Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) won a dramatic Race 1 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours and closed the gap in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings to Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The #1 suffered technical problems in the early stages of the race before fighting back to the top ten. The Pirelli French Round provided yet another twist in what has been a stunning title fight with the gap now 55 points between the #54 and Bautista.

The race was reduced to 20 laps after a technical problem when riders took their positions on the grid following the warm-up lap, with the start delayed by a few minutes and a lap lost from the original race distance. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) got the holeshot and instantly looked to pull out a gap on his rivals, but Razgatlioglu overtook him on Lap 2 at Turn 13 by outbraking his Ducati.

A lap later, Bautista dropped down the order to 24th and last after a technical issue on the exit of Turn 5 although the #1 was able to get his V4 R moving again. While Bautista was making a comeback to finish in tenth, Razgatlioglu and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fought at the front of the field. The #54 was leading until Lap 5 when the Ducati rider made an aggressive move at Turn 11 to claim the lead.

On Lap 12, Razgatlioglu made a move at Turn 5 on the #21 to briefly move into the lead but the Italian was able to respond on the exit of the Adelaide hairpin and on the way to Turn 6 to re-take the lead. Two laps later and it was a familiar story but the 2021 Champion remained closer through the 180-degree hairpin, allowing him to make a move into Turn 11 with Rinaldi running wide through the chicane; as Razgatlioglu looked to take the racing line, Rinaldi was re-joining with the pair almost making contact but both continuing.

With Razgatlioglu remaining ahead, he was able to pull away from Rinaldi in second to claim his sixth win of the season and his 38th overall, while Rinaldi secured podium six of 2023 and his 20th in WorldSBK. Behind them, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) secured third after making gains before an early-race fight with teammate Alex Lowes, who initially passed the six-time Champion at Turn 5 for third, before falling behind the Ulsterman. It was Rea’s 257th WorldSBK podium.

Polesitter Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) initially dropped down the order over the first few laps but his tenacity and taking advantage of misfortune for others meant he was able to claim fourth for his best result since switching to BMW. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) continued his strong form with fifth after a late-race battle with compatriot Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), with the #9 coming through on the Yamaha rider at Turn 11 on Lap 18 for what was sixth but turned into fifth when Lowes dropped down the order in the final few laps. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was seventh with Lowes in eighth. The #22 had been behind Rea until the final laps, but he lost time when running across the Turn 11-12 chicane and losing four seconds on Lap 19, which dropped him down the order.

German rider Phillip Oettl (Team GoEleven) took his first top-ten finish since Race 2 at Donington Park by claiming ninth place, finishing 0.627s ahead of Bautista who was able to secure tenth and limit the damage in the Championship fight. With Razgatlioglu’s win, the gap between them is now 55 points. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took 11th after he was unable to withstand Bautista’s late charge, with the two-time WorldSSP Champion only 1.671s down on the reigning Champion.

Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) led home a train of four riders all fighting for the lower end of the points-paying positions, finishing just three tenths clear of Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW). The Frenchman had celebrated his home round with a stunning second row performance in Superpole but fell down the order to 13th at the end of the 20-lap race. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was 14th, less than two seconds behind Baz, while Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) completed the points scorers.

Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) crashed at Turn 3 on Lap 8 as he looked to give his team a strong home result, but the Italian brought his bike into the pits following the crash to retire. Isaac Vinales (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) retired from the race when he brought his bike into the box, as did Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) on Lap 17.

Magny-Cours WorldSBK Podium Race One (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
2 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.656s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +4.773s

Tissot Superpole
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) made it two from two at the Circuit de Nevers Mangy-Cours in 2023 after taking victory in a dramatic Tissot Superpole Race for the Pirelli French Round. The #54 finished ahead of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rival Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) after the reigning Champion made contact with teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi halfway through the race, with the #1 able to continue before finishing second.

Bautista got the holeshot as the race started but his lead did not last long as Razgatlioglu went from third to first in one stunning move at Turn 5 on Lap 2, passing both factory Ducati riders under braking into the Adelaide hairpin. Rinaldi then moved ahead of teammate Bautista at Turn 11 on the same lap to claim second, with Bautista seemingly struggling for pace in the early laps before he started fighting back. On Lap 3, Rinaldi moved ahead of the Yamaha star at Turn 6 and remained there until Turn 5 on Lap 5.

Razgatlioglu looked to pass Rinaldi on Lap 5 for the lead, with the reigning Champion following the #54 and made contact with teammate Rinaldi. The Italian came off his bike and retired from the race. He was taken to the medical centre for a check-up, and subsequently declared fit, while Bautista continued the race. The incident was investigated by the FIM Stewards, with no further action taken. After initially dropping down behind the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK machines of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes, Bautista was soon back up to second after overtaking Rea, while Lowes brought his machine into the pits to retire.

The #1 put in a series of race lap records to close the gap to his title rival but the 2021 Champion claimed victory by a second to become the first rider to win four consecutive races at Magny-Cours, while Bautista took his 80th podium. Six-time Champion Rea withstood a late charge from Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) to claim third and his 258th podium and his 20th at the iconic French venue.

Locatelli was fourth after missing out on a podium by just 0.244s while Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) continued his impressive form with fifth, six tenths behind compatriot Locatelli. The fight for sixth went down to the wire with Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) passing Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) at Turn 5 on the final lap to secure a second row start for Race 2.

Baz will start Sunday afternoon’s race from seventh ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in eighth, with Aegerter, Baz and Bassani separated by around half-a-second. The #47 pulled off a memorable comeback in the Superpole Race after starting from 19th after enduring a difficult Friday and Saturday, before ensuring he secured a position on the third row as he looks to end the French Round on a high. The fight for the final spot on the third row between Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and Phillip Oettl (Team GoEleven) went down to the wire, with Vierge just holding on ahead of the German.

After starting from pole position, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) dropped down the order before running slightly wide, with Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) hugging the kerb. The pair made contact and went tumbling into the gravel, with the incident investigated by the FIM Stewards and the #45 handed a Long Lap Penalty. Gerloff returned to the box but retired from the race.

Magny-Cours Tissot Superpole Race Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.970s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.503s

Race Two
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) bounced back to claim victory in Race 2 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours as he took advantages of his rivals battling behind him in a red-flagged MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race. The reigning Champion extended his lead by five points in the title fight ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) after the Turkish star battled hard with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) for second place.

Bautista got a stunning start as the lights went out and immediately moved into the lead but faced stiff competition from Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK). Rea went for a move at Turn 5 on the reigning Champion on the inside, but Bautista was able to pick his bike up well and reclaim the lead instantly. Rea kept the pressure on the #1 but Bautista did start edging out a gap.

However, at the start of Lap 5, the red flags were deployed following an incident involving Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) on the previous lap at Turn 5. Aegerter was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash and declared unfit with a suspected concussion. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM Stewards and Redding given a double Long Lap Penalty. Although he took to the grid for the restart, Redding had a technical problem on Lap 10 and retired after serving his penalty. At the end of Lap 4, Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) crashed at the final chicane, and he slid across the circuit and into the grass. He was able to take his bike back to the pits. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was unable to restart the race as he suffered a technical issue and could not bring his bike back.

On the restart, Bautista moved away well from P1 and, despite challenges from Rea and Razgatlioglu, was able to hold on to the lead. Razgatlioglu moved ahead of Rea on the exit of Turn 15 to claim second but a mistake at Turn 5, where he went in too deep and had to stand the bike up, allowed Bautista to escape in front while he fended off Rea. The #65 looked to overtake his rival on Lap 3 through Turn 4 and into Turn 5 but the Yamaha star cut back, before Rea made a similar move on Lap 6 and made it stick. On Lap 12, the 2021 Champion got a run on his long-time rival and overtook him under braking into Turn 5 to move into second.

Two laps later and the two Champions were side-by-side throughout much of the lap, with Razgatlioglu holding on to second place before Rea tried another move a lap later. Once again, the #54 came out on top in that fight. As the penultimate lap started, Rea looked for second but Razgatlioglu resisted before pulling out a gap on the final lap to beat Rea by just under a second. While those two were fighting, Bautista was out in front, and his gap extended to almost ten seconds before he rolled off in the final few laps before winning by six seconds. It was Bautista’s 51st win in WorldSBK and 81st podium. Razgatlioglu now has 107 podiums to his name, only two fewer than Carl Fogarty, while Rea’s moved onto 259 podiums.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) battled to fourth place in his 100th race start, with the Italian finishing fourth 26 times out of those 100 races. He was half-a-second clear of Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) who capped off an excellent French Round with fifth after starting from tenth. The Texan put in several passes including on Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), also celebrating his 100th start, at Turn 13 on Lap 13 to sixth, before they both passed Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) as he dropped to seventh in the closing stages. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had been in this battle too but a late issue forced him to retire.

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) secured eighth place and finished just two seconds away from ‘Petrux’ ahead, but he had to fend off both Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven), with the trio separated by around four tenths. Oettl secured a top ten finish in France but finished 0.049s behind Vierge after enjoying a strong trip to Magny-Cours for the Independent Ducati rider.

Spanish rider Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was 11th and 2.6 seconds down on Oettl as the flag fell with the #7 trying a new Honda chassis this weekend. He had a four-second margin over home hero Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in 12th as he finished in the points. Rookie Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) gave this team something to cheer on home soil with 13th place, coming off the back of the team’s two WorldSSP podiums at their home round. Both PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team riders scored points with Hafizh Syahrin in 14th and Hannes Soomer four seconds behind. Soomer becomes the first Estonian rider to score WorldSBK points.

Isaac Vinales (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) narrowly missed out on a point as he finished three tenths down on Soomer, while Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) was the last of the classified riders in 18th. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) had a stunning start as the lights went out for the second time as he moved in eighth, but he crashed at Turn 13 on the opening lap; the Brit dropped to last. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) went down at Turn 5 on Lap 3 and retired from the race.

Magny-Cours Race Two WorldSBK Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +5.893s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +6.779s

Championship Standings

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 467 points
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 410
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 290

The post WorldSBK: All The Action From Magny-Cours appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) overcame his rivals in an incredible Race 1 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship to record his 17th victory of the 2023 campaign in style. The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola hosted a sensational battle as Bautista claimed took a stunning win ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) who racked up a century of podiums as he finished second.

The opening laps were a sensational fight in front of the passionate Italian fans as two Italian riders led their first laps of the season. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) got the holeshot from second and led until the final chicane on Lap 2, when Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) overtook his compatriot. At the start of Lap 3, Bassani had a huge wobble through Tamburello which dropped him down to fourth, before Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) went through at the Variante Alta at Turn 4.

On Lap 3, Razgatlioglu made one of the best overtakes of the season as he went around the outside of Bautista on the entry to the Variante Alta to move into P2 behind Locatelli, before it all kicked off at the front as Locatelli, Razgatlioglu and Bautista battled for first. The Turkish rider was able to get ahead of his teammate on the run into Turn 1 when Locatelli ran a bit wide into the final chicane and compromised his exit, although the Italian was able to defend from Bautista. The Spaniard demoted the home hero into third a lap later with an overtake into the Variante Alta before he set his sights on Razgatlioglu.

Razgatlioglu and Bautista pulled out a gap over Rea, who passed Locatelli on Lap 5 at the final chicane, to duel it out for victory although Bautista did lose second to the six-time Champion after he had a massive moment on the run to the Variante Alta on Lap 8; he swiftly re-passed to take second back. There was little to separate the pair throughout the first two-thirds but an error from the Turk allowed Bautista to pass him on the run down to Rivazza 1. He ran slightly wide at the final chicane but the #54 was unable to capitalise and remained in second. From there, the reigning Champion pulled out a gap to claim his 49th win in WorldSBK, ahead of Razgatlioglu while Rea took third.

Bautista’s win puts him on 17 for the season which equals the most in a season, putting him level with Doug Polen in 1991 and Jonathan Rea in from 2018 and 2019. One more win at any point throughout the season will give him the all-time record for wins in a single campaign with 18. Second gave Razgatlioglu his 100th WorldSBK podium and his 16th consecutive rostrum finish; the joint sixth-longest all-time streak. Rea racked up his 252nd podium, while Razgatlioglu and Rea have now shared the podium 75 times together.

Locatelli’s stunning start was rewarded with fourth place although he had to work hard as he fended off Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the closing stages. Rinaldi was the quicker rider and the gap between them on Lap 19, the final lap, was just over a second but the Yamaha rider was able to hold on lead a quartet of Italians inside the top seven. After his podium at Donington last time out, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) headed into his second home round full of confidence and he scored sixth, 2.6s down on Rinaldi ahead. Bassani dropped down the order to finish seventh, having to fight hard to keep that position.

French rider Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was the top BMW rider as he took eighth, but he was very close to finishing one place higher. He put pressure on the Independent Ducati directly ahead of him but was unable to make the move before he had to defend from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). The Brit had to settle for ninth but finished just over three tenths down from the two-time race winner, while Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten.

Rookie Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) put in a strong charge to take 11th after a fierce fight with four riders. The Australian battled with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) and Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to take 11th with the Honda rider in 12th; Vierge was forced to start from the back of the grid due to a tyre pressure limits infringement, but he was up to 17th in the early stages before claiming P12. American star Gerloff was 13th with stand-in BMW rider Haslam right behind. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) started from the second row and secured a point as he claimed 15th.

Tito Rabat (Barni Spark Racing Team) took 16th place, 19 seconds down on Ray ahead of him, as he fended off two Italians. Wildcard Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing), who started from the pit lane, was 17th and only 0.181s down on the Moto2 World Champion while Roberto Tamburini (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) was 18th and last of the classified riders.

Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) crashed out of his home race on Lap 3 when he went down at Turn 2, while German rider Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) retired just shy of the halfway mark of the 19-lap race. Czech rider Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) retired shortly after Oettl while Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) crashed at Turn 18 on Lap 13. Spanish duo Isaac Vinales (TPR by Team Pedercini Racing) and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) also did not complete the race. Swiss rookie Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) brought his Yamaha YZF-R1 machine into the pits on Lap 17 to retire.

WorldSBK Imola Race One Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +3.672s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +7.847s

Tissot Superpole Race
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) beat Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in an epic Tissot Superpole Race scrap at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola. The battle for victory went down to the final lap as the 2021 Champion fought hard to claim his first victory at Imola with the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings closing ever so slightly with the results in the Prometeon Italian Round.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) once again got the holeshot and defended valiantly despite pressure from teammate Razgatlioglu, with their battle allowing Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to stay in contention. Razgatlioglu looked to pass his teammate on several occasions but was unable to make the move before the Spaniard bundled his way through on the Turkish star at the Variante Bassa at the end of Lap 5. Just a few corners later and the reigning Champion was out in front as he passed Locatelli into the Variante Tamburello.

It left the two Yamaha riders to fight it out and the 2021 Champion attempted to pass his teammate into the Tosa hairpin, but Locatelli held position. Heading out of Acque Minerali, Locatelli made a small mistake which allowed Razgatlioglu through forcefully at the Variante Alta. He soon closed the gap to Bautista out in front, with Razgatlioglu making the race-winning move at Piratella on Lap 9 as he caught his rival by surprise. Bautista kept him in his sights and looked for a way through on the final lap but the #54 was able to hold on for a hard-fought victory.

The Turk was able to hold on despite last-lap pressure from the defending Champion to claim his third win of the season and close the gap in the Championship standings by three points. It was his 35th win in WorldSBK, putting him alone at sixth in the all-time list. Bautista took his 77th podium while Locatelli resisted Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the second half of the race for his 12th podium. The front row for Race 2 will therefore be Razgatlioglu, Bautista and Locatelli.

Rea will lead off the second row after he moved up from seventh on the grid for the Superpole Race and he will be joined by two Italians who go in search of a stunning home result at home. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) renewed their rivalry as they battled over fifth place, with Rinaldi coming out on top after the #47 fell down the order, partly aided by a poor start.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) will line up seventh for Race 2 as he finished 0.616s down on Bassani ahead. Danilo Petrucci’s (Barni Spark Racing Team) continued his strong run of form as he scored eighth place, the second consecutive Superpole Race he has taken points from. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) will complete the third row in Race 2 as he secured ninth; just beating Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) by 0.194s.

WorldSBK Imola Tissot Superpole Race Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.244s
3 Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +1.720s

Race Two
The gap in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standing was cut by the maximum 25 points as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) took advantage of Alvaro Bautista’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) opening lap crash at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola. The 2021 Champion had to battle his way into the lead in the closing stages of Race 2 at the Prometeon Italian Round after Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) went hunting after a maiden win but was denied with a handful of laps to go.

Bautista got the holeshot in the shortened 15-lap race, but his race unravelled as soon as it started. He came off his Panigale V4 R at Turn 3 and into the gravel, ending his run of feature length wins in 2023. It allowed 2021 Champion Razgatlioglu to move into the lead as teammate Andrea Locatelli had to take avoiding action. While the Turkish star was in the lead, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) pulled off a mega move to go from fourth to second.

He took advantage of Locatelli running wide at the final chicane at the end of Lap 2 and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) being held up to blast past the pair on the run into the Tamburello chicane to take second. From there, he put in a series of fast laps to close the gap to the Yamaha rider. The gap was just over a tenth on Lap 7 with Rea in hot pursuit of the pair; less than half-a-second separating the top three.

On Lap 8, Bassani made his move on Razgatlioglu for first. He looked to overtake into the Villeneuve chicane first but that didn’t work out, before he went up the inside of his rival at the left-hand hairpin of Tosa. He initially pulled out a small gap, but Razgatlioglu kept in touch as the race entered the final third of the race. At the end of Lap 12, Razgatlioglu made his move into Rivazza 1 with the #47 aiming to cut back into Rivazza 2 although the #54 held on through the exit. On his first full lap with clear air, the Yamaha rider pulled out six-tenths as he went on to claim his first feature-length race win of 2023.

Razgatlioglu was able to claim his 36th career win and his 102nd podium, while it was also Yamaha’s 410th rostrum in World Superbike. Bassani took his sixth podium in the Championship, and his second this season, as he equalled his best result. Rea took two feature-length race podiums in a single round for the first time in 2023. With Bassani taking the fastest lap, a 1’47.491s, Bautista secured the Pirelli Best Lap Award for 2023.

Locatelli was demoted to fourth when Rea overtook him at Turn 9 on Lap 3, and he remained there for the rest of the race to take P4 and end his home round in a good way following on from his Tissot Superpole Race podium. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fifth ahead of a three-way scrap for sixth. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) took a career-best sixth after fending off two BMW riders. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) and Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) were separated by just half-a-second at the line with Baz taking P7.

Rookie Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was ninth, five seconds down on the fight ahead. He also had a decent margin on the riders behind as they battled it out for a place in the top ten. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) put Honda in the top ten for the first time this weekend as he, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), teammate Dominique Aegerter, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) battled it out.

The quintet was changing positions throughout the race with Gardner finishing 0.44s down on Lecuona in 11th while he was almost two seconds ahead of his teammate. Aegerter was 12th with Gerloff and Vierge directly behind; just 0.117s separated the trio. Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) was the final points scorer in 15th, with Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) narrowly missing out on a home point. Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing), who started from the pitlane after exceeding the engine allocation, was 17th ahead of Roberto Tamburini (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) in 18th and his teammate, Eric Granado, completing the classified riders.

Tito Rabat (Barni Spark Racing Team) crashed out of the race on Lap 5 at Turn 12, while Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) retired after a trip across the gravel. It was a similar story for Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) while Isaac Vinales (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) crashed at Turn 12 on Lap 9. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a tumble at Turn 7 on Lap 12 which ended his hopes of a top-six finish.

WorldSBK Imola Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
2 Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +1.996s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.458s

Championship standings

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 391
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 321
3 Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 208

The post WorldSBK Imola: Bautista Crashes Out As Razgatlioglu Takes The Win appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) and teammate Andrea Locatelli will compete for the factory Yamaha team and remain the only constant in the manufacturer’s line-up compared to 2022.

The GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team have opted for an all-new line-up for this year, signing Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner as they go in search of podiums and wins.

Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team, entering their second campaign in WorldSBK, have employed reigning British champion Bradley Ray while new WorldSBK outfit GMT94 Yamaha, stepping up from WorldSSP, have 2022 WorldSSP runner-up Lorenzo Baldassarri for their Yamaha YZF R1.

The post A First Look At Yamaha’s 2023 WorldSBK Line Up! appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

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

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

The post WorldSBK Mandalika: All The Action In Indonesia appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Race One
Race 1 in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship had huge implications in the title fight at the Circuito San Juan Villicum during the Motul Argentinean Round, as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed a commanding victory in Argentina while title rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) finished in 15th place after the reigning Championship had an opening-lap crash as he looked to pass Bautista.

With Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) taking the lead down the long back straight, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) tried to respond to lead into the infield section but lost the front of the bike and went crashing into the gravel. Razgatlioglu was able to re-join but was in last place. The incident cost Bautista time as he dropped back down to fourth place, behind Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and iker Lecuona (Team HRC).

Bautista picked off Lecuona on Lap 4 to move into the podium places and only took two more laps to move into the lead of the race as he passed both Bassani and Rea on the back straight, after Bassani made a move for the lead on the second lap. Bautista was able to extend his lead at the front of the field for his 13th win of the season. Bautista was the only rider from the top three in the Championship to use the SCX tyre, with Rea and Razgatlioglu using the SC0. Victory also gave Bautista the 52nd podium of his WorldSBK career and the 25th of 2022.

Behind him, Bassani and Rea continued to fight it out for third place with the pair often inseparable throughout the lap. Rea made a move on Lap 8 to move into second place but Bassani was able to respond the following lap down the back straight while, on Lap 11, the pair went elbow to elbow throughout the final sector of the lap and down into Turn 1 on Lap 12; Bassani just holding on in that battle. The pair battled hard through sector four on Lap 18 with Rea making a move at Turn 15 and Bassani responding into Turn 16. On the run down to Turn 1, Rea outbraked Bassani into Turn 1 to stay ahead before fending off the Italian rider at the end of the back straight, going on to take second place ahead of Bassani in third. Rea’s second place was the 237th podium of his career and Kawasaki’s 395th race on the podium, while Bassani took his fourth podium and put Italy on the verge of a milestone having taken 399 podiums to date.

Lecuona was another who used the SCX tyre to take a strong result as he took fourth place after running in the podium places in the closing stages of the race, although he was unable to close the gap to the fighting Rea and Bassani ahead of him. He was ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in fifth place, with three Ducatis in the top five, finishing around two seconds back from Lecuona at the end of the 21-lap race. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took sixth place as he made sure Kawasaki had two bikes inside the top six.

There was a three-rider fight for seventh place with Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) scrapping it out. It was Redding who took seventh place at the end of the race as he fended off the chasing Locatelli and Vierge, with the trio separated by around one second. On the last lap, Locatelli made a move on Vierge to take eighth place and demoted the Spanish rookie to ninth. Dutch rider Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed tenth place and rounded out the top ten.

French rider Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took 11th spot after a strong race from the French rider, finishing 1.5s clear of Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team) who took points on his return to the Championship with 12th place. Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) dropped down outside the points during the race but battled back to take 13th spot, ahead of Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) in 14th place. Razgatlioglu showed enough pace to take home a single point after fighting back, passing Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) on the final lap. Baz had been running in the points but ran wide on Lap 16 at the end of the back straight.

German rookie Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) took 17th place after he was given a three-place grid penalty for Race 1 for slow riding in Free Practice 2, with Oettl fending off the Moto2-bound Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 18th place. Rookie Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) took 19th place ahead of stand-in rider Maximilian Scheib (MIE Racing Honda Team) in 20th and Argentinean Marco Solorza (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) in 21st on his return to the Championship.

Home hero Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the first retirement of the race after the Argentinean rider had a Turn 14 crash on Lap 8. Mercado was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash.

WorldSBK Race One Argentina Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.141s
3 Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +6.689s

Tissot Superpole Race
The Tissot Superpole Race for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was ten laps of thrilling drama at the Circuito San Juan Villicum for the Motul Argentinean Round, as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claimed a hard-fought victory after a last-lap battle with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the ten-lap race. The pair were inseparable during the final few laps with Razgatlioglu taking victory by 0.613s.

Razgatlioglu took advantage of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) running wide at Turn 1 when flicking from second to first gear and finding neutral at the start of Lap 6 to move into the lead of the race but had Bautista directly behind him. At Turn 8, Bautista made a move on Lap 8, but the reigning Champion responded instantly. A lap later and Bautista made a move at Turn 8, which put Razgatlioglu second, but he responded at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 10 to re-take the lead. On the final lap, Bautista made the same move at the same corner which forced Razgatlioglu to respond into Turn 9 and he did so, running the pair a little bit wide but staying on the track before holding on to take victory. It was a similar move that he tried to make in Race 1 on Saturday which ended up with him in the gravel; Razgatlioglu able to make it work on Sunday.

Razgatlioglu’s 29th career victory means he will line up from pole position for Race 2 this afternoon, with Bautista in second and Rea in third. Second was Bautista’s 53rd podium and the 170th for Spain while Rea took third place for his 238th career podium on his 230th start for Kawasaki. Rea also set the fastest lap in the race, making more history as he became the first rider to set 100 fastest laps in WorldSBK races.

Italian rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took fourth place in the dramatic race as he came out on top in a three-rider fight for fourth place. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was fifth ahead of Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in sixth place. The three riders were more than three seconds down on Rea in third but, at the end of the race, were separated by just over a second.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) will lead off the third row as he battled back to take seventh spot in the Superpole Race, finishing around two seconds clear of eighth-placed Xavi Vierge (Team HRC). Vierge was the highest-placed rider to use Pirelli’s SCQ tyre and battled his way into the top nine, finishing just 0.076s ahead of Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) who took the final place on row three for Race 2. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) just missed out on a spot in the top nine as he finished tenth, just 0.155s behind Baz.

WorldSBK Argentina Tissot Superpole Race Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.613s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.856s

Race Two
A dramatic start to Race 2 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship set the tone for the race at the Circuito San Juan Villicum with Spanish rider Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took his second victory of the Motul Argentinean Round. The Spanish rider heads into the penultimate round of the season with an 82-point lead in the Championship standings, with Bautista able to take his first WorldSBK title next time out in Indonesia after beating Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in Race 2.

Bautista had to fight his way back through the field after a poor start, which dropped him down to fifth place, and he picked off his rivals in the early stages of the race. On Lap 4, the Spanish rider made a move on second-placed Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into Turn 8 before making a similar move on teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) a lap later. At the same time, Razgatlioglu who, like Bautista, lost out on the opening laps, was following Bautista through, with Razgatlioglu passing Lowes at Turn 10 on Lap 4 and then Rinaldi at Turn 1 on Lap 6.

Despite Razgatlioglu closing the gap throughout most of the lap to Bautista, the Spanish rider extended his lead down the long back straight and eventually pulled out a gap of around three seconds to the reigning Champion. Bautista’s victory gave him his 14th of his 2022 campaign and the 30th in WorldSBK, while it was also his 54th podium in WorldSBK. It was also Ducati’s 390th victory in the Championship. Razgatlioglu took his 77th career podium with second place and the 24th of his career, with Razgatlioglu now 83 points back from Bautista.

The battle for the podium places was between Lowes and teammate Jonathan Rea after the six-time Champion ran wide a couple of times in the early stages. Rea looked to pass Rinaldi at Turn 9 on Lap 2, which allowed Lowes through, before he ran wide again at the next corner and dropped down to sixth place. Rea battled his way past Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) at Turn 10 on Lap 6 to move into fifth before both Lowes and Rea passed Rinaldi on Lap 7. For the next 11 laps, Lowes was able to stay ahead of his teammate but Rea made the move at Turn 8 on Lap 18 to take third place for his 239th WorldSBK podium.

Lowes took fourth place, dropping around two seconds behind his teammate in the closing stages, although Lowes did have a four second margin to Rinaldi in fifth. Rinaldi was one rider who opted to use Pirelli’s SC0 tyre with most of the field using the SCX tyres. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) put four manufacturers inside the top six as he took sixth place, with Rinaldi, Vierge and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in a three-way fight for fifth place. Lecuona finished two tenths behind teammate Vierge, who was seven tenths behind Rinaldi.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) leaves Argentina with eighth place after a battle with Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in ninth place; the pair were separated by just one second at the end of the race. Redding led a trio of BMW riders as he finished in eighth place, with teammate Michael van der Mark in tenth, around one second down on teammate Redding, with Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) in 11th; Laverty was the highest-placed Independent rider.

Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was around two seconds back from Laverty as he took 12th place, while he had a more than one second margin to the returning Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team). Fores marked his return to WorldSBK with three consistent results, taking 12th in Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race and 13th in Race 2. Rookie Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) was 14th ahead of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who rounded out the points-paying positions.

Japanese rider Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in 16th place and missed out on a point by just over a second, while Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was 17th. Baz battled back from the rear of the field after he came off his bike following a Lap 2 collision with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) at Turn 12. The incident was investigated by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards with Bassani deemed at fault, with the Italian penalised with a Long Lap Penalty. However, for not taking this in time, Bassani was given a second Long Lap Penalty before he was given a ride through penalty for not taking his Long Lap Penalties on time. Bassani was classified in 20th place.

Czech rider Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) took 18th place ahead of Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda), with the Argentinean rider leaving his home round without points. Bassani was in 20th place ahead of Maximilian Scheib (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Marco Solorza (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) who was the last of the 22-strong field.

WorldSBK Argentina Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +3.389s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +9.784s

Championship Standings After Argentina (Full Standings Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 507 points
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 425
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 409

The post WorldSBK: Bautista Extends Championship Lead In Argentina appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Read all the race reports here…

Championship Standings After French Round (Full Standings Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 332 points
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 302
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 285

The post WorldSBK Gallery: All The Best Shots From The 2022 Season So Far appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

A staple on the calendar, this will be the 20th consecutive season at the iconic French venue, which has seen crowning moments, title twists and, last year, a battle for the title played out on-track and off it. In 2022, the ‘titanic trio’ arrive with the gap shrinking and them getting closer and closer, making for an even more interesting dynamic. Who will be ‘magnifique’ at Magny-Cours?

Returning to Ducati in 2022 has seen Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) revitalise his aspirations and ambitions of becoming World Champion; leading the way by 31 points, Bautista hopes that his hand injury from Donington Park has gone, although at the recent Barcelona test, he stated that it wasn’t 100%.

He’s never won at Magny-Cours, nor has he had a podium there, so will this be a weekend of damage limitation for the 37-year- old, or will he and the Ducati work well in 2022? Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi enjoyed a positive test in Barcelona but will have his future in the back of his mind coming into the round; just 14 points off fourth overall, will Rinaldi surprise in France?

Giving chase in the standings is six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). He’s been majestic at Magny-Cours over the years, notching up nine wins, more than anyone else. Although he only won one last year – the Tissot Superpole Race following a race direction sanction for Toprak Razgatlioglu – Rea has still won five of the last seven races there and is keen to claw back the Championship lead. In 2019, the last time Bautista was aboard a Ducati, the points swing between the two was 38, with Rea taking the title in Race 2.

Teammate Alex Lowes always features strongly at Magny-Cours and has been on the podium five times, with four coming since 2019. He’s yet to be a winner at the circuit though; could Lowes be the dark horse?

Whilst Jonathan Rea has the stats at Magny-Cours, reigning World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) has the recent form and the poetic story. In 2014, as a wildcard in Superstock 600, he won after an incredible final lap battle, his first win in the WorldSBK paddock.

Then, in 2019, from 16th on the grid, he blasted through to beat Rea in an epic final lap thriller in Race 1, his first WorldSBK win, before repeating it in the Superpole Race. A wet 2020 saw him off the podium but in 2021, he was back with a bang and two full-race victories. Can he do the triple at his favourite circuit in 2022? He has six wins in the last eight races and is 38 points behind Bautista. For teammate Andrea Locatelli, he’ll hope for a podium chance, having taken a third in Race 1 last year.

Team HRC are fresh from a positive test in Barcelona, with Iker Lecuona ready to get back in the chase for a top five overall in the Championship. A new chassis bracing and new swingarm are just some of the items that have been brought in recent rounds, confirmed and trialled further in testing and now ready to further improve results.

For Lecuona, Magny-Cours is yet again a circuit he doesn’t know but after quick learning at Donington Park and Most, expect him to be strong come Saturday’s Race 1. For Xavi Vierge, he’s now got his future secured, remaining with Honda for 2023, meaning that he’ll have his mind relaxed and can now focus on a strong end to an injury-hit but impressive rookie season. He too hasn’t been to Magny-Cours, but with Honda enjoying a top six last year, a strong weekend awaits.

Over at BMW – like for Honda – it was a strong test in Barcelona which saw Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) work extensively on electronics and also a new Nissin braking system, whilst it was also the return of Michael van der Mark from injury.

Redding is a race winner at Magny-Cours from Race 2 in 2020 in the wet but struggled in 2021, whilst with the BMW M1000RR, it will be a new challenge again, although the bike does work well at the circuit, with a top five achieved last year. That was achieved by van der Mark, who enjoys the Magny-Cours circuit with six podiums, all since 2016, missing out last year. Now the team is back at full strength, expect to see the BMWs make good ground on their rivals.

Leading the Independents, it’s Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), with the Italian continuing his quest for a factory seat, just 19 points behind Rinaldi. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) is in 11th place overall and aiming to have a home round to be proud of, whilst he’s ten points clear of Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), who shows well at Magny-Cours. Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) is next in 13th ahead of home-hero Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing); Mahias has three wins at the track (two in WorldSSP and one in STK1000). Behind them, the ever-improving Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team), who has had a back operation during the break following a long injury after a crash at Magny-Cours in 2021’s WorldSSP Race 2.

Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) gives chase behind the Independents ahead of him and hopes for a career-first top ten, whilst Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) gears up for his final French Round as a rider. Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) has his sights on a first top ten of 2022.

Fellow Yamaha rider Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) is keen to show strongly at home. Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) and teammate Leandro Mercado hope Magny-Cours is a turning point in their season, with Mercado coming from a difficult Barcelona test. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) continues his chase for first points whilst Oscar Gutierrez (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) will make his debut in WorldSBK.

WorldSBK Championship Top Three (Full Standings Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 298
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 267
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 260

The post Second Half Of The 2022 WorldSBK Season Starts This Weekend! appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Tissot Superpole Qualifying
With spots of rain in the air after an overnight shower, riders were forced to exit onto the circuit straight away. With no SCQ tyres available and the SCX tyre only available for Superpole and the Sunday morning Superpole Race, the session gave extra challenges compared to others. Getting the most out of the 15-minute shootout, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) stormed to a 1’30.947 for a new lap record and a second consecutive pole position at Most.

Riders flocked to the circuit instantly and it was clear that everyone wanted to bank a time in case of rain, whilst the likes of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and his teammate Alex Lowes all waited a little longer, the latter two on their own with Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was at the head of the field on track and the first rider to set a lap time of a 1’32.608, whilst Razgatlioglu stormed to a 1’31.578, just outside his Free Practice lap record from FP2.

Further times came in behind with Rea going second ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), whilst Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was fourth. Bautista was down to ninth but soon went up to fourth, with Lowes and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) getting ahead of Mahias who was left in seventh with just under ten minutes to go. Having been a top five rider in FP2 on Friday, Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was ninth ahead of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) at the end of the first stint. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) waited until the end of the first stint before getting a time registered, slotting him in third.

With the threat of rain abating for the time being, the second runs and the pole position attacks came in, with Rea one of the first riders to leave the pits. Out-laps completed, red sectors and personal best times were coming, although Rea had a big moment at Turn 13, and his advantage of two tenths of a second through the first half of the lap had been squandered. However, at the head of the field, by 0.011s, Alvaro Bautista had taken provisional pole, although Razgatlioglu was responding already on his own flying lap. Turk went top momentarily, but it was Rea who smashed in a lap time in, the first ever 1’30 lap time, with a 1’30.947.

WorldSBK Autodrom Most Front Row (Full Results Here)

1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’30.947s
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.330s
3 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.559s

Race One
History was made in Race 1 at the Prosecco DOC Czech Round as Ducati claimed their 1000th MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship podium placement after Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) battled his way to victory at the Autodrom Most. The Championship leader started from the second row but was able to fight his way into the lead battle in a race held in mixed conditions.

Championship leader Bautista started from the second row but soon was able to take advantage of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) battling to close the gap. Bautista moved into second place on Lap 11 with a move into Turn 20 on the reigning Champion, before he followed that up with a move on Rea into Turn 1 at the start of Lap 12. He was able to clear his charging rivals to win by more than two seconds, going on to take his seventh win of 2022 and 23rd victory of his career, while it was also a historic milestone for Ducati as they claimed their 1000th podium placement.

The battle for the podium went on to the last lap between Razgatlioglu, Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Rea. Razgatlioglu made a hard move on Redding at Turn 13, with Redding running a little bit wide and allowing Rea to close in on the BMW rider. At Turn 15, Rea looked to make a move on Redding to move into the podium places but Redding was able to hold on, with Razgatlioglu and Redding completing the podium. Razgatlioglu now has 67 podiums in his WorldSBK career while Redding is on 39, with the British rider going level with Scott Russell at 25th in the all-time list.

Places fifth to seventh in Race 1 were taken up by Italian riders. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) claimed fifth place and finishes as the best Independent rider. In the early stages, Bassani had been running in fourth but was eventually passed by Redding and dropped back from the lead group. He also lost time to Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in the closing stages but was able to finish a second clear of Locatelli, who in turn had a three second margin over Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in seventh. Rinaldi had started from third place but lost ground through the opening corners before coming home in seventh place.

On his first visit to the Autodrom Most, Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) continued his run of top-ten finishes that has lasted his entire WorldSBK career, with the Spanish rookie finishing in eighth place. It is the best points-scoring streak in WorldSBK since Michael van der Mark scored 19 consecutive points-scoring positions in 2016. He was just over half a second clear of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in ninth place with Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRY Yamaha WorldSBK Team) rounding out the top ten; Gerloff had started from the second row but dropped back at the start of the race. The top ten at the end of the race were separated by just 13.1 seconds, the smallest gap covering the top ten riders in a full-length race since Race 1 at Phillip Island in 2020; 11.922s covered the top ten.

Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) finished in 11th place, four seconds back from a top ten spot, while he was almost ten seconds clear of French compatriot Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 12th place. Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) finished in 13th place, less than a second behind Mahias, with Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) in 14th and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) completing the points-scoring places with 15th.

Home hero Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) finished in 16th place in Race 1 for his home round, his best result in his short WorldSBK career, with Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) in 17th place. Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) claimed 18th place ahead of Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW), whose future was made known shortly before Race 1, and Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) with the Frenchman rounding out the top 20. Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team), Peter Hickman (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Ryan Vickers (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) were the last classified runners in Race 1.

Wildcard and home rider Michal Prasek (Rohac & Fejta Motoracing) retired shortly after being lapped by the leaders, while Malaysian rider Hafizh Shyarin (MIE Racing Honda Team) suffered from technical issues in the closing stages of the race.

WorldSBK Autodrom Most Race One Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +2.109s
3 Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +2.603s

Tissot Superpole Race
It was another battle that went right down to the final lap in the Tissot Superpole Race, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claiming victory at the Autodrom Most during the Prosecco DOC Czech Round after a last-lap battle with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). Victory for Razgatlioglu gave Yamaha their 100th victory in WorldSBK.

Razgatlioglu got the jump into Turn 1 ahead of Rea and took the lead of the race and was able to open up a gap to the six-time Champion. Rea looked to make his move for the lead in the second half of the race, with Razgatlioglu able to respond immediately. On the final lap, Rea tried to make a move at Turn 1 but Razgatlioglu was able to get the cutback through Turns 2 and 3, before Rea tried again later on in the lap but ran into the gravel, allowing Razgatlioglu to claim victory while Rea finished in second place. They will be joined on the front row for Race 2 by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), after the Championship leader gained places from fifth on the grid.

The second row of the grid will be made up of Italian riders. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) will start Race 2 from fourth, after starting the Superpole Race from third, with Rinaldi pressuring his teammate all race. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) will line up from fifth ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in sixth place. Bassani gained positions in the Superpole Race to secure a second row start for Race 2.

Spanish rookie Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) claimed seventh spot and therefore a third row start for Race 2 as he looks to continue his run of top-ten finishes, with Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in ninth and taking the final third row grid spot for Race 2. Redding and Gerloff were the highest-placed riders using Pirelli’s harder SC0 tyre, with both dropping back from their second row starting position in the Superpole Race.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who has been suffering from an intestinal infection, crashed out of the race from inside the top nine on Lap 4 of 10 at Turn 10 after he lost the front of his bike. Ryan Vickers (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) crashed at the end of Lap 3 at Turn 21, putting the British rider out of the race. Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSBK) was given a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start and finished in 20th place. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had a crash at Turn 17 in the closing stages of the race, with the Czech rider taken to the medical centre.

Tissot Superpole Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.327s
3 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +3.406s

Race Two
The final Superbike World Championship race of the Prosecco DOC Czech Round was another incredible affair at the Autodrom Most, with reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claiming victory after a titanic battle with his title rivals. The battle raged on from the start until the final few laps of the race as Razgatlioglu claimed his fifth win in the last six races.

Razgatlioglu was able to get the jump into Turn 1 at the start of the race but was always under pressure from both Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). On Lap 7, Rea made a move at Turn 1 on Razgatlioglu to move into the lead of the race but Toprak at the same corner a lap later. On Lap 11, Bautista attempted to pass both Razgatlioglu and Rea into Turn 1, with Rea coming out ahead of Bautista in second and Razgatlioglu in third.

Two laps later and Bautista utilised his straight-line speed to pass Rea into Turn 1, while Razgatlioglu made his move on Rea on Lap 15 at Turn 1 for second place. Soon after, he was on the back of Bautista and, on Lap 16, made his move for the lead at Turn 20 for first place. From there, Razgatlioglu had to defend into Turn 1 on a couple of occasions but he was able to pull out a gap over Bautista and Rea to take his 24th win in WorldSBK and the sixth of the season. Bautista came home in second place to take his 16th podium of the season and the 43rd of his career; while it was also Spain’s 160th in WorldSBK. Rea now has 230 podiums to his name, which is exactly 100 more than Troy Corser who lies second in the all-time list.

Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) made it five top-six finishes in the last six races as he finished in fourth place after a thrilling battle with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in the opening two-thirds of the race. Bassani made a stunning start to immediately fight for the podium places but dropped back to fourth place, before running wide on Lap 5 which allowed Redding through. Bassani was able to respond quite soon after that move but Redding re-passed him at Turn 1 on Lap 10 to demote the Italian into fifth; Bassani claimed three five place finishes at the Autodrom Most.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claimed sixth place after taking advantage of Garrett Gerloff’s (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) late technical issue, after the American had passed him earlier on in the race. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) claimed seven place, his best result since he finished fourth in the Tissot Superpole Race at Misano, while Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) finished eighth. That is the German’s best result since he took seventh place in the Superpole Race at Assen.

It was Lucas Mahias’ (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) best finish of the 2022 season with his second appearance in the top ten, while Sammarinese rider Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) rounded out the top ten. It is Bernardi’s first top ten result since he moved into WorldSBK at the start of the 2022 season.

Italian rider Roberto Tamburni (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) equalled his best result of the season with 11th place, ahead of Malaysia’s Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team). Syahrin claimed the best result of his WorldSBK career with 12th place and it was a double points-scoring race for the MIE Racing Honda Team with Leandro Mercado in 15th; Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Peter Hickman (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) separating the two MIE Honda teammates in 13th and 14th.

Czech rider Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) bounced back from a Superpole Race crash to finish in 16th place in front of his home fans, equalling his best result in WorldSBK, with Ryan Vickers (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) in 17th and Gerloff in 18th after his late technical issue.

Ahead of Race 2, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) were both declared unfit through illness and injury respectively. Wildcard Michal Prasel (Rohac & Fejta Motoracing) did not start the race. At the start of Lap 4, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crashed out trying to pass Rea for third place at Turn 1. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) retired from the race following a Lap 5 crash at Turn 20. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) had a technical issue with two laps to go with the Spanish rookie retiring from the race, ending his streak of top-ten finishes at 17 races.

WorldSBK Autodrom Most Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.756s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.833s

Championship Standing After Autodrom Most Round (Full Standings Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 298
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 267
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 260

The post WorldSBK Reports: All The Action From Autodrom Most appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Tissot Superpole
Tissot Superpole for the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s fifth round at Donington Park was intense and intriguing from the start. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) will see his quest for Donington Park victory and Kawasaki’s 500th podium start from pole position, as he smashed the previous lap record out of the park.

It was a disastrous start to the session for Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), who after finishing second in FP3, crashed at the start of his first flying lap at Turn 1. However, the times were absolutely electric from the first runs, with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) lapping together and getting down into the 1’26s, the best laps of their weekend so far. 

With seven minutes to go, the riders came into the pits to take a quick break before putting the SCQ tyres on and getting back out for their second and final runs with six minutes to go. Rea and Redding once again left the pits together with Redding’s teammate, Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) likewise aiming to improve his time with the two home-heroes laying down the pace. 

Come the chequered flag at the end of the session, it was Rea who obliterated the lap record with a 1’26.080s, a new outright motorcycle lap record at the Donington Park circuit. Joining him on the front row in second place is teammate Alex Lowes, who will want to get a first podium of the season and his third podium at Donington Park. Third place went the way of Toprak Razgatlioglu, who made it 11 straight front rows – a record for a single Yamaha rider.

Donington Park Tissot Superpole Front Row (Full Results Here)

1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’26.080s
2 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.273s
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.426s

Race One
The opening MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race of the Prosecco DOC UK Round was a dramatic affair full of battles up and down the grid at Donington Park as reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK Team) claimed victory by 6.3 seconds to claim his first full-length race win of the 2022 season. It means Razgatlioglu is now 54 points behind Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the Championship standings following the latter’s retirement.

It’s a move that has been seen a lot throughout 2022 as Razgatlioglu got the holeshot at the start to take the lead of the race and he was able to take advantage of the battling between Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and teammate Alex Lowes in the early stages, before Rea and Bautista  fought each other for second place in the middle stage of the race.

Rea initially got swamped on Lap 1 and dropped to as low as fifth place before fighting his way back up to second place. He first fell behind Bautista on Lap 7 as the pair battled, with Rea making a move on Bautista on Lap 8. Bautista then re-passed Rea on Lap 12 at Turn 9 before Rea responded immediately before making the move stick on Lap 14 at Turn 12. Two laps later, however, Bautista crashed at the same corner and retired from the race; ending his run of 12 consecutive podium.

Razgatlioglu’s victory gave him the 20th of his career and his 64th podium finish in WorldSBK, while it was also Yamaha’s 97th win. Rea claimed his 226th podium and claimed Kawasaki’s 500th podium placement in WorldSBK. In the Championship standings, Rea took 20 points out of Bautista’s lead with the gap now only 16 points, with Razgatlioglu 54 points back.

The battle for third place came down to a shootout between two home heroes as Lowes fought with Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Redding was ahead until the final handful of laps as the pair battled through the final sector of the race, racing hard through Turns 11 and 12 and into Turn 1 on the next lap, before Lowes got the move done on the exit of Turn 1 and into Turn 2 to secure his first podium of the 2022 season. Lowes ensured Kawasaki immediately moved onto their 501st podium; Lowes’ third place was the 30th podium finish of his career. It was also his first podium since the Superpole Race in the 2021 French Round at Magny-Cours.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) finished as the best Independent rider in Race 1 as he claimed fifth place in Race 1, his sixth consecutive top-seven finish in 2022. Bassani finished as the lead Ducati rider following Bautista’s crash as he finished a second clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in sixth place.

American star Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) performed another customary late-race surge as he finished in seventh place, equalling his best result of the season so far. Gerloff passed Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) on the final lap with the Spanish rookie finishing in eighth place, almost 7.5 seconds clear of Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in ninth and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in tenth.

Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) was 11th on his first race at Donington Park, finishing two seconds clear of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 12th; Mahias securing points on his return from injury. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was just a tenth back from Mahias while he was one second clear of wildcard Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) in 14th with the reigning British champion taking points on his WorldSBK debut. British rider Leon Haslam (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) rounded out the points with 15th place.

Stand-in rider Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) made a good start to climb up the order but dropped down to 16th place at the end of the race, missing out on points by just 0.244s after the 23-lap race. He was more than seven seconds clear of Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) who was only half-a-second clear of fellow rookie Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) in 18th.

Japanese rider Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 19th, just over a second clear of Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) and Robert Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team), with Laverty and Tamburini separated by just 0.085s.

Wildcard Peter Hickman (FHO Racing) was 22nd ahead of Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in 23rd; the last of the classified finishers. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the first retirement of the race after he crashed at the Turn 12 hairpin, the final corner of the circuit, on Lap 8. Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) was the second retirement of the race as he brought his Yamaha into the pits.

WorldSBK Donington Park Race One Pdoium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +6.397s
3 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +9.449s

Tissot Superpole Race
Razgatlioglu, like in Race 1, was able to get the holeshot at the start to move into Turn 1 and, also like in Race 1, went on to lead every lap of the race, finishing ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in second place. The battle for third was also reminiscent of Race 1 as Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) fighting for third place; Redding this time able to come out on top for his first BMW podium. It means the front row of the grid in Race 2 will be made up of Razgatlioglu, Rea and Redding.

Lowes made moves on Redding through the Turn 9-10 chicane, battled with him through Turn 11 and into Turn 12 before Redding responded into Turn 1. After that, he had to fight with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for fourth place, with the Championship leader coming through at Turn 9 on the final lap for fourth; Lowes will start Race 2 from fifth. Bautista was the highest placed rider using the SCX tyre with the front three all using the SCQ, while teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi was sixth also on the SCX tyre.

Wildcard Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) retired from the race after a crash with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) at Turn 12 on Lap 4, with Vierge able to re-join the race. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards.

WorldSBK Donington Park Tissot Superpole Race Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +1.089s
3 Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +3.889s

Race Two
It was an inseparable duo at the front of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field in Race 2 at Donington Park but Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was able to hold on after consistent challenges from Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) to take his first hat-trick in WorldSBK during the Prosecco DOC UK Round.

Like in the previous two races of the Donington Park weekend, Razgatlioglu led into Turn 1 but, unlike Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race, he was unable to escape from his rivals as Rea stuck with him throughout the race usually within just a couple of tenths of a second. On Lap 3, Rea initially got past into Turn 9 but Razgatlioglu responded immediately into Turn 11 with the same happening again on Lap 6 after Razgatlioglu was a bit offline through the Foggy Esses.

At the start of Lap 14, Razgatlioglu was able to start opening up the gap to Rea after resisting 13 laps of constant pressure from the six-time Champion, with the pair often alongside each other on the run down to the Foggy Esses. The pair were able to drop Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with the Spanish rider taking his first podium of the weekend, although Bautista was able to attack Rea in the closing stages of the race, with Bautista passing Rea on Lap 19 at Turn 11 to move into second place with Ulsterman Rea finishing in third place.

The results mean all three riders in the 2022 title fight have now taken a WorldSBK hat-trick in their career, with Razgatlioglu the latest to join the exclusive club following his three wins. Razgatlioglu has now taken 22 WorldSBK wins in his career and 66 podiums while Yamaha now sit on 99 wins. Bautista’s second place gave him his 40th WorldSBK podium while Ducati now have 999 podium placements in the Championship, with Rea moving on to 228 podiums in his career.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed fourth place at Donington Park and, for the lap after his teammate overtook Rea, looked like he would be able to challenge the six-time Champion for the podium spot but the gap stabilised at 1.2 seconds. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) concluded a very strong weekend with fifth place, with Redding leaving his home round with a third, fourth and fifth-place finish. He was ahead of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in sixth, with Lowes and Redding seemingly inseparable throughout the three races as they often battled on track.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was once again the lead Independent rider, repeating his Race 1 feat, as he secured yet another top-seven finish, his tenth in the first 15 races of the season. The Italian finished ahead of compatriot Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in eighth place, with Italian more than seven seconds clear of an incredible fight for ninth place. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) took home ninth place after a battle with four other riders for ninth place, passing Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in the latter stages of the race.

Lecuona had to fend off a late challenge from American rider Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with the Spanish rider coming out on top by just 0.084s; Lecuona remains the only rider to have scored top ten finishes in every race this season. Gerloff was just half-a-second clear of rookie Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) in 12th with Lecuona’s Honda teammate Xavi Vierge less than a second back from Oettl. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) completed then points-paying positions with 15th place, the wildcard fighting his way up for field after being given a five-place grid penalty for irresponsible riding following a crash with Vierge in the Superpole Race.

Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) was another who fought his way up the field as he claimed 16th place, finishing seven seconds clear of Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) in 17th place. Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 18th after losing a couple of positions in the closing stages of the race, and the Japanese rider withstood a late charge from wildcard Peter Hickman (FHO Racing) who finished 19th. Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team), Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) rounded out the riders.

Ukrainian rider Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the first retirement of the race after he had a Lap 3 crash at Turn 7. Leon Haslam (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) retired from the race when he brought his bike into the pitlane on Lap 8 of 23. Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) was the final retirement after he came out of the race in the closing stages of the race.

Donington Park WorldSBK Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.102s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.615s

Championship Standings After Donington Park (Full Standings Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 246 points
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 229
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 203

The post WorldSBK Reports: All The Action From Donington Park appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

In a show of what WorldSBK could be like in 2022, five manufacturers finished inside the top seven positions on day two. Razgatlioglu’s fastest time was a 1’40.571s as he completed 51 laps with Yamaha trialling a new exhaust throughout the test as well as continuing to work on their electronics package. Teammate Andrea Locatelli was 11th for the second day as he, like his teammate, worked on Yamaha’s electronics package.

Both Razgatlioglu and Locatelli ventured out into the wet on Saturday. The Pata Yamaha team were not the only Yamaha representation in the top five, with Garrett Gerloff (GRT GYTR Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in fifth place. Gerloff was testing in the wet conditions to trial Yamaha’s electronics package. Teammate Kohta Nozane also ventured out into the wet, posting a best time of 1’42.509s.

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Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) put his Panigale V4 R machine into second place as the team looked to focus on a modified swingarm compared to the one seen at Portimao as well as new items inside the front forks. Bautista completed 67 laps and posted a best time of 1’40.952s to claim second spot. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi made it two Ducatis in the top six as he finished sixth with a best time of 1’41.610s. He completed 34 laps on day two, opting not to test in the wet conditions.

Team HRC showed strong pace on Saturday with two riders in the top eight. Iker Lecuona claimed third spot with a best time of 1’41.033s and 62 laps completed, while Xavi Vierge was eighth after completing 55 laps. Vierge’s day came to an early end on Saturday after he had a highside crash at Turn 12, bringing out the Red Flags for a short period. Vierge was initially taken to the medical centre for a check-up before being transported to hospital with rib injuries, although he was conscious. Honda tested some new double ducts on their brakes on day one of the test to assist with cooling in hotter conditions, while the CBR1000RR-R also has a new exhaust for 2022.

At the team’s home circuit, Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK claimed fourth with Jonathan Rea on day two of the two-day test after posting a 1’41.168s and completing 32 laps. Throughout the test, Rea tried the fuel tanks fins used by teammate Alex Lowes as well as trying small components including on the clutch. Lowes finished the day in 12th place, with a best time of 1’41.99s and 36 laps to his name. Both riders opted against testing in the afternoon after the rain fell.

Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) overcame technical issues in the morning to finish in seventh place for the day, racking up 50 laps and posting a best lap time of 1’41.636s. Redding spent day one working on BMW’s electronics package and was hoping for dry running to keep the momentum heading in the right direction. Despite not staying dry, Redding did test in the wet conditions while stand-in teammate Ilya Mikhalchik finished his day when the rain came. The Ukrainian rider’s best time was a 1’42.763s and he completed 16 laps.

There were two Independent riders who rounded out the top ten on day two in Barcelona. German rookie Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) claimed ninth place as he looked to continue evaluating a new exhaust after the team switched to Spark over the winter. Oettl took advantage of the wet conditions in the afternoon to get some wet-weather practice in, having never ridden a WorldSBK machine in wet conditions before. His best time was a 1’41.735s with 55 laps to his name.

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took a different approach to the afternoon’s running after the rain, with the Frenchman ending his day early. Over the winter, Kawasaki Puccetti switched suspension suppliers to Öhlins, with Mahias continuing to evaluate this change in Catalunya. Mahias posted a best time just 0.009s shy of Oettl while adding 23 laps to his tally.

Bonovo Action BMW duo Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz were 15th and 16th respectively on the second day. Laverty had been working on a change of rider position throughout the test while working on some traction control strategies on day one. The Irishman completed 30 laps on day two, with a best time of 1’43.305s, while Baz was half-a-second down on his teammate as the Frenchman completed 29 laps; neither ventured out onto the track in the wet conditions.

Sammarinese rookie Luca Bernardi (Barni Spark Racing Team) was 17th on day two as he continued to adjust to WorldSBK action. He posted a best time of 1’43.823s, completing 23 laps but not taking to the wet track. His time was a second clear of fellow rookie Oliver König (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) who added 34 laps to his tally; like Bernardi, König did not go out in the rain.

Now entering his second season in WorldSBK, Loris Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was 19th on his ZX-10RR. the Belgian rider had a highside crash at Turn 2 on day one in the change of direction but was okay to ride on Saturday, finishing as the penultimate rider in the field. Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) was last in the WorldSBK classification, completing 49 laps with a best time of 1’45.539s.

WorldSSP
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) continued his form of lapping under existing race lap records throughout testing as he sent the benchmark in WorldSSP on day two. His best time was a 1’45.110s, faster than both Cresson and Syahrin, as he added 38 laps to his tally. He was the only WorldSSP rider to hit the track in the wet conditions, with Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team) opting to not test in the afternoon. De Rosa’s best time was a 1’46.971s, almost two seconds back from Bulega, while Bayliss posted a 1’47.253s as his best time.

WorldSBK Day 2 Top Three (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 1’40.571s, 51 laps
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’40.952s, 67 laps
3 Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) 1’41.033s, 62 laps

2022 WorldSSP Top Three

1 Nicolò Bulega – Ducati – 1m 45.110s
2 Raffaele De Rosa – Ducati – 1m 46.971s
3 Oli Bayliss – Ducati – 1m 47.253s

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