2021 WorldSBK Round Six
Tissot Czech Round – Saturday

Most WorldSBK Race One

World Superbike’s first ever race at the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic fired up on Saturday and proved a thrilling spectacle across the 22 laps of the new circuit. After Rea crashed twice, it was a head-to-head grandstand finish between Razgatlioglu and Redding, with the Turk coming out on top in a final lap thriller.

As the lights went out, Rea and Razgatlioglu got their customary flying starts and into Turn 1, the Turk got the holeshot ahead of Rea, whilst Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) out-braked himself and had to use the escape road. Scott Redding was third whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) blasted up the order into fourth, from eighth on the grid. Sykes rejoined the action in fifth, whilst it was a bright start for Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), up from 11th and into seventh.

Rea put a stunning pass on Razgatlioglu at Turn 18 on Lap 2 but ran wide, giving Toprak the lead back and allowing Redding to come steaming on through and into second. Redding wasn’t done there though, as he then blasted through on Razgatlioglu on Lap 3 at Turn 1. Razgatlioglu then went wide at Turn 10, with Rea hitting second as the gloves came off.

There was drama down field as Alessandro Delbianco (MIE Racing Honda Team) crashed out at Turn 15 on Lap 3, before Karel Hanika (IXS-YART Yamaha) crashed on Lap 4. The crashes kept coming as American debutant Jayson Uribe (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) also went down at Turn 15. Big names were also part of the drama as Lap 5 claimed Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at Turn 1, before Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) joined him in a separate incident, both able to rejoin before Davies eventually retired.

On Lap 7, Rea had been closed back in by Razgatlioglu as both were dropped by Redding by 1.8 seconds. Turn 13 saw the Ulsterman make a mistake, allowing Razgatlioglu to pounce at Turn 14 before Rea got him back at Turn 20. Toprak then repaid the favour at Turn 1 on the following lap before he began to edge closer to Redding. Further down the field, it was drama for Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) on Lap 8, as he suffered a big engine blow up at Turn 20 but thankfully didn’t leave any fluid on the track. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) quietly went about his business and was into fourth ahead of Rinaldi.

On Lap 10, it was close again between Razgatlioglu and Rea with the title battle now being played out between the two, whilst Tito Rabat’s (Barni Racing Team) race was over as he crashed at Turn 1, before Alvaro Bautista tumbled down the order from sixth to 11th after a mistake, promoting Italian rookie sensation into sixth place, placing him as top Independent rider. Further down and having been in the points, Belgian rider Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) added to the Italian team’s tricky Race 1, crashing out at Turn 15.

The gap between Redding and Razgatlioglu was now down to under a second as Lap 13 started, but Lap 14 would see a major moment for the race and an even bigger moment for the Championship. Jonathan Rea, chasing Toprak, tucked the front from third at Turn 1, just as he and Razgatlioglu were edging closer to Redding. Rea remounted in the blink of an eye, circulating in 11th but with eight to go, he had a chance of the top ten.

The tyres were now coming into play in the final six laps, as Razgatlioglu with the SCX tyre was now right with race leader Redding, who in-turn was setting a strong pace. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), who was having a quiet race in sixth, also began setting his personal best lap and sector times, also on the SCX tyre. There was also a big battle for fourth, as Axel Bassani was giving Rinaldi something to think about.

With five to go, Rea crashed again, this time heavily at Turn 20 but the Championship leader was up on his feet. Meanwhile, in a titanic fight at the front, Razgatlioglu went around the outside of Redding at Turn 14 with four to go, before Redding blasted back ahead at Turn 1 a lap later. The gloves were off as the passionate Most fans were on their feet, with WorldSBK putting on a stunning spectacle in the first WorldSBK race at the track.

The last lap was upon the leading two and Redding rode a fantastic first half a lap, but Razgatlioglu was relentless in the final two sectors, as he made a bold move at Turn 15 but ran wide. Everyone sat back, thinking Redding had the race done but a stunning run through Turn 16, 17, 18 and 19 brought Razgatlioglu back into contention and he lay it all on the line, putting on a thrilling move at Turn 20, running Redding wide. Redding powered the Ducati to the line out of the last corner and closed right in, but it was too late. Razgatlioglu took one of his finest wins, with Redding in second and Andrea Locatelli taking third, some 13.8 seconds behind.

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Quotes

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P1

“I am really happy because it was a very good race me, but also hard work! I felt the grip was low from the start and so I just tried every lap to have the best possible lap time, to make no mistakes and try to catch Redding. Last lap I just tried my best, when Jonny crashed I knew I needed to take as many points as possible and so I pushed for the win. In the last lap I was fighting with Scott, I try every corner to attack because I need the full 25 points. Thanks to my team, because this weekend they have done an incredible job working, and it is a new track for everybody but Andrea and I both arrive on the podium. Tomorrow we will try again, we will see, but today was a good start!”

Scott Redding – P2

“I can’t be disappointed with this second place because it’s still an important result also for the World Championship standings. If I have to be honest, though, I think Toprak’s maneuver was very aggressive. But these are races, maybe tomorrow I’ll have to be more aggressive too. In any case it was a good race. The feeling with the bike was really good. I’ll try to do better tomorrow”.

Andrea Locatelli – P3

“An amazing podium for us, it’s so good. We started really well this weekend and I feel very strong here. We need to search a little bit for more grip in the rear to try and close the gap to the front group. In the end, my team were able to do a really good job today and I’m really happy. With Toprak, with Yamaha we work so well together and we improve every session which is important and the double podium is really nice for the team. We will try to enjoy this moment a little bit and spend some time tonight working towards tomorrow. For sure, in the Superpole Race will be important to try and stay with the front group for Race 2.”

Michael Rinaldi – P4

“I’m satisfied with this result especially because we were coming from a not easy period. The beginning of this weekend was quite complicated too, but the team has done a great job, facing the difficulties without never giving up; today we made great progress and this is the right direction: now we will work on the data we have collected to try to do better tomorrow”.

Alvaro Bautista – P7

“Mixed feelings today because we could have done more, both in the Superpole and the race. During the qualifying session I had a problem with the rear brake which prevented us from making at least a top-six lap time. It was a shame that happened in qualifying but at least it wasn’t during the race! I was able to make a good start in the race anyway, and entered the first chicane in seventh position, I think. During the first part of the race, I was lacking traction and the rear was sliding around a lot. This is something of a recurring issue for us, and we struggle with turning, which means we’re forced to keep a line through the corners that’s not ideal. Having said that, I was still able to maintain sufficient pace, close to the top five. Unfortunately, maybe midway through the race, I missed a gear at turn 15 and ran off track, dropping back to eleventh or twelfth. I recovered again, lapping not too badly but I’d lost too much time. I’m sorry about that, because with one thing and another today, we missed the opportunity to finish further ahead. Tomorrow we’ll try to do our best, as always, but to really take a step forward we need to improve our package.”

Leon Haslam – P8

“For the first time this year, we made a big improvement on the qualifying tyre during Superpole. I was up nearly three tenths which would have put me in around third place, but then we had a small problem in the final corners. I was a little frustrated because that could perhaps have been our first front row of the season, but we finished just one tenth from the front row anyway, so not bad anyway. The race was tough though, and I honestly felt like I was just managing the situation. The good news is that in running the race together more or less together, me and Alvaro were able to compare and contrast what we were doing and can hopefully learn from this as we prepare for tomorrow’s races.”

Tom Sykes – P9

“The qualifying result for sure was nice. When we put the Q tyre into the BMW M 1000 RR, I am able to ride the bike much more naturally, and the bike does things much better. But unfortunately for the race there was a mix of tyres. We went down the safer route and this certainly did not help us. After the start, going into T1 I was in there and I’ve been happy with my braking all weekend, but the guys had stopped, and I didn’t want to collect anyone, so I took the option to spoil my first lap. Then the second time somebody was up the inside of me and touched my handlebar, so I wasn’t able to make the turn. For tomorrow, we will look to improve the set up, and we will revisit the tyre choice. Overall, I am a little bit disappointed, also disappointed with the final race result but we have learnt a lot today. Tomorrow we will get two more chances.”

 Alex Lowes – P13

“A tough day at a tough track for me. Physically I am not good enough to ride at 100% and this track is really hard in that respect. I had a bad start and I made a little mistake and that first corner is quite hard in general. The pace was what it was after the fall but we got some points on the board. A tough day but we will try to do better tomorrow.”

Jonathan Rea – DNF

“I am perfectly OK after today’s falls. In the first crash going into the chicane I was just about on line but it was very strange because I crashed early on the bumps. It seems like a similar crash to the one I had in Donington. The bike was quite bent but I could see after I had picked it up I was in 11th place – so in a points scoring position, I was just riding around. Honestly, I do not know what happened in the penultimate corner. I was concentrating on what I was doing, not pushing super-hard and I just crashed. I was doing everything OK and then I was in the gravel. I am just frustrated with the outcome. In Superpole I had lost a bit of time early in my best lap and I knew I really had to put the last two sectors together. That last sector has been a strong point for us all weekend so I knew if I was calm and hit my points on the track it would be good enough for the front row, but maybe not pole.”

Michael van der Mark – DNF

“It was a really disappointing day, to be honest. In Superpole, I had bad traffic on both outings on the Q tyre, which was such bad luck. It’s a shame as I felt we could really make a step forward, so it was not easy starting from P17 on the grid. Anyway, in the race I got a good start and had good pace. I was fighting my way towards the front and was feeling good with the bike but unfortunately when I was sat in P8 I lost the front going into T20. I was trying hard so it’s a shame because we lost some valuable points. It was a difficult day overall, but we can be happy with the pace we had in race one.”

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WorldSBK Championship Standings

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Most WorldSSP Race One

The 2021 FIM Supersport World Championship took to Autodrom Most in Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, and it was building to be a thrilling finish before a Red Flag was waved. A hair-raising opening few laps eventually settled down and it was Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) who took victory as the Red Flag came out, denying Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) and Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).

It was a lightening start from Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) from fourth on the grid, as he grabbed the holeshot, whilst Philipp Oettl was second and ahead of fast-starting teammate Can Öncü Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was right in the mix, with pole-sitter Manuel Gonzalez going backwards and Steven Odendaal. Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) was an early crasher at Turn 8, whilst Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) also failed to complete the first lap.

Before long, both Oettl and Öncü worked their way to the front and got ahead of Cluzel, before Öncü hit the front at the start of Lap 3 but it would be swapping and changing in what was an epic opening to WorldSSP Race 1. At the start of Lap 4, it was Steven Odendaal who went from fourth to first in the braking area at Turn 1, before Philipp Oettl got through on teammate Öncü into Turn 15. The Turk fought back at Turn 16 but clipped his teammate, being relegated to sixth whilst Odendaal now had a small gap beginning to appear. A lap later and pole-sitter Gonzalez had a huge moment at Turn 17, somehow staying upright.

There was a big crash on Lap 8 as Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing) crashed heavily at Turn 13. He was holding his wrist as he got onto his feet. At the front, Odendaal’s lead was hovering around the half a second mark, with Oettl and Gonzalez chasing him down. However, Dominique Aegerter was now starting to pick his way through the field and was in fourth. At the half-race distance, Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) was up into fifth after passing Luca Bernardi (CM Racing).

On Lap 11, Gonzalez set the fastest lap of the race and then got ahead of Oettl at Turn 1 on Lap 12. Having crashed earlier in the race, Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was now being lapped by the leading three, costing Odendaal time and bringing Gonzalez and Oettl back into contention. Odendaal, having managed his lead previously, was now defending it, whilst title rival Aegerter was zeroing in all the time from fourth.

Just as the race was reaching its climax, the Red Flag was displayed as the race had just tipped into two-thirds race distance, meaning the race would not be restarted and full points were on offer. Odendaal took his fourth win of the year, ahead of Manuel Gonzalez who took his first WorldSSP podium. Philipp Oettl took third behind the Yamahas, with Odendaal giving Yamaha a 104th win in WorldSSP, meaning they equal Honda’s record at the top in terms of manufacturers’ wins in WorldSSP.

Dominique Aegerter took fourth place ahead of Federico Caricasulo and Luca Bernardi, whilst early race leader Jules Cluzel dropped to seventh. Another early leader, Can Öncü, was eighth as he dropped back through the race, ahead of Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) and Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team). Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) was 11th, ahead of Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team), Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) completing the points.

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WorldSSP Championship Standings

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Most WorldSSP 300 Race One

The 2021 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship inaugurated WorldSBK paddock racing action at the Autodrom Most and there was drama right from the start. Second-placed rider in the Championship Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) missed the start to the race after a technical issue on the grid. Come the end of the 14-lap encounter, it was Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) who mastered Most by putting a superb ride to break away at the front of the field and dominate the race.

As the race ignited, there was all kinds of drama at the tight Turn 1, as Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) got it all crossed up and narrowly avoided the rear wheel of poleman Victor Steeman. Behind them, several riders ran through the gravel but somehow, everyone stayed upright through the first chicane. Going into Turn 20, three riders crashed: Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing), Vicente Perez (Machado CAME SBK) and Victor Rodriguez Nuñez (Accolade Smrz Racing) out at Turn 20 on the opening lap.

Soon enough, there was an established leading group with Victor Steeman, Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki), Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing), Oliver Konig (Movisio by MIE) and Alejandro Carrion (Kawasaki GP Project) were right there, with Huertas taking the lead at Turn 1. However, as soon as he hit the front, he tucked the front end of his Kawasaki and crashed out. He banged the bars into place and remounted, soon enough lapping around two seconds quicker than the race leaders, making for a thrilling prospect ahead. Home-hero Matthias Cervenka (AC Racing) was another crasher but remounted.

Steeman wasted no time in getting the hammer down and after four laps, had a gap of over a second. Now in what was battle for second, Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) had made great progress, whilst the crowd had the airhorns in full use as home-hero Oliver Konig was right amongst the podium fight. Further behind, Tom Booth-Amos had now hit the points just before the half-race distance point, whilst title rival Adrian Huertas was chasing Booth-Amos down, 15th and 16th respectively with the title battle being played out down field. The crashes kept coming, with Oscar Nuñez (SMW Racing) was on the floor at Turn 1 and then, Nuñez’s teammate Joel Romero hit the back of Niccolo Lisci (Machado CAME SBK) on the exit of Turn 10, falling off the side of his bike, whilst Lisci stayed upright.

With five laps to go, the battle for second went from second to 12th, as Hugo De Cancellis (Prodina Team WorldSSP300), Koen Mueffels (MTM Kawasaki), Mirko Gennai (Team BRcorse), Jeffrey Buis, Ruben Bijman (Machado CAME SBK), Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) and Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) joined the duel. Two laps later and Adrian Huertas was more-or-less with them, as he came to within half a second of the rear of the group, making for a thrilling spectacle as the Championship battle now crept through the field. Tom Booth-Amos was right with his title rival too, both of them setting the fastest lap of the race on Lap 12.

Into the final lap and Huertas was now into seventh with Booth-Amos a place behind, whilst Di Sora was under serious pressure from Konig. With the home crowd going crazy, Konig took second going into the final two corners, whilst it was a first podium and thus a first race win for Victor Steeman, who dominated the first ever WorldSSP300 race at Most. Konig took second on the road but was dropped to third for exceeding track limits on the last lap after a post-race penalty, nonetheless the first podium for the Czech Republic in WorldSSP300. Whilst Samuel Di Sora crossed the line in third, he too exceeded track limits on the final lap and was dropped one place, meaning he was fourth behind whilst Alejandro Carrion picked up the pieces of the two ahead of him to finish in second.

Bahattin Sofuoglu completed the top five ahead of a stunning Huertas who came back in fine form, ahead of Jeffrey Buis who stayed upright for seventh, ahead of Booth-Amos, De Cancellis, Gennai, Okaya, Perez Gonzalez, Bijman, Meuffels and Christian Stange. 2018 World Champion Ana Carrasco finished in 24th, as she struggled in the Czech Republic. Huertas in sixth and Booth-Amos in eighth means the Spaniard extends his Championship lead by two points over the Brit, now standing at 20.

Australian youngster Harry Khouri missed out on scoring points after crossing the line in P22.

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WorldSSP 300 Championship Standings

2021 Czech Schedule (AEST)

Source: MCNews.com.au