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Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) reclaimed his Championship lead on Sunday after being beaten on Saturday by Scott Redding. Rea bounced back with two victories at MotorLand Aragon on Sunday and now leads the series by ten-points.
Rea won the Tissot Superpole race from Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark with Alvaro Bautista scoring fourth on the new HRC Fireblade and thus the KRT #1 started the Sunday afternoon race from pole position and, despite pressure from Scott Redding (Aruba Ducati) in the early corners, was able to pull away from the chasing group.
Rea led every lap throughout the race despite a mistake on Lap 14 which allowed Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati) to close the gap from around two-seconds to just two-tenths. Despite Davies attempting a move into Turn 1 on Lap 15, Rea held on to take victory by over one second ahead of Davies.
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), who started the race from fourth, got ahead of Redding in the early stages, and claimed his first podium for Honda and Honda’s first podium since Magny-Cours in 2016; Bautista and Honda showed good pace throughout the weekend.
Redding finished the race in fourth place after being passed by Bautista and Davies, but the British rider also had to make a move on Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) on Lap 4 to help secure that fourth place.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (GoEleven Ducati) made it three Ducati machines in the top five with fifth place as he also got by van der Mark, with the Dutchman finishing in sixth place.
Leon Haslam (Team HRC) made it two Hondas in the top seven after a titanic battle with a group of five riders. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) claimed eighth place with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) in ninth and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) completed the top 10. There was just one second separating Haslam, Razgatlioglu, Lowes and Gerloff.
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had a strong result in 11th place, finishing less than a tenth of a second behind American rider Gerloff as part of the group of five riders fighting for seventh place.
Tom Sykes was the lead BMW rider in 12th place as the final rider in that battle; Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha) finishing around three seconds behind Sykes in 13th. Eugene Laverty (BMW) and Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) completed the points with 15th.
Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Ducati), Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing), Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda) and team-mate Lorenzo Gabellini all finished the race while Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) retired from the race following a crash on Lap 4 of 18 at Turn 15; the French rider unable to re-join the race following the incident where he came off on his bike on his own. He was not the only non-finisher as Marco Melandri (Barni Racing) who retired with a technical issue and Roman Ramos (OutDO Kawasaki TPR) retired from the race on the penultimate lap.
MIE Racing and Althea Racing cooperation also came to an end after this round. From the upcoming Teruel Round, the team name will change to MIE Racing Honda Team with Takumi Takahashi as sole rider.
“In the Superpole race I made an OK start but then Loris Baz came on the inside, so I got a little bit flustered. I knew I had to keep the rhythm really fast in the beginning because it was a good opportunity. Using the softer SCX tyre for the sprint race has a lot of potential but we did not do so many laps on it in practice, and the conditions were not as hot. So, thanks to my team because Pere and all the guys gave me a really good set-up. In race two I went wide at one point and that gave Chaz the chance to attack in turn one but I wanted to attack him back straight away and set my own rhythm. I knew I could push and put my head down again. I did not expect the pace I had today in race two; I was so surprised. I knew I could be fast and the Superpole race gave me a lot of confidence. When I could really get stuck into the 1’50 laps, and keep that load going at the beginning of the race, it was easier to manage when the tyre would drop. I learned from race one yesterday.”
“I’m very happy with the way things went this weekend. It is clear that the first place has another value but I am really satisfied with the work done by the team that put me in a position to be competitive since Friday. Unfortunately, the start was not the best and in the first laps, I had to fight with the group. Then I was able to lap with a good race pace and to fight with Jonny (Rea) until the last corner. We will get back on track with solid foundations next week end”.
“Unfortunately I struggled a lot since the very first laps to make the rear tyre work well. I was never able to find the grip that would allow me to push with the right rhythm. In the next two days, we will have to work to understand if it was a problem with the bike or just a tyre that didn’t work in the best way, also because Chaz went very fast. I find it hard to accept to win race one and then finish fourth in race two”.
“I’m so happy with this podium because it’s a result of all our hard work so far. We’ve been able to take another good step forward this weekend. I was also pleased with my fourth-place result in the Superpole race, as it’s not easy over such a limited number of laps. We can say we’re on our way to achieving our target, which is to win, though there is still work to do of course. I am happy with the way we are developing the bike and we clearly have good potential. Now it’s a case of fine tuning the whole package and continuing to work step by step. I want to thank HRC and Honda and all my mechanics who have worked so hard to resolve various issues that emerged over the weekend. They all really deserve this podium. We are making clear progress, I’m gaining confidence race by race, and I’m looking forward to seeing if we can take another step forward next weekend here at the same track.”
“It’s been a little frustrating because in testing here two weeks ago, things were going well and we were consistent in our performance. But when we started the work this weekend, we had some problems and race 1 and the sprint race were both difficult for me. Race 2 on the other hand was very positive, it was the first time I was able to really battle with other riders and fight until the final corner, beating those in my group on the last lap to close seventh. So there were many positives in the last race, and Bautista finishing on the podium is another big positive of course. When we’re both struggling it’s not good for motivation but when you see your team-mate make the podium you realise where the bike can be. Hopefully we can take what we’ve learned and take the next step next weekend.”
“I was quite happy for the Superpole race and was fourth for most of it, but just lacked a bit of speed at the end, when Alvaro Bautista and Chaz passed me. They were a bit quicker and I could not fight them off after the crash yesterday. We made a change with the front of the bike for the long race today and I did not feel comfortable. I was sort of fighting the bike. I was involved in quite a big battle, which was fun, but not in the positions that I want to be battling for. It was hard because I was not as confident in the front and it was sliding a lot so I could not be too aggressive. We put some points on the board and we have a few days now to get some good result in Aragon again next weekend. Well done to Johnny and the guys today, bouncing back from yesterday’s race. He did a fantastic job, so we know the Ninja ZX-10RR can do it, so we need to put our heads together before the next weekend to give myself a little bit more confidence with a better set-up.”
“It was a difficult weekend, but we expected it. Having not done a test here before the weekend, we knew we were going to struggle but maybe not as much. It is a tricky circuit and we could see that the Yamahas had more problems here. We really struggled with engine braking as the rear grip deteriorated after 3 laps. It is frustrating especially since we started from the front row and I got the holeshot twice. The qualifying result is what we need to remember from this weekend. We mustn’t forget we worked really hard for this. I believed I could make it in the first race and then the second when I was following Jonathan for three laps. But as soon as I started to lose grip, we started to experience many problems with corner entries. We need to work on the electronics, engine brake and the ser-up of the bike. We have a few days to analyse this. We need to find a solution to get closer to the front. We will try it again next week!”
“I think we can be quite happy with today’s performance, this morning in Warm Up we tried something a little different on the bike and it felt better compared to yesterday. In the Superpole Race I had a lot of fun, there was some good action and I felt strong. I was missing a bit of grip at the end, but I was really happy to finish on the podium for the first time at Aragón. For Race 2, we had a good bike for the long distance and from the start I was really fast and managed to get up to second place. From there, Johnny was a bit too quick to catch! As soon as my grip dropped, I struggled a lot on the exit of the corners and one-by-one people started passing me, so that’s why we finished sixth. Despite this, I think we are going in the right direction. We made some good progress and the best thing is that we have a lot of data from this weekend which we can use for the next one.”
“Today, I think this has been my worst weekend this year even though we finished and collected points in every race. We tried a different set-up for rear grip after yesterday, in the Superpole Race it didn’t feel too bad, but it did not work for me during Race 2 and so this is the result. Now I will look ahead with my team for next week here at Aragón and work to find another approach to try and fight at the front.”
“It was a shame in the Superpole Race. Chaz Davies made a miscalculation in one corner which pushed me out wide and left me nowhere to go. This is a shame as Tati Mercado got injured in the aftermath which is something you never want to see. Race two was frustrating, we had certainly had the pace to get away from the guys, but we had those limitations on the straights which undid all the hard work we did in the corners catching them up.”
“The weekend as a whole has been so tough, which I didn’t see coming. Starting down the grid made it difficult, but we just didn’t have the pace. However, finally today we found what we needed so we were able to make progress with the bike in the final race two. So that at least gives us some direction for next week in Aragón, but we have lost an entire weekend.”
“We would have liked to do better today but unfortunately I didn’t have the same feeling with the bike as I did yesterday despite having made no changes to it. Perhaps the conditions were a little different. Anyway, I think we’ve had a positive weekend if we take it as a whole. Not only because we were able to finish in the points zone yesterday, but also in terms of the work we have completed over the three days. So I look forward to making further improvement in the next races. I want to congratulate Alvaro and Honda for today’s very well-deserved podium. This also serves as further motivation for us to do better too.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | J. Rea | Kawasaki | 0.00 |
| 2 | C. Davies | Ducati | +1.28 |
| 3 | A. Bautista | Honda | +3.599 |
| 4 | S. Redding | Ducati | +5.445 |
| 5 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati | +6.687 |
| 6 | M. Van Der Mark | Yamaha | +9.561 |
| 7 | L. Haslam | Honda | +20.911 |
| 8 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +21.248 |
| 9 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki | +21.399 |
| 10 | G. Gerloff | Yamaha | +21.717 |
| 11 | X. Fores | Kawasaki | +21.809 |
| 12 | T. Sykes | BMW | +22.012 |
| 13 | F. Caricasulo | Yamaha | +25.244 |
| 14 | E. Laverty | BMW | +30.088 |
| 15 | M. Scheib | Kawasaki | +36.546 |
| 16 | S. Barrier | Ducati | +49.074 |
| 17 | C. Ponsson | Aprilia | +55.511 |
| 18 | T. Takahashi | Honda | +100.754 |
| 19 | L. Gabellini | Honda | +135.65 |
| Not Classified | |||
| 20 | R. Ramos | Kawasaki | 1 Lap |
| 21 | M. Melandri | Ducati | 8 Laps |
| 22 | L. Baz | Yamaha | 14 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | J. Rea | Kawasaki | 0.000 |
| 2 | S. Redding | Ducati | +2.635 |
| 3 | M. Van Der Mark | Yamaha | +4.041 |
| 4 | A. Bautista | Honda | +5.560 |
| 5 | C. Davies | Ducati | +5.976 |
| 6 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki | +6.232 |
| 7 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +7.094 |
| 8 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati | +7.589 |
| 9 | L. Baz | Yamaha | +7.909 |
| 10 | L. Haslam | Honda | +11.399 |
| 11 | F. Caricasulo | Yamaha | +13.204 |
| 12 | X. Fores | Kawasaki | +14.430 |
| 13 | G. Gerloff | Yamaha | +16.096 |
| 14 | M. Scheib | Kawasaki | +16.266 |
| 15 | T. Sykes | BMW | +17.958 |
| 16 | E. Laverty | BMW | +23.574 |
| 17 | M. Melandri | Ducati | +24.169 |
| 18 | S. Barrier | Ducati | +26.146 |
| 19 | R. Ramos | Kawasaki | +26.790 |
| 20 | T. Takahashi | Honda | +39.799 |
| 21 | L. Gabellini | Honda | +1m08.958 |
| Not Classified | |||
| NC | C. Ponsson | Aprilia | / |
| RET | L. Mercado | Ducati | / |
| Pos | RIder | Points |
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | 189 |
| 2 | Scott Redding | 179 |
| 3 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 124 |
| 4 | Chaz Davies | 120 |
| 5 | Michael Van Der Mark | 110 |
| 6 | Alex Lowes | 102 |
| 7 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 79 |
| 8 | Alvaro Bautista | 77 |
| 9 | Loris Baz | 64 |
| 10 | Leon Haslam | 51 |
| 11 | Tom Sykes | 51 |
| 12 | Garrett Gerloff | 28 |
| 13 | Xavi Fores | 27 |
| 14 | Federico Caricasulo | 22 |
| 15 | Marco Melandri | 19 |
| 16 | Eugene Laverty | 18 |
| 17 | Sandro Cortese | 14 |
| 18 | Leandro Mercado | 12 |
| 19 | Maximilian Scheib | 11 |
| 20 | Sylvain Barrier | 5 |
| 21 | Christophe Ponsson | 4 |
| 22 | Roman Ramos | 3 |
| 23 | Takumi Takahashi | 1 |
FIM Supersport World Championship action continued at the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round with Andrea Locatelli claiming another victory and fastest lap as his Championship blitz continued at MotorLand Aragon. Locatelli has now won his first seven races after moving across from Moto2 to WorldSSP.
Locatelli had been beaten off the line by Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) but took just a handful of corners to re-gain the lead. Mahias was able to put Locatelli under pressure during the first half of the race but his pace started to drop off; Frenchman Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) able to pass Mahias on Lap 7.
Mahias was able to follow his fellow French rider with the pair duelling for second. Cluzel would finish the race in second place with Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) claiming a podium after a late charge through the field.
Mahias would finish in fourth place after being passed by Cluzel and de Rosa in the second half of the 15-lap race, the French rider finishing 4.5 seconds clear of Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in fifth place. Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) finished in sixth place, almost 10 seconds behind Locatelli.
Viñales had around an eight second gap to Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) who was involved in a titanic battle for seventh place with South African rider Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing); the pair finishing the race with a drag race to the line and being separated by just 0.010s as they crossed the line. Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) equalled his best race finish in WorldSSP with ninth place, also featured in race-long battle with Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Hungarian Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth); Gonzalez and Sebestyen finishing in tenth and 11th but with just 0.017s separating the trio.
Federico Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) finished in 12th place with Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) finishing in 13th. Alejandro Carranza Ruiz (EMPREADOR Racing) was the highest placed WorldSSP – Challenge rider in 14th while Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) completed the points with a 15th place finish.
Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) retired from the race following a Lap 1 crash, while Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) also crashing during the race and retiring. Lachlan Epis (MPM Routz Racing) failed to finish the race after a crash at Turn 1 in the early stages of the race; the trio the only three to not finish the race.
“It’s fantastic and it’s incredible. Every time, we don’t make a mistake, and this is important. We are faster every time. Also, with the difficult conditions today with a lot of wind, we are stronger. We will work a little bit for next weekend because we are staying here for another weekend.”
“I am happy again because the fight was hard. There are a lot of fast guys in this race fighting for second position. I am happy to finish second. To be honest, in some places, I was struggling with the grip a little bit and they were faster than me. The Kawasaki at the beginning was so fast, especially in acceleration and some turns, they were just pulling away. After a few laps, I managed to stay and come back a little bit on Mahias. I passed him and after that, it was another story because I was alone, and I was giving the pace to the riders behind me and they were pushing me hard. To finish second, another second place, but it’s great to take 20 points and be in front of these guys.”
“This morning, in warm up, my feeling was very good. I thought it was possible to have a good race. But, as always, my first and second laps were not very quick. After three laps, I check my lap time and see it is very good. I concentrated on overtaking the group in front to claim the podium. I am very happy, especially for my team.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha | 0.00 |
| 2 | J. Cluzel | Yamaha | +2.19 |
| 3 | R. De Rosa | MV Agusta | +2.479 |
| 4 | L. Mahias | Kawasaki | +2.925 |
| 5 | P. Oettl | Kawasaki | +7.393 |
| 6 | I. Vinales | Yamaha | +9.981 |
| 7 | C. Perolari | Yamaha | +17.81 |
| 8 | S. Odendaal | Yamaha | +17.82 |
| 9 | D. Webb | Yamaha | +19.156 |
| 10 | M. Gonzalez | Kawasaki | +19.167 |
| 11 | P. Sebestyen | Yamaha | +19.173 |
| 12 | F. Fuligni | MV Agusta | +19.513 |
| 13 | C. Oncu | Kawasaki | +21.739 |
| 14 | A. Ruiz Carranza | Yamaha | +30.69 |
| 15 | H. Okubo | Honda | +33.792 |
| 16 | S. Valtulini | Kawasaki | +40.752 |
| 17 | L. Cresson | Yamaha | +43.033 |
| 18 | P. Hobelsberger | Honda | +47.477 |
| 19 | A. Verdoia | Yamaha | +49.918 |
| 20 | M. Herrera | Yamaha | +49.95 |
| 21 | G. Hendra Pratama | Yamaha | +50.089 |
| 22 | L. Montella | Yamaha | 1m04.794 |
| Not Classified | |||
| RET | 83 L. Epis | Yamaha | 13 Laps |
| RET | A. Bassani | Yamaha | / |
| RET | H. Soomer | Yamaha | / |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Andrea Locatelli | 175 |
| 2 | Jules Cluzel | 130 |
| 3 | Lucas Mahias | 86 |
| 4 | Philipp Oettl | 76 |
| 5 | Corentin Perolari | 72 |
| 6 | Raffaele De Rosa | 71 |
| 7 | Steven Odendaal | 67 |
| 8 | Isaac Vinales | 63 |
| 9 | Manuel Gonzalez | 53 |
| 10 | Hannes Soomer | 39 |
| 11 | Danny Webb | 34 |
| 12 | Can Alexander Oncu | 30 |
| 13 | Peter Sebestyen | 18 |
| 14 | Alejandro Ruiz Carranza | 15 |
| 15 | Federico Fuligni | 13 |
| 16 | Miquel Pons | 9 |
| 17 | Patrick Hobelsberger | 6 |
| 18 | Loris Cresson | 6 |
| 19 | Andy Verdoia | 4 |
| 20 | Kevin Manfredi | 3 |
| 21 | Axel Bassani | 3 |
| 22 | Maria Herrera | 2 |
| 23 | Jaimie Van Sikkelerus | 2 |
| 24 | Hikari Okubo | 1 |
| 25 | Galang Hendra Pratama | 1 |
| 26 | Luigi Montella | 1 |
A weekend of action in FIM Supersport World Championship finished with a sensational overtake by Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) meant he claimed his second win at MotorLand Aragon in as many days, with the polesitter leading for most of the race but a sweeping move around the final two corners to take race victory and the Championship lead; with just eight points separating the top four riders.
Buis had started from pole position and looked to try to break away to repeat yesterday’s dominant victory, but Buis was kept in sight by his rivals. On the penultimate lap, Buis found himself without the lead of the race and took a normal racing line into Turn 1, allowing him to keep maximum speed through the corner without the benefit of the slipstream. It paid dividends for Buis as he was able to take the lead again before team-mate Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki) passed him on the last lap.
Deroue had the lead going into the long back straight and Buis used the slipstream effect to keep himself in contention before sweeping around the outside of Turns 17 and 18 and launching himself off the final corner to claim a sensational victory following the stunning overtake. Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos) claimed his first podium of 2020 with second place, holding off Deroue who finished third.
Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) finished in fourth place while featuring in the pack for the lead with Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) finishing in fifth; the Brazilian able to keep in contention after starting from the front row. 2018 Champion Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) finished in sixth place; the top six riders separated by less than a second.
Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) finished in seventh place, 1.3 seconds off Buis to show how close WorldSSP300 is in 2020. Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing), who also started from the front row, finished in eighth place ahead of the recovering Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki); Dutchman Meuffels starting at the back of the grid following a technical infringement on Saturday. Victor Rodriguez Nunez (2R Racing) completed the top ten, finishing just 0.001s ahead of Hugo de Cancellis (Team Trasimeno).
Glenn van Straalen (EAB Ten Kate Racing) finished in 12th place with Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project), Filippo Rovelli (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Ukrainian Nick Kalinin (Battley-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) completed the points. There was just under a second separating Meuffels in ninth and Rovelli in 14th place.
Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) was the first retirement of the race after a crash on the opening lap of the race while Johan Gimbert (GP Project) also retired in the early stages of the race alongside Oscar Nunez Roldan (Scuderia Maranga Racing), Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Adrian Huertas (ProGP Racing). Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300) suffered a crash which forced them both to retire.
Tom Bramich missed out on making the race after missing the cut in the Last Chance Race, despite finishing that race only 1.3-seconds behind the race winner, P9 was not enough to qualify for the main races.
“At the beginning of the race I thought I could make a gap, but my pitboard says 0.0. I thought it was going to be a big group. The last lap was a little bit crazy!”
“I’m very happy with my first podium in WorldSSP300. Thank you to all my team, my sponsors, my family thanks to everyone.”
“I had a good start and the first laps were good. I was chasing my teammate Jeffrey and he had really good pace. He’s so fast here. I was really pushing to stay with him. I thought that after some laps we may have had a gap, because Jeffrey yesterday had a gap, but when I looked behind there was a big group. They overtook me, I was back to fifth, so I had to go to the back of Jeffrey again. It was really hard, but it worked, and I’m happy with third.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Class | Gap |
| 1 | J. Buis | Kawasaki | A | 0.000 |
| 2 | T. Brianti | Kawasaki | B | +0.146 |
| 3 | S. Deroue | Kawasaki | B | +0.214 |
| 4 | U. Orradre | Yamaha | A | +0.592 |
| 5 | M. Kawakami | Yamaha | B | +0.632 |
| 6 | A. Carrasco | Kawasaki | B | +0.906 |
| 7 | B. Ieraci | Kawasaki | A | +1.307 |
| 8 | T. Kawakami | Yamaha | B | +2.154 |
| 9 | K. Meuffels | Kawasaki | A | +12.149 |
| 10 | V. Rodriguez Nunez | Kawasaki | A | +12.49 |
| 11 | H. De Cancellis | Yamaha | B | +12.491 |
| 12 | G. Van Straalen | Yamaha | A | +12.531 |
| 13 | K. Sabatucci | Kawasaki | B | +13.015 |
| 14 | F. Rovelli | Kawasaki | A | +13.054 |
| 15 | N. Kalinin | Kawasaki | A | +16.93 |
| 16 | A. Kroh | Yamaha | A | +19.49 |
| 17 | K. Aloisi | Yamaha | A | +19.512 |
| 18 | O. Konig | Kawasaki | B | +20.027 |
| 19 | E. De La Vega | Yamaha | B | +20.335 |
| 20 | A. Carrion | Kawasaki | A | +20.365 |
| 21 | A. Coppola | Kawasaki | B | +20.381 |
| 22 | T. Bercot | Yamaha | B | +20.382 |
| 23 | M. Gennai | Yamaha | A | +20.427 |
| 24 | A. Diaz | Yamaha | A | +23.083 |
| 25 | G. Mastroluca | Kawasaki | B | +27.184 |
| 26 | M. Perez | Kawasaki | A | +33.565 |
| 26 | I. Iglesias Bravo | Kawasaki | B | +115.041 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| RET | S. Markarian | Yamaha | B | 1 Lap |
| RET | B. Sofuoglu | Yamaha | B | 5 Laps |
| RET | T. Booth-Amos | Kawasaki | B | 5 Laps |
| RET | A. Huertas | Yamaha | B | 5 Laps |
| RET | T. Edwards | Kawasaki | B | 7 Laps |
| RET | O. Nunez Roldan | Kawasaki | A | 7 Laps |
| RET | J. Gimbert | Kawasaki | A | 8 Laps |
| RET | Y. Okaya | Kawasaki | B | 8 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Jeffrey Buis | 86 |
| 2 | Ana Carrasco | 84 |
| 3 | Scott Deroue | 83 |
| 4 | Unai Orradre | 78 |
| 5 | Tom Booth-Amos | 63 |
| 6 | Thomas Brianti | 58 |
| 7 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | 57 |
| 8 | Meikon Kawakami | 37 |
| 9 | Mika Perez | 35 |
| 10 | Yuta Okaya | 29 |
| 11 | Bruno Ieraci | 27 |
| 12 | Hugo De Cancellis | 24 |
| 13 | Ton Kawakami | 22 |
| 14 | Koen Meuffels | 22 |
| 15 | Samuel Di Sora | 20 |
| 16 | Nick Kalinin | 19 |
| 17 | Kevin Sabatucci | 16 |
| 18 | Victor Rodriguez Nunez | 14 |
| 19 | Glenn Van Straalen | 12 |
| 20 | Tom Edwards | 9 |
| 21 | Alvaro Diaz | 8 |
| 22 | Alan Kroh | 5 |
| 23 | Inigo Iglesias Bravo | 4 |
| 24 | Enzo De La Vega | 4 |
| 25 | Oliver Konig | 4 |
| 26 | Filippo Rovelli | 4 |
| 27 | Alfonso Coppola | 4 |
| 28 | Alejandro Carrion | 4 |
| 29 | Adrian Huertas | 3 |
| 30 | Kim Aloisi | 3 |
| 31 | Tom Bercot | 1 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
In the Superpole race I made an OK start but then Loris Baz came on the inside, so I got a little bit flustered. I knew I had to keep the rhythm really fast in the beginning because it was a good opportunity. Using the softer SCX tyre for the sprint race has a lot of potential but we did not do so many laps on it in practice, and the conditions were not as hot. So, thanks to my team because Pere and all the guys gave me a really good set-up. In race two I went wide at one point and that gave Chaz the chance to attack in turn one but I wanted to attack him back straight away and set my own rhythm. I knew I could push and put my head down again. I did not expect the pace I had today in race two; I was so surprised. I knew I could be fast and the Superpole race gave me a lot of confidence. When I could really get stuck into the 1’50 laps, and keep that load going at the beginning of the race, it was easier to manage when the tyre would drop. I learned from race one yesterday. http://jonathan-rea.com/news/rea-scores-two-strong-wins
Jonathan Rea lifted both WorldSBK winners’ trophies at Motorland Aragon today to retake the championship lead and continue along his stro
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
A titanic battle between the two Championship leaders ended with Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) taking victory as well as the points lead in the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship after the sensational battle at the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round at MotorLand Aragon after holding off multiple challenges throughout.
Redding started the race from third place and held position in the early stages while polesitter Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) fought his way back through the field after a poor start, Rea back in the lead after just a couple of laps.
Rea was passed by Redding on Lap 7 of 18 but was able to keep with Redding after the overtake although not able to make the move; the Ducati’s straight-line speed helping keep Redding ahead.
As Rea continued to pressure Redding, the pair went side by side with Rea looking to make his way back into the lead but a mistake on Lap 14, where Rea went wide, allowed Redding to stay in front.
Davies was able to get by Rea just a few laps later and started to close in on Redding, finishing the race just three tenths behind Redding as they battled for the lead; the pair claiming a Ducati 1-2 finish after Davies battled through from ninth, with Rea claiming a podium on his 150th start for KRT. The result means Redding moves back into the Championship lead but with plenty of points still available to claim.
“I’m really happy because until this morning the feeling was certainly not the best one. Maybe something has changed in the Superpole, but the conditions were not ideal. I tried to stay focused, thinking only of not losing contact with the leading group to achieve a good result. During the race, the feeling with the bike grew, and I managed to take this great victory that I dedicate to the whole team that never gave up doing an extraordinary job“.
“It is clear that the starting position did not help me, but I got off a good start, and in the first laps, I managed to keep a good pace to recover positions. The feeling was positive, and I closed the gap between the leading group and me. I tried to manage the tires then when I saw that Scott and Rea were gaining advantage I pushed to the maximum. I think if I had one more lap, I could have overtaken Scott, but he was still very good at defending himself without allowing me to attack him“.
“It was an excellent first race. We confirmed the good feelings we had already in the tests of two weeks ago with Chaz, while with Scott, we made a little more effort and still managed to find a solid base of set up. Also, the result obtained by Michael Rinaldi (P4) confirms the goodness of the work we are doing. This gives us great confidence ahead of the next five races that we will compete on this circuit, but it is clear that there is still room for improvement. We still have to work, and we will try from tomorrow to do it better than the others“.
“We were just lacking a little something today in the race but I was really happy with the Superpole qualifying session. We worked on a bit of a ‘time attack’ in the beginning, then when I put the Q rear tyre in I had some traffic behind – but I needed to find the rhythm and we took pole position. In the race I felt really good with the bike but I just could not fight. I had a really bad start but I tried to put my head down in the beginning and got to the front. When I got track position and Scott came through he did a really good job keeping up a good rhythm. I was just about there, but not close enough to go through. It was good in the first three sectors, and it was only two or three tenths of a difference, but when guys like Chaz and Scott are on it you cannot afford to lose that kind of time in a critical area. It was frustrating because at the start of the race I felt comfortable to let Scott lead and the pit-board gap was increasing to third place. We will put our heads together tonight and come back stronger tomorrow.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (GoEleven Ducati) once again secured a fourth-place finish in 2020 as his impressive form continued, with the Italian rider putting on a late-race move on Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) finishing in fifth place. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) was another rider who fought his way back through the field as he finished in sixth place, after starting outside the top 10, although finished ten seconds behind his team-mate.
“We made some changes this morning on the bike after yesterday, and I was feeling strong. In FP3 I felt really good with the bike and then in Superpole I was happy with my lap, but it was just not enough to be on the first two rows because the field was so close. Eighth was not ideal but I did at least have a decent start in the race, gaining a couple of places in the first few laps. I had good pace but I struggled in some areas to stay with the guys in front of me. That meant I had to play catch up every lap and at a certain point I was just a little bit slower and struggling more. I’m happy with the overall pace and unfortunately Rinaldi passed me at the end, but I think if we can improve the bike on some small areas, for sure we can fight for a podium tomorrow.”
“In the race, we made a good start but in the end the rear grip didn’t feel too great, similar to Portimao. Normally we would try a different set-up for this and usually that would work well, but in the race after five or six laps I felt the grip drop and then in the last few laps there was another big drop. Sixth position is OK, but I’m not happy because normally if there is a good feeling with the grip I can go with the front group. We will try maybe a different set-up to help this, and I will also try to improve – we will see tomorrow.”
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was classified in seventh place despite starting on the front row and taking the lead at the start as Baz looked for another podium in 2020. There was a battle between Baz and Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) towards the end of the race with the pair separated by just a second at the end of the race. Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha) finished in ninth place with Leon Haslam (THRC) completing the top ten.
“I made a good start but we had a small problem right from lap one which saw me drop three or four seconds through the central part of the race. In modifying my riding style, I was then able to set lap times that weren’t so bad, even catching one guy at the end. To be honest, I’m quite happy because I was able to understand a few things after thinking that I might have to come into the garage due to the problem. So in the final stages my times were not so bad and now we’ll fix the issue we had so that I’m set for tomorrow’s races.”
It was a strong race performance from Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) as the Argentinian rider claimed an 11th place finish, ahead of Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) in 12th. Roman Ramos (OutDO Kawasaki) marked his 100th WorldSBK start with a points finish as the Spaniard completed his first race since his return to the Championship, ahead of another mid-season returnee in Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team). Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda) secured his first points finish of the season with 15th in Race 1 at MotorLand Aragon and also claimed the team’s first points of 2020.
Eugene Laverty (BMW) finished in 16th place after a dramatic rush to start the race; the Irish rider coming off his bike on the lap to the grid with the team fixing his machine on the grid. Laverty was given a ride-through penalty during the race but was able to finish ahead of Lorenzo Gabellini (MIE Racing Althea Honda).
“My first lap in Superpole was my fastest one and I wanted to build from there but unfortunately I had problems with the front when I wanted to go with the qualifying tyre at the end and I wasn’t able to get a lap in as I went off the track. So starting from way down the field is always going to be tough but unfortunately in the sighting lap, we had a brake issue so I had to jump off the bike. I managed to get the bike back to the grid and the guys worked fantastically to repair it just about on time to get me starting the race. But unfortunately we ended being given a ride-through penalty because we were still working on the bike after the three-minute mark. Then Christophe Ponsson had a massive crash in front of me and I had to go through the gravel to avoid him. So just everything that could go wrong did in a sense. I just have to forget today and work towards tomorrow.”
Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing) had a crash during the race at the corkscrew section which put the Frenchman out of the race on his Aprilia while Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a spectacular high-side that left the KRT stricken in danger over the crest of the hill, it was amazing that all the other riders managed to avoid him as he scrabbled to safety.
“I was working with a race setup at the start of Superpole in the cooler conditions, so when I used the Q tyre I knew I could do a good lap. It was a shame to just miss out on the front row but fourth place was good. I did a couple of race simulations in the recent Aragon test so I was confident of my pace. I wanted to get a good start, which I did, and then when Scott passed me on the back straight I thought, ‘OK, just sit here’. Then I crashed and I need to check the data because it was a strange one. It spun a lot, to the point where the traction control could not save me, and then it kicked back a lot. A strange crash in an unexpected area but the good thing is we have five more races here at Aragon and my pace is pretty strong.”
Tom Sykes (BMW) pitted in the early stages of the race with the British rider retiring while Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) also suffered a crash in the first half of the race. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) and Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) both retired from the race after separate incidents on the same lap.
“It was a pity about the crash as we were running a strong race. The fact is that over the first laps I struggled to get into a rhythm because, at the moment, I must ride the bike in a certain way to be fast and have to force it a lot to make it turn for example. This doesn’t help when you are fighting with other riders. That was the case again today at first while I was part of the group. Once I had some space, I could ride much faster and was catching the fourth placed rider when I just lost the front. When you are pushing so hard it can happen. One good thing is that we were able to improve on our speed in the Superpole compared to the other rounds. As for tomorrow, we have some ideas to try and help us improve in the early stages, so let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”
“It was a pity as the BMW S 1000 RR is just so easy to manage and so enjoyable and it feels like what I expect from a race bike. Regarding my crash in Superpole, I think I was just a little bit caught out. I did not to anything stupid but obviously I ran over the edge of the tyre on the front. It was a little bit my mistake and was disappointing because today with the set-up that we got, I have to say credit to all the guys, things were coming to the right place. In Superpole I was on a potential pole position lap so obviously disappointment that I made a mistake. I left myself with a lot of work in the race but we made a good start and I was in a position where I felt comfortable, knowing that the lead is only a couple of seconds down the track. We had a very good race pace all weekend and today we were got to see if it was where it needed to be. But then we had a technical issue which was only a small oil leak but we had to pull out. Looking at the lap times I think we would have been able to be very strong. We’ll keep working and tomorrow is another day.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | S. Redding | Ducati | 0.000 |
| 2 | C. Davies | Ducati | +0.304 |
| 3 | J. Rea | Kawasaki | +2.123 |
| 4 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati | +7.453 |
| 5 | M. Van Der Mark | Yamaha | +8.365 |
| 6 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +18.851 |
| 7 | L. Baz | Yamaha | +20.226 |
| 8 | X. Fores | Kawasaki | +26.971 |
| 9 | F. Caricasulo | Yamaha | +27.054 |
| 10 | L. Haslam | Honda | +29.283 |
| 11 | L. Mercado | Ducati | +30.270 |
| 12 | S. Barrier | Ducati | +40.070 |
| 13 | R. Ramos | Kawasaki | +42.267 |
| 14 | M. Melandri | Ducati | +54.075 |
| 15 | T. Takahashi | Honda | +57.737 |
| 16 | E. Laverty | BMW | +59.805 |
| 17 | L. Gabellini | Honda | +1m22.202 |
| Not Classified | |||
| RET | M. Scheib | Kawasaki | 5 Laps |
| RET | A. Bautista | Honda | 6 Laps |
| RET | G. Gerloff | Yamaha | 12 Laps |
| RET | A. Lowes | Kawasaki | 14 Laps |
| RET | T. Sykes | BMW | 14 Laps |
| RET | C. Ponsson | Aprilia | 16 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Scott Redding | 157 |
| 2 | Jonathan Rea | 152 |
| 3 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 113 |
| 4 | Chaz Davies | 95 |
| 5 | Michael Van Der Mark | 93 |
| 6 | Alex Lowes | 91 |
| 7 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 66 |
| 8 | Loris Baz | 63 |
| 9 | Alvaro Bautista | 55 |
| 10 | Tom Sykes | 47 |
| 11 | Leon Haslam | 42 |
| 12 | Xavi Fores | 22 |
| 13 | Garrett Gerloff | 22 |
| 14 | Marco Melandri | 19 |
| 15 | Federico Caricasulo | 19 |
| 16 | Eugene Laverty | 16 |
| 17 | Sandro Cortese | 14 |
| 18 | Leandro Mercado | 12 |
| 19 | Maximilian Scheib | 10 |
| 20 | Sylvain Barrier | 5 |
| 21 | Christophe Ponsson | 4 |
| 22 | Román Ramos | 3 |
| 23 | Takumi Takahashi | 1 |
A familiar face stood on top of the FIM Supersport World Championship podium at MotorLand Aragon as Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), the only rider to win a WorldSSP race in 2020, continued his streak with victory at the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round as he made it six race wins in his first six races.
The battle for the lead between Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha), Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and teammate Lucas Mahias reached a peak on Lap 2 as Cluzel went from fourth to first, passing both Oettl and Mahias, with Locatelli following him through into second place.
Both Cluzel and Locatelli were able to break away from the leading group as the duo engaged in a titanic battle until the third lap; Locatelli making a move on the inside of Turn 16 on Cluzel. It was a move he had tried a lap before but on that occasion Cluzel was able to respond into Turn 1 but was unable to the second time around. Locatelli then extended his lead throughout the race to claim victory, with Cluzel in second place as he secured another podium in 2020, finishing ahead of Oettl in third.
Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) secured a top four finish as three manufacturers finished in the first four places as Mahias, who had been in the lead group and involved in the epic battle in the opening laps, finished in fifth place. Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) and Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) had a titanic battle for sixth place which went down to the final lap; South African Odendaal regaining the place on the final lap to secure a top six finish with Viñales seventh.
Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) were also involved in a battle just behind Odendaal and Viñales, with Gonzalez holding on to finishing eighth with Webb in ninth. Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) looked to be fighting at the front but fell back throughout the race, eventually finishing the 15-lap race in tenth place.
Alejandro Carranza Ruiz (EMPERADOR Racing) was the highest place WorldSSP – Challenge rider with 11th place overall in the race, finishing just ahead of Federico Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Turkish star Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team). Maria Herrera (Altogoo Racing Team) secured her first points of the season with Patrick Hobelsberger (Dynavolt Honda) completing the points paying position.
Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) was unable to capitalise on his career-best result from Superpole as he retired from the race, along with Lachlan Epis (MPM Routz Racing Team), Stefano Valtulini (Blackflag Motorsport) and Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing).
“Six victories is incredible. The feeling is good every time. Today, we pushed but we stay calm because tomorrow is a harder day. We have another race but I’m confident and I’ll push again tomorrow.”
“I’m happy. It’s a strong race, it’s a difficult weekend because the length of the circuit is making a bigger gap compared to the bigger circuits. It’s nearly impossible to fight with him, it’s not possible to be honest. I tried to save what I can. In the other race, I’m the best of the others. We cannot explain what happened but I am happy to score 20 points and I’m focussed on tomorrow to make some improvements because Oettl rode really well, he pushed me the whole race and I need to improve a little bit for tomorrow.”
“I’m really happy to be on the podium again. It was a hard race, especially in the beginning until I found a good rhythm. After Lucas Mahias and Isaac Viñales had a small discussion at Turn 1, I thought now is the time to push and make a gap. That was exactly the right thing to do in that moment so I’m really happy for the team and tomorrow we can have another good race.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha | 0 |
| 2 | J. Cluzel | Yamaha | +3.221 |
| 3 | P Oettl | Kawasaki | +5.206 |
| 4 | R. De Rosa | MV Agusta | +6.387 |
| 5 | L. Mahias | Kawasaki | +10.563 |
| 6 | S. Odendaal | Yamaha | +14.968 |
| 7 | I. Viñales | Yamaha | +14.980 |
| 8 | M. Gonzalez | Kawasaki | +15.507 |
| 9 | D. Webb | Yamaha | +15.622 |
| 10 | C. Perolari | Yamah | +24.848 |
| 11 | A. Ruiz Carranza | Yamaha | +28.292 |
| 12 | F. Fuligni | MV Agusta | +28.639 |
| 13 | C. Öncü | Kawasaki | +29.338 |
| 14 | M. Herrera | Yamaha | +41.500 |
| 15 | P. Hobelsberger | Honda | +41.565 |
| 16 | G. Hendra Pratama | Yamaha | +42.531 |
| 17 | H. Okubo | Honda | +42.566 |
| 18 | A. Bassani | Yamaha | +46.602 |
| 19 | L. Cresson | Yamaha | +54.928 |
| 20 | A. Verdoïa | Yamaha | +59.339 |
| 21 | L. Montella | Yamaha | +1m01.699 |
| Not Classifieds | |||
| RET | H.Soomer | Yamaha | 4 Laps |
| RET | 43 S. Valtulini | Kawasaki | 9 Laps |
| RET | 83 L. Epis | Yamaha | 11 Laps |
| RET | 56 P. Sebestyen | Yamaha | 12 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Andrea Locatelli | 150 |
| 2 | Jules Cluzel | 110 |
| 3 | Lucas Mahias | 73 |
| 4 | Philipp Oettl | 65 |
| 5 | Corentin Perolari | 63 |
| 6 | Steven Odendaal | 59 |
| 7 | Raffaele De Rosa | 55 |
| 8 | Isaac Viñales | 53 |
| 9 | Manuel Gonzalez | 47 |
| 10 | Hannes Soomer | 39 |
| 11 | Can Alexander Öncü | 27 |
| 12 | Danny Webb | 27 |
| 13 | Alejandro Ruiz Carranza | 13 |
| 14 | Peter Sebestyen | 13 |
| 15 | Miquel Pons | 9 |
| 16 | Federico Fuligni | 9 |
| 17 | Patrick Hobelsberger | 6 |
| 18 | Loris Cresson | 6 |
| 19 | Andy Verdoïa | 4 |
| 20 | Kevin Manfredi | 3 |
| 21 | Axel Bassani | 3 |
| 22 | Maria Herrera | 2 |
| 23 | Jaimie Van Sikkelerus | 2 |
| 24 | Galang Hendra Pratama | 1 |
| 25 | Luigi Montella | 1 |
In a race full of thrills and spills in FIM Supersport 300 World Championship, it was Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) who claimed victory by almost seven seconds the second largest margin of victory in WorldSSP300 history and the largest at MotorLand Aragon. While Buis was able to dominate out in front, there was a titanic battle for the podium with four riders separated by just four tenths.
Buis pulled away from the lead group after starting from pole position and completed the 10-lap race unchallenged as he claimed his first victory in dominant fashion; the second largest victory margin of all time. He finished ahead of Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) who moved into the Championship with another podium finish as well as Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki) not finished the race after a late-race clash with Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO). Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) finished in third placed; the Spaniard claiming his first podium since Magny-Cours in 2018.
De Cancellis finished the race in fourth place despite the late-race collision with Deroue; the Frenchman able to continue and secure a strong result ahead of Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) in fifth. It is the first time this season that Booth-Amos has not finished on the podium when he has finished the race, having scored three podiums and a retirement prior to the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) completed the top six after he fought his back from the back of the grid having been forced to start at the back of the grid with a tyre pressure infringement.
Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) finished in seventh place with Victor Rodriguez Nunez (2R Racing) in eighth place and Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) finished in the top nine but within 1.1 seconds of Carrasco in second place; showing how competitive the WorldSSP300 Championship is. Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) completed the top 10 as he held off the challenge from Alan Kroh (Yamaha MS Racing) by just 0.057s.
Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) finished in 12th place with Adrian Huertas (ProGP Racing), Alfonso Coppola (Kawasaki GP Project) and Oliver König (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) completed the points by finishing in the top 15.
It was a race of attrition with various riders suffering from retirements including Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing YamahaWSSP300); the Turkish rider still in contention in the Championship but is now 17 points back in the title race. Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team), Kim Aloisi (ProGP Racing), Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing), Tom Bercot (ProGP Racing), Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project), Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT), Felipe Macan (Team Brasil AD 78), Gabriele Mastroluca (GP Project) and Sylvain Markarian (Yamaha MS Racing) all failing to finish the race following various incidents throughout. Aloisi was taken to the medical centre for a check up but has been declared fit since.
“The race was very difficult. At the beginning, I tried to make a gap but there was a lot of wind. They showed me the pit board and the gap was big enough, so it was okay for me.”
“The race was really difficult. In Tissot Superpole, I made some mistakes and we had to start towards the back, so it was difficult to fight at the front. With the wind it was really hard. I was trying to pull away from the group, but it was impossible. Jeffrey was very, very fast so he won but I’m very happy to be back on the podium. It was not easy, so it’s a good result for us. We have to focus on tomorrow’s race as it’ll be important to be back on the podium.”
“I’m really happy. After one and a half years without a podium, it’s nice to be back! It was a good fight with the whole group. I am so happy and want to thank my team, my sponsors and all the people who trusted me after last season as this is for them.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Class | Time/Gap |
| 1 | J. Buis | Kawasaki | A | 0 |
| 2 | A. Carrasco | Kawasaki | B | 6.870 |
| 3 | M. Perez | Kawasaki | A | 6.895 |
| 4 | H. De Cancellis | Yamaha | B | 7.000 |
| 5 | T. Booth-Amos | Kawasaki | B | 7.282 |
| 6 | U. Orradre | Yamaha | A | 7.488 |
| 7 | B. Ieraci | Kawasaki | A | 7.582 |
| 8 | V. Rodriguez Nunez | Kawasak | A | 7.704 |
| 9 | M. Kawakami | Yamaha | B | 7.949 |
| 10 | T. Brianti | Kawasaki | B | 8.125 |
| 11 | A. Kroh | Yamaha | A | 8.182 |
| 12 | I. Iglesias Bravo | Kawasaki | B | 8.552 |
| 13 | A. Huertas | Yamaha | B | 16.476 |
| 14 | A. Coppola | Kawasaki | B | 16.644 |
| 15 | O. König | Kawasaki | B | 16.700 |
| 16 | N. Kalinin | Kawasaki | A | 16.730 |
| 17 | A. Carrion | Kawasaki | A | 19.995 |
| 18 | M. Gennai | Yamaha | A | 20.045 |
| 19 | J. Gimbert | Kawasaki | A | 20.710 |
| 20 | F. Rovelli | Kawasaki | A | 22.073 |
| 21 | E. De La Vega | Yamaha | B | 22.132 |
| 22 | G. Van Straalen | Yamaha | A | 22.245 |
| 23 | O. Nunez Roldan | Kawasaki | A | 53.345 |
| 24 | A. Diaz | Yamaha | A | 1’26.699 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| RET | S. Deroue | Kawasaki | B | 1 Lap |
| RET | B. Sofuoglu | Yamaha | B | 3 Laps |
| RET | T. Edwards | Kawasaki | B | 4 Laps |
| RET | K. Aloisi | Yamaha | A | 7 Laps |
| RET | T. Kawakami | Yamaha | B | 9 Laps |
| RET | T. Bercot | Yamaha | B | 9 Laps |
| RET | K. Sabatucci | Kawasaki | B | 9 Laps |
| RET | Y. Okaya | Kawasaki | B | 9 Laps |
| RET | F. Macan | Yamaha | A | / |
| RET | G. Mastroluca | Kawasaki | B | / |
| RET | S. Markarian | Yamaha | B | / |
| Rider | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Ana Carrasco | 74 |
| 2 | Scott Deroue | 67 |
| 3 | Unai Orradre | 65 |
| 4 | Tom Booth-Amos | 63 |
| 5 | Jeffrey Buis | 61 |
| 6 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | 57 |
| 7 | Thomas Brianti | 38 |
| 8 | Mika Perez | 35 |
| 9 | Yuta Okaya | 29 |
| 10 | Meikon Kawakami | 26 |
| 11 | Samuel Di Sora | 20 |
| 12 | Hugo De Cancellis | 19 |
| 13 | Bruno Ieraci | 18 |
| 14 | Nick Kalinin | 18 |
| 15 | Koen Meuffels | 15 |
| 16 | Ton Kawakami | 14 |
| 17 | Kevin Sabatucci | 13 |
| 18 | Tom Edwards | 9 |
| 19 | Victor Rodriguez Nunez | 8 |
| 20 | Alvaro Diaz | 8 |
| 21 | Glenn Van Straalen | 8 |
| 22 | Alan Kroh | 5 |
| 23 | Inigo Iglesias Bravo | 4 |
| 24 | Enzo De La Vega | 4 |
| 25 | Oliver König | 4 |
| 26 | Alfonso Coppola | 4 |
| 27 | Alejandro Carrion | 4 |
| 28 | Adrian Huertas | 3 |
| 29 | Kim Aloisi | 3 |
| 30 | Filippo Rovelli | 2 |
| 31 | Tom Bercot | 1 |
| 32 | Mirko Gennai | 1 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
We were just lacking a little something today in the race but I was really happy with the Superpole qualifying session. We worked on a bit of a ‘time attack’ in the beginning, then when I put the Q rear tyre in I had some traffic behind – but I needed to find the rhythm and we took pole position. In the race I felt really good with the bike but I just could not fight. I had a really bad start but I tried to put my head down in the beginning and got to the front. When I got track position and Scott came through he did a really good job keeping up a good rhythm. I was just about there, but not close enough to go through. It was good in the first three sectors, and it was only two or three tenths of a difference, but when guys like Chaz and Scott are on it you cannot afford to lose that kind of time in a critical area. It was frustrating because at the start of the race I felt comfortable to let Scott lead and the pit-board gap was increasing to third place. We will put our heads together tonight and come back stronger tomorrow. http://jonathan-rea.com/news/third-rea-aragon-race-one
Kawasaki Racing Team rider Jonathan Rea scored a podium position today by finishing third in the opening 18-lap WorldSBK race at Motorlan
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
Friday running for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship continued with more ups, downs and surprises. Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati) set a time of 1’50.543 in Free Practice 1 as he looked to make it eight or more wins at MotorLand Aragon, but the challengers are close behind as Friday showed a close and competitive field.
Davies’ time was set in the morning session and it was enough to top the timings for Friday running despite finishing sixth in Free Practice 2. Davies’ Ducati team-mate, Scott Redding, improved in Free Practice 2 to finish third in the afternoon but he was outside the top six in the overall classification, finishing in eighth place overall.
“I’m very happy to have finished today in first position but especially for how we worked in both FP1 and FP2. We started this morning with the set up with which we ended the test two weeks ago and the feeling was positive since the first laps. This allowed us to immediately understand which was the right direction to follow. We must continue to work on the tires because we will have different solutions available and we will have to understand which will be the best one in view of the race“.
“We struggled a bit this morning but since the early laps of FP2, we have been able to make some improvements, step by step, working a lot with used tires. We still have to figure out how to solve some details but we will continue to work with great confidence. The weather conditions? Maybe they will be a bit different tomorrow but it will be the same for all riders. The important thing is that we have made important steps forward on the set up to improve ourselves“.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (GoEleven Ducati) continued his recent impressive form with second overall, less than a tenth away from Davies’ time as the pair made it a Ducati 1-2 after Friday running.
Reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) was third onboard his machine while team-mate Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) had an eventful afternoon session, improving his time from Free Practice 1 to finish seventh in the combined classification for the day despite a crash at Turn 14 with around 10 minutes left to go in the session.
“I felt okay with the bike today because we had a test here a few weeks ago. We understood the base set-up. In the second session we made a big change with the wheelbase of the bike to understand how it is working in these hotter conditions. I think we will go back to what we had this morning and at the test. It seems like tomorrow is going to be a little bit cooler so we can understand the tyres in the morning FP3 session and make a final race plan from there. We have a good idea that our bike will work OK in the cooler conditions, so tomorrow’s target is to make a time attack in Superpole to get a good grid position and then make a solid 18 laps. I feel excited about it because there are a lot of guys in the front, quite close together, so we need to do our homework tonight and come back swinging tomorrow.”
“We came here with the set-up we had at the test and I felt quite good on the bike. I had a little problem in the morning session so I did not do my first long run continuously but my lap times were quite good – when you put a full lap together. I stayed on the same tyre because I feel like the race is going to be more like this morning’s cooler temperatures and it looks like it is going to be like that on Saturday. In the afternoon I was fast, really, able to do 1’51 laps for the two longer runs and improve my time. I knew we should be fast because we worked really hard at the recent test here and we found some good stuff for the bike set-up. Then I got a bit excited at the end and fell during the last FP2 run, which was a shame. I had just put on a fresh tyre and went in a bit fast. But the bike is working well, especially in hot conditions, and that is what has come on most since the test.”
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) was another who had an up and down day; his time in Free Practice 1 good enough for fourth overall but a crash and a technical issue in the morning session hampered the Spanish rider. Bautista did leave the pit lane during Free Practice 2 but did not set a lap time; instead doing out and in laps only.
“This morning I felt very good on the bike right from the start. It’s true that we have tested here a few times, so we have a lot of references for this layout and a clear direction with the setup, but it is still good to have been able to ride strongly straight away. We just made some little adjustments in order to be consistently fast and then towards the end I suffered a small crash, but with no consequences. After that we had an issue with the engine which we are now checking. Being at a good point with the bike’s setup, this afternoon we wanted to focus on tyre choice but unfortunately some other issues during FP2 prevented us from executing our plan. We now have more time available to work on the bike and so we’ll use tomorrow’s FP3 for our final preparation ahead of Race 1.”
Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was classified in 11th for the day after showing some consistent pace across both sessions.
“This morning was disappointing as we were only able to complete three or four fast laps because we had some small problems. But honestly the times came quite easily considering the limited number of laps made. In the afternoon session we were able to match our earlier lap times despite the hotter conditions. We didn’t do everything we had planned but it was good to get some laps under our belt, especially in those warmer conditions. We had a small crash right at the end, but it was nothing major and I’m looking forward to continuing our work tomorrow, in what should be cooler conditions.”
Tom Sykes (BMW) started the weekend with a new contract for 2021 and showed why the BMW outfit has kept him for next year with fifth overall in the standings despite a technical issue in Free Practice 1.
“I am very happy and relaxed. We came here knowing already we had lost two days off track time to our competitors from the test, but I have the experience and spun a lot of laps here. Unfortunately, we had a few setbacks today which lost us a lot of time in Free Practice, but the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team have responded accordingly, we were still able to get through a lot of information for tomorrow. So overall I am happy with the way day 1 finished and I am looking forward to Superpole and Race 1 tomorrow.”
Team-mate Eugene Laverty was down in 16th place, around 1.5 seconds off Davies’ pace after learning that he will lose his seat next year.
“Overall P16 this morning, I was pretty slow as I didn’t go for the fresh tyre in FP1 but the temperatures were hotter which means the tyre didn’t work as well. We did finish in P10 in FP2 which showed some signs of progress. We have been playing a little bit of catch up as the other guys have had a test here last week. Strangely I have been struggling with the feeling in the front, it kept closing a lot in final breaking so the key for tomorrow is to work on that and gain some confidence in that area. Portimao was good step forward for me in qualifying however I was still on that third row, my aim is to get up onto the second row. We have some work to do if we want to get there but being on those two rows gives you a chance to go with the boys at the front come the race.”
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) was the fastest Yamaha rider in the field with sixth place overall, less than half a second away from the top time. Baz, who stood on the podium for the first time in six years in WorldSBK at Portimao, beat both factory Yamaha riders Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) and team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu; the pair classified ninth and tenth respectively.
“We had a good test here but the bike feels a bit different than it did then, so we have worked to tweak the set-up a little bit. I think if you look back at today’s results, the position isn’t really an indication of where we are – our pace is really good and the feeling on the bike is too, so we just have to get everything together. The race pace is solid, so I’m not really worried about that, just some small things to find some extra grip and overall performance – then we are ready.”
“Today was not a bad start, we tried to find more grip with the bike because it is very important for this track and for the rear tyre life, and we want to fight for the win. Now we are ready with a good set-up and tomorrow morning we will try again to make another step forward. We will see if it is possible to fight for victory in Race 1. It’s not an easy track but I feel we are improving step-by-step.”
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) finished just outside the top ten with 12th overall after the two practice sessions, with the American rider showing his potential at points throughout the sessions but unable to break into the top ten. His GRT Yamaha teammate, Federico Caricasulo, was classified in 14th place with Maximilian Scheib (Orelac Kawasaki) separating the two Yamaha riders.
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti) finished the day in 15th place, the first rider whose lap time was below the 1’52 mark. He was just over a tenth fastest than Marco Melandri (Barni Ducati) in 17th with Roman Ramos (OutDo Kawasaki) finishing 18th on his return to WorldSBK action.
Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance), and Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) were 19th and 20th respectively, just ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing); Ponsson having a crash at Turn 16 during Free Practice 2. MIE Racing Althea Honda Team duo Takumi Takahashi and Lorenzo Gabellini completed the standings after Friday’s running.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | C. Davies | Ducati | 1m50.543 |
| 2 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati | +0.058 |
| 3 | J. Rea | Kawasaki | +0.193 |
| 4 | A. Bautista | Honda | +0.222 |
| 5 | T. Sykes | BMW | +0.383 |
| 6 | L. Baz | Yamaha | +0.436 |
| 7 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki | +0.458 |
| 8 | S. Redding | Ducati | +0.488 |
| 9 | M. Van Der Mark | Yamaha | +0.517 |
| 10 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +0.554 |
| 11 | L. Haslam | Honda | +0.648 |
| 12 | G. Gerloff | Yamaha | +0.861 |
| 13 | M. Scheib | Kawasaki | +0.907 |
| 14 | F. Caricasulo | Yamaha | +1.444 |
| 15 | X. Fores | Kawasaki | +1.470 |
| 16 | E. Laverty | BMW | +1.485 |
| 17 | M. Melandri | Ducati | +1.590 |
| 18 | R. Ramos | Kawasaki | +1.987 |
| 19 | S. Barrier | Ducati | +2.237 |
| 20 | L. Mercado | Ducati | +2.452 |
| 21 | C. Ponsson | Aprilia | +2.742 |
| 22 | T. Takahashi | Honda | +3.114 |
| 23 | L. Gabellini | Honda | +4.543 |
FIM Supersport World Championship action continued on Friday and there was a familiar name at the top of the timesheets as Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Yamaha) topped the day’s running after two Free Practice sessions. The WorldSSP rookie’s time of 1’54.308, set in Free Practice 2, was enough to top the timesheets.
Locatelli was not the only rider to improve in the second practice session with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) also making a step forward in terms of lap time as he finished second overall, but almost seven tenths down on Locatelli’s time. The Frenchman will be hoping he can challenge Locatelli in Tissot Superpole and both races as he did in the early stages of racing in Portimao. Cluzel’s teammate, Corentin Perolari, finished the day in tenth place.
Hannes Soomer’s (Kallio Racing) continued to show impressive pace on Friday and finished the day classified in third place; his time of 1’55.149 from Free Practice 1 enough to be third overall. Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) also showed strong pace with fourth overall as the team look to mount a challenge at the top of the field.
Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the day in fifth place as he was ahead of Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse); the sole MV representative in the top 10 with his time of 1’55.774, the Italian looking to continue his form after picking up his first podium of the season in Portimao. Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) was seventh overall, just ahead of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in eighth.
Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) finished in ninth after both practice sessions; Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) ending up just outside the top ten in 11th. Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) finished in 12th overall for the day with Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) in 13th.
Alejandro Ruiz Carranza (EMPERADOR Racing Team) finished the day in 14th place; as the highest place WorldSSP Challenge rider, finishing just ahead of Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing). Turkish sensation Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) finished in 16th place while Aussie newcomer Lachlan Epis showed signs of improvement and made his way to P19 just ahead of Maria Herrera despite missing almost all of FP2 with more mechanical problems.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha | 1m54.308 |
| 2 | J. Cluzel | Yamaha | +0.679 |
| 3 | H. Soomer | Yamaha | +0.841 |
| 4 | I. Viñales | Yamaha | +0.921 |
| 5 | P. Oettl | Kawasaki | +1.212 |
| 6 | R. De Rosa | MV Agusta | +1.325 |
| 7 | M. Gonzalez | Kawasaki | +1.691 |
| 8 | L. Mahias | Kawasaki | +1.845 |
| 9 | D. Webb | Yamaha | +2.023 |
| 10 | C. Perolari | Yamaha | +2.047 |
| 11 | H. Okubo | Honda | +2.122 |
| 12 | S. Odendaal | Yamaha | +2.290 |
| 13 | P. Sebestyen | Yamaha | +2.335 |
| 14 | A. Ruiz Carranza | Yamaha | +2.421 |
| 15 | A. Bassani | Yamaha | +2.545 |
| 16 | C. Öncü | Kawasaki | +2.625 |
| 17 | S. Valtulini | Kawasaki | +3.116 |
| 18 | F. Fuligni | MV Agusta | +3.278 |
| 19 | L. Epis | Yamaha | +3.516 |
| 20 | M. Herrera | Yamaha | +3.846 |
| 21 | P. Hobelsberger | Honda | +3.920 |
| 22 | L. Cresson | Yamaha | +3.976 |
| 23 | A. Verdoïa | Yamaha | +4.853 |
| 24 | L. Montella | Yamaha | +5.838 |
| 25 | G. Hendra Pratama | Yamaha | +14.794 |
As FIM Supersport 300 World Championship action got underway for the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round, it was Hugo de Cancellis (Trasimeno Yamaha) who topped the timesheets at MotorLand Aragon; but with little to separate the top six as the competitive Championship continued to show how unpredictable it is.
De Cancellis’ time of 2’07.623 was set in the morning Free Practice 1 session when track temperatures were lower; the French rider looking to assert his authority early on in the weekend. He was just ahead of Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki) with just 0.012s separating the top two; both de Cancellis and Deroue edging away from Deroue’s MTM Kawasaki teammate Jeffrey Buis; the Dutchman almost two tenths behind his team-mate.
2018 Champion Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec ) finished the day in fourth place, around three tenths off the pace of de Cancellis, with Jerez race winner Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS) in fifth place. It showed how competitive the Championship is with so many riders separated by not a lot and this continued with Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) in sixth place, also three tenths off the fastest time of the day.
Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) was classified in seventh place on combined times, around half a second back from de Cancellis, with Tom Bercot (ProGP Racing), Australia’s Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) rounding out the top ten. There were just six-tenths separating the top ten as everyone looked to show their pace ahead of two races at the Aragon Round.
Oliver König (MOVISIO by Freudenberg Jr Team) was classified in 11th place, ahead of Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing), Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT), Alfonso Coppola (Kawasaki GP Project) and Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) completing the top 15; the top 15 within a second of the fastest lap of the day.
Tom Bramich placed 41st on combined times on the Carl Cox RT Motorsports Kawasaki in what is a 52-rider field.
There were incidents throughout the afternoon for Matyas Cervenka (Smrz Racing – Willi Race), Gabrielle Mastroluca (GP Project) and Sylvain Markarian (Yamaha MS Racing), with the three classified in 48th, 33rd and 16th respectively.
| SSP300 Combined Times A | |||
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | J. Buis | Kawasaki | 2m07.796 |
| 2 | U. Orradre | Yamaha | +0.168 |
| 3 | K. Meuffels | Kawasaki | +0.504 |
| 4 | J. Gimbert | Kawasaki | +0.861 |
| 5 | V. Rodriguez Nunez | Kawasaki | +0.941 |
| 6 | B. Ieraci | Kawasaki | +0.983 |
| 7 | N. Kalinin | Kawasaki | +0.985 |
| 8 | F. Rovelli | Kawasaki | +0.996 |
| 9 | A. Carrion | Kawasaki | +1.255 |
| 10 | M. Perez | Kawasaki | +1.474 |
| 11 | G. Van Straalen | Yamaha | +1.586 |
| 12 | A. Kroh | Yamaha | +1.597 |
| 13 | P. Grassia | Yamaha | +1.668 |
| 14 | S. Di Sora | Kawasaki | +1.809 |
| 15 | F. Macan | Yamaha | +1.833 |
| 16 | A. Diaz | Yamaha | +1.874 |
| 17 | M. Gennai | Yamaha | +1.928 |
| 18 | O. Nunez Roldan | Kawasaki | +2.362 |
| 19 | K. Aloisi | Yamaha | +2.522 |
| 20 | D. Blin | Yamaha | +2.553 |
| 21 | T. Bramich | Kawasaki | +3.024 |
| 22 | G. Matern | Yamaha | +3.296 |
| 23 | M. Gaggi | Yamaha | +3.312 |
| 24 | E. Mcglinchey | Kawasaki | +3.389 |
| 25 | I. Offer | Kawasaki | +8.270 |
| 26 | L. Gruau | Kawasaki | +9.265 |
| SSP300 Combined Times B | |||
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | H. De Cancellis | Yamaha | 2m07.623 |
| 2 | S. Deroue | Kawasaki | +0.012 |
| 3 | A. Carrasco | Kawasaki | +0.336 |
| 4 | K. Sabatucci | Kawasaki | +0.354 |
| 5 | M. Kawakami | Yamaha | +0.513 |
| 6 | T. Bercot | Yamaha | +0.529 |
| 7 | T. Edwards | Kawasaki | +0.613 |
| 8 | Y. Okaya | Kawasaki | +0.619 |
| 9 | O. König | Kawasaki | +0.634 |
| 10 | T. Kawakami | Yamaha | +0.639 |
| 11 | A. Coppola | Kawasaki | +0.750 |
| 12 | I. Iglesias Bravo | Kawasaki | +0.758 |
| 13 | S. Markarian | Yamaha | +0.787 |
| 14 | A. Huertas | Yamaha | +1.124 |
| 15 | T. Booth-Amos | Kawasaki | +1.398 |
| 16 | E. De La Vega | Yamaha | +1.555 |
| 17 | B. Sofuoglu | Yamaha | +1.644 |
| 18 | T. Brianti | Kawasaki | +1.764 |
| 19 | J. Perez Gonzalez | Yamaha | +1.861 |
| 20 | G. Mastroluca | Kawasaki | +1.891 |
| 21 | M. Hrava | Kawasaki | +3.381 |
| 22 | A. Quinet | Kawasaki | +3.526 |
| 23 | J. Ioverno | Kawasaki | +3.556 |
| 24 | M. Cervenka | Kawasaki | +3.702 |
| 25 | R. Dore | Yamaha | +4.305 |
| 26 | A. Zanca | Kawasaki | +5.394 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
WorldSBK riders return to the track after a short summer break this weekend for the second seasonal double-header of the Motul FIM World Superbike Championship that will start with round four of the calendar, on the Spanish track of MotorLand Aragón. They will then reconvene the following weekend for the fifth round of what is expected to be an eight-round series this year.
The Spanish MotorLand Aragón circuit has historically rather aggressive asphalt, especially harsh towards the rear tyres; in fact, the surface has a rather pronounced roughness that could cause tyre wear problems. In addition, the sand that is sometimes carried by the wind and deposited on the asphalt can cause loss of grip and drifts towards the centre of the corners. The front tyres, in addition to the wear caused by the aggressiveness of the asphalt, are also called to withstand violent braking at the end of the straight opposite the pits and the steep slopes, which cause high loading on the front end.
A slender four-point margin at the top of the Championship standings sees Jonathan Rea (KRT) holding off Scott Redding (Aruba Ducati), but with the last four wins at Aragon going to Ducati, it could all change this weekend.
Three wins at the Aragon circuit and coming off the back of the first hat-trick of the season, Jonathan Rea aims to continue his success and build on his Championship lead. The fourth Championship leader in just three rounds, Rea’s dominant triple at Portimao means he brings with him confidence, something that’ll be crucial in the back-to-back events.
“I am excited to go to Aragon especially as we have done a lot a lot of riding in the last few weeks, at Jerez, Portimao and then the recent Aragon test, so I feel really good on the bike. That test was an opportunity to ride the circuit in hot summer conditions. We have not done that in a number of years, because we use it as a winter test track. The bike was working really well in the heat, which confirmed our new base setting. Looking to this weekend itself the temperatures could be cooler than we had at the test – maybe in the mid-twenties on raceday – which will be nicer on the body but may throw us a curve ball. So, we need to make sure we are prepared on Friday to get a set-up that is user friendly, fast and consistent. The target will be to win races.”
KRT on a whole had an extremely positive test too, as Rea’s team-mate Alex Lowes topped the overall timesheets at the end of day two. Fourth in the standings, he wants to reassert himself and get a first podium since his Race 2 win at Phillip Island; he took his first Aragon rostrum in 2019 for Yamaha.
“We had a test at Motorland recently and I am looking forward to the races even more now. At the recent Portimao race, and a little bit in Jerez, due to the vast differences in track temperature compared to the winter, it was almost like learning things again on the Friday. With a race on Saturday you are almost straight into it. So for this round I am looking forward to continuing on the hard work from the Aragon test. We had a good feeling with the bike and the target for me is to get back on the podium with the Ninja ZX-10RR. Motorland is a track I really enjoy and I cannot wait to get out there again.”
Dominant. Dazzling. Ducati. A mighty record at MotorLand Aragon since 2015 means that the Bologna manufacturer are the squad to beat. Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati) is sixth in the standings, but he’s got five Aragon wins for Ducati and two more victories from 2013 with BMW. Ducati also won the three races at Aragon in 2019 with Alvaro Bautista and now, another ex-MotoGP star is onboard the Panigale V4 R in Scott Redding. The rookie had a tricky Portimao and relinquished the lead in the title race. Four points split him and Rea and with Aragon welcoming the two heavyweights for thrilling action, could we see the first head-to-head battle between them?
“I’m excited to go back to racing also because we will have two consecutive race weekends on the same circuit where we have got important results. That’s why our expectations are great. The competition is stiff and it will not be easy to repeat those result but we will go on track with all the confidence and the potential to fight for the podium in every race“.
“They will be two very important race weekends in Aragon. The test we did two weeks ago allowed us to make improvements on the bike that will help me during the race and for this I am very happy. It will be important to find the right feeling from the very first laps to be competitive throughout the weekend. I can’t wait to get on track“.
Whatever happens, you can be guaranteed that Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) will be in the fight. The Turkish star suffered his first crash of the season at Portimao in Race 2 but remounted to finish eighth, whilst he was only seventh at the Aragon test after trying new items. It could be a tough round for the 23-year-old, but he’ll be up for the challenge regardless. Team-mate Michael van der Mark lies fifth in the standings, two places and 21 points behind him. An upturn in form has seen the Dutchman on three of the last five podiums and Aragon, whilst not his or Yamaha’s best track, could see the return of van der Mark to the top.
Seventh in the standings is Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), with him and the Honda effort enjoying recent rounds and starting to make an impression towards the front of the field. A best result of the season in fifth in Race 2 at Portimao sets the Spaniard up for great things at a track he dominated at last year. Coming off the back of a strong MotorLand Aragon test, Bautista could be in line for a first podium of 2020. Team-mate Leon Haslam has never won at Aragon, but he was on pole in 2015; will he be able to challenge at the front of the grid this weekend, and push towards the rostrum places? Both Hondas are making steps and back-to-back rounds at one circuit will be just what they need.
“We collected a lot of data during the latest test we completed at Aragón after the Portimão round, and so we have some ideas for the upcoming races. It will be a tough double-header of course, particularly physically, with similarly hot conditions to Jerez and Portimão, but we must be ready to work hard all the same. Our target is clear, or rather to keep improving the feeling with the bike and our performance on the bike. The results will come if we continue to take steps forward. This bike feels increasingly like “my” bike and I’m looking forward to the next rounds.”
“I’m looking forward to the weekends in Aragón. It’s probably the best opportunity we have, because we’ve already tested there twice and so we understand what’s required. So hopefully we can go into the weekend focusing more on fine tuning, rather than testing big things. Our pace in testing was quite good, though we still need to work on some details in the hotter conditions. But I’d say it’s one of our best chances to be fighting for the top spots.”
BMW were absent from the MotorLand Aragon test but return to the place where they achieved a first front row since their factory comeback in 2019. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is only tenth in the Championship and did the double at Aragon back in 2014, whilst Eugene Laverty is down in 14th overall, but picked up a first top ten of the season in Portugal. Both Tom and Eugene have been missing a bit of pace during the race but with both riders experienced at Aragon, they’ll be hoping to make progress and challenge for their first top five finishes of the 2020 season. Sykes recently extended his contract with BMW (Link) and will race for the German brand again in 2021, where his team-mate next season will be Michael van der Mark.
“I am very much looking forward to the double-header in Aragón. We are continuing a string of races in very hot conditions and in the Spanish climate. Obviously we have done some preparation for this, but we have some work to catch up with our opposition. I do believe we have some areas on the circuit where the chassis of the BMW S 1000 RR can be very good. So we will continue our work on Friday where we left off in Portugal and I believe we can go there, keep working in the way that we have been doing recently, and get the best result we can. For now, we still have areas to work on and that’s where we will continue in this upcoming event.”
“I’m looking forward to this double header at Aragón. I’ve watched both F1 and MotoGP races at the same track on consecutive weekends lately and it’s been interesting to see many drivers and riders improve on their second visit. With this being my first time riding the BMW S 1000 RR at the Aragón circuit I expect to make strides forward over the course of the two weekends. Last time out at Portimão I really felt that we had a great bike for Sunday but unfortunately I crashed early in both races, one my own doing and the other not. The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team has done a fantastic job bringing the bike forward over the past few rounds as we’ve worked to resolve our weakness in the slow 1st and 2nd gear corners. We’re only going to get stronger from here on in.”
Leading the Independent teams to Alcañiz is Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) with eighth overall. He was back on the podium at Portimao after six years away but another Race 2 crash means he comes to Aragon slightly on the backfoot, especially given that he and the Ten Kate squad haven’t visited with Yamaha machinery. A point behind is the in-form Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven), who made his WorldSBK debut at Aragon. The Italian is in the best form of his career, with the last four results being in the top eight – including two top five finishes. The next Independent is America’s Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), racing for the first time at Aragon, having tested there before.
Gerloff’s team-mate Federico Caricasulo was on the WorldSSP podium at Aragon and comes from his WorldSBK first top ten at Portimao; they are 12th and 17th in the standings respectively. Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) was the first winner at Aragon back in 2011 and returns for more in 2020, as Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti) has happy memories there too, leading a race in 2018. Chile’s Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) is back on track and keen for points at a circuit he knows from STK1000 and Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) hopes for another top ten. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) aims to build on his first point of 2020 from Portimao and Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda) and teammate Lorenzo Gabellini seek their first points of 2020.
WorldSBK action starts at the generously appointed Motorland circuit on Friday 28 August, and as usual there will be three WorldSBK races in all. Race one, over 18 laps, takes place on Saturday 29 August, the Tissot-Superpole sprint race on Sunday morning and then finally a full distance race two, on Sunday afternoon. See below for the weekend schedule in Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Given the peculiarities of running a global motorsport series during a global pandemic the Aragon round this coming weekend will be followed just a week later after by the Teruel round, albeit at the same Motorland venue.
Source: MCNews.com.au
The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team had already announced the signing of Michael van der Mark for season 2021 but overnight have now re-contracted Tom Sykes to race alongside the Dutchman.
Sykes will line up on the BMW S 1000 RR for the third year in a row and the 35-year-old has been part of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team from the word go.
In the team’s debut season in 2019, he secured one pole position and four podium finishes with the BMW S 1000 RR. He has since added a further pole position at the opening round of the 2020 season on Phillip Island (AUS).
“Tom has been part of our WorldSBK Team from the very start and is an important pillar of this project”, said Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director. “We are pleased to be able to continue along the common path in 2021, which we embarked upon with the first tests back in December 2018. This gives us continuity, which is very important for the successful development of a project. We have already achieved a lot together, and the goal is now to definitively close the gap to the front-runners. Tom’s extensive knowledge of the BMW S 1000 RR and his input will play a key role in achieving this.”
Source: MCNews.com.au
I am excited to go to Aragon especially as we have done a lot a lot of riding in the last few weeks, at Jerez, Portimao and then the recent Aragon test, so I feel really good on the bike. That test was an opportunity to ride the circuit in hot summer conditions. We have not done that in a number of years, because we use it as a winter test track. The bike was working really well in the heat, which confirmed our new base setting. Looking to this weekend itself the temperatures could be cooler than we had at the test – maybe in the mid-twenties on raceday – which will be nicer on the body but may throw us a curve ball. So, we need to make sure we are prepared on Friday to get a set-up that is user friendly, fast and consistent. The target will be to win races. http://jonathan-rea.com/news/worldsbk-round-four-rea-and-krt-aragon
Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki Racing Team will head to Motorland Aragon in north east Spain this week for the first in a double-header race s
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook