Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Circuito de Jerez, Spain
October 15, 2016
Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 20 laps, Total Race Time 34:08.161, Best Lap Time 1:41.521
2. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -3.290 seconds, 1:41.467
3. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -7.151, 1:41.931
4. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -13.212, 1:41.893
5. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -13.251, 1:42.232
6. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Yamaha YZF-R1), -17.834, 1:42.368
7. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4 RC), -20.911, 1:42.543
8. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -26.182, 1:42.283
9. Markus REITERBERGER, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -29.837, 1:43.024
10. Josh BROOKES, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -31.246, 1:43.252
11. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -32.399, 1:43.049
12. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -33.007, 1:43.143
13. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -36.266, 1:43.197
14. Anthony WEST, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -61.064, crash, 1:43.046
15. Peter SEBESTYÉN, Hungary (Yamaha YZF-R1), -67.941, 1:44.155
16. Gianluca VIZZIELLO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -68.160, 1:43.848
17. Dominic SCHMITTER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -68.260, 1:44.508
18. K. PESEK, Czech Republic (Yamaha YZF-R1), -98.143, 1:46.168
19. Matthieu LUSSIANA, France (BMW S1000RR), -14 laps, DNF, crash, 1:44.777
20. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), -18 laps, DNF, crash, 1:42.369
21. Xavi FORÉS, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -19 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
22. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -19 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
23. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -20 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
24. S. AL SULAITI, Qatar (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -20 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
World Championship Point Standings (after 23 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 442 points
2. Sykes, 398
3. Davies, 370
4. Van Der Mark, 245
5. Hayden, 215
6. Giugliano, 194
7. Torres, 187
8. Camier, 165
9. Savadori, 134
10. Fores, 133
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Davies Does It Again at Jerez
– Ducati wins the race but Kawasaki celebrate the crown –
Race 1 at the Gaerne Spanish Round saw Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) decimate the field by over three seconds, while a podium for the Kawasaki Racing Team duo was enough for the Japanese marque to secure the Manufacturers Award.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) led into the first corner from P2 on the grid, with teammate Tom Sykes and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) close behind. However it wasn’t long until Davies moved in on Lowes to begin his hunt for the win. Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) didn’t get an ideal start after a wheelie off the line slowed him considerably, however the Kentucky Kid made up for it by setting a fastest time on lap 3 as he worked his way up into the top five.
The early laps saw many riders end their races prematurely with the first victims of the Circuito de Jerez being Luca Scassa (VFT Racing) and Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing) on the opening lap. Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) and Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) were next when they both crashed out at turn 1 on lap two. On the next lap Lowes crashed out at turn 5, before Ant West (Pedercini Racing) slid out but the Australian was able to rejoin at the next corner.
Once Davies got in front it was impossible for the Kawasakis to match his pace. Sykes, who finished second, gained important Championship points to help close in on his title leading teammate Jonathan Rea, who finished third.
Hayden worked his way up to finish in fourth ahead of his teammate Michael van der Mark who rounded out the top five. Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) finished in sixth with MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Leon Camier taking seventh. The first Spaniard home was Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) who finished in eighth ahead of his teammate Markus Reiterberger in ninth.
Further down the order it was a four-way fight to place in the top 10 involving Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW), Alex De Angelis (Ioda Racing Team) Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) and Lorenzo Savadori (IodaRacing). Eventually, Brookes won the battle to finish in tenth with De Angelis in P11, Ramos in P12 and Savadori in P13. Ant West came home in P14 while Peter Sebestyen (Team Toth) picked up his first point of the season in P15.
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship could be decided in Race 2 on Sunday the 16th of October when the WorldSBK field take to the grid for a second time at the Gaerne Spanish Round.
Quotes from the top three riders:
1st Place
C.Davies (Ducati): “This used to be a bogey track of mine, I never used to be able to get results and it was always difficult. The last two years it has kind of clicked a little bit. You would think that after 16 years I would be able to get it right sooner or later! I’m just so happy to get the victory today because yesterday we were looking good and today the track changed quite a bit so we had to react to that, react to our rivals stepping up the pace and we managed to do that.”
2nd Place
T.Sykes (Kawasaki): “It is a big day for Kawasaki, two years on the bounce, which is like the number ten bus! They win one last year and they are on it straight away again. It just shows you the amount of effort and support they are putting into the WorldSBK championship. Overall, it is quite an acceptable race, to finish second with those strong guys either side of me is not too bad, but it is also not perfect. Chaz is the one hunting me down in the championship for second and we need to find an answer tomorrow.”
3rd Place
J.Rea (Kawasaki): “With everything on my mind it was better to consolidate our points today, move on and take one step closer to our ultimate goal. I’m a little bit disappointed with our bike today. We had no traction from early on, front and rear, so tomorrow we need to understand that. All in all I’m happy to be on the podium, my first podium in Jerez, so that is at least one goal accomplished today.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda:
Hayden and van der Mark enjoy strong results in race one at Jerez
Round 12 – Spain
Circuito de Jerez, Spain
Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark have taken fourth and fifth places, respectively, in today’s 20-lap, twelfth-round WorldSBK race one at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. Courtesy of today’s results, the two Honda WorldSBK standard bearers managed to further consolidate their positions in the championship standings, with fourth-placed van der Mark now 30 points ahead of his teammate Hayden in fifth.
Hayden did not enjoy the best of starts from row two, as his bike almost stalled off the line. The American rider lost a couple of places but soon got up to speed to battle for sixth with Xavi Fores, before the Spaniard crashed out – along with Davide Giugliano – during the second lap. The ‘Kentucky Kid’ was then promoted to fourth after Lowes fell out of the race on lap 5. With a clear track ahead of him, the 35-year-old American pushed hard to bridge the gap to third place but as riders entered lap 10, he was unable keep the pace of the rivals ahead and started to lose some ground.
Coming from eleventh on the grid to fifth on lap five – when he got the better of Jordi Torres – Michael van der Mark started to close in on his teammate. As the two riders entered the final lap, they were separated by only half a second. The 23-year-old Dutchman did all he could to make a final move on Hayden and the two ended up almost side by side at the finish line, with van der Mark coming short of a fourth-place finish by just 0.039s.
The second and final race of the Spanish WorldSBK round will get underway tomorrow at 13:00 local time (GMT +2).
Nicky Hayden 69
4th
I didn’t make a great start but I got up to fourth, picking up a few positions and moving further up after some crashes ahead of me. The bike was working quite well, and the team has done a good job with the set-up and I was trying to close the gap down to Jonathan Rea. At halfway distance, I started pushing the front too much, so Johnny was able to pull a gap on me. After that, I just tried to manage my gap to Michael and come home with fourth. Overall, it wasn’t a disaster but I would have liked to have got up there to try and mix it up with those front three. At the moment, in normal dry conditions they’re just a cut above us and they’re doing a good job, but that’s what we’ll try to do tomorrow.
Michael van der Mark 60
5th
During Superpole I put in a really fast lap on race tyres and, when I put the qualifier on, I had a big moment, but I was still happy with my lap-time. At the end, everybody was so fast so I got pushed down the order. I had quite a good start from P11 and I was lucky that some guys ahead of me crashed out of the race. It took me a couple of laps to pass Torres, but then I was able to make up some ground to Nicky. I didn’t have the best of feeling with the front towards the end and, despite being very close to him, I didn’t want make a mess by trying to out brake him. I hoped he would have run a bit wide in order to catch him at the finish line but that didn’t happen. Fifth is a good result for us today, especially given our starting position; we’re still quite safe in fourth in the standings and I am looking forward to race two.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
We tried something in free practice 3, although we knew that track conditions would change a lot for the race. Both riders were quite happy with the bike so we decided not to make too many more adjustments. When Superpole came, they both said they could have been a little bit faster, but it was a really close session. In the race, Nicky was doing well and almost caught Jonathan for third, but then he simply couldn’t hold on to the same pace in the second half of the race. Meanwhile, Michael did a good job in passing Torres and closing on Nicky, but it was just a little bit too far away to make a comfortable move. For tomorrow, we’ll evaluate a different tyre choice at the front, in order to improve our pace for the latter part of the race.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Kawasaki Wins Manufacturers’ Championship After Double KRT Podium
Tom Sykes and his fellow Kawasaki Racing Team rider Jonathan Rea secured second and third place finishes in race one at Jerez today. As a result Kawasaki won the Manufacturers’ Award for the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship season – for the second year in succession.
Both Kawasaki Racing Team riders knew they would have strong opening races after Sykes had scored his eighth Superpole of the year this morning, with Rea just one place behind him on the grid. In the warm and dry opening race neither was able to keep the pace of eventual winner Chaz Davies for all 20 laps.
Rea took an early lead but Sykes passed before the end of the first lap, and held his lead until lap four. Despite Tom setting the fastest lap of the race on lap three, Davies passed him one lap later and eased away to a lead that would become a win.
Rea ran behind Sykes for a time but as the race unfolded Sykes eased out an advantage that grew to 3.8 seconds at the flag, closing up the gap somewhat to Rea’s championship lead. Third in race one was still positive progress for Rea, as he had never secured a podium finish at Jerez before today.
After race one Tom is 44 points behind, with one more Jerez race left to run and two more to come in the final round in Qatar in two week’s time.
The headline success today, for all involved from KHI and KRT, was securing the Manufacturers’ Championship with three points scoring races left to run. With three races and a possible 75 points up for grabs still, Kawasaki is an unassailable 80 points ahead in the manufacturers’ standings.
Kawasaki riders – either Rea or Sykes in each case – have already taken 14 race wins in 2016, with eight 1-2 finishes. There have been 38 individual podium finishes for the official Ninja ZX-10R riders.
Tom Sykes, stated: “It has been a big day for Kawasaki, and for them to win two Manufacturers’ Championships on the bounce. We have been building up to this for some years and with two strong riders in the team we are able to deliver. It shows the amount of effort and support they are putting into the Superbike World Championship. To finish second today with two really strong guys either side of me is not too bad but it is also not perfect. We need to find an answer tomorrow as we had a little bit of a battle with the front set-up of the bike today. Hopefully we can then match the pace of Chaz on Sunday.”
Jonathan Rea, stated: “We definitely did not have the pace for Chaz today. With Tom it seemed like I could hang in there but I was taking a risk. The thing on my mind was that it was better to consolidate our points and move on, to take one step closer to our ultimate goal. We had no traction from early on and some front and rear slides so for tomorrow we need to understand that. All in all I am happy to be on the podium for the first time at Jerez. We have just won the Manufacturers’ Championship today, three races out from the end, so that is another good point about today because it shows the hard work that Kawasaki, the team and all the staff have been doing this year, as well as last year. I am happy to contribute to that back-to-back Manufacturers’ World Championship.”
Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Racing Manager, stated: “The combination of our two super competitive riders and our very professional team organisation again allowed Kawasaki to celebrate the Manufacturers’ title. These are good times for Kawasaki and we plan to keep them rolling for the future.”
Guim Roda, Team Manager, stated: “I think we can be very proud to win the Manufacturers’ Championship. That is something we got to with the efforts of many people, suppliers and sponsors, and of course with the big job that Tom and Johnny did. So big thanks to them. To win the manufactures’ title in the first year that Kawasaki introduced a new model ZX-10R is really something. It proves the base of the bike is good, so we are very happy to show this potential and help to sell more bikes all over the world. I really feel the customers will ride with the spirit of racing using the street ZX-10R. This title has given us big motivation to continue our work even harder next year.”
Yoshimoto Matsuda, Senior Staff Officer KHI Engineering Department R&D, stated: “We see this as a special year because we are having the 120th anniversary of the founding of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and it makes us so proud to win the Manufacturers’ Championship, both last year and this year also. This is very special for us. As the project leader of ZX-10R production and also having the responsibility of the world Superbike machine development this year, we have had a brand new machine to work with. So we are so proud, from both those points of view, to have had this chance and then won.”
More, from a press release issued by Althea BMW Racing:
8th and 9th for Althea BMW in SBK Race 1 at Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), Saturday 15 October 2016
The Althea BMW Racing team has concluded SBK race 1 at Jerez in eighth (Torres) and ninth (Reiterberger) position today. In the Superstock 1000 category, Althea BMW man Raffaele De Rosa has qualified fourth for tomorrow’s final race of the season in which he will battle it out with Mercado for the championship title.
STK1000 – qualifying: De Rosa put together a strong qualifying session. Immediately fast, Raffaele was up in second position early on, continuing to lower his lap times throughout the 30-minute session to earn fourth place on tomorrow’s race grid, thanks to a best time of 1’43.871.
Superpole 1: Torres and Reiterberger were out on track in dry conditions for SP1. Torres quickly found good speed, positioning first early on, before consolidating that position in the later stages thanks to a fastest lap of 1’41.264. Reiti also put together some fast laps, closing the brief session in third place (1’41.528). Reiti therefore earned thirteenth place on the grid, while Torres moved on to SP2.
Superpole 2: Torres once again made a good start and was lying second until a few minutes from the end when the times of all the riders began to drop thanks to fresh tyres. A hard-fought battle saw Jordi close seventh, thanks to a best time of 1’40.111.
SBK – Race 1: seventh on the grid, Torres was lapping in sixth position through the opening laps. The Spaniard maintained strong pace through the first ten laps before losing some ground in the second half of the race, crossing the line in final eighth place. Reiti, from row five of the grid, immediately made up three positions and was tenth after the first lap. Lying ninth from the third lap onwards, the German kept up a pace that allowed him to hold that position to the line.
Jordi Torres:
“We completed a good Superpole, both the first and second session. The race then took place in warmer conditions but I think we managed it well. I made a good start and tried to be more aggressive through the first laps. I was careful when I saw other riders crashing but tried to stick with Hayden, immediately ahead of me. After six or seven laps though the front started to lock up and as a result I had to modify my riding style to make up for that. Tomorrow we want to change something so that the front tyre lasts longer and offers better grip.”
Markus Reiterberger:
“I didn’t make a bad start to the race and gained a couple of positions but I had to push hard to keep with those ahead of me who had a slightly better pace. There were a few crashes so I was careful to avoid finishing the same way. I fought for a top ten finish, and ninth is not bad though we still need to improve. We’ll work hard and try to find something in warm-up which will allow us to complete a better race 2.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Chaz Davies extends his winning streak in Race 1 at Jerez, Davide Giugliano forced to retire
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team claimed the top step of the podium in Race 1 at Jerez de la Frontera, home of the penultimate round of the 2016 WorldSBK championship, thanks to another spectacular win by Chaz Davies. The Welshman, who has won four out of the last five races, confirmed his top form to claim his 8th win of the year. Davide Giugliano, back on track after skipping the races in Magny-Cours due to a right-shoulder injury, crashed out in the early phases without physical consequences.
Starting from second row after finishing Superpole in sixth position, Davies quickly stormed back through the field to claim the lead in lap 4. Imposing an unmatchable pace, below the 1:42 mark for half the race, the Welshman gradually built a gap from the rivals, led by Sykes, and crossed the finish line with more than three seconds of advantage.
Giugliano, on the other hand, faced a difficult day. Despite a strong performance during Superpole, closed in third position, the Italian was hindered by braking issues since the start and crashed out from seventh position at the beginning of lap 2. Fortunately, the fall did not worsen the conditions of Giugliano’s right shoulder and the Italian rider is eager to bounce back in Race 2 tomorrow.
Action will resume at 09:25 (CET) Sunday for the warm-up session ahead of Race 2 at 13:00.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) 1st
“I wasn’t sure we had enough margin to pull away, given the step forward made by the Kawasakis this morning, but we’ve been fast enough to lead from early on so I put my head down and saw the gap building. Jerez has always been a tough track for me in the past, so to turn things around and win here for the last two years is something special. I want to say thanks to the team, they worked so hard during the summer break to improve the balance of the bike. I feel like I understand the limit a lot better now and I’m perhaps in the best form in my entire career. Maybe it’s a bit too late, but all we can do is finish strong and see where that takes us for next season”.
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34) DNF
“This morning, we’ve made a good step forward in terms of competitiveness and, despite the fact that the shoulder would have probably bothered us a bit over the race distance and our pace was a little less strong than our competitors’, I felt ready to have a good race. Unfortunately we struggled under braking right from the start, and I lost the front at turn 1 basically at the same time as Forés. Now we’ll focus on finding ways to improve the front ahead of Race 2. Physically I’m OK, and I can’t wait to have another go at it.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director
“Today marked another extraordinary win, which confirms the positive trend of this last part of the season. We managed to give Chaz the confidence he was looking for, and for this we must thank all the guys working hard at home and on track. It’s a pity that Davide crashed, because I’m sure he could have had a strong race despite the lingering pain in his shoulder, but the high temperatures always make this track a bit tricky. We still need to improve some details ahead of tomorrow, but we’re determined and we’ll do our best to replicate today’s result.”