Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy
May 1, 2016
Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 19 laps, Total Race Time 34:07.278, Best Lap Time 1:47.240
2. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -4.262 seconds, 1:47.262
3. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -4.604, 1:47.550
4. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -13.093, 1:47.778
5. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4 RC), -16.250, 1:48.030
6. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), -20.078, 1:47.848
7. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -23.622, 1:48.174
8. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -26.803, 1:48.128
9. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -28.577, 1:48.732
10. Xavi FORÉS, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -32.630, 1:48.759
11. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -34.669, 1:48.212
12. Markus REITERBERGER, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -38.244, 1:48.414
13. Josh BROOKES, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -41.100, 1:49.194
14. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -72.823, 1:49.639
15. Dominic SCHMITTER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -115.258, 1:52.505
16. Saeed AL SULAITI, Qatar (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -1 lap, 1:52.848
17. Pawel SZKOPEK, Poland (Yamaha YZF-R1), -1 lap, ride-through penalty, 1:52.582
18. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -8 laps, DNF, 1:49.883
19. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), -18 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
20. Gianluca VIZZIELLO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -18 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
21. Josh HOOK, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -18 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
22. Peter SEBESTYÉN, Hungary (Yamaha YZF-R1), DNS
22. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Yamaha YZF-R1), DNS
23. Lucas MAHIAS, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), DNS
24. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), DNS
World Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 221 points
2. Davies, 186
3. Sykes, 154
4. Van Der Mark, 106
5. Giugliano, 88
6. Torres, 87
7. Hayden, 82
8. Savadori, 64
9. Camier, 60
10. Lowes, 59
11. Guintoli, 58
12. Fores, 49
13. Reiterberger, 47
14. Ramos, 36
15. De Angelis, 32
16. Brookes, 30
17. Abraham, 14
18. Baiocco, 12
19. Mahias, 9
20. TIE, Mike Jones/Sylvain Barrier, 2
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
WorldSBK: Davies Dominates for a Ducati Double at Home
Aruba.it rider takes a second stunning win of the weekend
Ducati title challenger Chaz Davies threw down the gauntlet to Championship leader Jonathan Rea in Race 2 at Imola as the Welshman again lead off the line from pole position and took a commanding victory. Kawasaki Racing Team’s reigning Champion Rea crossed the line second despite struggling with some issues, heading teammate Tom Sykes over the line.
Under worsening skies at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the WorldSBK grid got away on a dry track with Davies leading off the line and the two KRT riders once again able to leapfrog second Aruab.it rider Davide Giugliano. With a few moments for Rea on track that saw him lose touch with leader Davies, the reigning Champion held it together to get another big haul of points towards his title defence. Sykes kept close to his teammate for the majority of the race, but was unable to make a pass on the daunting 4.9km of Imola.
Davide Giugliano was the lead home rider on the second Aruba.it machine, and started from the middle of the front row to come home in P4, making an improvement on his Saturday result of P5. Leon Camier brought more home glory for the host nation as the Brit rode his MV Agusta to another top 5 finish after a best of P4 recently for the Italian manufacturer, adding more points to the ever expanding tally and completing their first weekend of points scoring finishes at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
Alex Lowes, after a difficult Superpole 2, fought his Pata Yamaha YZF R1 up into the Top 6 after succumbing to Camier, in front of Jordi Torres as the Catalan Althea BMW rider was left outside the top ten near the start of the race and pulled off an impressive recovery ride. Lorenzo Savadori on his Aprilia made sure there was representation for every manufacturer in the top 8 at Imola, before suffering a problem on the last lap and being relegated to P11 over the line.
Honda duo Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark ended the second race of the weekend in P8 and P9 respectively, after a difficult few days in Imola where the Assen podium finishers found themselves further back on the grid than both are used to. Xavi Forés completed the top ten for Barni Racing team on his Ducati, classified ahead of Savadori at the flag.
WorldSBK will now go jet set once again as the paddock heads east to Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia for the next Round of the 2016 season.
More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing BMW:
De Rosa and the Althea BMW Racing Team on the podium at home in Imola; seventh for Torres in Superbike
Imola (Italy), Sunday 1 May 2016
Round 5 of the Superbike World Championship came to an end for the Althea BMW Racing Team at the Italian circuit of Imola today, with the team’s riders Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger finishing Race 2 in seventh and twelfth place respectively.
In the Superstock 1000 race, Raffaele De Rosa once again reached the podium, crossing the line in third position.
Superbike – Race 2 – Today’s race took place in cloudy but dry conditions. Torres, from sixth on the grid, lost some positions off the line and was lying tenth after lap one. He quickly got into his rhythm with a pace that allowed him to pass first VD Mark, then Hayden and also his team-mate. In eighth place at the mid-race point, the Spaniard was able to make up another position in the closing stages to cross the line seventh, earning more important points for the championship.
Reiti held seventh position though the first laps, positioned between the two Brits Lowes and Camier. Part of a group of riders who were lapping with similar times, the German retained his position for the first half of the race, after which he began to lose ground, closing the race in twelfth place.
After five rounds of the 2016 Superbike World Championship, Jordi Torres holds sixth place in the general standings with 87 points, Reiterberger positions thirteenth with 47points. BMW is fourth in the manufacturer’s classification (92 points), while Althea BMW lies fourth in the team rankings (134 points).
Superstock – Race – Today’s Stock1000 was a hard-fought one, which brought a very welcome podium result for Althea BMW man Raffaele De Rosa. Fourth on the grid, the Italian pushed hard from lap one and by lap three he had already passed Calia and Faccani to position second, after which the real battle with Mercado began. The two riders exchanged places at the front until a few laps from the end when Raffaele lost some precious time due to tyre wear. The young Italian continued to push until the end to close today’s race in third position.
Jordi Torres:
“I thought I’d made a good start but still lost some places. We changed a few things for race 2, also using new brake pads. Unfortunately though, the bike seemed too loaded at the front and I wasn’t used to these brake pads, which behaved differently to the ones I’d used in the past and caused some vibrations which bothered me especially in the second half of the race. I was also forced to use the front tyre less, which meant that the rear was totally destroyed. All in all, it didn’t go badly and I made up some places but the important thing is that we have collected more information which will be useful for Malaysia, I thank my team for its hard work this weekend.”
Markus Reiterberger:
“The first few laps were good and I was in seventh place, over the first six or seven laps I had good pace but not as fast as those ahead of me. Unfortunately I then started to suffer with a lot of vibration in the whole bike. The rear tyre was destroyed and it was all I could do to get to the end of the race. It’s a problem we’ve had before but not as bad as today so we must look at the data to understand how to resolve this.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Both KRT Riders On The Imola WorldSBK Podium Again
Jonathan Rea and his KRT team-mate Tom Sykes stood on the podium for the second time in two days at Imola, with Rea once more second and Sykes again a close third on their all-new Ninja ZX-10Rs. Jonathan now has a championship lead of 35 points while Tom is third, 32 points from overall second place.
Rea and Sykes rode in tandem at times in the second race of the Imola weekend, which was finally held in dry conditions after heavy overnight rain. Neither KRT rider could get into contention with double race winner Chaz Davies today, despite each making changes for the second race that indicated a positive direction in overall set-up.
Like the first race of the weekend, held on Saturday 30 April, Sykes was just too far back at the end to make a challenge on Rea. Jonathan had to overcome an issue with his electronics cutting out and also almost falling as he ran wide when exiting the slow final chicane in his early pursuit of Davies.
For Rea his two runner-up places keep him in a clear championship lead, 35 points ahead of Davies. Jonathan also maintained his 100% podium record today, having scored ten from ten (including five wins) as he defends his reigning champion status. Rea has now scored 75 podiums in his WorldSBK career.
With two third place finishes at Imola Sykes has now scored seven podiums from ten starts in 2016 and 71 podiums over his career, which includes a world championship win with Kawasaki in 2013. Sykes extended his lead over fourth place in the championship to 48 points today – equivalent to almost two full race wins.
The next round of the championship takes place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, with racedays on May 14 and 15.
Jonathan Rea stated: “Chaz made a very good first lap and broke me a little bit but then I felt like I was managing the same pace and maybe even faster. Then I had a huge moment on the exit of the last chicane. I ran onto the Astroturf, which had held moisture from last night’s rain. A few laps later, when I was in fifth gear and on full gas, my bike just cut out on the straight. I lost two or three seconds in one lap. It fired into life again but it took me a few corners to relax again. It feels like when we can’t win we should finish second and we did that at Imola. It is clear now that there are three guys now at the top of the championship. Every dog has his day and today was not ours.”
Tom Sykes stated: “We made some improvements from yesterday but we suffered after losing almost one hour on Friday in practice. Considering the race yesterday I felt a little bit more comfortable with the bike today but when there was a bike in front I was not able to do a good lap time. I was dropping back into the 1’48s and on a clear track I could bring it into the 1’47s. Even on the last lap there was a 1’47.7 and that was with making a mistake out of the final double lefts. So there are positives to be taken from this weekend. You are never happy with third but you also have to be realistic and sometimes be happy with that. Even when we are struggling we are on the podium.”
Despite crashing then being struck by another rider’s machine in warm-up on Saturday, Swiss rider Dominic Schmitter (Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki) took to the track in race two and scored his first point of the season for 15th place. Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing Team Kawasaki) finished one place behind and just missed his first point score since he joined the WorldSBK championship. Aussie rider Josh Hook (Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki) fell in the middle of the final chicane early in the second race, at almost exactly the same time as stand-in rider for the injured Roman Ramos (Go Eleven Team Kawasaki), Gianluca Vizziello.
More, from a press release issued by Honda:
Hayden and van der Mark complete Italian round with two top-10 finishes
Round 5 – Italy
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Italy
The fifth round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship has drawn to a close at Imola’s ‘Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari’, with Honda WorldSBK Team’s Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark in 8th and 9th places, respectively, at the end of race two in Italy. The encounter, which took place in dry conditions over the full 19-lap distance, was won by Great Britain’s Chaz Davies.
Hayden got a great start from the third row of the grid and was running sixth before losing three positions at the end of lap one. The experienced American battled hard with Althea BMW’s Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger in the middle of the race and, as the laps went by, he consolidated eighth place up to the chequered flag. Michael van der Mark spent the majority of the encounter on the edge of the top 10 and was able to make up a couple of positions in the final laps, crossing the line 1.4secs behind his teammate.
With five rounds completed, Michael van der Mark sits fourth in the championship standings, while Nicky Hayden is seventh. The next round of the World Superbike championship will take place in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit on May 13–15.
Nicky Hayden 69
8th
We made some changes overnight that unfortunately we couldn’t try during the warm up as the track was still partially wet. We decided to keep the settings for the race anyway and the bike was a little bit better; I was able to make the same lap-times as in race one despite using the harder tyre, which we had to choose given the lower temperatures compared to yesterday. Maybe it took me a little longer to understand the changes at the beginning and that cost me a bit of time. Overall it has been a difficult weekend; regardless, the team was able to improve the bike over the weekend and I had to learn the track, which in the end wasn’t too difficult. I hope next year we’ll be faster around here and now I’m looking forward to Sepang.
Michael van der Mark 60
9th
It’s been a really difficult weekend. It looked like we found the right direction yesterday in Superpole but today we thought that, with a different tyre, we would have solved the issues encountered yesterday. Unfortunately during race two I found it really hard to change direction and this meant that I could neither be quick nor build any sort of rhythm. Now we have to look forward to Sepang, which is a completely different track. I’m pretty confident that the team and I will be able to bounce back and score some great results there.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
We had some adjustments in mind for today and surely, if the conditions were drier this morning, we would have had a clearer indication about them. Michael was able to do a couple of laps with slicks and that gave us a little bit of information, while Nicky stayed out on wet tyres. With the new set-up and the different tyres used, both riders were able to get the bikes stopped better than yesterday, although this translated into a harder time in changing direction. After losing basically the whole first day while trying to find a set-up with the wrong tyres, we had to play catch-up yesterday and today. Now we need to analyse what happened in order to be ready for the next race.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Chaz Davies does the double at Imola, fourth place for Davide Giugliano in Race 2
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team enjoyed an unforgettable weekend in Imola. After taking the Panigale R to a historic first win on Italian soil in Race 1, Chaz Davies did the double in Race 2. The Welshman’s tally also includes Superpole and the fastest lap in both races.
Thanks to another ‘holeshot’ at the start, Davies managed to impose his rhythm and quickly pulled away from the rest of the field, posting the race’s fastest lap with a 1:42.240 in lap 6 and then increasing his lead to five seconds, a margin he administered until the finish line, preceding Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes.
Davide Giugliano, fifth in Race 1, showed a strong progression with a pace worthy of the podium. Some difficulties in the early laps prevented him from fighting with the factory Kawasakis, but two top-five finishes give the Italian confidence ahead of the next races. With five rounds in the books, Davies (186 points) and Giugliano (88 points) sit in second and fifth position respectively in the championship, while Ducati (196) is second in the Manufacturers rankings. The WorldSBK season will resume in two weeks’ time in Sepang (Malaysia).
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1st
“It’s just been an incredible week-end, from start to finish. The latest upgrades Ducati brought for the Panigale R in Aragon allowed us to compete for the win in each race. To seize a victory here in Imola, Ducati’s backyard, is special. To do a double, is unbelievable. Today the conditions were different, but we were able to create a gap since the first few laps. I made a couple of mistakes in lap 9 that made me lose a second, but also helped me stay focused until the checkered flag. We head to Sepang with confidence, as we have a more competitive package than last year, when we still left Malaysia with a second place and a win. Our goal is to keep the momentum and further cut the gap in the championship.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34) – 4th
“Today we made another step forward with the setup and I probably could have fought for the podium as my pace was similar to Sykes’, but I struggled early on to warm up the rear tyre. Compared with the last couple of races, this round has definitely been positive, with two top-five finishes that give me a confidence boost to get back on the right track. I want to give my special thanks to the many Ducati fans who showed an incredible warmth despite our recent struggles. Sepang will be another tough battle, both because of the climate and the layout, but we’re not holding back.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director
“This has been one of the best week-ends one could hope for, with two undisputed victories. It has been a while since the last time we achieved that in Imola, where the passion for Ducati is so strong. We’re extremely happy with the work done both by the team and the people at home. I want to congratulate Chaz for two perfect races, and Davide for taking another step in the right direction. We hope to see them both on the podium soon.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Strong Sixth for Lowes in Imola Race Two
Alex Lowes got his final race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Imola off to a flying start this afternoon as he fired his Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK YZF-R1 off the lights. Reaping the benefits of his impressive start the British rider inherited seven places from his 13th position on the grid, holding sixth from the opening lap. Circulating strongly with the group around him, Lowes maintained his position and consistent pace to the mid-race distance before gaining the advantage on the rider in front. Continuing to build his rhythm as his pace improved he set his fastest lap of the race – a 1’47.848 – on lap 11, but with tyre wear starting to feature the Yamaha rider knew he needed a more conservative race to the finish to consolidate his position. Lowes concluded the race in sixth, boosting his championship position back in to the top-10 with 59 points.
Sylvain Guintoli returned to the WorldSBK paddock after being released from the local Imola hospital late last night. Diagnosed with a broken left ankle – which required only plaster and no surgery – and bruised ribs, the Frenchman joined his team to watch the second race from the Pata Yamaha garage. Travelling home this evening, he will re-evaluate his injuries in the coming days before any decisions on his return to competitive action are made.
Alex Lowes
6th / +20.078 / 19 laps
“A better day than yesterday obviously! We made some changes to the bike overnight which gave me a better feeling and this helped me to do my best lap of the weekend after 11 laps of the race. I was struggling a little with consistency at the end but we learnt a lot and did a good job. We made some good steps forward compared to our opposition and our next target has got to be to start the weekends a little more competitively from the outset. Obviously it’s still a new bike and we are learning as we go along but I think a lot of what we have achieved here will be relevant as we head to other tracks and hopefully we can be a bit more competitive from the start of Friday.”
Sylvain Guintoli
“Of course this is a disappointing situation. The positive is that it could have been a lot worse because the crash was actually a really big impact. In that respect the injuries are not that bad compared to the crash, but we have to understand why this happened so we can move forward and concentrate on the future. The ankle is broken and I am very bruised because I came down hard, but despite that I feel quite good. My ribs are very bruised which is the painful bit but we just have to see how I will recover now and see in a couple of days if we can go for Malaysia.”
Paul Denning – Team Principal
“A far more positive day for the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team than yesterday, firstly because Sylvain was able to leave hospital and join us here at the track, looking a lot healthier and in less pain. Let’s see how the next couple of days go and what the full detailed diagnosis of the ankle injury is before we make any decisions for Malaysia.
“The wet conditions in warm up didn’t help us make any assessment of the changes the team had made from yesterday’s race for Alex but the race distance result clarifies that we’ve moved in the right direction. Alex had an incredible start from 13th on the grid and made some awesome passes in the first lap to get up to sixth but what was more important was his ability to keep moving forward, set his best time of the race on lap 11 and maintain a lot more consistency towards the end than we’ve seen in recent races. We knew Imola would be a tricky track so to make this progress after an extremely difficult Friday and Saturday morning is encouraging for the future.”