#ARGWorldSBK Day 3 – Ten out of ten: Rea extends perfect run with Argentina double

2018 Champion takes ten races on the trot, more than any rider in World Superbike history

Perfect ten for Rea in Argentina

However tough the going gets, he always finds a way to get the job done. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed his fifth consecutive double of the 2018 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Circuito San Juan Villicum in sensational fashion. The champion was forced to dig deep to take the Argentinian double ahead of Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team), but now holds another record to his name for the most consecutive wins in a World Superbike season, beating Colin Edwards and Neil Hodgson’s previous streak of nine victories.

The opening laps at the Circuito San Juan Villicum were amongst the most chaotic of the entire 2018 season. Fores was quick off the marks from pole, but his partners on the Race Two front row suffered much worse fates: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) immediately fell to the fringes of the top ten, while Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) crashed out unopposed in lap three whilst riding in second place.

It would be a big understatement to say that Rea’s race start went less smoothly than in Race One. A strong start pushed him up into the top five at the lights, but a succession of mistakes through the end of lap one and the first half of lap two saw him lose positions to Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), nearly falling one further under pressure from Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

The Argentinian fans would not have to wait long for the comeback. Rea saw himself past Davies after the Welshman went in too hot at turn 1, then made good use of the back straight slipstream to edge smoothly past Lowes. A mistake from Razgatlioglu also left the Turkish rookie in the Northern Irishman’s wake. Meanwhile, a bruising battle for fourth saw Davies, Melandri and Lowes exchange places turn after turn.

At the four-lap mark, Fores had already opened a huge three-second gap taking advantage of Rea’s troubled start. This didn’t last: at a rate of nearly a second per lap, Rea caught up with the Spaniard and fought his way through to the front inside lap eight. Fores immediately pounced back at the back straight, but the Kawasaki’s pace was too much on the day and the weekend and, after moving back into the front half a lap later, Rea blasted into the lead and head-first into his tenth consecutive win, unchallenged from that point forwards.

A cool second for Fores means that he is now the official independent riders champion, thanks to his fifth podium of the year. Marco Melandri managed to return to the rostrum after a fantastic race-long duel with Davies, who finished fourth and again increases his gap with Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) to 24 points, after the Dutchman ended Race Two in ninth.

Tom Sykes managed to climb back to fifth following a strong second half to his race, with Lowes in sixth and Razgatlioglu back in seventh, after fading in the late stages. An anticlimactic ending to the rookie’s Argentinian round, but he still manages to claim the best points haul of his WorldSBK career over a race weekend.

Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) finished Race Two in eighth, whilst Jake Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) made it into the top ten for only the third time this season. Local hero Leandro Mercado managed to finish in twelfth, after crashing in Race One.

That’s a wrap from San Juan!

P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“It’s been a tough day and night, I spent most of last night hugging the toilet, so a massive thanks to Alba, our Performance Manager and also the Clinica Mobile for sorting me out. At least I was able to keep fluids onboard during the race, but I don’t feel so good now though! I want to thank my team, they gave me a great bike this weekend and with a new track for everybody we hit the ground running and figured it out faster than most. Our bike was so good on the tyres at the end of the race and honestly I was just steering it round, so a massive thanks to them – this is dreamy, ten races on the bounce it’s really not normal! It’s mad and I just want to enjoy this moment and it’ll certainly make that long flight home worthwhile.”

P2 – Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team)

“I missed the podium so today I was focyused on getting it again after Magny Cours. I started so strongly and was able to keep the pace, and I was pushing so hard but Jonny overtook me and then I kept my rhythm until the end. Really happy for this second place and also for the Independent Championship, and I want to say thanks to my team for the job this season. I’m looking forward to Qatar and I want to finish the season on the podium again.”

P3 – Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“Actually today I’m a bit disappointed because after three or four laps I made a mistake and went wide at Turn 7, and came back on behind Savadori. I then got past the two Yamahas and Chaz was pulling away, but I was pushing so hard to come back and after I saw Xavi but it was impossible to catch him. I’m sad because without the mistake I could’ve gone second and maybe tried to stay with Jonny, but anyway I’m happy for two podiums and one Superpole – so we’re looking good.”

#ARGWorldSBK at Circuito San Juan Villicum: Race 2

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

2. Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) +3.273

3. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.660

Manufacturers Award Standings

Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 12

1. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (520 points)

2. Chaz Davies (GBR) Ducati (348 points)

3. Michael van der Mark (NED) Yamaha (324 points)

WorldSSP: Cluzel wins in Argentina and sets up title showdown for Losail

Brilliant fifth victory of the season for the Frenchman ahead of Cortese and Mahias

Cluzel puts Cortese’s championship celebrations on ice in Argentina

With the flag down after a nerve-wrenching first contest at the Circuito San Juan Villicum, it is now official: the new champion will be crowned at the final race of the season. Jules Cluzel (NRT) did everything he could to keep the battle alive for Qatar, taking his fifth win of the 2018 FIM Supersport World Championship and forcing Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) to settle for second, with 2017 champion Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team).

Cluzel grabbed the holeshot at the start, moving ahead of Mahias from fourth on the grid inside lap one. The leading pair soon became an all-French trio, as Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) flew up the ranks from seventh on the grid to third. It came at the expense of Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSSP Team), however – Perolari jetted down the inside line at turn 2, the pair clashed, and Caricasulo found himself on the floor, any remaining title options evaporated in the blink of an eye.

The championship leader suffered a disappointing start, slipping down to fourth behind the leading trio. Far from fearing for his lead in the standings, Cortese chose to play the long game. The German slowly chiseled away at the gap with Perolari, eventually finding a comfortable slipstream down the back straight to go into third. Same strategy to move past Mahias: down the kilometre-plus straight at San Juan, taking good advantage of the slipstream with less than five laps to go.

Then came the much-awaited showdown. Record laps tumbled one after the other, both men left in the championship battle pushing harder than ever before – but Cortese finding that extra inch, cutting tenth after tenth off Cluzel’s lead. The German set his eyes on the final lap and that extraordinary back straight, barely a couple of tenths behind at that point. But he found the extra speed just too late: Cluzel defended his line masterfully, and with the Frenchman marginally stronger in the final sector all race he managed to meet the chequered flag ahead. Cortese’s lead is now down to six points: a repeat of this result in Qatar would grant him the world title – but the pressure is on.

Mahias crossed the line in third for a repeat of the Magny-Cours podium, with Thomas Gradinger (NRT) also repeating his fourth position from France. Perolari got a nose ahead of Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros WorldSSP Team) in a rip-roaring sprint to the line, defeating the Swiss rider for fifth.

Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) was the first non-Yamaha rider in Argentina, leading a professional yet solitary race to seventh, followed over twelve seconds behind by the Kawasaki pair of Hikari Okubo and Héctor Barberà (Kawasaki Pucccett Racing) in eighth and ninth. Loris Cresson (Kallio Racing) returned to the top ten for the first time since Brno, while Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) was forced to retire after a mechanical issue.

The WorldSSP championship will go down to the wire! Catch the best moments of the Argentinian Round and gear up for the final round at Losail.

P1 – Jules Cluzel (NRT)

“I never saw Sandro, just on TV! It’s a shame – I did my job, I worked really hard for the race, I’m really proud because we didn’t make mistakes this weekend and I will try my best for the last one. I need some points though because it’s not enough – I think you all know how many points I lost this year and even because of Sandro, so maybe I will get revenge in Qatar, but I will try everything for sure.”

#ARGWorldSBK WorldSSP at Circuito San Juan Villicum – Race

1. Jules Cluzel (NRT)

2. Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) +0.240

3. Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) +3.702

WorldSSP Championship Standings after Round 11

1. Sandro Cortese (GER) Yamaha (189 points)

2. Jules Cluzel (FRA) Yamaha (183 points)

3. Randy Krummenacher (GER) Yamaha (150 points)

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda:

Gagne returns to the top ten in Argentina

Argentinian Round

Circuito San Juan Villicum, Argentina

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team’s Jake Gagne fought his way into the top ten with a spirited Race 2 at the Circuito San Juan Villicum as teammate Leon Camier was forced to retire.

Lining up in twelfth for Race 2, Leon Camier fought to hold his position into the tight first corner as the lights went out in Argentina. Behind, Jake Gagne moved up to twelfth from fourteenth on the grid as he looked to make amends for Saturday’s crash. The fighting was fierce and Camier found himself again forced to run off track, dropping to eighteenth on lap two while Gagne continued to chase the top ten.

Unfortunately, a technical issue saw Leon Camier retire on lap eight. Gagne had meanwhile become embroiled in a battle with Michael van der Mark, the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team rider holding his own for several laps against the Dutchman before Gagne developed a vibration issue. Gagne’s pace saw him hold tenth place comfortably in the final third of the race, earning his third top ten finish of 2018.

As the final round of the 2018 season looms, Camier remains on 108 championship points as Gagne moves up to 57 points and seventeenth in the championship.

The Losail International Circuit will host the final round of the 2018 FIM Superbike World Championship, with its traditional Friday and Saturday night races meaning the weekend runs from the October 25 to 27.

Jake Gagne 45

We had a good race for sure. We made some nice changes in Warm Up this morning, but it was hard to be sure of them due to the track being weird after the rain. It improved a couple of areas that we wanted to from yesterday. I had a decent start but maybe got shuffled around a little too much, that’s what you get for qualifying back there. Then we got into a good rhythm, unfortunately half way through the race I had a lot of vibration which was a bummer and made it difficult to ride. That second half of the race I just rode around by myself once ninth got away from me. But I’m happy, top ten is the goal and the track was really cool to ride. Now we try and keep the momentum going for Qatar and get another top ten hopefully!

Leon Camier 2

It’s difficult to say what’s going on at the minute, there was an issue and something didn’t feel right from the sighting lap. The team are looking into it to find out exactly what it was. I had two people crash into me on one lap because I had this issue and was going so slow. Then unfortunately I ended up taking Smrz out, there was nothing I could have done about it as I had a problem going into the corner and had no where to go. It was a disaster. For some reason we are struggling to understand what’s going on, we keep trying things with the electronics and the chassis to get it right but nothing is working. We’ll keep scratching our heads and working through it and hopefully turn around something for Qatar.

Kervin Bos

Team Manager

A challenging day for sure. Jake had a really good race, finishing in the top ten. This was the first time I saw a really confident Jake Gagne, we saw him passing then lose places and fight straight back. I think it is a great race for his confidence in the future. We saw on Friday that there was something a bit special here for him this weekend and he did well. We saw a racing Gagne this weekend. On the other side of the box it was really hard. Unfortunately we had a technical issue and we are investigating what it was that caused Leon to pull in. It wasn’t safe to proceed especially as he was also last. On Leon’s side we need to regroup, take what has happened this weekend and make a new game plan to start with a blank page in Qatar.

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

 The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team on the podium again in Race 2 in Argentina: Melandri 3rd and Davies 4th after a strong comeback

After taking second place in Race 1, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team stepped on the podium again with Marco Melandri in Race 2 at Villicum (Argentina), home of the twelfth round of the 2018 WorldSBK Championship. The Italian mounted a strong comeback from third row and, after a hard group fight early on that saw him drop down to ninth, he recovered ground and made several passes to finish third.

Starting from fourth row, Chaz Davies got off to a strong start, climbing back up to third position, and eventually finished in fourth place, a result that helped him extend his lead in the fight for second position in the championship up to 24 points over Vd Mark. After 12 rounds, Davies (348 points) and Melandri (286 points) are respectively second and fifth in the championship. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action at Losail (Qatar) for the last round of the season, scheduled for October 23-25.

Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 3rd

“We rode a good race today as well but I’m a bit disappointed because I was coming back strong and when I was fourth I made a mistake at turn 6, going wide and coming back in ninth position. Then we made several passes to climb back again and, with five laps to go, I saw Forés and tried to push even harder to catch him, but he rode well and I couldn’t close the gap. Third place was the best we could do today, and I’m looking forward to get better results in Qatar. The team and I have been working well, so I’m confident ahead of the last round.”

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 4th

“It’s been a topsy-turvy weekend for us, so, to get fourth today feels a bit like a salvage. We got good points, which is important in the fight for second place in the championship, extending our lead again. That said, we didn’t have the most ideal weekend. A couple of technical issues made us start on the back foot and put ourselves in a position to take a bit too many risks. Today we got through the field and into a reasonable position early on, and then I kept my head down and tried to get on the podium. Towards the end, I felt like I had a little bit more left, but I didn’t want to risk too much after what happened yesterday. We have a better potential than what we’ve shown here and I’m looking forward to make the most of it in Qatar.”

Serafino Foti, Team Manager

“Marco had a really strong weekend as he was competitive in each session, taking home two important podiums and pole position. Unfortunately, Chaz didn’t have an easy round due to some problems but, after crashing out in Race 1, he made a strong comeback today together with Marco. To this end, I want to thank all the guys in the team because they worked really hard to allow us to achieve the best possible results.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Ten In A Row A New Record For Rea

On the same weekend that Kawasaki won the WorldSBK Manufacturers’ Championship Jonathan Rea (KRT) made another little bit of history today with a new record of ten consecutive race wins. Tom Sykes (KRT) improved through the second 21-lap race in Argentina to secure a top five finish.

After heavy overnight rain the second race day at the all new San Juan Villicum circuit threw up even more unknown challenges for KRT riders Rea and Sykes, as did the hot track temperature of over 50°C at the start of the race.

Rea, launching from ninth on the grid after his race one win on Saturday, had to use all his skill to pass his rivals on a new track surface that had one clear racing line. Into second place by lap four, Rea chased down the fast-starting leader Xavi Fores on lap nine and set about recording his unique fifth double winning weekend in succession.

The four time champion was particularly pleased to have won another race from the third row, given that he took ill on Saturday evening and was awake most of the night.

In recording his 55th victory on a Kawasaki, as part of his career record of 70 race wins in all, Rea has now equalled the greatest number of wins scored with a single manufacturer in WorldSBK racing.

Rea’s 16th win of the season has taken him to within one victory of equalling the record of race wins in a single year, with two races remaining at the final round.

For Sykes, race two started in a challenging fashion, going from third on the grid to ninth at the end of the first lap. With a strong overall set-up and a different front tyre choice to suit the hotter conditions of race two, he worked out his best way forward and set competitive lap times right through to the end. He passed several competitors as the race unfolded and he ended up fifth.

After 12 rounds, and with one more to go in two week’s time, Rea has set a personal target to try and beat his own record points total of 556, which he scored last year. Jonathan now has 520 points, Davies 348, Michael van der Mark 324 and Tom – still fourth overall – has 294.

The final championship round at the Losail International Circuit will be held between Thursday the 25th of October and Saturday the 27th of October. The two races will be held under floodlights, as is now traditional at the season finale.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was on the podium on Saturday in Argentina but he gradually slid back from second place on lap three to finish seventh today. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) overcame his first day disappointment with a battling 12th. Roman Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki) was 13th and Gabriele Ruiu, (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) 14th, scoring two points.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “It is really special to come to a new track, where everyone starts from zero, and be able to take the same kind of results. To be fast in the hot conditions and keep our tyre that was the key to the race. It was probably the hardest race win from the third row of the grid. If I went off line to pass, I could not be creative with my line choices. Everybody was pretty much on the same line so the passes had to be set up a few corners in advance. Once I settled into my rhythm I was able to clock off the lap times and pick off riders one by one. When I got clear track to Fores I tracked him down quite fast, but then there was the matter of passing him. Today has been difficult because I caught some kind of virus last night. I was ill all night from one o’clock until five this morning. It was good to have the race at 4pm because most of the day I have been sleeping in the cabin, regaining energy!”

Tom Sykes, stated: “We are just trying to get our heads round why we are one of the fastest on the track – at Magny Cours, and here in both race one and race two. We have got incredible speed but the start was strange and I struggled with a couple of gear selections anyway. I just got into the dirty part of the track, but that was not the big issue. We ended up down to ninth and then made a recovery. The lap time near the end was very impressive. We changed the front tyre for race two and that took a little bit of getting used to. With the hot conditions I suffered initially, but then got my head around it at the end. Just at the beginning of the race I was not able to get the corner speed. I am disappointed not to be on the podium, if I am being honest. The positive to take is how consistent and fast we are in the last third of the race.”

More, from a press release issued by Honda Pro Racing:

Positive Start And Tough Finish For Triple M Honda In Argentina

Argentinian Round

Circuito San Juan Villicum, Argentina

The Triple M Honda World Superbike team and their new rider Florian Marino arrived in Argentina full of optimism in their first working weekend together, with Marino learning quickly and starting 15th.

The challenges of the El Villicum circuit were new for the Triple M team and Florian and after Friday practice, where Florian qualified 17th out of the 19 riders on the grid. After Superpole 1 on Saturday, he secured 15th place on the grid for Race 1.

In the first ever race at the brand new Circuito San Juan Villicum, located in the west of Argentina, Marino rode with confidence as he learned more of the secrets of his Honda CBR1000RR SP2 machine, finishing 11thand scoring points his first time out.

The second race on Sunday was run in significantly warmer conditions than day one. On lap two Marino collided with Leon Camier’s machine and the Frenchman suffered a heavy crash. His initial diagnosis is a double fracture of the lower left leg. Florian is now undergoing more medical checks in a local hospital.

The final weekend of the 2018 WorldSBK season will take place under the floodlights in Qatar, with race day taking place on Saturday 27 October.

Florian Marino 51

It was a positive first race on Saturday and I was not sure what to expect at the start. I saw that the guys behind were a bit confused, they did not really know if they should push or not. At this time I pushed and passed some riders like Baz and even Gagne. I did not question myself and just went. After I had set some fast laps I tried to fight and stay with them as long as possible. I was still not feeling really like I wanted to on the bike and I struggled physically. The second half of the race was really tough on Saturday but I learned a lot.

Manuel Cappelletti

Team Manager

It was a good weekend until today. Florian told us he hit Leon Camier and he crashed into Leon and then he fell off the bike. He has broken his lower left leg and we are going to hospital now to see him.

More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:

Forés celebrate with a podium the victory as best independent rider

San Juan (ARG). A cool second place for Xavi Fores in Argentinian race 2 means that he is now the official independent riders champion of MOTUL FIM WorldSBK. Consequently the Barni Racing Team is the best independent team of the season 2018.

Thanks to the grid revised from race 1 where he was fourth, Forés was quick off the marks from pole position. At the four-lap mark, he had already opened a huge three-second gap taking advantage from the pack. Forés immediately pounced back at the back straight, but the Kawasaki’s pace was too much on the day and the weekend.

Therefore the flagbearer of the Barni Racing Team was fast enough to secure his second position till the checkered flag. He succeed in withstanding to the recovery of Melandri.

Thanks to this second place, fifth podium in 2018, Xavi Forés jumps to 227 points in overall standings, still seventh, but only five points far from Lowes, sixth.

In two weeks the WorldSBK Championship will be out on track for the last round in Qatar and Xavi’s goal would be to pass the Yamaha Factory to conquer a fantastic sixth position overall.

Marco Barnabò, Principal Manager

“Being second today sounds like a victory for us. We arrived in a new-brand track and we manage to find immediately a good setup. Thanks to the advise by Xavi the bike fitted this circuit and the tyre choice was good too. I can say this is a perfect weekend for us and I want to thank all the crew and the rider who had a such great performance. After being the italian champion team now we celebrate the victory among the independent team and rider in WorldSBK.”

Xavi Forés, #12

“It was not easy to stay at the front pushing hard without having a reference. When Rea overtake me I tried to follow him, but his pace was too fast. At that point I decided to defend the second position and I did it. Yesterday the podium had been stolen from my grasp and today I wanted. Our goal in this season was winning the title as best independent rider and today we achieved it. I want to share the happiness with all the team that always supported me. Now I want a good result more in Qatar, a track I like a lot.”