Motul FIM Superbike World Championship

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Australia

February 24, 2019

Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Duc Panigale V4 R), 22 Laps, 33:38.114

2. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -12.195 seconds

3. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -12.454

4. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), -16.574

5. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -16.859

6. Marco Melandri, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), -17.329

7. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale V4 R), -26.823

8. Sandro Cortese, Germany (Yam YZF-R1), -27.580

9. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Duc Panigale V4 R), -29.116

10. Leon Camier, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -29.178

11. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), -29.460

12. Markus Reiterberger, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -29.896

13. Tom Sykes, UK (BMW S1000RR), -31.231

14. Jordi Torres, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), -40.926

15. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -41.616

16. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc Panigale V4 R), -1 lap 

17. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR),  DNF, retired 

18. Troy Herfoss, Australia (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), DNF, retired

19. Alessandro Delbianco, Italy (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), DNF, crash

World Championship Point Standings (after 3 of 39 races):

1. Bautista, 62 points

2. Rea, 49

3. TIE, Melandri/Lowes, 30

5. Van Der Mark, 29

6. Haslam, 24

7. Cortese, 19

8. Davies, 15

9. TIE, Sykes/Laverty, 12

(Above) The start of Race Two. Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.worldsbk.com.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:

Bautista secures Race Two victory in dominant style

Spaniard becomes the first rider to win both WorldSBK races on his debut weekend

The final race of the Yamaha Finance Australian Round in the opening meeting of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship went the way of Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), who completed a dream WorldSBK debut. The Spaniard becomes the first rider to win both WorldSBK races on his debut weekend since John Kocinski – also for Ducati – at Misano in 1996.

Initially taking the lead at Turn 1, Bautista started putting time into Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who managed to pass teammate Jonathan Rea at Turn 4. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) made a fast start and was fourth whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi escalated from eighth on the grid into fifth, with Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) remaining sixth.

At Turn 1 on lap two, Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) made a brief appearance into sixth, passing Melandri, only for the Italian to repay the compliment to his former WorldSBK teammate. Back in the fight for second position, Haslam began to pull away from Rea, the reigning Champion not having things his own way.

Marco Melandri got his way ahead of van der Mark and immediately set about closing down the KRT pairing of Haslam and Rea. Further up the road, Alvaro Bautista was building his own gap, setting the fastest lap to confirm his relentless pace. The gap between the two Kawasakis was now at 0.5s, with Haslam seemingly able to put distance between Rea. Behind Melandri and van der Mark, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was back into sixth.

Further down the order, Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was making good progress from 16th on the grid and was now ninth, almost passing Laverty at Turn 10 but deciding to wait for another time.

Whilst throughout most of the weekend the rivalry between Bautista and Rea was headlining, Haslam and Rea started to get close on circuit too. From lap seven, the reigning World Champ started to close his new teammate down and with just eight laps to go, the Northern Irishman made his move at Turn 1, only for Haslam to take him back at Turn 4 with a traditional block pass. This started a succession of nine passes between the pair. Haslam put an audacious Jonathan Rea-style pass on the four-time champion at Turn 1, with Rea responding immediately almost every time.

Behind the squabbling Kawasaki riders, the Yamaha riders of Melandri and van der Mark decided to have their own fight, passing and re-passing, hindering their chances of taking the fight to Rea and Haslam, less than half-a-second up the road at times. Van der Mark was up to fourth at Turn 4 with four laps to go, although Melandri got back ahead at Turn 10.

However, despite all of the fighting with the Kawasaki Racing Team and Yamaha riders, Alvaro Bautista was oblivious to the squabbling left in his wake. The 2006 World Champion crossed the line to become a WorldSBK winner for a second time, with the Tissot Superpole Race win also going to the Spanish sensation.

Rea eventually took second place ahead of Haslam, whilst van der Mark finished fourth ahead of teammate Alex Lowes, who put in a stunning late charge to demote Marco Melandri to sixth. Chaz Davies finished a fine seventh place and ended a poor weekend with his best result, with reigning WorldSSP Champion Sandro Cortese completing the top eight once more. Eugene Laverty took ninth place and his joint-best finish of the weekend, whilst rounding out the top ten was Leon Camier.

P1 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“Before coming to Australia, I couldn’t expect a weekend like this. During the two-day of official test, we worked hard, and we arrived at the race weekend ready for the battle. This morning during the Tissot Superpole Race, Rea and I fought hard, and I really enjoyed it, but in the afternoon track conditions were a little bit worse. My pace was still good, but after the 10-lap race, I expected Jonny to stay with me in Race Two. I pushed hard from the beginning and the gap increased and I was able to win again. I want to thank Ducati and all the guys for their incredible job! It has been an amazing weekend for us”.

P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“I am happy about the race weekend. Phillip Island is not one of the stronger tracks for me and my bike but to come away with a lap record, a pole position and two second places, I couldn’t have asked for more. My congratulation goes to Alvaro. It takes a lot of work to come here as a rookie and win three races in a row, so a big congrats to him”.

P3 – Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“With this podium, it was able to make up after the silly crash I had yesterday. It was a good Race Two, with a lot of passing and I had so much fun. With two laps left, I thought it was made and that I was going to finish in second, but Jonathan is not a four-time world champion for no reason and he beat me. Third on the podium is a good result and it’s perfect for the team as we finished second and third. Now we can move on to Thailand and try to progress”.

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport:

BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team continues to score points with the new BMW S 1000 RR.

Both riders finish in the points again in Sunday’s WorldSBK race.

Markus Reiterberger crosses the line in 12th, Tom Sykes in 13th position.

Marc Bongers: “This first weekend makes me confident for the season”.

Phillip Island. The new BMW S 1000 RR has already proved to be a consistent points collector on its debut weekend in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). Again in Sunday’s race at Phillip Island (AUS), both BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders scored world championship points. Markus Reiterberger (GER) finished 12th, immediately followed by team-mate Tom Sykes (GBR) in 13th.

On Sunday at noon, the new “Superpole Race” was on the programme, a sprint race over ten laps, in which Sykes and Reiterberger took positions 11 and 12. The afternoon race was run over 22 laps, as on Saturday. Sykes started from tenth on the grid, with Reiterberger from 13th. In the opening stage, Sykes had a ‘moment’ when battling with another rider and lost positions while Reiterberger fell back slightly at the start. Over the course of the race, however, both riders worked their way forward and together were part of a closely fighting group of five. The two team-mates also exchanged positions several times. Ultimately, Reiterberger finished 1.3 seconds ahead of Sykes.

Phillip Island also hosted the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) season opener at the weekend. Glenn Allerton (AUS) from the NextGen Motorsports/ Maxima BMW team was the highest placed BMW rider. In the three races held, he claimed two seventh places and one ninth place. His team-mate Ted Collins (AUS) finished 11th twice and once in tenth position.

Quotes after race two at Phillip Island.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We have to be satisfied with the first race weekend with our brand new BMW S 1000 RR. We could, however, also see in the ‘Superpole Race’ and in race two that we still can’t recall our true pace. We still lose on the straight, but at other points of the track we are then right behind the competition again. If we were alone on the track, we would set top-six or top-eight times, but if we are in a race in the pack, we can’t reproduce them because we are stuck. So the positive thing is that our theoretical pace is already very good. Now we will do everything we can to improve in our straight-line deficit. But this first race weekend makes me basically confident for the course of the season.”

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “We’ve got to be realistic and we have probably reached our goals for the first time we raced the BMW S 1000 RR so we are very happy. We have had no major incidents and I think that we have proved that the bike is going to be competitive very soon. We clearly have our limitations at the moment and we will work hard on sorting them out in the break before the next races. Both riders rode very well and both have been very patient in understanding that we need to wait for the development parts to come through. So from my side the overall summary is that we can look forward to a very competitive bike over the course of the season. We just need to be patient and wait for that to arrive.”

Markus Reiterberger: “Today was much better than yesterday. I really enjoyed the race. Even though I missed my goal, the top-ten, I could at least see that it was possible. I would have had the necessary pace if I had not started so far back after difficulties in qualifying and if I had made a better start. In the race itself I had a better feeling from the beginning, and above all more self-confidence. Although the grip level was even worse at today’s higher temperatures than yesterday, we did a good job and took another step in the right direction. I was able to out-brake some opponents and gain a lot in the corners – that’s where our BMW S 1000 RR is really phenomenal. Unfortunately overtaking is still difficult for us because we lose at the corner exit and on the straight. I take the positives: the top-ten was possible, the feeling is better and the direction is right. I would like to thank the entire team that works tirelessly to make this progress possible. We are competing in the world championship; that’s not a walk in the park. We are a very young project and the potential is definitely there. Now I can’t wait until we head to the next races.”

Tom Sykes: “It has been a challenging day but I have to say that our results do not reflect where we really are. It is just unfortunate that at the moment the bike still has some limitations in straight-line performance but it’s still very early days. On the positive side we have a very good chassis set-up so we were able to make some good passes but then lost again on the easy part of the track. We have shown what is possible by being in the top-five during all tests and practices when we are riding alone, so we know which area we have to work on with the bike and we now have some race mileage under our belt. And I know that now the entire BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team will work hard to keep progressing like we did over winter.”

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Tactical Approach in Australia Pays Dividends for Van Der Mark and Lowes

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK riders, Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes, overcame difficult conditions in today’s WorldSBK Race at Phillip Island to add to their championship points haul with fourth and fifth place respectively. Van der Mark and Lowes rode a tactical race to conserve their tyres; a strategy that allowed them to close on and then pass fellow Yamaha rider, Marco Melandri, on the final lap. The GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK rider held on to claim sixth place at the line, while his teammate Sandro Cortese made It another strong race for Yamaha by finishing in eighth position.

Van der Mark, starting from fifth position on the grid as a result of his finishing position in today’s inaugural Superpole sprint race, was immediately involved in the battle for second place with Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam, but backed off to conserve his tyres when he felt the rear start to slide just before mid-race distance. This allowed Melandri to pass him for fourth but, rather than stressing his tyre further by giving chase immediately, the Pata Yamaha rider maintained a steady pace, saving his tyre for a final push in the closing stages.

The strategy worked perfectly, with van der Mark able to close onto the back of Melandri as they started the final lap and then put in a pass up the inside at turn two to take fourth, a position he then held to the line. The result means that van der Mark leaves Australia fifth in the championship standings with 29 points.

Lowes found himself in a similar situation after losing out on the run down to turn one after starting from fourth on the grid. The Pata Yamaha rider took three laps to pass Eugene Laverty, by which time the group ahead had pulled a significant gap. Lowes also opted to conserve his tyres rather than push to close the gap and risk not finishing the race, maintaining a consistent pace that allowed him to close on the battle for fourth as first Melandri and then van der Mark started to struggle for grip.

The Briton passed Melandri for fifth at Lukey Heights on the final lap and was able to defend the position to the line. After the opening round of the 2019 season Lowes lies fourth in the championship standings with 30 points, the same number of points as third placed Melandri.

Melandri’s fourth place in Race 2, combined with his third place in Race 1 and sixth place in the Superpole race means that the Italian now lies third in the championship standings with 30 points. Melandri also leads the Independent Riders Championship.

Despite a minor technical issue slowing his pace in Race 2 this afternoon, Cortese rode an intelligent race to round out his debut WorldSBK weekend with another eighth place finish. The reigning Supersport World Champion arrived in Phillip Island with three top ten finishes as his goal and he leaves Australia having surpassed his own expectations. The WorldSBK rookie lies seventh in the championship standings with 19 points.

Michael van der Mark

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – P4

“I got a really good start and my pace was fast, but I was a little worried about using the tyre too quickly. I didn’t want to slow down, as I wanted to stay with the two Kawasakis, but when Marco came past me I felt like I was having to push the tyre just a little bit too much to stay with him. I just decided to do my own rhythm, which was not as quick as I’d have liked, but I knew it was the only way to ride the race. Towards the end the Kawasakis were slowing and so was Marco, which allowed me to catch and pass him on the last lap. I’m happy enough with fourth place after struggling all weekend with the durability of the tyres. We had some problems but we still picked up a lot of points here in Phillip Island.”

Alex Lowes

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – P5

“I lost quite a lot of time at the start behind Eugene Laverty; the Ducati is so fast in a straight line that I couldn’t pass him cleanly, then I didn’t want to panic and try and go too fast, as it’s easy to wear out the tyres, as we saw in the sprint race. I just stayed calm and almost timed it right at the end. It’s a bit frustrating because I felt that, looking at the times, I probably had the pace to challenge the Kawasakis for a podium but when you’re three seconds behind at the end of the second lap then, round here, it’s hard to make that time up. It’s a shame, but I’ll take fifth place and see if we can have a stronger round next time out in Thailand.”

Marco Melandri

GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P6

“Today I was expecting s bit more. In the Superpole race I had a few mistakes at the beginning and lost a lot of positions. I tried to come back but it was a really short race. In Race 2 I got a good start and had good pace in the beginning. Once I caught the two Kawasakis I decided to wait a bit because for the tyre it’s a very difficult race, but when Johnny passed Leon for the first time I tried to push into the middle, but the rear tyre left me there and I had to slow down my pace and just try to finish the race. Unfortunately van der Mark and Lowes passed me back, but I still think that for us it’s been a very good weekend. It’s been a difficult winter but the races are different, so I’m feeling good and I think the next races can be even better.”

Sandro Cortese

GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P8

“Overall it’s been a really good weekend for me, with eighth place in both races and also seventh in the sprint race. For my very first WorldSBK weekend I think It’s been positive, even if we had some issues with the tyres during the weekend and a small technical issue in race two, which meant I was happy to finish in eighth place. Top ten was the goal and we managed that in both races, I learned a lot over the weekend and it was much better than during testing and now I can’t wait for Thailand.”

Andrea Dosoli

Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager

“Overall we can be happy with the performance we have shown in Australia; a very consistent performance by all four riders who were in the top eight in three races here. This shows the maturity of both and the operation at the racetrack. We were also able to confirm the performance of the bike that we saw during winter testing at a racetrack where we’ve struggled a little in the past. It was also gratifying to see that our YZF-R1 was competitive in the hands of Michael and Alex, who have a lot of experience with the bike, and also with Marco and Sandro, who were racing the bike for the first time here in Australia. While this weekend was a good start to the season, it is also clear where we have to improve, so we leave here satisfied but also motivated to close the gap further to our competitors. Seeing our four bikes fighting together on the track is a clear sign that our project is going in the right direction and for that I’d like to thank the riders, the teams and all the Yamaha staff for their hard work and dedication.”

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

 Rinaldi eighth in Superpole Race, troubles in race 2

Phillip Island (AUS), 24th February 2019. Bittersweet Sunday for Barni Racing Team at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Australia, where the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship round 1 took place. While Rinaldi had a great performance in the new-brand Superpole Race being eighth at the end of the morning 10 laps sprint race, he was checked by lack of grip in race 2, concluding only sixteenth.

Superpole Race

The first ever Tissot Superpole Race in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship saw Rinaldi competing in the second group for eighth place. It was a dramatic fast-paced ten lap race from lights-out to chequered flag and Rinaldi lived up the new format.

Being eighth after the first turn he was moved down by Cortese before the end of the first lap, but soon it was the battle we had all waited to see: at lap 2 Sykes and Melandri went off the line at turn 1 and Rinaldi overtook them taking the seventh place and scoring his fastest lap 1’30.884.

Despite of this the rider from Rimini was not able to reach the first group ahead and with two laps to go Melandri passed him. Under the chequered flag Rinaldi was eighth gaining two more points in the Championship standings. Thanks to this result he remained in the third row in race 2 starting grid.

Race 2

Despite a good start from eighth spot that led him in fifth place after few corners, Rinaldi lost positions in the first quarter of the race slipping down in 14th position. On lap 6 his fastest lap came with 1’32.537, but he had an half a second slower pace than race 1 and at lap 8 the italian rider lost one more position in favor of Reiterberger.

From the beginning of the race Rinaldi suffered lack of grip at the rear tyre and five laps to go he decided to enter in the pit. Then the Barni Racing Team rider re-joined the track finishing the race sixteenth.

Marco Barnabo, Team Principal

“Despite the positive developments throughout the weekend, race 2 left a slate-aftertase. We have to check what was the problem on the bike: maybe something at the rear tyre because from the first lap the rider had no grip neither in acceleration nor in braking. It’s a shame because with a good start as he had managed to do we expected a result in line with the ninth place of yesterday and not worse.”

Michael Rinaldi

Superpole Race: P8 – Race 2:P16

“Speaking in general the weekend was positive. We always had improvements until the Superpole race where I managed to ride strong. In race 2, despite a good start, I immediately realized that something was wrong. I tried to stay on track, but few laps to go I had to stop at the pit. I wanted to come back to finish the race and try to understand if the problem was solved, but at that point the result was compromised.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea And Haslam Earn Podium Finishes

Kawasaki Racing Team riders Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam scored two podium finishes apiece in the new-look WorldSBK Sunday format at Phillip Island in Australia, with Rea second on two occasions and Haslam third each time.

The first race of the final day of action was the innovative ten lap Tissot Superpole race, which gives points to the top nine riders. The result of the race also determines the top nine riders’ grid positions for the final race of the weekend.

Rea was second on two occasions today, and Haslam third each time, but they will only be credited with one more podium each on their official records, not two.

The second Sunday race was held over 22-laps, like race one, and for full points. Rea was again second and Haslam third after an entertaining and close contest between the official Kawasaki riders, which went all the way to the flag.

The new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR took Rea to the top of regular Superpole qualifying on Saturday, a new track best of 1’30.075 in the ten-lap Superpole race today and three second places in all. Jonathan has earned 49 championship points after round one, and sits 13 points behind the lead.

For Haslam, two third places today were a real reward after his unlucky crash and single point score in the opening 22-lap race on Saturday. His competitive and rewarding Sunday sees him rise up the championship ranking to sixth overall, on 24 points.

The second round of the 2019 WorldSBK Championship will be held at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, with race weekend running from the 15th to the 17th of March.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “We made a little change from yesterday, to make the bike a little bit calmer, and I feel we achieved that. Our race time was faster than yesterday and I am happy with the results of the weekend. I am a little bit disappointed in the classification because the gap to the front is too much. We expected a really difficult race here. I have always had to fight for results here, so to come away with three second places, a pole position and an outright fastest lap in the Superpole race; I am satisfied. Of course, there is definitely still work to do. We could not risk a bit more today than yesterday. After race one, in Parc Ferme my tyre was almost the best, but I rode a slower race. Lots of other guys were having issues, so today with the temperature going up in the final race I had the same frame of min, to just trying to get to the end of the race and not abuse the tyre.”

Leon Haslam, stated: “It was good to get on two podiums today. In the ten-lap sprint race I was a little cautious and I got caught behind the Yamahas, so I settled. I thought I had a little bit in hand to catch Jonathan in the final race. I tried to make my own rhythm for the first four laps. After this I tried to save the tyre and which then created a group of five riders. It was a nice easy rhythm and I was feeling good with my pace. Johnny and I had some good passes; good battles. My plan was to go away with two laps to go, then he passed me into turn one and I ran a little wide. At the same time he went 0.4 of a second faster. I went with him and caught him up on the last lap but I felt like I had been caught out a little bit. To battle with Jonathan in my first race weekend of the year, with his record in this class, I am happy. ”

In the short Superpole race today Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) was 15th, and Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) 17th. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) did not finish, after all three Kawasaki riders crashed at the same time, and only two could make it to the end. In the 22-lap final race of the weekend a strong ride from Mercado put him 11th. Torres placed 14th, for two championship points, while Razgatlioglu had a technical issue and was forced to retire.

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

Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) totally dominates the opening round at Phillip Island with a hat-trick of three wins. Davies improves in race 2 to finish seventh

Álvaro Bautista couldn’t have got off to a better start in World Superbike this weekend at Phillip Island, as the 34-year-old Spanish rider dominated the opening round of the championship held at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.

After his triumph in race 1, Bautista went on to take two more wins, the first in the ten-lap Superpole Race, in which he held off Rea, and the second in race 2, when he crossed the finish line with a lead of 12 seconds, again over Rea.

With these results, Bautista has immediately taken the lead of the championship standings, with 62 points, a lead of 13 over his rival from Northern Ireland.

Team-mate Chaz Davies showed some signs of improvement in race 2. In the morning his technicians made some major modifications to the set-up of his Panigale V4 R in an attempt to give the Welshman an easier bike to ride. Davies managed to take the chequered flag in seventh place.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati #19) – 1st

“It has been a perfect weekend and my Superbike debut couldn’t have been better! We made a clean sweep of everything by winning race 1, the Superpole race and race 2. If people had said to me before that I would have won three races, I wouldn’t have believed them, but we worked hard during the tests to prepare a fantastic bike. In this morning’s Superpole race I had a lot of fun fighting with Rea, I knew that he was very strong and that he was always pushing. The pace was incredible and I had to concentrate so hard, but in the end I got the better of him. In race 2 the track conditions were more difficult than in the morning, and it was important to save the tyres because of the higher track temperature, so I pushed hard in the early laps to try and manage the situation at the end. I’m so happy with the results, today is a day I will never forget! A big thanks to the Aruba team, to Ducati and to my crew for making this all possible! Now we have to continue to work hard, we’re only at the beginning and I think it’s going to be a very top-level championship.”

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

“We managed to make some progress in race 2 and I felt a bit better with the V4 R, which is the most important thing. After yesterday’s result, we had nothing to lose so the guys in the team made some major changes that allowed me to slightly improve my race pace. I’m still a bit disappointed because we didn’t expect this result, but we picked up a lot of useful data to understand what I need for the next race. My congratulations to Álvaro, because he was really impressive all throughout the weekend.”

Stefano Cecconi, CEO Aruba and Team Principal

“It was virtually a perfect weekend for Álvaro, he dominated almost every session and showed he had the margin to manage every situation. We have got off to the best possible start, but we must remain with our feet firmly on the ground and continue to work hard to achieve the maximum results possible on the other tracks with both of our riders.”