Pirelli Riviera di Rimini Round
Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
Misano, San Marino
July 7, 2018
Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 21 laps, Total Race Time 33:31.846, Best Lap Time 1:34.948
2. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale R), -2.791 seconds, 1:35.252
3. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Apr RSV4 RF), -3.700, 1:35.166
4. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), -4.921, 1:35.511
5. Tom Sykes, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -6.713, 1:35.032
6. Xavi Fores, Spain (Duc Panigale R), -11.065, 1:35.698
7. Marco Melandri, Italy (Duc Panigale R), -12.375, 1:35.722
8. Lorenzo Savadori, Italy (Apr RSV4 RF), -12.995, 1:35.549
9. Leon Camier, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -13.840, 1:35.848
10. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), -32.317, 1:36.218
11. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR), -36.316, 1:36.808
12. Niccolo Canepa, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), -37.665, 1:36.935
13. Roman Ramos, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), -39.466, 1:36.908
14. Jake Gagne, USA (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -39.896, 1:36.834
15. Alessandro Andreozzi, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), -48.461, 1:37.345
16. PJ Jacobsen, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP2), -54.364, 1:37.439
17. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -3 laps, pitted, 1:36.611
18. Jordi Torres, Spain (MV Agusta F4 RC), -4 laps, crash, pitted, 1:36.118
19. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -12 laps, DNF, crashed twice, 1:35.689
20. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (Kaw ZX-10RR), -18 laps, DNF, crash, 1:36.942
21. Loris Baz, France (BMW S1000RR), -20 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
World Championship Point Standings (after 17 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 345 points
2. Davies, 265
3. Van Der Mark, 228
4. Sykes, 207
5. Lowes, 183
6. Melandri, 177
7. Fores, 164
8. Laverty, 105
9. Razgatlioglu, 96
10. Savadori, 83
11. Camier, 82
12. Torres, 80
13. Baz, 79
14. Rinaldi, 54
15. Mercado, 53
16. Ramos, 52
17. Gagne, 39
18. Hernandez, 24
19. Jacobsen, 21
20. Leon Haslam, 14
21. Davide Giugliano, 11
22. Karel Hanika, 5
23. Canepa, 4
24. Bradley Ray, 3
25. Luke Mossey, 2
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team:
Double points finish for Red Bull Honda in Race 1 at Misano
Riviera di Rimini Round
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Italy
The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team scored a double points finish in Race 1 of the Riviera Di Rimini WorldSBK round, as Leon Camier claimed ninth place and Jake Gagne finished in fourteenth position in hot and humid conditions at Misano.
Starting the race on the fourth row of the grid in P10, Camier had a steady start to the race before finding a stronger pace in the second half of the twenty-one lap contest. Camier’s metronomic pace helped him close the gap to the riders in front of him to under a second, however he crossed the finish line in ninth place, a result that means he will line up on the second row of the grid in P6 for Race 2 tomorrow.
For Gagne it was a combative race in the sultry conditions, the rookie setting off from P19 on the grid but in his customary style, he was able to make up numerous places to secure another points-paying position in P14.
The seven points scored by Camier moves him up to eleventh in the overall standings on 82 points, while Gagne remains seventeenth in the standings on 39 points.
The team and riders will now regroup ahead of Race 2 tomorrow at 13:00 local time (GMT +2) with the next session being the Warm Up session at 09:35 tomorrow.
Leon Camier 2
We managed to finish in the top ten but we were expecting more today in the race. Although my pace on used tyres was really good in the second half of the race, I wasn’t able to get the most out of the new tyres in the first part of the race which really hurt us. The team and I will look over the data and work out what happened and how to fix it for Race 2. If we can find a solution, then starting from the second row tomorrow I hope we can achieve the kind of result our potential here has shown we’re capable of.
Jake Gagne 45
It’s been a tough weekend so far, qualifying today didn’t go well so I was happy that in the race I could run at a decent pace, make up positions and score some points. I got a good start but on the opening lap got shut out in some corners, but when it settled down I kept a good pace to finish P13 and most importantly, have 21 laps around this circuit which will help me and the team work on things for tomorrow where I hope to be in the points again.
Kervin Bos
Team Manager
We didn’t meet our target in terms of results today which was disappointing. The warmer track conditions for Race 1 meant that Leon was unable to extract the maximum performance out of his tyres in the early laps, although his pace on used tyres – as it has been all weekend – was really strong. We will analyse things overnight to try and make his Fireblade more potent in the early laps to give him the best chance of achieving the result his pace has warranted here at Misano. For Jake, as is his style he could make a step forward in performance in the race after a difficult qualifying session, so to score points from the back of the grid was a good result and we’ll work with him to help him achieve the same tomorrow.
More, from a press release issued by Gulf Althea BMW Racing:
An unlucky day for Gulf Althea BMW at Misano
Misano Adriatico (Italy), Saturday 7 July 2018
The first Superbike race of the Misano weekend proved unlucky for the Gulf Althea BMW Racing team and rider Loris Baz, the Frenchman crashing on the very first lap. In the Superstock 1000 class, Alessandro Delbianco has qualified in twelfth position for tomorrow’s race.
Superpole 2: Baz completed a very fast first lap, already up into second place on the race tyre thanks to a time of 1’34.719. Returning to the garage to put in the qualifying tyre, Loris headed back out and was able to set an even quicker time, a 1’34.527, to conclude the session in sixth place. The Gulf Althea BMW rider therefore secured a place on the second row of the grid for race one.
SBK – Race 1 – from sixth on the grid, Baz got through the first corner unscathed but then, in order to avoid a rider immediately in front of him through turn two, the Frenchman was forced to stand his bike back up, crashing as a result. He was able to get back on his BMW but with the bike damaged, he could only bring it back to the garage, his race thus over before it even got started.
Loris Baz:
“It was all my fault. I always struggle with the start, but today I was on the outside into turn 2 and when Melandri picked up the bike in front of me, I had to do the same to avoid him and crashed in doing so. We had the pace to be on the podium today, so I really hoped to start well and be up near the front. I can’t remember the last time I crashed out that early in a race but, as I say, it was my fault and I’m really sorry for the team as we threw away a good opportunity. We will try again tomorrow, but we’ll be tenth on the grid so it will be tougher; we’ll give it our all.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Win For Rea With Sykes Top Five
Jonathan Rea (KRT) secured his ninth race win of the 2018 WorldSBK season with a start-to-finish leading display that gave him his 63rd career win. Tom Sykes (KRT) had qualified on pole but slowly dropped back from Rea’s slipstream in the early laps to finish fifth.
Rea was the dominant rider in the first race of the Misano weekend, after he made a perfect start and got clear of his opposition by over 0.3 seconds on lap one. His latest win was the 119th individual race victory for Kawasaki in WorldSBK, drawing the Akashi manufacturer into equal second place in the all-time rankings.
Rea took the holeshot and led his team-mate Sykes into the first complex of corners, with the KRT duo sitting 1-2 until the fifth lap.
With Rea powering on ahead at a high pace Sykes started to experience some issues with the front end of his machine not following the contours of the track surface after releasing the front brake and he slipped down to finish fifth, scoring valuable championship points in the process.
Rea’s latest success has seen him take more than 50% of the races on offer so far this season, with one more Misano race still to come before the summer break begins.
In Superpole 2 at Misano on Saturday morning, KRT had locked out the leading two positions, with winner Sykes extending his total to 46 career Superpoles in all, and seven pole positions at this venue across his career.
Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) finished tenth today and recent returnee from injury, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 11th. Roman Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki) scored points for 13th place, but the luckless Yonny Hernandez (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) crashed at turn five and had to retire.
The second Misano race of the weekend will take place on Sunday the 8th of July, at 13.00 local time in Italy.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “We had good pace all weekend and the idea was to try and make a holeshot and then set my rhythm. I got a good start and I was able to put my bike in a good position in turn one and then make my rhythm from there. It was kind of a textbook race and in the first three laps with the bigger profile tyres, especially the rear tyre, it just kind of takes a few laps to find its rhythm. Once I found that I was able to increase the gap lap-after-lap. That made the last seven laps more stress free. My bike was quite balanced all the way through and I did not feel I was riding over the limit at all.”
Tom Sykes, stated: “I thought we would be much stronger. In the first few laps I was comfortable and happy with the way things were going and then we started to have the same kind of issue we had in Thailand. As soon as I started to release the brakes the front bounces and it would not follow the road. I started to lose a lot of time and even in the early laps something was not quite 100% right. Sitting behind Jonathan in the first couple of laps, in the slipstream, that is where you can normally take an advantage. From about one–third distance it started to get worse. Considering the problems we had I was happy to finish fifth. Hopefully our race tomorrow will be less interrupted. ”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:
World SBK, Forés sixth and first of independent at Misano
Misano Adriatico (ITA), 7th July 2018. Sixth place for Xavi Forés in the weekend’s opening race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, ninth round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Once again the Barni Racing Team’s Ducati Panigale R is the best among the independent bikes under the checkered flag. The race had two sides of double for Forés. Started from the fourth spot of the grid after an excellent qualifying session (1’34.363) the Spaniard struggled in the first part and he was moved down by Davies, Van der Mark and Savadori.
From half race, however, Forés kept the same pace of the front riders, recovering on Savadori, overtaken at the first corner on lap 17. After regaining the sixth place, Forés secured his position without being able to catch Sykes, despite the Kawasaki rider was slower.
Thanks to the starting grid revised the Ducati Panigale R #12 will start from the front row tomorrow.
Forés put on the pocket ten points more in the overall championship standings where he remains seventh with 164 points, 54 ahead of Laverty and only 13 far from Melandri.
Marco Barnabò, Principal Manager
“We are satisfied but not enough, I believe with few changes in the bike setup we could be more competitive. Xavi suffered in breaking, especially in the first part of the race. Tomorrow in the warm up we will work on this way to be ready in race 2. Today was a good day, but for tomorrow we want something more.”
Xavi Forés, #12
“I expected a little bit more especially after the Superpole where I made a god job. The problem was the same we had in Laguna: in the first part of the race I was not able to keep the pace of the front rider. After ten/eleven laps I’m able to ride like them but the pace is similar and I can’t catch them any more. I struggle a lot in the first part and, at the moment, this is the problem and if we want to fight for the podium once again we have to work on that area.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
#RiminiWorldSBK – Day 2: Rea rolls to Misano glory in Race 1
Third win on the bounce for Rea, as Davies and Laverty complete podium
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had his Superpole snatched away in the closing seconds of Superpole, but that mattered little to the reigning champion by the time Race One rolled around. A fantastic start from the Kawasaki rider shot him ahead of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at the lights, and with an open track ahead, Rea proved to be unbeatable once again. There was a stunning battle for the podium however as Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) completed the podium in the 21 lap race.
Rea was the only rider to make it into the 1’34s at the start of the race, opening a comfortable gap with the large group of pursuers. There was plenty movement behind inside the opening laps, with Laverty and Davies, who had blasted up the field at the lights from seventh on the grid, making quick work of Sykes, while Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) also put his name in contention for a rostrum spot with a stunning start from eleventh.
With Rea flying away into the distance, Davies finally managed to catch the Aprilia by lap 16. Laverty went very wide going into Turn 16, a mistake that Davies welcomed going through the straight. It’s the Welshman’s third consecutive second position and yet another solid ride this season.
While his teammate’s Aprila RSV4 RF suffered from performance issues in the final third of the race, there were no such problems for Laverty, who takes his second consecutive podium. After four years without a WorldSBK top three finish, this time it has only taken the Irish rider two weeks to claim a return to the rostrum.
Van der Mark completed an excellent Race One with fourth position, less than five seconds off of Rea despite his row four start, and making it four manufacturers in the four top spots. He crossed the line ahead of Sykes and will start from pole tomorrow, with the Englishman only able to make it through in fifth after starting from the front of the grid.
Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team), in special ‘tricolore’ livery for the Misano race, was the best independent rider in Race One, making his way to the line in sixth, ahead of the home duo of Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in seventh and Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) in eighth.
Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) returned to the top ten after a disappointing GEICO US Round with ninth place on Saturday. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) meanwhile scored only his fourth top ten finish of the season, coming in behind the Honda in tenth. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), who was until today the sole rider to score points in every race of 2018, crashed twice and was unable to finish.
WorldSBK is back tomorrow with Race Two, live from Misano at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT).
P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
“It was super nice, I want to thank my team because they gave me a really good bike, we’ve been working well all weekend. I could ride well within my limits and really enjoy the race. I came out the last corner and picked up a cool wheelie, it was really fun, but I just want to thank all my mechanics.”
P2 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It was a hard faught battle and we had a good start to make and we did that, I launched the bike off the line and got a good track position. The first few laps of the race I really felt the full fuel load and was pushing with some of the guys but then it started coming to me and I felt better towards the back end of the race. Overall I’m really happy, the team gave me a good bike.”
P3 – Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia)
“Its nice to back a Laguna podium up, to get the podium here as well as the front row; I was feeling so good in the middle of that race, I was reeling in Jonny, but we had a rear sensor break and that cost me, and cost me second as well, but a few rounds ago I’d have bitten your hand off for a podium so we’ll take that.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Fantastic fourth for van der Mark but disappointment for Lowes at Misano
Race
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team rider Michael van der Mark took a fantastic fourth place during Round 9 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Misano today, having started the first race from 11th position on the grid. Wild card rider Niccolò Canepa secured his first championship points of the season with a solid 12th place finish, while Alex Lowes was disappointed to record his first DNF of 2018 after a crash ruled him out of the race with 10 laps remaining.
The race was run in typically hot and humid conditions with no sign of the rain showers that disrupted proceedings on the opening day in Misano. After a difficult qualifying van der Mark started from 11th on the grid, with teammate Lowes alongside him in 12th, despite showing front row pace, and Canepa two rows further back in 16th position. Van der Mark had missed the top six by less than one tenth of a second, and Lowes was set for third on the grid until an unfortunate off in the final sector of his lap.
A lightning start to the race and an aggressive opening lap from van der Mark saw him quickly on terms with the leading group as he settled into a fast and consistent rhythm. The 25-year-old Dutch rider managed to up his pace after passing Tom Sykes for fourth at half race distance, but didn’t quite have the extra speed or the laps remaining to challenge for the final place on the podium.
After the disappointment of a difficult outing during his last wild card appearance at Donington, Canepa was satisfied with his performance in today’s Misano race, which he finished in 12th place. It meant the Italian rider picked up his first championship points of the season and added to the development data available to Yamaha’s engineers.
Today’s 21-lap race ended in disappointment for Lowes. The 27-year-old British rider got pushed wide in turn one at the start and then lost the front and slid off seven laps in as he chased to make up places. Lowes remounted and re-joined the race in 17th position, but was forced to retire shortly after half race distance following a second low side crash.
All three Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team riders are confident of strong performances in tomorrow’s second race, which van der Mark will start from pole position.
Michael van der Mark
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – P4 +4.921
“This morning I felt better with the bike again and made a big step during Superpole 1, improving my lap time a lot but, unfortunately, in the second session I had so much spin with the qualifier towards the end of the lap I couldn’t improve as much and to start P11 at Misano is not ideal. I had a really good start, a bit lucky in the first few corners, but made it through to the leading group quite early. My pace was really consistent and I was a little bit faster at the end, but not quite quick enough to challenge for the final podium position. I’m really happy with the work we’ve done and tomorrow, starting from pole, I hope we can put up a good fight for the podium.”
Niccolò Canepa
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – P12 +37.665
“I’m quite satisfied to be in the points today. After a difficult race at Donington we found the way to improve the bike and I found a way to ride a little bit better. I’m happy with my pace today and the fact that my best lap came with just four laps to go. The more I ride this bike, the more laps I do, I understand better the bike, which makes me more helpful as a test rider, which is my job. We will try to make some more small improvements to the bike and I’m confident that we can make another step forward in the race tomorrow.”
Alex Lowes
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – DNF
“Today has been tough. We were expecting a lot more after the pace we had shown all weekend and because Misano generally suits the R1. Superpole was nearly great!. I was on a really good lap and made a mistake at T14 costing us a chance of the front row or at least the second row. When the race started, I didn’t feel comfortable like in the practice sessions. I then made a mistake trying to pass and make up positions early on. It’s such a shame to get my first DNF of the season but let’s look forward to improving the setting of my R1 and trying again tomorrow.”
Paul Denning
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – Team Principal
“We don’t normally discuss qualifying so much on a Saturday given that it’s also race day, but today’s race for Michael and Alex was largely a result of a difficult qualifying session and a bit of bad luck. Michael missed the second row by less than a tenth whereas Alex would have qualified on the front row were it not for an unfortunate “off “right at the end of the lap. It made the race challenging for both; Michael made a fantastic start to get in the top eight on the first lap and from there on rode one of his best races of the season to date, pushing his R1 to the limits and never looking like he was going to make a mistake. Congratulations to him and to his crew on the huge improvement compared to yesterday. Tomorrow he will start from pole, he clearly has a lot of pace, so let’s see what we can achieve.
Unfortunately today was Alex’s first DNF of the year. The start was complicated, we weren’t able to make the small improvements to the bike that were needed and when you’re pushing through the pack to get to the front group these things can happen. Alex has made very few errors this year; we’ll regroup for tomorrow and push for the best result we can from the fourth row.
Thanks to Niccolò for keeping his focus and working hard for the whole race. The information gathered gives him some clear improvement points for tomorrow and will help Yamaha’s engineers to understand the development aspects of his R1 more clearly after a competitive full race distance.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team on the podium in Race 1 at Misano in front of its fans with Davies (2nd), Melandri 7th
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team took yet another podium in Race 1 at Misano, home of the ninth round of the 2018 WorldSBK Championship, thanks to a superb comeback mounted by Chaz Davies to clinch second place. The Welshman, seventh in Superpole, immediately took fourth position with a blistering start off the blocks, then gradually recovered ground. After taking second position with seven laps to go, Davies defended it successfully until the checkered flag, taking his third consecutive podium.
Marco Melandri, who couldn’t take part in FP4 due to a technical problem, unfortunately faced a more difficult race. The Italian gave his all, fighting in the second group to finish in seventh position. Michael Ruben Rinaldi, with the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team, finished in 17th position after pitting in to try different tires. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team and the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team will resume action on Sunday, July 8th, at 09:35 local time (CET) for a warm-up session ahead of Race 2, which is scheduled to start at 13:00 local time.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 2nd
“We have to be happy with this result, it wasn’t easy coming back from 7th position on the grid. I feel like we got the best out of the package and myself today. The Panigale R was working well, we need just to make a few more steps forward to win, so overall it’s been a positive day. During the race I really understood the bike and got a clear idea of what we need to do to improve. We’ll try to make the most of the data collected and come back even stronger for Race 2. We’ll start from third row again, but I’m kind of used to it and today we got a blistering start, so hopefully we’ll be able to repeat that.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 7th
“Since we couldn’t keep working on the setup yesterday afternoon due to the rain, we knew FP4 would have been crucial, especially to improve the feeling with the new front tire. However, a technical problem kept us in the pits. This forced us to race without the usual confidence and, given also an ordinary start, it was a tough race out there today. Still, we managed to collect useful information, which we’ll use to make more changes ahead of Race 2.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team #21) – 17th
“This round, we struggled a bit more than we expected. Also, missing FP3 didn’t make it easier since we had so many tires to try. During the race I lost grip on the front after a few laps. So I decided to pit in and get back out with a different tire to make some comparisons and I regained confidence, so I’m sure we’ll be able to bounce back tomorrow.”
Marco Zambenedetti, Technical Coordinator on track for Ducati Corse
“Despite the fact that the erratic weather played a role in free-practice, we showed our competitiveness once again during the race. Chaz mounted a brilliant comeback to claim another important podium, while Marco showed resilience but was penalized by the issues encountered in FP4. Now we’ll analyze the data to further improve ahead of Race 2.”
Weekend schedule (CET):
Sunday (June 8th)
09:35 – 09:50 SBK Warm-up
13:00 SBK Race 2