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Tag: Alvaro Bautista

  • Alvaro Bautista takes sixth consecutive win: WorldSBK

    Alvaro Bautista takes sixth consecutive win: WorldSBK

    Alvaro Bautista takes his sixth consecutive win in the season’s opening six races. A WorldSBK image

    Buriram, 17 March 2019: In what has been a dream opening six races in Alvaro Bautista’s WorldSBK career, he took yet another race win to become the first rider since Neil Hodgson to win the opening six races of a WorldSBK season, back in 2003! Bautista completed another lights to flag victory in dominant fashion on his way to more records!

    With lights turning green, the final race of the Pirelli Thai Round got underway, with Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) able to hold onto first position from start to finish. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) couldn’t take a challenge to Bautista but had to deal with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in the early stages. At the end of the first lap the leading trio had a slight gap over Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK).

    Soon, the big battle came from the scrap for fifth position, with van der Mark, Melandri, Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.ITRacing – Ducati). Turn 3 was once again a prime overtaking area, with Melandri trying a move on van der Mark at Turn 3, with both running wide and allowing Chaz Davies to get a better drive down the straight and by Turn 4, the Welshman had got ahead of both Yamaha riders!

    Melandri retook Davies at Turn 8 but the race winner from Buriram in 2018 fought back at Turn 12. Cortese and van der Mark made the exact same succession of moves; a thrilling spectacle in the early stages.

    Luck wasn’t going the way of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who had to retire his S1000RR on lap four. Melandri and Davies had a close call on the same lap, with the Italian forcefully moving aside his former teammate at Turn 9, allowing van der Mark to go through, whilst Chaz Davies had to recover right at the back of the group. It wasn’t long however before Davies himself would suffer the same fate as Sykes. The 29-time WorldSBK race winner retired on lap eight, concluding a wretched start to the season.

    Whilst the front eight remained fairly static in an intriguing battle, further down the field, Toprak Razgatliolgu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) began to reel in Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) and got ahead of him in the final part of the race to win the battle of the Independent Kawasaki riders.

    Bautista dominated to take the victory by more than ten seconds, ahead of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes. Michael van der Mark was able to hold off a late charge by Leon Haslam, whilst Marco Melandri finished in sixth position for a fifth race in a row. Van der Mark’s fourth place means he stretches his finishing run to 21.

    Behind the leading six, Sandro Cortese became the first German since Max Neukirchner in 2008 to finish six consecutive races inside the top eight, with his seventh position. Eighth belonged to Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team), a great performance on his debut in Thailand. Razgatlioglu managed to hold off Jordi Torres as they completed the top ten.

    With only three more finishers it was Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 11th, with Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea HONDA Team) in 12th on his debut in Thailand, whilst Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) scored his first WorldSBK points with 13th. Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) failed to start, whilst Argentine, Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) retired after just one lap. Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea HONDA Team) and Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) didn’t start due to their Tissot Superpole Race crash.
    P1 – Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)

    “I don’t know what to say. I think this weekend has been perfect for us because we dominate in all of the practices and all of the races. I want to say thanks to Ducati and to my team, we are working with a completely new bike, arriving at completely new tracks and we have to work for a set-up to make a good base. Here, we knew it would be difficult because in the last eight races, seven have been won by Kawasaki. At the end, we manage to have the same feeling that we have in Australia and we can be competitive. I am very, very happy!””.

    P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team – WorldSBK)

    “Second now is my normal position this season! That was our position this weekend for sure, we could do no more. Alvaro and Ducati did a very good weekend. I felt like I got the best out of the package, I tried something in the Tissot Superpole Race but that didn’t really work, so we went back to what we knew. Thank you to my team for working so hard all weekend and we have to be happy with these results now that we go to Europe. We just have to try and close the gap to the front!”.

    P3 – Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)

    “Three podiums is fantastic for us, I am really happy with the weekend, we did a strong job. I want to say a ‘thank you’ to all the Yamaha Thailand fans, they’ve been fantastic and really supporting me. It is really nice to be part of the Yamaha family and hopefully, we can get a bit closer to the green and the red bike at the Aragon Round! Cheers guys!”.
  • Alvaro Bautista of Aruba.IT beats Jonathan Rea to take fourth win: WorldSBK

    Alvaro Bautista of Aruba.IT beats Jonathan Rea to take fourth win: WorldSBK

    Bautista wins in Buriram on Saturday 16 March 2019. A WorldSBK image

    Buriram, 16 March 2019: The opening race of the Pirelli Thai Round in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship saw Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) clash on track early on, creating the rivalry everyone wanted to see unfold between the two heavyweight stars. Bautista was able to get the better of the reigning champion eventually, to take his fourth WorldSBK win.

    An action-packed start saw Bautista originally get a flying start but Buriram specialist Jonathan Rea got ahead of the Spaniard through Turn 1 with Alex Lowes in behind (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

    The GRT Yamaha WorldSBK riders of Sandro Cortese and Marco Melandri ran wide at the same turn, with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) slicing under them and into fourth. At the end of lap one, the top four were covered by 1.1s. A lightening start from Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) saw him elevate from 10th on the grid to fifth by the end of the opening lap.

    On lap three, Jonathan Rea led by a narrow margin ahead of championship leader Bautista, who has topped every session so far in Thailand this year. At Turn 3, Bautista made his move, only for Rea to cut back underneath him, colliding with his rival. Bautista made a miraculous save and whilst Alex Lowes came through, Bautista shook his head in disgust at Rea’s aggressive pass.

    Whilst Rea lead, towards the end of lap three, Bautista made a pass on Lowes at the final corner, only to run wide and Lowes to pass him back down the front straight. Soon enough though, on the fourth lap at Turn 1, Bautista made his way through on Lowes and then set off in his pursuit of the four-time champion.

    Behind the leaders, the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders started to battle to form a battle for the final podium position. Van der Mark couldn’t make a move however and Lowes would maintain a strong pace right through the race. Behind them, Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was keeping a watching brief, whilst Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) began to reel in the battle for the podium.

    With 12 laps to go, Bautista had regained the ground on Rea and set about trying to find a way ahead of the Kawasaki-mounted rider. On the run to the Turn 3, Bautista got ahead and this time, he was able to make the move stick and Jonathan Rea couldn’t fight back straight away. The two continued to romp away from the rest of the pack and whilst Rea didn’t lose too much time on Bautista initially, lap after lap, Bautista’s metronomic pace soon saw him break clear. That is how it would stay until the end of the race.

    With the third place battle seemingly a stalemate between the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders, Leon Haslam was starting to feel the pressure of Marco Melandri. Melandri made his way ahead on lap 11, but the battle was far from over. With just five laps to go, a rough lap from Melandri allowed Haslam to close up and make a move at the final corner. Haslam ran wide and the wily Italian cut back under him, clashing on the start and finish straight. Yet another Kawasaki in a collision, but this time, eventually, Haslam would win the fight.

    At the line, Bautista took the win by 8.2s ahead of Rea, whilst Lowes held on ahead of Michael van der Mark by 0.4s to take his third Buriram podium. In fifth position, Leon Haslam clinched the place over Melandri, whilst Sandro Cortese took seventh after a late battle with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team). Sykes was ninth after being pushed back due to his top speed deficit, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) coming from 13th to 10th.

    With battle between the Spaniard and the Ulsterman, Alvaro Bautista’s win makes him the first Ducati rider since Neil Hodgson in 2003 to win the opening four races of a WorldSBK season. He gives Ducati their 345th win in the World Superbike class, as well as their 587th WorldSBK podium. He also becomes the first non-British rider to win at the Chang International Circuit.
    P1 –  Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
    “For sure today has been tougher than Australia. I knew that Johnny would be fighting with me in the race because we had a similar pace during the free practices. I didn’t make a good start. I went wide in the first corner and lost the first position. I kept pushing and I caught Rea, and we had a clash at Turn 3 that almost made me crash. After a few laps, I was able to recover and find back my rhythm. I pushed to the limit and passed Johnny to take the win.  I am really happy because even if my feeling with the bike wasn’t perfect, I was still able to win”.P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 
    “I am really happy. I did my best today and the package was great. I had a good bike and especially in the middle sectors, I felt like I really could push on the limit. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay with Alvaro again. But we will keep trying and keep pushing. I enjoyed riding the bike. Maybe in the Tissot Superpole Race I can ride with that intensity for ten laps, but for Race Two we need to try to conserve more the tyres. Let’s see what will happen tomorrow”. P3 – Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK)
    “I am pleased with my race today. I didn’t feel confident with the front of the bike. I had to keep calm because I know that I was close to the riders at the front, but with the heat, I had to save the tyres to cover the race distance. I did a good job and hopefully, we can improve a bit for tomorrow and trying to get further on the podium”.

    #THAWorldSBK at Chang International Circuit: Race 1
    1. Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
    2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +8.217
    3.  Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +14.155

  • Bautista becomes first rider to win both races on debut: WorldSBK

    Philip Island, 24 Feb 2019: The final race of the Yamaha Finance Australian Round in the opening meeting of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship went the way of Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), who completed a dream WorldSBK debut. The Spaniard becomes the first rider to win both WorldSBK races on his debut weekend since John Kocinski – also for Ducati – at Misano in 1996.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Rea eventually took second place ahead of Haslam, whilst van der Mark finished fourth ahead of teammate Alex Lowes, who put in a stunning late charge to demote Marco Melandri to sixth. Chaz Davies finished a fine seventh place and ended a poor weekend with his best result, with reigning WorldSSP Champion Sandro Cortese completing the top eight once more. Eugene Laverty took ninth place and his joint-best finish of the weekend, whilst rounding out the top ten was Leon Camier.
    P1 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

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

    P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

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

    P3 – Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

    “With this podium, it was able to make up after the silly crash I had yesterday. It was a good Race Two, with a lot of passing and I had so much fun. With two laps left, I thought it was made and that I was going to finish in second, but Jonathan is not a four-time world champion for no reason and he beat me. Third on the podium is a good result and it’s perfect for the team as we finished second and third. Now we can move on to Thailand and try to progress”.
    #AUSWorldSBK at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit: Race 2
    1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
    2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +12.195
    3. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +12.454
  • Rookie Alvaro Bautista of Aruba.IT racing wins the opening WorldSBK race

    Rookie Alvaro Bautista of Aruba.IT racing wins the opening WorldSBK race

    Philip Island, 23 Feb 2019: The opening race of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was a classic and went the way of Rookie, Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), who set a scintillating pace and was able to clear off at the front of the pack from lap one. Bautista took the win in a convincing manner, winning by more than 15 seconds to become the first Rookie to win a WorldSBK race on his debut since Max Biaggi in 2007.

    Off the line for the first time in 2019, Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) got a good start before being sandwiched into Turn 1 by Alvaro Bautista and early race leader and pole-sitter, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). However, Bautista soon blasted into the lead at Turn 3 and from there, built a gap, setting back-to-back fastest laps and before half race distance, the 34-year-old had a gap of over eight seconds.

    The battle was then firmly on for second position, with Rea, Haslam and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Tom Sykes also had a good start to the race, with fifth place secured and chasing the leaders down hard. Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was in sixth and made a rampant start, despite opting for a harder compound tyre choice. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was a big mover and shaker after one lap, up to seventh from 14th on the grid.

    The race evolved and began to take shape, with the KRT WorldSBK pairing of Rea and Haslam exchanging position frequently, whilst Tom Sykes and Alex Lowes also battled. Razgatlioglu made massive progress through the field and was soon into fourth place with an exciting move into Turn 1. It wasn’t long until the first race crasher of the year occurred, with Leon Camier at Turn 2 (Moriwaki Althea HONDA Team).

    With Leon Haslam managing to get ahead of Jonathan Rea and pull clear, disaster struck for the former WorldSBK runner-up, as he crashed out of second at Turn 4. ‘Pocket Rocket’ Haslam eventually finishing 15th. This left Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes at the front of the battle for second position, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu and Tom Sykes battled hard. The BMW of Sykes struggling to keep Toprak’s Kawasaki behind it on the front straight but then managing to get back ahead at the hairpins.

    Later in the race, Marco Melandri started to make big in-roads to Dutchman, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). It wasn’t long before the Italian made his move into sixth place and then chased down the riders ahead of him. Soon, he got ahead of Tom Sykes and then Razgatlioglu at Turn 2 with six laps left, releasing him into clear air to hunt Alex Lowes and the final spot on the podium.

    At the flag and Alvaro Bautista romped home with 14.9s to spare, a remarkable achievement; one that echoed Anthony Gobert’s dominant victory at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in 2000. Jonathan Rea took second position and conceded the first race of the season for a second consecutive year. The battle for third saw a remarkable effort from Marco Melandri flourish, able to get ahead of Alex Lowes to take the final position on the podium.

    Michael van der Mark took fifth place to make it three Yamaha riders inside the top five, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu completed the top six ahead of Tom Sykes. Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was top German in eighth place ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) and a disconsolate Chaz Davies (ARUBA.ITRacing – Ducati) in tenth, some 27 seconds behind his victorious teammate.

    With the first race complete for 2019, Alvaro Bautista breaks many records. He is the first Spanish Rookie to set a fastest lap at Phillip Island on a Ducati since Ruben Xaus in 2001, whilst also becoming the first Spanish rider to win a WorldSBK race since Jordi Torres in 2015 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.
    P1 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
    “I am so happy to start my WorldSBK career this way. I missed the Superpole because I am still not used to work with the Superpole tyres but I was quite confident for the race. I tried to find my rhythm immediately and I found my pace from the beginning. The gap was increasing every lap, so I tried to manage the tyres and save them for the final part of the race. I am really happy and I want to thank Ducati and my team because they did an absolutely amazing job over the winter.”P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 
    “It was a tough race, Bautista did a really good job and my congratulation goes to him. I had some issue with the rear tyre and my target was just to finish the race. It wasn’t really one of the most beautiful races because I was riding half gas the whole time but anyway, we finished second, we did the Superpole so I am really happy, and it is the best result we could have got today.”P3 – Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK)
    “I was struggling a bit with the new tyres at the beginning but after a few laps, the bike started working well. Yamaha and the team did an awesome job and I was riding very comfortable and just tried to keep my rhythm. Then I saw Lowes in front of me and I started to push hard. We passed each other many times on the final lap. Lowes didn’t give up but I wanted this podium so much! Thanks to all the team and the guys who have been working so hard for me”#AUSWorldSBK at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit: Race 1
    1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
    2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +14.983
    3. Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) +16.934
  • Michelin Australian GP: Changing patterns, new colours, 10 possible winners?

    Michelin Australian GP: Changing patterns, new colours, 10 possible winners?

    The riders line-up to kick-off the pre-event press conference. Photo: MotoGP

    Melbourne, 25 October 2018: The Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix signals the second of the three back-to-back flyaway races and as always, the pre-event Press Conference kicked off the weekend’s proceedings. Joining now seven-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in front of the media were Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), home hero Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) and Alvaro Bautista (Ducati Team) – the latter standing in for the injured Jorge Lorenzo in Australia.

    Marquez at the press conference. Photo: MotoGP

    Phillip Island is a rider and fan favourite, but this weekend sees several reasons why it’s a particularly different Grand Prix. Firstly, after coming to Australia following title wins in Japan in 2014 and 2016, Marquez failed to see the chequered flag on both occasions after crashing out of the race. This is something the Spaniard pointed out in the Press Conference and it’s a pattern he’s wanting to put an end to this year: “I won in 2014 at Motegi, I got here and I thought I could do everything and I crashed,” said the Repsol Honda rider. “In 2016, I felt different but again I crashed in the race. So I need to control myself a bit, it’s a track that I love but…now we will start looking towards the 2019 season.”

    Rossi has an outstanding record on the Island, having only missed the podium four times in his 21 visits. The Italian was second to Marquez last season and picked up the victory when the number 93 crashed in 2014. But, for Rossi, what makes Phillip Island such a unique event?

    Rossi taking time off. Photo: MotoGP

    “I think Phillip Island is one of the best circuits of the season, for more or less everyone,” affirmed ‘The Doctor’. “For me Phillip Island is really different, it’s the only one like this. On other tracks you’re fast as an average speed but here you’re fast in the corners and there are a lot of high-speed changes of direction, it’s mostly left but you still have to manage the right, and it’s all up and down…”

    And what does Crutchlow – beneficiary from Marquez’ 2016 crash – think about this circuit? Well, for a start, there isn’t just a couple of names – in his opinion – that can challenge for victory: “On paper right now there are ten guys who could probably win and there are only three spaces on the podium,” explained the Briton.

    One of those potential winners is home rider Miller. It’s, of course, a special weekend for the Australian and after leading the early exchanges of last season’s race, can he dream up a win around the Island on board a Desmosedici?

    Carl Crutchlow. Photo: MotoGP

    “I love coming to this race, staying in Melbourne for a couple of days and enjoying it. It’s a great event to be a part of,” began the number 43 rider, who will be hoping he can build on his P3 qualifying position in Japan on home soil. “We had the front row start in Japan, we tried the soft option tyre as a gamble and as we kinda had predicted but hoped not that by the third lap the edge of the tyre was too hot, I was rolling around, I had a bit of a slide into the corner and crashed…and I’ll try not to do that too much this weekend.”

    In addition, another special topic about this particular Australian GP comes from fellow Ducati rider Bautista, who swaps his everyday Angel Nieto Team colours for the red of the factory Desmosedici team. Stepping in for Lorenzo, what does the Spaniard hope he can achieve on his final visit to Phillip Island on a GP machine?

    “I think this opportunity arrives at my best moment because I feel very strong riding the bike,” admitted Bautista. “New people, new bike, I have to adapt to the GP18. This track hasn’t been the best for Ducati and before we’ve struggled a lot. I’ll try to give all the information to the engineers.”

    Phillip Island is a special circuit but throw in a few more unique situations like we have on our hands this weekend and it becomes a weekend that is simply unmissable. There are so many other questions that need to be answered, so if you thought the racing would be winding down because the 2018 Championship has been decided then, you’re wrong.