FIM Superbike World Championship

Losail International Circuit

Doha, Qatar

October 29, 2016

Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 17 laps, Total Race Time 33:32.214, Best Lap Time 1:57.371

2. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -3.904 seconds, 1:57.478, (2016 FIM Superbike World Champion)

3. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Yamaha YZF-R1), -10.498, 1:57.854

4. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -12.606, 1:58.289

5. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -12.766, 1:57.602

6. Xavi FORES, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -17.879, 1:58.573

7. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), -18.461, 1:58.332

8. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -19.045, 1:58.509

9. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -20.882, 1:58.547

10. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -30.057, 1:58.932, ran off track

11. Leon HASLAM, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -34.270, 1:58.710

12. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -34.420, 1:58.297

13. Alex DE ANGELIS, Republic San Marino (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -34.936, 1:59.048

14. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -37.786, 1:59.490

15. Josh BROOKES, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -37.834, 1:59.286

16. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -55.890, 2:00.549

17. Saeed AL SULAITI, Qatar (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -69.075, 2:00.845

18. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta 1000 F4), -79.301, 1:59.022, crash

19. Dominic SCHMITTER, Switzerland, (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -85.103, 2:01.501

20. Peter SEBESTYÉN, Hungary (Yamaha YZF-R1), -107.707, 2:02.782

21. Gianluca VIZZIELO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -4 laps, pitted twice

22. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), -6 laps, DNF, pitted

23. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -7 lap, DNF, pitted

24. Markus REITERBERGER, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -10 laps, DNF, pitted

25. Pawel SZKOPEK, Poland (Yamaha YZF-R1), DNS

World Championship Point Standings (after 25 of 26 races):

1. Jonathan Rea, 482 points (Clinches 2016 Superbike World Championship)

2. Sykes, 427

3. Davies, 420

4. Van Der Mark, 262

5. Hayden, 239

6. Torres, 203

7. Giugliano, 197

8. Camier, 165 

9. Savadori, 146

10. Fores, 143

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

Davies lights the way while Rea wins the ultimate battle

The penultimate Race of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship got off to a shining start under the stars and floodlights of the Losail International Circuit. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) won the race in dominant style with a 3.9-second margin over the newly crowned 2016 World Champion, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team). The Northern Irishman wrapped up his second consecutive title with a stunning second place finish at the desert circuit and now joins the ranks of Carl Fogarty, Fred Merkel and Doug Polen as a consecutive WorldSBK Championship winner.

Davies got off to a flying start, leading into the first corner with Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) overtaking Rea on entry to turn 1. Rea was quick to fight back and retook his position in second, with his sights set on Davies in first. Championship contender Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) didn’t get his best start, after an uncharacteristically bad qualifying in fifth saw him only make up one place at the beginning of the race.

By lap 3, the struggling Yorkshireman was overtaken by Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and dropped back to fifth as his title chances melted away as he fell behind. Guintoli’s incredible pace didn’t falter as he pushed ahead to hunt down Hayden who was sitting third and by lap 8 the Frenchman got into third, to settle into Yamaha’s maiden podium position finish.

Tom Sykes found pace a little too late in the race and overtook the Kentucky Kid on the closing laps to take fourth place with Hayden in fifth. Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) finished in sixth with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) ending Race 1 in seventh.

Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) came home in eighth, ahead of Michael van der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team) in ninth. Lorenzo Savadori (IodaRacing Team) finished in tenth with Leon Haslam (Pedercini Racing) coming in close behind in 11th. Haslam had a great start, finishing the first lap in 11th from 16th on the grid and continued progressing to fight in top ten on the following lap, before finally dropping back again to his finishing position.

2016 STK1000 Cup Winner Raffaele De Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team) had a positive second WorldSBK outing of the season with a P12 finish, while Alex De Angelis (IodaRacing Team) locked out P13. Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) and Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW) picked up the last points in P14 and P15.

While Rea and Davies celebrate their wins on Saturday night, Sunday will be a new day and the final 25 points are up for grabs. Race 2 will see lights out at 21:00 local time (GMT+3) for the final showdown of the 2016 season.

Quotes from the top three riders:

1st Place
C.Davies (DUCATI): “The pace was mega! 1’57s, 1’57s, it is pretty quick around here on a Superbike. So I was really surprised at that and also I was not exactly sure how the last laps were going to play out. At that sort of pace it can have a knock-on effect with the tyres. But anyway, I brought it home. I was watching the gap to Jonny, I could see it was 0.3s, 0.4s, 0.5s. I was not really going anywhere and then I squeezed it a little bit more and tried to see if I could get the last drops out of it. I managed to just start breaking away. It’s really good I’m very, very happy and we will see if we can repeat it tomorrow.”

2nd Place
J.Rea (KAWASAKI): “Honestly it is more special than last year, in different ways. Last year the championship just happened as a result of some amazing rhythm throughout the year. It wasn’t easy but it happened naturally. This year we really had to work hard for it. I had to really win this championship. I just want to thank everyone in my corner, my team, KHI, my family, the mechanics, all my fans out there who have been supporting me through the tough moments of the season. I feel so much confidence from this year, because this 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R is like my son! It’s the first year. I am so proud to give Kawasaki the World Championship in the first year with a new bike. It bodes well for next season!”

3rd Place

S.Guintoli (YAMAHA): “Well it’s been a difficult year, especially for me, being in hospital quite a bit and recovering for most of the year. So since I got back we have been building back up the rhythm and the speed. Today I felt like the riding was really good. I really enjoyed myself. We managed to get the tyres to the end. It was good, it was a good race. Good work. After this year this first podium with Yamaha it’s symbolic and it’s really good for me.” 

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

His crowning came in the heat of the night in Qatar after he fought to keep up with Chaz Davies, who stole the show in first. The Northern Irishman finished second and as aresult, secured his second consecutive World Title. Sepang and Donington saw Sykes come out victorious over Rea, but the reigning World Champion came back in Misano with another double to further increase his lead in the Championship. In America, Rea was the man to beat but Sunday saw him crash out of the race while his main rival Tom Sykes won, adding 25 points against him. Then in Germany, Rea took the win once again in Race 2, bouncing back from a crash in a dramatic Race 1.

Magny-Cours saw Rea take pole, but Sykes had the advantage over him in the first race of the weekend when both riders made a pit stop mid-race to change tyres. Sykes eventually climbed onto the podium with Rea just missing out in fourth.

The points gap was slowly closing and Race 2 saw an epic battle between Rea and Sykes for the lead. Eventually, the ferocity of the duel unhinged them and Chaz Davies took advantage to steal the victory, as Rea pushed till the very end to come home in second ahead of his teammate. Heading into the penultimate Round at Jerez, Rea only needed to increase his overall lead by two more points to take the win, but in Race 1 Sykes came second ahead of the third-placed Northern Irishman. In Race 2 Rea had the advantage in second, while Sykes finished third. By collecting the same points, the gap in the standings remained at 48 points keeping the fight alive until the very last Round.

Off the track, Jonathan Rea is a loving husband and the ‘best dad in the world’ to his sons Jake and Tyler. He’s a fan favourite in the WorldSBK paddock with his approachable nature and laid back attitude. He is a true champion in every sense of the word and role model for all.

2017 will see Jonathan Rea attempt to retain his crown for a third time, again with Kawasaki Racing Team.

Jonathan Rea WorldSBK Career Statistics
Titles: 2
Race Starts: 191
Wins: 38
Podiums: 87
Poles: 8
Fastest laps: 26

More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing BMW:

Torres and Althea BMW eighth in SBK Race 1 in Qatar

Doha (Qatar), Saturday 29 October 2016

The final round of the Superbike World Championship is taking place at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar and the first SBK race of the weekend saw the Althea BMW Racing team cross the line in eighth place with Jordi Torres and twelfth position with wildcard Raffaele de Rosa. Markus Reiterberger was unfortunately forced to retire on lap eight.

Superpole 1: Reiterberger and De Rosa were on track for the first phase of the Superpole this evening. Both were able to improve on their performance throughout the brief session. Raffaele closed third, missing out on the chance to take part in SP2 by less than one tenth of a second, while Markus finished seventh. This means that the two Althea BMW men qualified respectively on the fifth and sixth row of the race grid.

Superpole 2: Torres proved to be at his ease on the Losail track during SP2, completed a best lap of 1’57.485 to earn tenth place on the race grid.

SBK – Race 1: eighth through the first corners, Torres got past Lowes early on to move into seventh. Lapping with very similar times to his fellow countryman Forés, immediately ahead of him, the Althea BMW man was unable to improve any further, crossing the line in final eighth place. Both De Rosa and Reiterberger made up a couple of positions off the line. Passing other riders through the subsequent laps, Raffaele was lying eleventh on lap five. Fighting first with Camier and then with Haslam, De Rosa crossed the line in twelfth position. Markus unfortunately retired on lap eight due to a technical problem.

Jordi Torres:

“We started out well and I tried to be aggressive. I was lying seventh and chose to be a little cautious in order to save the tyre for the final phase of the race. Unfortunately, the drop in rear tyre performance came anyway and this prevented me from being fast through the turns. In the last laps I was losing a lot on both entry and exit, and this is also why I lost a position to Lowes in the final stretch. All in all, considering the practice sessions, the race wasn’t bad but I hope I can do more tomorrow.”

Markus Reiterberger:

“Another day to forget unfortunately. In FP3 I was doing well and finished tenth, so I was feeling quite positive. But in SP1 we had a rear tyre issue which meant my grid position was nowhere near what we’d hoped. It wasn’t easy then in the race to start so far back but I thought I could achieve a top ten result. Unfortunately though, I had no feeling with the bike in the race, I don’t know why, and I fell back to 18th. With a tyre problem and a very high engine temperature, I decided to return to the pits. It’s such a shame to finish like this, and I hope for a good final race tomorrow of course.”

Raffaele Da Rosa:

“The race didn’t go as I’d imagined. I didn’t make the fastest start so I found myself further back through the first turns. I made some passes though and caught Camier, with whom I then spent most of the race. I felt quite good on the bike and have to say that the engine impressed me. For tomorrow, we’ll make some changes, particularly to help me be a little faster out of the corners, and then I hope to make a good start and improve on today’s performance.”

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

Chaz Davies takes his 10th win of the year in Race 1 in Qatar, Davide Giugliano forced to retire after a contact

Race 1 of season finale of the 2016 WorldSBK championship, held under floodlights at the Losail track (Qatar), saw the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team claim the top step of the podium once again with Chaz Davies. The Welshman, who has won the last five races in a row and ten overall this year on the Panigale R, emerged victorious after a long duel with the 2016 champion Rea to cross the finish line with a four-second advantage.

Starting from third place on the grid, Davies got the ‘holeshot’ and took the lead into turn 1. Progressively breaking away after lap 11, Davies defended his position until the checkered flag, claiming also the fastest lap of the race with a 1:57.371.

Davide Giugliano suffered an opposite fate. Starting in 11th position after going through Superpole 1, the Italian rider was penalized by a contact during lap 1 that re-aggravated his right-shoulder injury, momentarily forcing him to go off track. After rejoining the race in 22nd place, Giugliano climbed his way back into the points, posting interesting lap times, but was eventually forced to retire due to pain and loss of strength.

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action at 17:30 tomorrow (local time) for a 15-minute WUP session ahead of Race 2.

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) 1st

“After a strong practice and qualifying, I was confident about our chances to have a good result here. Today everything worked perfectly and, compared with 2015, the bike improved a lot, especially on the straight. To seize victory number 10 is incredible. It’s a new record by a long shot, we doubled what we achieved last year, and I’m very happy and thankful to the whole team. In the race I tried to keep my head down, manage the gap and the tyres, and when the grip decreased I just tried to drop the hammer to break away from Rea. It won’t be easy to recover 7 more points from Sykes, but I think Jonathan and I have shown the superior pace so far. We’ll go at it again tomorrow and we’ll see where that takes us. I think I have to win again, but it’s going to be tight anyway.”

Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34) DNF

“Unfortunately I collided with another rider at the start, taking a big blow to my injured right shoulder. After a few corners, due to the pain, I momentarily lost control of the bike and had a big wobble, going off track. Once I rejoined the race, I climbed back as far as I could, but at one point I lost almost all my strength in the right arm and had to stop. It’s a shame because, despite not having been able to do many laps, we were more competitive today. Seeing the lap times, we could have achieved a good result. Now we’ll try to get back into shape to have a solid performance tomorrow.”

Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director

“Hats off to Chaz, who took another extraordinary win on a track that theoretically wasn’t among the best for us due to the long straight; it shows that, aside from the rider’s top form, the work done by the whole team and in Borgo Panigale is going in the right direction. We’re sorry for Davide, who made a good step forward before the race but unfortunately took another bad blow to the shoulder he had already injured in Germany. We hope his conditions will improve for tomorrow, because we have the potential to do well with both our riders.”

More, from a press release issued by Honda:

Hayden battles from front row to claim fifth place in race one at Losail

Round 13 – Qatar

Losail International Circuit, Qatar

Nicky Hayden has finished the 17-lap, penultimate race of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship in fifth place, after securing an excellent second spot on the grid in Superpole. Under the floodlights of Qatar’s Losail International Circuit, Hayden’s Honda WorldSBK team mate Michael van der Mark was ninth after starting from the third row and experiencing a difficult opening lap of the encounter.

Hayden got a great launch off the front row the grid and maintained his position entering turn one, before dropping down one place in the following change of direction. The experienced American rider held on to third place until the start of lap eight, when he was passed by Sylvain Guintoli at the end of the main straight. Hayden did all he could to stay with the Frenchman but as the laps went by, he gradually lost ground and found himself under pressure from Sykes. Hayden was unable to defend his position as he crossed the line fifth, only 0.160s away from his rival.

Van der Mark did not enjoy the best of starts from ninth place and dropped all the way down to 17th on the opening lap. The young Dutchman was able to make up some ground in the early part of the race and – by lap 7 – he was already back to ninth. Van der Mark kept a consistent rhythm throughout the remaining laps and kept his position at the flag.

The final encounter of the World Superbike season will get underway tomorrow at 21:00 local time (GMT +3).

Nicky Hayden 69

5th

I made a very good lap in Superpole and I admit it was really happy with it. I made a good start and tried to stay with Davies and Rea in the beginning, but unfortunately I just didn’t have the pace. As the tyres went off, things got worse for me and unfortunately I finished fifth after doing a big part of the race on the podium. As you can imagine, I’m not too pumped with that but luckily I have a good team and we have some good data, so we will surely try to pull a few tweaks and see if we can do better tomorrow

Michael van der Mark 60

9th

Free Practice 3 didn’t really give us any really important information, because the sun was out and the temperatures were extremely different than at night time. Then in Superpole 1 after an early mistake I did what I thought was not a great lap, but in the end it turned to be a really competitive one and that meant I could move on to Superpole 2. Unfortunately, with the qualifying tyre I felt not as good as I would have liked and that translated into ninth place on the grid. I was happy with the pace on my race tyres but I had another problem at the start, which cost me so many places. It’s a shame, really, because we know that halfway through the race here it’s basically impossible to make up ground, so there was very little I could do.

Pieter Breddels

Technical Manager

Nicky had an incredible qualifying and his lap was 0.3secs faster than last year’s best lap. He started the race very well, but unfortunately he couldn’t hang on to third place and, in the end, he got beaten by only a tenth of a second for fourth place. He still has some little issues and that’s what we are going to work on ahead of tomorrow. If we can hang on to the podium in race two that would be a great end to the season. Michael did an excellent job in Superpole 1, but then in Superpole 2 he couldn’t do better than ninth after what was a very close qualifying session. Unfortunately for him, he had a problem at the start and although he was able to recover many places in the first half, he ended up doing the same lap times as the guys ahead. He made up some more ground in the end, but that wasn’t enough.

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Double Champion Rea Makes Superbike History With Kawasaki

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) secured his second FIM Superbike World Championship in succession thanks to a second place finish in the opening race at Losail in Qatar. The last time this feat was achieved was 17 years ago. Tom Sykes (KRT) finished fourth in the race to remain second in the championship standings, with one race remaining tomorrow.

Rea, who had won his eighth career Superpole contest earlier in the day to start from the best grid spot, was intent on winning the 17-lap race to secure the title as he enjoyed a large points cushion of 48 over Sykes at the start of the day. Tom was the only rider who could possibly catch Jonathan on this final weekend of the 13 round season, but the title was decided one race before the end after Rea’s podium ride.

Rea is one of only four riders to have won WorldSBK titles from one year to the next, joining Carl Fogarty (twice), Doug Polen and Fred Merkel in that exclusive club.

In race one at the 5.380km Losail circuit Rea had chased eventual race winner Chaz Davies in the early laps and held station behind him for some time. Jonathan eventually eased off to earn more than enough points to make his second championship secure.

Sykes could not make his optimum pace in the early laps on fresh tyres but towards the end he made up ground and went from fifth to fourth by passing Nicky Hayden on the last lap and closing in on eventual final place podium man, Sylvain Guintoli.

With one race left to run there are still many possibilities for each KRT rider but Sykes will now concentrate his efforts defending his second place in the points ranking, as he is now seven points ahead of Davies.

Jonathan currently has 482 points and Sykes 427, ahead of the final race of the year.

Race two will take place at 21.00 on Sunday 30th October, local Qatar time.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “It is incredible to have won back-to-back championships. It is very raw right now because I have not had time to take it in, but to have such a year like I had last year – and then this year with the new bike – I think we faced a lot more challenges this time. I am really happy and proud of our work because this bike was so new. To win in the first year of a new model is incredible and I want to thank Kawasaki for building such a good base bike. I expect to go from strength to strength. It felt like we really had to win the championship this time so I have to thank everybody all around me in the team. I want to thank each and every one of them.”

Tom Sykes, stated: “Congratulations to Johnny because two on the bounce is great. He is riding very well and it is credit to the team and Kawasaki Racing. We have come from way back in 2011 and they have been so consistent in the last few years, fighting for world titles. This year I am not the rider to take the title on the Ninja but at least the trophy is staying inside Kawasaki. It was a really strange race today because I could not get the pace in the beginning but towards the end I felt we improved it. It seems to me like I was also catching Sylvain at the end but the race was too short to make a good ending.”

Guim Roda, Team Manager, stated: “I would like to pass my biggest congratulations to Johnny for his consecutive title wins. A championship win is something very difficult to achieve, and even more so for two in a row. It has been a very complicated year, much more than people can see from outside, so for me his job has been of great value. I hope he enjoys the moment with all his friends and family, because for sure all in KRT will enjoy it for some days. All the staff from KRT and Kawasaki always try their best to give our riders the right tools to make their dreams come true. We all are very happy for Rea make his dream come true while riding the green power machine.”

Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Racing Manager, stated: “We all know that winning any championship is so difficult. Johnny made that look almost easy last year on our fully proven KRT race bike.

We understood that defending that number 1 plate at this level of racing was going to be an even tougher challenge in 2016. Our all-new Ninja ZX-10R proved to be an excellent base. With intelligent development on and around the WorldSBK circuits this season all of the team and JR have made an incredible job again in retaining that Championship title for Kawasaki.”

Shigemi Tanaka of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Motorcycle and Engine Company, Marketing Department, stated: “Congratulations to Jonathan, it is a great accomplishment to win the World Superbike title in two consecutive years. I am sure that all Kawasaki fans across the world will join KHI in congratulating Jonathan on his achievement and also thanking Tom Sykes for a year of excellent performances. This back-to-back championship highlights once more the excellence of Ninja ZX-10R as a supreme road bike and an unbeatable racing package.”

More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:

Desert Delight as Guintoli Grabs Debut Pata Yamaha Podium

Race

Confident from the start of the final 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship weekend, Sylvain Guintoli solidified his standing under the desert lights by claiming the first podium for Yamaha since its return to the top flight of production racing, much to the delight of his Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team. A strong fight from Alex Lowes at the Losail International Circuit saw the number 22 rider claim seventh.

Leaving the lights from his second row position, after securing fourth in the early evening Superpole, Guintoli instantly encountered Tom Sykes, vying for place for the opening laps before making his move on the third turn. Pushing his Pata Yamaha forwards, the Frenchman quickly entered into a six-lap battle with Nicky Hayden for podium glory, manoeuvring into third place with ten laps to go and holding the approaching American off for the ensuing circuits. Breaking the hold with six to go, Guintoli mastered his YZF-R1 around the 5,380m layout for the remainder of the race, crossing the line to the satisfaction of his crew to claim the 16 points and gifting Yamaha a rostrum visit for the first time since its four-year absence from the class.

An equally strong Superpole performance saw Lowes join his teammate on the second row of the grid, in sixth position, for the opening Qatari race. Caught in a three-way battle for sixth position for the opening revolutions, the British rider held eighth for the majority of the 17-lap contest. Attempting a move on Jordi Torres on a number of occasions, Lowes finally took his chance on the final lap to take seventh and nine championship points at the flag.

Guintoli and Lowes return to Losail for tomorrow’s early evening warm up, on track at 17:30 local time, as the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team prepare for the concluding race of the year at 21:00.

Sylvain Guintoli

Race: 3rd / +10.498 / 17 laps. Championship: 11th / 128 points

“It’s been a good day with a great race this evening. I started by qualifying well and then took a good rhythm into the race straight away, with a strong pace. I really feel like I raced well, I was pushing on the limit with some good moves in the early stages before pulling away. It’s a really positive result for us and a great satisfaction for me to take the first podium for Yamaha in their return, especially after almost five months away from racing, so I’m very happy.”

 Alex Lowes

Race: 7th / +18.461 / 17 laps. Championship: 12th / 125 points

“I’m really happy for the team to get their first podium of the year! The YZF-R1 was working well today but unfortunately I made a bad start and struggled to make my way back through which was quite frustrating as I know we had the potential for more. We are looking forward to doing a better job tomorrow as we have worked hard this weekend and over the last few events. Everything is starting to feel better so I really want to finish the year with a strong result.”

Paul Denning ? Team Principal

“It’s been a challenging return for Yamaha into the WorldSBK Championship after its four-year absence, despite the obvious base potential of the YZF-R1 as a production machine. The level has improved over the course of the year but for a number of reasons hasn’t always been reflected in the result and for Sylvain to achieve the podium today is massively pleasing for him after his comeback from the horrific Imola crash, and of course a confidence booster for everyone else involved in the project who have worked so hard over the course of the season. It wasn’t an easy podium, Sylvain had to pass some of the best riders in the championship to get there but both bike and rider really looked like they belonged in that position, many congratulations once again.

“Alex is of course pleased to see the R1 on the podium but disappointed, as any top competitor would be, that he wasn’t the one to achieve it. Nonetheless we all thought he rode a very solid and controlled race, never gave up and got a reward in passing Torres in the last sector of the last lap.

“Both riders will be looking for further improvements in the race tomorrow, and lets hope we can finish the 2016 season in a similar fashion.”