05.03.2023 |
Christina Bulpett |
WorldSBK

Toprak Razgatlioglu led teammate Andrea Locatelli to Superpole victory on Sunday as Pata Yamaha celebrated another double WorldSBK podium at Mandalika.

The 2021 champion enjoyed his first win of the 2023 season following a frenetic and shorter than normal sprint. Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes completed the podium celebrations while championship leader Alvaro Bautista crashed out.

Mandalika’s sprint action lined up after a morning fall for Bautista. The Aruba.it Ducati rider bouncing straight back from a turn 14 crash to top the warm-up standings ahead of the ten lap dash, teammate Michael Rinaldi and Honda’s Iker Lecuona suffering their own offs as the day fired up but cleared to compete across the final races.

Saturday’s penalty dispatched, Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea returned to his fifth place gird spot for the Superpole race. Razgatlioglu ahead on pole with Locatelli and Bautista alongside on the front row. Overnight rain shifting the track conditions with the Ducati rider opting for the harder Pirelli option compared to his paddock-bemusing soft choice for race one.

Razgatlioglu took charge as the lights released the pack, Bautista through on Locatelli for second with Motocorsa’s Axel Bassani dispatching Rea for fourth. Drama ensued as Lowes skittled out at the opening corner following contact with Barni Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci, Bonovo BMW’s Loris Baz an unsuspecting casualty with Rokit’s Scott Redding sent to the back of the pack in the aftermath.

The Yamaha rider held court as lap two settled in. Jonathan Rea following his teammate into the turn one gravel one lap later with red flags immediately brought out ahead of an eight lap restart.

Take two saw the grid returned to its earlier formation. Rea suffering an initial technical issue as the warm-up lap launched before the frantic action fired up.

Bautista claimed the holeshot but it was Razgatlioglu who ultimately took charge once again. Rinaldi through to the wheels of his teammate for third with Rea recovering to challenge from fourth. The six-time champion made the move stick as the lap concluded, defending hard down the home straight with Locatelli capturing the number 21 shortly after.

Baz’s dramatic Sunday continued as the Frenchman suffered an early retirement, in visible pain, after being allowed to restart but suffering further contact from Lowes’ ZX-10RR as he powered through to sixth at turn ten.

Rinaldi continued to fade as the race unfolded. The Italian was running seventh on lap three as Locatelli advanced to second. Bautista the next rider down following contact with Rea in the battle for fourth, while Lowes found himself up to third after capitalising on the aftermath with five to go.

The podium hunt continued as the penultimate lap prepared. Razgatlioglu easily in control with a second in hand to the pursuing R1 while the Kawasaki struggled to find a way through on Locatelli.

Lowes ultimately settled for third, an impressive recovery from the gravel trap just forty minutes prior and his best result at the Lombok circuit, with Rea 1.7s back at the flag. Bassani headed Honda’s Xavi Vierge for fifth and sixth with Rinaldi, BMW’s Michael van der Mark and teammate Redding holding the all-important top nine positions ahead of the afternoon contest.

Click here for times

05.03.2023 |
Christina Bulpett |
WorldSBK

While Aruba.it Ducati looked odds on for the WorldSBK race two victory at Mandalika, Alvaro Bautista wasn’t the obvious choice until Sunday’s final stages.

The Spaniard picked off teammate Michael Rinaldi on the penultimate lap to clinch his fifth win of six races in 2023 amid a rollercoaster Sunday afternoon in Indonesia. Superpole winner Toprak Razgatlioglu and a jubilant Xavi Vierge completed the podium with the Honda rider celebrating for the first time in his Superbike career.

The final race of the Indonesian weekend lined up without Bonovo BMW’s Loris Baz. The Frenchman having sustained a fractured right proximal fibula and right ankle during the morning’s Superpole sprint. MIE Honda’s Eric Granado also missing from proceedings due to ongoing sickness.

An earlier crash for Bautista left the Aruba rider tenth on the grid for the concluding action with Razgatlioglu back on pole. Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli and Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes alongside on the front row.

Lights out for 21 laps and Razgatlioglu took the holeshot as Jonathan Rea swapped positions with his Kawasaki teammate. Motocorsa’s Axel Bassani splitting the pair from fourth as Vierge advanced to sixth.

Lowes was back in fourth as Rea took a look at Locatelli at the conclusion to the opening lap. Bassani hitting back at the number 22 before he lunged at Rea. The aftermath disrupting the two Yamahas with Razgatlioglu down to fifth, Locatelli seventh, as Bassani claimed the lead from the Kawasaki pairing.

An advancing Michael Rinaldi found the Ducati rider quickly in podium contention before he dispatched both ZX-10RR’s for second position. Bautista struggling to make the same progress from eighth as his teammate took charge out front.

Lap five kicked off with Lowes bettering Rea for the final podium position after a moment in the final sector, Razgatlioglu the next to dispatch the six-time champion as Bautista did likewise on Locatelli.

Rinaldi held a near two-second lead as he set the fastest lap on his sixth revolution. Razgatlioglu advancing on a trio of riders as he claimed second, Lowes wide at the opening corner as he dropped to 14th with Bassani pushed wide by Rea in a similar move.

Disaster struck the BMW of Michael van der Mark as the Dutchman crashed out with a heavy highside, Go Eleven’s Philipp Oettl caught up in the aftermath at turn 11 before Scott Redding spun out of his own move on Locatelli. The race red-flagged after seven laps completed.

Rinaldi headed the 14-lap restart, albeit having lost his 2.5s advantage from the previous session. Razgatlioglu and Vierge alongside on the front row with the rejuvenated Bautista behind.

The Ducati rider bettered the Honda off the line as Rinaldi maintained command overall. Rea quickly coming under pressure from Bassani before he retained position in the top five while Locatelli and Barni’s Danilo Petrucci headed Iker Lecuona and Redding from sixth to tenth.

Rinaldi’s lead was nearing a second as lap three began. Bautista struggling to find a way through on the 2021 champion as further back GRT Yamaha’s Remy Gardner battled Bonovo’s Garrett Gerloff for tenth.

Bautista advanced to second as Bassani did likewise on Rea for fifth with four laps done. Rinaldi checking out ahead as third to eighth, covered by less than two seconds, continued to bicker.

Rea’s race came to an abrupt conclusion after a turn seven slide on lap nine. Locatelli through to head the fifth-place fight from Bassani and Petrucci with Lecuona, Gardner and Redding now rounding out the top ten.

Bautista began to reel in his teammate as he cut the gap from eight tenths to less than one with four laps to go. The 27-year-old defending hard from his more experienced rival before the reigning champion made his move at turn ten.

The final lap unfolded with Gardner making waves on his way to seventh. Bassani dropping down to eighth after his early podium challenge before disaster struck the race-long leader. Rinaldi ran wide with Razgatlioglu and Vierge quick to capitalise for the final podium positions, the Italian regrouping for a frustrating fourth place finish.

Locatelli headed rookies Petrucci and Gardner from fifth to seventh with Bassani, Lecuona and Redding rounding out the top ten. Gerloff, GRT’s Dominique Aegerter, Lowes, GMT94’s Lorenzo Baldassarri and MIE Honda’s Hafizh Syahrin all collecting points as the final finishers.

Click here for times

05.03.2023 |
Gordon Ritchie |
WorldSBK

Toprak Razgatlioglu was pleased to have won his first WorldSBK race of 2023, as he scooped points on the Pata Yamaha in what was a red flagged and then shortened Superpole race at Mandalika. But pleased up to a point, a few points short of 25, in reality.

“Most important for me is the long race, not a short race,” Razgatlioglu said, swinging sideways on a chair in the vast upper media centre at the Pertamina Circuit. “But anyway we did it. This is not easy also because this year especially, everybody is very strong. Especially Ducati. Big improvement.

“All the Ducatis are fast,” he continued. “Normally Bautista is a very strong rider, but also now it is a good package with Bautista and Ducati. But anyway, we keep fighting. Today I saw Rinaldi. I tried my best every lap, tried 100 per cent, but if I did not go wide in corner ten I think I would be passing the last sector because the last sector I am stronger than him. Bautista is still strong, I think the same lap every lap but it was not possible to catch him. Especially in some sectors the Ducati is very strong.

“This weekend we were not really strong in starting,” he continued, despite securing Saturday’s pole position plus a podium result across all three races. “I tried to find a good setup, but finally in Race Two the front tyre was still very good and not destroyed. I am, in the races very strong, but not enough for this because after the red flag, I used again the same tyre, my SC0 tyre. We could not put a new one on. I just tried my best. The feeling after a few laps, especially in the left corners, was that it was spinning a lot. But anyway, we took second position in Race Two. This is good for the championship because the championship is very long.”

Razgatlioglu said that the places he lost in Race Two were not because of a major mistake on his behalf. “I think the rider passed me and I go also a different wind. The wind is very strong. But the problem maybe that if there was no red flag, maybe it’s possible I could win the second race. Rinaldi started to drop and started to come to me, but this is racing. I’m happy because every session we are improving.”

Razgatlioglu, looking to the next race at Assen hopes he can pull out a big race win sooner rather than later. “I hope this year Assen we are focused on the race with Johnny [Rea]. We will not crash, I hope. We need to have a good position, especially Johnny. For Johnny I think it’s not an easy weekend. I think it’s the same problem, similar problem. I think his front is a big drop like yesterday. Especially the hot conditions, the Kawasaki is not working good but Jonny is still strong, very strong. I believe he will come back very strong, especially at Assen, because he is very strong there. We will see.

“We need to fight with Ducati. I need him, because I need also some help! We will see. Also ‘Loka’ is first two weekends very strong. Maybe we are fighting with Ducati together.”

Alvaro Bautista had to come from tenth in the Race Two grid, after his Superpole race crash.
So did Razgatlioglu really expect that? “No, but it’s easy for Ducati. Ducati easy pass on the straight the other riders. This is a big advantage. I try to go on the corner the same but I eat the tyre. Alvaro easily passes because on the straight his bike is very fast. He is also a very strong rider, I know, but with the bike is now a very good package.”

05.03.2023 |
Gordon Ritchie |
WorldSBK

Team HRC’s Xavi Vierge took his first steps on the WorldSBK podium as Sunday’s race action came to a conclusion in Indonesia.

Vierge did not win any race at Mandalika, but his first podium since joining the Superbike class, for third place in Race Two, was a personal kind of victory all in. “I have no words right now,” he said, before chatting out many more.

“We’ve tried so hard for this since the first day I jumped on the bike, but has been not easy. Sometimes we get close, but we always miss some tenths. After a really difficult start this season, the team gave me the support to stay calm. We prepared a plan to make many laps with a stable base. This gave me the opportunity to have the confidence back. Lap by lap, I got the speed.”

Better qualifying is key for Vierge, as he stated. “Since the beginning, we had a very good pace to fight for that position but of course we struggled a lot on the qualifying. So, we start from 13th position. This makes not an easy weekend, but just we can make a good start and finish seventh.

“Today we had the chance in the Superpole Race to win some great positions, and we achieved it.

“It was not easy because again the track, and the eight laps only that we did, and this helps a lot for the long race so, I’m super happy. I want to say thank you so much to Honda, to the team for the big support.”

Now the challenge is to replicate the success across the European season. Is the bike and rider package ready for this?

“It’s difficult because our bike from Australia to here is the same,” said the Spaniard. “In Australia I have so many problems because the tyres are so hard, so we are not able to ride like I want. Here with the softer component, more grip, I can be better. So it’s difficult to say. We see last year in some tracks we are better and in some we are a bit far away. But it looks like we made a step forward this year. Of course, everybody did it. For that, looks like sometimes not, but the reality is that I think we are getting closer.

“I hope that we can continue working in that direction to be trying to be always inside this top six. That is the objective. Every bike has its potential, let’s say. This weekend is the maximum of our maximum points, and tried to solve the weak points. So we do it like that. We have some parts that we are quite fast. We try to don’t lose so much in the sectors that we are struggling. So finally we made a good job.”

Xavi was asked why he seems to use much more lean angle than his peers. He grinned in recognition of this characteristic of his riding style, and was then asked if it had to be that way to keep his times strong?

“Let’s say to take the maximum of what we have, we need to make a base to have so much performance on braking, but of course lose a little bit of turning,” he admitted. “So I need to compensate with a lot more angle than the others. For that, it depends on the track. For example here with exhausted tyres, on good grip, I’m able to do it, but Australia was impossible for me.”

Honda were allowed to make chassis adjustments way more than the others at the end of last year, as part of the Super-concessions deal. So how much different is the bike, and did it make the difference to this podium place now?

“This is just what we are speaking now,” he explained. “Last year in the last two races of the year we had the opportunity to adjust a little bit more the bike to win performance in braking area, even if we lost a little bit of turning but we win more than we lose. But last year, the last two races were here and Phillip Island so it’s not easy to see really our performance.

“Also the winter pre-season has been not easy. We discovered also that we have some good pace with used tyres, but when we have new we are not able to take that performance that the others get. But anyway, we are working. Everybody is working you can imagine so hard. So I hope that step by step we are getting closer.”

05.03.2023 |
WorldSBK Staff |
WorldSBK

Times and results from Sunday’s Superbike and Supersport warm-up sessions and races at Mandalika, Lombok, Indonesia

WorldSBK Indonesia warm-up results – conditions dry

1 1 A. BAUTISTA ESP Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale V4R 1’32.368 4 167,591 293,5
2 65 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10RR 1’32.449 0.081 0.081 5 167,444 286,5
3 55 A. LOCATELLI ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Yamaha YZF R1 1’32.647 0.279 0.198 7 167,086 285,0
4 22 A. LOWES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10RR 1’32.895 0.527 0.248 5 166,640 287,2
5 54 T. RAZGATLIOGLU TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Yamaha YZF R1 1’33.033 0.665 0.138 7 166,393 288,0
6 87 R. GARDNER AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 IND 1’33.274 0.906 0.241 8 165,963 285,0
7 45 S. REDDING GBR ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW M1000 RR 1’33.441 1.073 0.167 7 165,666 288,8
8 21 M. RINALDI ITA Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale V4R 1’33.496 1.128 0.055 7 165,569 290,3
9 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW M1000 RR 1’33.581 1.213 0.085 7 165,418 286,5
10 9 D. PETRUCCI ITA Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4R IND 1’33.732 1.364 0.151 6 165,152 288,8
11 77 D. AEGERTER SUI GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 IND 1’33.740 1.372 0.008 6 165,138 284,2
12 97 X. VIERGE ESP Team HRC Honda CBR1000 RR-R 1’34.001 1.633 0.261 6 164,679 291,9
13 31 G. GERLOFF USA Bonovo Action BMW BMW M1000 RR IND 1’34.010 1.642 0.009 8 164,663 290,3
14 47 A. BASSANI ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati Panigale V4R IND 1’34.648 2.280 0.638 6 163,553 288,8
15 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 1’34.682 2.314 0.034 3 163,495 279,8
16 5 P. OETTL GER Team GoEleven Ducati Panigale V4R IND 1’34.740 2.372 0.058 4 163,395 285,7
17 34 L. BALDASSARRI ITA GMT94 Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 IND 1’34.905 2.537 0.165 5 163,110 279,1
18 7 I. LECUONA ESP Team HRC Honda CBR1000 RR-R 1’35.997 3.629 1.092 1 161,255 285,7
19 51 E. GRANADO BRA PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda CBR1000 RR-R IND 1’36.264 3.896 0.267 7 160,808 278,4
20 35 H. SYAHRIN MAS PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda CBR1000 RR-R IND 1’36.307 3.939 0.043 8 160,736 280,5
21 52 O. KONIG CZE Orelac Racing MOVISIO Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 1’37.842 5.474 1.535 4 158,214 274,8
22 76 L. BAZ FRA Bonovo Action BMW BMW M1000 RR IND 1’38.741 6.373 0.899 5 156,774 285,7

WorldSSP Indonesia warm-up results – conditions dry

1 61 C. ONCU TUR Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’35.327 9 162,388 248,3
2 3 R. DE ROSA ITA Orelac Racing Verdnatura Ducati Panigale V2 1’35.776 0.449 0.449 7 161,627 249,4
3 62 S. MANZI ITA Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF R6 1’35.783 0.456 0.007 9 161,615 248,8
4 94 V. DEBISE FRA GMT94 Yamaha Yamaha YZF R6 1’35.835 0.508 0.052 8 161,528 250,6
5 64 F. CARICASULO ITA Althea Racing Team Ducati Panigale V2 1’35.968 0.641 0.133 8 161,304 251,7
6 28 G. VAN STRAALEN NED EAB Racing Team Yamaha YZF R6 1’36.012 0.685 0.044 8 161,230 250,0
7 23 M. SCHROETTER GER MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta F3 800 RR 1’36.033 0.706 0.021 8 161,195 249,4
8 54 B. SOFUOGLU TUR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta F3 800 RR 1’36.671 1.344 0.638 8 160,131 255,3
9 29 N. SPINELLI ITA VFT Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF R6 1’36.772 1.445 0.101 8 159,964 250,6
10 11 N. BULEGA ITA Aruba Racing WorldSSP Team Ducati Panigale V2 1’37.119 1.792 0.347 3 159,392 250,0
11 66 N. TUULI FIN Dynavolt Triumph Triumph Street Triple RS 765 1’37.179 1.852 0.060 8 159,294 250,0
12 51 A. SARMOON THA Yamaha Thailand Racing Team Yamaha YZF R6 1’37.744 2.417 0.565 7 158,373 250,0
13 24 A. WONGTHANANON THA Yamaha Thailand Racing Team Yamaha YZF R6 1’37.802 2.475 0.058 8 158,279 248,8
14 17 J. MCPHEE GBR Vince64 by Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’37.831 2.504 0.029 8 158,232 249,4
15 19 A. MANTOVANI ITA Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team Yamaha YZF R6 1’37.833 2.506 0.002 8 158,229 252,3
16 9 J. NAVARRO ESP Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF R6 1’37.886 2.559 0.053 4 158,143 253,5
17 32 O. BAYLISS AUS D34G Racing Ducati Panigale V2 1’38.131 2.804 0.245 8 157,748 250,0
18 4 H. TRUELOVE GBR Dynavolt Triumph Triumph Street Triple RS 765 1’38.997 3.670 0.866 8 156,368 251,2
19 7 A. NORRODIN MAS PETRONAS MIE MS Racing HONDA Team Honda CBR600RR 1’39.041 3.714 0.044 8 156,299 242,2
20 95 T. MACKENZIE GBR PETRONAS MIE MS Racing HONDA Team Honda CBR600RR 1’39.276 3.949 0.235 4 155,929 237,4
21 77 T. ALBERTO PHI MTM Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’40.587 5.260 1.311 8 153,897 248,3

24.10.2022 |
Gordon Ritchie at San Juan |
WorldSBK

Maybe Jonathan Rea would have won the Sunday WorldSBK Superpole race at San Juan but for a false neutral while leading, but that honour went to Toprak Razgatlioglou, a Saturday binner and Sunday winner.

His pure determination to win is the building block all his other unique championship talents are layered on, and he needed all of it to beat double race winner Alvaro Bautista just once.

It was nothing less than a career cathartic as he held of Bautista so soon after making his first personal mistake in ages.

“Yesterday the big mistake for me,” said Toprak on Sunday at a very hot San Juan. “I need also to come back again strong. The Superpole race for me was unbelievable because I tried my best. I need to win again. I’m really happy for this. Race two also I need to keep fighting for the good position.

“I know Alvaro was very strong in the race, but I tried my best again. I was waiting a little bit for Alvaro’s tyre to drop, but this is not possible because he’s not eating the tyre, just he’s really fast in the straight. 03, 04. But anyway, keep fighting again. We take good points for the championship. Always fighting for the win. Today again I was fighting for the win, but finished the race in P2. But, anyway, today we are strong.”

When asked why Bautista’s bike does not eat the tyres so much, Toprak said, “Because he is less kilos and also has very big advantage in the straight. He doesn’t need the corner pushing a lot, in my opinion.”

Razgatlioglu’s rebuild of his motivation from the most down he seemed after a race on Saturday was not all done by him. “The team always believes in me,” said Razgatlioglu. “Last night my motivation was really down, but also thanks to the team because they were really helping for my motivation.

Also improved the bike for Sunday, today in the race. I am very happy for this. I never see after I crash team talking strong (against me). They just said, ‘we know you.’ The team believes in me. This was very good for me because it was not easy for me, and after two years it is the first time I make a mistake. But the team really helping for my motivation. I think also maybe Portimao in 2020 I crashed” remembers Razgatlioglu. “After Portimao, I didn’t crash.”

Everybody else at the end of Sunday was thinking and talking about the championship prospects, but as eve, it was not what Razgatlioglu ws thinking about.

“No, I’m not looking championship,” he said. “I say we take good work for championship. I just say this, but normally I’m just fighting for the win. I’m not really happy because I don’t win (race two). I was in second position. But, just I’m a little bit happy. I keep fighting.

“This is good motivation for me. For Mandalika, I think we will race strong. Ducati has a big advantage because long straight, but we will see. Also Alvaro and Johnny very strong in this track. I’m ready to fight again.”

24.10.2022 |
Gordon Ritchie at San Juan |
WorldSBK

There have been some tough times for Alex Lowes since he joined Kawasaki, as well as a win and several podiums to remember.

But this season, after he got sick at Most and halted his progrews somewhat, he has been on an upward spiral.

His is now fifth overall, after finishing sixth, fifth and finally fourth in the Villicum races. “It’s just a shame about the qualifying,” said Lowes, who would have like to have taken at least one podium and could have challenged harder had he not been off the third row of the grid in the first two Argentine races.

Passsing ability is not his issue, it is being close enough to pass the fastest bikes. “I think you see on TV, we lacked the speed to be able to fight,” said Lowes. “The way Rinaldi passes, he didn’t just pass me. He passed me and then he’s three bike lengths ahead before you get to the top of the straight.

“Yesterday I was in the mix with the Hondas and some BMWs and the Ducatis. When you start in ninth and you’re in the middle of all that, it’s so hard to go forward and show your pace. Today I was happy with the Superpole race because when everybody’s got grip, it’s hard.

“I was quite aggressive at the start. I managed to pick my way forward. Again, I was stuck behind Rinaldi and Lecuona. I felt like I had a bit more speed, but managed to pass Iker on the last lap and had a bit of a battle, so that was good fun. In the last race, I didn’t expect the SCX to drop as much as it did.

“The last six or seven laps I was struggling. Had some chatter, especially turn two and three, I was really sort of dropping unexpected. Mid-race I felt like Jonny was struggling to stay there. I could nearly get away, but unfortunately P4 again. Wooden spoon. I feel like on genuine pace, if you look at all the sessions and take everything into consideration, I’m the next one consistently behind them guys, which is good.

When it gets hot like it did, really hot this afternoon, we struggle on our bike. All the races where the second race gets hot, we struggle. We showed that today. So, it was a shame but I rode well. I have to be happy. I’ll try and get on the podium at Indonesia.”

Lowes said that there has not actually been one big change in the middle of the season, even if it looks that way in the results. “If you look back, I don’t think it’s as big a difference as it looks like,” said Alex. “I was sick at Most. At Donington I was on the podium and fast all weekend. Most was like the bad weekend, but I was third on Friday, I think, and did a long run. I was a bit in the mix there.

“The start of the season was OK. I had two mechanicals from fourth place at Assen, otherwise the results would look better, even if they were fifth places. Similar to now, sort of thing. I think after last year struggling with injury, I’m just building my confidence up. I made some tweaks at the mid-season test on the rear of the bike.

“A bit more confidence to get a bit more out of the new tyre to put me in the mix in qualifying, which obviously let me down this weekend. I think it’s just a combination of things. But I’m riding the best I’ve ridden and I’m enjoying it.”

On his tyre choices for the two long races, Lowes said, “The track was a lot hotter today. Even if it does look much on the numbers, there’s always a tipping point on the track where you lose that three or four tenths. Today the second race, we just went over that. I needed that support on the brakes to get the bike stopped, so I didn’t force the bike in the corners. So that’s why we chose that SCX.”

Rea said that his race two loss to Rea, still technically in with a chance of the championship, was down to a late mistake, not anything more consiratorial.

“I was gutted because I was struggling a bit with chatter,” said Lowes. “When he came past I felt all right. I’ve finished behind him quite a lot in a few races. I wanted to at least have a go on the last lap today. I think in T10 I could have maybe had a chance to pass on the last lap, but unfortunately I had a false neutral onto the back straight.

“The only really negative points with this track when it doesn’t get used much, if you run off line it’s so dirty that rather than losing 0.2, you lose a second. If you run off on one of the corners that’s dirty. It’s a shame, because on the last lap I was a bit quicker and to show that I could have had a go. Shame, because I felt like I had good pace.”

25.09.2022 |
Christina Bulpett |
WorldSBK

Double delight for Ten Kate Yamaha’s Dominique Aegerter after the reigning WorldSSP Champion secured victory in Sunday’s race at Catalunya.

The scrap for second saw Puccetti Kawasaki’s Can Öncü win out over Dynavolt Triumph’s Stefano Manzi after a late penalty for track limits, with the pair two seconds back on the overall winner.

The second Supersport race of the weekend saw Saturday victor Aegerter back on pole from Öncü and Althea’s Federico Caricasulo with championship challenger Lorenzo Baldassarri in fourth. The quartet having firmly dominated the fight for the podium in race one.

Caricasulo took the holeshot for the 18-lap contest before Öncü bettered at turn five. Puccetti teammate Yari Montella through on Aruba Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega for the final podium position with Aegerter dropped to fifth.

A move out front around Caricasulo back in charge from Montella before the teammates switched. Aegerter and Baldassarri through on Bulega for fourth as the latter Italian dropped down the order with the Evan Bros. Yamaha pushing through to podium contention.

Baldassarri had his sights on the lead as he circulated just two-hundredths shy of Caricasulo before the move at turn one dropped the Althea to sixth, the pack behind quickly capitalising as the Italian faded further, this time to eighth.

Montella took charge from Baldassarri on lap three. Öncü, Kawasaki’s Adrian Huertas and MV Agusta’s Niki Tuuli leading Aegerter as Manzi’s Triumph hassled the Swiss. The leading trio switching places once again as the next lap played out with Öncü back in front.

Caricasulo’s fightback began by dispatching Tuuli. Countryman Manzi the next in line before the Dynavolt progressed to fifth following a move on Huertas, with Bulega and MV’s Bahattin Sofuoglu completing the top ten behind. The Althea man was back to sixth as lap six completed, Baldassarri taking charge out front with Aegerter now up to third.

The leading fight intensified across the mid-race distance. Öncü back in the lead with Aegerter second as Baldassarri headed a quartet of Italians. Manzi continuing his run as he captured fourth from Montella with Caricasulo a second off the group in sixth.

The title-rivals battled on track as Baldassarri took a look at Aegerter, the Swiss rider returning him to third with nine to go as Tuuli advanced on Montella for sixth.

Aegerter struck for victory as Barni Ducati’s Oli Bayliss entered the points. Öncü and Baldassarri dispatching the reigning champion back to third as the lap unfolded with Manzi soon approaching on back of the fight.

A mistake for Aegerter ran the R6 wide at turn one as Baldassarri, Öncü and Manzi escaped out front. Ben Currie and Bayliss crashing out in quick succession as the second half counted down.

Kawasaki led Yamaha and Triumph with six to go, the Ten Kate making up half a second in the opening sector as he clawed back the front group’s advantage to start the next firmly in contention. The leading trio were three abreast as they tackled the home straight for the 13th time, Baldassarri winning out from Manzi and Öncü before the places swapped again next time around.

Öncü hit the front from the advancing Aegerter before the champion was comfortably in charge. A three-tenth gap carved out through the opening sector as his late-race pace came to the fore once again. Baldassarri dropped to fourth one lap later.

Further down the pack Caricasulo sat at the head of group two, as he defended from Sofuoglu and Tuuli, Montella down to eighth as the Finn made moves for sixth with Ten Kate’s Leonardo Taccini and Huertas completing the top ten.

Two to go and the series leader had checked out. Over a second now separating him from the battle for second as Manzi bettered Öncü, Baldassarri fading as he settled for fourth.

The chequered flag out, Aegerter claimed his fifth double victory of the season with Manzi – who started 17th on the grid – holding out for the runners-up spot. Öncü securing the final podium position from disappointed Italian duo Baldassarri and Caricasulo.

Tuuli crossed the line sixth from Sofuoglu, Montella, Taccini and Huertas with Marcel Brenner, Simon Jespersen, Hannes Soomer, Bulega and Jules Cluzel completing the points finishers.

Late drama saw the podium places reversed after Manzi was penalised for track limits by a drop in position.

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25.09.2022 |
Christina Bulpett |
WorldSBK

Aruba.it Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista celebrated a perfect treble on home soil with a commanding victory in Sunday’s final WorldSBK race at Barcelona.

While the Spaniard claimed his first clean sweep since 2019, the party continued for the Bologna factory as Michael Rinaldi completed the set in second. Pata Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu taking his first podium of the weekend, in third.

The final feature race of the Catalan weekend kicked off with Bautista in pole position following his Superpole victory earlier in the day. Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes back on the front row but in reverse order compared to the previous clash with reigning champion Razgatlioglu behind in fourth.

Lights out and Bautista maintained control from his hard-charging teammate as Rinaldi arrived in second. Rea and Razgatlioglu battling for third as Lowes dropped to fifth with Honda’s Xavi Vierge behind in sixth.

Lowes’ successful weekend came to an early conclusion as the Brit slid out at turn ten, Scott Redding down on the BMW four corners later – and sent to the medical centre for checks on his bruised chest.

Ducati locked out the lead as Bautista held a second’s advantage over Rinaldi with Rea advancing hard on the Aruba’s wheels. Motocorsa’s Axel Bassani picking off Razgatlioglu for fourth as the second Pata Yamaha of Andrea Locatelli led Honda’s Iker Lecuona, GoEleven’s Philipp Oettl and Bonovo’s Loris Baz in the top ten.

Rea was into second as lap three began. Rinaldi hitting back at turn four as Locatelli became the next victim of the hot Barcelona circuit, from seventh.

Bassani was in podium contention as he dispatched the Kawasaki into the path of his title-rival. The Honda duo narrowly behind with second to nine covered by just two seconds.

Bautista’s lead was up to 2.6s after five laps of action. An all-Italian battle playing out for second as Bassani made the pass stick at turn five. Rinaldi ran wide as Rea took a look at the Panigale with the number 21 recovering in time to protect the order. The quartet breaking away from the pack as they gapped the Hondas by two seconds on lap seven.

The podium was finally in Rea’s grasp next time around before once again Rinaldi struck back. Bautista a dominant five seconds out front as the second half of the race approached. Bassani losing then regaining second as the lap concluded with positions switching again down the straight.

Razgatlioglu was through to fourth as Rea found himself in fifth after an ambitions turn one move. The Northern Irishman regrouping from a half-second deficit as the trio ahead pulled away.

Disappointment for GRT Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff found Saturday’s podium sitter crashing out with nine to go. The American losing out at turn one from the edge of the top ten. Luca Bernardi promoted into the position with BMW’s Michael van der Mark and Puccetti Kawasaki’s Lucas Mahias four seconds behind.

Razgatlioglu was on a podium charge as the race counted down. The Pata Yamaha up to third on Bassani before Rea bettered them both with a fifth to third move at turn one.

Six to go and the lead was seven seconds clear, as Bautista continued his domination on home soil. The Ducati rider pulling another second next time around as the podium battle cooled behind.

A mistake for Rea dropped Rea back to fifth as Razgatlioglu and Bassani capitalised. The KRT rider back through on the Ducati but with a two-second deficit to his rival left to bridge.

The penultimate lap unfolded with 9.3s between Bautista and his teammate. Razgatlioglu a further half a second behind with Rea failing to recover from the earlier deficit as he settled for fourth in the closing stages.

A triple victory was secured by an incredible near-ten second lead before the Spaniard rolled off in his celebrations. Rinaldi crossing the line eight-second back with Razgatlioglu completing the podium in third. Rea headed Bassani and Vierge as Oettl split the Hondas in seventh. Lecuona, Baz and Roberto Tamburini completed the top ten with Bernardi, Mahias, van der Mark, Eugene Laverty and Kohta Nozane finishing in the final points positions.

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26.09.2022 |
Gordon Ritchie |
WorldSBK

Aruba.it Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista won all three WorldSBK races at Catalunya, underlining the dominance he is beginning to show after he, Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu had been greedily sharing most of the podiums until the midway point of the year.

They have all had their moments of brilliance and bad luck or bad decision making, as may be expected from even the best. But something changed at Catalunya, as nobody could lay a glove on Alvaro no matter what they tried. If he does go on to win the championship, this could be thought of as his step-change, where he moved on as the Yamaha and Kawasaki lead riders struggled, in relative terms.
Bautista’s Barcelona form – scoring his first triple since he put on a Ducati team fleece once again this year – after two almost fallow Honda seasons, is at least partly the culmination of all that combined experience and Bautista being able to manage any situation that is thrown at him. He also has the best bike again, as he had in the early part of 2019, before it all went wrong. Down the straight, it was hard work for all who tried to follow.

His only slight black mark, more pale grey than black, was qualifying on row two for Superpole. The races were all controlled by him and he was in a class of his own.

“Yesterday in Superpole, I felt like I can’t feel the performance of the tyres,” explained Bautista. “For the Superpole race, for sure the bike doesn’t care about the tyre life so we did a different setup in the morning. I felt more or less what I expected to feel so I use it in the Superpole race and at the end I can be fast. Not consistent, but also fast this morning. I’m more happy for that because in race two, more or less, it was more than the speed, it’s the consistency, the management of the tyre.

“Yesterday we did well, so today was the same plan. Try to make good start and try to stay in the mix. Then just manage the tyre consumption and try to finish the best possible. At the end, so happy to have three victories from three this weekend. It has been amazing for me.”

Bautista certainly delivered on expectations, especially as he managed his tyre wear very well.
“Also especially because on paper, this track could be one of our favourites, and we take the maximum we can,” said Bautista. “I’m happy also for that because we took the maximum, and I’m so happy.”

With Michael Ruben Rinaldi also on good form, almost running interference for his teammate ahead of Rea in race two, the points lost by his rivals were important for Bautista. Was it a help in his view?

“I think more than take some points for the championship, I think for Michael it’s more important to have a good result because then he’s getting more and more confident and this kind of a result is very important for him – but also for the team. I think he is doing a really good job. I think in the next races he can fight for victories.”

Now… Bautista lives west of Madrid, so he is not Catalan himself, unlike a lot of other Spanish riders, but he was still racing in Spain and had a lot of support at this round. Which made it extra-special to do the three wins on home soil.

He grinned, “It’s more special. Winning is special, but when you can do it in your home, with your family, your friends, all the fans, it’s really nice. Also because this is the first time that in Catalunya World Superbike the people can come to the races because last year it was not possible so, it’s even more special. Thanks to everybody here. Also on the grid. I felt the support from the people. When I’m walking through the paddock, also there’s many supporters, so, very emotional.”