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Tag: Scott Redding
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Redding takes Race 2 victory after thrilling three-way battle
#ARGWorldSBK
The top three in the Championship battled it out for Race 2 honours in the final race of the Argentinean Round
San Juan, 17 October 2021: Race 2 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Circuito San Juan Villicum as the Championship top three engaged in a hard-fought 21-lap battle during the Motul Argentinean Round as Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed his first victory since the Catalunya Round after withstanding a challenge from Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), with Rea taking four points out of Razgatlioglu’s Championship lead.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) got a good start from third on the grid while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) led from pole position before the pair battled it out throughout the first three laps, with Rea taking the lead of the race briefly before being pushed down to third on the fourth lap of 21.
Redding moved up to second with a pass on Rea before passing Razgatlioglu into Turn 8 on Lap 5, while Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continued his strong form as he battled the Championship’s top three for a podium position. Rea was able to respond to move into second and looked to move back into the lead, but the Turkish start was able to resist that challenge on Lap 6. At the start of Lap 9, Redding made a move on Rea into Turn 1, with Razgatlioglu still out in front, although Redding did make a move into Turn 8 with Razgatlioglu responding instantly.
On Lap 10 at Turn 7, Redding was able to overtake Razgatlioglu to move into the lead of the race, with Rea almost able to pass the Turkish star into Turn 8 but Razgatlioglu responded to keep second place. The move allowed Redding to escape away at the front of the race after the thrilling battles, with the battle between Razgatlioglu, Rea and Bassani continuing. Rea cut back under Razgatlioglu into Turn 7 to briefly move into second place on Lap 14 but Razgatlioglu regained the position under braking into Turn 8. On Lap 16, Rea made the crucial overtake to move into Turn 1 but Razgatlioglu fought back until Turn 5 with the pair side-by-side throughout the sequence. After this, Rea was able to break away to claim second place ahead of Razgatlioglu, with Redding claiming his first victory since Catalunya Race 1.P1 Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“The thing is I didn’t feel that great and, in the beginning, there was a lot of fighting and then Bassani came past. I didn’t want to go back more, I tried to come back. I got quite aggressive, I said I would show my aggressive side if that’s what it needs to be. I got to the front and gave it all back. I started to get the rhythm again, I saw they were fighting again and then I didn’t make a mistake. I knew once I got through the first two sectors, I was safe with my pace. I just got a really good rhythm, corner after corner, and that was it and the rest was history.”
P2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
“The position doesn’t really matter so much today. For me, it was all about the feeling on the bike and I want to thank my team so much, especially Pere because he never gave up investigating my problems. This weekend, and this race, we found something good. I could feel from the out lap I had a bike I could fight with today. Thanks to all the team. We won’t give up, we’ll keep working really, really hard. I enjoyed the race, I enjoyed it a lot. I enjoyed being here in Argentina, thank you to all the fans that came out.”
P3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
“I am, again, very close to a triple win but I tried my best in the race. In the last three laps, I tried every lap, feeling the limit. Also, I tried for second position but after I settled for third position. I said this morning it wouldn’t be an easy Race 2 because everybody was very strong. I am happy. I am again on the podium.”WorldSBK Results Race 2 – Top-6
1. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.428s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +3.834s
4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +5.390s
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +5.845s
6. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +8.147s
Championship Standings (after Race 2, Round 12)
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (531 points)
2. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (501 points)
3. Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (465 points)
Full Championship Standings -
Redding heads historic Ducati 1-2-3 in epic wet race
A late surge from Scott Redding allowed him to take victory while Axel Bassani took his first World Championship podium
Catalunya, 18 Sept 2021: A pre-race rain downpour provided the perfect recipe for Race 1 at the Hyundai N Catalunya Round as Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) put in a late surge for victory at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) claiming his first MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship podium, as the fight for the Championship took yet another twist in Spain.
At the start of the race, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) found himself down in tenth at the first timing point but battled his way back to the lead after Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), who was forced to retire from the lead of the race on Lap 15 with a technical issue. The final results mean Rea has a six-point advantage over Razgatlioglu in the Championship standings.
As Rea pulled away at the front, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) battled his way to the front and fought with Razgatlioglu in the first half of the race before the pair closed the gap to Rea while battling. Eventually they bought found their way past the six-time Champion before Bassani took the lead when Razgatlioglu pulled over with the technical issue. As the 20-lap race progressed, the two factory Ducati riders of Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) found pace.
In the closing stages, Redding passed teammate Rinaldi for second before making a move on the Independent Ducati of Bassani for the lead with a handful of laps to go as he claimed the lead of the race, ahead of Bassani and Rinaldi who secured Ducati’s first 1-2-3 finish since Assen 2012. -
Redding fends off Razgatlioglu and Rea to win epic 3-way Race 1
Estoril, 29 May 2021: The first race of the Gaerne Estoril Round proved to be a thrilling spectacle that ebbed and flowed throughout between the leading trio at the Circuito Estoril as Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed his second MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship win of the season with the top three separated by less than one second.
Redding and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) both got a good start but it was the Ducati of Redding who got the jump on Rea on the opening lap before Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) was able to jump Rea into second place. As Redding and Razgatlioglu broke away at the end of the opening lap, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was able to fight with Rea to pass him on Lap 2, although Rea responded the following lap to move back into the podium places. The trio battled it out throughout the race, with Rea on the SC0 tyre and both Redding and Razgatlioglu on the SCX tyre.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) got a good start on his SC0 tyres, one of only six riders to start on that tyre, to move from seventh into fifth on the opening lap before moving down the order as riders who had lost positions through Superpole times being deleted made progress; Mahias would eventually finish in 13th place.
Although the battle for the lead settled down in the middle stages of the race, Rea’s SC0 tyre appeared to hold on more throughout the 21-lap race as he put pressure on Razgatlioglu in the latter stages. Rea was able to get a run on Razgatlioglu on the start and finish straight, although the Turkish star was able to keep the position on the brakes into the right-hander of Turn 1.
It means Redding claimed his first back-to-back wins following his Race 2 victory at the Aragon Round last time out, while Rea stepped onto the podium for the 189th time in his WorldSBK career; while it’s Kawasaki’s first podium at Estoril since 1993.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished fourth after fighting back through the field after losing out at the start, including a battle with Rinaldi in fifth; Gerloff passing the Italian rider in the latter stages of the race to claim a top-four finish. Rinaldi was unable to keep his pace going throughout the race and dropped four seconds to Gerloff at the end of the race but was able to finish ahead of Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) in sixth.
Dutch rider Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) battled from outside the top ten to claim a seventh place finish as the new BMW M 1000 RR showed strong pace yet again, ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) after the Spanish rider started 18th following his Superpole time being deleted. Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) claimed his best WorldSBK result to date with ninth while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) secured a top ten finish after losing out in the early laps of the race.
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), the youngest rider on the grid, was another rider who had a Superpole time deleted but the Italian rider was able to come home in 11th place and take home his best WorldSBK result to date, five seconds clear of Leon Haslam (Team HRC). Mahias finished in 13th place with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 14th despite the British rider moving up the order in the early stages before falling back down. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed the final point available in Race 1 with 15th place, finishing one second clear of Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action).
Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) came home in 17th place on his first visit to Estoril on WorldSBK machinery, while Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse), who had made progress from 13th on the grid to run in the top seven lost the front of his BMW M 1000 RR at Turn 4 when battling with van der Mark, forcing the Irishman to tumble down the order although he was able to rejoin the race. At around the same time on Lap 9, another rider who was making up ground, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed at Turn 7 as he also lost time after fighting from tenth. Like Laverty, he was able to rejoin the race to finish ahead of Loris Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing).
Samuele Cavalieri (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was one of two retirements in the race following a crash at Turn 7, while Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) was the second retirement of the race.P1 Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I felt pretty good. I wasn’t really confident before the race because I saw Toprak had quite good pace earlier in the weekend and the two Kawasakis were quite strong today, so I was not really confident. I just said ‘ok, get the start, go to the front and you’re going to have to muscle your way around a little bit’. I was quite good but a couple of small mistakes I was making into Turn 1 were costing me about two tenths that I would gap and then lose it again. In general, quite happy. The tyre kind of worked okay. I went off the start and then I realised I choose the SCX. I was a little bit in panic for a little while, but it stayed quite stable and I think I was quite lucky because Torpak had the same tyre, only Jonathan with the SC0. It was good and it kind of paid off here because it was not so abrasive. We’ll see tomorrow, maybe we’ll try the SC0.
P2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK)
“Today, I had a really good start in the race, but I tried to follow Redding because he was really fast, and his sector two times are incredibly fast but I tried in the race just to close the gap. On the last laps, my tyres had a big drop but I was fighting again for first place but not enough. On the last two laps, I see Jonny and I’m pushing again for second because I need these points, I need good points for the Championship. We are happy because again we’re on the podium, but we will see tomorrow because I like this track, I need the win.”
P3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
“I only came through really once; I was alongside into Turn 1 but he’s braking too dept but not losing too much either so kudos to them. Also, Scott in the front. Just when Rinaldi came past in the beginning I just lost touch with the group and I had to work really, really hard to get back on them. It’s like 360 degrees from me because I’ve never been on the podium here, last year was a nightmare, so we’re really making steps and hopefully we can make some small changes for Race 2 tomorrow.”WorldSBK Race 1 Top-6:
1. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +0.877s
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.915s
4. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +9.518s
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +13.636s
6. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) +17.177sChampionship standing after Race 1, Round 2:
1. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (73 points)
2. Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (65 points)
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (50 points)WorldSBK Super Pole:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’35.876
2. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.171s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +0.288s
4. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +.0474s
5. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.493s
6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.656s -
Redding keeps title hopes alive with Race 2 win; Rea 4th
Magny Cours, 4 October 2020: The fight for the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship will head to the season finale as Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) claimed victory from fourth on the grid at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours for the Pirelli French Round with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finishing in fourth after starting from pole position.
Rea had led from the start and for the first three laps of the race before Redding had made his way up to the lead battle and passed Rea on the fourth lap of the 21-lap race to take the lead; Redding would go on to dominate the race to take a valuable 25 points in the Championship battle. Redding was joined on the podium by Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) as the home hero claimed his second podium of the French Round, with Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) completing the podium.
Davies made the title-denying pass on Lap 14 as he pushed Rea down into fourth place, meaning Rea leads Redding by 59 points with 62 points available in the remaining three races. Rea had tried to fight back in the latter stages of the race to secure the Championship at Magny-Cours but Davies was able to stay ahead.
Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) finished in fifth place, more than nine seconds clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN); the duo battling on track for a top five finish before van der Mark pulled clear. Rinaldi and Davies also battled out on track as the fight for a 2021 Ducati seat hots up. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finished in seventh place after running the opening laps in the top two positions, directly behind his teammate.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) secured another top eight finish as the American rookie continues to make steps forward as he finished ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team); the British rider completing the top ten.
Italian rider Federico Caricasulo (GRT YAMAHA WorldSBK Junior Team) finished four seconds behind Sykes in 11th place with Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) equalling his best result of the season with 12th place. Leon Haslam (Team HRC), Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) rounded out the top 15 to win points in the Championship.
Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) finished in 16th place, ahead of Valentin Debise (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) and Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) completed the riders who finished the race with Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Xavier Pinsach (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) and Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) not finishing the race; Pinsach and Mercado suffering crashes during the race with Mercado out of the race on Lap 1.
P1 Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati)
“I was on the back foot all weekend because I didn’t have the laps on the rain tyres, but I was getting faster and faster. With the setting of the bike that was holding me back a little bit, I said to the team that if we could get this fixed, I think I can fight for the win. From the first and second lap, I saw I had the pace. The second problem was how long would the Pirelli last in these conditions as I had no idea. I was trying to ride as smooth as possible but in the end I did everything to win today.”P2 Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)
“I’m really happy. I have to thank my team, especially my crew chief because he gave me the confidence to choose the hard tyre on the grid. He wanted me to choose that one for the Superpole Race and I didn’t listen. It was a hard race. I was expecting to struggle a bit more at the beginning, but I had a good pace coming through the pack. I tried to overtake Jonny as soon as possible but Scott had something more and hats off to him.”P3 Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati)
“It was a great race. Good to round this wet weekend off on the podium. A lot of pressure on that last lap, I knew what was on the line for Scott. I knew the points situation for him. And also, for myself, I knew van der Mark was sitting fifth in the race and obviously the main thing for me is to try and consolidate third in the Championship. A bit of pressure for me and for the team. Happy to bring it home on the podium. I felt really good out there, the bike was feeling really good. A great end to the weekend.”#FRAWorldSBK at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours – Race 2. 1. Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati)
2. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +2.551s
3. Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) +3.648s
4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +4.261s
5. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +7.409s
6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) +16.505s -
Top contenders battle it out as Redding claims victory
Aragon, 29 August 2020: A titanic battle between the two Championship leaders ended with Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) taking victory as well as the points lead in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after the sensational battle at the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round at MotorLand Aragon after holding off multiple challenges throughout on Saturday.
Redding started the race from third place and held the position in the early stages while polesitter Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) fought his way back through the field after a poor start, Rea back in the lead after just a couple of laps. Rea was passed by Redding on Lap 7 of 18 but was able to keep with Redding after the overtake although not able to make the move; the Ducati’s straight-line speed helping keep Redding ahead. As Rea continued to pressure Redding, the pair went side by side with Rea looking to make his way back into the lead but a mistake on Lap 14, where Rea went wide, allowed Redding to stay in front.
Davies was able to get by Rea just a few laps later and started to close in on Redding, finishing the race just three tenths behind Redding as they battled for the lead; the pair claiming a Ducati 1-2 finish after Davies battled through from ninth, with Rea claiming a podium on his 150th start for KRT. The result means Redding moves back into the Championship lead but with plenty of points still available to claim.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) once again secured a fourth-place finish in 2020 as his impressive form continued, with the Italian rider putting on a late-race move on Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) finishing in fifth place. Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) was another rider who fought his way back through the field as he finished in sixth place, after starting outside the top 10, although finished ten seconds behind his teammate.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was classified in seventh place despite starting on the front row and taking the lead at the start as Baz looked for another podium in 2020. There was a battle between Baz and Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) towards the end of the race with the pair separated by just a second at the end of the race. Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) finished in ninth place with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) completing the top ten.
It was a strong race performance from Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) as the Argentinian rider claimed an 11th place finish, ahead of Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) in 12th. Roman Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) marked his 100th WorldSBK start with a points finish as the Spaniard completed his first race since his return to the Championship, ahead of another mid-season returnee in Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team). Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team) secured his first points finish of the season with 15th in Race 1 at MotorLand Aragon and also claimed the team’s first points of 2020.
Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Official Team) finished in 16th place after a dramatic rush to start the race; the Irish rider coming off his bike on the lap to the grid with the team fixing his machine on the grid. Laverty was given a ride-through penalty during the race but was able to finish ahead of Lorenzo Gabellini (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team).
Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing) had a crash during the race at the corkscrew section which put the Frenchman out of the race on his Aprilia while Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) also retired from the race; Lowes coming off his bike as he came over the crest of the hill. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) pitted in the early stages of the race with the British rider retiring while Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) also suffered a crash in the first half of the race. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) and Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) both retired from the race after separate incidents on the same lap. -
Game on at Aragon: WorldSBK ready for the wall of fame
Aragon (Spain), 24 August 2020: The fourth round of the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship awaits as the paddock heads to the MotorLand Aragon venue for the Prosecco DOC Aragon Round – the first of two back-to-back events at this circuit. A slender four-point margin at the top of the Championship standings sees Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) holding off Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati), but with the last four wins at Aragon going to Ducati, it could all change this weekend.
Three wins at the Aragon circuit and coming off the back of the first hat-trick of the season, Jonathan Rea aims to continue his success and build on his Championship lead. The fourth Championship leader in just three rounds, Rea’s dominant triple at Portimao means he brings with him confidence, something that’ll be crucial in the back-to-back events. KRT on a whole had an extremely positive test too, as Rea’s teammate Alex Lowes topped the overall timesheets at the end of day two. Fourth in the standings, he wants to reassert himself and get a first podium since his Race 2 win at Phillip Island; he took his first Aragon rostrum in 2019 for Yamaha.
Dominant. Dazzling. Ducati. A mighty record at MotorLand Aragon since 2015 means that the Bologna manufacturer are the squad to beat. Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) is sixth in the standings, but he’s got five Aragon wins for Ducati and two more victories from 2013 with BMW. Ducati also won the three races at Aragon in 2019 with Alvaro Bautista and now, another ex-MotoGP™ star is onboard the Panigale V4 R in Scott Redding. The rookie had a tricky Portimao and relinquished the lead in the title race. Four points split him and Rea and with Aragon welcoming the two heavyweights for thrilling action, could we see the first head-to-head battle between them?
Whatever happens, you can be guaranteed that Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) will be in the fight. The Turkish star suffered his first crash of the season at Portimao in Race 2 but remounted to finish eighth, whilst he was only seventh at the Aragon test after trying new items. It could be a tough round for the 23-year-old, but he’ll be up for the challenge regardless. Teammate Michael van der Mark lies fifth in the standings, two places and 21 points behind him. An upturn in form has seen the Dutchman on three of the last five podiums and Aragon, whilst not his or Yamaha’s best track, could see the return of van der Mark to the top.
Seventh in the standings is Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), with him and the Honda effort enjoying recent rounds and starting to make an impression towards the front of the field. A best result of the season in fifth in Race 2 at Portimao sets the Spaniard up for great things at a track he dominated at last year. Coming off the back of a strong MotorLand Aragon test, Bautista could be in line for a first podium of 2020. Teammate Leon Haslam has never won at Aragon, but he was on pole in 2015; will he be able to challenge at the front of the grid this weekend, and push towards the rostrum places? Both Hondas are making steps and back-to-back rounds at one circuit will be just what they need.
BMW were absent from the MotorLand Aragon test but return to the place where they achieved a first front row since their factory comeback in 2019. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is only tenth in the Championship and did the double at Aragon back in 2014, whilst Eugene Laverty is down in 14th overall, but picked up a first top ten of the season in Portugal. Both Tom and Eugene have been missing a bit of pace during the race but with both riders experienced at Aragon, they’ll be hoping to make progress and challenge for their first top five finishes of the 2020 season.
Leading the Independent teams to Alcañiz is Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) with eighth overall. He was back on the podium at Portimao after six years away but another Race 2 crash means he comes to Aragon slightly on the backfoot, especially given that he and the Ten Kate squad haven’t visited with Yamaha machinery. A point behind is the in-form Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN), who made his WorldSBK debut at Aragon. The Italian is in the best form of his career, with the last four results being in the top eight – including two top five finishes.
The next Independent is America’s Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team), racing for the first time at Aragon, having tested there before. Teammate Federico Caricasulo was on the WorldSSP podium at Aragon and comes from his WorldSBK first top ten at Portimao; they are 12th and 17th in the standings respectively. Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) was the first winner at Aragon back in 2011 and returns for more in 2020, as Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) has happy memories there too, leading a race in 2018. Chile’s Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) is back on track and keen for points at a circuit he knows from STK1000 and Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) hopes for another top ten. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) aims to build on his first point of 2020 from Portimao and Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea HONDA Team) and teammate Lorenzo Gabellini seek their first points of 2020.
Besides the regular runners, Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing) will be back on the grid as a wildcard, whilst Spaniard Roman Ramos (OUTO TPR Kawasaki) returns to action for the first time since 2018 in place of Sandro Cortese.Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 3
1. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (136 points)
2. Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (132 points)
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (103 points) -
Scott Redding wins again; Rea sixth: World SBK
Jerez, 2 August 2020: MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action at the Pirelli Spanish Round featured thrilling action across the field as Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) claimed his second WorldSBK victory and his sixth consecutive podium in his rookie season; beating teammate Chaz Davies as Ducati claimed their first 1-2 finish since 2012.
The opening laps featured battles across the top six, with Redding making an early move to pass polesitter Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the second lap at the right-hander of Turn 1, while Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) fought his way up from 10th to run in the top five in the early stages of the race.
Redding checked out at the front of the field to extend his lead to two seconds to Rea before the Northern Irishman got passed by Redding’s Ducati teammate Davies. The Welshman and Razgatlioglu both were able to get by Rea temporarily before an ambitious move by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) meant Lowes outbraked himself at Turn 6; allowing Rea to move back into third place.
Razgatlioglu eventually got by Rea again and held on to third place while Davies was running in second place, behind teammate Redding with the pair able to hold on to take a Ducati one-two. Davies did start closing the gap as the race entered the second half but Redding responded to extend the gap back out to over two seconds, holding on to take his second WorldSBK victory.
Razgatlioglu held on to claim a podium at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, rebounding from a technical issue in the Tissot Superpole Race, for third place in Race 2; pulling away from Rea and Lowes as they fought with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN). Rinaldi passed Lowes at Turn 5 before setting his sights on five-time Champion Rea, making a move up the inside of the Turn 13 hairpin on Lap 13 on the brakes; moving into fourth place and securing his joint-best WorldSBK finish – which was claimed at Jerez in 2019.
Lowes and Rea came home in fifth and sixth place respectively ahead of Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) in seventh place, the Dutch rider just over a second behind the reigning World Champion. He had a gap of over four seconds to Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), the highest placed Honda rider on the grid in eighth place. Marco Melandri’s (Barni Racing Team) impressive race pace continued to show as he made up 10 places from 19th on the grid to finish ninth.
American rider Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) completed the top 10 with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) the highest placed BMW rider in 11th place, finishing two seconds behind Gerloff. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) finished in 12th, around 10 seconds off his Honda teammate.
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 13th place as he completed the 20-lap race just under a second behind Haslam, and also beating Sandro Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) by almost six seconds. Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) picked up the final point available for Race 2, almost pipping Cortese as the pair were separated by two tenths.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) had been running in the lead group during the early stages of the race, but he came off his bike at Turn 13 on Lap 6 to take himself out of contention; the Frenchman eventually being classified in 17th place behind Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team).
Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing) was not classified following a crash while Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team) suffered from a crash on Lap 6 at Turn 5. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) were both also not classified in Race 2.
Redding’s victory makes him the first British rookie in WorldSBK to achieve six consecutive podiums, while Ducati’s 1-2 was the first since Assen’s Race 1 of 2012 when Sylvain Guintoli took a career-first win, Davide Giugliano took a career-first podium and reigning Champion Carlos Checa was a mighty third. In contrast, Jonathan Rea’s sixth place is the lowest he’s finished a race since Laguna Seca’s Race 1 from 2014 when he was sixth on that day.
#ESPWorldSBK at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto – Race 2.
- Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati)
- Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) +3.082
- Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +5.472
- Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) +8.709
- Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +10.772
- Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +12.501
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Redding claims first WorldSBK win after thrilling five-way battle
Jerez, 1 August 2020: The long wait for race action in MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship came to an end with a thrilling Race 1 for the Pirelli Spanish Round at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) claimed a hard-fought victory to claim his first WorldSBK win; the first time since 2004 that there have been four different winners in the first four races.
Reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) made a good start from the front row to take the lead from polesitter Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) while Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) was also able to jump from fifth to move into second; pushing Redding down into third place.
Redding had to fight his way past Toprak Razgatlioglu on Lap 11 to move back into second place, passing Turkish rider into Turn 6 to move into second place before instantly starting to apply the pressure to Rea. It took just three more laps before Redding would make the move for the lead.
The race winning move came on Lap 14 out of 20 when Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) passed Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) down into Turn 6; using the power of his Ducati to get alongside before forcing the five-time WorldSBK Champion wide to claim the race lead and his first victory since moving to WorldSBK.
Rea came home in second place ahead of Razgatlioglu, who had to fend off a last-lap charge from Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) to hold on to third place. Davies tried to make moves at the right-hander of Turn 1 and around the outside of the Turn 6 hairpin, but he ran wide; Razgatlioglu holding on to take third place with Davies in fourth.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was the top Independent rider in the race with fifth place, running in the lead quartet for the majority of the race before a late charge from Davies moved him down to fifth place. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) continued his impressive weekend with a sixth-place finish from a 10th place start.
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) finished in seventh place, four seconds away from Rinaldi and almost in a race of his own in the latter stages as he finished eight seconds clear of eighth-placed Marco Melandri (Barni Racing); the Italian finishing an impressive eighth place after making up 11 places throughout the race. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who led the Championship coming into the race, finished in ninth after being passed by Melandri in the latter stages.
Bautista’s Team HRC teammate, Leon Haslam, was 10th ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) and Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing) scoring points on his return to the Championship as the privateer team brought Aprilia back to the Championship as part of a wildcard plan.
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 13th place with Sandro Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) and Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) rounding out the points-paying positions. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance), debutant Lorenzo Gabellini (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team) and teammate Takumi Takahashi were the last classified runners.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was running in the leading group but suffered a technical issue as he approached Turn 1 in the early stages of the race, ruling him out of contention in the early stages of the race. He was able to take the bike back to the pit lane despite the issue. Sykes was able to re-join the race on Lap 12; the issue not proving to be terminal.
Sykes’ issue was not the only issue during the race as Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) retired from the race on Lap 8, lots of smoke coming out the back of his bike forcing him to retire from Race 1 as he was running in the top 10. Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) suffered a high speed crash at Turn 4 but was able to ride the bike back to the pit lane, although it ended his race, while Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) also suffered a crash at Turn 6.P1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) :
“What a hot day! I think everybody suffered a lot. I can’t breathe, it’s so hot and humid, it’s so difficult to breathe. When I was behind in the beginning, I couldn’t really focus that well because it was too hot from the two bikes in front. I just did what I could and I knew everyone was going to be suffering a little bit so I tried to use that to my advantage with my training where I put myself into a darker place to suffer more it’s worth it. To get the first pole position and win I’m very happy.“
P2 Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) :
“Pretty good actually, it was nice to get that information for the 20 laps. We didn’t do a long run all weekend. I was struggling with the front tyre towards the end, it was moving a lot and I had a few warnings but I tried to keep the rhythm quite fast in the beginning to break up the group. When I saw it was Scott and Toprak there, I was able to relax a little bit, but when Scott came past he had a little bit extra so congratulations to him. I want to thank my team because they gave me a really good bike today and we can make a small step for tomorrow.“
P3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) :
“Today is not easy for me, it’s not easy for all riders because it’s incredibly hot. I tried my best for third position, I am happy with the podium again. Tomorrow we need to a good setup. We are happy, let’s see tomorrow.”#ESPWorldSBK at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto – Race 1.
