ASBK Weekend: All The Action From Phillip Island WorldSBK Support Races, ASBK Rd6

November 23, 2022

It was the second last round of the 2022 ASBK championship and mixed conditions created a challenging weekend at Phillip Island. Check out all the reports from Supersport 300, Supersport 600 and the Alpinestars Superbike classes as they supported the Australian WorldSBK round… Report & Images: MA

Friday
The Friday of Round Six – held alongside the World Superbike event – saw all classes in the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Moul (ASBK) on track in the morning for first practices followed by afternoon sessions that were made up of qualifying for Dunlop Supersport 300 & Michelin Supersport, a second practice session for Alpinestars Superbike and the first race of the weekend with the 300s rounding out the day with an eight-lap journey.

Dunlop Supersport 300

Race 1
For all the efforts the riders make in qualifying, in Supersport 300, more often than not it makes nearly no difference. For Taiyo Akso, the back half of the season has seen him hit a purple patch that could still propel him to the championship, but Phillip Island rarely respects form. As Troy Herfoss had noted earlier in the day “Everything has to be right here and you can still find yourself P10”. For Taiyo that meant a slide from P1 to P5 by lap three. While he remained close to the front- indeed spending some time in second late in the race, P5 was all he could manage at race’s end, just .4 behind the eventual winner Henry Snell who started alongside Aksu from position 2.

Where Aksu had slipped down to fifth, Snell had gone big and dropped as low as seventh on lap two. Riding a mature and calculated race, Snell didn’t allow this setback and the short 8-lap race to deter him, immediately working back into third place within in a lap and at this point, he might have just bided his time for the all-important run to the line- a critical skill in Supersport 300 racing at any time, but super-mega critical at Phillip Island.

Instead, Snell ran afoul of some pretty heavy passing and “rubbin’s racin'” shenanigans and found himself eighth with a lap to run. A brilliant -and his fastest – lap saw Snell’s #12 Yamaha salute in first place and take the maximum 25 points. Championship leader Cameron Dunker played a sensible hand to finish second and Hayden Nelson was third.

Dunlop Supersport 300 Race 1 Phillip Island Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Henry Snell – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.031)
3 Hayden Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.249)

Michelin Supersport

Qualifying
A rude shock for the riders with just the one 25-minute practice session before launching into a 20-minute qualifying session after lunch.

Jack Passfield was fastest out of the gate again and his methodology appeared to be “post something fast early, make ‘em chase you down”. With only 20 minutes in the session, Ty Lynch had one out lap before heading back to the pits. An interesting strategy with the session short and the speed high from the get-go. Jacob Hatch crashed out at Turn four and could only wait and see if his time would hold. Bramich made it business as usual with a 1:36.756 placing him back to P1 per the morning’s practice.

With half the session gone, Ty Lynch’s absence was not a strategy, it was a problem. A technical issue had seen him return to the pits early. As a result, he was yet to post a fast lap and was languishing down in 18th- last. His only chance of winning the championship was via taking advantage of Lytras’ non-domination of the PI circuit and instead Lytras was up in P3.

It was a full-on panic. Eight minutes to go, the R6 of a clearly injury-ridden Ty Lynch finally posted a top-ten time, but the opportunity to get to the front row was fast running out. Eight became sixth, but he was still 1.2 seconds behind the leaders. Bramich was comfortably .3 ahead of second-placed Passfield and .7 ahead of third-placed Lytras.

Eleventh-placed Tom Drane crashed at fashionable-for-this-round-spot turn four. With his home region flooded, it appeared that the flat track champion may have had other things on his mind. He remounted and returned to the pits.

Michelin Supersport 600 Phillip Island Front Row (Full Results Here)

1 Tom Bramich – Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:36.756)
2 Jack Passfield – Yamaha YZF-R6 (+0.195)
3 John Lytras – Yamaha YZF-R6 (+0.758)

Saturday
A day that sought to find out every weakness, every foible and make the rider pay. It was as tough a day for every class as we’ve had this year. Here’s what we saw on track in the mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul

Alpinestars Superbike

Qualifying
The conditions for this morning’s Alpinestars Superbike qualifying were as good as one could currently imagine for fast times: overcast and cool with a dry track. And so it was. Josh Waters departed pit lane, completed his out lap and then put his bike on pole with a record-breaking 1:31.286 He pitted for a time, but honestly if he had just stayed in and perhaps lit a cigar it would have been the stuff of legend.

No one would top his time for the rest of the session, and that is not to say the other riders were slow. By the end of the session, the top eleven were into the 32s, and four riders were in the 31s. Nearly every rookie set their fastest-ever Superbike lap time. Yeah, the conditions were good!

Championship leader Mike Jones struggled at times and found himself as low as 8th while teammate Cru Halliday didn’t bother the timing screens until halfway through the session. The times fell as the time on the clock ran down. Staring dipped into the 1:31s by 1/1000th second with ten minutes to go, and finally, Halliday graced us with his presence on track and immediately placed himself one spot ahead of teammate Jones. Glenn Allerton found himself outside the top eight and would stay thusly.

And while beating Waters was proving to be impossible, Daniel Falzon unleashed his R1 and bettered his own personal best by over half a second, nailing down an incredible 1:31.596 to go to number two and claim fastest Yamaha of the session

The bloke who needed to be the fastest Yamaha – Mike Jones – was 8th at this point. While Maxwell wasn’t in P1, it was still a worrying sight for the championship leader. Meanwhile, Waters was out again and to show it was no fluke, he just consistently lapped under Maxwell’s fastest lap. With five minutes to go, Jones knocked out a 1:32.148 – 7th. Third row of the grid.

Maxwell put in a new tyre with five minutes to go. A final run beckoned and with it the chance to not only take pole and grab that precious single point. But traffic and time would beat him and he was unable to pull out the desperately needed magic lap, despite managing to do the fastest first sector time twice without result. At the podium receiving the AMX Superstores pole cheque was Josh Waters with Daniel Falzon (second) and Wayne Maxwell (third) rounding out the front row. Mike Jones managed to work his way to fifth and would now start from the second row of the grid. Wayne Maxwell would be in front and slightly to his right at the start of the three races. With Ant West to Mike’s right, the starts would now be very, very interesting. And… it was now raining.

Race One
And while it was not actually raining for the start of race one, it was most certainly wet. The riders tip-toed out on their wets and speculation in the paddock peaked. Westy from sixth? Mike to fire it up the inside of Maxwell? Would it dry up?

From the jump it was Falzon, but by turn one it was Josh Waters in the lead and before we really had a chance to consider who was where, Wayne Maxwell crashed on the exit of turn two and took with him his Boost Mobile with K-Tech Ducati Panigale V4R and perhaps his chance of winning the 2022 title. After just one lap, Herfoss led from Staring, Allerton and Waters with West hanging on in fifth. Jones was down in 13th and at any other time this would be a catastrophe, but with Maxwell out, it was a near non-issue. At the front, the leading four traded spots like Supersport 300 racers and Sissis worked his way past West to set sail for the fast four out front.

After just five laps of twelve, the action and passing had been almost too much. Staring led, Allerton kept nudging towards the front and Herfoss was as low as fourth, but also set to lead if that wasn’t confusing enough. Sissis had now wisely just measured his run towards the leading foursome but was knee down on wets through turn three just to keep all assembled a tad nervous and an absent Casey Stoner happy.

On lap six, Staring completed the fastest lap of the race and pushed out to a .8 gap. Josh Waters put his head down and chased hard and attached his Ducati to the back of the DesmoSport Ducati shortly after. Sissis passed a slowing Troy Herfoss.

There was a brief settling of the order, with Starting leading from Waters and Allerton, a gap back to Sissis and a further and growing gap back to the next group. Metcher and Pearson had overtaken Troy Herfoss and then Ant West who might have preferred it wetter to display his prodigious wet weather skills and be kinder to his Dunlop. Mike Jones got ahead of Ted Collins and teammate Halliday to move up to 11th to just gather up a few more points. With ten laps completed, Allerton got the better of Waters for second, while Staring continued to push hard in first place. A frankly unwanted dry line had emerged and Staring now had a one-second gap off the front with a lap to run and further pushed it out to 1.2 as the chasing pair of Allerton and Waters waved the white flag.

At the line, it was Bryan Staring in a repeat of his round one, race one victory with Glenn Allerton second and Josh Waters in third. Arthur Sissis had one of the better rides of the day to finish a valiant fourth. Jed Metcher could feel justifiably pleased with his fifth place, Senna Agius admitted he had been rather nervous just exiting pit lane, but rode a mature and sensible race to finish in sixth, Pearson was also sensible and measured in seventh.

Troy Herfoss wound up back in eighth, a disappointing outcome after variously leading and dicing with the front runners early on. Daniel Falzon was ninth after starting from second, but he had stated earlier that his fast lap in the dry was one for the ages and that race pace might be an issue.

Mike Jones finished a remarkable race in tenth place to bank 11 points and stretch his Championship lead over Wayne Maxwell. Cru Halliday and Ant West were 11th and 12th respectively With his DNF on lap one, not only did Maxwell concede more points to Jones, but also saw second place go to Bryan Staring on what was an extraordinary day for the championship. Staring played the cards he had to absolute perfection

Superbike Phillip Island Race One Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Bryan Staring – Ducati V4R
2 Glenn Allerton – BMW M RR (+1.740)
3 Bryan Staring – Ducati V4R (+3.806)

Michelin Supersport

Race One
Pole sitter Tom Bramich ought to have been feeling reasonably confident ahead of race one this morning, having topped the timesheets in practice and qualifying reasonably comfortably. It’s been a confident and affirming time for Bramich who started the year well, but had a series of falls, issues and subpar results that makes a championship unlikely, even if it’s mathematically possible.

Bramich lead the field early and found himself at the front of a group of three with Passfield and Lytras for company. Scott Nicholson hung on in fourth and the injured and mechanically plagued-on-Friday Ty Lynch. For Lynch to have any chance of challenging Lytras for the title, he would need to not just challenge him at Phillip Island, he would need to beat him and get a few other riders between them.

On lap four, Passfield overtook Bramich for the lead and managed to grind out a 0.6 second gap. Fourth through sixth (Nicholson, Lynch and Skeer) were able to then attach themselves to the lead group to keep it interesting for championship watchers and race fans alike.

Rain flags came out on lap six, as we apparently didn’t have enough drama. Scott Nicholson crashed and valiantly tried to get going again from the gravel trap at turn nine. And then there were five at the front. Tom Drane was up in sixth, but some 6 seconds behind fifth. Skeer pitted. Bramich found the pace a little tough and dropped to fourth, Declan Carberry crashed at turn eleven and… The red flag came out and saw a ceasefire.

The rain pulled a “classic Phillip Island” and refused to fall in earnest, but certainly damped things. Then it did rain in earnest, we all looked at the dismal radar images and the grid was a flurry of teams swapping to wets for the restart. The assembled foreign media asked local media what they thought the weather would do and received a collective shrug. The Island does what The Island does.

Several riders departed pit lane for what was perhaps a sighting lap and Lynch and Lytras found themselves apparently set to start from pit lane. And then they declared the race done – with partial points awarded… In the end, it was Passfield from Bramich and Lynch. Lytras was fourth to keep the championship reasonably safe and the half points for the shortened race did him no harm whatsoever.

Race Two
Unusually and perhaps outrageously, race two for Michelin Supersport started on the dry track in bright sunshine. Weird, we know. John Lytras jumped pole sitter Bramich to take the lead while a keen-to-get-involved Ty Lynch moved up to third. Keer moved past Lynch to make things tricky for the challenger while Lytras was being simultaneously passed by a determined Tom Bramich.

At MG, turn 10, Skeer and Lynch came together and both slid off and out of contention. It was a tough blow for the already injured Lynch, who would now also concede more points to Lytras. ASBK Race Direction placed the incident under investigation.

Passfield was now promoted to third, but some 1.3 seconds behind the leading duo of Bramich and Lytras. Nicholson was some seven second further back, so the battle for the podium seemed settled. Passfield pulled out the fasted lap of the race on lap four and this brought him to the leaders and a new battle began. Passfield was happy to show Lytras a wheel into turn one and do the same again at turn four. Lytras clearly felt Passfield presence and rode slightly defensively as a result. Passfield completed yet another fastest lap of the race and celebrated by passing Lytras through turn one. Passfield was inevitable with his pace and took the lead at the Hayshed and lead the trio onto the straight to complete lap six.

While he was fast when chasing, leading is another caper altogether and Bramich was able to get ahead. Passfield returned the favour and Lytras just sensibly watched on. Passfield was able to gap Bramich a fraction and this prevented a main straight slipstream, so he lead into the 8th lap. John Quinn had crashed heavily, but uninjured to end his run.

Through the final lap, Passfield continued to lead and then had a brain fade at MG- turn 10- and ran wide, allowing a surprised Bramich to use his considerable skill through turns 11 and 12 to advantage to take the win by 59/1000th of a second.

Michelin Supersport 600 Phillip Island Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Tom Bramich – Yamaha YZF-R6
2 Jack Passfield – Yamaha YZF-R6 (+0.059)
3 John Lytras – Yamaha YZF-R6 (+0.092)

Dunlop Supersport 300

Race Two
Aksu leads the field away and of course he only does so to allow Dunker, Snell to get a run on him. A pack of eight forms by lap one and they trade spots. Dunker consistently placed his R3 at the front of the pack, perhaps reasoning that the best way to stay out of trouble is to keep it behind you. While a solo break away in the Supersport 300 class is unusual, it’s also not impossible so Dunker just kept plugging away, but never found himself too far from his octet of willing sparring partners.

At the halfway point, the leading eight riders were- in no particular order as it’s impossible: Snell, Aksu, Swain, Pezzetta, Hayden Nelson, Dinker, Gawith and Glenn Nelson who managed to latch on to the lead group. Nerlich and Larkin rounded out the top tan, but Nerlich fell on the second last lap. The final lap saw Dunker drop as low as eighth, Pezzetta lead, Aksu close to the front and Nelson and Snell there abouts as well.

The Island rewards the clever in the Supersport 300 class and while Cameron Dunker was able to time his run pretty well, it was Henry Snell who saluted in first place after playing his cards to perfection. Another brilliant 300 race- and all before 10am!

Dunlop Supersport 300 Race Two Phillip Island Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Henry Snell – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.064)
3 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.074)

Sunday
The final day of Round Six saw Phillip Island at its absolute best in the morning and then remind everyone during the lunch break who’s boss with a solid shower followed by some sun, then rain…

Alpinestars Superbike Race Two
The predicted rain of course stayed away, mostly to spite the forecasters. The tension was evident amongst the field as they sat on the media grid, with stern faces all round. At the start, Falzon jumped away and Maxwell blew it to create more apparently necessary drama and found himself back in eighth. Waters settled into second with Herfoss rounding out the top three. Simultaneously, Herfoss went into second, Allerton up to third with Waters shuffled down to fourth.

Maxwell was now sixth and had Mike Jones for company in seventh. While we were looking the other way, Herfoss took the lead from Falzon and Waters. Waters started lap two fourth and was first by turn four, Herfoss was down to second, Allerton third and Falzon had been passed by a seemingly desperate and loose Wayne Maxwell. Agius tried a slightly ambitious move on Halliday but was unable to move up to seventh.

Mike Jones had shuffled about and was now eighth. Maxwell’s charge continued and somehow he was now up to second. The intriguing scenario was finally upon us; new teammate Waters was leading and Maxwell needs those 25 points. Waters was 1.6 seconds up the road, so pulling over and waiting for his teammate was not yet necessary.

Mike Jones, seeing Maxwell near the front, realised he needed to limit his losses and passed Falzon to move up to seventh. Maxwell was on near-lap-record pace in unfavourable windy conditions, some .3 of a second a lap faster than Waters. The gap was still 1.3 seconds as they hit the line to complete lap five. Herfoss was under attack from Halliday for third and it felt inevitable that the Yamaha R1 would make the pass on the Penrite Honda.

Herfoss made the CBR1000RR as wide as possible, but Halliday was dogged after a less-than-satisfactory (for him) Saturday result. The two riders would continue their hard dicing corner after corner. Ant West’s charge came to an end at turn four when he went in a little too hard while trying to pass Allerton when he ran in deep and folded the front end.

Mike Jones was now pushing hard, realising that Maxwell was heading towards Waters and potentially a race win. The championship leader moved up to sixth after taking Allerton and then had a good look at Bryan Staring who was in fifth. Halliday and Herfoss continued their battle into lap eight and Maxwell found himself on the pipe of teammate Waters and then into the lead as they swept into turn one. There were some murmurs in the media centre, but Waters always knew how this scenario would pan out.

While this was going on, Cru Halliday finally found a way past Herfoss for third and Jones was past Staring for fifth to limit his losses. Staring wasn’t going quietly however and was showing Jones a wheel at every opportunity, putting the DesmoSport Ducati’s horsepower to good use. Maxwell was now .6 ahead of Waters and just needed to stay calm and bring it home. Waters had an insurmountable 5 second lead over third placed Halliday. As they hit the line, Maxwell took the win and as they cooled down into turn two, had his head on a swivel to see where Jones had finished. Jones was down in fifth and doing all he needed to continue his seemingly inexorable run to the title in a week’s time.

Race Two
The World Superbikes had just completed their Superpole race as the ASBK bikes rolled out of their garages and where there was confusion ahead of the start in WSBK about whether to start on wets, dry tyres or a combination of both, it was far clearer for the ASBK crew; dry, dry, dry! For all the talk of two wet races for Sunday, we were now on the verge of a second fully dry race and it was hard to see if the riders were relieved or disappointed.

There was agreement that fast-drying wet track race like we had in race one would be a nightmare, the past was now exactly that, as we stared down the barrel of the third last race of season 2022 for the Alpinestars Superbike class.

Away we went into the unknown. Falzon got another good jump, but it was Josh Waters who lead them away. Through southern loop they settled briefly and then Jones effectively secured the title when Maxwell booped the back of Herfoss and fell off as they went into turn four and the Boost Mobile with K-Tech Ducati Panigale hit the deck. Wayne Maxwell: Two DNFs and a win for 25 total points on a weekend where 76 points were needed.

Waters continued to lead with a resurgent Mike Jones in second and Herfoss in third. Then came Allerton (4th), Falzon up in fifth and Staring (6th). Cru Halliday found himself down in ninth at a circuit he has always been close to the podium spot or at the front. For all this drama, we were only on lap three. Turn four claimed three more riders on riders on lap four after Daniel Falzon lost the front end and took Cru Halliday and Senna Agius with him.

Up front Herfoss was now up to second place but Josh Waters was 3.5 seconds up the road and setting fastest lap times, but half a second off the race two pace. Herfoss was now towing a long line of riders: Allerton, Jones, Staring and resurgent Ant West. At half-race distance the action and aggression from the chasing packs was unrelenting. The dicing amongst the various packs was allowing Josh Waters to set off for the finish.

Staring overtook Herfoss down the straight but was unable to hold the spot. Staring continued to show him a wheel as often as possible. Jones and West were clinging on to the chase group as Waters just continued to plug away. Ant West’s miserable run -when he was showing genuine form- continued when he suffered a flat tyre on lap seven and retired. A tough weekend for the hugely talented and enigmatic racer.

With three to go, Waters was five seconds away from the main chase group that was led by Jones, from Staring and Allerton. Herfoss was seemingly having the fade out that has punctuated much of his weekend and then had an ambitious lunge at Allerton at turn four on lap ten. Allerton ran wide and onto the MotoGP long lap asphalt and both riders now found themselves with work to do if they wanted to get on the podium.

Staring and Jones decided to have their own incident into turn four and the resulting touch sent winglet of Staring’s bike flying off his Ducati. While these two fought tooth and nail, Waters headed into the final lap with a smaller but still comfortable three-second lead while Herfoss was back up to the back of third-placed Jones.

At the finish, it was Josh Waters for the race and round win, salvaging something for the team after the disaster that was Wayne Maxwell’s double DNF situation. Staring saluted for second with resurgent Mike Jones on the box in third. Herfoss had muscled his way to fourth with Glenn Allerton fifth, Jed Metcher up to sixth, Arthur Sissis in seventh, Broc Pearson topping the rookies with eighth, a happier Max Stauffer in ninth and Matt Walters on his Kawasaki rounding out the top ten. The overall result saw Waters from Staring with Allerton in third.

The championship? It’s not over, but race one at The Bend could see it all over. Jones sits comfortably atop on 269 points with Staring up to second on 238 and Wayne Maxwell third on 229. With a maximum of fifty-one points on offer for the season, Mike Jones could be excused for making some room in his trophy cabinet.

Superbike Phillip Island Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Josh Waters– Ducati V4R
2 Bryan Staring – Ducati V4R
3 Glenn Allerton – BMW M RR

Alpinestars Superbike Standings After Phillip Island (Full Standings Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1 287
2 Bryan Staring -Ducati V4R 249
3 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R 238

Michelin Supersport

Race Three
The riders form firmly established, we looked to Bramich, Passfield and Lytras at the start to jump away and they delivered in that order, although Nicholson was able to slip up into third and Lytras now found Ty Lynch directly behind him in fifth. Up front, Passfield was now leading with Bramich settling for second… for now. Lytras had returned the favour to Nicholson and was back in third and then we completed the first lap. Whew!

Bramich was back into the lead shortly after and Lytras was now challenging for that lead in second. He and Passfield traded spots and showed each other a wheel time and time again to keep it fun. Their shenanigans allowed Bramich to just slip away by a second. Further back, Nicholson (4th), McDonald (5th), Farsnworth (6th), Skeer (7th) and the clearly injured Lynch (8th) battled on.

Gaps opened everywhere, perhaps due to the strong breeze that took away some of the usual Phillip Island drafting. Bramich was now out to a 1.2 second lead and Passfield in second had a 2.0 second gap back to Lytras. The race settled in for several laps and the gaps stayed steady. Lytras didn’t need to push to protect his title chances and Passfield just slowly worked his way back to Bramich, narrowing the gap to the lead and moving to less than a second. On lap eight, Passfield put a pretty hard pass on Bramich, ran wide, shut the door and was in front through the rest of the lap.

Bramich was either happy to follow or unable to pass and settled in to follow and let Passfield know he wasn’t going anywhere. The pressure saw Passfield push the bike too hard and HE folded the front into turn six (Siberia) and crashed out of the race. Bramich now enjoyed an eight-second advantage and Lytras inherited second place.

With the luxury of this large lead, Tom Bramich took his second win by 8.1 seconds to round off a terrific weekend for the Victorian-based former Supersport 300 champion.

Michelin Supersport 600 Phillip Island Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Tom Bramich – Yamaha YZF-R6
2 John Lytras – Yamaha YZF-R6
3 Jake Farnsworth – Yamaha YZF-R6

Dunlop Supersport 300
The 300s jumped away in the kindest possible bright sun and Snell led them out of southern loop to turn four. As a sign of the field’s growing maturity through the year, all riders made it to turn four in all three races upright and racing. That said, ASBK Race Direction placed the start under review for jumped start/s. Dunker led through the back half of the circuit onto the straight. The leading group consisted of Dunker, Snell, Hayden Nelson, Pezzetta, Cameron Swain, Glenn Nelson and polesitter Taiyo Aksu.

Through lap three, Cameron Dunker put his head down to try to get a gap or force errors and moved out to a .3 second advantage. The leading trio of Dunker, Snell and Hayden Nelson were now out to an overall 1.4 gap and the second bunch appeared to decide to work together to ensure they weren’t out of the podium running. The battle for ninth was so tough there was a brief swapping of paint on the main straight to remind everyone that 300s race hard no matter where they are.

Diminutive Dunker was hard at it lap after lap and somehow worked his way to a near two second gap and with two laps to go, a rare solo win in the 300s seemed possible. Glenn Nelson’s tough weekend got tougher with a crash that made challenging for the championship far tougher.

Dunker however was sublime. A 2.5 second gap was now too much for the followers to chase down. The only person who could beat him was Dunker himself. Three riders went down at turn four, an overly optimistic passing move up the inside saw Aksu, Swain and two race winner at this event Snell go down. Dunker hit the line alone with an extraordinary 2.4 second gap from Hayden Nelson and Sam Pezzetta. The 300s weekend was done, but the recriminations and “discussions” continued amongst the stranded riders at turn four.

Dunlop Supersport 300 Phillip Island Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Hayden Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3
3 Sam Pezzetta– Yamaha YZF-R3

WorldSBK Reports: All The Action From Phillip Island

November 22, 2022

Six-time Champion Jonathan Rea ended his win drought by being one of the first leading riders to pit in a wet-to-dry Phillip Island classic during Race One. During Race Two, Champion Alvaro Bautista took his 16th win of the season in a shortened race that ended the season after a thrilling encounter

Race One
The first race in Australia for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship for almost three years was an instant classic in a wet-to-dry flag-to-flag race at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed victory after being one of the first leading riders to pit as the conditions improved at the circuit throughout the 22-lap race. Rea’s race win ended his victory drought which had been brewing since the Estoril Round in May.

Rea was one of the first leading riders to pit when he changed from wet tyres to slicks on Lap 10, along with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), and came out in fourth place in the overall race but in the net led with the riders ahead not pitting. The race winning overtake came on Lap 15 when he overtook Kyle Smith (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) around the outside of the Turn 4 hairpin; Smith opted not to pit during the race as he took a gamble to stick with wet tyres.

It had been a lead group of four riders in the wet conditions with Rea, Razgatlioglu, polesitter Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team). Lowes had been leading when the first riders started pitting but opted to be the last of the riders from the lead group to pit, dropping him down to fourth place before he passed Bautista in the closing stages to take third place, behind Razgatlioglu; whose pit stop on the same lap as Rea moved him into second place. Bautista pitted on Lap 11 of 22, just one lap later than Rea and Razgatlioglu, while Lowes pitted on Lap 12.

Rea’s victory gave him his first win in 181 days and 24 races as well as moving him on to 118 wins in WorldSBK; double the number of Carl Fogarty who is second in the all-time list. He also became the first rider to have a winning career spanning more than 13 years. Razgatlioglu claimed his 81st podium, and the 28th of his 2022 campaign, while Lowes took his 32nd podium with third place despite losing time in the pit stops.

Fourth place went to Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) after he had another strong result, with the Italian passing Bautista in the closing stages shortly after Lowes had. Lowes’ move on Bautista came on Lap 17 when he went around the outside of Turn 9 to move into the podium places. However, the results of the race mean Ducati secured the 2022 Manufacturers’ Championship, the 18th time for them in WorldSBK. The best Independent rider for Race 1 went to Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in sixth spot as he pitted on the same lap as Bautista.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) just missed out on the top Independent honours by 1.406s to Gerloff as he took seventh spot, finishing ahead of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in eighth spot who was 5.5 seconds down on Bassani. Despite finishing behind Gerloff, Bassani’s seventh place ensured Motocorsa took the top Independent Teams’ title for 2022. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was the lead BMW rider in ninth spot and ensured all five manufacturers were in the top ten, while stand in rider Tetsuta Nagashima (Team HRC) rounded out the top ten in his first WorldSBK race, replacing the injured Iker Lecuona.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took 11th spot and his results helped the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad secure the Teams’ Championship for the first time since 2020, finishing ahead of Smith. Despite Smith leading at the end of Lap 14 after opting to stick with his wet tyres on a constantly drying track, he rapidly dropped back down the order but took 12th place for his first points in WorldSBK as well as the team’s highest-scoring points haul of the season. He held off a late charge from Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team) in 13th, with Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) rounding out the points-paying positions; Syahrin was one of the first riders to make the switch to slick tyres when he pitted on Lap 6.

Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was one of the last riders to pit and finished in 16th place; less than a second behind Syahrin despite the gap in when they pitted. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was 17th with Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) in 18th and Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in 19th; Konig was running in the podium places, along with Redding and Smith, when he pitted at the end of Lap 13. Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven), the only rider to start on a rear intermediate tyre, ran through the gravel on the opening lap. He brought his machine back into the but re-joined the race a lap down and finished in 20th place.

Japanese rider Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) brought his bike into the pits on the opening lap of the race to retire. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) retired on Lap 21 of 22 after his second crash of the race. His first crash came at Turn 10 on Lap 7, while his second as at Turn 4 on the penultimate lap which forced him out of the race.

WorldSBK Phillip Island Race One (Full Results Here)

1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +6.247s
3 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +15.435s

Phillip Island Tissot Superpole Race
The final Tissot Superpole Race of the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign was one that’ll live long in the memory after a stunning slick tyre gamble on a wet Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit track by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round. Bautista was the only rider in the top nine to start on slick tyres and he made it work as he fought back from a difficult start to take victory by more than three seconds.

Bautista started from pole position but, with slick tyres on a track that was still wet, rapidly dropped down the order and was classified in 14th place at the end of the opening lap. However, as the track tried following a pre-race rain shower, Bautista’s times got faster and faster and he picked his way through the field to claim his 15th victory of the season, passing his rivals on Lap 9 of 10; passing Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) at Turn 2 and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx) at Turn 9. Bautista will start from first for Race 2, alongside Razgatlioglu and Rea, who were separated by just 0.043s at the line in Razgatlioglu’s favour, meaning Razgatlioglu secured second in the World Championship standings Both Razgatlioglu and Rea were on intermediate tyres.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took fourth place, 6.670s down on Bautista at the end of the race, ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in fifth place. Locatelli had to fend off Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who, like Bautista, took a gamble albeit later on in proceedings. Lining up on the grid on Pirelli’s rain tyres, the British rider pitted at the end of the warm-up lap to switch to intermediate tyres to take sixth place and to line up for Race 2 from the second row of the grid.

American star Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took seventh place in the thrilling encounter, while Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was eighth. Vierge had a strong start on the intermediate tyre but dropped down the order, finishing ahead of Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team) who took the final point in the Superpole Race, and also secured himself a third row start for Race 2; his best result since returning to Barni Ducati team.

Along with Redding, Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) pitted at the end of the warm-up lap to switch tyres, although he did not make the same progress as he finished in 16th. Oettl was penalised by 0.695s for a pit intervention time infringement, with riders required to spend 63 seconds between pit entry and pit exit. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a storming start and was running in the podium places, but he pitted at the end of Lap 2 to change tyres. Like Oettl, van der Mark had a pit intervention time infringement and was penalised by 3.560s. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was another who opted to change tyres, with the Italian finishing second.

WorldSBK Phillip Island Tissot Superpole Race (Full Results Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +3.285s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +3.328s

Phillip Island Race Two
The final race of the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race was ended early following a red flag at the end of Lap 18 with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) taking a hard-fought Race 2 victory at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round. He fended off Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) throughout the full race as he secured his 16th win of the season.

Bautista started from pole position following his Tissot Superpole Race victory earlier on Sunday and he finished there at the end of the race, but it was far from straight forward for the Spanish rider. Bautista did lose ground at the start but worked his way past Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who fought his way into second place in the early laps, with Bautista passing him at Turn 2 for third place before he overtook Rea at Turn 1 on Lap 7.

Rea did not let Bautista pull away from him though and always stayed within one second of Bautista, but he was unable to overtake the 2022 Champion, with Bautista holding on by 0.357s when the results were taken from. The race was red flagged after a collision involving Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team) and Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) at Turn 1, with Laverty taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash but he was conscious. Laverty was diagnosed with a pelvic injury and taken to Alfred Hospital in Melbourne by helicopter for further assessments.

Behind the duo, there was a battle brewing for third place between Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) with Lowes coming out on top, after he made the move at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 15. It meant Bautista took his 16th win of the year, matching his total from 2019, while he now has 32 career wins; putting him level with Chaz Davies and Razgatlioglu. Rea moves on to 245 career podiums with second place while Lowes now has 33 rostrum visits to his name.

Despite being in the lead group, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) took fourth place after he passed by, with Lowes moving into the podium position and demoting the 2021 Champion, his last race with the #1 plate, until fourth place. Two Pata Yamaha riders finished in the top five with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) taking fifth place to end his season in the top five. Redding had been in the podium places in the opening laps of the 18-lap encounter, but he dropped back as the race progressed to sixth place.

Seventh place went to Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) as the second-best Ducati in Race 2, ahead of Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) who finished as the top Independent rider in the final race of the year. Tetsuta Nagashima (Team HRC) rounded out a strong debut weekend as he stood in for Iker Lecuona with ninth place, while Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) took tenth place as prepares for a second season with the independent BMW outfit.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) had been running inside the top ten during the early stages of the race but dropped down to 11th place, just ahead of Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 12th place. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounded out his Kawasaki Puccetti career with 13th place, while Czech rookie Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) backed up his point from Indonesia with 14th place and two more points in Race 2 in Australia. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda) took home the final point of 2022 as he finished in 15th place.

Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) ended his WorldSBK career with 17th place, finishing ahead of Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Kyle Smith (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) in 18th; the last classified rider in Race 2.

Garrett Gerloff’s (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) Yamaha career ended when he crashed at Turn 2 on the opening lap, after an incident with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), with the Spanish rider able to re-join the but he brought his bike into the pits and re-joined the race two laps down in 21st place; he was classified as retired after completing 13 laps.

WorldSBK Phillip Island Race Two (Full Results Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.357s
3 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

Final 2022 Championship Standings (Full Standings Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 601 points
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 529
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 502

WorldSBK Returns To Phillip Island This Weekend

November 17, 2022

It will have been 225 days since the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship fired into life when the final round’s first race gets underway on Saturday. Even longer since the championship headed down under. This weekend the racing gets underway on the scenic Phillip Island circuit…

This weekend, the WorldSBK racing gets underway on the scenic Phillip Island circuit... — This weekend, the WorldSBK racing gets underway on the scenic Phillip Island circuit…

2022 has flown by in record-breaking speed as we’ve enjoyed the rollercoaster journey of another historic season of racing. So, it’s only fitting that a true classic venue brings us the showdown of the season, the 35th of WorldSBK action. The Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round and the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit will draw the curtains on a mesmerising season and with the titles decided, new development tyres joining the allocation and a first visit to ‘The Island’ since the start of 2020, the stage is set for a classic weekend Down Under.

The title race is all done and dusted for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), meaning he can relax for Australia and Phillip Island this weekend. The last time at Phillip Island saw Bautista debut for Honda and take two well-deserved top six finishes from 16th on the grid, but he’s perhaps best remembered for his emphatic debut with Ducati in 2019, when he swept to three dominant wins, the first of which was nearly 15 seconds and the biggest dry margin in Phillip Island’s WorldSBK history. Whilst the title is done, attention turns to the Manufacturers’ Championship; Ducati just need a top four finish and they’ve got the job done in Race 1, whilst the Teams’ Championship will be secured if they don’t lose more than 34 points to Pata Yamaha. The battle for fourth should be job done for teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who is 34 points clear of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK). Outscoring his countryman by four points will give him fourth overall.

In second place, it looks settled for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), who relinquishes his crown after just one season. He’s 37 points ahead of title rival Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and if he maintains that gap, he’ll take the runner-up position. Razgatlioglu has a good track record at Phillip Island and took a stunning maiden win with Yamaha, heading up WorldSBK’s second-closest podium of all time. The outgoing World Champion aims to sign off the season in style but knows that the combination of his rivals and their packages will be a strong one. Teammate Locatelli has a mathematic chance at fourth overall in the Championship but realistically, he’ll aim to get fifth bagged, with just 15 points covering three riders to seventh place.

Third place going into his “second home round” of the season, Jonathan Rea is on record as solely looking for race wins and whilst he’s conscious that a win won’t mean that he and his Kawasaki team don’t have to look for improvement, it’s something he’ll look to achieve. Six wins on ‘The Island’ for Rea, he is within striking distance of matching Troy Corser’s record of seven at the circuit, but he knows it’ll be tough. A Superpole Race win in 2020 is his only win in the last eight races there and he’ll be hoping to end his win drought, whilst teammate Alex Lowes is the most recent winner at the track as he held off Rea for victory in Race 2 in 2020. He’s sixth in the standings, 11 points behind Locatelli, who’ll face Phillip Island on a WorldSBK bike for first time.

In second place, it looks settled for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), who relinquishes his crown after just one season. He’s 37 points ahead of title rival Jonathan Rea.

It’s game on for eighth in the Championship, although perhaps it is Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who already has it in the bag, as he’s one point clear of the injured Iker Lecuona (Team HRC). It’s a big weekend for Redding, who returns to Phillip Island for the first time since his WorldSBK debut weekend, where he took three podiums with Ducati back in 2020. Redding is the lead BMW rider in the Championship and whilst that’s already locked in, he’ll hope to propel the German manufacturer to fourth in the Manufacturers’ Championship, as they’re currently three behind Honda. Teammate Michael van der Mark was in the battle for victory aboard Yamaha machinery in 2020, and he’ll aim to end his 2022 season well and also help BMW take fourth.

After Iker Lecuona’s injury sustained in FP2 at Mandalika, he slipped to ninth in the standings and is one point behind Redding. Lecuona’s had a stellar first season aboard the Honda and has had podiums and plenty of top five finishes, although he’s a major doubt for the weekend ahead. Honda’s hope lie with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), who looks certain to stay in the top ten in the Championship. He’ll have the aim of outscoring BMW to try and deliver fourth for Honda, at a circuit he knows well from his Moto2 World Championship days. The Spaniard took a podium at the track in 2018 with third, as well a fifth the year before. Could he utilise Honda’s super concession update further this weekend?

Already crowned the best Independent Rider for 2022, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) is seventh and just four points off Lowes in sixth and just 15 from Locatelli in fifth. Bassani’s been a stand-out performer in WorldSBK in 2022 and he and the Motocorsa Racing team have delivered pound-for-pound. It is however Bassani’s first time at Phillip Island, so perhaps he’ll not be as far forward as we’ve seen before. Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is the next Independent rider as he readies for a final weekend with his team at the track where it all began. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) is 17 points behind Gerloff but always goes well at Phillip Island, with it being the last track he led a race at back in 2020. After being ruled out of Race 2 at Mandalika, Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) hopes to be back fit enough for the season finale, whilst it’s the same for Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) behind him, the Frenchman going to Australia for his final round with Manuel Puccetti’s outfit.

In 16th overall, Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) is getting ready for an emotional final round of his career and will look to sign off on a high at the circuit he took a last victory at back in 2014 for Suzuki. Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team) has Laverty in his sights for Championship position and has been a podium finisher in Australia before, whilst he’s just ahead of Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), who also gets ready for his final round in WorldSBK before he moves to Moto2™ World Championship action in 2023. Completing the running, Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) and teammate Leandro Mercado hope for more points before their season ends, whilst after becoming the 587th different rider to score points in WorldSBK history, Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) will hope to continue that trend on his Phillip Island WorldSBK debut.

Championship Standings After Mandalika

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 553 points
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 487
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 279
4 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 279

Round Preview: ASBK Heads To Phillip Island This Weekend

November 17, 2022

The mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) heads off to Phillip Island this weekend. Jones has a serious lead ahead of Maxwell and if he rides like he has all year then he will secure the 2022 championship, check out the round preview MA have put together.

Wayne Maxwell (Ducati V4R) was the only rider in the 1:31’s and was looking untouchable until a stumble on lap 5 saw last year’s ASBK champion crash out at turn eight — Coming into the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK) round, the Alpinestars Superbike Championship is in a fascinating and potentially game-changing position.

Coming into the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK) round, the Alpinestars Superbike Championship is in a fascinating and potentially game-changing position.

From round one – ironically at Phillip Island earlier this year – reigning Champion Wayne Maxwell has made defending his ASBK Championship unusually difficult, and at times, seemingly impossible. While he was dominant in every session leading into race one on Sunday the 27th of February, not long after the flag dropped, he found himself in the gravel trap at The Hayshed on lap five.

Maxwell was blisteringly fast on Friday and Saturday, smashing the lap record and taking Pole. — From round one – ironically at Phillip Island earlier this year – reigning Champion Wayne Maxwell has made defending his Championship unusually difficult, and at times, seemingly impossible.

Failing to capitalise on his favourite circuit has proved costly for the former Champion. A resurgent Bryan Staring was rightly brimming with confidence aboard the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4R. It became the running joke “Maxwell is behind by about the length of The Hayshed”.

Though quiet at Phillip Island, Mike Jones was able to impress himself upon the Championship via outstanding results at Queensland Raceway (two wins plus an extra point for pole). Pole plus a win at Wakefield saw Jones just pull ahead from the rest of the field, while Maxwell found himself unable to make a dent in Jones’ lead.

Staring would shadow Jones more closely in the afternoon race, albeit two-seconds adrift. Eventually, Jones took his second win by 4.6 seconds ahead of Bryan Staring and Wayne Maxwell. — Though quiet at Phillip Island, Mike Jones was able to impress himself upon the Championship via outstanding results at Queensland Raceway (two wins plus an extra point for pole).

The Hidden Valley round in Darwin saw Maxwell start to loosen his grip on the title and Jones moved into warm and rightful Championship favouritism. Jones was at his tenacious best on a weekend where the Yamaha was not the preferred machine but still caught the flight south with 70 points in his carry-on luggage, while pole-sitter Maxwell was troubled in races one and three, netting just 53 points on a three-race 76-points-on-offer weekend.

Darwin also saw a joyful and resurgent Penrite Honda Troy Herfoss well involved, taking second overall on his CBR1000RR for a very-much welcomed return to the ASBK podium, while Staring powered his way to third to keep himself in the top three for the season.

At Morgan Park, the Yamaha R1 was expected to enjoy the tight and bumpy running at the 1.5km circuit. Despite this, Maxwell muscled and wrestled his Boost Mobile by K-Tech Panigale V4R for an unexpected pole and two wins, keeping his Championship hopes alive. He still faces a 29-point deficit with 127 maximum points left in season 2022.

And so here we are, back at The Island for another three-race weekend. It’s fair to say that Maxwell has- when upright- been the go-to racer at this circuit since 2009, so expectations are high and with it, the pressure, and at various critical moments this year, team and rider issues have proved costly.

At Morgan Park, the Yamaha R1 was expected to enjoy the tight and bumpy running at the 1.5km circuit of Morgan Park.

This WSBK round has much intrigue because at round one at Phillip Island, Jones was third overall with both Staring and Cru Halliday ahead of him.

Team-mate Halliday saves his best racing for the Phillip Island GP Circuit and if Maxwell stays upright and up front for all three races, and some other riders can climb up the order, then the 29-point deficit could be down to single-digits heading into the finale at The Bend (The Bend, where Maxwell took the double win in 2021 to clinch the title…)

Alvaro Bautista secures 2022 WorldSBK crown

November 15, 2022

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) fought hard during the 2022 season, resisting the charge of 2021 Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu and six-time Champion Jonathan Rea. He became WorldSBK’s 19th Champion, and the second Spanish rider to be crowned WorldSBK Champion after Carlos Checa in 2011!

Bautista returned to Ducati for the 2022 season after two seasons away and did so in perfect fashion, taking his first win of the season in the Tissot Superpole Race at the season-opening Aragon Round. He also left MotorLand Aragon as the title leader following his Race 2 victory. Rea was able to fight back at Assen but that lasted for just one day as Bautista extended his lead again in Race 2, with the newly-crowned Champion leading the way from Assen’s Race 2 onwards. A Race 1 crash at Donington Park dented Bautista’s lead but he bounced back in style; taking 15 podiums in the 18 races that followed including a hat-trick at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. A crucial part of Bautista’s title-winning campaign was his fights with both Razgatlioglu and Rea, particularly with the 2021 Champion throughout the Estoril, Portuguese and Argentinean Rounds.

Bautista began his career in the Spanish Championship from 1995 to 2002. In 2002, he was fighting for the title until the final race. In the same year, he made his first appearance in the FIM 125cc World Championship as a wildcard. He became a 125cc Grand Prix winner in 2006 at the Spanish GP. With eighth victories claimed that season, he secured his first World Championship title. The Spanish rider then moved up to the 250cc class, claiming 28 podium places including eight victories. Bautista stepped up to the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship in 2010. During his eighth seasons in MotoGP™, he claimed three podium places and one pole position, with a fifth place as his best classification in the Championship standings in 2012. In 2019, Bautista made his WorldSBK debut with Ducati, finishing his rookie season with 16 wins, 24 podium places, 4 pole positions and 15 fastest laps as he secured second place in the Championship standings.

The 37 year-old rider secured the 2022 WorldSBK Riders' Championship at Mandalika. — The 37 year-old rider secured the 2022 WorldSBK Riders’ Championship at Mandalika.

In 2020, he switched to Honda, racing for the Team HRC squad. Over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he claimed three podium places for the Japanese manufacturer before returning to Ducati and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team for the 2022 season. With 14 wins and 29 podium places, Alvaro Bautista became the 2022 WorldSBK Champion at Mandalika. Bautista becomes the ninth different rider to take a Riders’ Championship for Ducati with the Italian manufacturer securing their 15th Riders’ Championship overall. He’s the third different rider in three years to take the crown, as well as being from a third different country and on a third different bike, emphasising the competitive parity in WorldSBK. The newly crowned WorldSBK Champion will remain with Ducati in 2023 and both will aim to continue challenging many records.

Alvaro Bautista: “It’s incredible, I’m so happy. It’s a dream come true, especially after the last two years and all the difficulties. I want to say thanks to everyone who trusted me, to give me this chance to fight for good places and we got the Championship at the first time of trying. Today was the first time I felt a bit nervous or stressed, but it was in Race 2 on the grid before the start. I tried to manage the emotions and when I was in first, I was making a lot of mistakes because I had too many thoughts in my head! I just preferred to stay second behind Toprak, but he was very strong, so I could just follow him. So happy. It’s difficult to know what to say. I’m just so happy. During the whole season, I was so happy because I had a lot of experience from the past. I tried to be the best possible rider, not make mistakes. I think our performance has been really, really high. I think I had the best performance level ever from Toprak and Jonathan. They performed at a really high level in all races. I was lucky that I made fewer mistakes than them. What’s important is also consistency. I could beat Jonathan, a six-time World Champion and Toprak, a one-time Champion, breaking all the records at all the tracks which means the level is so high. We can win with this amazing level.”

The newly crowned WorldSBK Champion will remain with Ducati in 2023 will aim to continue challenging many records.

Giulio Nava, Bautista’s Crew Chief: “We worked really hard for this; this team and Ducati. I’ve been working with Alvaro for many years and I’m super happy to be here with him, seeing him achieving these results. It means a lot. I’m very lucky to work with him. You create very a strong relationship together. We joke together. Alvaro is like my brother. It’s difficult for me to explain what it means, but it means the world to see him winning.”

Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager: “It is a wonderful day for us. We worked a lot with Alvaro in the past and in 2019 we did a fantastic job until the middle of the season. In the end, we could not win the crown. Today, in the end, and it was a fantastic emotion. It was a special day. This is probably one of the best seasons of his life. This year, and 2006, were two really amazing seasons for him. He won the 2006 125cc World Championship and today he won WorldSBK. He’s a real fantastic rider and I’m really, really happy he could get the title today.”

Bautista World Championship Career:

2002-2006: 125cc – First Race: Spanish GP 2002 | Best result: P1
2007-2009: 250cc – First Race: Qatar GP 2007 | Best result: P1
2010-2018: MotoGP – First Race: Qatar GP 2010 | Best result: P3
2019-2022: WorldSBK – First Race: Australian Round 2019 | Best result: P1
2022: World Superbike Champion

Bautista Info:

Place of birth: Talavera de la Reina, SPA
Age: 37
Team: Aruba.It Racing – Ducati
Bike: Ducati Panigale V4R
First round: Phillip Island 2019
Race starts: 130
Wins: 30
Podium places: 56
Pole positions: 5
Fastest laps: 27
Title: 1

WorldSBK Mandalika: All The Action In Indonesia

November 15, 2022

Reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu was untouchable in Race 1 as he won WorldSBK’s 900th race after he also won the Championship’s 800th race. Winning all three races at The WorldSBK Mandalika round was not enough for Toprak, as Alvaro Bautista secured the championship in Race Two!

Race One
As the lights went out for WorldSBK’s 900th race, all three in the top three of Championship standings got a good started heading into Turn 1 with Razgatlioglu holding onto the lead ahead of teammate Andrea Locatelli, who moved up ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into second place. Rea was able to pass Locatelli on Lap 2 to move into second place while Bautista, who moved up from fifth on the grid, passed Locatelli to move into third on Lap 3 of 21 at Turn 13.

Razgatlioglu was able to pull out a gap as the others battled past his teammate and soon it was Rea vs Bautista for second place. Bautista made his move through the high-speed right hander of Turn 15 and into the Turn 16 hairpin for second place and soon opened up a gap to Rea who took third place. On Lap 13, Razgatlioglu lost two seconds as he went through the shortcut that starts at Turn 7, with Bautista reducing the gap to one second but, a lap later, Razgatlioglu was able to find half-a-second to extend it back out to 1.5s.

Razgatlioglu carried on extending his gap out over Bautista to four seconds to take his 30th victory of his career in his 90th race for Yamaha as well as his 78th podium in WorldSBK. 28 of Razgatlioglu’s wins have come with Yamaha and, in terms of wins, he becomes the Japanese manufacturer’s most successful rider with 28 wins. With Bautista in second place, taking his 55th podium, Razgatlioglu was able to take five points out of his Championship lead with the Spanish rider leading by 77 points; Bautista will still be able to take the title on Sunday in Indonesia. Rea, mathematically out of title contention as he lost ground to Bautista with third place, took his 240th WorldSBK podium. With 900 WorldSBK races now run, Rea has stood on the podium in 26% of WorldSBK’s races.

There was a fierce battle for fourth place between Locatelli and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) with Rinaldi making a pass on Locatelli to move into fourth place on Lap 16 but, a lap later, ran wide at Turn 16 which allowed Locatelli back through to take fourth and his first top-five finish since Estoril. Rinaldi did fight from ninth on the grid to take fifth place, dropping back to around four seconds behind Locatelli at the end of the race. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), the sole Team HRC rider in Race 1, took sixth place after he fended off Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with the American taking seventh place.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) took eighth place after an up-and-down 21 laps. He had moved into the top five in the early stages but he had a moment at Turn 15 and into Turn 16 which dropped him down the order before he fought back for eighth place. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was ninth, three tenths behind Bassani, while he had an eight second margin to Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) rounded out the top ten.

Baz had to fend off a charging Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team) to take his place in the top ten with Fores in 11th place. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was 12th after he dropped down the order in the early stages. Redding had a few off-track excursions during the race and was running in the final positions but was able to fight back to take 12th spot. Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) returned to WorldSBK action after missing Argentina through illness and injury and he took points on his return with 13th, finishing ahead of Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) and Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) who rounded out the points-paying positions; Nozane taking his first points since Race 2 in Barcelona. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was the last classified rider in 16th place.

WorldSBK Mandalika Race One Podium (Full Results here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.324s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +11.855s

Tissot Superpole Race
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claimed a hard-fought victory over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and kept his Championship hopes alive ahead of Race 2 on Sunday.

Razgatlioglu led from pole position into Turn 1 but, unlike in Race 1 yesterday, was unable to pull a gap in the early stages of the race. He fell behind Rea on Lap 3 when the six-time Champion passed him through Turn 12 to move into the lead with Rea aiming to end his win drought. However, Razgatlioglu responded on Lap 7 at Turn 10, after attempting the move on several occasions, to re-gain the lead. He then held on to take his second victory of the weekend and his 31st win in WorldSBK. Rea’s second place was his 241st in WorldSBK and Kawasaki’s 399th race on the podium. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) ended his podium drought, which started at the Dutch Round, with third place to take his sixth podium but also Italy’s 400th in WorldSBK history.

Locatelli had to fend off a charging Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to claim his first podium in 203 days, with the Championship leader in fourth place. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) took fifth place as he was crowned the Best Independent Rider for the 2022 season, and he will start alongside Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) on the second row.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) will start from the front of row three after he took seventh place, missing out on a second row start by just six tenths of a second. Lowes also had to resist Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to take seventh with Rinaldi in eighth, while the sole Team HRC rider on the grid, Xavi Vierge, will start Race 2 from ninth place as he took ninth in the Superpole Race.

WorldSBK Mandalika Tissot Superpole Race Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.586s
3 Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +1.235s

Race Two
The fight for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship crown came to a thrilling conclusion at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took the title after finishing in second place in Race 2 during the Pirelli Indonesian Round. Despite Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claiming a hat-trick in Indonesia with victory in Race 2, Bautista’s second-place finish was enough for the Spanish rider to take the Championship with a round to spare.

Bautista headed into Race 2 knowing a podium finish would secure him the title or losing less than nine points to Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and he did enough to secure to take his first title in WorldSBK. In doing so, he becomes the third different rider from a third different manufacturer in three seasons to claim the title, after Razgatlioglu and Yamaha in 2021 and Rea and Kawasaki in 2020.

The fight for the Championship title also turned out to be the fight for victory in Indonesia, with Razgatlioglu moving into the lead of the race on Lap 6 as he passed Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at Turn 10 after Rea moved into the lead in the opening stages of the race. With Bautista in third at this point, behind Rea, he instantly latched onto the back of the six-time Champion and went through on Rea at Turn 10 on Lap 7 as he took advantage of Rea running onto the kerbs through Turns 8 and 9.

The duo went head-to-head in the final third of the race to claim victory, which allowed Rea to close back in on Bautista and Razgatlioglu. Bautista closed the gap before the battle ignited on Lap 14. Bautista made a move at Turn 1 to move into the lead as he looked to win the Championship with a victory, before Razgatlioglu responded into Turn 10. Through Turns 14 and 15, Bautista made a stunning move for the lead. He remained there for a short while but Razgatlioglu responded at Turn 10 on Lap 16, before extending his lead to over one second for victory with Bautista in second.

Razgatlioglu’s victory gave him his 32nd WorldSBK win and his 14th of the year which puts him level on wins for a season for Yamaha with 2009 Champion Ben Spies, while Alvaro Bautista’s Championship-winning second place was his 56th podium in WorldSBK including the 29th of his 2022 campaign. Bautista winning the title also meant it became the first time in history that Ducati claimed both the WorldSBK and MotoGP Riders’ Championships in the same season.

Rea found himself in fourth place, behind Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) but made a move on Lap 11 at Turn 12 to move back into the podium places before pulling out a gap over Bassani, coming home to take third place for his 200th podium with Kawasaki, while it was also Kawasaki’s 400th race on the podium. Bassani dropped behind Rea and ended up in a battle with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) for fourth place. It would be Locatelli who claimed fourth place after a strong weekend for the Italian, finishing just six tenths ahead of Bassani in fifth place; in the Tissot Superpole Race, Bassani was crowned the Best Independent Rider for 2022.

Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed sixth place ahead of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in seventh place with all five manufacturers in the top seven positions in Race 2. Redding was four seconds down on Bassani after he had a run off the track at Turn 16 on Lap 6 but he fought back to take sixth ahead of Vierge. American star Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took eighth spot, two seconds behind Vierge, ahead of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK); Lowes was just four tenths behind Gerloff at the end of the 21-lap race. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) rounded out the top ten.

Xavi Fores’ (BARNI Spark Racing Team) return to WorldSBK and the Barni Ducati team continued with 11th place in Race 2 as he scored more points. He had a late-race fight with Dutch rider Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) with the pair separated by just 0.238s at the end of the race. French rider Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was 13th, almost 14 seconds down on BMW stablemate van der Mark, while Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in 15th; the Czech rider claiming his first point in WorldSBK. Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) was 16th, 1.458s down on Konig for a point, while Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the last classified rider in 17th place.

Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) retired from the race following a crash at Turn 11 on Lap 11, while Kyle Smith’s (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) debut weekend ended with a crash at Turn 7 on Lap 14 which put him out of the race. Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) was declared unfit ahead of Race 2 following a crash earlier in the weekend, with Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) also on the sidelines after he was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain following an FP3 crash on Saturday.

WorldSBK Mandalika Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.230s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.825s

Championship Standings After Mandalika

MotoGP Valencia: Bagnaia Crowned Champ

November 9, 2022

Rins wins in an emotional farewell for Suzuki, Binder storms to second, Martin completes the podium… and the tense finale to the Championship sees Bagnaia secure the crown and Quartararo go out swinging. Check out all the action from the final round of 2022 in Valencia below…

it was tense, it was close, it was emotional and it was a stunning finale for the 2022 season. As Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia took the crown with ninth place and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) came home fourth, it was Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who gave the Hamamatsu factory an emotional send off with a stunning final victory in blue. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came to within one single point of the top five overall as he absolutely stormed to second, with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) completing the podium from pole.

Rins qualified on the middle of Row 2 but made a brilliant start and led the field to the first corner, ahead of pole-sitter Martin and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo). Quartararo took a wide berth at the Turn 2 braking zone, emerging behind Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and in a battle for fifth with none other than Bagnaia. When Marquez attacked Miller for third on the opening lap, Quartararo squeezed his Yamaha down the inside of the Australian’s Ducati at Turn 8 as well, and he was up to fourth.

Miller hit back at the start of Lap 2, forcing Quartararo to pick up his YZR-M1 at Turn 2 with a pass which incentivised Bagnaia to also have a look. The title contenders made contact which pulled a wing off the factory Ducati in a sudden pulse of adrenaline, but Bagnaia was ahead of his key rival. It stayed that way until Lap 4, when Quartararo was down the inside at Turn 6 and back into fifth – but facing a task to catch the top four.

In said top four, Miller moved back into the podium positions when he passed Marquez on Lap 6 at Turn 1, before the eight-time World Champion crashed out altogether four laps later at Turn 8. In the meantime, Quartararo had shaken Bagnaia, who, due to some combination of caution and the damage from his contact with ‘El Diablo’, was on the fade. He had already been overtaken for sixth by Brad Binder when he gave Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) an easy position on Lap 13 at Turn 14.

Up the road, Rins was trying to break away but the rest of the top five was compressing, which was both good and bad news for Quartararo given he was running fourth with a KTM ridden by Binder catching up. The Frenchman braked as deep as he dared at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 18 to try and keep the South African behind, but ran wide and was picked off by Binder at Turn 2.

Meanwhile, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was also through on Bagnaia, and soon Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was as well. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) then caught up to his future teammate too, and while there was plenty said ahead of the weekend, Bagnaia left a humongous gap at Turn 2 on Lap 22 to give it to ‘La Bestia’ and save himself any possible trouble.

It was more dramatic in the battle for the podium places, with Binder going past his own future teammate, Miller, on Lap 23 at Turn 2, then setting after Martin. Halfway around the lap at Turn 11, Miller’s last race with Ducati came to a premature end when he crashed out, handing over fourth spot to Quartararo again.

Rins had not quite been able to drop the field like he might have hoped, but was still nine tenths of a second to the good when Binder overtook Martin for second at Turn 4 on the penultimate lap. The South African threw a few more kitchen sinks at it but they would take the chequered flag 0.396 seconds apart as Rins delivered the final win for Suzuki in its current stint in MotoGP, with Binder P2 and Martin getting home just over a second from victory. Quartararo was nine tenths further back after a valiant fight to the flag.

Oliveira would pass Mir for fifth, with the 2020 World Champion therefore classified sixth, ahead of Marini and Bastianini. Bagnaia found himself under pressure from Quartararo’s Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ teammate Franco Morbidelli in the final laps but beat him to ninth position. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) finished 11th, ahead of Tech3 KTM Factory Racing duo Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner, then Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) in 14th and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) in the last points-paying position. Joining Miller on the list of retirements was Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) after a crash on Lap 16, plus both the Aprilia Racing entries of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales, both the Repsol Honda Team entries of Marquez and Pol Espargaro, and Darryn Binder (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team).

Bagnaia can now celebrate his first MotoGP™ Championship crown, and Ducati’s first riders’ title in 15 long years, but before the off-season, we have the Valencia Test back at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo on Tuesday. Farewell to those off to pastures new, those retiring for a third time, those heading for the intermediate class… and good luck to everyone taking on new challenges next season. First, the Awards. Then, the tests. And then? Sprint races are GO. Join us in March as Portugal hosts the first Grand Prix of a new era… we can’t wait!

Alex Rins: “Amazing amazing. You know, to finish the season with Suzuki leaving, we cannot finish better. I mean, P1, I’m so, so proud. I’ve learnt a lot with Suzuki in these years. Starting a new chapter in my life now but thank you guys. I’m so happy!”

Fabio Quartararo: “Yeah it was a tough race, especially on the left side of the tyre. I did my 100% but it was not enough today to fight for the podium or even the victory. A bit disappointed but congratulations to Pecco for his title.”

MotoGP Valencia Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) – Suzuki – 41’22.250
2 Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – KTM – +0.396
3 Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) – Ducati – +1.059

Moto2
In a tense Moto2 showdown in Valencia, Red Bull KTM Ajo ruled. Pedro Acosta came out on top to win the final race of the season and secure himself the title of Rookie of the Year, and teammate Augusto Fernandez shadowed him home to become the 2022 Moto2™ World Champion. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) crashed out of second place on Lap 8, after which Fernandez went full gas for an attack on the win but couldn’t quite overhaul Acosta. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) led for much of the 25-lap race but would eventually complete the podium at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) took the early lead from pole position, ahead of Acosta, Arbolino, and Ogura, who started the weekend trying to overhaul a 9.5-point deficit in the Championship. Fernandez took up fifth initially but lost the spot when Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up) made an aggressive move at Turn 5, and that was certainly not the only aggression in the opening stages.

Acosta passed Lopez as they started the second lap, but the pole-sitter dived straight back at him at Turn 2, making contact as he took both well wide. Lopez would be handed a conduct warning for that but the bigger implications were Arbolino assuming the lead and Ogura second place as Fernandez was fifth – meaning the latter led the Championship, as live, by just half a point.

The battle between Lopez and Acosta continued until the former ran well wide on Lap 4 at Turn 8 and dropped to fifth. He had no chance to recover when he ran wide again just three corners later and then crashed out of the race, putting Fernandez’s live lead over Ogura up to 2.5 points. But then Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) passed the Spaniard into Turn 1 on Lap 6.

At the end of that lap, however, Ogura barely stopped himself from clattering into leader Arbolino at Turn 14, and Beaubier was then on the floor and out of the race, giving Fernandez some breathing space again. The Championship leader trailed third-placed Acosta by about one full second on the road, and the 2021 Moto3™ Champ looked to do his teammate a favour as he tried to pass Ogura on Lap 8.

The Japanese rider was either able to re-pass immediately if not resist Acosta completely, until the knockout blow came moments later at Turn 8. Ogura suddenly crashed out and his hopes were dashed, meaning Fernandez was able to cruise to the chequered flag if he wanted to. But he didn’t, and neither did teammate Acosta. The number 51 overtook Arbolino for the lead into Turn 1 on Lap 12, and Fernandez followed not long after. The new Champion pushed him to the flag but Acosta scored the third victory of his rookie intermediate class season, with Fernandez taking second and the crown. Arbolino completed the podium for some more good form after his Sepang win.

Aldeguer was next up, ahead of Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team), Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team), and Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP), despite the latter having to serve a Long Lap Penalty late on for a clash with Mattia Pasini (RW Racing GP).

Senna Agius (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) finished an impressive ninth as injury replacement for Sam Lowes and Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) took a top 10 in his final Moto2 race. For Fernandez, the celebrations continue, but not for too long – he starts his new life as a MotoGP rider!

Moto2 Valencia Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – Kalex – 39’52.413
2 Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – Kalex – +1.232
3 Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) – Kalex – +10.163

Moto3
The final Moto3 race of the season was a spectacular farewell, with a duel for the win going right to the wire. The battle saw reigning Champion Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) go toe-to-toe with Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) throughout the final lap, with the Turkish rider ahead into the final corner and Guevara going wide to gas it to the line – and come out on top to sign off from the lightweight class in some style. Gloves off, and show spectacular to the flag.

Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) completed the podium after escaping from a bigger fight for fourth, ensuring the number 11 takes the silver medal this season. The three contenders for it ultimately crossed the line in order, with Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) taking fourth and just pipping Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max).

Adrian Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Tech3) took an impressive sixth, ahead of David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) and next rookie home Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI), with the Brazilian securing Rookie of the Year with the result despite a Long Lap on race day.

Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) and Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) complete the top ten, with Sepang winner John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) signing off from Grand Prix racing in P11 for a few more points.

Now it’s time for a new chapter for many. A new class for the reigning Champion, runner up and third overall, and new colours and teams for many more too. Make sure to tune in for 2023 and another season of incredible action… and chapeau to the class of 2022!

Moto3 Valencia Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) – GASGAS – 38:10.406
2 Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) – KTM – +0.062
3 Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) – GASGAS – +6.557

Advice: The Do’s And Don’t’s Of A Track Day

November 3, 2022

Don't just opt for the fast group because you have a fast bike. You could cause an accident...

You’ve just booked your first track day and you’re a bit nervous about what the do’s and don’t are of a track day. That’s completely fine, there is nothing to be nervous about! We have complied this list of what to do and what not to do at a track day. Words: Zane Dobie.

There is nothing to be nervous about when it comes to your first track day! We have complied this list of what to do and what not to do.

Show Up In The Right Gear
This is a huge one, it might sound simple but it’ll save you some heartache of being turned away from the track. At the bare minimum, most tracks will require you to have one or two piece leathers, leather gloves, riding boots (most tracks will not allow riding shoes) and an Australian/European approved helmet. Some tracks will require a back protector, this is something you should chuck on anyway as it could save you from being paralyzed.

Now, that’s the bare minimum. To ensure your safety it’s best to have a GOOD CONDITION one piece set of leathers, an ill fitting and damaged set could cause you harm in the instance of a crash. Buy yourself a decent helmet, lid’s aren’t meant to be used after being dropped so if you dust of that helmet that’s fallen off your handlebars multiple times, you’re only putting yourself at risk.

Show up in the right riding gear. It's not ideal to show up in old, damaged leathers, you're only putting yourself at risk. — Show up in the right riding gear. It’s not ideal to show up in old, damaged leathers, you’re only putting yourself at risk.

Set Up Your Bike Property
We have a fair few articles on bike preparation but the rules for a track day are straight forward, no fluids leaking, no ear-drum rupturing exhausts and decent tread on your hoops. Not only will the scrutineer turn you away if they see your tyres have no tread, but you’ll have a terrible time battling the bike with crusty old tyres on.

Check out our tech articles here…

Oil and fluid leaks are self-explanatory. If your bike is leaking oil while road riding, imagine how much will flow out while revving it to the redline. Don’t ruin someone else’s day by spewing oil down the track, check those drain and filler plugs.

Find The Right Group For You
You’ve bought yourself the top-of-the-line 1000cc machine? Awesome! However fast you think you are on the road, you’ll probably be quite slow learning a track. Don’t choose the “Fast” or “Racer” group just because you have the fastest bike in a straight line. There is absolutely no harm in starting in the slow and intermediate groups while you get to grips. If you’re too fast, the organisers will move you up a skill group.

If you’re off the pace but are unleashing all the power on the straights in the fast group, you are a bit of a danger to the other riders on the course, especially those on smaller capacity machines. Entering the “Race” or “Fast” groups, most riders will be expecting you to be on the racing line, so if they go to overtake and you suddenly chop them up you could end up injuring someone. No one cares what colour your wristband is…

Enter yourself in the right group for your skill level! No one cares what colour your wristband is.

Relax And Stay Calm
Say someone hasn’t taken the last bit of advice and they’re slow as all hell in the fast group. Just drop back and give them space, it’s no use dicing with an unpredictable rider. If you have serious concerns then you can bring it up with the organisers.

I’ve had this happen to me on plenty of occasions, in fact, one of my biggest accidents was caused by not letting a YZF-R6 go while I was on a CBR250RR. The YZF-R6 rider took an unpredictable line and grabbed the brakes mid corner, I was on the pace and fully committed to the downhill at Wakefield Park when I speared off the track to avoid them, resulting in me and the bike cartwheeling through the air. This would’ve been avoided if I had just taken a slow down through the pits and raised my concerns with the organisers.

See those mirrors? They're folded in, focus on your own riding. Faster riders will find a way around you. — See those mirrors? They’re folded in, focus on your own riding. Faster riders will find a way around you.

Tape Up Those Mirrors And Speedo
You do not need to be looking at your Speedo on a track day. 100% of your focus should be on the road, the world passes by very fast when you’re at full pelt on a motorcycle, taking that split second to look at your speedo could result in you missing your braking point or running up the back of someone. If you really want to know how fast you’re going, strap a GPS tracker or GoPro to your bike.

Check out our article on transporting your bike to the track here…

The mirrors have the same theory but it also comes back to that unpredictability too. If there is a faster rider behind you, they’ll find a way past, don’t distract yourself by constantly looking in the mirrors. It’s best to just fold them in or cover them.

Most track days don't allow you to have a camera on you. Find a good mounting point on the bike and make sure it's stuck down properly! — Most track days don’t allow you to have a camera on you. Find a good mounting point on the bike and make sure it’s stuck down properly!

Helmet Cameras
Most tracks will not allow you to have anything on your helmet. This goes for add-on intercoms too. Find a nice spot for you to put your camera, my preference is on the tail or the tank, and make sure it’s stuck down well and proper. Last thing you want is the camera to be lost the first time you accelerate!

“No one remembers the fastest person, they remember the one who crashed.”

Have Fun, It’s Not MotoGP
This is the most important point of the lot. Go out to have fun, not to break a lap record (which probably wont happen). All the track days I attend, I don’t even check the lap times, I’m there to have fun and I can improve on my times at the next race meeting.

Just go out and have fun. You're not going to get scouted for a MotoGP rider at a track day... — Just go out and have fun. You’re not going to get scouted for a MotoGP rider at a track day…

I find that not bothering to time myself will allow me to leave the track glowing with happiness rather than disappointment. Some track day organisers don’t offer timing too, which I believe is a good thing, it stops people from pushing too hard and going beyond their abilities. Just go out and have fun, a MotoGP rider spotter isn’t going to be at your local track day. As the saying goes: no one ever remembers the fastest person, they remember the one that crashed.

That’s about all to have a nice time during your first track day. Don’t be afraid to ask fellow riders for some help, make some friends and enjoy your time! You’re not racing for sheep stations so don’t be a dick.

Additional Advice

Trailer your bikes – You are going to be knackered at the end of the day, last thing you’ll want to do is ride home in your leathers.
Bring your own lunch and water – Every track I’ve been to charges a bonza for food and drinks. Pack a nice lunch and plenty of water.
Bring spare fuel – The fuel at the track will be expensive. It doesn’t hurt to fill up some jerry cans.

Aussies Racing Abroad: October 2022 Update

November 3, 2022

With many Australians showcasing their skills abroad in a range of disciplines both on-track and off-road, our monthly column focuses on how they’re faring in 2022 battling it out with the best in their chosen classes against the best riders in the world. Ed Stratmann has us covered with “Aussies Racing Abroad”.

Hoping to carry the momentum from his sensational victory in Japan into October, Jack Miller's enjoyed a largely positive month aboard his factory Ducati. — Hoping to carry the momentum from his sensational victory in Japan into October, Jack Miller’s enjoyed a largely positive month aboard his factory Ducati.

Jack Miller – MotoGP
Hoping to carry the momentum from his sensational victory in Japan into October, Jack Miller’s enjoyed a largely positive month aboard his factory Ducati.

Kicking things off with a wonderful second in Thailand to bag his seventh podium of the season, Miller handled the wet, treacherous conditions masterfully, as he jumped to the lead early on. Although Miguel Oliveira eventually got past the Aussie, to his credit, Miller didn’t go down without a fight, as he only finished 0.730 behind the Portuguese star.

The MotoGP circus then made its way to Australia, where Miller was desperately hoping for a weekend to remember on home soil at Phillip Island. But it wasn’t to be for Miller, who was cruelly taken out by an overzealous Alex Marquez following a good start that saw him mixing it with the frontrunners.

The 27-year-old then turned his attention to the penultimate round of the season in Malaysia, where he claimed an impressive sixth place finish. Having to charge through the pack following a shocking start, it was a joy to watch him carve through the field with incision. “It wasn’t the ideal day but it wasn’t the worst either, I’m happy enough with my performance,” he said.

The Australian round wasn't to be for Miller, who was cruelly taken out by an overzealous Alex Marquez following a good start that saw him mixing it with the frontrunners. — The Australian round wasn’t to be for Miller, who was cruelly taken out by an overzealous Alex Marquez following a good start that saw him mixing it with the frontrunners.

“Being beaten on the first lap to 21st place probably didn’t help, it was one of my worst starts in my MotoGP career, you could say. The start itself was okay, I was blocked off by the row in front of me. I had to get out early and then I was more or less stuck on the outside and I had to basically hold on but at least I managed to safely get through the first lap and start my run from there. I kept my head down the whole race and was able to work. We had decent pace the whole race and we were able to show it.” said Miller

Currently sitting fifth in the standings ahead of the final round at Valencia, Miller will be keen to close out what’s been an excellent crusade on a high before switching to KTM in next year.

Remy rode really well in Thailand and looked a decent shout for a top 10 finish before his crash.

Remy Gardner – MotoGP
Even though he started the month with a crash in Thailand, where he rode really well and looked a decent shout for a top 10 finish, Remy Gardner bounced back admirably to register 15th at Phillip Island and 18th at Sepang. Wanting to put on a show in front of his home fans, especially after the Australian round wasn’t on the calendar during his triumphant Moto2 title winning season, he showcased his skills nicely.

Having gotten off to a blistering start to propel him inside the top 10, it was great to see him piecing everything together, as he cut a fast and confident figure. While tyre issues ultimately shuffled him back, he gave the fans plenty to cheer about in the final stages of the race by blasting past Maverick Vinales to secure a deserved point.

While tyre issues ultimately shuffled him back at the Australian round, he gave the fans plenty to cheer about in the final stages of the race by blasting past Maverick Vinales to secure a deserved point.

Switching his focus to Malaysia, and Gardner, who was dealing with rear grip problems, valiantly rode to an 18th place finish in the gruelling hot and humid conditions. “Today’s race was tough physically. We started okay but I knew it would be difficult with the heat and humidity. I tried to save the tyres as much as I could but the rear was dropping quickly. I gave all I could today,” insisted the 24-year-old.

Joel Kelso – Moto3
Joel Kelso continues to showcase his undeniable talent, in what’s been an upside littered last few races by the Darwinian. His 12th in Thailand was a huge step in the right direction, which served as a huge confidence booster in what’s been an injury hit season.

Joel Kelso continues to showcase his undeniable talent, in what's been an upside littered last few races by the Darwinian. Photo: Joel Kelso Racing Facebook. — Joel Kelso continues to showcase his undeniable talent, in what’s been an upside littered last few races by the Darwinian. Photo: Joel Kelso Racing Facebook.

Wanting to build on this result for his home GP, Kelso did precisely that by grabbing a terrific, career-best eighth. Working his way through the field expertly and riding in a calculated manner, his brilliant efforts in front of the delighted Phillip Island crowd was a fitting way to celebrate his home round.

“It was an awesome race, I felt strong through the whole race and at the beginning there I thought a podium was on the cards. I was sitting in that group, saving the tyre and I said ‘let’s sit in the group, enjoy, play a little bit and try to save the tyre for the end’ and when I did there was a little gap that opened up,” Kelso gleamed.

Wanting to build on this result for his home GP, Kelso did precisely that by grabbing a terrific, career-best eighth. Photo: Joel Kelso Racing Facebook.

“I went to the front of the group as soon as possible and started pushing to catch the leaders and matched their lap times for two laps in a row but I just didn’t have enough to close them in so I thought I would save it for the end. Happy to come out P8, feeling really strong on the bike, strongest I’ve felt all season and looking forward to bringing this into Malaysia as well.”

Although 18th was all he could muster in Malaysia, the Aussie will now turn his thoughts to Valencia, where he’ll be hoping to close out the season in style.

Jason O'Halloran's frustrating end to the season continued in BSB, with things outside of his control ensuring he failed to score points at the finale at Brands Hatch. Photo: McAMS Yamaha Racing Team Facebook. — Jason O’Halloran’s frustrating end to the season continued in BSB, with things outside of his control ensuring he failed to score points at the finale at Brands Hatch. Photo: McAMS Yamaha Racing Team Facebook.

Jason O’Halloran – British Superbike
Jason O’Halloran’s frustrating end to the season continued in BSB, with things outside of his control ensuring he failed to score points at the finale at Brands Hatch.

Despite scoring a credible sixth on Saturday, his Sunday sadly didn’t go to plan, for his race two was ruined when he was once again knocked down with a podium in his grasp. Then, in race three, the “O Show” was disappointingly forced to retire due to a technical problem.

Ultimately ending the season fifth in the championship, which was not what he had in mind after being in title contention for the majority of the campaign, he tried to remain as positive as possible when summing up his year.

“There aren’t many words really, this hasn’t been the end to 2022 any of us wanted but that’s BSB and as we have found out, anything really can, and will happen! It’s hard to be positive right now, but we’ve had a good year – I’ve won seven races, had a load of podiums and the team had many 1-2 finishes so there’s a lot to be proud of. Thanks to the whole team and everyone involved.”

Although the results haven't always been there this term for Oli, he's importantly gaining valuable experience with every passing round that will hold him in good stead for the future. Photo: Alex Photo Via Oli Bayliss #32 Facebook. — Although the results haven’t always been there this term for Oli, he’s importantly gaining valuable experience with every passing round that will hold him in good stead for the future. Photo: Alex Photo Via Oli Bayliss #32 Facebook.

Oli Bayliss – World Supersport
Although the results haven’t always been there this term for Oli Bayliss, he’s importantly gaining valuable experience with every passing round that will undoubtedly hold him in good stead for the future. Back on track for the Portuguese stop on the schedule, the youngster performed admirably as he struggled with bike setup on his way to going 20-16 in the two races.

Wanting to regroup and recalibrate, next up was Argentina, where he started the weekend feeling good and happy on the bike. Unfortunately, this didn’t completely translate into his results even if a 15th in the opening race was solid before he was cruelly ousted early on in the second stanza.

A bit of a learning curve for Bayliss, his first year in WorldSSP has shown some promising results. Photo: Alex Photo Via Oli Bayliss #32 Facebook.

“The Barni Racing Team and I made a big change in warm up that gave me a good feeling with the Ducati Panigale V2, which is very promising as we head into the final two rounds of the 2022 WorldSBK Championship,” he concluded. I am happy that as a team we have a good starting point for next round. Disappointed about the outcome today, but happy we made a step with myself and the bike. Bring on Mandalika in two weeks’ time.”

Jacob Roulstone and Harrison Voight – Red Bull Rookies & Moto3 Juniors
Jacob Roulstone and Harrison Voight were back on track for the Moto3 Junior World Championship at Aragon, with the gifted pair both able to take positives from their efforts.

To start with Voight, and his weekend got off to a flyer, as he flexed his muscles by claiming second in practice and ninth in qualifying. Photo: Harrison Voight Racing Facebook.

To start with Voight, and his weekend got off to a flyer, as he flexed his muscles by claiming second in practice and ninth in qualifying. Things didn’t go to plan on race day, however, for he annoyingly bowed out of the race after a fast start that initially saw him battling within the top five. “Solid start to the weekend, doing quick and consistent lap times alone. In qualifying I couldn’t put it all together to crack the 58s without needing a tow,” he said.

“For the race, it’s a disappointing way to end the weekend yet I’m satisfied with how I went from ninth to being in the top five within the second lap. Making gaps to pass was something I improved so I’m taking the positives and moving on. The last dance is at Valencia so let’s make the most of it!”

Roulstone put in one of his best weekends yet at Aragon, for not only did he bag seventh fastest in practice and 11th in qualifying, but he also secured 14th in the race. Photo: Jacob Roulstone Racing Facebook.

Voight also revealed his exciting plans for 2023, with the talented Aussie announcing he’s stepping up to the FIM CEV Moto2 Championship with the Yamaha Stylobike Racing Team for 2023.

Meanwhile, in the case of Roulstone, he put in one of his best weekends yet, for not only did he bag seventh fastest in practice and 11th in qualifying, but he also secured 14th in the race. Duking it out at the front for a large chunk of the race, there was much to admire about his first points scoring effort in this series.

"Overall it was a very productive race and with a big change from my side in my approach to the whole weekend. I have seen the benefits and know more rewards are coming." Said Roulstone. Photo: Jacob Roulstone Racing Facebook. — “Overall it was a very productive race and with a big change from my side in my approach to the whole weekend. I have seen the benefits and know more rewards are coming.” Said Roulstone. Photo: Jacob Roulstone Racing Facebook.

“From the first lap on Thursday, I felt very strong, comfortable and confident on the bike – a lot more than the rest of the year. Q1 on Saturday got a good lap, which put me in P7. Then for Q2, I wasn’t able to improve my time but four others were able to, so it pushed me back to start the race in 11th,” he recalled. Then for the race, got a good start but just with the lack of experience at the front of this class and with the high pace early I fell back. With the bike setup for a group battle once I lost the group it was difficult to do the lap speed the frontrunners were. I managed to push through till the end to finish in 14th and score my first Junior World Championship points. “Overall it was a very productive race and with a big change from my side in my approach to the whole weekend. I have seen the benefits and know more rewards are coming.”

Wil Ruprecht – FIM EnduroGP World Championship
Wil Ruprecht ended his season on a high by claiming his first world title in the E2 class to cap off what’s been an overwhelmingly outstanding 2022.

Wil Ruprecht. Photo: Enduro GP Facebook.

With all eyes on Ruprecht and Josep Garcia to see who would win their battle for E2 supremacy, the former rode a smart round to ensure he got the job done, as he limited the mistakes to maintain his points advantage.

Cutting an overjoyed figure afterwards, Ruprecht was clearly stoked with his achievement, declaring: “To win my first world title has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. But they don’t come easy. It’s been a good year, great results mixed with some tough days, so to finally lock it down is incredible.”

Valencia Sets The Stage For MotoGP Decider

November 3, 2022

The only thing Quartararo can do is win. If he doesn't, Bagnaia need not even finish, such is his advantage, but this is motorcycle racing. It ain’t over till the chequered flag waves (ask 2006.)

The final weekend of the season. The MotoGP decider: two riders, one crown, and an incredible year of ups, downs, thrills, spills, wins and defeats. 23 points split challenger Francesco Bagnaia from incumbent Fabio Quartararo, and for the crowd watching on that makes it an easy enough equation…

The final weekend of the season. The decider: two riders, one crown, and an incredible year of ups, downs, thrills, spills, wins and defeats.

The only thing Quartararo can do is win. If he doesn’t, Bagnaia need not even finish, such is his advantage, but this is motorcycle racing. It ain’t over till the chequered flag waves (ask 2006.)

In the red corner, Bagnaia has a stunning seven wins and has overcome a deficit of 91 points to sit 23 clear. He’s broken more than a few records and stands to become the first Ducati rider to take the crown in 15 years – something that would also see the Bologna factory complete the Triple Crown of Constructors’, Teams’ and Riders’ titles. He won at Valencia last year on a historic day for Ducati too as they locked out the podium, so the track will not be an unwelcome venue for the decider. But that was then, and this is now – with history beckoning with open arms. No longer the chaser, Bagnaia is now the rider in the hot seat.

In the blue corner, Quartararo’s year has largely been a study in consistency. Few mistakes, some impressive victories and, until late on, the sole Yamaha scoring constructor points every weekend speak to an incredible achievement of a season. A tough Thai GP and then another nil points in Australia seemed to see the tide turn, but El Diablo wasn’t done. As Sepang staged the first match point for his opponent, Quartararo pulled out a much-needed podium for his final stand. Valencia would likely not be his venue of choice, but for Yamaha it’s been a solid one… so with zero pressure now the weight of expectation has shifted to Bagnaia, can Fabio come out swinging?

The decider, however, does not exist in a vacuum. It exists on a grid of the fastest riders and machinery in the world, all of whom have their own targets to hit and glory to chase. Some of whom also have loyalties. With history on the line for Ducati, the message is, as a bare minimum: do not get anywhere close to being the reason for a last-minute heartbreak. And that message goes out to a third of the grid: Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing).

Ducati, for their part, have been vocal about having sent out no team or constructor orders before this point in the battle. Bagnaia has also stated he wants to win on track, not by order from above.

Some, like Zarco, have already said they’ve made sure to keep risk under control. Some, like Martin, have said it’s not much to do with him, for which read, most probably, “I’ll make up my own mind”. Miller has already been a team and constructor hero, as well as a teammate pep talker to get Bagnaia feeling confident in the wet. Bastianini, meanwhile, remains staring at the camera with the hint of a smile and an eyebrow raised, leaving many wondering how the Italian will take on the decider.

Ducati, for their part, have been vocal about having sent out no team or constructor orders before this point in the battle. Bagnaia has also stated he wants to win on track, not by order from above. And amid all the talk willfully eager to create months of Borgo Panigale factory puppeteering, the results actually do speak to the riders being able to #GoFree: Miller’s wins and podiums ahead of Pecco, Bastianini’s challengers for his compatriot. The order to not jeopardise history in the making may simply prove another way of saying: “Don’t do anything silly”, and that’s just common sense.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) is now out the fight and looking for much more as the paddock returns to Europe.

For Quartararo, meanwhile, the allies have been a little further back this season. Teammate Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) showed a step forward at Sepang in terms of pace though, and he has known glory at the track before. But what about the rest of the field? Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) is now out the fight and looking for much more as the paddock returns to Europe, as is teammate Maverick Viñales, and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) isn’t even mathematically out the fight for a place in the top five overall this season, such is the South African’s record of Sunday heroics and consistency.

There are plenty more names with little to lose in engaging full attack mode, too – as well as those facing their own last tangos in 2022. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and teammate Joan Mir, the latter a winner at Valencia, will want to leave the Hamamatsu factory on a high. Cal Crutchlow (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP) will be stepping down from competition once again, as rookie teammate Darryn Binder also prepares for a last dance on the way to Moto2.

Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) sets sail for WorldSBK as teammate Raul Fernandez switches factory.

Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) heads from Honda to try a Ducati, and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) switches back to Austrian machinery. Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) sets sail for WorldSBK as teammate Raul Fernandez switches factory, and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) kisses goodbye to KTM. Miller does the same to Ducati, too, and it speaks well of the Australian that that’s not become a headline ahead of such a pivotal weekend for Borgo Panigale.

Last but not least, we didn’t forget him. And the rest of the grid, the protagonists of #TheDecider and the fans in the stands shouldn’t, either. Ahead of every anti-clockwise track, the Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) klaxon must be sounded. It’s a requirement given the number 93’s incredible record. And it may have been a long, tough time of late to get that glory back, but Marquez already has a pole and a podium since his return – a return where time is on his side as every new race and week adds a little more strength to his recovery. Can the eight-time World Champion steal the headlines this weekend? It would be quite a gauntlet to throw down ahead of 2023, where Marquez has his eyes set on more than just the occasional prize.

You don’t want to miss this! #TheDecider rolls into town today as festivities begin, with Friday first touch and Saturday then deciding the grid for a pivotal showdown. Tune in to see that raced into the history books from 14:00 (GMT +1) on Sunday as the lights go out for the final time in 2022, ahead of a new era for the FIM MotoGP World Championship. Will it be a new era under a new Champion? We’re about to find out…

MotoGP Championship Contenders

1 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – 258
2 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) – Yamaha – 235

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