Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Motorland Aragon, Spain
April 3, 2016
Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale R), 18 laps, Total Race Time 33:36.606, Best Lap Time 1:51.053
2. Tom Sykes, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), -6.471 seconds, 1:51.504
3. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), -9.161, 1:51.344
4. Xavi Fores, Spain (Duc Panigale R), -11.436, 1:51.556
5. Jordi Torres, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -15.969, 1:52.062
6. Davide Giugliano, Italy (Duc Panigale R), -18.278, 1:51.352
7. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Hon CBR1000RR SP), -20.931, 1:52.050
8. Alex De Angelis, San Marino (Apr RSV4 RF), -24.790, 1:52.407
9. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -25.246, 1:52.186
10. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Yam YZF-R1), -25.548, 1:52.420
11. Lorenzo Savadori, Italy (Apr RSV4 RF), -27.675, 1:52.330
12. Roman Ramos, Spain (Kaw ZX-10R), -29.364, 1:52.417
13. Josh Brookes, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -31.749, 1:52.635
14. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), -34.314, 1:52.995
15. Markus Reiterberger, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -34.333, 1:52.453
16. Leon Camier, UK (MV Agusta F4 RR), -34.777, 1:53.058
17. Matteo Baiocco (Duc Panigale R), -41.449, 1:53.174
18. M. Lussiana, France (BMW S1000RR), -76.542, 1:54.920
19. Dominic Schmitter, Switzerland (Kaw ZX-10R), -82.960, 1:55.357
20. Peter Sebestyen, Hungary (Yam YZF-R1), -85.830, 1:55.643
21. Saeed Al Sulaiti, Qatar (Kaw ZX-10R), -88.363, 1:55.438
22. Imre Toth, Hungary (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 1:58.373
23. Nicky Hayden, USA (Hon CBR1000RR SP), -3 laps, DNF, retired, 1:52.006
24. Josh Hook, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), -6 laps, DNF, retired, 1:56.558
25. Sylvain Barrier, France (Kaw ZX-10R), -17 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
World Championship Point Standings (after 6 races):
1. Rea, 131 points
2. Davies, 105
3. Sykes, 102
4. Van Der Mark, 74
5. Giugliano, 56
6. TIE, Guintoli/Torres, 53
8. Hayden, 41
9. Reiterberger, 31
10. TIE, Forres/Savadori, 28
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
WorldSBK: Davies Does the Double for Ducati in Aragón
KRT riders lock out the podium but Welshman sets the pace in WorldSBK’s 700th race
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider Chaz Davies took another incredible win at MotorLand Aragón in Race 2, crossing the line 6.471 seconds clear of the nearest bike on track after another sublime ride. Kawasaki riders Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea completed the podium in Spain after being locked in another head to head.
Home rider Xavi Forés took his Barni Racing Team Panigale R into fourth once again, equaling his best career result, gained in Race 1 at MotorLand. His compatriot Jordi Torres achieved his best result of the year after joining his new team for 2016, crossing the line in fifth ahead of the Ducati of Giugliano and proving the lead BMW by an impressive margin.
Giugliano recovered from a small incident on track to hunt down Honda rider Michael van der Mark and re-pass him, putting himself into P6 by the end of the race. Van der Mark, after an uncharacteristically difficult Saturday, kept his Honda in the mix in Race 2 to grab another great haul of points, crossing the line in seventh after a good start from 11th on the grid, unable to hold off Torres and Giugliano by the end of the race.
Van der Mark’s teammate Nicky Hayden dropped down through the order with Yamaha’s Alex Lowes after an incident on track, with the 2006 MotoGP World Champion unfortunately suffering a mechanical problem later in the race and finding himself unable to see the flag.
Yamaha duo Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes, after starting from the front row, finished the race in P9 and P10 respectively after a difficult start to the race, with the new YZF R1 not yet able to match its one-lap pace over race distance.
Aprilia rider Alex DeAngelis came home in 8th to make great progress after Race 1, with the San Marino rider recovering from recent surgery and surely happy with another top ten result. MV Agusta’s Leon Camier finished just outside the points, with the Italian factory hoping to get back up the grid when WorldSBK gets to Assen for the next Round.
More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing BMW:
The Althea BMW Racing Team secures a top five SBK finish with Torres, and a Superstock 1000 podium with De Rosa at Aragón
Alcaniz (Spain), Sunday 3 April 2016
A very positive SBK Race 2 for the Althea BMW Racing Team that, with Jordi Torres and the BMW S 1000 RR, crossed the line in fifth place today. Grip problems for Markus Reiterberger meant he closed the race in fifteenth position. In Superstock 1000, De Rosa scored his first podium of the season, finishing third.
Superbike – Race 2 – Torres did not make the best of starts but immediately set out to make up lost ground, carving a path through the field to move up into eighth by lap three. Reiterberger also lost a couple of positions off the line but recovered somewhat through the opening laps. At the mid-race point, the Althea BMW men were lapping sixth (Torres) and thirteenth (Reiti). Thanks to his convincing path throughout the second half of the race, Jordi was able to pass VD Mark on lap thirteen to move into fifth, a position that he defended to the line. An important result for the Spaniard, also in terms of reducing the gap from the winner. Markus unfortunately suffered in a similar fashion to yesterday with a drop in tyre performance, closing today’s race fifteenth.
As the third round of WorldSBK 2016 draws to a close, Jordi Torres lies seventh in the general standings with 53 points, Reiterberger positions ninth with 31 points. BMW is currently fourth in the manufacturer’s classification (57 points), with Althea BMW holding the same position in the team rankings (84 points).
Superstock – Race – De Rosa started from sixth on the grid but the race was stopped at the end of lap one when a mechanical breakdown for a rider left oil on the track. The race soon restarted, though shortened to just eight laps. As the race began, De Rosa held sixth place through the first turns before making up two places through the first three laps to position fourth at the mid-race point. Able to make another step in the final stages, the Althea BMW rider earned himself a place on the first Superstock 1000 podium of the 2016 season, crossing the line in third position overall. After this opening race, De Rosa is third in the standings, having earned 16 points at Aragón.
Jordi Torres: “Today’s race went well for me. During the sighting lap I already realised that I had more confidence with the front of the bike compared to yesterday. This meant I could be faster right from the start, and tried to stick with the guys ahead of me. After a few laps, I thought I needed to conserve the tyres so I changed by riding style a little, managing the front tyre more effectively, and in this way I was able to complete a good race. I’m pleased, also because we’ve collected a lot more data and I think that step by step we’ll get closer to the front…”
Markus Reiterberger: “We improved a little in terms of the setting today. I didn’t feel too bad in the opening laps and was able to keep pace with those immediately ahead of me. In the central part of the race I lost a bit of feeling and the lap times dropped off and, by the end, I had lost a few places and was just trying to finish the race. This weekend has been a disappointing one for me, but we will now concentrate on getting the right feeling back for the next races…”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Double Podium For KRT With Sykes Second And Rea Third
In the second race of the FIM Superbike World Championship weekend at Motorland Aragon Tom Sykes (KRT) and Jonathan Rea (KRT) finished second and third respectively. The official Ninja ZX-10R riders are now first and third in the championship, with Rea leading on 131 points and Sykes third overall with 102 – only three points from second place.
From pole position Sykes attacked the lead of race two and held his strong pace even after eventual race winner Chaz Davies had passed him on the second lap. After Rea overtook his team-mate, Sykes continued to follow close behind. He was thus in a perfect position to take advantage when Jonathan ran wide and lost time and track position.
Tom managed his second place to the end and secured 20 points. He finished the Motorland Aragon weekend with two podium finishes to his credit.
Rea was pushing hard throughout race two but was forced wide on lap 15. After taking to the run-off area and rejoining he could not regain ground on his team-mate.
Set-up changes from day one to day two did not have the full desired effect and grip issues did not help his cause in the final result of the second race of the weekend. Rea and Sykes scored identical points totals at Motorland Aragon, with a second and third place finish apiece.
In the current championship rankings Jonathan still enjoys a clear lead, some 26 points ahead of Davies. Sykes, in third, is 29 points from Jonathan and only three points behind Motorland double race winner Davies after three rounds and six races have been completed.
The next round is at Assen in the Netherlands, with races on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th April.
Tom Sykes stated: “In terms of race position it was an improvement on yesterday and that is what we need to focus on. I think the gap to the front is bigger than it should be but it looks like yesterday, after the information we took from race one, our rear tyre was not performing to its best and today we did not have as much spin. We have more information now and I hope we can use this to our advantage. My guys are fantastic and I am lucky to have them but we could not close the gap to the win compared to yesterday. We cannot be downbeat because sometimes it happens that you have a circuit that is great for a certain package and Chaz is always on form here. We will come back in Assen and try to be stronger again.”
Jonathan Rea stated: “It was a difficult race because straight from the off we did not have so much grip in the rear and I was having to pick the bike up. When I back-shifted going into turn one with a few laps to go the rear locked and I could not stop, that was end of the chance to fight for second position today. Being second or third today is not the issue it is being so far from the fight for the front. There were some areas where we were struggling today. We just need more time with the new bike and it is a step-by-step process. When a tough weekend is second and third it is not so bad!”
Roman Ramos (GoEleven Kawasaki) took a 12th place again, his fourth such finish in a row. He is now 14th overall, on 25 points. Sylvain Barrier (Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) crashed out of contention today. Dominic Schmitter was 21st on his Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki, his team-mate Josh Hook a retiree. Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Kawasaki Racing) placed 21st.
More, from a press release issued by Honda:
Hard-earned seventh place for van der Mark in race two at Motorland Aragón
Round 3 – Aragon
MotorLand Aragón, Spain
Race two of the third round of the FIM Superbike World Championship proved to be a challenging one for the Honda WorldSBK Team. Michael van der Mark claimed a seventh place finish in front of the MotorLand Aragón crowd, while Nicky Hayden had to retire on the fifteenth lap due to a technical problem.
Van der Mark enjoyed a great start from 11th place on the grid, immediately setting his sights on sixth after a good first half of the opening lap. The 23-year-old from Rotterdam then moved up to fifth aboard his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP after a successful overtaking manoeuvre on Alex Lowes. As the race progressed, van der Mark could not stay with the front-runners and sensibly decided to ride at his own pace, while defending fifth place from Jordi Torres. In the closing stages of the encounter, he lost one more position to a recovering Davide Giugliano and was seventh at the chequered flag.
Nicky Hayden had a good launch from row 3 and was running in the top 7 in the early stages of the encounter. He was lapping in ninth place on lap seven when he ran wide and lost a lot of ground after experiencing a braking problem. The 34-year-old American did all he could to finish the race, but eventually had to make his way back to the pits at the end of lap 15.
The next round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship will take place in two weekends at the Dutch TT Assen circuit.
Michael van der Mark 60
7th
The race was more difficult than I expected. We lost some time in the warm up so I could only do a few laps. I had a great start and I was able to make up some positions, but I could feel that the bike setup was not working as well as it did in practice. I did all that was possible to keep a good pace but in the end I was losing a lot of ground. I’m glad we could score some points today but this is definitely not the position I want to be in. Now I cannot wait to go back on track at Assen, where I’m sure we can bounce back to the front.
Nicky Hayden 69
DNF
It was a bad day; there is not much else to say. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong: on the sighting lap we started having some problems and on the warm up lap, again, I could feel something was still not right. We had a big vibration at the front end and I could not get my bike stopped. I tried to stay out to salvage some points but there was not much I could do. Eventually it got worse, so I chose not to take any unnecessary risks and pulled out of the race. It’s the second DNF of the season, which prevented me from getting more experience on the bike, but it is what it is. We have learned something today and we now look forward to the next round.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
Michael had a great start and was battling for a top-five finish, but ultimately he could not keep a strong pace and had to ride defensively up to the chequered flag. He has done very well today, but things just didn’t go in the right direction for him to perform at his very best. Given the strong results we’ve had in the first two rounds, seventh place is definitely not a satisfying result for us. Nicky had a decent start but very soon started to slow down, and with a few laps to go he couldn’t do anything else but retire. There was a problem with the bike, which is being analysed as we speak, and we’re sorry about how today has unfolded for him. We will go through all the data from this weekend, in order to be ready for our home race at Assen.
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team does the double in Aragon with Chaz Davies, Davide Giugliano sixth in Race Two
After scoring his first win of the 2016 season yesterday, Chaz Davies did the double in Aragon. Third at the start, the Welshman took the lead during lap two and once again galloped away from the opponents, posting the race best lap in the meantime with a 1:51.053.
Davide Giugliano, on the other hand, had a bittersweet race. The Italian struggled with grip once again and was slowed down by a temporary technical problem during lap seven, when he moved from fifth to eighth position, but still managed to recover ground and finish strong.
At the end of Round 03, Davies and Giugliano are respectively in second (105 points) and fifth (56 points) place in the championship, while Ducati is second in the Manufacturer rankings with 115 points. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will be back on track in two weeks’ time in Assen for the fourth round of the season.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1st
“This weekend feels like a dream. The bike was competitive from the get-go, and we only made small tweaks. The technical upgrades brought here have given us what we needed. In Thailand I could only stay in the slipstream, while here I’ve been able to pass my opponents also on the straight. In Assen, however, we will start from scratch. The season has just begun, and things can change quite quickly, but I’m really happy with our overall package. It’s my third year with Ducati, and I witnessed a constant growth. Now the list of things to improve is really short, and I want to thank everybody in the team and the factory for the amount of work put in.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34) – 6th
“It hasn’t been an easy round for me. We struggled with several issues since Friday, especially grip and, given also the new format, we weren’t able to get adequately prepared for the races. The good thing is that, despite this, we never gave up and managed to collect some good points. There still are many rounds left in the season, we’ll definitely have our chances to shine and I expect to make good strides in Assen. I also want to congratulate Chaz, he always rides fantastically here and he showed that the Panigale R is a winning machine. Now it’s time for us to make the most of its potential as well.”
Stefano Cecconi, Team Principal and CEO of Aruba S.p.A
“We were confident to be more competitive once the championship returned to Europe, and the job done during the tests this week boosted our hopes further, but this weekend went beyond expectations. The Panigale R has improved. With Chaz, we cut back the gap in the championship quite a bit, and we want to put Davide in a position to do the same. We’ll try to be even faster in Assen.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Impressive Race Two Comeback for Lowes in Aragon
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team riders Alex Lowes and Sylvain Guintoli took top ten results in the closing race of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Pirelli Aragón Round today with the younger of the Yamaha riders finishing ninth, just ahead of his teammate.
A difficult start from his P3 grid position saw Lowes initially run seventh on the opening lap, before an incident on lap six caused him to run off track. Re-joining the race in 18th he quickly picked his way back through the pack, taking five places in as many laps to sit 12th with four to go. Continuing his impressive charge, the British rider entered the top ten with two laps remaining, beating his teammate to the line in the dying seconds to round the weekend off in ninth place and adding seven points to his championship total to retain his 12th position overall.
Opting for a conservative start from his front row position in a bid to maintain his tyre-life, Guintoli began Sunday’s fight from fifth place. The strategy, however, proved to be short-lived and the Frenchman’s pace suffered as a result. Circulating in seventh for the majority of the race, he succumbed in the closing stages, collecting tenth position and six points at the flag to leave the weekend sitting in sixth place in the standings.
The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team now move back to northern Europe as the World Championship travels to Assen, in the Netherlands, for the next race on Saturday 16th April.
Alex Lowes
Race: 9th / +25.246 / 18 laps. Championship: 12th / 27 points
“Today was ok actually. I’ve learnt a lot on the bike this weekend and feel I’ve made a step forward in terms of my riding the YZF-R1. The second race, apart from a few problems at the start – which as a team we need to learn from – I actually rode very well. We had some small goals in terms of lap times if the race was in similar conditions to Saturday, which it was, and I managed to reach those goals. My second half of the race performance was also much better than yesterday, so plenty of positives. Obviously the results are not where they need to be but we’re learning, it’s only our third race weekend on the bike and it only would have taken a couple of little things to go our way and it would have been a different result. It may not show on paper but really it’s the best weekend we’ve had and we’re a bit closer to the podium fight so I’m looking forward to Assen!”
Sylvain Guintoli
Race: 10th / +25.548 / 18 laps. Championship: 6th / 53 points
“We tried a very different solution with the chassis and the electronics for race two but the end result was very similar. The end of the race we struggled a lot for pace, this time I was a little more conservative at the start but it just didn’t work out. So a very difficult couple of races for us, but the fact that Aragon is very hard on tyres highlighted the fact that we need to work to get more performance out of the bike with the used tyres. In Superpole with both the race and qualifying tyre we showed some very fast pace, so we have to try to match that now during the races with low grip. That’s the aim as we get back to work and look to make the next step.”
Paul Denning ? Team Principal
“Really it was a similar story to yesterday’s race here at the Aragon circuit today but some very encouraging signs again to the potential lurking in the YZF-R1 in WorldSBK-trim. The changes made for Sylvain and the way he tried to look after the tyre at the start of the race unfortunately didn’t work out into a better result but it’s more solid points, a lot more experience and another step in the development for the bike.
“Alex had a strange race, experiencing difficulties to enter the corners for the first five laps but thereafter adapting to find pace and settling into an excellent rhythm that saw him climb from 18th position to ninth at the flag – and race pace that could have seen him fight for fourth place. The team and Yamaha will take the lessons learnt from the weekend but also reflect on the positive potential of the YZF-R1 as demonstrated by the qualifying pace and the improvements made, especially with Alex’s rhythm, in the second race.”