aruba.it ducati

23rd April 2023

Round 3 WorldSBK, Assen, Race 1

After the long break from round 2 in Indonesia, fans were eagerly anticipating another action packed weekend of racing ahead of the Assen round.

Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team. Race 1 Assen 2023. Picture courtesy of WSBK

Superpole saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) initially claim top spot, but he was subsequently penalised after a dangerous incident between himself and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in the pit lane exit. Pole position was then handed to Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) with a time of 1:33.5, followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in 3rd.

Conditions were dry and mild for race 1, and most of the grid went for the soft SCX rear tyre.

Lights out then for race 1 and it was Rea with the hole shot into turn, 1 followed by Toprak and Bautista in 2nd and 3rd respectively, Lowes 4th, with Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) behind in 5th. Lowes started aggressively from the off, and was soon attacking Bautista into the chicane, which he did taking 3rd. Alvaro responded however, and snapped straight back into turn 1 to retake the position.

Next lap of the 21 lap race and positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Bautista 4. Lowes 5. Redding 6. Locatelli.

His disastrous season continued, it was another mechanical issue for former champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and his race was over. Meanwhile at the front, the leading 3 were pulling out a gap to the group behind of 4 riders, which included Lowes 4th, Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 5th, Bassani (Motocorsa Racing Ducati) 6th, and Locatelli 7th. Meanwhile further back current BSB champion, and rookie Bradley Ray (Motoxracing Yamaha) was in 15th and on track to score his first ever point in WorldSBK.

With 17 of 21 laps remaining, Bautista moved through on Toprak into the chicane to take 2nd. Meanwhile further back drama for Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) who crashed out, but was subsequently able to rejoin at the back of the field. It was Gardner 8th, Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 9th and Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) in 10th.

With 15 laps to go, Rea held a gap of 0.2s to Bautista behind in 2nd. Further back it was Bassani 6th, and Bradley Ray was in 14th. Toprak held a gap of 2.5s to Lowes behind in 4th.

Next lap and Scott Redding got through on Lowes to move up into 4th. Next up was the turn of Bassani to pass Lowes, Lowes had now dropped from 4th to 6th in a few corners.

Race 1 Assen 2023. Picture courtesy of WSBK

With 13 laps to go Bautista got by on Rea into the fast turn 7 to take over the lead for the first time. Rea now in 2nd, with Toprak in 3rd. The gap to Redding in 4th was now 3.0s. Unfortunately for Bradley Ray he had now dropped down to 18th. Meanwhile making the most of the clear track ahead of him, Bautista set the new fastest lap a 1:34.830.

With 11 laps remaining, a mistake for Redding saw him run wide into turn 1, and allowed a grateful Bassani to come through into 4th. Scott was now in 5th. Toprak now held a gap of 4.5s to Bassani in 4th, while Locatelli held a gap of 4.9s to Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 8th.

With just over half race distance covered, Rea wasn’t giving up his fight for the win, and was putting pressure on Bautista. Rea held a gap of 1.1s to Toprak.

With 8 laps to go, Bautista had extended his lead to 0.3s and was slowly edging away from the grasp of 6 x world champion Rea. Toprak too was losing contact with both the riders ahead of him. Meanwhile behind the 4 way battle for 4th was still red hot between, Bassani, Redding, Lowes and Locatelli.

Next lap and Locatelli who had been eyeing up a pass on Lowes, made it into turn 5, cutting up the inside of the Kawasaki to take 6th. Further back it was team mates Domi Aegerter and Remy Gardner in 8th, and 9th respectively, Petrucci 10th, Vierge (Honda HRC) 11th, Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) 12th, and Brad Ray in 18th.

With 5 laps remaining, reigning champion Alvaro Bautista, had put the hammer down and had extended his lead to 1.6s over Rea. Rea had done all he could to stay with Alvaro but it wasn’t enough, and he held a gap of 2.5s to Toprak who was in a lonely 3rd ahead of Bassani by 5.4s. Lowes 7th held a gap of 2.7s to Aegerter in 8th. Lowes then burst through on Redding to move into 6th, with Locatelli ahead of him in 5th.

Next lap and there was a 4 way battle for 12th between Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 13th, Oettl (Team GoEleven), 14th and Rinaldi 15th. Meanwhile current SSP champion Aegerter, got past Redding to take 7th, and was showing great late race pace.

Penultimate lap and Locatelli was all over the back of fellow countryman Bassani and looking for the pass.

Last lap and Bautista took the win followed by Rea in 2nd, Toprak in 3rd. Meanwhile Locatelli mugged Bassani into turn 5 as he had done with Lowes, and took 4th, Bassani 5th, Aegerter 6th, Lowes 7th, Gardner 8th, Petrucci 9th, Redding 10th.

Alvaro Bautista, Ducati Racing. Race 1 Assen 2023. Picture courtesy of WSBK

Result top 5:

Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
Bassani (Motocorsa Racing)

Championship top 3:

Bautista – 137 pts
Razgatlioglu – 91
Locatelli – 83

9th October 2022

Round 9 WorldSBK Portimao, Portugal, Race 2

Victory in the earlier Superpole race, meant the reigning champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu, was on a charge, and looking for a complete set of wins across the weekend.

Lights out for race 2 and it was Toprak (Pata Yamaha) with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Rea (Kawasaki KRT) 2nd, Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) 3rd, Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) 4th, and Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) 5th.

WorldSBK 09.10.2022 Portimao Picture courtesy of KRT Kawasaki Racing Alex Lowes

Next lap and Rea barged through on Toprak to take over the lead, and was looking aggressive early on. Further back it was 6th Bassani (Motocorsa Duacti), 7th Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), 8th Redding (BMW Mottorad). Then drama for Mahias (Puccetti Kawasaki) who went down, and his race was over.

On lap 18 of 20, it was Rinaldi in 4th who set the new fastest lap of the race with a 1:40.098, and was having a much better race. Meanwhile further back it was the Honda HRC team mates of Lecuona, and Vierge in 10th, and 11th respectively, 12th Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad), 15th Gerloff (GRT Yamaha).

With 16 laps to go, drama for Bassani who went down into turn 12, losing the front end of the Ducati, and his race was over. Meanwhile at the front, the leading group of 5 riders had pulled away from the rest of the field.

With 15 laps to go, it was Rea who set the new fastest lap with a 1:40.673, and the pace was gradually getting ramped up, to be more in line with the quicker pace in race 1. Bautista held a gap of 0.5s to his team mate behind in 4th. Meanwhile Lowes was struggling with the faster pace, and was beginning to lose contact in 5th.

Next lap and, as in race 1, Toprak out brakes Rea into turn 1 with a nice looking move, cutting up the inside of the 6x champion. All three of the title contenders were swapping fastest laps, and it was the turn of Alvaro to put in the new fastest lap of a 1:40.647.

With 12 laps to go, Rea repays Toprak by making the same pass on him, as he had to Rea into turn 1, to retake the lead. Meanwhile Bautista sensed an opportunity, and came through on Toprak to move into 2nd. The Turk going from 1st to 3rd in one corner.

Next lap and Bautista was gathering momentum and passed Rea down the straight, and into turn 1 to take over the lead. Again the ZX10-RR had no response to the shear speed of the Panigale V4.

Half race distance, and Toprak again passed Rea into turn 1 to take over 2nd. Bautista meanwhile, held a gap of 0.3 out in front. Further back it was 6th Locatelli, 7th Redding, 8th Lecuona.

Next lap and keen to not allow Bautista to clear away, Toprak continued to push the pace on, setting a new fastest lap of 1:40.4.

With 7 laps to go, drama for Lecuona who went down into turn 14 losing the front end on the downhill cambered corner. He was having a decent race until then, and his race was over. Meanwhile at the front, Toprak was still shadowing Bautista, and then made a surprising move into turn 13, looking to have caught Bautista out, and cut under him to take the lead. The Spaniard did not expect that move, and Toprak was looking keen for a scrap.

Next lap and Bautista would make a reply, blasting past the R1 down the straight and into turn 1, to take over the lead. Meanwhile behind in 3rd, Rea had cooked his tyres, and was losing contact with the two riders ahead of him. It would surely come down to either the Spaniard or the Turk to claim to the win.

With 4 laps to go, Bautista had extended his lead to 0.8s, and Toprak was clearly suffering from tyre wear issues as was Rea. Meanwhile further back it was 8th Vierge, 9th Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), 10th Gerloff.

With the final 2 laps to go, Bautista had broke the advances of Toprak, and had extended the gap to 1.7s. Barring an incident, he would have the win in the bag.

WorldSBK 09.10.2022 Portimao, Picture courtesy of Aruba.it Racing, Alvaro Bautista

Last lap and Bautista crossed the line to deny Toprak a hat trick of wins across the weekend. It was Toprak 2nd, Rea 3rd, Rinaldi 4th, Lowes 5th, Locatelli 6th, Redding 7th, Vierge 8th, Gerloff 9th, Baz 10th.

With the final 3 rounds to come, it was looking as though Bautista firmly held the advantage over his rivals.

Result top 5:

Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)
Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)

Championship top 3:

Bautista – 448 pts
Razgatlioglu – 392
Rea – 366

21st May 2022

Round 3 WorldSBK Estoril, Portugal, Race 1

With the extended break, it was a welcome return to action back on track. The skies were grey and gloomy, but the racing was white hot. Rea (KRT Kawasaki) would claim the Superpole with a fastest lap of 1:35.346, followed by Razagatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) and Bautista (aruba.It Ducati) in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

WSBK Estoril Race 1 Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team

Lights out and it was Razgatlioglu with the hole shot into turn 1 followed by Rea, Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), Bautista and Lowes (KRT Kawasaki). Mercado (MIE Racing Honda) crashed out, and his race was over.

With 20 laps to go, it was Toprak and Rea setting a very quick pace, and they were already pulling out a gap to the group of Locatelli and Bautista behind. Rea had gone with the harder tyre option and was able to match the pace of Toprak on the softer tyre, Rea setting a fastest lap of 1:36.258. Then drama into turn 6, Rea ran into the back of Toprak making contact with his rear tyre, but both riders were able to stay upright. The gap to Locatelli in 3rd was now at 1.0s.

With 18 laps to go Redding was again showing an improvement on the BMW, and was in 5th. Bautista used the top end speed of his Ducati to blast past Locatelli down the straight and took over 3rd. Meanwhile at the front both Toprak and Rea were still very much locked in battle, with only a gap of 0.5s between them.

With 16 laps to go, Razgatlioglu who was giving everything, ran too hot into turn 3, allowing Rea to come through and take the lead. Positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Razgatlioglu 3. Bautista 4. Locatelli 5. Redding (BMW Motorrad) 6. Lecuona (Honda HRC) 7. Vierge (Honda HRC) 8. Lowes.

With 14 laps to go Toprak out brakes Rea into turn 1 to retake the lead. Bautista was struggling to match the pace of the two at the front.

With 12 laps out of 21 remaining, it was now Rea who out braked Toprak again into turn 1, and took over the lead. Neither rider was giving an inch, and you felt the race win would be fought out between the two of them. Bautista had distanced Locatelli, and was having a lonely ride in 3rd. Meanwhile further back it was Laverty (Bonovo action BMW) in 13th and Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) in 14th.

Next lap, and Toprak retakes the lead, again it’s into turn 1. Bautista was 1.7s behind in 3rd.

Just over half race distance, and Rea responds yet again, retaking the lead again into turn 1. This was becoming one of the all time great battles between Rea and Toprak, with the lead changing virtually every lap. Meanwhile Bautista was finding good late race pace, and set a new fastest lap of 1:36.7. The Spaniard wasn’t out of contention for the race win yet.

Next lap and the battle between Toprak and Rea showed no sign of ending, and yes, you guessed it, Toprak retook the lead into turn 1, both riders leaving braking to the very latest possible into the corner.

With 8 laps of 21 remaining, Rea again stuffs his ZX10-RR under the Yamaha R1 of Toprak, again it’s turn 1, and he retakes the lead. This battle looked to be going down to the wire. Meanwhile further back there was a 3 way battle for 5th between Redding, and the Honda team mates of Lecuona and Vierge. Bautista however, had now closed the gap to Toprak to 1.0s.

Next lap and once again the lead changed hands, this time the reigning champion retakes the lead, again it’s turn 1. The constant battle between Rea and Toprak had allowed Bautista to catch them, and he was now 0.4s behind, and was looking to have managed his tyres well.

With 6 laps to go, Rea was pushing hard, and ran wide into turn 1, allowing Bautista to come past and into 2nd. The Spaniard now had Toprak in his sights, and was looking quick. Meanwhile further back, Lecuona had got past Redding, and was now in 5th.

With 4 laps to go, Toprak held a gap of 0.4s to Bautista. Rea looked to have completely lost tyre grip, and was losing contact with the two at the front. Meanwhile further back it was Lowes in 8th, Baz (Bonovo action BMW) 9th and Rinaldi (aruba.it Ducati) in 10th.

With 2 laps remaining, Bautista was all over the back of Toprak and looking for the pass. The hard battle between Rea and Razgatlioglu had taken a toll on the tyres, and both of them were now struggling with limited grip in the closing stages of the race.

Last lap, and Toprak was desperately still trying to keep Bautista at bay. Into the final corner, and Bautista got the drive out of the corner to power past Toprak and pip him to the line. Toprak looked disgusted and shook his head, but Bautista had judged the race to perfection using all of his experience to claim the win. Top ten positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Razgatlioglu 3. Rea 4. Locatelli 5. Vierge 6. Lecuona 7. Lowes 8. Redding 9. Rinaldi 10. Baz. If the Superpole race and race 2 are anything as exciting as this one, race fans are in for a treat.

Result Top 5:

Bautista (aruba.it Ducati)
Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
Rea (KRT Kawasaki)
Locatelli (Pata Yamaha)
Vierge (Honda HRC)

Top 3 championship:

Bautista 134
Rea 107
Razgatlioglu 84

23rd January 202223rd January 2022

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team announce that Chaz Davies to be the Riders’ Coach

In World Superbike news Chaz Davies is to be the Riders’ Coach for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team.

Chaz Davies coach for Aruba.it Racing – Picture courtesy of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team

Chaz Davies will remain part of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati family and will take on the role of Coach, putting his experience and talent at the disposal of Alvaro Bautista, Michael Rinaldi and Nicolò Bulega who – in the 2022 season – will make his debut in the Supersport World Championship riding the Ducati Panigale V2 of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati WSSP Team.The Welsh rider will start a new adventure that will allow him to be at the centre of the action again after 8 campaigns (6 with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team), 266 races, 28 victories and 89 podiums gained with a Ducati machine in the World Superbike Championship.Stefano Cecconi (Team Principal, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) says:

“We are happy to be able to count on Chaz again, albeit in a new role both for him and for our team. His experience will certainly be of great help to our riders, allowing them to express their full potential. His contribution to the SuperSport project will also be fundamental for both Nicolò Bulega and the team, as the Panigale V2 has the DNA of the twin-cylinder Superbikes on which Chaz has achieved outstanding results over the past years”.

Chaz Davies Aruba.it Ducati Picture courtesy of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team

Chaz Davies (Riders’ Coach, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) says:

“I’m absolutely thrilled to remain part of the racing world and especially with the Aruba.it – Ducati family, with whom I enjoyed the best years of my racing career. It will be an interesting perspective to see the action from ‘the other side of the fence’! I believe that with my seven years of experience as an official Ducati rider and knowledge of both the Ducati V2 and V4 bikes I am well equipped to contribute to the future success of the team. We have excellent riders for the 2022 SBK/WSS campaigns and I will give everything I can to maximise their potential. I want to thank Stefano Cecconi, Feel Racing and Ducati for this opportunity and can’t wait to get started!”