Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Autodromo Internacional Algarve
Portimao, Portugal
September 16, 2017
Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 20 laps, Total Race Time 34:38.383, Best Lap Time 1:42.937
2. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), -6.189 seconds, 1:43.416
3. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -10.166, 1:43.657
4. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4 RC), -10.508, 1:43.737
5. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Yamaha YZF-R1), -13.739, 1:43.710
6. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -16.816, 1:43.825
7. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -18.786, 1:43.736
8. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -22.090, 1:43.918
9. Xavi FORÉS, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -28.430, 1:43.975
10. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -38.746, 1:44.572
11. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -43.181, 1:44.904
12. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -43.212, 1:45.001
13. Anthony WEST, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -43.325, 1:45.269
14. Riccardo RUSSO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -43.412, 1:44.981
15. Takumi TAKAHASHI, Japan (Honda CBR1000RR), -54.303, 1:46.012
16. Ondrej JEZEK, Czech Republic (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -59.880, 1:46.082
17. Alessandro ANDREOZZI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), -64.441, 1:45.815
18. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), -1 lap, pitted, 1:43.834
19. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -4 laps, DNF, crash, 1:44.370
20. Stefan BRADL, Germany (Honda CBR1000RR), -18 laps, DNF, crash, 1:45.005
21. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), DNS
World Championship Point Standings (after 19 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 406 points
2. Sykes, 311
3. Davies, 296
4. Melandri, 234
5. Lowes, 169
6. Fores, 153
7. Van Der Mark, 146
8. Camier, 133
9. Torres, 119
10. Laverty, 104
11. Savadori, 89
12. Ramos, 83
13. Mercado, 754
14. Bradl, 67
15. Randy Krummenacher, 50
16. Nicky Hayden (RIP), 40
17. De Rosa, 36
18. Alex De Angelis, 32
19. Markus Reiterberger, 29
20. Leon Haslam, 20
21. Badovini, 18
22. Jezek, 12
23. Russo, 10
24. Jake Dixon, 7
25. TIE, Josh Brookes/Julian Simon, 4
27. West, 3
28. Gagne, 2
29. Takahashi, 1
More, from a press release issued by Althea BMW Racing:
Solid sixth for Torres in race 1 at Portimao
Portimão (Portugal), Saturday 16 September 2017
The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve played host to race 1 of the tenth round of the Superbike world championship this afternoon, a race in which the Althea BMW Racing team closed in a positive sixth place with Jordi Torres and eleventh with Raffaele De Rosa.
Superpole 1: both Torres and De Rosa participated in SP1. After having completed a series of fast laps, Jordi moved into first place in the final seconds, setting an impressive best time of 1’43.191 and thus gaining access to SP2. Raffaele set a fastest lap time of 1’43.918, closing fourth as a result, which translated into fourteenth position on the race 1 grid.
Superpole 2: Jordi immediately placed third in this second phase. Able to further improve on his time in the final minutes, and with a best of 1’42.586, the Spaniard concluded in sixth position, so a place on the second row for him in race one.
SBK – Race 1: Jordi lost several positions as he set out from sixth on the grid, lying eleventh after one lap. Earning one place early on, the Spaniard then caught and passed Forés on lap six and Savadori on lap eight. Placing seventh by mid-race, the Althea BMW man continued to fight, managing to chase down Laverty and pass him on lap sixteen. Thanks to Torres’ determination and constant pace, he crossed the line in sixth place today, a positive outcome at what the rider considers a tough track.
Raffaele lost a few places at the start when he made contact with another rider and then made a small mistake. The Italian then battled to catch up from fifteenth place, clawing back three places in the central phase of the race. Lying twelfth on lap thirteen, De Rosa made up one more position in the final laps to cross the line eleventh.
Jordi Torres:
“We were really strong in SP1 and then set some great times in SP2 as well, which meant we could start the race in sixth position. Unfortunately, despite the grid position, we lost ground at the start, as we often do, due to electronic issues. This penalises us and then I’m left with a lot of work just to make up the ground we lost off the line. After a few laps, I got into a good rhythm though, passing several riders though I’d have liked to catch van der Mark and Camier too, not possible today unfortunately. Tomorrow I hope to do better…”
Raffaele De Rosa:
“We made quite a good start, but then at turn six I made contact with another rider and lost some places, then a mistake on my part saw me lose more positions. From there I did all I could to catch up, closing eleventh in the end. Unfortunately, I’m continuing to struggle with the bike on corner exit, where it moves around a lot. We’ll try a few things in warm-up tomorrow to see if we can improve the situation for race two.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Tenth Win For Rea As Sykes Misses Out
KRT rider and WorldSBK championship leader Jonathan Rea secured a high quality Portimao win from pole position in the opening race and in doing so took his total of 2017 season race victories to 10. His team-mate Tom Sykes was unable to start the race after suffering a left little finger injury in FP3 this morning.
Such was Rea’s early pace from pole that he was over two seconds faster than the rest after just one lap of the 4.592km circuit, and he eased out his lead to win by over six seconds.
His best lap was a 1’42.937 set on lap two, with no other rider getting into the 1’42 bracket at the bumpy and undulating Portuguese track. Rea’s pace was particularly impressive as his favoured rear tyre option was withdrawn from the allocation for race use today, with Rea and his crew having done most of their set-up work with it to this point.
The 20-lap race started without KRT rider Tom Sykes, who had a big crash in FP3 this morning and fracturing and dislocating bones on his left little finger. He was declared unfit to ride by medical staff and he has to sit out any further action at Portimao.
Tom will go to Barcelona tomorrow for more checks and probably surgery to try to make sure he is fit to race at the next round at Magny Cours in France at the end of this month.
Jonathan’s latest win not only made it 10 for the season but 48 for his career. He has now scored 33 of those wins for Kawasaki, the same total of race victories for Kawasaki as Tom.
One more 20-lap race is scheduled for 15.00 at Portimao, on Sunday 17th September.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “To take 10 wins is great and that is one more than I had last year. I could not quite believe my opening lap. When our bike had full grip it seemed to be on rails but when the grip dropped a little bit I had to compensate with my riding style, and change how I was braking and tipping into the corners. We are 20 laps wiser with the new tyre we used today so we need to work a little bit with that. It was a difficult race to keep my concentration, because with a gap like that it is very easy for something to go wrong when you switch off a little bit. I just tried to keep my rhythm and in the end we could get it done.”
Tom Sykes, stated: “I went on my out lap in FP3 and the bike was feeling good. As I started accelerating out of turn eight, still with the bike banked over, the front wheel came off the ground. As it touched again obviously the rear was going a lot faster than the front. The front tyre took a moment to come up to speed. In that moment it set off the rear and it got out of shape a little bit. But then it hit the lock -stop on the steering – and that completely kicked the rear out. It got the better of me. Looking at the crash and being a realistic kind of guy, I am a lucky man – but also unlucky that it got to where it did from something so small.”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team:
First World Championship point for Takahashi as Bradl crashes out of eighth place
Portuguese Round
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal
The opening race at the Portuguese Round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship has been contested today at Portimão’s Autodromo do Algarve, with Stefan Bradl forced to an early retirement after crashing out of eighth place on lap three. His Red Bull Honda World Superbike team mate for the round, Takumi Takahashi, crossed the line in 15th position and by doing so he earned his first World Superbike point.
After successfully taking part in Superpole 2 and then qualifying in eighth place on the grid for the 20-lap race, Stefan Bradl got a great launch off row three and by the end of the opening lap he was already up to sixth position. The German rider then lost one place after running wide at turn 1 and, as the third lap was drawing to a close, he had a highside at turn 14: due to the damage sustained by the bike during the crash, he was unable to re-join the encounter.
Takumi Takahashi started his maiden World Superbike race from 19th place on the grid and, after maintaining his position at the start, he found his own rhythm as he continued to make experience with the WorldSBK-spec version of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 and Pirelli tyres around the 4.592km track located in the southwestern edge of mainland Europe.
Stefan Bradl 6
DNF
Unfortunately, this crash actually happened in the race: I was a good position and feeling comfortable on the bike, but maybe I pushed a bit too hard at turn 14 because the bike slipped away a little bit and I was thrown over the handlebar. A pity for the result really, but luckily we have another chance tomorrow: I got checked by the medical centre and I’m good to go, I feel OK and ready to give it another try. We need to keep the positives from today because I think we can have a good race and finish the weekend on a high note.
Takumi Takahashi 72
15th
It was a difficult race because at the beginning I was struggling a bit with the front and could not get up to speed. Because of this, I was unable to stay with the riders in front of me, meaning I rode on my own for the most part of the race. In the end we were a bit lucky to get one point, but the goal for tomorrow is to stay with those riders, make more experience and to actually earn that point.
Ronald ten Kate
Team Manager
The start of Stefan’s race was really good and we were all enjoying seeing him up there where we all think he can be. Surely it was a pity for the crash but thankfully enough he wasn’t hurt, so he’s ready to race again tomorrow. Takahashi was able to collect his first-ever World Championship point today: it hasn’t been an easy weekend so far for him – it’s a steep learning curve – but he is making more and more experience, which is the most important thing. He was able to set the same lap-time both at the beginning and at the end of the race, which means that there has been an improvement. Hopefully tomorrow he will be able to get in a mix and battle with the other riders.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Runaway victory for unstoppable Rea
It was a dominant win from pole for the World Champion in Race 1 at Portimao, with Davies and Melandri also on the podium
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) took his tenth win of 2017 with a fantastic ride at the Prosecco DOC Portuguese Round – which saw him dominate the race from pole and cross the line 6.189s seconds ahead of second placed Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) just held off Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) for third place on the finish straight.
Rea was untouchable over the 20 lap contest around the 4.592km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve at Portimao as he shot away from the head of the grid and soon built up an unbridgeable lead at the front. The victory was Rea’s 18th podium in 19 races this year and the Northern Irishman now enjoys a 95 point lead at the head of the standings.
After a crash in SP2 Davies also rode brilliantly, coming from ninth on the grid to take a highly creditable second place, beating his teammate Melandri across the finish line by just under four seconds. Melandri in turn beat Camier by just +0.342 as the Brit chased him hard in the final stages of the race.
The top five also featured Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), with Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) sixth and Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) seventh.
The top ten was completed by Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) and Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven).
There were crashes for Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) and Leandro Mercado (IODARacing), meaning DNFs for both, although the pair escaped their incidents otherwise unscathed.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) missed the race and is out of action for the rest of the weekend after sustaining a finger injury in an FP3 crash earlier on Saturday.
On Sunday at the Prosecco DOC Portuguese Round the WorldSBK riders will go again in Race 2 at 3pm local time.
P1 – Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki Racing Team
“The weekend in general has been really positive. We’ve not changed the bike a lot since the test, the bike has been working really well. I have been working on myself and what I can change on the bike. We got a really good start and we made the best of the tyre, once the gap was at five seconds we aimed to pull the gap and it seemed we had extra even at the end. Riding the bike is a pleasure and I want to thank my team for the amazing package.”
P2 – Chaz Davies – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“It was a definitely a recovery and that was what we had to hope for today. Rea’s pace has been unbeatable all weekend, and it was all I could to get into the podium fight. To be honest I didn’t expect to get there quite as quickly. I am happy with the result but not how the bike felt, we need to address why I couldn’t extract 100% out of myself and see what we can do tomorrow.”
P3- Marco Melandri – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“It was very difficult because I had no rear grip at the beginning of the race and the bike was very difficult to ride, with it also being unstable under breaking. I tried to break harder to improve my speed but that made it even worse. I felt I was not pushing hard and every time I pushed I made a mistake, so we will try to do better tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta Reparto Corse:
0.3 SECOND BETWEEN MV AGUSTA REPARTO CORSE AND ITS FIRST WORLDSBK PODIUM
With Leon Camier closing 4th in a thrilling and battled Race1 today at Portimao, Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse missed its first WorldSBK podium for just 0.342 seconds. In WorldSSP class PJ Jacobsen got the 3rd time after the Tissot-Superpole2 and tomorrow will kick off the race from the front row.
WorldSBK – FP3, SP2, Race1
After finishing with the 3rd fastest time in this morning’s FP3 practice, the Tissot-Superpole2 played a bad joke for Leon Camier, forced to pull out of the session during the first lap because of an engine problem; since he couldn’t complete neither one lap, Camier has been forced to start the race from the 11th position on grid.
When the light goes out, Camier immediately finds the right feeling with the F4 RC set by Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse. Despite the disadvantaged position on the grid, the Brit rider begins an extraordinary comeback leading to 4th place, behind Marco Melandri, after only half a race. The perfect match between rider and bike allows Camier to quickly bridge the gap with Melandri, fighting for the the podium until the finish line. In the end, the the Ducati rider won the battle for just 0.342s.
Tomorrow at 15.00 local time Leon Camier will kick off race 2 from the pole position, because of his placement in today’s race1.
WorldSSP – FP3, SP1, SP2
After getting a solid 3rd place in the FP3 this morning, Jacobsen returned to the track early in the afternoon for the last qualifying heat of Tissot-Superpole2. In the 15 minutes long session, the American rider was able to close again in 3rd position, earning the first row on the grid ahead of tomorrow’s WorldSSP race.
Alessandro Zaccone and his squad continues to work hard on the setting of his MV Agusta F3 675, ending the Tissot-Superpole1 session in 21st position, placing 2nd within the ESS class.
Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK – I didn’t expect to recover so many positions but the bike was working really good and I was able to make some good passes in the beginning. I pushed hard so much in the last few laps trying to catch Melandri, but in the end I made a few little mistakes trying to close the gap and it wasn’t quite possibile to pass him. Anyway, I am definitely happy with this result and I want to thank all my team for their great job. I am really looking forward to tomorrow.
Patrick “PJ” Jacobsen #99 WorldSSP – I am very happy, today the bike’s setting was perfect and I was able to push hard for the whole Superpole session. Tomorrow we will start from the front row and it will be a huge opportunity to fight for the podium. Big thank to all my team, I will try to repay their work with a good placement tomorrow.
Alessandro Zaccone #61 ESS – Honestly, we still have a bit of work to do on the bike because we are a little bit too far from our potential positions. Of course, having missed the second round yesterday made the setting work very complicated. Now we just have to stay focused on tomorrow’s race, because from where we are right now, we can only improve.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Van der Mark Battles to Strong Fifth in Race 1 at Portimao
Race
It was a day of highs and lows for the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team in Portimao on Saturday for round ten of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship. Michael van der Mark showed his class after a tricky first lap to charge his way through the field and battle his way to a fifth-place finish. His teammate Alex Lowes was fighting in the top six and chasing the podium when a small mistake saw him crash at Turn 5, the British rider remounting to finish in 18th place and collect vital data for Race 2 on Sunday.
Van der Mark got Saturday off to a good start at Portimao by improving his pace overnight to place fourth in FP3 and then managed to qualify at the front of the third row, to start Race 1 from seventh on the grid. When the lights went out, the 24-year-old Dutch rider had a good start on his Yamaha R1, but lost a few places during the first lap and found himself down in ninth. Settling into a good rhythm, he then started to fight his way past the riders in front, getting involved in a number of good battles along the way. As the race went on his pace improved and by lap 14 he had fought his way up to fifth and set his sights on the podium battle ahead of him. Unfortunately, the laps ran out while he was chasing down the podium contenders and he crossed the line in fifth to collect 11 championship points, which means he remains seventh in the standings with 146 points – just seven points behind Xavi Forés in fifth. Due to the 2017 Race 2 grid rules, van der Mark will line up for Sunday’s race in the middle of the front row in second, confident of being able to fight at the front.
His teammate Lowes also improved from Friday to end FP3 in fifth and then went one better in qualifying, setting the fourth fastest time and starting Race 1 from the front of the second row. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the best of starts and found himself in tenth at the end of the first lap. Like his teammate van der Mark, it didn’t take the 27-year-old long to find his rhythm and he started to scythe his way through the field. He had fought his way up to sixth, when a small mistake on lap 8 at Turn 5 saw him lose the front on a large bump. Valiantly, he immediately ran to his bike and re-mounted but rejoined right at the back of the field. Determined to make up for his mistake, he set about hunting down the riders in front but was forced to pit on lap 15 for repairs, and when he returned to the track he was a lap down. Despite this, he showed good pace and went on to cross the line in 18th position, in the process collecting vital data for his team to help them for Race 2 on Sunday. Lowes remains fifth in the championship standings with 169 points and will start Sunday’s Race 2 from the head of the fourth row in 10th.
The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team are back in action on Sunday at 9:50am local time for Warm Up, with the 20-lap Race 2 due scheduled to start at 3pm. Check out the results from Race 1.
Michael van der Mark
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 5th +13.739
“I am pretty pleased with the race! I had a good initial start but then got passed by some riders on the acceleration phase and then I had to battle my way forward. I had some good fights with some riders but, to be honest, after a couple of laps I had problems with the front grip and Alex passed me because I almost crashed. I then tried to follow Alex, we had a similar pace I think, so I had to manage the rhythm from early on in the race. I wasn’t completely happy with the feeling with my R1 so I think we did a really good job to finish in fifth and hopefully we can make some steps forward with the setup for tomorrow. It is good to be in the top five again after some tough results lately, so I am really happy and looking forward to starting Race 2 from the front row!”
Alex Lowes
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 18th + 1 lap
“I am really disappointed, as I feel I had the pace to fight for the podium today. One issue was my start, I just couldn’t drive forward as I needed to and I lost a number of places off the line. Just as I felt like I was getting my rhythm back and had fought my way into the top six, I made a small mistake, carrying too much speed into Turn 5, hit the big bump there and lost the front. It is so easy to make a mistake at that corner, so it is just one of those things but I’m sorry for me, Yamaha and the Pata team because we could have turned a bad start into a really good result. The positive is that I had the pace to fight for the podium and by going back out and completing the race, we managed to collect some good data that will help us for Race 2.”
Paul Denning
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Principal
“A positive race and a disappointing race depending on which side of the garage we focus on. For Alex, the start from the second row was something of a disaster and it’s a problem which the team will focus upon and improve as quickly as possible. That said, Alex’s recovery was very good to get up into the top six and looking at his pace and how the race developed, a challenge for the podium was possible, but these things happen and the big bump in turn 5 just caught him out.
Michael had a good start, but also didn’t have the best first lap and lost a few positions, which ultimately cost him the chance to also battle for the podium. However, it was a strong and consistent performance and a well-deserved fifth place. It looked at one stage that he might close down Camier and Melandri, but we just missed that final opportunity by a couple of seconds. We have a few things to work on and improve for tomorrow, but we are looking forward to making those improvements and to our R1’s performing well tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Double podium for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati at Portimão: Davies 2nd and Melandri 3rd in Race 1
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team stepped on the podium with both its riders in Race 1 at Portimão (Portugal), as Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri took second and third position respectively, a result that confirms a competitiveness shown since day 1 in Portugal.
Starting respectively from ninth and fifth position on the grid, Davies and Melandri initially enjoyed the fight in the peloton, and eventually separated themselves to defend their position until the checkered flag. The Welshman and the Italian thus scored their fifth and second consecutive podium respectively.
Due to the reverse grid for Race 2, Melandri and Davies will start from seventh and eighth position on the grid tomorrow. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action at 09:50 (CET -1) Sunday for warm-up ahead of Race 2 (scheduled to start at 15:00).
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 2nd
“To be honest, this was the best that we could do today. Rea has been on another level here so far, but I felt pretty confident about our pace going into the race. We got off to a good start, picking up five positions in the first few corners, but unfortunately I didn’t feel particularly comfortable from half-way point onwards. We had a few warnings and, even if I wasn’t riding too hard, I felt that we were still on the limit. At that point I was still pulling away from Marco but not catching up with the front, so I just tried to play with my style a bit to see what I could learn for Race 2. We need to understand how to improve to get the best out of both myself and the package.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 3rd
“It was tough out there today, because during the race we couldn’t use the tyre we’ve been working with all weekend. Safety comes first, but this gave us some issues with our electronics’ setup, especially with power delivery and engine brake. I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to, struggling with grip throughout. When I saw that Camier was coming back strong, I tried to give my 100 percent without making mistakes, but for sure we’re looking to improve our performance for Race 2 in order to be able to fight at least with Chaz until the end. It’ll be crucial to get a good start because it’s not easy to pass on this track, but usually we’re strong in this aspect so I’m confident.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director
“Today’s double podium is a good result. Rea made the difference but, considering a difficult Superpole, we can be happy with Chaz and Marco’s performance. Chaz scored important points for the championship, and Marco also rode a solid race. We still need to fine-tune some details with both in order to fight for the win tomorrow, but we are aware of which issues we have to fix and we identified some setup changes, which we’ll evaluate during WUP tomorrow.”