island, the Mandalika International Street Circuit is set to later become the only roadway circuit in the MotoGP calendar,” he added. “The circuit’s paddock area can accommodate 40 garages, while the main tribune has a capacity of more than 50 thousand seats. While the standing tribune is designed to hold approximately 138 thousand people and hospitality suites are planned to accommodate 7,700 people. The paddock area, main tribune, standing tribune, and hospitality suites will not be permanent and can be dismantled when there is no racing, including the circuit track that can be converted into a highway.”
Director of PT Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), Abdulbar M Mansoer, has also claimed the construction work of the main track in the Special Area Road (JKK) has been the fastest, ever.
“Work on this circuit began on June 15, 2020 and finished by August 15, 2021, or one year and one month, and this is the fastest in the world. We want to finish the construction quickly since we aim to host the 2021 MotoGP,” Mansoer explained.
Abdulbar M Mansoer – Director of PT ITDC
“The installation of concrete barriers and the construction of tunnels has been completed, which will serve as the audience’s access to the circuit area, the service area, the hotel, and other facilities in the track area. Overall, the construction work on the Mandalika International Street Circuit is around 92 percent complete, he said. Work is in progress on other supporting facilities, such as the race control and foundation pit building. Currently, we are preparing a medical center equipped with a helipad. The operation and procurement of medical equipment for medical facilities are supported by the Ministry of Health. Overall, the construction of the JKK has approached 92 percent.”
The circuit is expected to be completed by September 12, 2021, or before the FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK), an international motorcycle racing event, scheduled to be held from November 12-14, 2021.
The Circuit’s homologation virtual assessment was conducted on August 12 this year and attended by representatives from Dorna Sport, the Indonesian Motor Association (IMI) and ITDC’s subsidiary, MGPA.
“The assessment was the world’s first virtual assessment of the circuit track and was carried out in a professional manner,” Mansoer remarked. “We are very grateful that during the virtual assessment, Dorna Sport expressed their positive feedback and confidence in the construction progress of the Mandalika Circuit.”
He said he was optimistic that the Mandalika Circuit can end Indonesia’s 26-year wait for hosting international motorcycle racing.
Source: MCNews.com.au
Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea now equal on points
2021 WorldSBK Round Seven
Navarra (Spain)
WorldSBK Superpole Race
Elbows were well and truly out in the Tissot Superpole Race at the Pirelli Navarra Round as the lead MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship trio were engaged in battle throughout the 10-lap encounter that was won by Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) as he made it back-to-back victories at the Circuito de Navarra and the tenth in his WorldSBK career; and also the first time he has claimed three victories on the bounce in his career following on from his Race 2 victory at Most.
Redding got the jump on Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) as the lights went out while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) made up ground from eighth on the grid to run in second on the opening lap. The Championship leading trio battled it out through the opening laps of the ten-lap encounter with all three taking turns to lead the race; Razgatlioglu able to take advantage of Redding and Rea battling to move back into second before making a move on Rea at Turn 1 to take the lead. The trio continued to battle it out before Redding was able to pull away from Rea, who re-passed Razgatlioglu and the trio shared the podium for the seventh time this season.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claimed fourth place for the fourth consecutive race and will lead the second row away from the lights in Race 2, with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in fifth. Lowes was able to pass Locatelli throughout the 10-lap encounter, but Locatelli responded to claim fourth. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) will complete the second row after sixth place in the Superpole Race.
British rider Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) will head the third row from seventh place as his strong weekend at Navarra continues, with Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) completing the third row. Dutchman van der Mark and American Gerloff were also battling it out for eighth place with the BMW rider able to hold on for eighth.
WorldSBK Superpole Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | S. Redding | Ducati Panigale V4 R | / |
| 2 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.631 |
| 3 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | +3.040 |
| 4 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +3.845 |
| 5 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +4.501 |
| 6 | T. Sykes | BMW M 1000 RR | +6.302 |
| 7 | C. Davies | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +7.203 |
| 8 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW M 1000 RR | +10.054 |
| 9 | G. Gerloff | Yamaha YZF R1 | +10.620 |
| 10 | A. Bautista | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +16.297 |
| 11 | K. Nozane | Yamaha YZF R1 | +16.791 |
| 12 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +17.321 |
| 13 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +17.353 |
| 14 | L. Haslam | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +18.531 |
| 15 | L. Mahias | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +18.578 |
| 16 | J. Folger | BMW M 1000 RR | +20.506 |
| 17 | C. Ponsson | Yamaha YZF R1 | +23.206 |
| 18 | L. Mercado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +23.308 |
| 19 | N. Uramoto | Suzuki GSX-R1000R | +28.254 |
| 20 | L. Cresson | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +40.060 |
| 21 | J. Uribe | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +41.263 |
| Not Classified | |||
| RET | T. Rabat | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 4 Laps |
WorldSBK Race Two
The final race of the inaugural Pirelli Navarra Round for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was a tense and dramatic affair as the top three of the Championship battled it out for honours at the Circuito de Navarra. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) came out on top as he claimed a stunning Race 2 victory and left the round top of the Championship heading into the French Round.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu got lightning starts from the 22-lap encounter, the race shortened by one lap following a delayed start after the Warm-Up lap had been completed due to an issue with Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) on the grid. Locatelli swept around the outside of Razgatlioglu and Rea at the start while Rea dropped back behind his teammate, Alex Lowes.
Locatelli and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ran wide in the early stages of the race which forced the pair down the order, allowing Lowes to move up ahead of both of them before Locatelli fought back to run in fourth place; a position he has become very accustomed to over the last couple of rounds.
All three of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Razgatlioglu exchanged positions in the opening laps of the race before it settled down slightly with Razgatlioglu leading the race ahead of Rea and Redding as the lead three in the Championship trio looking to take points out of each other in the Championship battle.
On Lap 17, Rea saved a front-end slide heading into Turn 15 which allowed Redding to close the gap to Rea throughout Lap 18, before the pair went side-by-side into the fast right-hander of Turn 1 on Lap 19. Redding was on the inside, but Rea cut back to keep the position. On the same lap of the race, Redding pulled off an incredible move around the outside of Turn 14 to move into second place after Rea ran wide at Turn 13. It meant Razgatlioglu claimed victory ahead of Redding and Rea with the Turkish star now level with Rea in the Championship on 311 points. Razgatlioglu has 17 podiums in the 2021 campaign which ties him for the record of podiums for a Yamaha rider, level with Ben Spies in 2009.
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.105s
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +3.715s
Locatelli made history with his latest fourth place finish in WorldSBK as he became the first rider to secure five consecutive four place finishes, finishing almost four seconds clear of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in fifth place. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came home in sixth place, less than a second behind Sykes.
Italian rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished in seventh place in Race 2 after battles throughout the race, with Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) claiming eighth place as all five manufacturers were represented in the top eight, with Dutch rider Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in ninth place. Van der Mark had crossed the line ahead of Bautista but was penalised for exceeding track limits on the final lap, meaning he came home in ninth. Rookie Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) took another top ten finish as he continues to impress throughout his rookie campaign.
Bassani’s fellow rookie, Tito Rabat (Barni Racing), was 11th place and just 2.4s away from a top ten finish but was unable to overhaul Bassani, while Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) came home in 12th and took more points from Navarra after not scoring since the Aragon Round that opened the 2021 campaign.
Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport – Yamaha) took home four points with 13th place ahead of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 14th, who had an eventful race. The Frenchman had to serve a double Long Lap Penalty for an irresponsible manoeuvre on the grid after he had been delayed on the grid ahead of the second Warm-Up lap. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) secured a 15th place finish and one point despite a crash on Lap 3 of the 22-lap race at Turn 13, able to battle back through the field. OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing Jayson Uribe and Loris Cresson were the last of the classified runners in 16th and 17th respectively.
Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) both were forced out of the race after coming together at Turn 9. Naomichi Uramoto (JEG Racing) had a technical issue on Lap 9 of 22 at Turn 5 which forced the Suzuki rider out of the race on his WorldSBK’s debut. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was out of the race on Lap 14 after he came off his Honda machine at Turn 2. Kohta Nozane’s (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) race came to an end on the final lap after a 22nd lap crash at Turn 5.
WorldSBK Race Two Results
| Pos | No. Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | / |
| 2 | S. Redding | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +1.105 |
| 3 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +3.715 |
| 4 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +10.758 |
| 5 | T. Sykes | BMW M 1000 RR | +14.437 |
| 6 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +15.151 |
| 7 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +16.875 |
| 8 | A. Bautista | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +18.272 |
| 9 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW M 1000 RR | +18.991 |
| 10 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +29.430 |
| 11 | T. Rabat | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +31.834 |
| 12 | J. Folger | BMW M 1000 RR | +40.104 |
| 13 | C. Ponsson | Yamaha YZF R1 | +49.695 |
| 14 | L. Mahias | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1m12.388 |
| 15 | L. Mercado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1m14.472 |
| 16 | J. Uribe | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1m25.210 |
| 17 | L. Cresson | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1m30.578 |
| Not Classified | |||
| RET | K. Nozane | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1 Lap |
| RET | L. Haslam | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 9 Laps |
| RET | N. Uramoto | Suzuki GSX-R1000R | 15 Laps |
| RET | C. Davies | Ducati Panigale V4 R | / |
| RET | G. Gerloff | Yamaha YZF R1 | / |
Quotes
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“First I have to thank my team, because they did an incredible job to improve my bike so much for Race 2. This weekend was not easy for me, every race we try but every race we struggle a little. I decide P3 is better than crash but when I understand my bike in Race 2 has more potential, I feel full motivation to win. We are very happy with this important result! Also, I see Loka pass Redding into Turn 5 on the first lap, I smile in my helmet and I think “ok, we are like hungry dogs attacking, let’s go!” Thank you again to my team, I enjoyed a lot Race 2 today and now we focus on Magny-Cours and the next races.”
Scott Redding
“It was a really positive weekend. Two wins and a second place: to be honest, is an exciting result. During Race 2 I thought a lot about the strategy, I could have pushed but at the same time, I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. The fight for the World Championship is open and it is necessary to think in these terms. I thank the team for the work they have done. We have great confidence”.
Jonathan Rea
“I had a little bit more margin today. I felt after the Superpole race that I could really fight for it in Race Two. Toprak made a huge step, he was very fast and the rhythm was faster than yesterday. For ten laps I was fighting, fighting, fighting, and I was just waiting for his speed to drop off – but it never really did. I was losing front feeling, having a lot of front slides and it was time for me then to consolidate. I had a big moment in the last corner, when I hit an object on the track, which was just off line. That made the front bobble and I caught the slide, and then I had another slide in T13. It was one of those – a tough weekend. It wasn’t perfect for everybody, people were slipping and sliding around, but it penalised us a little bit more. That said, it was solid. I wasn’t confident coming here so to come away with what we did, and not losing too many points in the championship. It could have been much worse for us.”
Alex Lowes
“The Superpole Race was good for us. We made a few changes on the bike after yesterday and I was stronger. I was able to get closer to the guys in front. The pace felt quite good to the end, nice and consistent. We decided to keep the bike the same for the last race when the temperature went up. I got a good start again but on lap one at T9 everybody was trying to get into position. There are not too many places to pass around here and when Tom Sykes hit me I had to release the brake or else I was going to hit Andrea Locatelli. That was a shame because it put me right back. I struggled to come back through. I was faster than Michael van der Mark but it took me five or six laps to pass him and by the time I had got on the back of him my tyre was moving a lot. It was a frustrating race because I could not fight like I wanted to.”
Andrea Locatelli
“It’s another great weekend for us because we make three times P4. In the races today we improved a little bit, but I made a mistake when I tried to pass Redding in the first lap of Race 2, then Redding tried to pass me and I went a little bit wide. Then in the braking of Turn 9 Lowes touched me and I went off the track and then I am in seventh or eighth position… I tried to push on the maximum to get into my “standard” position of P4 and when I arrived there, I try to follow the front riders but I couldn’t close the gap. In the end, this is okay and I try to make my own rhythm and I finish the race with another P4. We work very well and for sure now we have Magny-Cours and it’s a new track for me with the R1. I have seen it before last year but I need to take some reference with this bike but I think we can do very well also in France. I’m very happy about this weekend and the guys work very well!”
Tom Sykes
“It was not a bad weekend. With the high track temperatures, it was definitely a challenging weekend. For the engines and for the riders, this kind of temperatures got to the limit in the afternoon race. Overall we have been trying to improve the set-up of the bike, certainly since as well the hot test in Catalunya, but still we had some limitations. We had some big problems in the race and we tried two different solutions from the tyre but I had some limitations in some different aspects to be fair. Even in race two I had some issues with turning and understeer, also rear traction. I just worked hard to try to managing the bike on brake pressure, in throttle openings and tried to make the best race I could. I had a lot of pressure throughout the race but we were able to deal with this. The best was lap one. We struggled to get a run on anyone this weekend but there was a bit of confusion between Alex Lowes and Andrea Locatelli and going into the turn at the end of the back straight that was a good opportunity for me so I took that and that gave me a good track position for the rest of the race.”
Michael van der Mark
“It was a tough Sunday. In this morning’s Superpole race I struggled quite a lot with the front end of the bike. I just couldn’t attack anyone or stay with anyone so I was a bit disappointed but anyway, I gained a few starting positions for race two. I then had a good start but I immediately felt that I was losing at the exits compared to the others so I tried to push more on the front but I didn’t feel good and it was quite a long and tough race. We need to improve that but at least we got some points, we always keep trying and I am looking forward to Magny-Cours now.”
Michael Rinaldi
“It was a very difficult round in which we struggled to find the feeling. We worked a lot on the bike and we found a good set up at the end in Race-2. It’s clear that the start from thirteenth position made it difficult to get a good result; but the pace proves us that in another condition we could have been with the group in front. We must remain positive and work hard in view of the next races”.
Alvaro Bautista
“We did not change too much on the bike set-up from yesterday, because in analysing the data we could not find a reason for the crash in race 1. But we did choose a different spec of tyre today and I felt a better with the front, so maybe we just didn’t make the best choice for race 1. I made a bad start in the Superpole race, losing several positions and despite recovering fairly well, I just missed out on P9 and so had to start from the fourth row once again in the afternoon. I made a better start in race 2 but during the first half of the race I struggled to overtake, because we are lacking some traction when exiting the corners, especially when everyone is on fresh tyres and are able to brake hard. After a few laps, when the tyre performance begins to drop, I can be more effective, and in fact our pace at that point was very similar to the top five. Anyway, this was a tough track for us, and I think the upcoming races will be better.”
Leon Haslam
“It’s been a tough weekend, for both me and Alvaro really. In race 2, we were in the same small group but then I lost a little contact with Alvaro when Bassani made a mistake and I risked colliding with him. The lap times weren’t so bad anyway, but then I made a small mistake with the back shift and crashed. That was frustrating because I didn’t feel I was pushing excessively and we were gradually catching Bassani for P10, which would have been nice. Anyway, it is what it is and now we look ahead to the next Magny-Cours round. I’m feeling more confident about the upcoming tracks too, so we’ll see what we can do.”
Jonas Folger
“The Superpole race was pretty good, even if the start didn’t work out, which was the case for all three races. We had problems with the clutch at the start all through the weekend, and we need to work on that now. My pace was good in the second half of the Superpole race. The weather was also a bit cooler, which generally suits us. After a difficult start to race two, the pace was also OK. I am not entirely happy with the weekend but we did score some points. Of course, some other riders took a tumble and that helped us but I made it through OK and we achieved our objective of scoring points.”
WorldSBK Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 311 |
| 2 | Jonathan Rea | 311 |
| 3 | Scott Redding | 273 |
| 4 | Alex Lowes | 169 |
| 5 | Andrea Locatelli | 151 |
| 6 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 150 |
| 7 | Tom Sykes | 146 |
| 8 | Garrett Gerloff | 135 |
| 9 | Michael Van Der Mark | 131 |
| 10 | Chaz Davies | 92 |
| 11 | Alvaro Bautista | 92 |
| 12 | Axel Bassani | 87 |
| 13 | Leon Haslam | 71 |
| 14 | Lucas Mahias | 38 |
| 15 | Tito Rabat | 35 |
| 16 | Kohta Nozane | 30 |
| 17 | Isaac Vinales | 19 |
| 18 | Jonas Folger | 14 |
| 19 | Eugene Laverty | 14 |
| 20 | Christophe Ponsson | 11 |
| 21 | Leandro Mercado | 8 |
| 22 | Marvin Fritz | 6 |
| 23 | Loris Cresson | 3 |
| 24 | Andrea Mantovani | 2 |
| 25 | Luke Mossey | 2 |
WorldSSP
The FIM Supersport World Championship’s first visit to the Circuito de Navarra provided more enthralling drama as Championship contenders Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) battled it out for Race 2 honours at the Pirelli Navarra Round in a shortened encounter after Red Flags were deployed on Lap 15 of the planned 20.
Starting from seventh on the grid, Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing) got the jump to lead the race on the opening lap of the 20-lap race as the Danish rider gained six positions off the line, although his lead did not last long as Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) claimed the lead with a move at the right-hander of Turn 11. Jespersen tried to fight back but had a huge moment on the exit of Turn 11 which allowed Odendaal to keep the lead.
In a familiar story to Race 1, Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) found himself shuffled down the order in the early stages of the race but was able to fight back after getting past his rivals, although had to close down a gap of almost two seconds to Odendaal as he looked for his second win of the weekend. On Lap 8, Aegerter attempted to make the pass at Turn 15 but Odendaal was able to respond on Lap 9.
After four laps of not being able to pass Odendaal, Aegerter looked to make the move on Lap 13 into the final corner and briefly got ahead, although Odendaal was able to re-pass on the run into Turn 1. Aegerter did not lead Odendaal lead for much longer, though, as he made a move at Turn 3 – just one lap before Red Flags were shown after a crash for Borja Gomez (Yamaha Ms Racing) at Turn 1; Gomez taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the incident and will be transported to Estella Hospital for further assessments, with Gomez having multiple contusions but conscious. It meant Aegerter claimed victory to extend his Championship lead over Odendaal, with the gap between the two now 47 points. Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) claimed another podium in his rookie WorldSSP campaign after fighting his way back through the field.
Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) had a strong weekend at Navarra and claimed fourth place in his second round with the Yamaha Motoxracing outfit with his former teammate, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) in fifth; the pair battling it out for fourth during the latter stages of the race. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed sixth place after a challenging weekend for the German rider.
Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) was seventh and narrowly missed out on a place in the top six after fighting with Oettl, while Jespersen finished in eighth place after being unable to maintain his place on the podium but an impressive WorldSSP debut for the Danish rider as he stood in for the injured Hannes Soomer. Italian Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was ninth with Swiss rider Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing), who was running inside the top five in the early stages of the race, completing the top ten.
David Sanchis Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing) was 11th after a strong debut weekend for the Spanish rider as he replaced Danny Webb after he split with the team, with Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) claiming a points finish on his return from injury, Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) claimed 13th place with Daniel Valle (GMT94 Yamaha) 14th as he stood in at the GMT94 Yamaha outfit. Oscar Iglesias Gutierrez (Yamaha MS Racing) rounded out the points paying position with 15th and his best WorldSSP result in his second round.
Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) had an eventful race as he fell down the order in the early stages but battled back to take 16th place, ahead of Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura); Taccini the highest placed rider competing in the WorldSSP Challenge. He had a battle with fellow WorldSSP Challenge competitor Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) with Manfredi in 19th place, ahead of Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti), Luigi Montella (Chiodo Moto Racing) and Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing).
Hikari Okubo (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) crashed at Turn 15 which put an end to his fight for points while Randy Krummenacher (EBA Racing Team) and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) came together at Turn 3 on Lap 4 as they both dropped down the order, although both were able to re-join. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards although it was deemed no further action was necessary.
Eduardo Montero Huerta’s (DK Motorsport) race came to an end on Lap 5 as he crashed out on his own and was diagnosed with a right wrist contusion following a check-up at the medical centre, while Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) crashed out at Turn 12, although he was able to re-join. He then had a second crash on his own at Turn 11 which forced the Indonesian rider out of the race.
Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) was declared unfit for Race 2 after his crash in Race 1 on Saturday with a right shoulder dislocation, while Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) was also declared unfit after a crash in Warm-Up with a cervical strain and right ankle contusion.
WorldSSP Race Two Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R6 | / |
| 2 | S. Odendaal | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.294 |
| 3 | L. Bernardi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.264 |
| 4 | F. Caricasulo | Yamaha YZF R6 | +3.700 |
| 5 | J. Cluzel | Yamaha YZF R6 | +3.965 |
| 6 | P Oettl | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +5.624 |
| 7 | N. Tuuli | MV Agusta F3 675 | +5.855 |
| 8 | S. Jespersen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +5.969 |
| 9 | R. De Rosa | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +6.536 |
| 10 | M. Brenner | Yamaha YZF R6 | +7.384 |
| 11 | D. Sanchis Martinez | Yamaha YZF R6 | +10.087 |
| 12 | C. Bergman | Yamaha YZF R6 | +10.674 |
| 13 | F. Fuligni | Yamaha YZF R6 | +11.571 |
| 14 | D. Valle | Yamaha YZF R6 | +14.809 |
| 15 | O. Gutierrez | Yamaha YZF R6 | +15.302 |
| 16 | V. Takala | Yamaha YZF R6 | +17.424 |
| 17 | P. Sebestyen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +21.085 |
| 18 | L. Taccini | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1 Sector |
| 19 | K. Manfredi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1 Sector |
| 20 | M. Fabrizio | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1 Sector |
| 21 | L. Montella | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1 Sector |
| 22 | M. Herrera | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1 Lap |
| Not Classified | |||
| NC | R. Krummenacher | Yamaha YZF R6 | / |
| RET | B. Gomez | Yamaha YZF R6 | / |
| RET | C. Oncu | Kawasaki ZX-6R | / |
| RET | G. Hendra Pratama | Yamaha YZF R6 | / |
| RET | H. Okubo | Kawasaki ZX-6R | / |
| RET | E. Montero Huerta | Yamaha YZF R6 | / |
Quotes
Dominique Aegerter – P1
“It was, again, a big battle from the start. My start was a little bit better today but still we were battling a lot with many riders. I think the fans enjoyed it. I could close the gap to Steven. It was not so easy to overtake him. Sad that the race was Red Flagged, I hope the rider who crashed is okay. No wheelies, no burnouts for the fans but I hope you enjoyed it. We took the maximum out of this weekend and we will have some espresso tonight with them and I can’t wait to relax, after three hard weeks racing, a little bit at home with friends and family.”
Steven Odendaal – P2
“I tried a different strategy today and unfortunately it didn’t work out. We just didn’t have the pace this weekend but it’s all about the long run and being consistent, getting the maximum points we can. We just missed a little bit and I’m sure we’ll catch them in the next one. Sad that the race ended early, but I hope that the rider who crashed is okay. Not nice to end that way.”
Luca Bernardi – P3
“I’m happy for this second podium here. We did a good job with the team. I had a good feeling with the bike. I’m a little bit sad for this Red Flag but this is the race. Next time, we try to take another podium and I’m happy.”
WorldSSP Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Dominique Aegerter | 257 |
| 2 | Steven Odendaal | 210 |
| 3 | Philipp Oettl | 156 |
| 4 | Luca Bernardi | 150 |
| 5 | Jules Cluzel | 124 |
| 6 | Manuel Gonzalez | 120 |
| 7 | Federico Caricasulo | 84 |
| 8 | Randy Krummenacher | 77 |
| 9 | Can Alexander Oncu | 66 |
| 10 | Raffaele De Rosa | 63 |
| 11 | Niki Tuuli | 58 |
| 12 | Hannes Soomer | 47 |
| 13 | Marc Alcoba | 40 |
| 14 | Christoffer Bergman | 39 |
| 15 | Kevin Manfredi | 22 |
| 16 | Vertti Takala | 21 |
| 17 | Galang Hendra Pratama | 21 |
| 18 | Simon Jespersen | 15 |
| 19 | Peter Sebestyen | 15 |
| 20 | Marcel Brenner | 10 |
| 21 | Valentin Debise | 9 |
| 22 | Sheridan Morais | 9 |
| 23 | David Sanchis Martinez | 8 |
| 24 | Maria Herrera | 7 |
| 25 | Filippo Fuligni | 6 |
| 26 | Michel Fabrizio | 6 |
| 27 | Max Enderlein | 5 |
| 28 | Roberto Mercandelli | 5 |
| 29 | Hikari Okubo | 4 |
| 30 | Massimo Roccoli | 4 |
| 31 | Federico Fuligni | 4 |
| 32 | Luca Grunwald | 3 |
| 33 | Matteo Patacca | 3 |
| 34 | Stephane Frossard | 3 |
| 35 | Daniel Valle | 2 |
| 36 | Ondrej Vostatek | 2 |
| 37 | Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias | 1 |
| 38 | Luca Ottaviani | 1 |
| 39 | Leonardo Taccini | 1 |
| 40 | Davide Pizzoli | 1 |
| 41 | Pawel Szkopek | 1 |
2021 WorldSBK Calendar
| Date | Track | SBK | SS600 | SS300 |
| 3-5 Sep | Magny-Cours (France) | X | X | X |
| 17-19 Sep | Catalunya (Spain) | X | X | X |
| 24-26 Sep | Jerez (Spain) | X | X | X |
| 1-3 Oct | Portimao (Portugal) | X | X | X |
| 15-17 Oct | San Juan Villicum (Argentina) | X | X | |
| 12-14 Nov | Mandalika*** (Indonesia) | X | X |
Source: MCNews.com.au
Scott Redding takes first blood at Navarra
2021 WorldSBK Round Seven
Navarra (Spain) Saturday
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed his second consecutive WorldSBK win in a row and the ninth of his career after a commanding victory on Saturday at Navarra as he closed the gap to title rival Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) down to 45-points in the Championship standings.
As the lights went out for the first race of the weekend, Redding got the jump over pole-sitter Rea into Turn 1 but Redding’s advantage did not last long as Rea fought back at the Turn 6-7 section of the circuit to re-take the lead, also withstanding an early challenge from rookie Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) on the opening lap.
At the start of Lap 6, Redding got a better run out of the Turn 15 right-hand hairpin to make a move on Rea into the incredibly fast right-hand Turn 1, getting the move completed just before they turned in before pulling out a gap of over a second on Rea over the next handful of laps.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was a rider making moves from the start as he battled from eighth place to fourth on the opening lap and found himself behind team-mate Locatelli, but spent numerous laps behind him before he was finally able to pass his rookie team-mate on Lap 7 after the Italian ran wide.
Rea was running in second place but survived a couple of mistakes at Turn 9, a big moment before running wide a on Lap 15, losing around two-seconds to Redding but did not lose out to Razgatlioglu in either the race or the Championship battle; Rea extending his lead over Razgatlioglu to seven-points.
There were plenty of battles up and down the field as riders searched for the best possible position, with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) coming home in fifth place behind Redding, Rea, Razgatlioglu and Locatelli, with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in sixth and Dutch team-mate Michael van der Mark in seventh.
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) had a battle in the latter stages of the race over eighth place, with American star Gerloff unable to make a pass on the youngest rider on the WorldSBK grid, Bassani holding on to take eighth place with Gerloff in ninth. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) completed the top ten after a challenging opening race, the Italian involved in battles in the midfield throughout.
Rookie Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed 11th place after a strong race battling throughout the field ahead of Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) in 12th; Rabat involved in a long battle with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) with the British rider coming home in 13th place. Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) scored his first points since Race 2 at MotorLand Aragon with 14th place, with Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport – Yamaha) completing the points. Ponsson found himself on the ground at Turn 3 after an incident involving Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) on Lap 3 at Turn 3 but was able to re-mount his Yamaha machine to secure one point in Race 1; Mercado retired from the race.
Three riders finished the race but were unable to claim a points finish in Race 1 at Navarra with Suzuki wildcard Naomichi Uramoto (JEG Racing) finishing in 16th place, just two tenths behind Ponsson and narrowly missing out on points. Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) had been running in the points-paying positions during the 23-lap race but fell down the order to finish 17th, with teammate Jayson Uribe in 18th; the American having a crash on Lap 13 at Turn 13 but able to recover to finish the race.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had an incident on his own at Turn 11. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) retired from the race after he crashed on his own at Turn 9 while, at the same time, Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) had a crash at Turn 12 but was able to re-join before bringing his machine back to the pits.
Scott Redding – P1
“I’m really happy because it was not an easy race with such a high temperature. But we managed to find the ideal conditions to race at our best. Since the first laps, I had confidence, the feeling was excellent, I felt comfortable. The World Championship? I just want to keep thinking race after race. I’m doing my best, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team and Ducati are doing their best. Let’s continue like this.”
Jonathan Rea – P2
“What a lap in Superpole! I really got the best out of the tyre but I was overcooking a few corners, missing some apexes, so I was really surprised at the lap time. I was a little bit nervous about the start of the race. It was very important to be at the front and we had quite a good start, but Scott was just a little bit better. At the beginning I felt I could go to the front and when Scott went quite wide in T5 and T6 I went on the inside and passed him. From there I just kept my rhythm until he blasted me on the straight. After that I thought, ’I’m there’ but then the front started to heat up, stability started to go down and the front was moving. Over-pushing the front, I had a few slides and enough to tell me to brake a bit earlier. I lost as much as one second during one mistake and Scott went away. I did not feel he was destroying us lap-by-lap when it was constant, the gap was quite similar, so I feel we can make some changes on the front tomorrow to make a step forward.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P3
“The race was not easy for me because of the very hot conditions, but it was the same for everybody. After five laps the feeling was like the front tyre was destroyed, there was a very early drop in performance, and every corner I feel like I nearly crash but I try my best. We are happy because again we arrive on the podium and take good points for the championship – but this is not enough for me. Tomorrow I want to try to win. Johnny and Scott were very fast today, but in the second lap I lost time with a big mistake with a missed shift so they got away. After I try again to catch but we did not have enough for second or first position because they were very fast. Tomorrow I will fight again – it is not easy in the heat, especially with the tyres, but we will see.”
Andrea Locatelli – P4
“The race for sure was not easy today but I say that we need to fight a little bit because in these conditions we were not quite strong enough. Also yesterday the feeling with the bike was not so bad but today we lost a little bit with the heat. In the end it was a good race because the gap to win is a little bit closer – it’s not so big! We had a little bit of a problem with the gear change, I missed some shift during the first and second lap and so I lost the gap with the front riders. We need to be happy though because we have another good result and for sure, tomorrow we try to find another solution to go a bit faster compared to today and then we will see. But today we did a good job overall.”
Alex Lowes – P5
“In Superpole I felt quite good and my laps were not too bad. I used a race tyre and two Q tyres. On the second one I made a mistake in the last sector. It was so close. Jonathan and Scott did good laps but behind it was only a couple of tenths, not even that. I ended up seventh and the position was not ideal coming from the third row. In the race I had a good start and was fourth until Toprak passed me. I thought I would sit behind those guys out front but I wasn’t fast enough because I was struggling with the front. I was a bit quicker than the guys behind so it was a bit of a boring race for me. But it was a long race – and hot. I used the Race One experience to try to be consistent and understand how I can improve for Sunday.”
Tom Sykes – P6
“It was not too bad. We had a good qualifying and starting from the front row is always a nice target. Coming off the start, another rider came by me and almost took my handle bar so I had to close the gas and a Kawasaki had gone by. So the first lap wasn’t very good and then, to be honest, behind Alex Lowes on the first couple of laps, it was just a bit too steady so I need to have a look at that for tomorrow. I need to try to get a better start and first couple of laps but after that I just settled into the rhythm that we found yesterday afternoon. It looks like everyone was suffering a little bit more today because the times were slower than yesterday afternoon. I really struggled with the front end of the bike with the turning and some of the rear traction so for sure it was a difficult race to manage. We had to change the way to approach some corners et cetera and try to find a way to ride around those problems so we’ve got a lot of work to do tonight and hopefully we can improve the set-up for these hot conditions tomorrow.”
Michael van der Mark – P7
“To be honest, I was expecting a lot more. This morning, we made a huge step in performance and in lap time consistency. Also in Superpole, we’ve made a good step. I was tenth but the gap to P5 was really close. I was happy with that, but in the warmer conditions in the race the bike just did not react like in the cooler conditions. It’s normal but I struggled too much so we need to find a solution for tomorrow.”
WorldSBK Race One
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | S. Redding | Ducati Panigale V4 R | / |
| 2 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +2.519 |
| 3 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | +5.894 |
| 4 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +9.405 |
| 5 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +16.219 |
| 6 | T. Sykes | BMW M 1000 RR | +20.600 |
| 7 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW M 1000 RR | +24.158 |
| 8 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +26.497 |
| 9 | G. Gerloff | Yamaha YZF R1 | +26.718 |
| 10 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +29.602 |
| 11 | K. Nozane | Yamaha YZF R1 | +39.387 |
| 12 | T. Rabat | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +41.316 |
| 13 | L. Haslam | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +44.338 |
| 14 | J. Folger | BMW M 1000 RR | +48.470 |
| 15 | C. Ponsson | Yamaha YZF R1 | +1m21.773 |
| 16 | N. Uramoto | Suzuki GSX-R1000R | +1m21.956 |
| 17 | L. Cresson | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1m30.006 |
| 18 | J. Uribe | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1 Lap |
| Not Classified | |||
| RET | C. Davies | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 17 Laps |
| RET | A. Bautista | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 17 Laps |
| RET | L. Mahias | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 20 Laps |
| RET | L. Mercado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 20 Laps |
WorldSBK Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | 286 |
| 2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 279 |
| 3 | Scott Redding | 241 |
| 4 | Alex Lowes | 154 |
| 5 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 141 |
| 6 | Garrett Gerloff | 134 |
| 7 | Andrea Locatelli | 132 |
| 8 | Tom Sykes | 131 |
| 9 | Michael Van Der Mark | 122 |
| 10 | Chaz Davies | 89 |
| 11 | Alvaro Bautista | 84 |
| 12 | Axel Bassani | 81 |
| 13 | Leon Haslam | 71 |
| 14 | Lucas Mahias | 36 |
| 15 | Tito Rabat | 30 |
| 16 | Kohta Nozane | 30 |
| 17 | Isaac Vinales | 19 |
| 18 | Eugene Laverty | 14 |
| 19 | Jonas Folger | 10 |
| 20 | Christophe Ponsson | 8 |
| 21 | Leandro Mercado | 7 |
| 22 | Marvin Fritz | 6 |
| 23 | Loris Cresson | 3 |
| 24 | Andrea Mantovani | 2 |
| 25 | Luke Mossey | 2 |
WorldSSP
Drama and tension throughout the opening race of the FIM Supersport World Championship’s first visit to the Circuito de Navarra as Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) secured a sensational victory for the seventh time this season after a race-long battle with Championship rival Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) at the Pirelli Navarra Round.
The opening laps of the race were unpredictable as the lead riders exchanged positions consistently. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) were the big winners as the lights went out with Spanish rider Gonzalez took the lead of the race from second, while Odendaal moved into second from fourth as Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) fell to fifth.
After an impressive Friday and Saturday at Navarra, Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing) moved into the podium places at the start of the race, challenging Gonzalez for second place in the opening laps after Gonzalez lost out to Odendaal. Gonzalez was able to respond on Lap 6 to re-take the lead in search of his first WorldSSP victory. Aegerter dropped down the order in the opening laps but fought back to be in the lead group on Lap 7 as he worked his way back through the field.
Aegerter’s fightback meant he was directly behind Odendaal in the middle phase of the race and soon found himself in second, behind Odendaal, as the pair made a move on Gonzalez on Lap 8 of the 20-lap encounter, with the top two in the Championship running as the top two in the race. On Lap 9, Aegerter made an aggressive move at the Turn 15 hairpin that ends the lap, but Odendaal was able to respond on the start-finish straight at the start of Lap 10.
Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) was another who battled his way up through the order including two aggressive moves into Turn 15 and joined the lead group, before an incredible move into the fast right-hander of Turn 1 on Gonzalez to move into third. He tried a similar move through the first two fast right-handers on Aegerter, but the Swiss rider was able to defend into Turn 3. With eight laps to go, Odendaal made a move on Turn 1 on Aegerter before Aegerter responded through Turns 2 and 3 to regain the lead. Aegerter eventually got past Odendaal and went on to claim victory at Navarra with Odendaal in second and Bernardi third; unable to take advantage of the battling duo ahead although he did battle Odendaal for second throughout the final laps.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed fourth place in the thrilling encounter with his former teammate, Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) in fifth, his joint-best result since his WorldSSP campaign. Just half-a-second separated Cluzel and Caricasulo at the end of the race, with Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) coming home in sixth place.
German Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished seventh after battling his way up through the field, finishing a second clear of teammate Can Öncü after the Turkish star battled his way up from 24th to eighth in Race 1. Jespersen lost ground as the race progressed but still claimed a stunning ninth place ahead of Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti); Jespersen taking the first top-ten finish for a Danish rider in WorldSSP since 2011 when Robbin Harms at Aragon.
Indonesian Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) came home in 11th place after a strong Race 1 at the Circuito de Navarra ahead of the returning Hikari Okubo (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) in 12th; Okubo making his WorldSSP debut in place of the injured Shogo Kawasaki. David Sanchis Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing) was 13th on his WorldSSP debut with Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) and Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) completing the points.
Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had a crash but was able to re-join the race, although he brought his Kawasaki machine into the pits later on. Eduardo Montero Huerta (DK Motorsport), Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias (Yamaha MS Racing) and Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) also retired from the race. Gonzalez was taken to the medical centre following the crash. Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) had an off in the closing stages of the race and brought his Yamaha machine back into the pitlane.
Gonzalez was out of the race after he crashed at Turn 9 after being shuffled out of the lead group, bringing to an end his record-equally run of points-scoring finishes of 25 consecutive WorldSSP races in the points, a record that stretched back to his WorldSSP debut at Phillip Island in 2020. Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) was a late retirement after he had an incident at Turn 13 after a strong showing in the race, running inside the top ten.
P1 Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)
“It was a very good day for me. It’s very hot out here in Navarra and it was a long 20-lap race, but we had a great battle in the first few laps, a lot of overtaking, big battles to get the lead. When I had the lead, I could go at my own pace and in the end, I had a three-second advantage.”
P2 Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)
“It was quite a hard race today, the temperatures were really, really hot. When Aegerter passed me, I held on for a little while. I thought I could try to block pass him again but I just didn’t have it in me. Unfortunately, we have to settle for what we can. It’s a long run in the Championship, not that I’m thinking of that, but it is important. The maximum we could take was 20 points today.”
P3 Luca Bernardi (CM Racing)
“Today was a very hard race, very hot. Step by step, I worked with my team and I have a good feeling with the bike. It was a very hard race and in the last lap I tried to take second position.”
WorldSSP Race One
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Gap |
| 1 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.425 |
| 2 | S. Odendaal | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.425 |
| 3 | L. Bernardi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +5.074 |
| 4 | J. Cluzel | Yamaha YZF R6 | +6.124 |
| 5 | F. Caricasulo | Yamaha YZF R6 | +6.674 |
| 6 | R. Krummenacher | Yamaha YZF R6 | +10.729 |
| 7 | P. Oettl | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +18.201 |
| 8 | C. Oncu | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +19.248 |
| 9 | S. Jespersen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +19.954 |
| 10 | N. Tuuli | MV Agusta | +21.876 |
| 11 | G. Hendra Pratama | Yamaha YZF R6 | +26.139 |
| 12 | H. Okubo | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +30.505 |
| 13 | D. Sanchis Martinez | Yamaha YZF R6 | +31.526 |
| 14 | V. Takala | Yamaha YZF R6 | +31.734 |
| 15 | C. Bergman | Yamaha YZF R6 | +32.120 |
| 16 | B. Gomez | Yamaha YZF R6 | +34.046 |
| 17 | K. Manfredi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +36.057 |
| 18 | D. Valle | Yamaha YZF R6 | +36.084 |
| 19 | M. Herrera | Yamaha YZF R6 | +36.381 |
| 20 | F. Fuligni | Yamaha YZF R6 | +37.126 |
| 21 | S. Frossard | Yamaha YZF R6 | +48.876 |
| 22 | L. Montella | Yamaha YZF R6 | +52.468 |
| 23 | M. Brenner | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1m02.499 |
| 24 | L. Taccini | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1 Lap |
| Not Classifieds | |||
| RET | 56 P. Sebestyen | Yamaha YZF R6 | 4 Laps |
| RET | 81 M. Gonzalez | Yamaha YZF R6 | 9 Laps |
| RET | 84 M. Fabrizio | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 11 Laps |
| RET | 17 O. Gutierrez | Yamaha YZF R6 | 13 Laps |
| RET | 3 R. De Rosa | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 13 Laps |
| RET | R. De Rosa | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 13 Laps |
| RET | E. Montero Huerta | Yamaha YZF R6 | / |
WorldSSP Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Dominique Aegerter | 232 |
| 2 | Steven Odendaal | 190 |
| 3 | Philipp Oettl | 146 |
| 4 | Luca Bernardi | 134 |
| 5 | Manuel Gonzalez | 120 |
| 6 | Jules Cluzel | 113 |
| 7 | Randy Krummenacher | 77 |
| 8 | Federico Caricasulo | 71 |
| 9 | Can Alexander Oncu | 66 |
| 10 | Raffaele De Rosa | 56 |
| 11 | Niki Tuuli | 49 |
| 12 | Hannes Soomer | 47 |
| 13 | Marc Alcoba | 40 |
| 14 | Christoffer Bergman | 35 |
| 15 | Kevin Manfredi | 22 |
| 16 | Vertti Takala | 21 |
| 17 | Galang Hendra Pratama | 21 |
| 18 | Peter Sebestyen | 15 |
| 19 | Valentin Debise | 9 |
| 20 | Sheridan Morais | 9 |
| 21 | Simon Jespersen | 7 |
| 22 | Maria Herrera | 7 |
| 23 | Filippo Fuligni | 6 |
| 24 | Michel Fabrizio | 6 |
| 25 | Max Enderlein | 5 |
| 26 | Roberto Mercandelli | 5 |
| 27 | Hikari Okubo | 4 |
| 28 | Marcel Brenner | 4 |
| 29 | Massimo Roccoli | 4 |
| 30 | David Sanchis Martinez | 3 |
| 31 | Luca Grunwald | 3 |
| 32 | Matteo Patacca | 3 |
| 33 | Stephane Frossard | 3 |
| 34 | Ondrej Vostatek | 2 |
| 35 | Federico Fuligni | 1 |
2021 Prosecco DOC Dutch Round Schedule
| Time | Class | Event |
| 17:00 | WorldSBK | WUP |
| 17:25 | WorldSSP | WUP |
| 19:00 | WorldSBK | Superpole Race |
| 20:30 | WorldSSP | Race 2 |
| 22:00 | WorldSBK | Race 2 |
2021 WorldSBK Calendar
| Date | Track | SBK | SS600 | SS300 |
| 20-22 Aug | Navarra (Spain) | X | X | |
| 3-5 Sep | Magny-Cours (France) | X | X | X |
| 17-19 Sep | Catalunya (Spain) | X | X | X |
| 24-26 Sep | Jerez (Spain) | X | X | X |
| 1-3 Oct | Portimao (Portugal) | X | X | X |
| 15-17 Oct | San Juan Villicum (Argentina) | X | X | |
| 12-14 Nov | Mandalika*** (Indonesia) | X | X |
Source: MCNews.com.au
First Pole Position in Navarra for Jonathan Rea! #NavarraWorldSBK
First Pole Position in Navarra for Jonathan Rea!
#NavarraWorldSBK
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
Rea quickest in the cool morning but Toprak excels in the heat
2021 WorldSBK Round Seven
Navarra (Spain)
The opening day of action was as fierce as ever as the seventh round of the Superbike World Championship got underway at Circuito de Navarra in Spain.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) led the opening session however an increase in temperature during the afternoon left Rea in seventh for the vast majority of that session. Conversely, Alex Lowes made good improvements throughout the afternoon as the heat became more of a factor. As the chequered flag waved at the end of the day though, it was still Rea on top overall thanks to his marker in FP1, whilst Lowes was tenth.
Jonathan Rea
“We had two very different sessions today to confirm some items that we used at the recent Montmelo test. I felt OK getting up to speed with the track and the bumps. When the temperature came up in the afternoon it changed the track little bit, so the grip level dropped. We went back to some components that we had been using previously in FP2. Basically we confirmed that we had been going in the right way at the Montmelo tests.”
Alex Lowes
“I actually felt good on the bike today. Our lap times don’t reflect how I felt out on track. With the bike set-up we are looking to improve our corner entry, especially in the trail braking area, to be ready for Race One on Saturday. That’s the area we are going to focus on most of all. The circuit layout is fun – I like it.”
Having led most of the afternoon session, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was in good form in the FP2 heat of Navarra. Despite most of the riders struggling to improve on their morning times due to the higher temperatures and greasier track surface. In the end, Toprak was able to top FP2, and was second overall thanks to his better time in FP1.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“Today we are happy because it was a good start on Friday to finish second position overall for fastest times. For me, the race simulation is the most important but we are very strong, and also I am feeling like my bike is much better in the second session. We are feeling ready to race, but we will see because I think it will not be an easy race – very hot in Navarra! We will see, maybe it is not easy but I will try again to fight for the win.”
Team-mate Andrea Locatelli was once again right in the mix as the Italian continues to grow in stature. He was in third for the majority of the session before finishing fourth at the flag, and fifth overall at the end of the day.
Andrea Locatelli
“In the end, I’m very happy because we have worked very hard on this first day and finished in a good position – P4 in the second session where conditions were hottest, P5 overall. We tried to search for a good rhythm in the heat and the feeling with the bike is not so bad. For sure for tomorrow we will try to improve a little bit more and try to take some more speed especially in sector four because we lose a little bit here. In general, I’m confident and tomorrow we will improve – but we will see, it will not be easy because it is so hot! Tomorrow we will be ready to race.”
Third place on the combined timesheets was Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), the British rider picking up his strong pace from the last round at Most. In the closing stages of FP2, it was Redding who was looking strong as he made gains throughout various sector times but returned to the pits with a technical issue in the final minute of the session. His team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi also improved throughout the afternoon, finishing third in FP2 and actually improving his time from the morning, one place behind Redding. Overall, however, it was Redding third and Rinaldi seventh.
Scott Redding
“It was a very positive day and I must admit I had a lot of fun. I completed a lot of laps and even when at the end of FP2 the team asked me to come back to the box, the feeling was so good that I kept lapping then running out of gas. That’s good, also because the pace was strong even in the afternoon with the higher temperature“.
Michael Rinaldi
“We encountered some difficulties today. This morning I didn’t have a good feeling with my bike while in the afternoon, on a much warmer tarmac, we were able to improve while the others struggled a bit more. For this reason, I’m quite satisfied even if we have to work to make a small step forward“.
The battle for Independent supremacy is set to be a big one this weekend; Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took the honours on the overall times but in FP2, he suffered a crash at Turn 4. This afternoon’s pace was still enough however, although Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) is a serious contender this weekend and looks like he may be able to go with Gerloff, although grid position will be vital. Gerloff was fourth overall, Davies sixth, whilst another Independent rider who impressed were Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) who was 11th overall but the fastest in the final sector in FP2.
Eighth place in the combined times was Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), with the Spaniard particularly strong in the morning session before setting his fastest FP2 time on his final lap of the session. Whilst Bautista was the lead Honda, team-mate Leon Haslam had a positive afternoon as he improved his time in comparison to the morning to finish in 14th, although he was still left in 15th in the combined times, despite being the third-fastest through the opening sector in the afternoon heat.
Alvaro Bautista
“We tested here a couple of months ago and conditions remain similar now, in that the track is still bumpy. It’s a challenging one, with many slow corners – I think the most enjoyable section is the first fast corner. This morning we had issues with the braking, my bike rather unstable, so in the afternoon we tried to work on this but the track conditions were hotter and so we had less grip. I tried some different compounds but the grip, particularly at the edge of the tyre, was very low. We have some more ideas for tomorrow anyway, and this morning we weren’t so far from the front, so let’s see if we can find something to improve the bike’s stability and rear grip.”
Leon Haslam
“This morning we had a small crash, unfortunately it came when I put a new tyre in so results in the end were not so good. We are having some problems trying to stop the bike. Conditions this afternoon were very hot, and we spent most of the session trying to understand how to improve in terms of corner entry because we had the same issue as in the morning and I could not go any faster with the new tyre. We still have some work to do tomorrow, but we knew this circuit would be tough. We are competitive at many tracks, but the very tight corners are one of the areas in which we need to improve, and this circuit in particular has a lot of these. It’s a good track at which to test our weak points anyway, and we will keep trying and pushing for this.”
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took BMW into ninth place and was one of the many riders who couldn’t improve their time in the afternoon session. Sykes was less than a second off the top spot, whilst his team-mate Michael van der Mark couldn’t crack the top ten on the opening day; the Dutchman completed 38 laps but was 11th, something he will hope to improve on as the weekend evolves.
Tom Sykes
“It’s not been a bad day. We have been understanding the package off the back of a test in Catalunya and we understood a few of the parameters. This afternoon in the hotter conditions we really looked at some of the tyre selection that Pirelli have brought here. I was overall happy with our consistency and the pace at the end on used tyres. Hopefully now we have got a lot of information of that and overnight we will now make some fine adjustments and try again tomorrow. It is looking like it is going to be a very hot weekend so hopefully we can maintain that pace from FP2.”
Michael van der Mark
“I think if you look at the position from today it is not really where we want to be. This morning I felt good on the bike and did some OK lap times, but the times from 7th to my position are really close. Unfortunately, my fastest lap got cancelled so that is why I am back in eleventh place. I think otherwise I potentially would have been 7th which is not so bad. This afternoon was good for us in the warmer conditions to try some things on the bike and see how it works, I was happy with the bike it just seems we are missing some things in a few areas. I think we can fix this and be higher up the grid tomorrow.”
The rest of the field saw Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) in 13th, Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) in 14th – the Spaniard however showing flashes of hope throughout – and then the returning Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 16th, despite an FP1 technical issue and FP2 crash at Turn 15, although he was OK on both occasions. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 17th, although he was third-fastest in the final sector in the afternoon, ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport – Yamaha) in 18th and another returnee, Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team), in 19th. Wildcard Naomichi Uramoto (JEG Racing) completed the top twenty overall, ahead of Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and his teammate, American Jayson Uribe.
WorldSBK Friday Combined Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m37.629 |
| 2 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.123 |
| 3 | S. Redding | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +0.164 |
| 4 | G. Gerloff | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.453 |
| 5 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.468 |
| 6 | C. Davies | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +0.600 |
| 7 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +0.841 |
| 8 | A. Bautista | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +0.902 |
| 9 | T. Sykes | BMW M 1000 RR | +0.907 |
| 10 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.935 |
| 11 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW M 1000 RR | +1.081 |
| 12 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +1.194 |
| 13 | J. Folger | BMW M 1000 RR | +1.364 |
| 14 | T. Rabat | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +1.419 |
| 15 | L. Haslam | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1.578 |
| 16 | L. Mahias | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1.858 |
| 17 | K. Nozane | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.197 |
| 18 | C. Ponsson | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.863 |
| 19 | L. Mercado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R IN | +3.070 |
| 20 | N. Uramoto | Suzuki GSX-R1000R | +3.388 |
| 21 | L. Cresson | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +4.024 |
| 22 | J. Uribe | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +4.627 |
WorldSBK Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | 266 |
| 2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 263 |
| 3 | Scott Redding | 216 |
| 4 | Alex Lowes | 143 |
| 5 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 135 |
| 6 | Garrett Gerloff | 127 |
| 7 | Tom Sykes | 121 |
| 8 | Andrea Locatelli | 119 |
| 9 | Michael Van Der Mark | 113 |
| 10 | Chaz Davies | 89 |
| 11 | Alvaro Bautista | 84 |
| 12 | Axel Bassani | 73 |
| 13 | Leon Haslam | 68 |
| 14 | Lucas Mahias | 36 |
| 15 | Tito Rabat | 26 |
| 16 | Kohta Nozane | 25 |
| 17 | Isaac Vinales | 19 |
| 18 | Eugene Laverty | 14 |
| 19 | Jonas Folger | 8 |
| 20 | Christophe Ponsson | 7 |
| 21 | Leandro Mercado | 7 |
| 22 | Marvin Fritz | 6 |
| 23 | Loris Cresson | 3 |
| 24 | Andrea Mantovani | 2 |
| 25 | Luke Mossey | 2 |
WorldSSP
Spanish rider Gonzalez heads into the Navarra Round on the back of his first two WorldSSP podiums and, in buoyant mood, posting a 1’41.181s in the morning Free Practice 1 session to top the times for the day with the 19-year-old not able to improve his best time in the afternoon session. Aegerter, leading the Championship, was able to improve in the second 45-minute session but it was not enough to overhaul Gonzalez, claiming second place but just 0.016s behind. Four tenths away from the leading duo was Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) as the Italian rider showed strong pace on Friday at Navarra despite a crash at Turn 3 in the morning Free Practice 1 session; the former WorldSBK rider was able to re-join the session following the crash.
Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing) had an eventful day as the Danish rider replaced the injured Hannes Soomer at Kallio Racing as he secured fourth place in the combined standings on his WorldSSP debut, but also had a crash in the second session of the day at Turn 15. French rider Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was fifth fastest after posting a time of 1’41.781s, an improvement from Free Practice 1 and good enough for second place in the afternoon session. 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) rounded out the top six with a strong showing from the Swiss rider as he searches for a return to the rostrum. Krummenacher’s time was just 0.014s slower than Cluzel.
Currently second in the Championship, Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was seventh after Friday’s action at Navarra and finished more than six tenths down on Gonzalez’s time while Sammarinese Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) was eighth after finding almost seven tenths of a second between FP1 and FP2. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) secured a top ten finish with ninth place ahead of Finnish compatriot Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing); the top nine in the standings separated by just one second.
Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) has shown remarkable consistency in the 2021 campaign so far with six podiums from ten races and will be hoping he can improve on his 11th place finish on Friday, although the German did lose his best lap time in FP2 for slow riding; his overall best time coming in the morning session. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 12th and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 13th despite the Turkish rider having a crash at Turn 9 in the second session.
VFT Racing’s Marcel Brenner secured a top-15 finish after Friday action with 14th place with Borja Gomez, replacing Pawel Szkopek at Yamaha MS Racing rounding out the top 15. Just two tenths of a second separated Öncü in 13th and Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) in 19th place, showing how competitive the field is in WorldSSP.
David Sanchis Martinez, who is taking the reins of WRP Wepol Racing’s Yamaha YZF R6 machine from Danny Webb, claimed 16th place while Oscar Gutierrez Iglesias, replacing the injured Marc Alcoba at Yamaha MS Racing, was 17th. Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was 18th with Bergman 19th and Hikari Okubo (G.A.P MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti), standing in for the injured Shogo Kawasaki and making his return to the Championship in 20th; Okubo also the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider.
WorldSSP Friday Combined Times
| Pos | No. Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | M. Gonzalez | Yamaha YZF R6 | 1m41.181 |
| 2 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.016 |
| 3 | F. Caricasulo | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.375 |
| 4 | S. Jespersen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.488 |
| 5 | J. Cluzel | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.600 |
| 6 | R. Krummenacher | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.614 |
| 7 | S. Odendaal | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.663 |
| 8 | L. Bernardi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.920 |
| 9 | N. Tuuli | MV Agusta F3 675 | +0.992 |
| 10 | V. Takala | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.138 |
| 11 | P. Oettl | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.142 |
| 12 | R. De Rosa | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.456 |
| 13 | C. Oncu | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.604 |
| 14 | M. Brenner | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.752 |
| 15 | B. Gomez | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.757 |
| 16 | D. Sanchis Martinez | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.765 |
| 17 | O. Gutierrez Iglesiasesp | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.775 |
| 18 | G. Hendra Pratama | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.783 |
| 19 | C. Bergman | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.877 |
| 20 | H. Okubo | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.915 |
| 21 | D. Valle | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.928 |
| 22 | P. Sebestyen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.062 |
WorldSSP Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Dominique Aegerter | 207 |
| 2 | Steven Odendaal | 170 |
| 3 | Philipp Oettl | 137 |
| 4 | Manuel Gonzalez | 120 |
| 5 | Luca Bernardi | 118 |
| 6 | Jules Cluzel | 100 |
| 7 | Randy Krummenacher | 67 |
| 8 | Federico Caricasulo | 60 |
| 9 | Can Alexander Oncu | 58 |
| 10 | Raffaele De Rosa | 56 |
| 11 | Hannes Soomer | 47 |
| 12 | Niki Tuuli | 43 |
| 13 | Marc Alcoba | 40 |
| 14 | Christoffer Bergman | 34 |
| 15 | Kevin Manfredi | 22 |
| 16 | Vertti Takala | 19 |
| 17 | Galang Hendra Pratama | 16 |
| 18 | Peter Sebestyen | 15 |
| 19 | Valentin Debise | 9 |
| 20 | Sheridan Morais | 9 |
| 21 | Maria Herrera | 7 |
| 22 | Filippo Fuligni | 6 |
| 23 | Michel Fabrizio | 6 |
| 24 | Max Enderlein | 5 |
| 25 | Roberto Mercandelli | 5 |
| 26 | Marcel Brenner | 4 |
| 27 | Massimo Roccoli | 4 |
| 28 | Luca Grunwald | 3 |
| 29 | Matteo Patacca | 3 |
| 30 | Stephane Frossard | 3 |
| 31 | Ondrej Vostatek | 2 |
| 32 | Federico Fuligni | 1 |
| 33 | Luca Ottaviani | 1 |
| 34 | Leonardo Taccini | 1 |
| 35 | Davide Pizzoli | 1 |
| 36 | Pawel Szkopek | 1 |
2021 Prosecco DOC Dutch Round Schedule
Source: MCNews.com.au
Scott Redding signs with BMW for WorldSBK 2022
Scott Redding to ride for BMW
28-year old Brit Scott Redding will compete on the BMW M 1000 RR for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team in the coming season.
Shaun Muir – Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“We have been following Scott’s career for a number of years and are delighted that he will now become a part of our team. His successes speak for themselves and it is great that he will bring his skills and his experience to the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team in the future. With getting him on board, BMW Motorrad Motorsport once more underlines the huge importance of the WorldSBK project and the aim of establishing themselves at the very top.”
Redding has been active in different world championship classes since 2008, including racing in MotoGP for five years. In 2019, he competed in the British Superbike Championship (BSB) for one season and secured the title. For the 2020 season, he switched to the Superbike World Championship in which he convinces with a strong performance.
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“We are very pleased to welcome Scott to our WorldSBK family. In the last years, he has proven to make a great transition from GP through BSB into WorldSBK, to become one of the strongest riders in the field. We are therefore convinced that Scott, with his fighting spirit and absolute will to win, is the perfect new addition for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and another reinforcement for our entire WorldSBK project. A warm welcome to Scott, we are looking forward to a strong collaboration.”
Redding will compete in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team as a team-mate of Dutchman Michael van der Mark in the 2022 season. In addition, talks are currently underway between BMW Motorrad Motorsport and Tom Sykes (GBR) about a contract extension for the 2022 World Superbike season. Accordingly, all other constellations will be announced at a later date.
Source: MCNews.com.au
My new bike! Latest Vlog now over on YT. Link in Bio
Jonathan Rea hits the road after getting his licence
Jonathan Rea on the road, and the beach!
Despite winning the World Superbike Championship six times on the bounce, Jonathan Rea, only recently passed his UK motorcycle test. Unsurprisingly, the 34 year old was successful at his first attempt and has now acquired his first road bike, a Kawasaki Z900.
The Ballyclare man’s first ride on his new machine was along the beautiful Northern Ireland coast road, including a spin along the beach at Downhill.
Rea was waved off on his maiden journey by Laurence Ferguson, proprietor of Coleraine Kawasaki who supplied the new bike and Stephen Mills of Moto Training who guided the WSBK champion through his road test.
“I am so happy and proud to have passed my motorcycle test.” Rea said.
“It’s been something I have wanted to do for such a long time but with my sporting commitments and busy calendar it has been tough.”
Rea will be back on track this weekend in Spain for the seventh round of the World Superbike Championship.
Source: MCNews.com.au
WorldSBK visits another new track this weekend
2021 WorldSBK Round Seven
Navarra (Spain)
The 2021 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship heads into the second half of the season as the Pirelli Navarra Round beckons at the Circuito de Navarra. The facility is the second consecutive new venue for WorldSBK whilst also being the fifth consecutive that wasn’t on the 2020 calendar. With one of the fastest turns on the calendar and intricate sectors, Navarra is ready to welcome the intense Championship battle between Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK), with both separated by just three-points after 18 races.
The Circuit of Navarra is located near Los Arcos, a town in the Spanish region of Navarra, from which the name derives, and was inaugurated on 19th June 2010. The 3,933 kilometres of track develop through fifteen turns, of which nine right and six left turns. The layout of the circuit has a faster first section, characterised by several high-speed turns, both on the right and left side. In this first section, some surface imperfections could put the front tyre to the test, which must be able to guarantee directional stability and a good feeling to the rider. The second part of the circuit is instead characterised by multiple slow hairpins to be tackled in first and second gear, where agility and ease of steering will be crucial from the tyre point of view, to allow the rider to turn quickly in such tight corners.
The Championship battle is the closest it has been after 18 races since 2004 and there’s absolutely no shortage of vintage action in 2021. Toprak Razgatlioglu took 34 points out of Jonathan Rea’s lead at the last round at Most, meaning he is just three behind. Heading to Navarra where he was fast in testing, Razgatlioglu knows that he’s within striking distance of the Championship lead, even though he is focused on the race in hand and not the standings. He has a strong teammate for support too, with Andrea Locatelli not out of the top five in the last six races – of which he took two podiums, one at Assen in Race 2 and the other at Most in Race 1. The level playing field of Navarra may bring Locatelli further into contention as he aims for a first win, whilst also aims to pack out the places between Toprak and his Championship rivals.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“We had a good weekend in Most, and now I still only focus on the next races. Always, I want to win and this is what we work towards. If I think about the championship I feel stressed! So this is the best way. I like the track in Navarra – it is different with some fast and slow parts which suits my style. We had a good test there two months ago and I felt good with the R1. We will see on Friday, in practice we will focus on making a good set-up for the races.”
Andrea Locatelli
“I feel like I can now start to fight with the first group on track – in Most this was really nice and it was a new track for almost everyone. We have a good base setting from the test in Navarra, so I hope we can continue in the same way. The feeling with the R1 is coming more and more easy for me and I enjoy riding it very much. The goal is to keep improving step by step and be able to push in every round to compete at the front. I am looking forward to seeing my team again this weekend and working to continue this way!”
Jonathan Rea’s disastrous Most is now behind him as he hit the reset button with a small break and then a return to testing duties at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Taking 23 points from three races in the Czech Republic, his second lowest amount for a round tally after Estoril’s 20 last year, Rea has got to hit the ground running at Navarra if he is to remain in the Championship lead. Taking a triple win at Assen and then enduring Most’s difficulties, the WorldSBK pendulum swings wildly from round to round, adding to the excitement and unpredictability of 2021.
Jonathan Rea
“It is nice to go to Navarra, another new circuit for us. Unlike Most we have actually had a test there, a couple of months ago. I enjoyed the track but it seemed quite bumpy then. Now it seems the circuit have addressed some of the problems we faced. My rhythm and pace was pretty good there so I am quite curious to see, with everybody on track, how competitive everyone will be. I feel that with our Ninja ZX-10RR we can be strong. The idea is to start on Friday with a base set-up but also factoring in some ideas we tried at a previous test at Barcelona. I am excited for that and the aim is to have a really good race weekend.”
Team-mate Alex Lowes was racing with physical restrictions at Most and had three crashes in one day at Navarra during testing, so he’ll hope that those two aspects of his form aren’t indicative of the weekend ahead.
Alex Lowes
“Navarra is a new track for the championship but I think most people have tested there at some point. It’s a completely different track to Most because it’s quite slow. There’s a lot of first-gear corners. I think the racing is going to be good so I’m looking forward to it. Navarra is a technical track and lots of the corners lead onto the next one. It’s important to be patient and precise. At the test we did there we were fast and I had a good feeling with the bike. I believe there will be some good passing places and the racing is going to be really close. My target is to get back on the podium after a tough few races. I’m ready for the challenge!”
One of the main stories coming out of the Czech Republic was that Ducati and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) are back, with the British star taking a long-awaited victory at Most. After getting his knee down in another way on the podium by proposing to his girlfriend, Redding’s mindset coming to Navarra is in a good place as he seeks to close the gap down further from 50, having taken it down from 81 last time out. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi will also look to get back on the rostrum after his comebacks in Race 1 and Race 2 at Most, with the Italian storming through from eighth and 11th respectively. Can Ducati utilise their recent form and get their Panigale V4 R in the perfect operating window in Los Arcos?
BMW had a mixed weekend at Most, as Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took a sturdy fifth place in Race 1, whilst teammate Michael van der Mark’s comeback from 17th to 7th in Race 2 also gave the German manufacturer something to shout about. However, they’re still yet to cement their place in the constant fight for the podium. With Navarra closing in, this could be the round where they really come on strong; Sykes has consistently hailed the progress that the team made with the bike at the Navarra test in July, citing that as one of the turning points of the 2021 season and the M 1000 RR project. Both he and van der Mark were quick and there’s a feeling that if both can have a clean run through Free Practice, they could be contenders come racing.
Tom Sykes
“I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum going, with the races now coming quite fast. So we aim to build on what we understood when we were testing in Navarra some weeks ago – and also recently on the back of a test at Barcelona which was in very hot conditions. Obviously, it looks like Navarra will be warm. It’s a new circuit again for everybody so it will be interesting to see how the weekend goes, but ultimately the plan is to continue working with what we found in testing with the BMW M 1000 RR and hopefully we can transfer that kind of set-up into the hot track at Navarra and keep improving our results all of the time. I also want to take this opportunity to say massive congratulations to Michael and Nadieh on their fabulous new addition to the family, their little baby boy. That’s a massive achievement in life and I wish them all the best.”
Michael van der Mark
“It has been an exciting time since I returned from Most. On Thursday evening after the race weekend, Mason was born and it is great be able to spend some days with the family before heading to the next round. Now we will race at Navarra, and it is always good to have a new track on the calendar. We have been testing there and it is quite different compared to other tracks. It is really narrow and overtaking can be hard. It’s good that we have done a test there, even if our bike has changed quite a lot since then, so I am curious to find out how it will work. The first goal for the weekend is to qualify a little bit better. In Most I was a bit unlucky in qualifying with some traffic, I must say, but we’ve seen that for example on Saturday and Sunday we made a huge improvement on lap times and also pace-wise so it seems that we really found a good way with the set-up of the bike. Hopefully we will find that right set-up at Navarra pretty soon so we are right at the point from the start.”
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) showed strength at the Autodrom Most last time out as the Honda rider recovered from a Race 1 error to finish sixth, whilst he fought back after a slow start in Race 2. In his second ‘home event’ of the season, Bautista will hope the recent test in Barcelona can propel him and Honda forwards after electronic issues have plagued them continuously throughout the first six rounds of the season.
Alvaro Bautista
“It’s a new track for everyone so we’ll see how it goes. When we tested at Navarra a couple of months ago, we saw how small and narrow it is, with a lot of hard braking and potholes. Having said that, with the work we completed during that test combined with the modifications we’ve made over the last race weekends, I am confident we can take a step forward in the upcoming races. I hope I can do well at what is a home track for me, not least because we’ll have spectators there to support us, which will be great as we’ve missed them.”
Teamate Leon Haslam will hope the level playing field can bring him further into play and especially after a strong Barcelona test, as HRC seek to return to the leading positions.
Leon Haslam
“We didn’t get much track time when we tested at Navarra, so we’ll need to work to find a good solution for this circuit, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. I had a good feeling while there anyway, so that’s a good start, although I realise that some other teams have had more test time at the track than us. The layout is quite unique, in that it’s bumpy and has many first-gear corners, so you need to be sure you can stop and turn the bike. This is a priority and an area where we’ve been working, so it will be a good test for the Honda. We’ll see what we can do.”
The Independent battle is starting to see new names come into the picture; Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) enjoyed a calm Most weekend and was on top of testing after day one at Navarra back in July. However, it was Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) who took his best ever result at Most with a first top five in Race 1, finishing fifth. Bassani’s potential is high, and he’s growing in stature with each race – could he be a surprise towards the front of the field this weekend? Making a return to action will be Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), whilst Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) will hope he can progress forward at his second home round of the year.
Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is 16th in the Championship and returns to the track where he crashed at during testing, resulting in a broken finger. Isaac Viñales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) aims to continue knocking on the door of the top ten, whilst Eugene Laverty’s (RC Squadra Corse) attendance is to be confirmed. Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing), Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport Yamaha) and Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) are next up, with Mercado returning after a positive COVID-19 test ruled him out of Most. Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and teammate Jayson Uribe complete the full-time entrants, whilst Suzuki return to the WorldSBK grid with Spanish Superbike rider Naomichi Uramoto wildcarding, meaning there’re six manufacturers on the grid.
WorldSBK Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | 266 |
| 2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 263 |
| 3 | Scott Redding | 216 |
| 4 | Alex Lowes | 143 |
| 5 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 135 |
| 6 | Garrett Gerloff | 127 |
| 7 | Tom Sykes | 121 |
| 8 | Andrea Locatelli | 119 |
| 9 | Michael Van Der Mark | 113 |
| 10 | Chaz Davies | 89 |
| 11 | Alvaro Bautista | 84 |
| 12 | Axel Bassani | 73 |
| 13 | Leon Haslam | 68 |
| 14 | Lucas Mahias | 36 |
| 15 | Tito Rabat | 26 |
| 16 | Kohta Nozane | 25 |
| 17 | Isaac Vinales | 19 |
| 18 | Eugene Laverty | 14 |
| 19 | Jonas Folger | 8 |
| 20 | Christophe Ponsson | 7 |
| 21 | Leandro Mercado | 7 |
| 22 | Marvin Fritz | 6 |
| 23 | Loris Cresson | 3 |
| 24 | Andrea Mantovani | 2 |
| 25 | Luke Mossey | 2 |
WorldSSP
Two weeks on from the FIM Supersport World Championship’s first visit to the Autodrom Most, another new venue presents more challenges for the paddock as the Circuito de Navarra prepares to host WorldSSP for the first-ever time with the Pirelli Navarra Round making its debut on the calendar. New tracks have the potential to spice things up and with the Championship gap being cut last time out, the Navarra Round is set up to be a thrilling encounter.
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) continues to lead the standings after five rounds but found his gap at the top of the Championship to 37 points, down from 44 before the Czech Round, after Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was able to return to the top of the rostrum in Race 1 at the Autodrom Most with Aegerter in fourth; although Aegerter responded in Race 2 to win ahead of Odendaal. A new venue could spice this Championship battle even more. Will Aegerter extend his lead at the top of the standings or will Odendaal close the gap even further?
German rider Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) lies third in the Championship after taking yet another podium finish last time out, but is still chasing his first win in the class. Oettl is only 33 points behind Odendaal as he searches to finish as high up the Championship as possible. Oettl will be looking over his shoulder though with Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) only 17 points behind.
The 19-year-old Spanish rider claimed his first WorldSSP podiums at the Autodrom Most and narrowly missed out on a potential first victory as he closed down Odendaal in Race 1; the duo separated by four tenths when Red Flags were shown. Gonzalez will be hoping he can go one better at the Navarra Round and claim his first victory.
The fight for third is a close affair with Sammarinese rider Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) two points behind Gonzalez after a stunning debut campaign in WorldSSP, although he is currently on a four-race podium drought; claiming three top-six finishes across the Dutch and Czech Rounds. Bernardi will be hoping he can return to the podium at the Navarra Round.
Jules Cluzel’s (GMT94 Yamaha) campaign so far has been marred with challenges and bad luck, including last time out when he was collected by Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) at Turn 1 on the second lap of the race. Despite this, Cluzel sits sixth in the standings on 100 points with three podiums to his name so far: MotorLand Aragon, Circuito Estoril and Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. Cluzel will be hoping he is able to make it a fourth podium visit at a fourth circuit in the 2021 campaign.
Danish rider Simon Jespersen will make his WorldSSP debut with Kallio Racing in place of the injured Hannes Soomer, becoming the fourth rider from Denmark to compete in WorldSSP. Jespersen currently competes in the FIM CEV Superstock 600 championship in Spain, lying 13th in the Championship with one points-scoring result so far; a fourth place in Valencia.
Danny Webb announced his split with the WRP Wepol Racing outfit, and he will be replaced by David Sanchis Martinez at the team, who will also make his WorldSSP debut at Navarra. The Spanish rider has competed in endurance racing in 2021 and made his debut on a superstock bike at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
WorldSSP Challenge competitor Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) will be hoping to return to action but will need to undergo a medical check before she is cleared to ride. The team ran with Federico Caricasulo last time out at the Autodrom Most and he will return as a one event rider for the same team. Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing), Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti), Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) will also all need to undergo medical checks before racing at Navarra.
WorldSSP Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Dominique Aegerter | 207 |
| 2 | Steven Odendaal | 170 |
| 3 | Philipp Oettl | 137 |
| 4 | Manuel Gonzalez | 120 |
| 5 | Luca Bernardi | 118 |
| 6 | Jules Cluzel | 100 |
| 7 | Randy Krummenacher | 67 |
| 8 | Federico Caricasulo | 60 |
| 9 | Can Alexander Oncu | 58 |
| 10 | Raffaele De Rosa | 56 |
| 11 | Hannes Soomer | 47 |
| 12 | Niki Tuuli | 43 |
| 13 | Marc Alcoba | 40 |
| 14 | Christoffer Bergman | 34 |
| 15 | Kevin Manfredi | 22 |
| 16 | Vertti Takala | 19 |
| 17 | Galang Hendra Pratama | 16 |
| 18 | Peter Sebestyen | 15 |
| 19 | Valentin Debise | 9 |
| 20 | Sheridan Morais | 9 |
| 21 | Maria Herrera | 7 |
| 22 | Filippo Fuligni | 6 |
| 23 | Michel Fabrizio | 6 |
| 24 | Max Enderlein | 5 |
| 25 | Roberto Mercandelli | 5 |
| 26 | Marcel Brenner | 4 |
| 27 | Massimo Roccoli | 4 |
| 28 | Luca Grunwald | 3 |
| 29 | Matteo Patacca | 3 |
| 30 | Stephane Frossard | 3 |
| 31 | Ondrej Vostatek | 2 |
| 32 | Federico Fuligni | 1 |
| 33 | Luca Ottaviani | 1 |
| 34 | Leonardo Taccini | 1 |
| 35 | Davide Pizzoli | 1 |
| 36 | Pawel Szkopek | 1 |
2021 Prosecco DOC Dutch Round Schedule
Source: MCNews.com.au