Category: World Superbikes

The final round of the 2017 World Superbike championship comes from Losail, in the Qatari desert. Like the MotoGP event, the races will be held under floodlights, although one takes place on Friday evening and the other on the Saturday. This is to respect what is traditionally known as the Qatari weekend. MotoGP previously adopted this format, between 2004 and 2007. Jonathan Rea has never won a World Superbike race in Qatar and will be hoping that he can end that run. The battle for 2nd in the championship is also raging between Welshman, Chaz Davies and Huddersfield’s Tom Sykes. Will we see team order tactics from Kawasaki like last season, to deny Chaz Davies a chance of the silver medallist position?

2nd and 3rd last season are Jonny Rea’s best results in Qatar. The Kawasaki rider has already took wins at 9 out of 12 rounds this season and he will be hoping to make it 10 from 13. Rea has won the last two races and if he was to win the final two races of the season, it’d be the first time ever that Kawasaki have ended the season with four consecutive race victories. It would also be the first time since 1996 that a Kawasaki had done the double in the final round of the season, with Anthony Gobert being the last rider to achieve that. Rea will be hoping to pass Troy Bayliss’ tally of wins, a number at which he is currently level on with the Australian.

Chaz Davies is 2nd in the championship, on 363 points. This is the same number of points as Tom Sykes but Davies is ahead of him on the virtue of race wins countback. The Ducati ace has had a mixed season, blighted by errors which has subsequently led to his demise as a championship challenger once again. Chaz Davies did the double in Qatar last season and was 4th and 2nd in 2015. Back in 2012, Davies’ 363 points would’ve given him the championship, so he is by no means slow or slacking, it is just the inconsistency that has hindered him this year. Chaz Davies last had a pole position at Imola, at which he achieved a double win that weekend too. Can he repeat that achievement?

Tom Sykes is dead level with Davies in the points so that really could be the big focus this weekend. Sykes has had just two wins this season, his worst tally since his sole victory back in 2011, the year he started winning. Kawasaki as a manufacturer haven’t had a 1-2 since race two at Laguna Seca and will be desperate to sign off on a high. Sykes’ last win came in race one at Misano and his last fastest lap was at the Lausitzring, race one. Sykes, like his teammate, has never won at Losail before and had a best result of 2nd at the circuit in race two last season. The last time he won the last race of the season was in 2012 at Magny Cours – the same statistic applies for Kawasaki; the last time they won the final race of the year was the same year.

Marco Melandri has hit something of a run of form towards the back end of 2017. Leading the first Jerez race until a mechanical breakdown four laps from the end wasn’t ideal, however, the Italian fought back in race two and finished 2nd. It was his 12th podium of the season, which stands him in good stead for 2018. Melandri has great form at Losail too, battling with Valentino Rossi in the 2005 Qatari Grand Prix until just a few corners from home. He was only 8th and 4th in 2014 on the Aprilia but on a bike that he is starting to like, he could be a surprise. He qualified on pole for Jerez and if he does the same again at Losail, it will be the first time ever that Melandri has achieved back-to-back poles. Will he continue to set records?

Alex Lowes sits in 5th place on his Pata Yamaha. The British rider comes to Qatar 16 points ahead of his teammate, Michael van der Mark. Lowes hasn’t finished outside of the top 5 in the last four races and will be hoping to extend that run to 5 – something he hasn’t done before. The Yamaha R1 achieved a podium at Losail last season, with Sylvain Guintoli and they will be looking to repeat that achievement this weekend. Lowes’ best result in Qatar is 7th, from race one last year. Although he can’t reach 4th in the championship, the ex BSB champion will be wanting to come away from Qatar with nothing less than at least one podium. This would be the ideal platform for him to start next season from.

Michael van der Mark returns from his MotoGP commitments in Malaysia and will be doing everything possible to try and catch his teammate for a top 5 slot in the championship. The Dutchman had a 5th and 4th at Losail in 2015 but only a 9th and 11th last season – both occasions, for Ten Kate Honda. The 25-year-old did however win a World Supersport race at the circuit in 2014, so he has winning pedigree. ‘Magic Michael’ has been in the top 10 since leaving Germany and will hope to put together a strong end to his season. Will he shine brightly under the floodlights in Qatar?

It is the final round of the championship and although it has already been decided, you’d be wrong to think that there is nothing to look out for. As said above, the battle for 2nd in the series is well and truly alive and kicking. MV Agusta’s Leon Camier is also in a tight fight for 8th in the championship with Althea BMW’s Jordi Torres and Milwaukee Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty, with just 19 points covering them all. With Leandro Mercado not riding due to his Ioda Racing team pulling out, Lorenzo Savadori needs just three points to overhaul the Argentine rider.

Image by Ducati

The 2018 World Superbike calendar has been released and it sees some small changes in comparison to this season’s.

The first round will be in Australia at Phillip Island, the typical starting point for the season. We then have to wait 1 month before the next round of the championship, in Thailand, at the Chang International Circuit, Buriram.

The first European round of the year is in Spain, at Aragon before Assen one week later. We then wait 3 weeks until Imola and then two weeks until Donington Park. Two weeks later sees a return to the Czech Republic and Brno – the first time since 2012 that the circuit has featured on the calendar.

Two weeks after the Czech round, WSBK goes State-side and heads to Laguna Seca before Misano – again, two weeks later. This is the last round before yet another, lengthy summer break. There will be no racing in August and the gap itself is 10 weeks long.

After the 10-week hiatus, WSBK heads to Portugal and the Portimao circuit – more of a success in 2017 than in many years before. The series stays in Europe for the French round of the championship at Magny Cours two weeks later.

The final two rounds of the season are both fly-away races. Argentina has been pencilled in for mid-October – two weeks after Magny Cours – and will come from the new Vilicum circuit, although that remains subject to homologation. The final round of the championship will take place in the Middle East in Qatar, at the Losail International Circuit, under floodlights on the 25^th – 27^th October.

Image by Yamaha WSBK

The Spanish WSBK round saw triple World Champion Jonathan Rea take victory in race 2 on Sunday to complete a fine weekend at the Jerez circuit, achieving a double overall. A commanding performance in a restarted World Superbike race at the resurfaced venue gave Rea maximum points – as he was joined on the podium by Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies.

A red flag had been brought out after first lap incidents in the first part of the race. This saw Chaz Davies and Eugene Laverty both crash at turn two and then wildcard Dominic Schmitter requiring medical treatment at trackside after crashing heavily on the Suzuki GSX-R1000.

On the restart, Northern Irishman Rea notched up his 13th double win since joining Kawasaki at a venue where he had not previously won at before. He also levelled with fellow three-time champion, Troy Bayliss, in terms of number of wins in his career.

The Kawasaki rider was riding in a cool and confident style, having sealed the deal on an unprecedented third successive title two weeks previous in France. Rea stormed through from ninth on the grid to first place by the end of the first lap, overtaking Michael van der Mark cleanly at the second attempt to remain at the front from early in lap two.

Rea crossed the line 2.7s seconds ahead of Melandri at the chequered flag, who got the better of his teammate Davies in the latter stages of the second outing. The result meant that Kawasaki as a manufacturer were the constructors champions once more.

There were other battles throughout the pack with Alex Lowes finishing fourth and Tom Sykes fifth This was Sykes’ first 5th at Jerez since race two in 2015. van der Mark finished sixth having lead on the opening circulation, also having had an incident with veteran Melandri early in the race.

Home hero Xavi Fores was seventh and top Spaniard, after a good battle with returning 2014 World Superbike Champion, Sylvain Guintoli. Frenchman Guintoli, who has won a race in British Superbikes for Suzuki this season, will also ride for Puccetti Racing at the final round of the season in Qatar next month. It is expected that he will ride full-time for the team next season. Leandro Mercado and Jordi Torres rounded out the top ten.

Davide Giugliano was handed a ride through penalty for speeding in pit lane, having been forced to return to his garage due to a technical issue. He eventually finished 17th, after suffering a DNF on Saturday in race one. Race one was the first time that no Honda had finished in the points since Donington Park, race one, this season. Lorenzo Savadori was 18th after he crashed out on the first lap of the restarted race, compounding a disastrous weekend for Shaun Muir’s Milwaukee Aprilia outfit.
Image by: worldSBK.com

Davide Giugliano was left without a ride in WSBK last year but he showed he is still capable, finishing 8th and 11th at Magny Cours for the 11th round of the 2017 World Superbike championship.

“It’s was an unlucky race two because I feel I had the pace to be fighting for a top-6 finish. The realistic goal before the start was to finish between 8th and 11th but we turned out to be quicker than we expected”, said a joyous Giugliano.

“It was hard to push when I found myself at the back of the field, because even though I knew I had to make up ground, I was riding on my own so I didn’t know how wet it was on different parts of the circuit and how conditions were evolving throughout the lap. We put together a good comeback, we made some passes and we showed a good pace, so I think there’s a good synergy developing between the bike and myself now”, he continued. Giugliano looks certain to remain with the Red Bull Honda squad for the remainder of the season.

The Italian also hailed the development of the new Honda Fireblade SP2. He gave the team their first start from a top six position since Nicky Hayden at Losail in 2016. The team’s best race result is 6th, from Stefan Bradl in race one at Assen.

“The guys have done an amazing job: I feel that the bike is improving a lot and that was the reason I was chosen in the first place so I’m happy. The top speed was also excellent today. Obviously there is still a lot to improve but things are going in the right direction”.

Image by: worldSBK.com

For the last three seasons, he has been the King of World Superbikes. Domination has seen him go from the nearly-guy to the uncatchable. He has captivated a whole nation and become one of Northern Ireland’s greatest sportsmen, as well as one of the most successful British motorcycle racers in history. Jonathan Rea has been a poster-boy for Northern Irish sport for the last three years and once more, he was hailed a hero after taking a third successive WSBK title. An achievement that former British WSBK champs like Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson, James Toseland and Tom Sykes have never been able to carry out.

Born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Jonathan Rea could never have dreamt of becoming a World Superbike star in his school-boy days. He was never really a fan of racing on tarmac, as he considered it boring and nowhere near as exciting as motocross. Rumour has it that it was Michael and Eugene Laverty that persuaded him to take his talent from dirt to road and in 2003, he made the move to the British 125cc championship. Rea finished the season just four points behind lightweight class legend Ryan Saxelby, in 15th place – picking up a podium at the penultimate round of the season too, at Brands Hatch Indy.

The following season, he was contesting the prestigious British Supersport category, which at the time had names such as Cal Crutchlow, Leon Camier and Michael Laverty in. He was 12th in the championship before an injury at Knockhill ruined his season. Rea remained on 26 points for the rest of the year.

Fast forward his career and through his British Superbike days – of which he only took 5 race wins – and we find Jonny Rea in World Supersport, teammate to Andrew Pitt at the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda squad. He took his first podium at Assen and his first win at Brno, It was quite obvious that we were looking at a very serious talent in the world of motorcycle racing but surely we never expected him to win three titles?

A step up to WSBK in 2009 saw him take his first victory at Misano, whilst a second win of the season came at the Nurburgring, Germany, beating eventual champion Ben Spies by just under a second. Between 2009 and his departure from Honda in 2014, Rea took 15 wins, including two doubles. He won at least one race in every year whilst riding for Honda but the domination didn’t start until 2015, when he left Honda – having been with them for his whole career – to join Kawasaki.

Since arriving at Kawasaki, Jonny Rea has had a podium hit rate of 89.1%, an extraordinary figure. In the five back-to-back titles that Valentino Rossi won in MotoGP, he had a podium hit rate of 87.6%, so Jonny Rea’s domination has seen him so much more consistent than everyone else and even higher than ‘The Doctor’.

Rea has won 35 races in his time with Kawasaki so far, their most successful rider ever in WSBK.  The only circuits that the Ulsterman hasn’t won at on the current WSBK calendar are Jerez and Losail, both circuits of which are up next in 2017. He really has set records. Having said that, he has only scored nine pole positions, which enhances his success. It shows that when he has to, he can come through the field. In 2017, he has won from row three a total of six times and finished on the podium from row three on four other occasions. The statistics go on and on.

Rea is not the only beneficiary. Northern Ireland is being showcased on the world stage in the best possible way. Jonathan is a hero back home, with legions of fans supporting him. School kids are aspiring to be him, he is an idol to so, so many. Maybe one day, he may even be up for nomination for BBC Sports Personality of the Year…

With this success and fame comes interest. In Northern Ireland, a circuit that would be fit to host WSBK and MotoGP has been proposed and is now being built. An estimated 700 jobs are set to be created in the 18-month construction period, which is estimated to cost £30m, in County Tyrone. Lake Torrent is the circuit name. Although the capacity of the venue is only set to be 30,000 per event, Rea would help fill every seat with his fans back home. Overall, it’s a massive boost to the Northern Irish economy as well as the publicity that the country would get from such a top-class facility – which undoubtedly has been driven forward by Rea’s success.

Overall, Rea has been pretty sensational, both on track and off track. Some say that he has ruined WSBK and made it boring but whilst he is racing in the championship, we have to admire the talent and ability that he carries. We have to admire his willingness to never stop winning and to carry on breaking records. Rea is arguably the most talented rider that WSBK has ever seen but as I was told by Neil Hodgson, it is very hard to compare him to anyone else because there is no one else in Rea’s league at the moment, not even Kawasaki teammate Tom Sykes. Jonathan Rea is a legend and will only grow and grow as he racks up win after win, title after title.

Image by: worldSBK.com

Round 11 of the 2017 World Superbike championship certainly didn’t disappoint – which let me tell you – feels superb to say.

It would be an injustice to not focus on Jonathan Rea and the factory Kawasaki outfit creating World Superbike history first. The Northern Irishman finally wrapped up what we’ve known for most of the season – his third straight championship, becoming the first rider to ever reach that feat.

After claiming pole for race one, despite getting cosy with the gravel traps in Superpole, the 30 year old then left the others in his wake as he stormed to victory in immensely difficult conditions under French skies. The perfect race to confirm his place as one of the all time Superbike greats.

Speaking to British Eurosport after his triumph, Rea commented; “I dreamt of [winning] one world championship as a kid. It was all I hung on to through the sacrifices of my parents during my motocross days.”

“To get one was incredible. Then going back to back with the new bike was unbelievable. This one… I’ve no words.”

His outing in race two was cut short after colliding with Eugene Laverty’s stricken Aprilia, nonetheless, an incredible weekend for the-now triple world champion.

Davies first title is by no means far away. A DNF in race 1 was an all too familiar story for the Welshman this year, with inconsistent results letting the man in green run away with the title.

Along with Tom Sykes, the Ducati man has been the other stand out performer this year with seven wins under his belt. He’s shown he can battle and beat Rea. Now, we just have to see it happen over the course of a season and hopefully, we can see Chaz claim his maiden Superbike title that we know he deserves.

All credit to the 30-year-old who proved he isn’t going to slow up for the remainder of the year despite losing out on the title.

Ah, the Pata Yamaha team. I think I can speak on behalf of every World Superbike fan at least and say how pleasing it was to see both Alex Lowes and Michael Van Der Mark celebrate on the podium in race two. The Englishman, twin to brother Sam, secured his third podium of the season to continue what has been a very positive year for Alex, despite consistent podiums eluding him and the team.

His Dutch teammate crossed the line third to pick up his second podium of the season and like his team mate, van der Mark has impressed this year. The boys in blue have cemented their place as the best of the rest, with number 22 sitting on 200 points in the championship and the number 60 sitting on 189. The race to be fourth in the championship, in my opinion, will be the hottest battle out there in the remaining four races.

Moving onto Marco Melandri and like we didn’t know this already, but make no mistake,  he’s still got it. He’s only had one win this season which came in Misano race two, however, the wily old fox has only failed to step on the podium at two of the rounds in 2017, Donington Park and Laguna Seca.

So what else did we learn? Leon Camier is the unluckiest guy out there. No one deserves a taste of the champagne more than he does this season after some of the performances he’s managed to strangle out of the out-dated MV Agusta. The devastation from both rider and team were clear to see after the bike gave up on him (again) whilst challenging for an almost certain rostrum in race two, one better than he went in race one.

There are strong rumours linking the former British Superbike champion with a move away from the Italian manufacturer, with Honda being the likely destination if the stories are to be believed, although MotoGP migrant Loris Baz is also rumoured to have that seat.

Overall, the Pirelli French round was an indicator of how great the series can be and still is. Yes, changes need to be made and seeing Jonny Rea win the title with two rounds to go isn’t great for the neutral but the genuine world class talent the series possesses shouldn’t go a miss.

Jerez is next up for the World Superbike circus, before they touch down in Qatar for the last round of the season at the start of November. It is rumoured that WSBK will no longer attend Jerez after this season, whilst Qatar looks set to stay.

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @journoyork and make sure you’re following our new PitCrewOnline account, CrewOnTwo.

Image by: Yamaha Racing

Chaz Davies took his 7th victory of the season in race two at Magny Cours on Sunday afternoon, beating Yamaha pairing Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark – as well as the weather – to take victory.

“Yesterday was bitter but today was sweet. This is the best way to put behind us a couple of tough races. I woke up feeling really motivated and I think it showed in the opening laps, as I was making passes and got to the front pretty quickly from 11th position”, said race winner Davies, making it his third win at Magny Cours.

Despite leading by a long way, Davies knew that it could all go wrong. Just two laps from home in race two at Portimao, he crashed out of a very safe 2nd place. During race two at Magny Cours, he had rain to contend with and with him being first to arrive, he was guinea-pig in the race.

“It wasn’t an easy race though. The rain was on and off throughout and it was hard to tell where the wet patches could be. It was a matter of pushing hard but not too much, just enough to keep the gap in check and that’s what we did. Now we’re looking forward to the last two races, the hunt for second position in the championship is still open and we can be fast, both at Jerez and Losail.”

Davies sits just nine points behind 2013 champion, Tom Sykes. Davies out-scored Sykes in the remaining races last year and if he does the same again, he will finish the 2017 season as runner-up for a 2nd time.

Image by: WorldSBK,com

The Pata Yamaha World Superbike team of Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark gave Yamaha their first double podium in WSBK since Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty finished 1-2 in the 2nd race at Portimao, way back in 2011. It also marks the 2nd podium of the season for Michael van der Mark and 3rd of the season for Lowes, as the Pata Yamaha riders continue to develop the new R1. It was the closest a Yamaha has been to winning a race since race two at Phillip Island earlier this season.

In a race that was plagued by inclement weather conditions, Lowes lined up 2nd on the grid. He was initially the race leader, with teammate van der Mark coming into 2nd. Aruba.IT Ducati’s Chaz Davies forced his way through the field with careless abandon, eventually taking the lead and clearing off into the distance.

Leon Camier was next up on the MV Agusta and he took over as 2nd place man ahead of Lowes, although it would turn out not to matter too much – Leon Camier’s MV Agusta expired yet again. Lincolnshire Bullet Lowes was now ahead of Magic Michael.

The rain began to fall much heavier, with all four sectors giving warnings of drops of rain. van der Mark did not adhere to the warnings though, running out onto the white lines and using all of the kerb to try and close on his teammate. Thankfully, he remained upright, as the sun came from behind the clouds again, with the rain easing off.

Both riders put in a string of low 1.39s, closing the gap down to Davies in the latter stages of the race. Although both Yamahas gave pursuit to give the manufacturer their first win in six seasons, it wasn’t to be and it was Davies who beat Lowes and van der Mark.

“Honestly, this weekend has been slightly strange with the different weather conditions yesterday and then today, with just that little bit of rain and difficult grip levels”, began Alex Lowes, taking his best ever result at Magny Cours.

“I think it is a perfect example of how well the Pata Yamaha Team are working because, although we are still looking to close the gap to Kawasaki and Ducati in terms of out-and-out performance, whenever there is a chance to take advantage of a ‘different’ situation, we have been there”, said the former BSB champion, hailing the progress that the Pata Yamaha team have made in just two seasons.

“It is a fantastic day for the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team! I am really happy to share the podium with Michael because, like I said, the team have been performing so well and I am looking forward to the rest of the season now! I try to do the best I can in every race and my goal is to try and challenge these guys every week; that is the target and that is what Yamaha employ me to do”.

Lowes had previously only ever scored one point-scoring ride at Magny Cours, on a Suzuki in 2015, finishing 8th. A 2nd place on Sunday combined with a 5th on Saturday gave Lowes his best points haulage of the season to date.

“I think if I take a step back, I can be quite happy overall with the season up to now but as a rider, you always want more and there are some events where more could have been achieved. I still feel that there is still plenty more to come from myself and the R1 and we will keep working hard to improve”, said Lowes, consolidating his 5th place in the championship.

Teammate Michael van der Mark was just as positive, despite not being top Yamaha this time out. The Dutchman took his 2nd podium in three races and also clinched his best ever finishes at Magny Cours.

“It is my second podium of the season and I am so happy! Yesterday in the first race I was a bit unlucky but I scored some points. Today it was good to start from sixth on the grid for race two. I had a really good start and fought my way to the front but it was really difficult as there were some big drops of rain falling, so it was tricky to know what to expect”, van der Mark said, as conditions proved difficult for many riders.

“It was good for me to follow the other guys because I could see what they were doing. I was pushing quite hard but I also didn’t want to crash; it was so difficult but I tried my best and managed to stay on the bike. I just focused on finding my pace and it was similar to the guys in front”, he continued.

Michael had scored a magnificent 2nd place at the circuit last season, so this year’s result only emphasises his love for the technical Magny Cours track. Prior to this weekend, he had never been lower than 5th at Magny Cours since joining the Superbike class. Unfortunately, his 9th place yesterday – after falling off and remounting – ended that amazing run of form in France.

“Towards the end of the race I closed the gap to Alex but then I made some small mistakes and I just didn’t have the tyres anymore to attack again. It was a little bit of a weird race but Alex and I were really strong today and it was great to share the podium with my teammate. It was not the easiest race to control but in the end, we were both on the podium and that is what we aim for”, said a magnanimous Michael van der Mark, who jumps to 6th in the points standings.

“We have made a good step forward and this result, along with Portimao two weeks ago, shows we can fight for the podium at every round. I am really happy and I look forward to Jerez already. Jerez is a special track for me, and one I really like. We cannot wait to go there”.

The Yamaha pairing will now go to Jerez and look to build their advantage over Xavi Fores in 7th and also hope to be able to run with the leading Kawasaki and Ducati riders. Yamaha’s best result at Jerez last season was a 6th and a 5th, both results coming from Sylvain Guintoli.

Image: Yamaha Racing WSBK