WorldSBK Race Lap Record: 1:34.720, Jonathan Rea, 2015

WorldSBK Pole/Circuit Best Lap Record: 1:33.640, Tom Sykes, 2018

Motul FIM Superbike World Championship

Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli

Rimini, San Marino

June 22, 2019

Restarted Race One Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires):

1. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 18 laps, Total Race Time 32:16.526, 1:46.130

2. Tom Sykes, UK (BMW S1000RR), -3.692 seconds, 1:46.794

3. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Duc Panigale V4 R), -7.756, 1:46.302

4. Loris Baz, France (Yam YZF-R1), -12.932, 1:47.154

5. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale V4 R), -15.801, 1:46.857

6. Marco Melandri, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), -41.963, ran off track, 1:48.002

7. Sandro Cortese, Germany (Yam YZF-R1), -45.967, 1:48.397

8. Yuki Takahashi, Japan (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -46.479, 1:48.627

9. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy (Duc Panigale V4 R), -47.695, 1:49.019

10. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), -48.026, 1:48.665

11. Alessandro Delbianco, Italy (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -49.700, 1:48.550

12. Jordi Torres, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), -49.833, 1:48.948

13. Samuele Cavalieri, Italy (Duc Panigale V4 R), -68.793, 1:49.451

14. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -73.510, 1:49.984

15. Markus Reiterberger, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -96.134, ran off track, 1:49.758

16. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR), -1 lap, DNF, crash, 1:48.034

17. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -6 laps, DNF, crash, 1:46.903

18. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc Panigale V4 R), -8 laps, DNF, crash, 1:48.118

19. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -10 laps, DNF, crash, 1:46.161

20. Michele Pirro, Italy (Duc Panigale V4 R), -10 laps, DNF, crash, 1:48.302

21. Dominic Schmitter, Switzerland (Yam YZF-R1), -10 laps, DNF, retired, 1:53.203

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

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Race And Superpole Wins For Rea

Four-times World Champion Jonathan Rea and his KRT Ninja ZX-10RR dominated the proceedings at Misano on Saturday, taking his third Superpole of the year before running out a clear winner in a wet Race One. Rea’s win made it 130 WorldSBK race victories for Kawasaki riders since the series started in 1988, cementing Kawasaki’s position as the second-most successful manufacturer in this regard.

After overnight rains and damp patches this morning Tissot-Superpole was held in the dry, with Rea finishing 0.355 seconds faster than his closest rival.

As the skies darkened and then lighting storms dropped heavy rain in waves it took three attempts to hold what was finally an 18-lap race.

One ‘start’ was red flagged after just three laps had been completed. This period of track action did not count for points but it changed the grid positions in a shortened 18-lap finale on Saturday. All the riders took their eventual grid from where they had been ranked after three full laps, putting Rea second on the grid.

After the third start procedure in just over an hour Rea and Alex Lowes got clear of the chasing pack and disputed the race lead, until Lowes fell and Rea rode on alone to win by 3.692 seconds, with rainfall alternately intensifying and reducing as the race unfolded to a finish.

It was a promising race at the beginning for sixth place Superpole qualifier Leon Haslam (KRT) as he passed both factory Ducatis to move into third place. He suddenly fell and lost his entire gearchange and footpeg assembly, causing him to enter the pits and finally retire after lap 13.

Rea made up nine points on championship leader Alvaro Bautista today and there are two more WorldSBK races to come at Misano on Sunday 23 June. First there will be a ten-lap Tissot-Superpole race and then a final full distance race in the afternoon, scheduled for 21 laps.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “I had done next to zero laps in the wet this season, even in winter testing. The first time we came across the wet was in morning warm-up at Imola. The gamble to stay inside the box in the wet morning warm up today still paid off, but we did not expect the rain clouds to come for the race. I was very nervous as we did not really have a wet set-up. So we just tried to maximise our potential, ride my own race and our bike works well in these conditions. It is a very stable bike but the track was changing lap-to-lap. Sometimes we had a lot of surface water, sometimes zero surface water. You need much more concentration in a wet race, because the bike is moving much more underneath you and you have to be very precise, especially with the white lines and the kerbs. When Alex came past I was not prepared to take that risk to go that fast. When I was leading the race I tried to manage my rhythm and the gap to behind. Arturo my mechanic was super-good with my pit-board so I could enjoy the last lap.”

Leon Haslam, stated: “I finally got past both official Ducatis and I gapped them both straight away. I was starting to close in on Tom Sykes for second and then tried to close the gap. I had not had any really big wheel spins all through the race and then I had a massive highside out of turn five. I probably should have settled for third rather than push on to try and take second.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was on course for seventh place after getting to the front of a battling group of riders, but he fell on the final lap as heavier rain reappeared and no-scored. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was tenth from the 15 finishers, in a race that featured 20 starters. Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) was the final rider in the big midfield group, ending his day in 12th place.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Missed Opportunity for Lowes as Baz Leads the Yamaha Charge in Misano

Race

The weather made for tricky conditions in this afternoon’s WorldSBK Race 1 in Misano. After a delay due to the onset of heavy rain it was Pata Yamaha WorldSBK rider, Alex Lowes, who took a commanding lead when the race finally got underway, only for the race to be stopped after three laps as the storm intensified. Seven laps into the restarted race and Lowes was back at the front and pulling away from Jonathan Rea, until the 28-year-old Briton was caught out by standing water on the inside of turn 11 and crashed out of the race. As a result, it was Loris Baz who was the first Yamaha rider home in fourth place, in just his second appearance on the Ten Kate Yamaha Supported WorldSBK R1. The GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK pairing of Marco Melandri and Sandro Cortese had an eventful race, battling throughout for position and eventually finishing in sixth and seventh places respectively.

It was Cortese who made the early running today, as an impressive Superpole performance saw him qualify second, to secure only his second front row start aboard the GRT Yamaha R1. Lowes headed up the second row having qualified fourth, while Melandri and Baz were expecting a tough race after securing positions 13 and 16 on the grid.

Disruption due to rain meant that WorldSBK Race 1 finally got underway at the third attempt, with Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes immediately pulling away at the head of the race. Lowes shadowed the reigning World Champion until the spray from Rea’s bike made visibility an issue, at which point he made his move for the lead. Lowes had built up a lead of more than a second when he crashed out at turn 11 after aquaplaning on standing water.

In the meantime, Baz had managed to work his way through the field, passing the two GRT Yamaha riders who were battling for position in a six-rider group, and slotting into fifth place behind Leon Haslam and Alvaro Bautista. When Haslam crashed out the Frenchman pushed hard to catch Bautista for the final podium place but was unable to match the Spaniard’s pace on a drying track and had to settle for fourth place at the line.

Melandri and Cortese got the better of the group in which they had been battling for the majority of the race, pulling away in the closing stages of the 18-lap race to secure sixth and seventh places at the chequered flag.

Pata Yamaha rider, Michael van der Mark, played no part in proceedings today, following a heavy crash in FP2 yesterday in which he sustained a concussion, a fractured Trapezium and Radius in his right arm and two fractured ribs on his right side. The Jerez race winner remained in Rimini Hospital overnight as a precautionary measure but has now been released. Van der Mark will undergo surgery on his fractured radius early next week, after which doctors will be able to better assess the time needed for recovery.

Alex Lowes

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – DNF

“I felt good in the wet conditions this morning and the bike was working well. In the race I was waiting behind Jonathan because 18-laps is a long race in the wet and I didn’t want to use up the soft compound rear tyre too early. There was a lot of water on track and at one point I was struggling to see through the spray thrown off Jonathan’s bike, so I put in a pass and managed to pull a bit of a gap. I was feeling strong and hadn’t had any slides at all, which is sometimes worse because it builds confidence. When I arrived into turn 11, I could see that there was a lot more water on the track than on the previous laps. I tried to brake a bit more before I went in but I just lost the rear as it aquaplaned and I was off. Sorry to the team and to Yamaha, a victory or at worst a podium was there, and it was shame to finish this way today.”

Marco Melandri

GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P6

“It was a very, very difficult day, both in the dry and the wet. I never had the feeling with the bike that I was looking for, especially on maximum lean angle. During the race I made a mistake at the beginning when I tried to brake later to stay with the group, but the pace was simply not there today. Difficult conditions, a difficult race and a difficult situation. Tomorrow we will start the sprint race from the back because of the Jerez penalty, so I have nothing to lose. Top nine is the target, but I suspect it’s not going to be easy.”

Sandro Cortese

GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P7

“It was a very tough race, as the conditions were very difficult but. It was a completely new situation for us, as we’ve never raced this bike in the rain, so it was a pretty steep learning curve for both me and the team. This meant we weren’t in a position to fight for the top positions, but the goal was to finish the race with as many points as possible, and this is what we did. Of course, I’m not completely happy with seventh after qualifying second on the grid, but I think we have a good day ahead of us tomorrow, with two races in which we can build on what was, overall, a fairly positive start today.”

Loris Baz

Ten Kate Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P4

“Four weeks ago, the team were still building the bike and everyone else had done 14 races, while we had completed not even one lap, so it feels good to finish fourth here today. I’m really happy with the result but also with the progress we’ve made with understanding the bike in the dry. I was angry with myself for crashing in Superpole this morning, but the race was cool. When Haslam crashed I pushed really hard to catch Bautista for the final podium place but, as the track started to dry, he was able to increase his pace and it wasn’t possible to close him down. I’m really happy with the result and big thanks to all the guys in the team for their hard work.”

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

BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Tom Sykes celebrate first podium for the new BMW S 1000 RR in WorldSBK.

Tom Sykes finishes runner-up in Saturday’s race in the FIM Superbike World Championship at Misano.

Team-mate Markus Reiterberger comes home 15th.

Dr. Markus Schramm: “We can be very proud of what we have achieved today”.

Misano. When the chequered flag was waved at Misano (ITA), the joy in the garage of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team knew no bounds. Tom Sykes (GBR) finished runner-up in Saturday’s race to claim the first podium for the new BMW S 1000 RR in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). Despite racing in treacherous conditions, Sykes kept a cool head and was on course for a podium finish throughout the entire race which was red flagged due to rain. Team-mate Markus Reiterberger (GER) was 15th.

Sykes laid the foundation for his podium result in the morning’s dry Superpole qualifying when he landed his RR on the front row of the grid in third place. However, patience was initially the order of the day in the afternoon. A heavy shower caused the start of the race to be delayed by 25 minutes. Sykes defended third place and held on to the position until inclement weather caused the race to be red flagged. The race eventually restarted after a break of almost half an hour. Sykes once again showed his wet-weather ability, not only keeping the chasing pack at bay, but also opening up a small gap to fourth place. When leader Alex Lowes (GBR / Yamaha) crashed out on lap nine of 18, Sykes adopted second position – and never looked at risk of losing that place.

Reiterberger had finished 12th in Superpole qualifying. However, he fell back through the field in the opening stages of the race. After the interruption, he started the remaining 18 laps from 17th place. While many other riders crashed in the difficult conditions, Reiterberger guided his RR home in 15th place to pick up another world championship point.

Quotes after race one at Misano.

Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad: “Congratulations to Tom Sykes and the entire BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. It is fantastic that our fledgling project has been able to celebrate the first WorldSBK podium for the new BMW S 1000 RR at only the seventh event of the season. This is confirmation of the commitment, passion and hard work that everyone in the team has put into the project since we started out in the winter. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone. Tom gave a fantastic, commanding performance in the rain. And the team gave him a bike, in the RR, that was capable of a podium finish. We can be very proud of what we have achieved today.”

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We have achieved our first goal with the new BMW S 1000 RR in WorldSBK – we made it onto the podium. That is excellent, and the best possible reward for all the hard work the team has tirelessly put in. We set ourselves the goal of improving consistently towards the front of the field. With Tom’s second place today, we have taken the next step. The track conditions were far from easy today, but Tom and the team mastered this challenge superbly. We hope we can back up this success tomorrow. Markus had a difficult race, but tomorrow is a new day and we are confident that the tide will turn again for him.”

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “We are absolutely delighted for everyone at BMW, for the whole project, for everyone in Germany and in Guisborough at SMR. It’s been a proper joint team effort and to have Dr. Markus Schramm, the Head of BMW Motorrad, here to witness that is absolutely fantastic. We took the gamble and did not go out with Tom this morning in the wet free practice three thinking it would be a dry afternoon, but the clouds opened up and it was wet all the way until the chequered flag came out. It was a very difficult, stressful period with the delayed start and the re-start. But anyway, we had a full 18-lap race and Tom thoroughly enjoyed riding in the wet and more than earned his P2 in the race. We’re absolutely excited. The downside is that Markus really had a difficult race. He got caught within the very back of the pack and there was a lot of spray and he ran off at turn eight. It was a tough day for Markus and he wants to put that behind him. But now we must celebrate the first podium for this new project. I think that is has come ahead of schedule and it’s certainly something that we should be proud of as the team. Hopefully we can build on this and keep the momentum going into tomorrow and into Donington Park.”

Tom Sykes: “To say that I am very happy would be a slight understatement. I am very, very happy and it’s just credit to all the guys in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. We’ve been working really hard and finally we’ve got the result which I feel we deserve. We’ve been pushing forward and it’s absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed riding in the wet conditions. The BMW S 1000 RR gave me some great feedback today and what a better place to do that than here at Misano in front of some amazing fans. So we will try and keep that momentum together and try to get the results tomorrow. Thanks to all!”

Markus Reiterberger: “Congratulations to Tom and the team on a superb result and the first podium for BMW. I was a little surprised that it rained this morning. However, I was happy about that, as I was quick in the rain during the test here. I gave it my all in Superpole, but it was only good enough for 12th on the grid. We just need to make a few more adjustments to the bike and my riding style. Unfortunately, the wet race was disappointing. I lost positions in the first part, as my starting position meant I had absolutely no visibility in the spray. I was then able to make up a few places in the second part of the race, but touched the white line during an overtaking manoeuvre, got my braking wrong and had to veer off into the gravel. After that, I just made sure I finished. Fortunately, I picked up a point.”

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

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team takes home two good results in the pouring rain at the Misano World Circuit: a third place for Álvaro Bautista and a fifth place for Chaz Davies in Race 1.

Álvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies scored two good results today – a third and a fifth place respectively – in Race 1 at the Misano Adriatico circuit in Round 7 of the Superbike World Championship. Difficult conditions, with heavy downpours, caused delays in the starting procedure, initially scheduled for 14h00. In addition, the race was interrupted when the red flags came out after just three laps because the track conditions were impracticable. As a result, the race was shortened to 18 laps and was won by Rea (Kawasaki).

Davies was very effective in the early stages in spite of the difficult conditions. The 32-year-old from Wales, who started from the ninth grid slot, rapidly made up ground until he reached fourth place. Unfortunately, a small problem meant he had to drop a few places but he did eventually finish the race in fifth. After qualifying fifth in this morning’s Superpole, Bautista took a few laps to gain confidence with the difficult conditions, which he had never encountered before in Superbike, but by running a careful second part of the race and capitalizing on the difficulties of other riders, he took home a well-deserved third place.

Tomorrow the ten-lap Superpole Race gets underway at 11.00 CET, with Race 2 following at 14.00.

Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19) – 3rd

“Today there were many things new for me, first of all these difficult conditions. As well as doing my first Superbike race in the wet, with the delay in the start and the red flag two times, it was difficult to keep concentration. I made a cautious start to try and understand the conditions of the track; in some parts it was raining too hard while in others the situation was a bit better and when I understood that I could get my feeling and pace. Lap by lap I felt more feedback and went more to the limit so I’m happy for the feeling with this race. It was important to get points and to do it with a podium was a good result.”

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 5th

“It was the first wet race with the Panigale V4 R so overall it wasn’t such a bad performance. I had a problem in the middle of the race with the electronic shifter, then it cleared itself and was fine again, it was probably water-related. That upset my rhythm a bit because I was more or less in with the fight for the podium. I lost a bit of time trying to manually backshift, but to a limited effect. In the last four laps I got back into the rhythm again but the gap to the others was a bit too much. I was quite happy with the feeling with the bike in those conditions, it’s just a shame we didn’t really get to fight with the right package for the whole race distance.”

More, from a press release issued by Moriwaki Althea Honda Racing:

Yuki Takahashi fights to finish 8th in Race 1 at a wet Misano, Kiyonari 14th

The first Superbike race of this Riviera di Rimini WorldSBK round was affected by a thunderstorm which meant that the start was delayed and then red-flagged just four laps after the lights went out due to the track conditions. The race was restarted a short time later but reduced to a distance of 18 laps.

Starting from 19th on the grid, Yuki Takahashi had already worked his way up to eleventh place before the race was interrupted. Re-starting from the fourth row (the grid established according to the positions the riders held at the time of the interruption), the rider fought hard in a group comprising fellow Honda rider Delbianco, Melandri, Cortese and Rinaldi. Despite the difficult conditions, and on and off rainfall, Takahashi ultimately crossed the finish line in a very positive eighth place.

Ryuichi Kiyonari finished inside the points zone, in fourteenth place, but it was a less than satisfactory result for him, as he was hoping for better feeling in the wet conditions and a better final race result.

Yuki Takahashi

8TH

“It was a good race for us as we were able to fight for a top ten position. Conditions were really tricky, and you had to ride as safely as possible but also fight as hard as possible! During the free practices we worked hard trying different settings in order to be as prepared as possible for this situation. The team did a very good job and I want to thank them for that. I’m very happy and hope we can continue in this way also tomorrow. At the same time, I’m sorry Leon (Camier) has had to miss this round and I hope to see him back in action very soon”.

Ryuichi Kiyonari

14TH

“I’m very disappointed because it was another difficult day for me. When we tested here three weeks ago, I had better feeling in both wet and the dry, but today I did not feel good in the rain. It was difficult for me to push so I tried to finish the race as well as possible and not crash the bike. At least we were able to gather some interesting data that will be useful in similar conditions in the future”.