Tag: Jonathan Rea

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Round 12 WorldSBK, Phillip Island, Race 2

It’s the last dance. Who would snatch victory in the last race of the season?

The earlier superpole race saw the new world champion, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), take a gamble with slick tyres on a wet track that was drying out, a gamble which paid off. Bautista clinched the win, followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki KRT).

WorldSBK Philip Island, Australia, Round 12 20.11.2022. Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

Conditions for race 2 were dry, if not cold, with air temperature only about 15 degrees Celsius.

Lights out then for race 2, and it was Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Rea and Redding (BMW Motorrad) who got a great start from 6th on the grid. Massive drama then for Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) and Vierge (Honda HRC), the Texan clipped the rear end of the former Moto2 rider into turn2, sending both of them careering off track. Both their seasons were now over. Meanwhile Rea was looking to make an early impact, and took over the lead into turn 3, diving under Bautista, Redding sensed an opportunity, and so to also passed Bautista.

Next lap and positions were: 1. Rea 2. Redding 3. Bautista 4. Toprak 5. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) 6. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) 7. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) 10. Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) 11. Baz (Bonovo Action BMW). As he had been all weekend, Lowes was looking quick, and set the new fastest lap with a 1:30.991, going around the outside of Bautista in the process, and into 3rd.

With 18 laps remaining Bautista blasted past both Lowes and Redding down the straight and into turn 1 to take over 2nd. Toprak moved up to 3rd, with Lowes in 4th, and Redding bumped down to 5th.

Next lap, and Rea was riding defensively, as Bautista was looking to retake the lead, and was applying pressure. Locatelli was next to get through on Redding, and he moved into 5th, with Scott now in 6th. Meanwhile in the lead Rea held a gap of 0.2s.

Next lap and Bautista made his move on Rea, powering past the ZX-10RR down the straight and into the lead. Toprak was 3rd, Lowes 4th, Locatelli 5th, Redding 6th, and Rinaldi 7th. As was the story in race 1, the leading 4 were pulling away from the rest, and there was a sizeable gap now.

With 15 laps left to go, Bautista was looking to make it two wins out of three, and posted the new fastest lap with a 1:30.2. Lowes held a gap of 2.1s to Locatelli behind in 5th.

With 12 laps remaining, Rea wasn’t giving up and was pressing Bautista, and looking for the pass. Toprak in 3rd, was starting to lose contact with the two ahead of him, as the pace was ramped up. Lowes was still in 4th, and looked to be managing his tyres better than Toprak.

Just over half race distance, and Bautista looked to be suffering from rear tyre grip issues, with the back of his Panagale sliding out into most corners. By contrast Rea looked to be managing his tyres perfectly, and the Kawasaki looked to have the better drive out of corners. The gap between them was 0.4s.

Meanwhile further back, it was Redding 6th, Rinaldi 7th, Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) 9th, Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad) 12th, and Laverty 13th.

With 8 laps left, Lowes got the better drive out of turn 12 and down the straight to come through on Toprak, and take over 3rd. The gap to his team mate in 2nd was 1.7s. Meanwhile Rea had cut the gap to Bautista to 0.2s and was looking to make the pass.

With 6 laps to go, Lowes had lost time and the gap to Rea was now 2.7s. Toprak was in 4th, Locatelli 5th, and Redding 6th.

Then with 5 laps remaining, huge drama as the race is red flagged due to a crash between Laverty and Xavi Fores into turn 1. Both riders were conscious, but it was a high speed crash, and precautions were rightly taken. As 2/3 of the race distance had been covered, the positions at the end of the previous lap were taken as final. That meant Bautista won the final race of the season, to cap off an already impressive season.

WorldSBK Philip Island, Australia, Round 12 20.11.2022. Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

Results top 5:

  1. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  3. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  5. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha)

Final championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 601 pts
  2. Razgatlioglu – 529
  3. Rea – 502

 

See you next season race fans!!!

 

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Round 12 WorldSBK, Phillip Island, Race 1

Season finale here in the land down under. With Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) already crowned world champion, it would fall to the others to fight it out for the last 3 races of the season.

WorldSBK Philip Island, Australia 19.11.2022 Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team

Superpole saw Bautista claim pole with an unbeaten time of 1:29.813, followed by the Kawasaki KRT team mates of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Conditions were mixed for race 1, with the track still wet from earlier rainfall, most of the riders went for full wet tyres.

Lights out then for race 1, and it was Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Rea and Toprak (Pata Yamaha). Lowes ran wide and was able to rejoin in 4th, Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) was 5th.

Next lap of the 22 lap race, and positions were: 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Rea 4. Lowes 5. Bassani (Motocorsa Duacti) 6. Locatelli 7. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) 8. Vierge (Honda HRC). Bassani had a sensational start after only qualifying down in 14th, he was now up to 5th and looked quick.

With 20 laps to go, Rea made a move on Toprak blasting past the R1 down the straight and into turn 1 to take 2nd, and then cut up the inside of Bautista a few corners later to take the lead. Rea looked like he had good pace, even in the tricky conditions, as the track was starting to dry out. He held a gap of 0.6s to Bautista in 2nd.

Next lap and Rea put in the new fastest lap with a 1:43.070. Toprak then came through on Bautista to take 2nd, next was Lowes to relegate the new world champion down to 4th in a few corners. Both the Kawasakis were looking quick, and looked to have their set up dialled in. The leading four riders were now clearing away from the others.

With 17 laps to go, it was the turn of the former champion Toprak to put in the new fastest lap with a 1:43.014, and then made his move on Rea on take over the lead. Positions were as follows: 1. Toprak 2. Rea 3. Lowes 4. Bautista 5. Bassani 6. Locatelli. Lap times continued to drop with Lowes next to set the new fastest lap with a 1:42.8. The English rider then came through on Toprak into Doohans corner to make it a Kawasaki 1, 2.

With 15 laps to go, Lowes then took the lead down the straight, flying past his team mate to take the lead. Lowes was looking quick and was out to take his 1st win of the season. Meanwhile further back it was Gerloff 8th and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 10th. At the front end, Toprak ran out wide, and allowed Bautista to come through into 3rd.

With the track fairly well mostly dry now, several riders decided to come into the pits to change for slick tyres. These included Rea, Toprak and Bautista. Lowes decided to press on with his wet tyres, so to did Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad) and rookie Kyle Smith (Pedercini Kawasaki).

Half race distance now, and Lowes, currently in the lead after the others had pitted, was struggling with grip as his wet tyres were tearing up. Behind him then was Redding and Kyle Smith in 2nd, and 3rd respectively, Rea 5th, Toprak 6th, Bautista 7th, Locatelli 8th, and Bassani 9th. Lowes then decided to pull into the pits for a tyre change.

Next lap and Rea who had brand new slicks on was looking quick, and moved into 4th, setting the new fastest lap with a 1:33.311 in the process. Redding was still in the lead, but setting lap times around 8s slower then Rea, and would no doubt get caught.

With 9 laps to go Rea continued to slash the lead of Redding at the front, and set the new fastest lap with a 1:32.7. Meanwhile Toprak was in 4th and had a gap of 5.8s to Rea. Redding then decided to pull into the pits for a tyre change, which meant that rookie Kyle Smith, the Huddersfield local lad, lead his first WorldSBK race.

With 8 laps to go, Rea had now caught Smith, passed him, and immediately pulled away. Rea was looking good for his first win after a long win less drought of 24 races. Positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Smith 3. Toprak 4. Bautista 5. Locatelli 6. Lowes 7. Bassani. Toprak then blasted past Smith down the straight like he was riding a 250cc bike, moving into 2nd, and setting the new fastest lap with a 1:32.3. Lowes then moved into 5th after getting through on Locatelli.

With 6 laps left to go, Rea was showing no signs of slowing down, and set the new fastest lap with a 1:32.203, and held a gap of 5.7s to Torpak. The Turk had a gap of 8.3s to Bautista in 3rd. Lowes then pulled off an audacious pass on Bautista, taking him around the outside of Lukey Heights to move into 3rd. Lap times continued to drop, and Toprak was next to set the new one with a 1:32.005.

Next lap and it was Locatelli to take Bautista and move into 4th. Bautista was in 5th, and held a sizeable gap of 12s to Bassani in 6th.

With only 3 laps left positions were: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Lowes 4. Locatelli 5. Bautista 6. Gerloff 7. Bassani 8. Vierge 9. Smith 10. Baz.

With 2 laps left it was Lowes with the new fastest lap, a 1:31.8. Drama for Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad) who had a big crash into turn 4, lost the front of his BMW and sent it catapulting into the gravel. The bike completely totalled, and his race was over.

Last lap and Rea broke his win less streak. Toprak 2nd, Lowes 3rd, Locatelli 4th, Bautista 5th, Gerloff 6th, Bassani 7th, Vierge 8th, Baz 9th. Smith 12th.

WorldSBK Philip Island, Australia 19.11.2022 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

That 5th place finish for Bautista, also meant Ducati won the manufacturers championship, their first in 11 years.

Results top 5:

  1. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  2. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  3. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha)
  5. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 564 pts
  2. Razgatlioglu – 507
  3. Rea – 475

 

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Round 10 WorldSBK San Juan, Argentina, Race 2

The earlier superpole race was won by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), followed by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki KRT).

Track temperature was a lot higher compared to race 1, which meant it would start to feel greasy for the riders, and tyre management would surely be a big factor for the race.

Lights out for race 2 then, and it was Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) with a great start, followed by the Kawasaki team mates of Rea and Lowes in 2nd and 3rd, Bautista 4th, and Toprak in 5th. An unhappy Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), got a shove from Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati), which sent the Frenchman ploughing into the gravel, and his race was over. Bassani would no doubt receive a penalty for that incident.

Next lap and Rea ran wide losing positions and ended up in 6th. Lowes was having a great start to the race, and was attacking Bautista, the two of them fighting for 2nd. Toprak was now up to 4th.

With 19 laps to go positions were as follows; 1. Rinaldi 2. Lowes 3. Bautista 4. Toprak 5. Vierge (Honda HRC) 6. Rea. It was the Northern Irishman who then put in the new fastest lap with a 1:38.3.

Next lap and Bautista was finding his rhythm and came through on Lowes to move into 2nd. Toprak was next to come through Lowes, and moved into 3rd. Meanwhile further back it was Redding (BMW Motorrad) 10th, Laverty (Bonovo Action Ducati) 11th, and Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad) 12th.

With 16 laps to go, it was Lecuona (Honda HRC), who set the new fastest lap with a 1:38.2, impressive from the ex-MotoGP rider, as it was his first visit to San Juan. Bautista took over the lead from his team mate, and Toprak wasn’t about to let Bautista clear away, and moved through on Rinaldi into 2nd. Further back it was the Kawasaki team mates of Lowes and Rea, in 4th and 5th respectively. Bautista held a gap of 0.2s to Toprak.

Next lap and Toprak put in the new fastest lap of the race with a 1:37.923. The leading two of Bautista, and Toprak were pulling away from the rest, and had pulled out a significant gap. Rinaldi then ran wide allowing both of the Kawasaki team mates through. Positions were as follows; 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Lowes 4. Rea 5. Rinaldi.

With 13 laps remaining, Bautista had increased his lead to 0.5s. Toprak was doing all he could to stay with the Ducati, and set a new fastest lap of 1:37.890. Would we see team orders come into play, forcing Lowes to let Rea through? The GRT Yamaha team mates, Gerloff and Nozane, were having a disappointing weekend and found themselves way down in 16th and 17th.

With 11 laps remaining, Bautista was once again ramping up the pace and set the new fastest lap of the race with a 1:37.789. He now held a gap of 0.8s to Toprak, who was doing everything he could to keep in contact. Meanwhile further back Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), came through on Redding into 9th. Bassani had caught the Honda team mates of Vierge, and Lecuona in 6th, and 7th respectively.

Over half distance now, and Bautista had increased his lead to 0.9s to Toprak. Bautista then put in the new fastest lap of the race with a 1:37.660.

With 7 laps to go positions were as follows; 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Lowes 4. Rea 5. Rinaldi.

With only 4 laps to go, Rea did come through on Lowes into 3rd, Lowes didn’t try to respond, knowing his team mate needed the extra points. Rea wouldn’t be able to catch Toprak who was well away. There was then a three-way battle for 5th between Rinaldi, Vierge, and Lecuona. Meanwhile, Bassani was given a long lap penalty for his earlier incident with Baz, which he failed to take, and was subsequently given an additional long lap penalty. He rejoined the race down in 20th.

Last lap and Bautista crossed the line to claim his second win of the weekend, followed by Toprak 2nd. Rea 3rd, Lowes 4th, Rinaldi 5th, Vierge 6th, Lecuona 7th, Locatelli 8th, Redding 9th, Vd Mark 10th.

It has been an amazingly dominant season for Bautista, who has now finished on the podium in 27 of 30 races so far.

Next stop is Round 11 in Mandalika, Indonesia, and Bautista will be the World Champion if he outscores Toprak by 18 points, and Rea by a single point.

Result top 5:
  1. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  3. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)
  5. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)
Championship top 3:
  1. Bautista – 507 points
  2. Razgatlioglu – 425 points
  3. Rea – 409 points

Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK.com 

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Round 10 WorldSBK San Juan, Argentina, Race 1

Going into the weekend with a 51 point gap over title rival, and reigning world champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu. Alvaro Bautista could put serious damage into the hopes of both Toprak, and Jonathan Rea, of closing the gap with a strong weekend.

WorldSBK 22.10.2022 Alex Lowes Picture courtesy of KRT World SBK

However the championship leader would have to start the race from 3rd on the grid, after Toprak (Pata Yamaha) claimed pole with an unbeaten time of 1:36.216, followed by Rea (KRT Kawasaki) in 2nd.

Ideal weather for the start of race 1 then, with the Andean sun baking down onto the track. Lights out and it was Toprak with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Rea, Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), and Lecuona (Honda HRC) in 4th. And then massive drama as Toprak went off line, and way too hot into turn 9, sending his R1 plunging into the gravel. He managed to pick up his bike and rejoin the race at the back of the field. A huge, and potentially catastrophic shift in the outcome of this championship now for Toprak.

With 19 laps to go, it was Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) with an impressive start, and leading the race, setting a new fastest lap of 1:37.881 in the process. Positions were as follows: 1. Bassani 2. Rea 3. Lecuona 4. Bautista 5. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) 6. Redding (BMW Motorrad) 7. Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 8. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT).

With 17 laps remaining, Bautista made a move on Lecuona, getting through to move into 3rd, and setting a new fastest lap in the process of a 1:37.5. The leading trio of Bassani, Rea, and Bautista were now pulling away from the rest of the field. Meanwhile further back it was: 10. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) 11. Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad) 14. Laverty (Bonovo Action Ducati).

Next lap and Bautista was beginning to ramp up the pace, he lined up Rea, and made a clean move, and up into 2nd. Rea had no response. Further back Redding was struggling, and dropped two places down into 8th. Gerloff was also struggling, and the Texan found himself down in a disappointing 15th. Toprak was still at the back of the field.

With 14 laps to go, Bassani held a gap of 0.3s to Bautista, the Spaniard was reeling him in however, and he moved through on the young Italian a few corners later, taking the lead. Rea knew he had to stay with Bautista, and made an aggressive move on Bassani into turn 10, moving into 2nd. The move surprised Bassani, the Italian now in 3rd. Drama for Mercado (MIE Honda), who crashed out into turn 14, and the local rider’s race was over. Meanwhile at the front, Bautista was increasing his lead, and now held a gap of 0.6s to Rea.

With 12 laps to go, Bassani had got back past Rea into 2nd, the speed of the Ducati again proving a decisive factor. Rea was growing increasingly frustrated, as he could once again see Bautista disappearing down the road.

With just over half race distance done, and with the lower fuel load, the Ducati was even quicker, and Bautista continued to ramp up his lead, the gap was now 2.7s. Positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Bassani 3. Rea 4. Lecuona 5. Rinaldi 6. Lowes 7. Redding 8. Vierge (Honda HRC) 9. Locatelli 10. Baz.

With 7 laps to go, Rea was throwing everything he could at Bassani, but to no avail. The fight between Bassani and Rea suited Bautista, and he forged on, putting ever more time into the gap.

With only 5 laps left, Bautista put in the new fastest lap of the race with a 1:37.389. Meanwhile further back, Toprak had moved up places, and was now in 18th.

With 3 laps left, Rea finally made a move on Bassani that stuck, and he moved into 2nd. Bautista was 6s ahead, and no doubt had the win firmly sealed up.

WorldSBK 22.10.2022 Alvaro Bautistas courtesy of Aruba.it_racing

Last lap and Bautista crossed the line to take another dominant win, followed by Rea 2nd, Bassani 3rd, Lecuona 4th, Rinaldi 5th,Lowes 6th, Redding 7th, Locatelli 8th, Vierge 9th, Vd Mark 10th, while Toprak came in 15th claiming just the single point.

Result top 5:

  1. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  3. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)
  4. Lecuona (Honda HRC)
  5. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 473
  2. Razgatlioglu – 393
  3. Rea – 386
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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:

  1. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  3. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)
  5. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 448 pts
  2. Razgatlioglu – 392
  3. Rea – 366

 

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Round 9 WorldSBK Portimao, Portugal, Race 1

The earlier Superpole saw Rea (Kawasaki KRT) claim top spot with an unbeaten lap time of 1:39.610, followed by Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), and Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) in 2nd, and 3rd respectively.

An earlier red flagged incident in the SSP300 race, forced race direction to delay the start of race 1, and subsequently cut the laps down to 14. This was going to be a short and sharp shootout, reminiscent of a Superpole race.

WSBK 08.10.2022 Portimao, Alex Lowes picture courtesy of KRT Kawasaki

Lights out then for the delayed start to Race 1, and it was Rea with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Lowes, Toprak, and Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati).

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Lowes 4. Bassani 5. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) 6. Redding (BMW Motorrad) 7. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha). Further back it was Lecuona (Honda HRC) 11th, Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) 12th, and Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) in 15th.

With 12 laps to go Rea was making the most of his good start, and was extending his lead over the reigning champion in 2nd, putting in the fastest lap of the race with a 1:40.604, and held a gap of 0.6s. After initially making a good start, Lowes now found himself down in 4th, after first Toprak, then Bassani and Bautista overtook him.

Next lap and Toprak had cut the gap to Rea down to 0.4s, and set the new fastest lap of the race in the process with a 1:40.328. Bautista was now in 4th, after coming through on Lowes, but he would have work to do if he intended on catching his title rivals out in the lead.

With 10 laps to go Rea only held a gap of 0.1s to Toprak, who in turn held a gap of 0.5s to Bassani behind in 3rd.

Next lap and Toprak makes an aggressive move on Rea into turn 1, the R1 getting out of shape and Toprak slammed under Rea, while the rear of the R1 was sideways. No love lost between the pair!

With 7 laps to go, Bautista, as was a familiar scenario this season, was finding good late race pace and passed Bassani to take over 3rd. This group of 5 riders had pulled out a significant gap to the rest of the field. Further back it was Locatelli in 6th, and Redding in 7th. Rea held a gap of 0.7s to Bautista behind.

With 5 laps to go Bautista had cut the gap to Rea down to 0.2s, and was soon going to be all over the back of the ZX10-RR.

Next lap and Bautista, after getting good traction out of turn 15, blasted past Rea down the straight and briefly into 2nd, although he over cooked it into the corner, and subsequently ran out wide, allowing Rea to retake the position. The intention from the Spaniard was clear however. Meanwhile further back it was Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) in 8th, Vierge (Honda HRC) 9th, and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 10th.

With 3 laps to go Bautista lined up Rea, and this time made the pass stick, moving into 2nd. Toprak was clear out in the lead, and held a gap of 1.5s, which you felt was enough to see him take the win. Meanwhile Lowes had found a bit extra, and was all over the back of Bassani looking for a pass.

Next lap and Lowes lined up Bassani, and made a pass, but the Italian snapped straight back into turn 5 to retake the lead.

WSBK 08.10.2022 Portimao – Podium: Razgatlioglu, Bautista, Rea, picture courtesy of WorldSBK

Last lap and Toprak crossed the line to claim the win, followed by Bautista in 2nd, and Rea in 3rd. Bassani 4th, Lowes 5th, Locatelli 6th, Rinaldi 7th, Vierge 8th, Baz 9th, Gerloff 10th. Drama for Scott Redding, who went down into turn 5, was able to pick up the bike and eventually crossed the line down in 18th.

Result top 5:

  1. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  2. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  3. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)
  5. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 414 pts
  2. Razgatlioglu – 360
  3. Rea – 343
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IMPORTANT PORTIMAO TEST NEXT UP FOR KRT’s WorldSBK TEAM

KRT’s WorldSBK pairing of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes are eager to get back into testing action at the undulating Autódromo Internacional do Algarve for a two-day track session on 8 and 9 February.  Here’s what KRT have to say:

Alex Lowes Picture courtesy of KRT Provec Racing

After two winter tests at the Spanish circuit of Jerez, utilising new parts and settings for the 2022 Ninja ZX-10RR, the forthcoming on-track action in Portugal will be useful to make comparisons with all the data gathered so far at a very different circuit design.

After posting some astounding lap times, despite only riding for half a day in the previous Jerez test in January, six times world champion Rea has already demonstrated his sheer pace on the 2022 Ninja ZX-10RR. He also had the opportunity to complete a long run on which delivered pleasing results and valuable information to his team; information which has already been fed back to the KMC engineers in Japan.

Lowes has been working hard on his physical conditioning after a 2021 season affected by injury throughout. Like Rea, he has also found the two post-2021 season winter tests held so far confidence-building and useful in terms of settling on a final direction for race set-up in 2022.

The 4.592km long Algarve circuit – commonly know as Portimao – is a very popular testing and racing venue and features some of the most dramatic changes of incline and highest numbers of blind corner entries of any circuit on the WorldSBK calendar. It is scheduled as the ninth round of the forthcoming season, between 7-9 October.

After this Portimao test the team should have all the data in requires to make any adjustments and improvements before the next KRT test at Montmelo in Catalunya on March 25 and 26.

Jonathan Rea Picture courtesy of KRT Provec Racing

STATEMENTS:

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team Rider): “It is nice to get back on the bike, especially at Portimao, which a track I enjoy. After our shakedown test recently in Jerez our biggest target is to reconfirm the positive items we have tested during December and January. That will give us good info, because if we can confirm these items at a couple of circuits, it means we are on the right way. The idea is just to keep building the package. I feel we have definitely improved the bike since last year. I was able to make a long run in Jerez and we found some positives with the bike and my riding style, so it is important to try and maybe focus on getting some information on how the tyres behave and the new items after many laps. Hopefully the weather is consistent and we can continue to build the package to start the season. There will also be more bikes on track at Portimao and a lot of the key manufacturers will be there testing. This is the first real test where everyone is together – which is always nice to draw some comparisons.”

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team Rider): “The recent Jerez test for me was very much a technical test, ticking off new parts. My crew chief Marcel is very technical so I had new stuff to try – just trying to analyse what is definitely better. Portimao is a track that I have always had a good feeling with on the Kawasaki and we have a good base set-up with our 2021 bike. So, to compare new parts will be quite good, because we already have a good feeling. If we can improve that with the new stuff then it should set us up well for the year. Trying stuff at two different tracks means that if it is positive at both tracks then you are a lot more confident committing to that base set-up going into a new season. It is going to be a busy test! I would like to ride as much as possible just to get back into it. I have been working really hard on my physical condition since the end of the season. That has been the biggest focus of mine because I know if I am going to be healthy it is going to make the biggest difference, no matter what changes we make on the bike. We will make a plan with Marcel in terms of how many days we are going to ride. After this test we have a big break so we are really going to have to be clear with the feedback to all the guys in Japan, and to all the engineers within the teams, so we can work hard in the break before the Montmelo test at the end of March. Portimao will be an important test and I am looking forward to getting out and seeing where we are compared to a few of our rivals.”

Guim Roda (KRT Team Manager): “Initially we didn’t have a plan to test in Portimao, because we were considering to make a test in the middle of the year. But, because we had a few points to check on the bike, we would like to compare them on different tracks. Portimao and Jerez are quite different. Also, we have a gap of one month to keep working before the next Montmelo test, ten days before the first race of the year. So, we considered this opportunity at Portimao was a good point to test again. So we joined with Ducati, who had rented the track, to make this test. For us, this is a kind of continuation of the items we tested at Jerez, to double check and confirm the direction of the bike set-up and the performance of the items we have received so far. We will do this so that we can have the best possible bike set-up, in combination with the riders.”

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Kawasaki Racing Team Press Release ahead of second winter test

JEREZ TEST AWAITS KAWASAKI RIDERS

At the beginning of a new calendar year the official Kawasaki Racing Team will take part in a second Spanish winter test, between 26 – 27 January, with regular WorldSBK pairing of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes eager to get back into action.

Picture courtesy of Provec Racing

The second pre-season test in preparation for the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship will take place at the 4.423km long Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto.

Always a popular testing venue, Jerez hosted on-track session just a few weeks ago that allowed Alex and Jonathan to evaluate some new items and settings on their official Ninja ZX-10RR WorldSBK race machines.

The purpose of this forthcoming test is to evaluate all elements of machine performance after off-season developments have been carried out, largely based on feedback from the December tests.

Six times world champion Rea has the clear mission to regain his world champion status again after finishing runner up by just 13 points last year. Having come so close to a seventh championship win Rea is as motivated as ever to find the small margins that will help him to regain his crown in 2022.

For Lowes this next Jerez test is another chance to get his 2022 preparations underway in a consistent way. This is of particular importance after a 2021 campaign that was interrupted by injury, especially with so few gaps in the season long enough to let him recover fully between rounds.

The next KRT pre-season test after Jerez is scheduled for the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, between 8 – 9 February.

Picture courtesy of Provec Racing

STATEMENTS:

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team Rider): “We have two days planned at Jerez. Depending on the weather forecast, the schedule and how we get on, we may choose to use one of them and save another for later in the year. We had a very productive test at Jerez at the end of last year, so it is always good to go back and draw comparisons. The guys back at the KRT workshop, and KMC, have had a chance to go over all that data and try to improve. We will understand the results in a few days. I have been at home, really recharging my batteries. I haven’t travelled at all since my last test so it has been really productive from a preparation point of view. I am feeling refreshed and now I’m looking forward to riding again and seeing the guys.”

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team Rider): : “I am really excited to get back to work for 2022. I’ve taken a good rest over the holidays and enjoyed some time with the new family. Now I’m feeling fresh and ready to get back to it with ‘Team 22.’ I’m interested to test some of the new stuff Marcel, my crew chief, and the guys have been working on since our last test and start building up towards the new season.”

Guim Roda (KRT Team Manager): “The forthcoming Jerez test is the first track experience of the new year. After a long winter we all have a big motivation to start our engines and go into race mode. After last December’s test KMC has been working with the inputs we gave them. We have been polishing some points to check how competitive we can be compared to 2021. Alex has had time to recover quite well and Johnny is working more than ever to start stronger in the 2022 season. We need to define many small details that we need to make some upgrades on the final race package of the Ninja ZX-10RR in 2022. Let’s see how it goes at this test.”

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What Next For JR 65 ?

So for the first time in over 5 years, the number 65, not number 1, will adorn the front end of Jonathan Rea’s Kawasaki ZX-10R. In the immediate aftermath of the Indonesian race, Rea looked shell shocked, yet as always was gracious in his praise for the new champion.

Jonathan Rea Misano WSBK. Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK

No one can argue that the Northern Irishman is a proper gentleman both on and off the track. Look beneath the grin and cordial demeanour however, and you’ll discover a burning desire to win. It can hardly come as a surprise that winning means so much to the 6 time world champion, yet more than anything, it is his relentless hunger to keep proving himself, which is really awe-inspiring.

In Toprak Razgatlioglu, Rea has met an opponent just as hungry as he himself is. An opponent who leaves nothing behind on the track and pushes Rea to another level. Yes the Kawasaki struggled in a lot of areas, out performed in terms of top end speed, by not only the Ducati’s, but also by the Yamaha’s. What was of more concern, certainly of trying to find a solution, was the stability issues, especially into hard braking corners which plagued the Kawasaki all season. Rea was using “Marc Marques” skills saving what could have been several nasty crashes. The save at Donington Park springs to  mind, as Rea somehow managed to “motocross” his way off-road down the Craner Curves, still managing to rejoin the race. He was not as lucky in Portimao and was involved in a really scary high speed crash, walking away from a mangled ZX-10R.

Michael van der Mark, Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes at Magny-Cours WSBK 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

A certain Valentino Rossi finally hung up his leathers this year at the age of 42, putting a bookend to 3 decades of racing. Rossi never lost his hunger for competing at the top level, and when new, younger opponents came onto the scene, he was able to reinvent himself, applying what the younger riders were doing and honing his craft.

I could see Rea doing something similar, extending his career for several more years. Certainly the talented crop of young riders in WorldSBK at the moment, will push Rea further. Not only Toprak and Scott Redding, but also the likes of Axel Bassani, Andrea Locatelli, Garrett Gerloff and the talented Iker Lecuona who comes from MotoGP.

Jonathan Rea at the 2020 Philip Island Test. Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK

The future is a hard thing to predict, but what does look certain is WorldSBK continuing to provide action packed racing, whether or not Jonathan Rea is still there. Although as fans of the sport, we all still hope he is there for many years to come.

 

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Superb Racing from Estoril with Round 2 of WorldSBK

CrewOnTwo and ThePitCrewOnline wish to send our condolences following the passing of Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier following Saturday’s incident during the qualifying 2 session at Mugello after he sadly succumbed to his injuries. Our thoughts are with his family and his teammates.

 

Victory in Race 1 of Round 2 of the WorldSBK championship at Estoril went to Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) when he claimed his second win of the season with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) coming in second and reigning World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) completing the top three with just one second separating the trio.

Picture courtesy of BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

Even though Rea got a good start off the line, it was Redding who got the jump on Rea on the opening lap quickly followed by Raz with Redding and Raz then breaking away by the end of lap 1. Rinaldi passed Rea on lap 2 with Rea taking the place back on the following lap, it was then a thrilling three way race between the trio until the end of the race.

A good start was had by Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) moving from 7th to 5th on the grid but unfortunately he then moved down the grid eventually finishing in a respectable 13th place.

Having fought his way through the field, Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished 4th after a battle with Rinaldi who came in 5th ahead of Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) in sixth.

The new BMR M 1000R of Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) showed strong pace throughout the race fighting his way to claim 7th place ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) after having his Superpole race time deleted and starting 18th on the grid.

The youngest rider on the grid, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), who had his superpole time deleted too, came home 11th place, his best WorldSBK race result so far five seconds clear of Leon Haslam (Team HRC).

The top six following WorldSBK Race 1:

  1. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
  2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +0.877s
  3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.915s
  4. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +9.518s
  5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +13.636s
  6. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) +17.177s

Day 2 at Estoril saw the Superpole race take place with reigning World Champion Rea taking pole with an all time lap record, his second pole position in two races and his 29th career pole with Redding coming in 2nd followed by Raz completing the front row of the grid.

A great result from Gerloff who starts 4th on the grid after a great session with Sykes 5th and then Rinaldi completing the second row of the grid.

The lights go out for Race 2 and Rea fights back and claims his 103rd WorldSBK victory with Redding crashing out from 2nd place having got off to a great start and taking the lead into turn 1. Rea was forced to go wide at turn 4 by Rinaldi who went up into 2nd place behind his teammate with Gerloff up into 3rd. Unfortunately, on the second lap Gerloff lost control of his bike and made contact with Rinaldi forcing both riders to retire.

On lap 14 Rea briefly got ahead at turn 1 of Redding with Redding passing at turn 2 but turn 3 sees Redding run wide allowing Rea to get ahead. Redding lost the front of bike at turn 4 and we saw him slipping down the field where we eventually see him finish in 14th. The British rider was then given a six-second penalty for a jump start in Race 2 meaning he was classified 16th place.

Michael van der Mark Picture courtesy of BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) closed up on Rea in the closing stages of the race but Rea was able to hold onto his lead and claim his second victory of the season. Raz, having recovered rather well from his double long lap penalty for a jump start at the start of the race, came in 3rd, his third podium of the weekend. A great weekend for Raz and the Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK team.

Lowes strong start to the season continued when he came home in 4th place finishing just 1.6 seconds ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) in fifth, his best result of his debut season so far with Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) coming in 6th.

Bautista battled his way from starting 18th on the grid to finish an impressive 7th ahead of Sykes with Laverty coming in 9th with the Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) finishing the top ten.

The top six following WorldSBK Race 2:

  1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
  2. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven)
  3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK)
  4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
  5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK)
  6. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

A brilliant weekend of WorldSBK racing and luckily we haven’t got long to wait until Round 3 which is the weekend of the 12th / 13th June at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, Riviera Di Rimini, Italy.

BK

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