Everything is ready for the new WorldSBK season in Australia
Phillip Island (AUS), 17th February 2019. This week Barni Racing Team gets to fire up his Ducati Panigale V4 R engines again, signalling the start of the 2019 MOTUL FIM WorldSBK Championship season at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. Ahead of the first round, on stage from 22nd to 24th February, the beautiful circuit overlooking Cunningham Bay, off the coast of Victoria in Australia, will host two days of testing on monday 18th and Tuesday 19th.
Than, next Friday, opening round of 2019 WorldSBK season will start in the same track, one of the most iconic and exciting venues in world motorsport.
Last time in Australia Barni Racing Team scored a spectacular podium in race 2 with Xavi Forés and Ducati Panigale R, but this year everything will be different. It will be the beginning of a new era: the debut of the all new-brand Ducati Panigale V4 R, first four-cylinder engine machine made by Borgo Panigale. The new brand bike is not the only big news of the season: Saturday offers a big change in the format as the Tissot Superpole will now become one single qualifying session. The final results of the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole will decide the grid for race one and Sunday´s Sprint Race, now branded as the Tissot Superpole Race. The first race of Sunday will be an all new Sprint Race format of 10 laps (throughout duration of the season) where points will be added to the overall championship standings and awarded in the Tissot Superpole Race as follows: 12/9/7/6/5/4/3/2/1. There will be no change for race one and two where point system remains unchanged and awarded to the first fifteen riders.
As usual, new season will be opened on the 4,448 metres of Phillip Island Circuit, which presents a fast and flowing layout, with frequent changes in slope and little margin for error. Barni Racing Team’s rider Michael Rinaldi is unexperienced on this track. The 23 years old italian rider has never seen the track before and will ride at Phillip Island Circuit for the very first time. The most important thing for him it will be to get familiar with the track and improve the feeling with his new bike. Barni Racing Team and his rider’s first goal is to develop the red machine in all areas trying to be closer to the top 10 riders than they was in winter test.
Marco Barnabò, Principal Manager
“It was really challenging to prepare all new materials for this season, but finally here we are. Now it’s time to put to good use the great work we have done at home during the winter season. Neither the rider nor the bike have ever raced here so the two days of testing will be very important in view of the race weekend.”
Michel Rinaldi, #12
“I’m very excited to start the new season, especially at Phillip Island. Several months after my last race I can not wait to get back on track. I have never been in Australia before, so our plan is to get the maximum from two days of testing getting to know the track and improving the feeling with my Ducati Panigale V4 R. We are aware that there is a lot of work to do, but both I and the team are committed to the maximum to achieve a good result.”