INDIA in F1

Tag: Michael Ruben Rinaldi

  • Jonathan Rea wins battle with Rinaldi to extend lead

    Jonathan Rea wins battle with Rinaldi to extend lead

    A thrilling battle in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship between Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) was the story of the day at the Pirelli Teruel Round as the reigning Champion extended his Championship lead to 36 points. The pair duelled throughout the majority of the 18-lap race with Rea coming out on top; Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) finishing in third place.

    Redding passed Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the opening lap but two corners earlier than he managed in the morning’s Tissot Superpole Race, with Redding passing the reigning Champion at Turn 13 to take the lead of the race having lost out to Rea at the start of the race.

    It was Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) who took advantage of the Redding and Rea battle on Lap 6 when Redding and Rea went wide at Turn 8 fighting each other, allowing Rinaldi to cut back through Turn 9 and get the run on both riders; eventually diving down the inside of Redding to take the lead.

    Rea was able to get ahead of Redding and pull out a gap of around one second to Redding, allowing the five-time Champion to start applying pressure to Rinaldi. It would take Rea until three laps left of the race before he could pass Rinaldi; the Italian rider not buckling under the pressure of racing with Rea, coming home to finish second behind Rea and claiming his third podium in three races. Rea had a couple of huge moments during the race; making a superb save after running wide while trying to pass Rinaldi while he also had to make another save at Turn 1 shortly after passing Rinaldi.

    Redding was unable to respond to the leading duo and came home in third place, securing a podium place but finds himself now 36 points behind Rea in the Championship standings. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) secured his best result of the 2020 season with fourth place, finish more than a second clear of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in fifth. The duo finished five seconds ahead of Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team); the Dutchman coming home in sixth place.

    Michael van der Mark’s teammate, Toprak Razgatlioglu, finished in seventh place ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha); Baz finishing more than five seconds behind Razgatlioglu and holding off the challenge from GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team duo Federico Caricasulo and Garrett Gerloff as five Yamaha machines finished inside the top ten.

    Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) just missed out on a top ten finish with 11th place, less than a second away from Gerloff. Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) scored a points finish with 12th place, with Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 13th. Matteo Ferrari (Motocorsa Racing) secured another points finish on his WorldSBK debut with 14th place, ahead of Roman Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR). Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the last classified runner in 16th place.

    Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) became the first retirement from the race when he pulled into the pits on the opening lap while Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) crashed out on Lap 4. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) crashed out at Turn 7 on Lap 5, forcing the Spanish rider to retire from the race. Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) was another retirement from the race after a crash on Lap 13 while he was running in the top five, while Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) also did not finish the race.

  • Michael Rinaldi claims maiden WorldSBK win

    Michael Rinaldi claims maiden WorldSBK win

    Aragon, 5 Sept 2020: A new face stepped on top of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship podium as Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) claimed a sensational maiden victory in Race 1 for the Pirelli Teruel Round at MotorLand Aragon. Rinaldi had started from second on the grid and had topped all three Free Practice sessions as he continued his impressive pace.

    Despite appearing to get a bad start, Rinaldi held second place on the opening lap but used the straight-line speed advantage of his Ducati machine to pass Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the run to Turn 16 on the opening lap and from there, he did not look back; lapping consistently faster than the reigning Champion.

    Rea finished the race in second place, almost six seconds behind Rinaldi but the 20 points gained on Championship rival Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), with Redding crashing out on Lap 7 while under pressure from Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), means the five-time Champion is now 30 points clear of Redding.

    Redding’s ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati teammate, Chaz Davies, claimed a podium as two Ducati machines finished in the top three. Davies was in a battle for third with Bautista before the Spanish rider crashed at Lap 14 on Turn 14 and retired from the race. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) finished in fourth place for the 18-lap race as the lead Yamaha rider, one place ahead of teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu.

    Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) battled both the field and illness to take a sixth place finished after a titanic battle with numerous riders. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed his best result of the season with eighth place with Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) claimed a top ten finished ahead of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

    Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) finished in 11th place ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in 12th. Just four seconds separated Lowes in sixth and Baz in 12th to show how competitive the WorldSBK field is in 2020. Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) secured a 13th place finish while Matteo Ferrari (Motocorsa Racing) secured a points finish on his WorldSBK debut, finishing ahead of Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Honda Team) to complete the points.

    Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) was the last classified rider in 16th place after an incident in the early stages of the race, with Bautista and Redding not completing the race alongside Roman Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR), Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) and Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) also not retiring from the race.
    P1 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN)
    “It’s unbelievable! I’m very happy but I don’t know how to explain this emotion right now. It was a difficult year last year but this year I’ve found a family. Always I’ve had some people behind me who support me in difficult times. Now we are here! I couldn’t hope for a better race and I will enjoy this.”

    P2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    “I did my best. Yesterday, I tried a long run with the soft tyre and we made it work to the end but something in my head was telling me it was too much of a gamble. When I saw Michael and his pace, with the SCX tyre, the rhythm he could do was incredible. Maybe tomorrow we could do a more aggressive strategy but super happy to pick up 20 points. I feel like we got the best out of the bike today.”

    P3 Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
    “I was so undecided; I don’t think I’ve ever been so undecided on the grid over a tyre choice. It was just at that cut off  temperature where the SCX tyre starts to work. In any case, it was a risk. I knew Alvaro was going to run it and I knew Michael was going to run it. With their size and weight being a lot less, I think it’s an easy decision for them whereas for me it was a bit of a roll of the dice. In some ways it worked, in other ways it didn’t. We have to evaluate how to improve our package to make better use of that tyre tomorrow if we’re going to run it. Overall, I’m satisfied. It was a tough race, conditions were really different compared to last week. Really hot, really greasy. Happy to be on the podium! Congratulations to Michael Ruben Rinaldi, he rode awesomely and absolutely disappeared. No one had an answer for him. He’s been somewhat of a little brother in the Aruba Ducati fold in the last few years, so the annoying little brother has come into his own!”