Motul FIM Superbike World Championship

Motorland Aragon, Spain

April 6, 2019

Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Duc Panigale V4 R), 18 laps, Total Race Time 33:14.114, Best Lap Time 1:49.755 (New Race Lap Record)

2. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -15.170 seconds, 1:50.321

3. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale V4 R), -15.650, 1:50.771

4. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -18.204, 1:50.851, ran off track

5. Tom Sykes, UK (BMW S1000RR), -20.165, 1:50.936

6. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), -22.419, 1:50.872

7. Sandro Cortese, Germany (Yam YZF-R1), -23.333, 1:51.212

8. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR), -27.929, 1:51.704

9. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -28.243, 1:51.312

10. Jordi Torres, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), -28.411, 1:51.170

11. Leon Camier, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -39.126, 1:52.242

12. Marco Melandri, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), -39.240, 1:51.776

13. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc Panigale V4 R), -47.782, 1:52.142

14. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -59.879, 1:52.927

15. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Duc Panigale V4 R), -97.121, crash, 1:50.485

16. Alessandro Delbianco, Italy (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), DNF, crash

17. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), DNF, crash

18. Markus Reiterberger, Germany (BMW S1000RR), DNF, crash

World Championship Point Standings (after 7 of 39 races):

1. Bautista, 149 points

2. Rea, 118

3. Lowes, 82

4. Van Der Mark, 71

5. TIE, Haslam/Melandri, 58

7. Cortese, 49

8. Davies, 34

9. Razgatlioglu, 32

10. Sykes, 30

11. Rinaldi, 28

12. Torres, 24

13. TIE, Camier/Reiterberger, 14

15. Laverty, 13

16. Mercado, 11

17. Kiyonari, 7

18. Delbianco, 3

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:

#AragonWorldSBK – Day 2:

Bautista takes seventh consecutive victory in WorldSBK in Race 1 at MotorLand Aragón

Dominant home-hero makes more history to become the first Spanish winner at the MotorLand Aragon circuit

(Above) Alvaro Bautista (19) taking the checkered flag at the end of Race One. Photo courtesy of Dorna WSBK Press Office.

An action-packed opening WorldSBK encounter saw Alvaro Bautista take a seventh win of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season. It was a thrilling battle for second position though, as a seven-bike train soon began to frantically swap places, resulting in a thrilling final few laps.

Bautista got a dream start, blasting clear into the lead by Turn 1. However, there was drama behind as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) collided on the line, leaving the German rider on the floor in the middle of the pack. He was able to get up, but his race was certainly over.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was able to give some positivity to the German manufacturer, as he got into second position, ahead of Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). There was more carnage on the opening lap, as Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) crashed at Turn 12.

Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was moving up the order very quickly, into fourth by Lap 2, racing up from eighth on the grid. Jonathan Rea had also made a great start, up to fifth position, whilst the rider who had suffered the most in the opening laps was German, Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), who was now down to seventh as Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) moved through on his Yamaha compatriot.

As the race progressed, a mistake from Alex Lowes at the final corner allowed Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes to come through, whilst Chaz Davies also got in on the action. Four riders, representing four manufacturers, side-by-side down the straight for second position. Meanwhile, way out in the lead, Bautista achieved a new lap record, with 1’49.755 cementing his position as the rider to beat in WorldSBK.

Tom Sykes soon dropped back behind the main protagonists but Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) was right in the mix, picking up places and soon, was amongst the leading group. The Irishman made it into fifth position in the final third of the race, before also making a bold move with three laps to go on Lowes at Turn 12. The Irishman was now fourth and looking good for a podium.

Jonathan Rea was looking good for second place and continuously hounded Chaz Davies through Turns 3, 4 and 5. Rea led the battle going on to the final lap, with Davies all over the rear-end of the reigning four-time champion. Eugene Laverty was able to make his way to the back of the duo, looking hard for a way ahead of Davies. Into Turn 14, Davies was lining Rea up for a move down the back straight before Eugene Laverty clipped him and crashed out. Davies stayed aboard but the damage had been done.

Completing the race without any such drama, Alvaro Bautista took a seventh win, whilst Jonathan Rea took a seventh second position and Chaz Davies in third place – his first podium of the 2019 season. Laverty’s crash promoted Alex Lowes to fourth and a resurgent Tom Sykes, who picked off Cortese and van der Mark in the closing laps. With Sykes fifth with the Dutch and German stars behind, eighth place was taken by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing), ahead of a disappointing Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in ninth and top Kawasaki after Tissot Superpole, Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing); the 31-year-old Spaniard taking his first back-to-back top tens of the season.

Outside of the top ten, it was Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Racing) ahead of a dejected Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), with second-row starter Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) down in 13th. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Racing) and disappointed Eugene Laverty concluded the points.

Bautista’s win makes it 348 for Ducati, meaning an iconic 350 at Aragon this weekend can still happen. It is his seventh consecutive win and Spain’s first at a Spanish circuit since Ruben Xaus in Race 1, at Valencia in 2007 – also riding a Ducati. Chaz Davies’ podium means it is the first time two Ducati riders have been on the same podium in almost an entire year: MotorLand Aragon Race 2.

P1 – Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – DUCATI)

“Winning here in Spain makes this victory very special to me. I am so happy. Thanks for everybody who is here to support me. I did a good start and took the lead right from the beginning. I found my rhythm and I enjoyed riding. Sometimes is difficult when you are alone because you have to keep your concentration till the end, and it is not something easy, but I had fun today! I hope that all the people who have come to the track enjoyed the race as much as I did”.

P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“Second position, it was the best I could hope for today. I made a great start and a good first corner, then I settle into a good rhythm with the two Yamaha guys and Chaz. It was a nice race-long battle with him, with both bikes making the lap time in different areas of the track. I am very happy with the race, unfortunately just the gap again, the same story, was a little bit too big. Congratulation to Alvaro, but I did my best today and we brought home another second. I am looking forward to tomorrow”.

P3 – Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – DUCATI)

“Obviously we had great success here in the past, but things can be difficult even at the strong tracks. But when things are difficult, they are even difficult at the strong tracks. This weekend has not have been one of the most fluid and we still had a struggle, but I felt like we could do a good race today and the objective was to be here on the podium again. It’s been a long time! I want to dedicate this to the guys. I think that they are even more happy that what I am because they’ve worked really hard and I am happy to give them something to smile about and hopefully we can’t go a little bit better tomorrow”.

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport:

First top 5 placing for the new BMW S 1000 RR in WorldSBK.

Tom Sykes claims fifth place in race one at MotorLand Aragón, Spain.

Unfortunate retirement for team-mate Markus Reiterberger.

Impressive Superpole qualifying for both BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders.

Alcañiz. The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team has claimed the first top five placing for the brand-new BMW S 1000 RR in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). Tom Sykes (GBR) finished Saturday’s race at MotorLand Aragón, near Alcañiz (ESP), in fifth position. Unfortunately, his team-mate Markus Reiterberger (GER) was forced to retire after an accident at the start. MotorLand Aragón hosts the third event of the WorldSBK 2019 season this weekend.

The two BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders already gave an impressive performance in Superpole qualifying on Saturday morning. Sykes claimed third position on his RR to secure a front-row start, while Reiterberger’s seventh place also was his best Superpole result yet this season.

Sykes moved up into second place right after the start of the race. He then fell back to eighth as the race continued, but improved by two places during a strong ride in the closing stage and started the final lap in sixth position. One of his competitors fell on that final lap, meaning that Sykes crossed the line in fifth place. Reiterberger, however, endured some bad luck as he collided with another rider immediately after the start. He was unable to continue the race after the incident.

Quotes after race one at MotorLand Aragón.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “Of course, we were really pleased with Superpole in the morning. We had given an indication of our strength in the free practice sessions which was confirmed when we claimed third and seventh places in qualifying. It was great to be on the front row for the first time this season and Tom made a very good start to the race. He struggled somewhat for a few laps during the early phase but he battled back really well at the end. He enjoyed a bit of luck to finish fifth, but he would have secured sixth place on his own merits. We are very pleased. It is clear for all to see that everything we do represents a step forward, even it if is just a small one. Unfortunately, Markus did not have a good start and being hit by another rider caused him to fall. He’s a bit battered and bruised but we are hopeful that he will recover overnight. He had already shown good race pace and I hope he can demonstrate that tomorrow.”

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Today has been a great step forward for the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and I think for sure Tom has shown now that we have made a significant step forward. Superpole was really exciting. To be on the front row despite going wide in the final corner was fantastic for Tom and the team. In the race, Markus unfortunately had a racing incident, a 50/50 incident, and he was very lucky to escape unharmed. Tom had taken the decision to go with the SC1 rear compound tyre, which is a bit harder. We knew it would be difficult to manage at the beginning of the race but would come stronger at the end of the race. For that reason I think he fully deserves the fifth position. It was a good step forward for him and hopefully we can do the same tomorrow.”

Tom Sykes: “I think for how early we are in the project, the programme only started a few months ago, it is really impressive what the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team has achieved so far. We’ve made small changes to the bike, of course now we are playing a bit with the electronics, but I think the biggest difference to the previous rounds is that we have a lot more corners here, and I think it’s clear to see that we are consistent in the first sectors and we are only losing out in the last sector. In Superpole, I was a bit angry with myself going wide on the last corner as it could have been pole position but the target was front row and then top five for the race and we have achieved that. On the grid, as the temperatures were quite cool, I opted for the harder rear tyre. It wasn’t too bad but after a few laps I could see that the sun would come out and temperatures rose but I enjoyed the race. I was battling with some guys who were on the softer tyre but the RR chassis is certainly working really well. I am enjoying riding the BMW S 1000 RR and I’m quite satisfied. It was my decision on the tyre and I just got caught out a bit with the rising temperature, but we definitely got some good information for tomorrow. I’m really excited about what’s to come during the season and for now I still think we can make a better race tomorrow.”

Markus Reiterberger: “Superpole went well. We were improving all the time in practice and had developed a good feel for the bike. We took another step in the right direction in Superpole. I didn’t do quite so well on race tyres but in qualifying I did improve by a second. We were happy enough with seventh place, especially when you consider that I was just two tenths of a second away from third. We showed that we can compete on a fast lap. Unfortunately, I had a bad start, I stood a bit in a wrong position and then things happened very fast. Jonathan Rea hit me from the side, which meant that I lost control of the handlebar and took a tumble. It’s a shame about the race, as it would have been interesting to see where we could have finished.”

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

Seventh successive win for Álvaro Bautista in his home race at MotorLand Aragón; Chaz Davies back on the podium with an excellent third place

With a seventh win in a row in this year’s Superbike World Championship, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team’s Álvaro Bautista – current leader on points – has become the first Spanish rider to win the Aragón Round at the MotorLand circuit. After scoring his second Superpole win of the season just three hours before, the 34-year-old from Talavera de la Reina powered his Panigale V4 R to an unrivalled seventh win of the year with another extraordinary performance, leading throughout the 18 laps from start to finish without leaving any space for his numerous rivals.

It was a positive and spectacular race on the other hand for Chaz Davies, who was starting from row 3 after going eighth quickest in Superpole. Right from the opening lap, the 32-year-old Welshman was in amongst the chasing group, always fighting for second place with Rea (Kawasaki), Lowes (Yamaha) and Laverty (Ducati GoEleven). After a couple of superb passes on his rivals, Davies had to settle for third place at the chequered flag, stepping onto the podium for the first time this season.

Tomorrow the Superpole sprint race will be held at 11.00 CET over a distance of 10 laps, while Race 2 will get underway at 14.00.

Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19) – 1st

“It’s a fantastic feeling to win a race but to do it in your home race is even more special, and I’m so happy for all the Spanish fans. I tried from the beginning to set my pace and get some advantage from lap 1, trying not to lose concentration. Although I had a comfortable lead on the others, I really enjoyed myself a lot with the bike today, sliding into and exiting the corners but I was always focussed on my riding. At the end to win the race and become the first Spanish rider to win in Aragón is truly a dream, especially with all my family and friends here!”

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 3rd

“I’m really satisfied with today’s result, more so for my team and my side of the garage than me, because they’ve been working so hard all through the winter. It’s not easy when things are not going so well, but we’re always working hard looking for answers and trying our best whether its tenth or here on the podium. I had a nice battle with Johnny and Alex, I really enjoyed it. It felt like I probably had better pace but I wasn’t able to get out of the group. I had a couple of issues at the end of the race that kept me out of the fight for second otherwise things were quite solid with the guys running for the podium this season.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea Second As Haslam Battles Hard

Jonathan Rea took his Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10RR to a strong and determined second place at Motorland Aragon in the opening race of the weekend. His team-mate Leon Haslam feels he opted for the wrong rear tyre choice and finished in ninth place as a result.

A busy and sometimes dramatic day for the KRT duo of Rea and Haslam saw them complete the final free practice session this morning in third and seventh places respectively. In Tissot Superpole, to determine grid places for today’s race, both riders qualified below their expected best. Rea was tenth and Haslam 12th on the grid.

A mix up in pitlane exit timings, and then Rea running wide with a qualifying tyre fitted, meant he had to rely on an earlier lap time for his Superpole best, putting him on the fourth row.

Four-time champion Rea brought all his considerable powers to bear in the race and was up to second by lap four. He fought off multiple challenges from Chaz Davies and Alex Lowes to record his seventh consecutive second place of the season.

Today Rea reached the landmark of 250 career race starts in WorldSBK, placing him fifth in the all time rankings.

Haslam had difficulties stopping his bike at times today, which affected his outright lap times, and he started the first 18-lap race from 12th place after Superpole. In cool but dry conditions he found he had not made the best possible tyre choice and battled with two other Kawasaki riders to finish ninth.

There will now be two more WorldSBK contests at Motorland on Sunday the seventh of April; a ten lap Tissot Superpole race and then a final 18-lap full distance race to be held in the same 14.00hrs slot as today’s opener in Spain. With these two Motorland Aragon races still to go Rea is currently second overall on 118 points, with Haslam fifth on 58 points.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “The race position today could not be any better and we achieved the maximum, even from tenth place on the grid. It was an eventful race for me and very exciting, with a lot of passes. All in all, we are very happy with the points and being on the podium, but still a little bit disappointed and bemused by the gap to the front, which is too big. In Superpole we made some mistakes as a team, both myself and the guys, from a time management side. We planned for two laps on the qualifying tyre but I was released a little bit too late then I made a mistake on my first lap and sat up in sector one, thinking to conserve the tyre for one last effort. But, when I came across the line, I realised my Superpole lap time was from the race tyre in the earlier laps.”

Leon Haslam, stated: “We have been struggling to get the bike to stop and I think I chose the wrong tyre for the race, the hard one. We knew that it was a good 0.6 or 0.7 per lap slower initially but I have not had the laps to do a race run on a soft one. With the temperatures being cool we did not go for it – and it looks like everyone else did. So there was a little bit of a mistake there and I think it cost me a lot. I got a real bad initial start. I think my pace after that wasn’t that bad, even though I was on the harder tyre and it was maybe enough to battle with that group fighting for fifth, that sort of area. We need to re-think things for tomorrow.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) rode a strong race to finish one place ahead of Haslam, in eighth, with Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) right behind Haslam at the end of 18 tough laps. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) crashed at turn 12, at the end of the first lap, suffering a suspected scaphoid fracture to his left wrist.

More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:

Rinaldi fifth in Superpole slipped down in race

Alcañiz (SPA), 6th April 2019. Bittersweet day for Barni Racing Team at MotorLand Aragón Circuit. After a surprising fifth place in Superpole Rinaldi struggled a lot in race 1 where he closed 13th struggling with setup problems.

Superpole

Following the progress made on Friday afternoon, in Superpole Rinaldi signed his personal best lap at Aragón Circuit with 1’49.689 and he managed to reach the fifth place: his best result ever in qualifying session.

Race 1

Started from the second row Rinaldi had a bad start and he slipped down till the tenth place. With problems both at the rear and at the front he was never in the conditions to be able to make a comeback. He fought tooth and nail in a race that was certainly under the expectation, but Rinaldi was forced to ride all race long on the defence, losing three more positions. A crash at the last lap gave him a thirteenth-place finish.

Marco Barnabo

Team Principal

Race was not good as we expected after the very good qualifying session. The rider had completely different feeling in race and the bike was hard to be riddden. We are working hard to understand what happened and give back a good machine to Michael.

Michael Rinaldi

P13 – Race 1

Today’s result leaves me bitter in the mouth. After the qualifying a totally different race was expected, but since the first lap I lost the feeling I had found in two last sessions. We need to analyze data and try to understand why in race the bike was so different from the morning. We are acknowledge that finding the Superpole condition can allow us to fight for the Top 5.

More, from a press release issued by Moriwaki Althea Honda:

Eleventh place for Leon Camier in Race 1 at Aragón, Ryuichi Kiyonari closes 14th

The first race making up the Spanish weekend of Aragón saw a determined Leon Camier push hard to finish just outside the top ten, in eleventh position.

Although not a result that can truly satisfy the Brit and the Moriwaki Althea Honda Team, it nevertheless marks a step forward in terms of the weekend’s performance trend. During the morning, Leon set the fourteenth fastest time in Superpole, a 1’50.812”, more than one and a half seconds quicker than his best effort on Friday.

Ryuichi Kiyonari finished the race in fourteenth position after qualifying in seventeenth place this morning.

World Superbike fans can look forward to another day of action tomorrow, April 7, with the 10-lap Superpole Race at 11.00 am and the 18-lap Race 2 at 2.00 pm local time.

Leon Camier

11TH

“Eleventh is far from what we are aiming for, but at least today’s race was an improvement on the other sessions we’ve completed here in Aragon. We actually didn’t change very much in terms of the bike’s setup, just making some little adjustments with the geometry and gearing but it was a step forward. Of course, we still have a great margin for improvement and today’s race was positive also for the fact that I understood a few more things while fighting with the other guys on track. We know we must keep working hard and we’ll always give it our best”.

Ryuichi Kiyonari

14TH

“Today’s race was quite challenging, as I was not able to maintain a good pace or ride as I would have liked and of course I’m sorry about that. We must remain focused and continue to work closely as a team to try and achieve a better result tomorrow ”.