#ESPWorldSBK – Day 3
Redding powers to second victory; Rea only sixth
Ducati secure their first one-two finish in WorldSBK since 2012 as Scott Redding and Chaz Davies claim the top two positions
MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action at the Pirelli Spanish Round featured thrilling action across the field as Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) claimed his second WorldSBK victory and his sixth consecutive podium in his rookie season; beating teammate Chaz Davies as Ducati claimed their first 1-2 finish since 2012.
The opening laps featured battles across the top six, with Redding making an early move to pass polesitter Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the second lap at the right-hander of Turn 1, while Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) fought his way up from 10th to run in the top five in the early stages of the race.
Redding checked out at the front of the field to extend his lead to two seconds to Rea before the Northern Irishman got passed by Redding’s Ducati teammate Davies. The Welshman and Razgatlioglu both were able to get by Rea temporarily before an ambitious move by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) meant Lowes outbraked himself at Turn 6; allowing Rea to move back into third place.
Razgatlioglu eventually got by Rea again and held on to third place while Davies was running in second place, behind teammate Redding with the pair able to hold on to take a Ducati one-two. Davies did start closing the gap as the race entered the second half but Redding responded to extend the gap back out to over two seconds, holding on to take his second WorldSBK victory.
Razgatlioglu held on to claim a podium at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, rebounding from a technical issue in the Tissot Superpole Race, for third place in Race 2; pulling away from Rea and Lowes as they fought with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN). Rinaldi passed Lowes at Turn 5 before setting his sights on five-time Champion Rea, making a move up the inside of the Turn 13 hairpin on Lap 13 on the brakes; moving into fourth place and securing his joint-best WorldSBK finish – which was claimed at Jerez in 2019.
Lowes and Rea came home in fifth and sixth place respectively ahead of Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) in seventh place, the Dutch rider just over a second behind the reigning World Champion. He had a gap of over four seconds to Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), the highest placed Honda rider on the grid in eighth place. Marco Melandri’s (Barni Racing Team) impressive race pace continued to show as he made up 10 places from 19th on the grid to finish ninth.
American rider Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) completed the top 10 with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) the highest placed BMW rider in 11th place, finishing two seconds behind Gerloff. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) finished in 12th, around 10 seconds off his Honda teammate.
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 13th place as he completed the 20-lap race just under a second behind Haslam, and also beating Sandro Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) by almost six seconds. Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) picked up the final point available for Race 2, almost pipping Cortese as the pair were separated by two tenths.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) had been running in the lead group during the early stages of the race, but he came off his bike at Turn 13 on Lap 6 to take himself out of contention; the Frenchman eventually being classified in 17th place behind Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team).
Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing) was not classified following a crash while Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team) suffered from a crash on Lap 6 at Turn 5. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) were both also not classified in Race 2.
Redding’s victory makes him the first British rookie in WorldSBK to achieve six consecutive podiums, while Ducati’s 1-2 was the first since Assen’s Race 1 of 2012, when Sylvain Guintoli took a career-first win, Davide Giugliano took a career-first podium and reigning Champion Carlos Checa was a mighty third. In contrast, Jonathan Rea’s sixth place is the lowest he’s finished a race since Laguna Seca’s Race 1 from 2014, when he was sixth on that day.
P1 Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati):
“That was good. I was a bit more experienced after the races in Phillip Island and Race 1 at Jerez. I’m still a fresh rider here so I need to understand the tyres and the riders. I felt very confident that I could manage the gap a little bit. I managed it pretty well. I saw Chaz coming a little bit when I tried to save the tyres, so I tried to maintain the gap. To be honest, it’s amazing to have two wins, pole position and a second position here. It’s the target of me and the team. Ducati have done a great job to give me a bike that’s able to win races and I hope we can continue those performances because we’re working very hard.”
P2 Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati):
“I’m super happy with second place. A lot of it was done at the start, having the fifth-place grid spot and also not fluffing the start made life a lot easier today. I got away quite well and clean and I was just in the hunt from the beginning. Scott set a really good pace early on, it was a little bit too much for everybody. Then it sort-of levelled out a little bit and I could see Scott running deep, as was I, and it was really hard to pull a tenth here and a tenth there. I think he’d get a bit in one part of the track and I’d get a little bit in another. Overall, I’m really happy. The objective was a couple of podiums this weekend. I only managed one but I’m still very happy with it. It’s good confidence for next week.”
P3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team):
“Yes, we are happy because we tried a different set up but it was not good. But we are happy because again, we got a podium and good points. Thanks to my team because they did a very good job this weekend. We are happy and see you in Portimao.”
#ESPWorldSBK at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto – Race 2
- Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
- Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +3.082
- Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +5.472
- Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) +8.709
- Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +10.772
- Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +12.501
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Rea Wins Spanish Superpole Race
Jonathan Rea (KRT) scored a win and a sixth place in today’s hot and demanding WorldSBK races at Jerez, with fellow KRT rider Alex Lowes finishing seventh and fifth. Rea’s victory came in the ten-lap Tissot-Superpole race.
In the ‘sprint’ race, held at 11.00hrs, Rea made a strong start and the five time champion pushed hard early on to take a victory from Scott Redding by 0.522 seconds. It was his second major success of the 2020 campaign, after taking the equivalent race in Australia in round one.
This Jerez win was a new landmark record of 90 WorldSBK victories for Rea, and his 75th since he joined Kawasaki in 2015.
The final race of the weekend, over 20-laps was led by Jonathan from the start but he was passed by eventual race winner and championship leader Redding on the second lap. Unable to get the drive grip he had hoped for Rea would eventually finish sixth.
Lowes made great strides forward to take seventh place in the Superpole race, battling hard to move through the field in a short and intense contest which he had started from 14th place on the grid.
In the second full distance race Lowes shadowed his team-mate Rea for some time but made his move forward on lap 17 to finish fifth and improve his results through each of the three Jerez points scoring races.
In the championship standings Redding leads with 98, Rea is now second with 74 and Lowes is a close third with 72.
The championship will now move on to Portugal next weekend, for the Portimao round, between 7 and 9 August.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “This morning was very good and I felt that it was my chance to go from the very beginning. I did a 1’40.6 from a standing start which was unbelievable. I had a really good rhythm so I was able to cruise the last few laps and really enjoy the race. In race two it was hard because as soon as I got the bike on its side in turn three and accelerated towards four, it was not pushing the tyre in and going forward. I was frustrated with that. We had the same set-up as we had in the Superpole race and the set-up change from yesterday was minimal, so we need to look at the data. This circuit is the one I feared the most, especially in the high temperatures, so it is not a bad outcome.”
Alex Lowes, stated: “It has not been an easy weekend for me but in the end we took some points so it was not bad. This weekend was quite difficult because this is the first time for me to ride the Kawasaki in these extreme temperatures. But every race at Jerez I have improved and I am looking forward to Portimao already. In the Superpole race it was good because I started 14th, so to arrive in P7 I had quite a lot of confidence for the final race. I was stronger today but I was bit behind in terms of track time. We will try to improve for next week.”
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 12th and 13th in the Sunday races at his home circuit of Jerez, with Sandro Cortese (Outdo Kawasaki TPR) scoring two more 14th places today, for valuable points each time. New WorldSBK full time rider Maximilian Scheib (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was 15th and then 18th today. In the points table Cortese is 14th, Fores 15th and Scheib 16th.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Pata Yamaha on the WorldSBK Podium Twice in Sunday’s Jerez Races
The Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team, with Rizla, scored a pair of FIM Superbike World Championship podium finishes on Sunday in Jerez, with Toprak Razgatlıoğlu bouncing back from retirement in the Tissot Superpole Race to finish an incredible third in Race 2, while Michael van der Mark had previously made it onto the rostrum in the 10-lap sprint.
Starting fifth for the Superpole Race, Razgatlıoğlu starred on the opening lap and slid his way through to second by Turn 2. As the race settled in, he came under pressure from Scott Redding, but displayed a masterclass in defensive riding, out-braking the Ducati rider on several occasions to maintain second place. However, his efforts were thwarted with just three laps to go following a sensor failure, which saw him retire from the race.
In Race 2, and starting from 10th on the grid due to the Superpole Race DNF, Razgatlıoğlu made another lightning start and sliced his way into the top four by the end of the first lap. The Pata Yamaha rider continued to put pressure on those ahead and battled with Jonathan Rea for the final spot on the podium. By the eighth lap, Razgatlıoğlu made his move inside the top three, which he held until the chequered flag for his fourth podium of the 2020 season.
Needing a strong haul of points following Saturday’s retirement, Van der Mark made a solid start in the Superpole Race to hold onto fourth place. The Dutchman remained within touching distance of the podium paces, benefiting from his teammate’s issue to take his first rostrum of the season. In Race 2, the rising track temperatures saw Van der Mark struggle with grip, eventually finishing just behind Rea in seventh, scoring more important points.
After a difficult return to racing on Saturday, the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team enjoyed their strongest WorldSBK showing yet, with American Garrett Gerloff riding a sublime Superpole Race, climbing from 15th on the grid to finish eighth in only his third championship start. The former MotoAmerica Superbike star impressed again in Race 2, battling some of the series’ most experienced riders to take the chequered flag in 10th.
Teammate Federico Caricasulo bounced back from yesterday’s Race 1 retirement to take a pair of 16th place finishes, with his lack of long run experience in the soaring track temperatures at Jerez meaning the Italian just missed out on points.
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSBK Supported Team’s Loris Baz equalled his best result with Yamaha, finishing just off the podium in fourth during the Superpole Race. In the final race at Jerez, the French rider was running amongst the leading group in sixth place, before sliding off into the gravel at Turn 13, dropping him out of points contention.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – SPRC: DNF, Race 2: P3
Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team
“I had a small crash on the out-lap which was a little bit crazy… but then in the race we had a really good start to be right near the front. 10th to third is really positive and we are happy with the performance of the R1, which allowed me to take a solid amount of points even if we could not quite match the winning pace. I’m looking forward to racing at Portimao next weekend, I know we can go well there, I like the circuit and I believe the Yamaha will too, so hopefully we can have a strong result.”
Michael van der Mark – SPRC: P3, Race 2: P7
Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team
“After missing out on the podium in Phillip Island and yesterday, it was good to be back inside the top three for the Superpole Race. I wasn’t really happy with the bike and we tried to sort it out for the second race of the day, but with the conditions being a lot warmer I struggled with the front end, which was not helped by being in a group and the tyre temperature going out of range. We scored some decent points, but now we need to focus on a better result at Portimao. It’s a track I enjoy and I think we’ll be able to challenge at the front.”
Garrett Gerloff – SPRC: P8, Race 2: P10
GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team
“I’m happy to be inside the top 10, but I know I have a little bit more in me. I made a few mistakes which cost me a couple of positions. The team and I made a lot of solid progress this weekend, despite not having as much track time as we had in testing. We made some good decisions on the set-up, I felt really confident in the Superpole Race and again in the second one. I’m happy we have Portugal next weekend, so we can carry this momentum and challenge for the top 10 again.”
Federico Caricasulo – SPRC: P16, Race 2: P16
GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team
“It was not an easy day for me, everything was quite strange. I was very fast on Friday and Saturday morning, but with the hot temperatures I had a big problem trying to stop and turn the bike. We have to try and work to understand what is happening. We made a good step with the lap times this weekend, so hopefully we can move forward in Portimao.”
Loris Baz – SPRC: P4, Race 2: P17
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSBK Supported Team
“The Superpole Race was good, we were always close to the podium. Like yesterday, we were just missing a tenth or so per lap and I couldn’t quite get to the top three. Once I knew it was out of reach I just conserved my position for the second race. I had another good start but the conditions were really difficult. I was sliding a lot and then made a small mistake which took me out of the points. I’m disappointed for the team but we were right there again with the factory guys. We were always there throughout every session and we have to take the positives from the weekend. I’ve always enjoyed Portimao, so I’m looking forward to fighting for a podium again.”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:
Another comeback for Melandri in race 2. Good vibes with Barni Racing Team
Jerez de la Frontera (SPA), 2 August 2020. The weekend of Marco Melandri at the Jerez circuit – Angel Nieto ended with another positive performance and another great comeback. The Barni Racing Team rider recovered from 19th to 9th position in race 2 after suffering in the Superpole Race due to a sting of a wasp.
The team led by Marco Barnabò is now heading towards Portimao, Portugal – where in a week’s time round 3 of the WorldSBK is scheduled – with 15 points in the pocket and Melandri is twelfth in the Championship.
Under the scorching sun of Jerez Melandri was unable to climb up positions in the Superpole Race, having to fight even against an unexpected event: the sting of a wasp that slipped into his suit at mid-race. The rider from Ravenna finished the the 10-laps race in 18th position.
With this result, the start of race 2 saw him start again from the seventh row of the grid and, once again, Marco was able to overtake several times in the early stages. When he got behind Bautista and Haslam he had to pull up behind them and lost contact with the group ahead of him. The overtaking on the English Honda arrived on lap 10, when Melandri took ninth place, a position he held until the finish line.
Marco Melandri
Superpole Race: P18 – Race 2: P9
“I’m very happy with the results of the two races. In the Superpole Race I thought I could finish better, starting in the top nine would have changed the afternoon race, but we must not forget that it was a test weekend for us. In Superpole Race we tried a solution that didn’t work and then – in the middle of the race – a wasp bit me on the chest, at that moment I lost concentration. The afternoon went well: I was fast at the start but there was a lot of filler on the outside of the first corner and I didn’t gain a lot of positions; I still have some difficulty in overtaking and in fast corners but I think we are starting to understand the way to adapt the bike. I’m happy and motivated because even though I struggled a lot I’m not so far from the front group. I did the whole race close to Bautista and Rea finished six seconds ahead of me in race 2, it’s not bad for me because only two weeks ago I was at home.”
Marco Barnabo, Team Principal
“I’m satisfied with the first weekend, we have done a good job apart from qualifying which has conditioned us a in the two races: starting nineteenth makes everything complicated because it is difficult to recover, everyone is going fast and the race pace is always high. In any case I want to congratulate Marco because as soon as he got on the bike he was already able to keep up with the pace of riders who have been preparing all winter. The fact that makes me even more confident is that we have clear ideas about what we need to improve in order to adapt the bike to his riding and his physique. I am very optimistic for the next race”
More, from a press release issued by Team Go Eleven:
I SUMA, AI SEM, WE GOT IT!
I suma, ai sem, ci siamo, we got it! Two dialects, Piedmontese and Romagna, one language, Italian. This combination has always been the soul of Go Eleven and today is born its most mature fruits. What a race, guys, what a race, a unique emotion to conclude the Andalusian weekend in Jerez!
In the warm up the team tried a different tyre solution than the FP 3 on Saturday morning, to evaluate the different performance with cooler temperatures. The data collected will be important in view of the next races, since both the Superpole Race and Race 2 will take place in a lot different conditions, with hot asphalt.
The Superpole Race starts with the ambition to improve the starting grid for Race 2. The start at the turning off of red lights is not perfect but Michael immediately tries to recover some position. Unfortunately with such a short race it is very difficult to recover and he did not have a great feeling with the Ducati Panigale V4-R, so much so that he could not force the braking. The time lost behind slower riders partially compromised the performance, finishing eleventh. Goal not found and departure from the twelfth place for Race 2.
Race 2 doesn’t need too many words to be described. Starting twelfth, in a few laps with great determination Michael is in eighth position overtaking Bautista and Haslam and the BMW duo. An exhausting chase with the same pace of Scott Redding, from mid-race onwards, led him to get closer and overcome Van Der Mark, Lowes and Johnny Rea. What a battle with the Cannibal; five turns in which the position was exchanged 3 times with braking and lines from heart in throat. Trust me, to watch your bike, to watch Michael battling with the greatest Superbike rider of all time, to pass him and to go away from him is a unique emotion! Fourth position, emblematic performance, first independent Team at the finish line and best overall performance for Go Eleven in the WorldSBK Championship. Is it enough? When you have the pace to stay ahead you can’t be satisfied…it’s a regret we didn’t manage to complete the Ducati hat-trick, we were so close! In Portimao, next weekend, we will try to do even better, to give to all over the world Ducatisti another day to remember!
Michael Rinaldi (Rider):
“What a race today! We went very fast on the race pace, I have to thank my team for this; we worked well all weekend! A bit of regret because when there are faster track conditions we cannot be so incisive and we had to start in the fourth row and in the Superpole Race we struggled a bit, too. Today’s race was spectacular, I went fast, I came up from behind and I did some good overtakings; I also fought with Rea, it never happened to me, and it’s a beautiful emotion! Let’s improve a little more in Portimao!”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“I have to say thank you to the whole team, thanks to all the guys and above all super Michael who today made us live a wonderful and exciting race. Rinaldi was the fastest on the track, he recovered from twelfth to fourth place, without taking advantage of retirements or falls in front of him, and if only he had started some position further on the grid we could have seen three Ducati on the podium! We are also very satisfied and happy to have won the ranking of the independent teams, for us it is a very important result, I take the opportunity to thank all our partners, who work every day for this common goal, but we must work to improve our performance with soft tyres and with cooler asphalt temperatures, in such a tight championship it is essential to be ready for all situations and to be able to take advantage of qualifying; when you start back then it is difficult to remount and you stress the tyres more. Amazing ride today Michael, let’s enjoy this moment but from tomorrow we will return to focus on Portimao, where the most difficult part will await us: to confirm the good results of Jerez!”
More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport WorldSBK Team:
Day of mixed feelings for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Jerez de la Frontera.
Round two of the 2020 FIM Superbike World Championship.
Superpole Race and race two: sixth and eleventh place for Tom Sykes, 13th and DNF for Eugene Laverty.
Third round of the season next weekend at Portimão.
Jerez de la Frontera. It was a day of mixed feelings for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Jerez de la Frontera (ESP). The racetrack in the south of Spain hosted round two of the 2020 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). Tom Sykes (GBR) finished sixth in Sunday morning’s Superpole Race. He then came home eleventh in race two in the afternoon. His team-mate Eugene Laverty (IRL) was 13th in the sprint race in the morning, but retired in race two.
Conditions were hot again at Jerez de la Frontera on Sunday, with ambient temperatures of around 37 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of up to 60 degrees. Sykes started the morning’s Superpole Race from third place on his BMW S 1000 RR. He dropped three positions at the start and fell back into sixth place, before going on to finish in that position after ten laps of racing. Laverty made a quick start, racing through from eleventh into seventh place. He was running eighth at the halfway point, before he lost out in a fiercely-competitive group of riders and eventually crossed the finish line in 13th place.
Sykes and Laverty then started race two from sixth and 13th places on Sunday afternoon. Sykes did not make a great start and conceded a few positions. Over the course of the race, he was unable to make any progress in a packed field and eventually finished eleventh. Laverty once again got off to a good start and climbed into the top-ten. Shortly after that, however, he hit a false neutral when changing gear and came off the track before rejoining the race at the back of the field. He ultimately had to retire in the second half of the race as he was also struggling with a painful blister on his foot.
The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team now heads straight to Portimão (POR), where round three of the 2020 WorldSBK season takes place next weekend.
Quotes after race two at Jerez de la Frontera.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “The day started pretty well. We were able to solve Saturday’s problems and finished the warm-up in decent positions. For the Superpole Race, we chose the harder SC0 tyre and that decision actually worked out quite well. We were very satisfied with Tom’s sixth place, which then was his start position for race two. Although we were able to make improvements with the bike, Eugene still did not get along with it as hoped, so he started race two from further down the grid. Sadly, we couldn’t shine in the second race. Tom was unfortunate in the first corners, which resulted in the loss of many positions that could not be made up during the race. Our pace was simply not good enough. Eugene hit a false neutral in turn thirteen when downshifting, was unable to stop and rode into the gravel. Unfortunately, the race was over for him from that point on. Now we have a week to work hard and analyse the problems and of course hope for significantly better results at Portimão.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “It’s been a tough weekend. The Superpole Race for Tom wasn’t too bad to get P6. It was probably the best we could have afforded having opted for the SC0 instead of the SCX. For Eugene, on the other hand, the sprint race did not go to plan. In race two, Tom didn’t get a good start and got boxed in losing a lot of positions, which can happen. He was then in with a pack of riders where he just couldn’t make an impression on them due to major brake problems. The faster guys were five seconds up the road and you can run at their pace but when you’re stuck with riders with stronger motors than you, late on the brakes, it makes your race difficult. Eugene got a great start to his second race and gained around four positions into T1, but his race was short lived after hitting a false neutral and running into the gravel, ultimately ruining his race. He continued the race, however losing 30 seconds and riding with his blistered foot we made the decision to retire the bike. We will debrief with the riders tonight and have a detailed look at where we need to improve the bike for the next round in Portugal, hopefully coming back a lot stronger.”
Tom Sykes: “I’m disappointed with today. We worked hard in the hot conditions but unfortunately not had the luck come our way. Yesterday we had some good pace in race one, but we had a technical issue which forced me to pit. Then today in the Superpole race, we opted for a tyre we knew was a harder compound and I think we had a decent race considering the difference in compounds. In race two we suffered more technical restrictions, but there are some positives to take away with us as we are constantly finding new areas to explore on the BMW S 1000 RR. Looking forward, I think we need some luck on our side so we can hopefully get the results that we deserve.”
Eugene Laverty: “Another tough race today with a really good start. I fought aggressively and made up some positions within the first corners. Unfortunately, by the end of the first lap I got in this false neutral, ran off the track and from that point onwards my race was more or less over. I tried to do some laps to regain positions, but since I was outside the top twenty, I got to quit. So now I am focusing on Portimão, which was always one of my favourite races of the season but this year it’s even more special because it’s my first real home race, as I live just 15 minutes away from the track now. I expect the conditions will be nice and sunny and I am hoping for some strong results as I have won on the Portimao track several times, so let’s see what we do next weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Triumph for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team. Scott Redding (P1) and Chaz Davis (P2) on the top steps of the podium in Sunday’s Race 2 in Jerez de la Frontera.
Scott Redding and Chaz Davies celebrated in Parc Ferme after finishing first and second respectively in Race 2 at the Pirelli Spanish Round.
It was a sensational race for Scott Redding who started from second place – after his P2 in the Superpole Race – and attacked Rea immediately in the first lap creating a gap that allowed him to dominate the race up to the chequered flag.
Chaz Davies built his result thanks to a valuable second-row start, following his fifth place in the Superpole Race. The Welshman engaged in a duel with Razgatlioglu on lap three, taking third place and chasing Rea who overtook two laps later. Chaz’s pace was excellent and allowed him to take a wide margin to cross the finish line in P2 easily.
Scott Redding consolidates his leadership in the WorldSBK Championship standings with 98 points. Chaz Davies (57 points) gets closer to the fourth position.
WorldSBK Championship Standing – Top 5
P1 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 98
P2 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 74
P3 – A. Lowes (Kawasaki) 72
P4 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 66
P5 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 57
P1 – Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I’m very excited about this weekend. We had two wins, a pole position and a second place. It’s a great result, and for this, I want to thank the whole Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team for putting me in a position to be competitive. The feeling with the bike was great, and I was able to take a good advantage in the first laps. I am very satisfied”.
P2 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“I’m very happy to be back on the podium. My goal was to fight for the top three positions in all the races, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do it. I think the start was a key factor in getting this result. I want to thank my team for the great work they have done on the bike since Friday morning. Now we go to Portimao with great enthusiasm and conviction”.
Stefano Cecconi (Team Principal Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It’s an extraordinary achievement that rewards our work, especially after such a difficult time for everyone. We are delighted with our riders: Scott has achieved great results in the three races, Chaz has always been very incisive and has finally returned on the podium. It’s been a long time since the last one-two, and this makes us proud. Both Ducati Panigale V4 R bikes went very well, demonstrating the goodness of the project. A big thank you to the whole team and all the guys who work at Borgo Panigale and who have allowed us to be so competitive. Now we have to stay focused and work race by race without overthinking about the final result”.
