The first race of the delayed 2020 MotoGP season ended up with three major riders with injuries with two requiring surgery.
Alex rins suffered a crash during Q2 on Saturday at turn 11 which caused a dislocation-fracture to his right shoulder, he was declared unfit to ride in the race.
Cal Crutchlow’s race day didn’t really start because he got injured during the warm up and was taken to a local medical facility in Spain. Crutchlow who races for LCR HONDA had surgery on his wrist and had two screws inserted into his wrist, he’s quoted as saying he will give it a go Friday and see how his wrist feels.
Meanwhile at HRC Honda, Marc Marquez also had issues in the first race of the season as he came off the track twice in the race, the second time he crashed and end up with a fracture on his upper arm. He as since had surgery to insert a steel plate in his arm on Tuesday and is resting but he wants to race this weekend. On Thursday afternoon he was declared fit to ride by the medical staff .
As the countdown to the 2020 Bennett’s British Superbike Season ticks towards the series roaring into life at Donington Park on August 7th, here are a few fun facts about the series’ history for you to wow your mates with down the pub when taking in a (socially distanced) cold one. Each fact is relevant to its numerical position in the list.
1. The Birth Of The Championship
The British Superbike Championship (BSB) can trace its origins back to 1988 at the start of the Superbike racing boom, which coincided with the inaugural World Superbike Championship season.
The first BSB season was contested under Formula TT rules with race number one taking place in May 1988 at the Carnaby track on the site of a former RAF base near Bridlington in East Yorkshire. The first race winner was Darren Dixon who piloted his Suzuki RG500 all the way to the first championship title later in the year.
Dixon went on to become a star in the field of sidecar racing, winning the World Sidecar Championship in 1995 and 1996. Dixon’s son Jake came second in the 2018 BSB Championship and now competes in Moto2.
2. Always The Bridesmaid
Fact number two refers to the second position in the BSB Championship achieved by Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker four years on the trot between 1997 and 2000.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking of these second placed finishes came at the climax of the 2000 season. With just three laps remaining in the final race, Walker led the pack only for his engine to fail on him. Despite trying desperately to reignite his machine, the mechanical problem allowed title rival Neil Hodgson to overtake Walker not just in the race but overall in the championship.
3. Niall’s Treble Triumph
They say three is the magic number and it certainly was for Niall Mackenzie who became the most dominant rider of the 1990s, taking the BSB title three years in a row in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Riding on the spectacular Cadbury’s Boost Yamaha team—run by former Grand Prix rider Rob McElnea—Mackenzie racked up 14 wins over the course of the 1997 season. This record was only bettered by Leon Camier with 19 during his dominant 2009 title win, and only Shane Byrne has won more BSB titles than the super Scot.
The Mackenzie name lives on as Niall’s sons Tarran and Taylor both now compete in the BSB and Superstock championships respectively.
4. Champions From Afar
Over the course of British Superbike history, there have been four riders from outside the UK and Ireland who have finished the season top of the pile.
The first was Australian Troy Bayliss who piloted his GSE Ducati 996 to the 1999 title before going on to win a hat-trick of championships in World Superbikes. Spaniard Gregorio Lavilla only got his ride aboard the Airwaves Ducati 999 just days before the start of the 2005 season as a substitute for the injured James Haydon, but ended the season as champion after surprising many and holding off the challenge of the Honda riders and team-mate Leon Haslam.
Ryuichi Kiyonari became the first Japanese rider to claim the BSB title when he prevailed at the end of the dramatic 2006 championship decider at Brands Hatch. ‘Kiyo’ repeated the feat in 2007 and then after a spell in World Superbikes returned in 2010 to make it a hat-trick of titles all aboard the HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR FireBlade.
The most recent foreigner to win the British championship was Australian King of the Cadwell Park Mountain Josh Brookes who won his first (and to date only) BSB crown aboard the Milwaukee Yamaha R1 in 2015.
5. Rockin’ All Over The World
Five British Superbike riders (including two former champions) have gone on to win the World Superbike crown after making the move from the domestic series.
As mentioned earlier, Troy Bayliss won the British title in 1999 before going on to add the World crown on three occasions in 2001, 2008 and 2009. Lancashire rider Neil Hodgson capitalised on Chris Walker’s dramatic engine failure in the final race of the 2000 season to win the BSB title aboard the GSE Ducati 996 (same bike ridden by Bayliss the previous year) and then conquered the world in 2003.
James Toseland rode the Paul Bird-backed Vimto Honda VTR1000 during the 2000 BSB season before moving up to the World Championship, winning the global crown on two occasions in 2004 and aboard the HannSpree Ten Kate Honda in 2007.
In the same year that Toseland bagged his second World Championship, Tom Sykes made his BSB debut aboard the Stobart Vent-Axia Honda FireBlade. After a year with Rizla Suzuki in 2008, Sykes made the step up to WSBK with Yamaha Moto Italia. Four years after making his World Championship debut in 2013, Sykes won his maiden title aboard the Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-10R.
Perhaps the most successful rider to have won the WSBK title after making his debut in BSB is none other than Jonathan Rea. After making his bow aboard the Red Bull Honda FireBlade in 2006 and then eventually stepping up to the factory HM Plant Honda team for 2007, finishing second in the championship behind team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari, Rea made the move to World Supersport for 2008. After eventually making the step up to the WSBK Championship in 2009, Rea went on to record five successive World Championships between 2015 and 2019, becoming the most successful rider in the history of the series.
6. Shakey’s Supremacy
We couldn’t mention this number without making reference to the six British Superbike titles won by the most successful rider in the championship’s history, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne.
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne At BSB Oulton Park 2017. Image courtesy of Ducati
The first of Byrne’s titles came aboard the Monstermob Ducati 998 in 2003 before spells in World Superbikes and Moto GP. After returning to the British series in 2006 with Rizla Suzuki and Stobart Vent-Axia Honda in 2007, another ride aboard a Ducati (this time the 1098) yielded his second championship in 2008.
Following another brief stint in the World Superbike Championship and then a return to BSB with HM Plant Honda, Byrne reunited with former team boss Paul Bird in 2012 and netted his third British title the same year aboard the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki, repeating the trick in 2014. After the PBM team switched to a factory backed BeWiser Ducati Panigale 1199, Byrne notched another two back to back titles in 2016 and 2017.
Another rider will have to go a long way to depose Shane Byrne’s place in the BSB history books.
Those are our top six facts from BSB history. We look forward to seeing what the 2020 season can add to that when we hit Donington Park on August 7th.
After the aborted start at Qatar (ok the Moto2/3 guys whipped around the moonlit track), for the MotoGP fraternity, the 2020 MotoGP season reboots and hits “home” at Jerez from the 17th to 19th of July.
Any of the Spanish circuits could be classed as “home” but Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto giving its full titles, usually provides some great racing with some brilliant passes.
The tower and the spaceship building over the start-finish line provide some great scenery yet also gives the riders some great reference points during the race.
Jerez is a 4.4km, 2.75 mile circult, with Marc Marqez winning last years MotoGp event and also holding the fastest lap of 1:38.051. The MotoGP race consists of 25 laps, Moto2, 23 laps and Moto3 22 laps.
You can watch a lap onboard from 2018 here:
MotoGP
Ever since Marc Marquez sat on the Repsol Honda, one saying started to come out “Only Marquez can stop Marquez”, typically that meant him to crash. But that now is in the form of his Brother; Alex. Jorge Lorezno left his contract early, after a horrendous year at the Honda works team, which ended up with him injured and he is now the Yamaha test rider. It will only be a matter of time before we see Lorenzo racing – body permitting.
Repsol Honda, with the Marquez brothers, have a family feel to it but that can quickly turn into a family feud as Alex has the ability to match his brother. Of course we have to mention the RC213V, will that still be as extreme as it was in 2019 which nearly became the Bronco Billy of 2019.
Yamaha SRT had a brilliant first year beating the Yamaha works team. Fabio Quartararo’s first year was equally outstanding, with six poles and five second places, which resulted in being fifth in the championship last year. The bike, whilst being kinder to the tyres than the works team, still has the issues that the works team has – lack of power. Franco Morbidelli, whilst being a star in the Moto2 championships, hasn’t set his debut year in MotoGP on fire. He can justifiably say that the combination of the bike, and having Quartararo as a team mate, may have been worth saying. Excuses wear thin, though.
Yamaha Racing, the works team, do not want a second year of embarrassment, especially with it being Valentino Rossi’s last year with the team. Maverick Viñales will be hoping that the lack of straight line speed will be less of an issue this year. Rossi will be hoping for the same, along with tyre wear, not to be a consistent issue with his front starts leaving him 7th or 8th by the end of the race in 2019.
Andrea Dovizioso, at thJerez 2020 July test. Image courtesy of Ducati
Ducati, Andrea Dovizioso having been runner up in the championship for the last three years running, must feel frustrated and yet happy that his form has been consistent. From 6 wins in 2017 down to only 2 last year, but collecting 8 more points (2017: 261 points; 2019: 269 points) has been the weak point for the team. So Dovizioso will be hoping that 2020 will be one of less frustration, and also winning his first MotoGP championship. Danilo Petrucci will be wanting to increase on his 2019 haul of one win and two 3rd places.
KTM, having mixed fortunes in 2019 in all 3 classes, they have finally made the decision to dump Moto2. Probably the right thing long term, as they have under performed since coming to MotoGP. Hopefully in doing so, Pol Espargaro will have a chance to fight for race wins.
Rest of the bunch.
Álex Rins will be wanting further wins this year. Team Suzuki Ecstar, have shown they can produce the goods, but the consistency isn’t there yet. Zarco is another one to watch – in the Moto2 class, he trailblazed but once in MotoGP, that came to a sudden halt. Jack Miller is in exactly the same boat. Of course, you can never rule out anyone in MotoGP in winning a race. One person missing is Cal Crutchlow. The LCR Honda, was not to his liking in 2019, after coming back from an injury which hindered his progress in 2019.
Moto2
Both the Moto2 and Moto3 classes completed one round at Qatar back in march with Tetsuta Nagashima wining round one. Both the top two riders from 2019 have moved to MotoGP: Marquez and Brad Binder. The loss of the 2019 top two will not result in any loss of quality. Far from it. Lüthi, Baldassarri, Navarro, Marcel Schrötter, Jorge Martín, Fabio Di Giannantonio and of course Marco Bezzecchi will all be fighting for the championship. To suggest a favourite for the championship would be crazy at this point.
Moto3
Albert Arenas, won Qatar Moto3, with John Mcphee 0.053 seconds behind. That sets up a great 2020 season with Mcphee, Masia, Foggia, Fernandez, Arbolino, Toba and of course Romano Fenati racing for the title. Fenati will want the racing to do the talking and not his explosive emotions.
I met Tim at a bike garage one weekend when he was out for a ride with his mates and he very kindly answered some questions for me.
Tim is a former British Touring Car driver competing between 1987 and 2002 and the 1992 British Touring Car Champion. He then went on to compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain and won the championship in 2008 and 2010.
Tim Harvey 2004
Tim is now a broadcaster for ITV4 covering the British Touring Car Championship and currently competes in the British GT Championship for the Trackspeed Team.
Tim Harvey in his Leathers. Image copyright of Karen Bristow
What is the best feeling about being on a motorbike?
The connection between you as a physical being on the bike as a mechanical instrument, the bike is a much more dynamic interaction.
What is the one thing people would never know about you just by looking at you?
That I am colour blind!
What was your most embarrassing moment on a motorbike?
When I was doing a wheelie on an enduro bike on front of my mates and I fell off!
What is the worst thing your mum caught you doing as a kid?
Riding a stolen motorcycle!
Do you have a lucky thing/ritual before the start of a race?
No.
What was the first motorbike you owned?
A Honda CR80 motorcross bike.
What is your favourite stretch of road to ride on (not including a race track)?
The road from Cirencester up to Stow-on-the-Wold.
One of Tim’s bikes. Image copyright of Karen Bristow
If you hadn’t been a racer, what would you have been?
Sadly I would probably have been an estate agent!
Would you ride pillion and if so, who with?
I’m a terrible passenger but if I did it would probably only be with Randy Mamola on a 2c Ducati.
If you got arrested, what would your friends and family assume you had done?
I met Michael at this year’s Bike Show @ the Excel and he very kindly answered some questions for me.
Michael is known as “The Blade” and currently races in the National Superstock 1000 Championship aboard a BMW S1000RR. He has a reputation for being at his best in wet conditions and his favourite circuit is Oulton Park. Michael has won 29 British Superbike Championship races with the most recent being at Silverstone in 2010, and finished as series runner-up twice. He has also contested MotoGP and World Superbike Championship.
1. What is the best feeling about being on a motorbike?
The freedom and the speed.
2. What is the one thing people would never know about you just by looking at you?
Oh blimey, I don’t know!
3. What was your most embarrassing moment on a motorbike?
When I was going to take some newcomers out on the Classic TT and I forgot my gloves.
4. What is the worst thing your mum caught you doing as a kid?
Nothing. (Editor’s note: yeah, right!!!!!!!!!!)
5. Do you have a lucky thing/ritual before the start of a race?
No, not really although if it was a number I didn’t like, I wouldn’t have it.
6. What was the first motorbike you owned?
A TS50X Suzuki.
7. What is your favourite stretch of road to ride on (not including a race track)?
The road from Bridgnorth to Stour Bridge, I run all my bikes in on that road.
8. If you hadn’t been a racer, what would you have been?
A mechanic.
9. Would you ride pillion? If so, who with?
No, never.
10. If you got arrested, what would your friends and family assume you had done?
Definitely for speeding!
Race One : What a fantastic start to the season, the top 3 riding past the chequered in a photo finish end to the race were Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team) through in first place; Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in second and Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) in third.
Toprak Razgatlioglu winner of Race One at Phillip Island WSBK 2020. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
The starting grid looked like this:
Row 1 : Sykes : Redding : Rea
Row 2: Razgatlioglu : Haslam : van der Mark
Row 3 : Baz : Lowes : Cortese
Row 4 : Fores : Scheib : Caricasulo
Row 5 : Laverty : Rinaldi : Bautista
Row 6 : Davies : Gerloff : Takahashi
Rea got off to a good start but whilst still on lap 1 he soon made contact with Sykes and went off into the gravel but managed to keep the bike upright and re-joined the track in last place with Sykes now in the lead followed by Redding and van der Mark.
On lap 3 Baz ran wide and went down to 11th place and the following lap saw Rea and Caricasulo make contact at turn 4, both riders managing to keep the bikes upright but then turn 8, we saw Rea going round the outside of Rinaldi where he lost it and ended up in the gravel and ending his race. Rea got caught under the bike briefly and ended up with a burnt leg but otherwise he was okay.
Lap 10 saw Fores come off at turn 2, the second Kawasaki out of the race and Lap 11 saw Redding move ahead of van der Mark followed by Sykes but Sykes then drops back to 4th as he is overtaken by Razgatlioglu taking him up to 3rd.
On lap 12 we saw Haslam pass Sykes pushing him down into 6th now – Sykes was on a different back tyre to the rest of those around him so maybe that was the reason for him dropping back.
Redding ran wide on lap 14 leading to him being passed by Razgatlioglu, van der Mark and then Razgatlioglu went down the inside of his teammate to take him to the front of the grid. Lap 15 sees Haslam go up into 4th position but by lap 17 he was back down into 5th again.
It’s edge of the seat stuff now as lap 17 saw Razgatliolu and by van der Mark swapping 1st and 2nd places a couple of times with Lowes now up into 3rd place. Laps 18 and 19 became a 3 way battle with Razgatliolu, van der Mark and Lowes all swapping places numerous times.
The final lap sees van der Mark get pushed down into 4th with Redding passing him and then out of the last corner there is a final dash to the finish with Razgatlioglu, Lowes and Redding pretty much neck and neck going towards the chequered flag with Razgatlioglu pipping the other two to the post making it the closest podium of the century!
The last time Yamaha won the first race of the season was in 1989 so a fabulous victory for the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team and of course Razgatlioglu.
An absolutely brilliant nail biting start to the season. Race 2 tomorrow is going to be exciting ….
The top six following WorldSBK Race 1:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team)
2. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
3. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
4. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WORLDSBK OFFICIAL TEAM)
5. Leon Haslam (Team HRC)
6. Alvaro Bautosta (Team HRC)
Non Starters due to injuries in the 10 lap sprint race earlier this morning are Gerloff, Laverty and Camier.
A clean start is had by all to the start of the Race 2, van der Mark has a great start and manages to overtake round the outside and come from 5th to 1st but lap two sees Rea take the lead back. Contact is made between Haslam and Rinaldi in turn 10 sending both riders into the gravel, Haslam manages to rejoin in last place but Rinaldi is not so lucky.
Start of Race 2 at Phillip Island WSBK 2020. Image courtesy of Ducati
Lap 3 sees 1.6 seconds covering the top 10 riders. Redding goes up the inside of Lowes to take 3rd place and Fores made contact with Sykes on lap 4 but kept the bike going. Lap 5 we see Redding passing Razgatlioglu quickly followed by Lowes pushing the Turkish rider down to 5th.
By lap 8 Baz takes second position from taken van der Mark only to lose it again on the next lap but then makes a bold move and passes van der Mark and Rea to take the lead Rea. Further back Lowes makes contact with Razgatlioglu causing him to go wide and rejoin the pack in 8th. Takahashi’s bike broke down on lap 11 together with the GRT Yamaha bike of Caricasulo.
The next few laps we see Rea and Baz swapping positions, all very clean riding and great overtaking.
Lap 14 Lowes comes from 4th and takes van der Mark and Baz to go into 2nd position, further round the track Baz had a wobble but managed to collect it and amazingly keep his position!
Laps 15, 16 and 17 sees some fantastic racing with Lowes and Rea swapping places with van der Mark joining in too ending with Lowes ahead, Rea second followed by van der Mark. On lap 18 Baz loses it again and goes off into the dirt but manages to keep it going but mechanical problems with the bike of Razgatlioglu means the rider retires on this lap.
The last few laps and the racing is getting even more exciting (if that were possible) where we have Lowes taking the lead from Rea, Rea going wide and van der Mark coming past. Rea nearly loses the bike at this point but manages to hang on to it and re-takes 2nd place quickly followed by Redding pushing van der Mark down into 4th!
WSBK 2020 Phillip Island Race Two podium winners, Lowes, Rea and Redding third. Image courtesy of Ducati
The last lap and I’m on the edge of my seat as Rea is having a look to try and get past Lowes and as they come out of the last corner on the run up to the chequered flag, Rea gives it everything but Lowes just managed to stay ahead and take the win.
Wow! What a fantastic race. Great riding all weekend from all the riders. Qatar in a couple of weeks time is going to be fantastic.
The top six following WorldSBK Race 2:
1. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
3. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
4. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WORLDSBK OFFICIAL TEAM)
5. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
6. Alvaro Bautista (HRC Team)
The final round of testing before the start of the 2020 Superbike World Championship took place at the Philip Island circuit this week with Toprak Razgatlioglu topping the charts at the end of Day one for PATA YAMAHA.
The first session ended half an hour early due there being oil on the track caused by Takumi Takahashi’s Honda (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team) between turns 3 and 4 and after second practice the Honda rider finished in 19th place. Rain interrupted the second session later in the day.
Michael van der Mark and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu the 2020 Wsbk testing at Phillip Island. Image courtesy of Yamaha racing
Toprak and his teammate Michael van der Mark had been trying to find the balance between performace and the durability of the tyres by focusing on small upgrades and Michael finished 7th at the end of day one.
Tom Sykes riding for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team finished in 2nd by just 0.022 seconds behind Toprak with Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha Racing) finishing just 0.015 seconds behind him in third place – all very close at the top! Baz’s teammate, Eugene Laverty finished in 8th, less than a second off the top time.
Despite a crash (he was okay) at Turn 4, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finished in ninth place with his reigning Champion teammate Jonathan Rea continuing to show his pace in 4th place. Rea last won at this circuit in 2017 so is looking to change that to a win this year.
This year marks the return of Team HRC as a full-factory outfit so Leon Haslam and Alvaro Bautista have been focusing on various aspects of the bikes in this season’s testing at Portimao and here in Philip Island ending the day in 5th and 15th place respectively.
Finishing the top six was the Ducati ridden by Scott Redding (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) with his teammate, Chaz Davies, down in 10th some 1.373 seconds behind the top runner, Toprak. The ZX-10RR ridden by Sandro Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) finished 11th followed by Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) in 12th.
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished ahead of Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) followed by Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) finishing in 16th place ahead of teammate Garrett Gerloff. Finishing off the board was Leon Camier in 18th place for the (Barni Racing Team).
The unofficial top six lap times from day one:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team) 1.’30.740
2. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.022
3. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.037
4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.256
5. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) +0.456
6. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.496
Day two of testing resulted in the top 17 riders covered by just 1.5 seconds!
Rain came during the stages with numerous crashes and red flags including Alvaro Bautista, Scott Redding and Jonathan Rea but despite crashing, Rea still finished at the top just ahead of Loris Baz who impressively is still using his 2019 engine! Can’t wait to see what the 2020 engine brings for the Frenchman and the independent Ten Kate Racing Yamaha team.
‘Pocket Rocket’ Leon Haslam finished 3rd on the new CBR1000RR-R whilst his teammate Alvaro Bautista crashed at Turn 4 (he was okay) but finished down in 17th.
Scott Redding – Phillip Island Test 2020. Image courtesy of Matteo Cavadini/Ducati Media
WorldSBK rookie Scott Redding improved in his standings from yesterday’s testing and got up to 4th for the ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati team whilst his teammate Chaz Davies couldn’t quite keep up with him and finished in 13th
Finishing in 5th for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team was 2013 WorldSBK Champion Tom Sykes with his teammate Eugene Laverty finishing in 11th.
Finishing the top 6 was Michael van der Mark despite crashing in the morning at Turn 10 (he was okay) and down in in 7th was Toprak Razgatlioglu despite finishing top of the board in yesterday’s practice.
Impressively the independent Team GOELEVEN finished in 8th with Michael Ruben Rinaldi at the helm.
Sandro Cortese had his first day of testing on the ZX-10RR for the OUTDO Kawasaki – TPR team and finished 13th followed by Xavi Fores riding for (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). In 15th was Maximilian Scheib for (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) team just ahead of Garrett Gerloff for the (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) closely followed by his teammate Federico Caricasulo
Unofficial top six lap times from day two:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’30.523
2. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.235
3. Leon Haslam (HRC Team) +0.359
4. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.362
5. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.472
6. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WORLDSBK OFFICIAL TEAM) +0.564
The start of the WorldSBK season starts this coming weekend and is looking like it’s going to be a really exciting season with all to play for.
Toprak Razgatlioglu. Image courtesy of Yamaha racing
Testing for the 2020 Superbike World Championship continued in Portimao with Toprak Razgatlioglu topping the charts for PATA YAMAHA.
The rain stayed away for the first day of testing with the sun even making a welcome appearance. This was only Scott Redding’s second time at Portimao and he was setting quick lap times on this tight hairpins and long corners circuit. By the end of the day Scott Redding was top of the charts with teammate, Chaz Davies, managing 7th.
At lunchtime Yamaha were placed one, two and three. Loris Baz, with the independent team, Ten Kate Racing Yamaha, was at the top with Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark with the PATA YAMAHA, in second and third respectively. By the end of the day they were all pushed down one place.
Irishman, Eugene Laverty, finished 5th for the (BMW Motorrad) despite suffering an engine failure at Turn 3 at lunchtime resulting in a red flag with his teammate, Tom Sykes finishing a respectable 6th place.
The HRC Team with their CBR1000RR-R slotted into fifth at lunchtime with Leon Haslam but at the end of the day he finished in eight place with his teammate, Alvaro Bautista, down in 15th.
The independent teams of Barni Racing Team finished in ninth with Sandro Cortese, Garrett Gerloff with the GRT Yamaha World SBK Junior Team finished in tenth. Eleventh place went to Michael Ruben Rinaldi with Team Goeleven, followed by Leandro Mercado with Motocorsa Racing despite bringing out the second red flag of the day when he crashed at Turn 14 late in the day.
Riding the ZX-10RR for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing was Xavi Fores who finished ahead of Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) and Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) .
Unofficial top six lap times from day one:
1. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) 1’41.179
2. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.573
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WORLDSBK OFFICIAL TEAM) +0.702
4. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WORLDSBK OFFICIAL TEAM) +0.878
5. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +1.482
6. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +1.561
Day two brought with it numerous incidents and red flags. Despite being top of the board yesterday, Scott Redding seemed to be saving his pace until the last ten minutes when he was just pipped to the top post by Toprak Razgatlioglu closely followed by Loris Baz.
Chaz Davis, at Portimao WSBK testing 2020. Image courtesy of Matteo Cavadini/Ducati Media
Michael van der Mark finished fourth, Chaz Davies was not in the top ten during the afternoon but found his pace at the end and finished fifth. Finishing the top six was Leon Haslam setting his fastest lap time during testing at Portimao. Haslam’s team mate, Alvaro Bautista, finished down in 15th.
Both the independent GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team riders, Federico Caricasulo and his teammate Garrett Gerloff finished a very respectable ninth and tenth respectively.
Although both the BMW Motorrad riders, Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty finished in the top six on Day One, they were knocked down to seventh and eighth on Day Two despite having a good day of testing.
Unofficial top six lap times from day two:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WORLDSBK OFFICIAL TEAM) 1’40.804
2. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.079
3. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.190
4. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WORLDSBK OFFICIAL TEAM) +0.622
5. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.795
6. Leon Haslam (HRC Team) +0.851
The WSB teams will be jetting off to Phillip Island in Australia next for the final round of testing just before the start of the season. This is shaping up to be really exciting.
With thirteen rounds having been confirmed by the FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization for the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar, taking place across 11 different countries and four different continents, the season will begin in Australia at the Philip Island Grand Prix circuit from 28th February to 1st March with the final pre-season Official test for WorldSBK and WorldSSP on the 24th and 25th February, the week before the first round of the year.
Leon Haslam has joined the new-look HRC WorldSBK team, Michael Ruben Rinaldi has gone to Team Go Eleven Ducati, Toprak Razgatlioglu has replaced Alex Lowes at the Pata Yamaha team with the British rider heading to Kawasaki alongside Jonathan Rea.
BSB champion Scott Redding is set for his rookie World Superbike campaign with Aruba.it Racing Ducati replacing Alvaro Bautista at the factory Ducati team with the Spanish rider heading to Honda.
GRT Yamaha has revealed an all-new line-up of Federico Caricasulo and Garrett Gerloff.
The 2020 World Superbike Championship entry looks like this:
Kawasaki Racing Team : Jonathan Rea & Alex Lowes
Aruba.it Racing Ducati : Chaz Davies & Scott Redding
Pata Yamaha : Michael van der Mark & Toprak Razgatlioglu
Honda : Alvaro Bautista & Leon Haslam
BMW Motorrad : Tom Sykes & Eugene Laverty
Pedercini Kawasaki : Jordi Torres & Lorenzo Savadori
GRT Yamaha : Federico Caricasulo & Garrett Gerloff
Ten Kate Yamaha : Loris Baz
Barni Ducati : Leon Camier
Orelac Kawasaki : Maxmilian Scheib
Team Go Eleven Ducati : Michael Ruben Rinaldi
Puccetti Kawasaki : Xavi Fores
Honda Mie Racing Team : Takumi Takahashi
Team Motocorsa Ducati : Leandro Mercado (From Jerez round onwards)
Winter testing for the 2020 season at Jerez began in late November, five weeks after the 2019 season finale in Qatar at the Losail International Circuit on October 24-26.
At the end of Day One of testing on the 22nd January the top six looked like this:
1) Leon Haslam (HRC Team) 1’52.149
2) Michael van der Mark (PATA Yamaha World SBK Official Team) +0.031
3) Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) +0.064
4) Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.359
5) Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.511
6) Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.948
At the end of final day of testing on the 23rd January the top six looked like this:
1) Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’40.983 (19 laps)
2) Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA Yamaha World SBK Official Team) +0.231 (42 laps)
3) Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.424 (43 laps)
4) Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.659 (44 laps)
5) Michael van der Mark (PATA Yamaha World SBK Official Team) +1.724 (43 laps)
6) Leon Haslam (HRC Team) +1.814 (32 laps)
Although as always you cannot read too much into times in testing due to different conditions etc., it looks like we could be in for a really exciting season.
The WSB are now in Portimao for the next round of testing.
Featured Image courtesy of Matteo Cavadini/ Ducati
The nineteenth and final qualifying session of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship took place in relatively cold conditions. The contrast between this nineteenth round and round eighteen two weeks ago in Sepang has been drastic, a polar opposite in terms of temperature especially, but it was nonetheless the usual trio of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who were looking to be the favourites.
Q1 was first, though, before the pole position shootout, and it was one rider short with Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) missing out after a bizarre FP3 crash at the end of pit lane courtesy of the cold weather draining the temperature from the carbon brakes of his satellite Ducati Desmosedici GP18. The Italian, whilst coming out of the pits braked, unleashing the power of the front carbon brakes, causing his tyre to come to a halt instantly. The end result was to cause Bagnia to face plant the track. A lack of memory courtesy of the face plant as well as a wrist injury, saw him declared unfit aftert a trip to the hospital.
Of the riders who did compete in Q1, it was Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who advanced through to Q2.
Marc Marquez looking back at his retiring team mate, Jorge Lorenzo at Valencia, 2019 . Motogp, Image courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol
The final pole position of 2019 went to Fabio Quartararo, quite fittingly, as the qualifying master of the season, the one who was usually able to find the most with a fresh soft rear tyre, was able to come out on top of Marquez in their penultimate scrap of the season. Marquez will start alongside the Frenchman, returning the front row after his eleventh-place qualifying in Sepang, while Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) completes the front row.
Row two is headed up by Maverick Vinales, who is joined by Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and – more worryingly for the Spaniard, as well as Quartararo – Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) who could cause problems for Vinales tomorrow should he get past the #12 in the opening stages tomorrow. It is not easy to pass a Ducati, nor is it easy to pass in Valencia. Additionally, for the Yamaha riders they know that they need to pass early in the lap so they have a chance to build a gap before the main straight because they cannot live with the horsepower of the Ducati. This was Rossi’s problem in Sepang, but as in Motegi it could be the problem of Vinales, and possible also Quartararo now in Valencia with Miller and Dovizioso having the potential to cause frustrations.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) enjoyed a positive final qualifying of his rookie season, taking seventh on the grid ahead of teammate Alex Rins, who will have work to do tomorrow from eighth with his strong race pace, and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) who completes the third row.
Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) heads up the fourth row ahead of Pol Espargaro who was briefly sixth despite qualifying in Q2 on a hard rear tyre. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) disappointingly was the slowest rider in Q2 and qualified twelfth, his fastest time being the first lap of his first tyre and three tenths of a second slower than his FP3 time in the freezing conditions of Saturday morning.
Johann Zarco (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) was the fastest rider to miss out on Q2, qualifying thirteenth in what might be his final ride for LCR Honda, maybe his final ride for Honda and maybe his final ride in MotoGP but it also might not be some of those- it might not be any of them. Joining the Frenchman on row five will be Ducati wildcard Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who crashed three times on Saturday before qualifying.
Row six will see Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) start from sixteenth on his final MotoGP appearance ahead of Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who may also be competing his final MotoGP race this weekend. The sixth row is completed by Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing).
Jorge Lorenzo at Valencia 2019 for his last Motogp race. Image courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol
MotoGP first-timer Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) made an impressive first qualifying appearance in the premier class, qualifying nineteenth, ahead of Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing), who join him on the seventh row, as well as Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), his teammate on the satellite RC16 for this weekend, the Malaysian also making his final appearance in MotoGP.
