Crutchlow to join PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team for next three races
Cal Crutchlow will stand-in for the recovering Franco Morbidelli at Styrian, Austrian and British GPs
PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team welcomes Cal Crutchlow to the Malaysian squad as stand-in for Franco Morbidelli while the Italian rider continues his recovery from left knee surgery.
Crutchlow will take part in the two Grands Prix in Austria, held at Spielberg, and the BritishGP at Silverstone – his home race.
Crutchlow is no stranger to Yamaha MotoGP machinery, having started his premier class career with the Japanese marque in 2011 – spending three seasons aboard the Yamaha – and is now the official factory test and development rider.
Razlan Razali, Team Principal, PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team
After looking at all the options, it was a collective decision between Yamaha and ourselves to ask Cal Crutchlow to fill in for Franco, while he recovers from surgery. Cal is a credible and experienced rider, who is currently a test rider for Yamaha. As an independent team, this is where we can really step up to help Yamaha. Cal will be able to rack up some good mileage on our M1, which should aid him with his testing and development work for Yamaha. Cal will replace Franco for the next three races and we have no real targets for him in terms of results. We will do all we can to help support him and make him feel comfortable in the team. He’s already familiar with some of the key people in the team, which helps, and I’m sure he’s up for the challenge.
Cal Crutchlow, PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team
It’s great to be back riding with Yamaha this year as the official test rider and to be able to step in when needed is good for all parties. I’m looking forward to riding for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT in the three Grands Prix. Obviously it’s not in the best circumstances and I wish Franco a good recovery, I hope he comes back strongly after the knee surgery. I’m sure he will because he’s been riding fantastically over the last two years.
I think it’s difficult to set targets for these three races and it will be more about understanding the bike, as I’ve had limited riding days this year. The good thing will be that I can compare the bikes and I should be able to gather a lot of data for Yamaha. It’s a bit like being thrown in the deep end, as it’s a very competitive MotoGP class, but I’m really looking forward to it and it’s going to be good to be back on the grid.
I’m looking forward to meeting the team in Austria, although there will be some familiar faces for me because Wilco Zeelenberg was my Team Manager in Supersport in 2009 and I actually raced against Johan Stigefelt some years ago, so it’s going to be a pleasure to be back with them.
Alex Lowes will remain an integral part of the Kawasaki Racing Team for the coming seasons, having agreed a new multi-year deal that will take him into his third year as an official Kawasaki WorldSBK rider.
The contract signing was witnessed by Mr. Masatoshi Yoshioka, Director of Corporate Planning Division, Kawasaki Motors Europe at the recent Assen round of the 2021 FIM WorldSBK Championship, where Alex retained his overall fourth place in the points table.
As well as returning as a full KRT Superbike rider next year Alex will also strengthen his bond with Kawasaki and his KRT squad as he and Jonathan Rea will be joined by 2021 Kawasaki superbike debutant, Lucas Mahias, to compete in the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours race later this year.
With a race win and seven other podiums to his credit since he joined Kawasaki in 2019 Lowes continues to find a greater affinity with the new Ninja ZX-10RR, his team and his pit crew, led by Marcel Duinker.
Before the 2022 season there is the small matter of the rest of this year’s championship to go. Five rounds have been completed with a further eight to go, depending on local regulations around the global pandemic.
Alex Lowes. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Alex Lowes, stated:
“I am really happy to have signed once more with the Kawasaki Racing Team, the most successful team in the current era of WorldSBK.
After a strange first year in the team last year due to the global situation and with such a short season it has been good to start this year at some different tracks and I am understanding the bike a lot more. It has also been slightly frustrating this year because I feel like we started strongly but the results are not quite where we would want them to be right now. We have a lot of potential and I am still in the top four of the championship, close to the top three, which is the target for this year.
I will be working hard for the next few weeks to make that next step to be regularly challenging for the podium. Honestly, I feel like it is close, so with this team and all these guys around me – with the relationships we have been building – everything is in place now to push things forward.
I am really thankful to stay in the team next year, and proud of the faith that Kawasaki has shown in me. In our job there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than the results that you see on the track so I am really happy about this new deal with KRT. A massive thanks to all the guys behind the project, to Guim and Biel Roda, Steve Guttridge and all the people at KHI in Japan for believing in me again.”
KRT Manager, Guim Roda, concluded:
“Alex started with KRT during the Covid pandemic. He needed to learn quickly and concentrate on making championship points in those first three months; not easy. For 2021 he started the season strongly and we are all working to make those important steps to improve the performance of the overall package.
We are so happy to have Alex and he is highly motivated to continue with the KRT project. With this two-year agreement we are convinced that we will now build on these firm foundations to create the strongest package with him, Marcel, his Crew Chief, the Ninja ZX-10RR and the entire KRT organisation.”
Jonathan Rea took two more race wins on Sunday at the Assen round of the FIM Superbike World Championship to make it three victories from three starts and extend his championship lead. His KRT team mate Alex Lowes was sixth and then seventh today, putting in two battling rides after a crash in Race One on Saturday.
In the Tissot Superpole Race on Sunday Jonathan used all his experience to take the lead and then push on at a pace that none of his rivals could match, securing all 12 points on offer in the ten-lap ‘sprint’ race.
With two race wins to his credit at his favourite circuit Rea also had to work for his third, but like all his peers he was glad that the potential for more rain did not appear. Heavy overnight rain had delayed warm-up in the morning as there were some flooded areas around the track, but all the warm up sessions and races went ahead after a major clean up operation.
In race two Rea had to push his pace to overtake long time leader and series rookie Andrea Locatelli at the halfway point. Jonathan eased out his lead and finally won the 21-lap race by 1.605 seconds, from second place rider Scott Redding. Rea’s closest championship rival Toprak Razgatlioglu was involved in a first corner incident that saw him crash out and no-score.
Jonathan has now taken fully 15 race wins at Assen, three more than the next best total for any single rider at any particular racetrack. One more podium finish for Jonathan Rea will see him reach a career total of 200 top three results.
For Lowes it was a difficult Sunday after his first race fall but despite a small physical limitation he pushed as hard as he could and took a sixth place in the Tissot Superpole Race.
Seventh in race two gave Alex enough points to keep a clear fourth place in the overall championship rankings after five rounds of the season have been completed.
After one free weekend for the WorldSBK riders, Most in the Czech Republic will host the next round of the championship, between 6-8 August.
Jonathan Rea (1) leads Michael Ruben Rinaldi (21) and Scott Redding (45) at Assen. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “It was nice to make it three-from-three here at Assen. We achieved it after we changed the rear tyre choice from yesterday. With the overnight rain the track’s grip level was a little bit lower and the temperature was maybe three or four degrees lower. We figured that would be the crossover point to run the SC0. It was nice to win with the soft tyre choice yesterday and the standard race tyre option today. It is a massive testament to the guys in the pitbox and what they have done. We made quite a big chassis change in the set-up this weekend and it was easier to ride. You could see in my passes, I could put the bike where I wanted and it was very nimble, yet stable in the fast sections as well. I went over to see the flooding on the track first thing this morning, considering how much rain there was last night – and there was a lake on the inside of turn five! So massive respect to the track and everybody at Assen because they had lots of machines there, two fire trucks, three tankers and I think we were only delayed 45 minutes this morning. They did an incredible job.”
Alex Lowes (22) heads Chaz Davies (7) and Michael van der Mark at Assen. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Alex Lowes, stated: “It was not an easy day or an easy weekend for us. I have had some physical restrictions which have been tough and this track is quite tough anyway, with lots of changes of direction. My tyre in Race Two was in better condition than Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s but the trouble was passing him. I did make a move on him and ran out wide, which allowed Michael van der Mark to pass, but in those last five or six laps I was getting held up a little bit. I could have maybe gone a bit quicker but I still enjoyed the battle through the second race. I was quite happy with sixth and seventh, as I was struggling quite a lot. That is a shame, but my target is to go out and rest and come back 100% for the next race at a new track in the Czech Republic. Sixth and seventh are not where I want to be finishing but all things considered, it was a better day than Saturday! This was the most we could do this weekend.”
Isaac Vinales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was 13th and then 14th today and Loris Cresson (TPR Outdo Kawasaki) 17th each time. Wildcard rider Andrea Mantovani (Vince64 Kawasaki) was 16th in each Sunday race, but scored two championship points for 14th on day one.
More, from a press release issued by Team HRC:
Charging Bautista races to strong fifth in race 2 at Assen, Haslam rounds out the top ten
Team HRC has completed the fifth Superbike World Championship round at the Assen TT Circuit with Alvaro Bautista crossing the line fifth in race 2, to score his strongest result of the season to date. Leon Haslam finished the day’s races in twelfth and tenth place.
The 10-lap Tissot Superpole race got underway at 11.00 am local time. Bautista made a strong start and was lying sixth before a crash unfortunately put paid to his plans towards the end of lap one. Haslam was lying twelfth through the opening stages and ran a steady albeit rather solitary race. Unable to make up further positions, the Brit crossed the line twelfth.
Lining up for race 2 later in the afternoon, the HRC riders were lying ninth (Bautista) and twelfth (Haslam) through the first turns. Both Team HRC riders gained a position in the early stages, Bautista going on to pass both Lowes and Van der Mark to place sixth by lap nine. The Spaniard was able to lap quite fast and consistently to get past Rinaldi on lap fifteen and move into fifth place. He kept gaining ground on Davies, reducing the gap from 2.549 to 0.889 seconds before crossing the line to secure his best result of the season so far. Haslam worked hard to catch those immediately ahead of him but was only able to make up one more position throughout the course of the race, rounding out the Dutch weekend with a tenth-place finish.
Bautista now places eleventh in the championship standings with 68 points, Haslam lies thirteenth with a tally of 55. Team HRC will be back in action during the sixth WorldSBK round at the Most Circuit in the Czech Republic over the weekend of 6-8 August.
Alvaro Bautista (19). Photo courtesy Team HRC.
Alvaro Bautista 19
SPRC P18 RC2 P5
“It has been a challenging weekend for us with two crashes in the first two races, something that quite annoys me honestly, because I think that our performance in those races could have been similar to what we did in race 2. For now, when I try to ride more naturally, I fall. Having said that, we finished the weekend with a positive result, a hard-fought top five, with some nice passes, and I think that this stems from the work we are doing. During the weekend we improved a lot on the electronics side, especially on the lower area of the throttle which gives me more confidence now. Maybe it’s not so apparent yet, but I hope it’s just a starting point for the upcoming races.”
Leon Haslam (91). Photo courtesy Team HRC.
Leon Haslam 91
SPRC P12 RC2 P10
“In the Superpole race, a rider caused me to lose many positions through the first turn. It was a difficult race and we struggled with both the front of the bike and power delivery too. In the second race, I made a good start but then Toprak crashed and I had to avoid him, which meant I lost ground again. I felt like I had good rhythm through the first part of the race anyway, but then from about lap ten I started to lose a lot of time, more than one second per lap. Overall, it’s been a tough weekend and I’m left frustrated as I expected top five results at this circuit.”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:
Rabat improves and takes double P11 on Sunday at TT Assen Circuit
Tito Rabat (53). Photo courtesy Barni Racing Team.
Assen (NLD). The weekend at the TT Circuit of Assen, in the Netherlands, which held the fifth round of the WorldSBK, ended with a double P11 for the Barni Racing Team. Despite Rabat only just missed out on the Top 10 in both Superpole Race and Race 2, the improvement from Saturday was clear and the progress gives confidence to the team as well as five more points in the riders’ championship standings. With today’s results Rabat moves up to 23 points in the overall standings, fifth among independent riders.
Superpole Race
In the Superpole Race Tito made a great start and after two laps found himself in P7. Sykes (BMW) passed him halfway through the race and two laps later Davies also went on the attack, taking the Ducati Panigale V4 R #53 off the line. Tito lost two more positions, dropped back and finished the race in P11. For the grid revised, Rabat lined up in P13 on the Race 2 grid.
Race 2
Starting from the fifth row the Spaniard was unable to repeat his good start in the Superpole Race, in the chaos of the first corner he lost ground and ended up in P16, but from the very first lap he started his comeback. After a good fight with Bassani (Ducati), Rabat overtook Vinales (Kawasaki), Nozane (Yamaha) and Mercado (Honda) and in the final phase came within half a second of Haslam (Honda). However, Rabat was unable to attack his rival and crossed the line in P11. Signs of improvement and growing results ahead of the next round at the unseen Most track in the Czech Republic, where Superbike will return to racing in two weeks.
Tito Rabat, #53
“I can’t say I’m 100% happy, but the improvements today give me confidence for the next races. Now I want to take a few days off and be in top form at Most.”
Marco Barnabò – Team Principal
“Without the overtaking of Chaz in the Superpole Race we could have finished in the Top 10. That was a normal race situation, but it also affected Race 2. Having slipped out of the top nine we had to line up further back in Race 2 and that makes the situation more complicated. Over the longer distance we showed that we had the pace to be in the top ten, but starting from the fifth row penalized us. Regrets aside, we are satisfied because we had two good races.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Go Eleven:
P4, BEST INDEPENDENT, IN CHAZ DAVIES 200TH RACE!
Chaz Davies. Photo courtesy Team Go Eleven.
Team Go Eleven and Chaz Davies cheered up the Dutch weekend with an excellent performance in Race 2, at the 200th start of the Welsh rider in WorldSBK.
After yesterday’s difficult day, in the night, the TT-Circuit is hit by a violent storm, which floods large sections of the Cathedral of Speed. The Warm Up is even postponed, due to a large amount of water in Turn 5. During the session the track is half wet and Chaz takes to the track to make some laps without pushing to the limit.
The Superpole Race is a fundamental race for those who struggled in qualifying, getting into the top nine is the main goal to aim for an excellent Race 2. Chaz starts quite well, defending his position and begins the chase to the Top Ten. Lap after lap he recovers positions, with a good pace. He goes into battle with Rabat and Gerloff for eighth position, then finishing ninth with a good defense in the last lap. In 10 laps recovering so many positions is not easy, but the third row conquered for Race 2 is definitively important.
Just before Race 2, as in Donington a few weeks ago, some threatening clouds appear over Assen. Fortunately, after a few drops, the sun returns and the last race of the weekend starts on dry asphalt. Chaz has a good start, follows an inside line in the first corners and manages to have an excellent speed on the straight that allows him to recover a couple of positions. His race pace is fast from the start, so much so that he manages to overtake Sykes and Lowes in a few laps. He then sets his pace and sets off in pursuit of the Ducati Redding and Rinaldi duo, in battle with each other for third place. Scott is a bit faster, while Michael and Chaz are fighting each other. The Go Eleven rider throws himself into the second sector and conquers the fourth position. He stretches just enough to defend himself from Bautista’s comeback, but from the middle of the race on, the front tyre is completely destroyed, as happened yesterday. Solid performance by the Welsh rider who stops right behind the podium in his 200th World Superbike race!
Best Independent Team & Rider, Go Eleven is back in business!
Chaz Davies (Rider):
“We made a quite big change on the bike and it was good! I am happy to feel a step forward in turnings; it was turning a much more naturally and that helped not only the performance of the bike, but also from the physical point of view, I had to work on my self a little bit less and I could let the bike do the work naturally. So credit to my crew for making a step forward, for being brave in a decision, it was definitively the right one. Unfortunately we suffered the same problem of yesterday, at seven laps to go I killed the front tyre. That was a bit disappointing, because I was really feeling like I could get in the mix for the podium, catching Scott a little bit; rear tyre was quite good, but the front was absolutely dead. From that I was just managing to stay on the bike, I was really loosing it a lot, I had to save a lot of front slides. I did what I needed to do, I conserve the fourth place and the Top Independent, so happy with that and thanks to the Go Eleven Team!”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“In the Superpole Race we weren’t very fast but it was too important to be able to get into the nine, and Chaz did it. For the race, the team then had the courage to risk a completely different set-up, we took a risk but it went well and rewarded us. Chaz’s pace was very fast, and third place was within reach. Unfortunately he finished the front tyre a few laps from the end. A problem we have been carrying around all weekend, we need to understand why we killed the tyre so early. Congratulations to Chaz for his 200th Superbike race; he is more and more in the legend of this Championship!”
More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
WorldSBK Sunday at Assen: both BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders show fighting spirit and strong chasing performances.
Michael van der Mark (60) and Tom Sykes (66). Photo courtesy BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team.
The two riders from the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team showed fighting spirit to deliver convincing performances once again in Sunday’s race in the FIM Superbike World Championship at Assen (NED). In the Superpole race, Tom Sykes (GBR) put on a thrilling chase to move up from 18th to seventh place. In the afternoon, Michael van der Mark (NED) overcame difficulties during race two to improve by five places and secure another top result by finishing sixth. After his crash on Saturday, the race doctors did not grant clearance for Jonas Folger (GER) from the BMW satellite team Bonovo MGM Racing to compete on Sunday.
After some heavy rainfall, there was still water on and around the circuit in the morning, causing the warm-up session to be postponed by 50 minutes. The start of the morning’s Superpole race was then also pushed back by ten minutes. The track was then dry, but conditions still proved to be treacherous in places. Sykes once again gave a fantastic chase. Starting from 18th on the grid, he moved up ten positions with his BMW M 1000 RR on the first lap and secured seventh place on lap four. That was where he finished the sprint race, claiming seventh spot on the grid for the afternoon’s second race. Van der Mark also made a good start from ninth only to take a fall a short time later. This put him eleventh on the grid for race two.
At the start of the second race, two riders collided at the front in turn one – while van der Mark was able to leap forward six places to move into fifth. Sykes claimed seventh position on lap one, but then fell back a little. Van der Mark also lost some time. During the second half of the race, van der Mark and Sykes were then involved in a duel lying in eighth and ninth places, all while closing in on the top six. Events took a dramatic turn coming into the final lap; van der Mark was able to overtake two rivals and secure sixth place, while Sykes took a tumble. He was able to rejoin the race and finished 15th to score a point.
Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad, was at Assen to experience the race weekend on site. “It was super to be back again,” said Schramm on Sunday afternoon. “I hadn’t been here for over a year and I really missed it. It was also the first time that I had seen the new BMW M 1000 RR in action in the WorldSBK. It was great to see the BMW family again and to view the progress that we have made with the M RR. That is what made it good weekend.”
The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team can now look forward to a first in two weeks’ time; Most, in the Czech Republic, will host the WorldSBK for the first time when the sixth event of the season takes place there from 6th to 8th August.
Shaun Muir, Team Principal:
“After Saturday’s race one where we were reasonably happy with the results overall and showed strong lap times, we were looking to carry those over into today. But it was a tough Superpole Race. For sure, Michael felt he needed to be with that front group of riders which yesterday’s pace indicated he could do that. But he unfortunately crashed out which was a disappointment and set him back to 11th on the grid for race two. Tom managed to push his way through and improved on his starting position, which was perfect. Going into the race, there was a bit of a coming together at T1 which unsettled the pack, but Michael settled back into a rhythm. However, he couldn’t find the grip he was looking for. Tom was waiting for his tyre to come to him but again got stuck in a battle where he was just off the leading two packs. Overall, it was a tough race. We expected a little more from the performances but all in all we are showing the improvement of the bike and that gap to the front is getting narrower at every event. This is the target with the podium in sight. We take the positives from this weekend and move to Most where we will pick up the game from there.”
Marc Bongers, Director, BMW Motorrad Motorsport:
“Our achievements did not match our expectations today. Things did not go smoothly. Michael made a very good start to the Superpole race in the morning, but he crashed after letting his motivation get the better of him. The after-effects of that certainly hampered his efforts in the second race. He had a great race nonetheless, finishing sixth from eleventh on the grid. Tom had a really strong Superpole race this morning, moving up from the back of the field to seventh with some outstanding pace. That pace could have taken him to within grasp of a podium from seventh on the grid this afternoon. He fell back a little in the early stages of the race and then battled his way back together with Michael. He then slipped out over the front wheel just before the end, but was able to cross the finishing line in 15th to score a point. Overall, we definitely could have done better this weekend. I think that we have shown potential but we were not able to convert it into results as we had hoped.”
Tom Sykes:
“We managed to start race two on the third row which was a lot better. We got a much cleaner start to the race as the guys did a bit of work to the BMW M 1000 RR. We used the harder rear tyre and just couldn’t find the grip we needed at the beginning of the race but having said that, the bike stayed very constant throughout the race. Unfortunately coming into the last corner before entering the final lap, I tried to close the line and square the corner off and lost the front. It was such a slow speed crash, but I wasn’t able to save it. It’s such a shame, the bike today was good enough for that top-six and it would have been nice to be consistent the whole weekend. It certainly seemed we have made some good improvements including both me and Michael. A disappointing end to the weekend but we can take the positives from it, and we will focus on that and try to build on it for the next round.”
Michael van der Mark:
“This morning’s crash was a stupid mistake by myself. I really wanted to go for it, and on the fastest corners of the track I tried to go even faster which was a silly mistake on my behalf. In race two, I had an okay start. I had a bit of luck at T1 starting in P11 and by the end of lap one I was in fifth but I didn’t have the pace or the grip I was hoping for. I was struggling to keep the bike on track and I just didn’t have any more to give so it was quite tough. But at the end of the race I found a little extra pace and managed to catch and pass Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Alex Lowes so P6 wasn’t too bad in the end. But I really wanted more.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
#NLDWorldSBK Scott Redding finishes second in a stubborn Race-2. P2 also for Michael Rinaldi in the morning Superpole Race.
The Sunday of Prosecco DOC Dutch Round ends with two podiums finish for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team thanks to the second place of Scott Redding in Race-2 and the same result achieved by Michael Ruben Rinaldi in the Superpole Race.
Superpole Race
Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s start (from the fourth position) is superb and the Italian rider takes the lead in the first lap. Rinaldi tries to push but on lap 3 he can’t defend himself from Rea (Kawasaki). In the final part of the race, Rinaldi loses momentum, surrendering in the last lap to the attack of Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and Locatelli (Yamaha), both later penalized for exceeding the track limits at the last corner.
Scott Redding starts from the third position but since the first laps, he doesn’t find a good feeling with the front tire, finishing in fifth position.
Race-2
Redding stays with the leading group from the beginning and his pace increases considerably from the middle of the race. After a great battle with Rinaldi for the third position, Scott starts chasing Locatelli, overtaking him with three laps to go, securing his second podium finish of the weekend.
Rinaldi’s start is once again incisive and in the first 3 laps, he tries to attack Locatelli to take the lead of the race. Since lap 4, however, the number 21 is not able to push effectively and is forced to settle for the eighth position, which allows him to climb to the fifth place in the world ranking.
After the Superpole Race Michael Ruben Rinaldi does a lap of honor of the Assen track riding the Panigale V2 Bayliss 1st Championship 20th Anniversary, the special bike presented last Thursday 22 July to celebrate Troy Bayliss’ first world title in 2001. During the press conference on Friday at the Paddock Show, Michael had the opportunity to exchange a few words with the Australian champion, recalling why he also races with the number 21 (the day he was born in December 1995).
Scott Redding on the podium at Assen. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I’m happy to end the weekend with another podium. I struggled a lot to find the feeling with the front tire but in Race 2 we were able to make that small step that allowed me to keep a better pace. In the beginning, I tried not to push hard to save the front tire and for this reason, I lost a little bit of ground compared to the lead. The pace has improved a lot since the middle of the race but the gap with Rea was too wide to fight for the victory”.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi on the Superpole Race podium. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“Honestly I can’t be satisfied with this weekend. Yesterday I gave my best but I crashed, while today I never had the feeling to be in the ideal conditions. The result of the Superpole Race is clearly positive, but it came after the penalization of Razgatlioglu and Locatelli; after a good start in the afternoon, since the tire performance started dropping, I have been no longer efficient. It’s a bit frustrating: we have to work to find a solution that will allow us to be more consistent”.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Locatelli Celebrates First WorldSBK Podium amid Heartbreak for Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
Andrea Locatelli. Photo courtesy Yamaha.
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK rookie Andrea Locatelli celebrated a sensational FIM Superbike World Championship career-first podium of third place after leading Race 2 for more than 10 laps at the TT Circuit Assen today.
The podium came amid heartbreak for championship protagonist Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, who was robbed of the chance to fight for victory after a first corner incident with the GRT Yamaha of Garrett Gerloff. Further frustration caused by a track limits infringement at the final chicane in the 10-lap Superpole Race also denied the Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK team of a double podium this morning.
Locatelli, having not put a foot wrong all weekend in the Netherlands, missed the chance to enjoy his first podium earlier today as both the young Italian and his teammate Razgatlıoğlu were relegated to fourth and third respectively for crossing into the painted green section of the circuit by just millimetres.
However, “good things come to those who wait” and “Loka” was the star of the day, taking a big step forward in performance to lead the first half of Race 2, coming from fourth on the grid and following up his fifth place in Race 1 yesterday.
In terms of the 2021 WorldSBK Championship, Locatelli closes in on ninth place overall in the riders’ standings, while Razgatlıoğlu’s inability to score in Race 2 sees him relegated to second position, 37 points adrift of leader Jonathan Rea.
The team’s Turkish rider will not need to wait long for a chance to reel Rea back in, as the sixth round of the championship lies just around the corner at the Czech Republic’s oldest permanent circuit – Autodrom Most – from 6-8 August.
Andrea Locatelli – SPRC: P4 / Race 2: P3
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
I immediately forgot the situation from this morning because I had another chance to race today, and you still focus to get the maximum when you can do it. I’m really happy because we got the first podium, also to do it in the long race, it’s really an amazing feeling. In the short race, you need to push hard but also it’s a shame to make the tiny mistake with the track limits, it was only a few millimetres! Then in Race 2, I got the lead immediately and was able to keep a good pace but in the end I fought a lot with the softer rear tyre. With the conditions like today and yesterday with some sun, we can push in all sessions and I learned and improved every time – now we are faster and I was in front! We have been close to the front all weekend and I am so happy also for my crew. We work so well together, they work hard and we make no mistakes, and also the R1 is working so well. It’s nice to ride here in Assen and we have another chance very soon to continue in this way and try to get some more podiums!
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – SPRC: P3 / Race 2: DNF
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
In the second race, Garrett made a bad mistake, I am not sure why he tried to do hard braking like this in the first corner – I was surprised and I only feel angry because we lost so many points for the championship. At the start, I passed Rinaldi into the corner but it was not “easy”, it was difficult to stop my own bike so I cannot understand why Garrett arrived inside me. In Most I will only be looking to fight for the win, I am not looking at championship points any more. This weekend, maybe I just had some bad luck, but we fight hard again for the next race.
Paul Denning – Team Principal
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
What a day of mixed emotions, achievements and missed opportunities. This weekend has been a breakthrough for Andrea – a podium in the Superpole Race but for 20 millimetres of his tyre on the green run-off area and then finally, leading Race 2 handsomely for more than 10 laps and managing the soft tyre choice superbly to achieve his first podium in WorldSBK! A huge congratulations to Andrea and his crew! It’s been a challenging weekend on Toprak’s side but we also have to take the positives. Assen has been Jonathan’s place for some years and to run him as close as we have all weekend, and to be in an undoubted position to fight to win the second race, shows that we can fight to win pretty much anywhere. Toprak had done his job off the start, made his customary, controlled late braking to take the lead into Turn 1, so it’s very difficult to know what Garrett either was or wasn’t thinking to come from that far back and cause the crash. A disappointing end to what turned out to be a very positive weekend, but we’re very much “chin up” and looking forward to redemption in Most.
More, from a press release issued by GRT Yamaha:
Gerloff’s crash ends GRT’s podium chances in Assen
Garrett Gerloff (31). Photo courtesy Yamaha.
The excitement was high for the final day of on-track activity of the Dutch round of the 2021 FIM Superbike World Championship. With the forecasted rain holding off yet again, hopes were high in the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team garage too, given the impressive race pace shown yesterday in dry conditions by Garrett Gerloff. Although, the outcome was not what the team had hoped.
The American, in fact, made one mistake that compromised his entire day. After only running three laps in the WarmUp (14th with a 1’39.740, on a drying track), he achieved the objective he had set for himself when he recovered all the way to 8th position in the Tissot Superpole Race, having started from the last row. This result allowed him to keep his finishing position as his starting place for the long race of the afternoon. After a fantastic start, he attempted to overtake the leader Toprak Razgatlioglu in turn 1. The two made contact and the Turkish rider crashed out of the race. For the accident caused by his mistake, Gerloff was given a ride through penalty, which relegated him to last place yet again. In the rush to make up as many positions as possible in the final few laps, he crashed in turn 9, ending his already disappointing race. Afterwards, he was apologetic towards both Razgatlioglu and Yamaha, the victims of his mistake on the first lap. He now has two weeks to put the negative Assen weekend behind him and reset his focus, before heading to the next round at the Autodrom Most.
It was a much better day for Kohta Nozane, who concluded his comeback weekend in convincing fashion with a solid Race 2. Having sat out the morning’s WarmUp, the rookie was disappointed by his pace during the Superpole Race and decided to make major changes to the setup of his R1 ahead of the afternoon’s long race. The adjustments proved effective and Nozane’s pace strongly improved in the first part of Race 2. In the latter stages, though, he was unable to stay close to the group of riders he was battling with, due to the pain in his still recovering right middle finger. At the finish line the Japanese was 12th, but he aims to get much closer to the other Yamaha riders starting from the upcoming Czech round.
Garrett Gerloff: 8th / DNF
“I’m devastated and I can only apologise to Toprak and to Yamaha for today. I got a good start from the third row of the grid, I felt the contact in turn one, but I didn’t realise it was Toprak until I looked back. I’m sorry for him, as he paid a big price for my mistake, but also for Yamaha, who have worked tirelessly to mount a championship challenge. I can only apologise to both, although I am well aware that this won’t change the outcome.”
Kohta Nozane: 15th / 12th
“Today my Superpole Race was not that good. I then made a plan with the team in order to set up the bike in the best possible way, we discussed it carefully and by Race 2 the bike was way better. My best lap in the race was faster than the time I set yesterday in qualifying, so I am happy, but my finger is unfortunately not yet 100% recovered, so with around 16 laps to go I started struggling. I couldn’t keep the same pace until the end of the race, so the gap relative to the riders in front became much bigger. In the end I finished 12th, but it was really difficult to maintain this position and keep the others behind me. All the Yamaha riders are riding more or less the same bike and, when I see them be competitive and fast, I feel like I have to push myself to get better and aim higher to be like them, even though I am a rookie and every track is brand new for me. The next race in the Czech Republic will be brand new for many riders, the conditions will be the same for everybody, so I will try to get there with my finger fully recovered and push myself to reach the level of the other Yamaha riders.”
The world championship standings now see Gerloff in 6th place with 105 points, whereas his teammate is 16th with 21. The next time we start our R1s’ engines will be in twoy 3 weeks, when the WorldSBK paddock visits the circuit of Most for the first time. Free Practice 1 will get the show going on Friday 6 August at 10:30 AM, with FP2 later at 3 PM, local time.
Editorial Note: American Brandon Paasch, riding his Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS 765, finished seventh in British Supersport Race Two Sunday at Brands Hatch.
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Three different race winners as Mackenzie crowned Monster Energy King of Brands
Three different riders claimed victories in the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this weekend, with wins for Tarran Mackenzie, Jason O’Halloran and Christian Iddon. Mackenzie was also crowned as the Monster Energy King of Brands as the series welcomed fans back to the Kent circuit in unrestricted numbers.
Mackenzie became the fourth different race winner of 2021 in the BikeSocial race on Saturday, before his McAMS Yamaha teammate O’Halloran bounced back from his tough opening race in race two this morning.
The Australian crashed out in qualifying and he had to fight his way through to fifth in race one, but a second row start in the following race gave O’Halloran a fighting chance and he duly delivered his fourth race win of the season.
Danny Buchan initially took the lead from pole position into Paddock Hill Bend at the start of race two, from Mackenzie and Iddon. The latter was in an attacking mood on his VisionTrack Ducati as he moved into second at Hawthorns on the opening lap.
A moment for Mackenzie at Westfield dropped him back into fifth, whilst O’Halloran moved towards the front, taking the lead with a decisive move at Stirlings. Iddon also piled the pressure on SYNETIQ BMW’s Buchan and on the sixth lap; he made his move into Paddock Hill Bend.
Tommy Bridewell carved his way up the order after losing out off the line and he was soon threatening for a podium position too. By half race distance, the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider was into second. Iddon fought back to reclaim the position but Bridewell was determined and soon back ahead.
Bridewell chased down O’Halloran, however despite getting within striking distance; he ended second to score his fourth podium of the season as the McAMS Yamaha team claimed its second win of the weekend.
The battle for the final podium position went down to the wire with Buchan holding third ahead of the final five laps. Behind him however, race one winner Mackenzie was aiming to make amends for his earlier moment, charging through late on to pass both Iddon and Buchan to steal the final place on the podium.
Buchan was then under pressure from Iddon as he made a final attack over the closing laps to try and claim fourth position. Despite the pair trading blows on the penultimate lap, Buchan had the edge at the chequered flag.
Rory Skinner was able to lead the FS-3 Kawasaki charge in sixth place ahead of teammate Lee Jackson. They had a comfortable margin over Glenn Irwin, Peter Hickman and Gino Rea who completed the top ten.
Iddon then became the third different race winner of the weekend as the VisionTrack Ducati rider claimed a gutsy victory in a restarted seven-lap sprint to the chequered flag. The standings leader held off a late charge from Mackenzie who was crowned Monster Energy King of Brands.
The initial race start was declared wet, but as conditions continued to change there were a variety of tyre choices throughout the grid. As the race got underway Josh Brookes launched to the head of the field from 16th place, sixth row starting position, having opted for wet option on both front and rear.
The defending champion has been relishing the damp conditions this weekend and he headed the pack from O’Halloran, Buchan and Gino Rea. The VisionTrack Ducati gapped the field initially, but by lap five the conditions had started to change and Buchan had moved into the lead.
Buchan the took advantage of his intermediate rear and wet front combination to lead from the front as the SYNETIQ BMW rider bridged the gap on Brookes who was soon under attack from his teammate Iddon.
Iddon’s choice of an intermediate front and slick rear was coming into play and he was charging through the order as he moved into second and was hunting Buchan on a drying track. However a blow up from Rea brought out the red flag and it would be a seven-lap sprint to decide the final winner of the weekend.
The restarted race was declared dry and Buchan launched into the lead ahead of Glenn Irwin and Iddon, with the pair wasting no time in making their moves on the opening lap. Iddon had hit the front of the pack, but Buchan regained second place with Irwin in third.
Tarran Mackenzie though was firing his way through the order and despite running seventh on the opening lap, he climbed quickly into the lead group.
As the race reached its final three laps, Iddon was still ahead with Buchan shadowing his every move with a resurgent Brookes holding third place. Mackenzie moved into the final podium position placing on the fifth lap with a move into Paddock Hill Bend.
At the front, Buchan grabbed the lead on the penultimate lap, with a lunge down the inside at Paddock Hill Bend, but as the pair approached Druids, Iddon had reclaimed the position.
On the final lap, appeared to have the edge, but it was all change as a determined Iddon returned to the front and was able to make it stick. He was then under fire from Mackenzie, who had broken through into second with a move on Buchan, which put him in the pound seat to become the Monster Energy King of Brands.
O’Halloran hadn’t given up hope on a return to the podium either and the Australian was also able to pull a pass on Buchan to move into third on the final lap. Buchan crossed the line in fourth place ahead of Brookes, who claimed his best result of the season in fifth.
Glenn Irwin held sixth place, fending off Peter Hickman and Lee Jackson, with Rory Skinner and Danny Kent completed the top ten.
Christian Iddon – VisionTrack Ducati
Race 3 winner
“I was fired up for the restart and I got out front as soon as I could and set a pace that I thought was quite good, but I was second guessing myself a little bit in where some of the damp patches were. Because I was out front I didn’t know how hard to push it. I knew there were bits that were a bit sketchier earlier on so I thought ‘don’t lob it up the road in the lead’.
“Danny came past me with two to go and I gave it the old Larry Lunge at turn one and managed to make it stick and defended the second half of the lap. It’s nice to come out of clearways in first, it was a really nice race. I was just a bit excitable, but it was all good and I look forward to watching it all later!
“I’m really happy to take the win and leave here still as points leader. The other important thing is podium points, we banked five of them after what I would say was a very disappointing first race today for me. Fifth in the first race was difficult for me, so to bounce back was great – it was a level playing field for that last sprint and we won it, so job’s a dream.”
Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha
Monster Energy King of Brands winner, P2 in Race 3
“I got a get out of jail free card in the third race with the stop because I was nowhere, 13th or 14th before that, way behind everyone! I was lucky with that. I knew I was starting 12th and slicks was the way forward and whether it was a good or bad thing I had the mentality just to go for it.
“I had a really good first lap and good start and just picked off pretty much one rider a lap then got behind Danny and Christian with a couple laps to go. I couldn’t quite get past Danny but on the last lap I got a really good run onto the back straight and I just didn’t shut off until he did.
“I got it stopped then chased Christian to the last few corners, it’s hard to pass on the last part of the circuit and Christian rode a great last lap so it was always going to be tough to pass him.
“So to turn it around from almost not even scoring points to a podium and getting the Bennetts Rider of the Weekend Award and the Monster Energy King of Brands – that is really cool. I turned my day around this last race so I’m looking forward to Thruxton now.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Hat-trick for Rea at Assen as Locatelli claims maiden podium after Turn 1 drama
Jonathan Rea’s (1) team greets him with cheers as he takes the checkered flag at Assen. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Jonathan Rea battled back from eighth place after Turn 1 to claim his 15th victory at Assen while Andrea Locatelli came home third for his first ever WorldSBK podium
A dramatic Race 2 at the TT Circuit Assen in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship came to an end with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claiming his third win of the Prosecco DOC Dutch Round and the fourth hat-trick of his career despite finding himself in eighth place after Turn 1 after starting from first. Behind him, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) came home in second with rookie Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) claiming his maiden podium.
LIGHTS OUT AND RAZGATLIOGLU’S OUT
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) got a good start but found himself out of the race after American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) made contact with the Turkish rider at Turn 1, with the American placed under investigation for the incident by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards and given a ride-through penalty for the incident. The crash forced Razgatlioglu out of the race.
The incident forced Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) down into eighth place while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK), running the SCX tyre, found himself leading a WorldSBK race for the first time in his short career. It took until the fourth lap for Rea to be back in second place, as he looked to secure a hat-trick at Assen. Locatelli led the first half of the race as Rea closed the gap to Locatelli with the six-time Champion able to take the lead on Lap 12 of 21, with Rea on the SC0 tyre, on the run to Turn 1.Rea’s victory means he is now on 199 WorldSBK podiums, one away from a historical 200 podiums.
Locatelli was able to stick with Rea for the next few laps, but Rea soon found himself extending the lead over the rookie, with Locatelli having to start watch out for Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in third as the British rider closed in. On Lap 19, Redding made his move in the final sector of the lap to move into second place, with Locatelli coming home in third for his maiden WorldSBK podium. Locatelli becomes the first WorldSSP Champion to claim a WorldSBK podium as a rookie since Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 2015, also at Assen.
COMPLETING THE TOP TEN
Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) missed out on his 100th WorldSBK podium on his 200th start for Ducati with fourth place after charging through the field, fending off the challenge from Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) by just one second with the Spanish rider claiming his best result of the season so far.
Behind Bautista, there was a titanic battle for sixth place that culminated with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) crashing out at the final chicane while battling with teammate Michael van der Mark, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati); Rinaldi falling down the order as he selected the SCX tyre. Dutchman van der Mark claimed sixth ahead of Lowes and Rinaldi. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) claimed another top ten finish with ninth as Leon Haslam (Team HRC) rounded out the top ten.
ROUNDING OUT THE POINTS
Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) claimed 11th place in Race 2 at Assen with Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) securing another points-paying position with 12. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was 13th on his return to the Championship after undergoing a testing programme with the team. Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) finished in 14th place, ending a run of results for the Spanish rider of finishing in odd-numbered positions, while Sykes claimed 15th after his crash.
Andrea Mantovani (Vince64) missed out on a second points finish of the weekend with 16th place, with Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) the last of the classified runners. Gerloff’s race came to an end after he had taken his ride-through penalty after he crashed at turn 9 on his Yamaha machine, joining Razgatlioglu as a retirement from Race 2.
Following a serious incident in European Talent Cup Race One at the MotorLand Aragón Round of the FIM CEV Repsol, it is with great sadness that we report the passing of rider Hugo Millán.
Millán was involved in a multi-rider incident at Turn 5, with the session immediately red flagged. The Medical Intervention Vehicles arrived at the site immediately and the rider was attended to on track before being transferred to the Medical Centre at the Circuit.
Despite the best efforts of the circuit medical staff, the Medical Centre has announced that Millán has sadly succumbed to his injuries.
Millán was enjoying his most successful season so far in the FIM CEV Repsol, claiming several podiums to demonstrate his consistency as he competed at the front of the class.
The FIM, FIM Europe, Dorna and MotorLand Aragón Circuit pass on their deepest condolences to Millán’s family, friends, team and loved ones.
Editorial Note: American Brandon Paasch, riding his Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS 765, qualified ninth in British Supersport Saturday at Brands Hatch.
Mackenzie becomes the fourth different race winner of 2021 Bennetts BSB
Tarran Mackenzie became the fourth different race winner of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this afternoon as the McAMS Yamaha rider held off the challenge from his rivals in the opening race of the weekend.
Mackenzie fired the McAMS Yamaha off the pole position to take the lead in the 12-lap restarted race, ahead of Bradley Ray and Christian Iddon with Danny Buchan fourth, ahead of Tommy Bridewell, who didn’t get the launch he wanted off the line, in fifth.
Iddon was pushing hard in his quest to extend his advantage at the top of the times and by the end of lap two, he had moved into second. Bridewell was also cutting his way through the pack after his poor start and he was shadowing Iddon by the fourth before making a decisive move at Surtees to move into second position.
Bridewell then chased Mackenzie, but the McAMS Yamaha rider just had the edge to the chequered flag with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider forced to settle for second. Iddon was able to claim the final podium position though to extend his advantage over Jason O’Halloran in the standings.
Buchan was in the fight for the podium positions but he just missed out for SYNETIQ BMW in fourth place, however just behind him, O’Halloran had delivered a heroic effort to move up the order from his sixth row grid start to finish in the top five.
Lee Jackson led the FS-3 Kawasaki team charge in sixth place, pushing Ray back into seventh on the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW. Rory Skinner held on to eighth place after a tough race from his front row starting position to finish ahead of defending champion Josh Brookes.
Danny Kent completed the top ten for Buildbase Suzuki, nudging Glenn Irwin into eleventh for Honda Racing.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, BikeSocial Race 1 result:
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha)
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.225s
Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +1.802s
Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +3.589s
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +6.838s
Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +7.036s
Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +8.664s
Rory Skinner (FS-3 Kawasaki) +10.447s
Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) +13.494s
Danny Kent (Buildbase Suzuki) +13.856s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Brands Hatch Race 1:
Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 127
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 116
Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) 104
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 101
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 80
Rory Skinner (FS-3 Kawasaki) 69
Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 57
Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) 56
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha
BikeSocial Race 1 winner
“I felt strong from the previous run so I knew if I could get a good start and ride my own race I could set my own pace. In the first start I kind of gapped them a little bit so I don’t know why but I had in my head that I was going to do that again.
“I kept coming ’round and my board was ‘plus zero, plus zero, plus zero’, and at one point it was plus .3 with Tommy, but then it came straight back down again. It was a strange race because it was so short, you just kind of think ‘I’m going to go balls out for 12 laps’.
“It was intense, the gap didn’t increase at all so I had to keep my concentration as high as possible and make sure I was as consistent as possible, which I think I was. I got a little bit of breathing room on the last couple of laps there, but I didn’t let up – came across the line to get my first win of the year.
“I’m really happy – flag to flag from pole position, I couldn’t ask for much more. I hope we can get two more podiums tomorrow.”
Editorial Note: Canadian Torin Collins was 24th and American Kristian Daniel, Jr. was 37th in Hawkers European Talent Cup qualifying Saturday at MotorLand Aragon.
Qualifying surprises on scorching Saturday at MotorLand
An exciting race day lies in store after Qualifying produced two brand new polesitters for the FIM CEV Repsol at MotorLand Aragon
In soaring temperatures, the pace on track was just as hot with Jose Antonio Rueda (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) claiming his maiden FIM Moto3™ Junior World Championship pole position after dominating the weekend so far. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro Talent Team-Ciatti) grabbed the advantage in the Moto2™ European Championship as the team-mate title battle looks set to continue, while Xabi Zurutuza (Cuna de Campeones) achieved his first ever pole position in the Hawkers European Talent Cup.
For the third consecutive round, FIM Moto3™ JWCh saw a first-time polesitter with Jose Antonio Rueda taking top spot. The 15-year-old was fastest on Friday and made full use of the faster track conditions in QP1 to take pole position by half a second with the young Spaniard hanging on despite a late crash in the afternoon session. Diogo Moreira (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) lifted himself up to second overall with the fastest lap in QP2, while another surprise contender emerged in third as Marco Tapia (Leopard Impala Junior Team) earned his first front row start in the class.
Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Aspar Junior Team) will be one to watch from fourth with Takuma Matsuyama (Asia Talent Team) returning to form after a difficult round at Portimao, securing fifth on the grid. Ivan Ortola (Team MTA) looked in danger of starting towards the back after a technical problem ruled him out of QP1 but an impressive recovery in the afternoon saw him rescue P6 on the grid.
The fascinating Moto2™ Ech title battle could be in for a twist tomorrow with Alonso Lopez taking his first pole position since Valencia in May. All eyes were on his team-mate Fermin Aldeguer (Boscoscuro Talent Team-Ciatti), who could clinch the championship tomorrow, but the 16-year-old was forced to settle for second after crashing in QP1. Another pair of team-mates line up just behind with Adam Norrodin (Liqui Moly Intact SIC Racing Team) edging out Lukas Tulovic for his second front row start in succession. Xavi Cardelus (Promoracing) will be hopeful of another podium challenge from fifth with the second row completed by Aleix Viu (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Stylobike Team) who substitutes for Dimas Ekky Pratama this weekend.
In HETC, Xabi Zurutuza is well placed to challenge for a third straight victory after claiming his first career pole position. The title battle will take centre stage with nearest rival Hugo Millan (Cuna de Campeones) snatching second on the grid, setting the fastest Group B time of the day in the dying seconds of QP2. Rising Finnish talent Rico Salmela (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) will start from the front row for the first time in third with Maximo Martinez (Team Honda Laglisse) another rider to watch from P4.
Television networks and media platforms, in Europe and across the world, are showing ever-more interest in live broadcasts of FIM CEV Repsol events. You can enjoy the live races via:
All the results and information about the Championship are on the official website: www.fimcevrepsol.com
Cal Crutchlow. Photo courtesy PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Crutchlow to join PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team for next three races
Cal Crutchlow will stand-in for the recovering Franco Morbidelli at Styrian, Austrian and British GPs
PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team welcomes Cal Crutchlow to the Malaysian squad as stand-in for Franco Morbidelli while the Italian rider continues his recovery from left knee surgery.
Crutchlow will take part in the two Grands Prix in Austria, held at Spielberg, and the BritishGP at Silverstone – his home race.
Crutchlow is no stranger to Yamaha MotoGP machinery, having started his premier class career with the Japanese marque in 2011 – spending three seasons aboard the Yamaha – and is now the official factory test and development rider.
Razlan Razali, Team Principal, PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team
After looking at all the options, it was a collective decision between Yamaha and ourselves to ask Cal Crutchlow to fill in for Franco, while he recovers from surgery. Cal is a credible and experienced rider, who is currently a test rider for Yamaha. As an independent team, this is where we can really step up to help Yamaha. Cal will be able to rack up some good mileage on our M1, which should aid him with his testing and development work for Yamaha. Cal will replace Franco for the next three races and we have no real targets for him in terms of results. We will do all we can to help support him and make him feel comfortable in the team. He’s already familiar with some of the key people in the team, which helps, and I’m sure he’s up for the challenge.
Cal Crutchlow, PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team
It’s great to be back riding with Yamaha this year as the official test rider and to be able to step in when needed is good for all parties. I’m looking forward to riding for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT in the three Grands Prix. Obviously it’s not in the best circumstances and I wish Franco a good recovery, I hope he comes back strongly after the knee surgery. I’m sure he will because he’s been riding fantastically over the last two years.
I think it’s difficult to set targets for these three races and it will be more about understanding the bike, as I’ve had limited riding days this year. The good thing will be that I can compare the bikes and I should be able to gather a lot of data for Yamaha. It’s a bit like being thrown in the deep end, as it’s a very competitive MotoGP class, but I’m really looking forward to it and it’s going to be good to be back on the grid.
I’m looking forward to meeting the team in Austria, although there will be some familiar faces for me because Wilco Zeelenberg was my Team Manager in Supersport in 2009 and I actually raced against Johan Stigefelt some years ago, so it’s going to be a pleasure to be back with them.
Alex Lowes will remain an integral part of the Kawasaki Racing Team for the coming seasons, having agreed a new multi-year deal that will take him into his third year as an official Kawasaki WorldSBK rider.
The contract signing was witnessed by Mr. Masatoshi Yoshioka, Director of Corporate Planning Division, Kawasaki Motors Europe at the recent Assen round of the 2021 FIM WorldSBK Championship, where Alex retained his overall fourth place in the points table.
As well as returning as a full KRT Superbike rider next year Alex will also strengthen his bond with Kawasaki and his KRT squad as he and Jonathan Rea will be joined by 2021 Kawasaki superbike debutant, Lucas Mahias, to compete in the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours race later this year.
With a race win and seven other podiums to his credit since he joined Kawasaki in 2019 Lowes continues to find a greater affinity with the new Ninja ZX-10RR, his team and his pit crew, led by Marcel Duinker.
Before the 2022 season there is the small matter of the rest of this year’s championship to go. Five rounds have been completed with a further eight to go, depending on local regulations around the global pandemic.
Alex Lowes. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Alex Lowes, stated:
“I am really happy to have signed once more with the Kawasaki Racing Team, the most successful team in the current era of WorldSBK.
After a strange first year in the team last year due to the global situation and with such a short season it has been good to start this year at some different tracks and I am understanding the bike a lot more. It has also been slightly frustrating this year because I feel like we started strongly but the results are not quite where we would want them to be right now. We have a lot of potential and I am still in the top four of the championship, close to the top three, which is the target for this year.
I will be working hard for the next few weeks to make that next step to be regularly challenging for the podium. Honestly, I feel like it is close, so with this team and all these guys around me – with the relationships we have been building – everything is in place now to push things forward.
I am really thankful to stay in the team next year, and proud of the faith that Kawasaki has shown in me. In our job there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than the results that you see on the track so I am really happy about this new deal with KRT. A massive thanks to all the guys behind the project, to Guim and Biel Roda, Steve Guttridge and all the people at KHI in Japan for believing in me again.”
KRT Manager, Guim Roda, concluded:
“Alex started with KRT during the Covid pandemic. He needed to learn quickly and concentrate on making championship points in those first three months; not easy. For 2021 he started the season strongly and we are all working to make those important steps to improve the performance of the overall package.
We are so happy to have Alex and he is highly motivated to continue with the KRT project. With this two-year agreement we are convinced that we will now build on these firm foundations to create the strongest package with him, Marcel, his Crew Chief, the Ninja ZX-10RR and the entire KRT organisation.”
Michael van der Mark (60) leads Tom Sykes (behind van der Mark), Jonathan Rea (1), Alvaro Bautista (behind Rea), Chaz Davies (7), and the rest of the field at Assen. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Rea Perfect At Assen
Jonathan Rea took two more race wins on Sunday at the Assen round of the FIM Superbike World Championship to make it three victories from three starts and extend his championship lead. His KRT team mate Alex Lowes was sixth and then seventh today, putting in two battling rides after a crash in Race One on Saturday.
In the Tissot Superpole Race on Sunday Jonathan used all his experience to take the lead and then push on at a pace that none of his rivals could match, securing all 12 points on offer in the ten-lap ‘sprint’ race.
With two race wins to his credit at his favourite circuit Rea also had to work for his third, but like all his peers he was glad that the potential for more rain did not appear. Heavy overnight rain had delayed warm-up in the morning as there were some flooded areas around the track, but all the warm up sessions and races went ahead after a major clean up operation.
In race two Rea had to push his pace to overtake long time leader and series rookie Andrea Locatelli at the halfway point. Jonathan eased out his lead and finally won the 21-lap race by 1.605 seconds, from second place rider Scott Redding. Rea’s closest championship rival Toprak Razgatlioglu was involved in a first corner incident that saw him crash out and no-score.
Jonathan has now taken fully 15 race wins at Assen, three more than the next best total for any single rider at any particular racetrack. One more podium finish for Jonathan Rea will see him reach a career total of 200 top three results.
For Lowes it was a difficult Sunday after his first race fall but despite a small physical limitation he pushed as hard as he could and took a sixth place in the Tissot Superpole Race.
Seventh in race two gave Alex enough points to keep a clear fourth place in the overall championship rankings after five rounds of the season have been completed.
After one free weekend for the WorldSBK riders, Most in the Czech Republic will host the next round of the championship, between 6-8 August.
Jonathan Rea (1) leads Michael Ruben Rinaldi (21) and Scott Redding (45) at Assen. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “It was nice to make it three-from-three here at Assen. We achieved it after we changed the rear tyre choice from yesterday. With the overnight rain the track’s grip level was a little bit lower and the temperature was maybe three or four degrees lower. We figured that would be the crossover point to run the SC0. It was nice to win with the soft tyre choice yesterday and the standard race tyre option today. It is a massive testament to the guys in the pitbox and what they have done. We made quite a big chassis change in the set-up this weekend and it was easier to ride. You could see in my passes, I could put the bike where I wanted and it was very nimble, yet stable in the fast sections as well. I went over to see the flooding on the track first thing this morning, considering how much rain there was last night – and there was a lake on the inside of turn five! So massive respect to the track and everybody at Assen because they had lots of machines there, two fire trucks, three tankers and I think we were only delayed 45 minutes this morning. They did an incredible job.”
Alex Lowes (22) heads Chaz Davies (7) and Michael van der Mark at Assen. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Alex Lowes, stated: “It was not an easy day or an easy weekend for us. I have had some physical restrictions which have been tough and this track is quite tough anyway, with lots of changes of direction. My tyre in Race Two was in better condition than Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s but the trouble was passing him. I did make a move on him and ran out wide, which allowed Michael van der Mark to pass, but in those last five or six laps I was getting held up a little bit. I could have maybe gone a bit quicker but I still enjoyed the battle through the second race. I was quite happy with sixth and seventh, as I was struggling quite a lot. That is a shame, but my target is to go out and rest and come back 100% for the next race at a new track in the Czech Republic. Sixth and seventh are not where I want to be finishing but all things considered, it was a better day than Saturday! This was the most we could do this weekend.”
Isaac Vinales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was 13th and then 14th today and Loris Cresson (TPR Outdo Kawasaki) 17th each time. Wildcard rider Andrea Mantovani (Vince64 Kawasaki) was 16th in each Sunday race, but scored two championship points for 14th on day one.
More, from a press release issued by Team HRC:
Charging Bautista races to strong fifth in race 2 at Assen, Haslam rounds out the top ten
Team HRC has completed the fifth Superbike World Championship round at the Assen TT Circuit with Alvaro Bautista crossing the line fifth in race 2, to score his strongest result of the season to date. Leon Haslam finished the day’s races in twelfth and tenth place.
The 10-lap Tissot Superpole race got underway at 11.00 am local time. Bautista made a strong start and was lying sixth before a crash unfortunately put paid to his plans towards the end of lap one. Haslam was lying twelfth through the opening stages and ran a steady albeit rather solitary race. Unable to make up further positions, the Brit crossed the line twelfth.
Lining up for race 2 later in the afternoon, the HRC riders were lying ninth (Bautista) and twelfth (Haslam) through the first turns. Both Team HRC riders gained a position in the early stages, Bautista going on to pass both Lowes and Van der Mark to place sixth by lap nine. The Spaniard was able to lap quite fast and consistently to get past Rinaldi on lap fifteen and move into fifth place. He kept gaining ground on Davies, reducing the gap from 2.549 to 0.889 seconds before crossing the line to secure his best result of the season so far. Haslam worked hard to catch those immediately ahead of him but was only able to make up one more position throughout the course of the race, rounding out the Dutch weekend with a tenth-place finish.
Bautista now places eleventh in the championship standings with 68 points, Haslam lies thirteenth with a tally of 55. Team HRC will be back in action during the sixth WorldSBK round at the Most Circuit in the Czech Republic over the weekend of 6-8 August.
Alvaro Bautista (19). Photo courtesy Team HRC.
Alvaro Bautista 19
SPRC P18 RC2 P5
“It has been a challenging weekend for us with two crashes in the first two races, something that quite annoys me honestly, because I think that our performance in those races could have been similar to what we did in race 2. For now, when I try to ride more naturally, I fall. Having said that, we finished the weekend with a positive result, a hard-fought top five, with some nice passes, and I think that this stems from the work we are doing. During the weekend we improved a lot on the electronics side, especially on the lower area of the throttle which gives me more confidence now. Maybe it’s not so apparent yet, but I hope it’s just a starting point for the upcoming races.”
Leon Haslam (91). Photo courtesy Team HRC.
Leon Haslam 91
SPRC P12 RC2 P10
“In the Superpole race, a rider caused me to lose many positions through the first turn. It was a difficult race and we struggled with both the front of the bike and power delivery too. In the second race, I made a good start but then Toprak crashed and I had to avoid him, which meant I lost ground again. I felt like I had good rhythm through the first part of the race anyway, but then from about lap ten I started to lose a lot of time, more than one second per lap. Overall, it’s been a tough weekend and I’m left frustrated as I expected top five results at this circuit.”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:
Rabat improves and takes double P11 on Sunday at TT Assen Circuit
Tito Rabat (53). Photo courtesy Barni Racing Team.
Assen (NLD). The weekend at the TT Circuit of Assen, in the Netherlands, which held the fifth round of the WorldSBK, ended with a double P11 for the Barni Racing Team. Despite Rabat only just missed out on the Top 10 in both Superpole Race and Race 2, the improvement from Saturday was clear and the progress gives confidence to the team as well as five more points in the riders’ championship standings. With today’s results Rabat moves up to 23 points in the overall standings, fifth among independent riders.
Superpole Race
In the Superpole Race Tito made a great start and after two laps found himself in P7. Sykes (BMW) passed him halfway through the race and two laps later Davies also went on the attack, taking the Ducati Panigale V4 R #53 off the line. Tito lost two more positions, dropped back and finished the race in P11. For the grid revised, Rabat lined up in P13 on the Race 2 grid.
Race 2
Starting from the fifth row the Spaniard was unable to repeat his good start in the Superpole Race, in the chaos of the first corner he lost ground and ended up in P16, but from the very first lap he started his comeback. After a good fight with Bassani (Ducati), Rabat overtook Vinales (Kawasaki), Nozane (Yamaha) and Mercado (Honda) and in the final phase came within half a second of Haslam (Honda). However, Rabat was unable to attack his rival and crossed the line in P11. Signs of improvement and growing results ahead of the next round at the unseen Most track in the Czech Republic, where Superbike will return to racing in two weeks.
Tito Rabat, #53
“I can’t say I’m 100% happy, but the improvements today give me confidence for the next races. Now I want to take a few days off and be in top form at Most.”
Marco Barnabò – Team Principal
“Without the overtaking of Chaz in the Superpole Race we could have finished in the Top 10. That was a normal race situation, but it also affected Race 2. Having slipped out of the top nine we had to line up further back in Race 2 and that makes the situation more complicated. Over the longer distance we showed that we had the pace to be in the top ten, but starting from the fifth row penalized us. Regrets aside, we are satisfied because we had two good races.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Go Eleven:
P4, BEST INDEPENDENT, IN CHAZ DAVIES 200TH RACE!
Chaz Davies. Photo courtesy Team Go Eleven.
Team Go Eleven and Chaz Davies cheered up the Dutch weekend with an excellent performance in Race 2, at the 200th start of the Welsh rider in WorldSBK.
After yesterday’s difficult day, in the night, the TT-Circuit is hit by a violent storm, which floods large sections of the Cathedral of Speed. The Warm Up is even postponed, due to a large amount of water in Turn 5. During the session the track is half wet and Chaz takes to the track to make some laps without pushing to the limit.
The Superpole Race is a fundamental race for those who struggled in qualifying, getting into the top nine is the main goal to aim for an excellent Race 2. Chaz starts quite well, defending his position and begins the chase to the Top Ten. Lap after lap he recovers positions, with a good pace. He goes into battle with Rabat and Gerloff for eighth position, then finishing ninth with a good defense in the last lap. In 10 laps recovering so many positions is not easy, but the third row conquered for Race 2 is definitively important.
Just before Race 2, as in Donington a few weeks ago, some threatening clouds appear over Assen. Fortunately, after a few drops, the sun returns and the last race of the weekend starts on dry asphalt. Chaz has a good start, follows an inside line in the first corners and manages to have an excellent speed on the straight that allows him to recover a couple of positions. His race pace is fast from the start, so much so that he manages to overtake Sykes and Lowes in a few laps. He then sets his pace and sets off in pursuit of the Ducati Redding and Rinaldi duo, in battle with each other for third place. Scott is a bit faster, while Michael and Chaz are fighting each other. The Go Eleven rider throws himself into the second sector and conquers the fourth position. He stretches just enough to defend himself from Bautista’s comeback, but from the middle of the race on, the front tyre is completely destroyed, as happened yesterday. Solid performance by the Welsh rider who stops right behind the podium in his 200th World Superbike race!
Best Independent Team & Rider, Go Eleven is back in business!
Chaz Davies (Rider):
“We made a quite big change on the bike and it was good! I am happy to feel a step forward in turnings; it was turning a much more naturally and that helped not only the performance of the bike, but also from the physical point of view, I had to work on my self a little bit less and I could let the bike do the work naturally. So credit to my crew for making a step forward, for being brave in a decision, it was definitively the right one. Unfortunately we suffered the same problem of yesterday, at seven laps to go I killed the front tyre. That was a bit disappointing, because I was really feeling like I could get in the mix for the podium, catching Scott a little bit; rear tyre was quite good, but the front was absolutely dead. From that I was just managing to stay on the bike, I was really loosing it a lot, I had to save a lot of front slides. I did what I needed to do, I conserve the fourth place and the Top Independent, so happy with that and thanks to the Go Eleven Team!”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“In the Superpole Race we weren’t very fast but it was too important to be able to get into the nine, and Chaz did it. For the race, the team then had the courage to risk a completely different set-up, we took a risk but it went well and rewarded us. Chaz’s pace was very fast, and third place was within reach. Unfortunately he finished the front tyre a few laps from the end. A problem we have been carrying around all weekend, we need to understand why we killed the tyre so early. Congratulations to Chaz for his 200th Superbike race; he is more and more in the legend of this Championship!”
More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
WorldSBK Sunday at Assen: both BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders show fighting spirit and strong chasing performances.
Michael van der Mark (60) and Tom Sykes (66). Photo courtesy BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team.
The two riders from the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team showed fighting spirit to deliver convincing performances once again in Sunday’s race in the FIM Superbike World Championship at Assen (NED). In the Superpole race, Tom Sykes (GBR) put on a thrilling chase to move up from 18th to seventh place. In the afternoon, Michael van der Mark (NED) overcame difficulties during race two to improve by five places and secure another top result by finishing sixth. After his crash on Saturday, the race doctors did not grant clearance for Jonas Folger (GER) from the BMW satellite team Bonovo MGM Racing to compete on Sunday.
After some heavy rainfall, there was still water on and around the circuit in the morning, causing the warm-up session to be postponed by 50 minutes. The start of the morning’s Superpole race was then also pushed back by ten minutes. The track was then dry, but conditions still proved to be treacherous in places. Sykes once again gave a fantastic chase. Starting from 18th on the grid, he moved up ten positions with his BMW M 1000 RR on the first lap and secured seventh place on lap four. That was where he finished the sprint race, claiming seventh spot on the grid for the afternoon’s second race. Van der Mark also made a good start from ninth only to take a fall a short time later. This put him eleventh on the grid for race two.
At the start of the second race, two riders collided at the front in turn one – while van der Mark was able to leap forward six places to move into fifth. Sykes claimed seventh position on lap one, but then fell back a little. Van der Mark also lost some time. During the second half of the race, van der Mark and Sykes were then involved in a duel lying in eighth and ninth places, all while closing in on the top six. Events took a dramatic turn coming into the final lap; van der Mark was able to overtake two rivals and secure sixth place, while Sykes took a tumble. He was able to rejoin the race and finished 15th to score a point.
Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad, was at Assen to experience the race weekend on site. “It was super to be back again,” said Schramm on Sunday afternoon. “I hadn’t been here for over a year and I really missed it. It was also the first time that I had seen the new BMW M 1000 RR in action in the WorldSBK. It was great to see the BMW family again and to view the progress that we have made with the M RR. That is what made it good weekend.”
The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team can now look forward to a first in two weeks’ time; Most, in the Czech Republic, will host the WorldSBK for the first time when the sixth event of the season takes place there from 6th to 8th August.
Shaun Muir, Team Principal:
“After Saturday’s race one where we were reasonably happy with the results overall and showed strong lap times, we were looking to carry those over into today. But it was a tough Superpole Race. For sure, Michael felt he needed to be with that front group of riders which yesterday’s pace indicated he could do that. But he unfortunately crashed out which was a disappointment and set him back to 11th on the grid for race two. Tom managed to push his way through and improved on his starting position, which was perfect. Going into the race, there was a bit of a coming together at T1 which unsettled the pack, but Michael settled back into a rhythm. However, he couldn’t find the grip he was looking for. Tom was waiting for his tyre to come to him but again got stuck in a battle where he was just off the leading two packs. Overall, it was a tough race. We expected a little more from the performances but all in all we are showing the improvement of the bike and that gap to the front is getting narrower at every event. This is the target with the podium in sight. We take the positives from this weekend and move to Most where we will pick up the game from there.”
Marc Bongers, Director, BMW Motorrad Motorsport:
“Our achievements did not match our expectations today. Things did not go smoothly. Michael made a very good start to the Superpole race in the morning, but he crashed after letting his motivation get the better of him. The after-effects of that certainly hampered his efforts in the second race. He had a great race nonetheless, finishing sixth from eleventh on the grid. Tom had a really strong Superpole race this morning, moving up from the back of the field to seventh with some outstanding pace. That pace could have taken him to within grasp of a podium from seventh on the grid this afternoon. He fell back a little in the early stages of the race and then battled his way back together with Michael. He then slipped out over the front wheel just before the end, but was able to cross the finishing line in 15th to score a point. Overall, we definitely could have done better this weekend. I think that we have shown potential but we were not able to convert it into results as we had hoped.”
Tom Sykes:
“We managed to start race two on the third row which was a lot better. We got a much cleaner start to the race as the guys did a bit of work to the BMW M 1000 RR. We used the harder rear tyre and just couldn’t find the grip we needed at the beginning of the race but having said that, the bike stayed very constant throughout the race. Unfortunately coming into the last corner before entering the final lap, I tried to close the line and square the corner off and lost the front. It was such a slow speed crash, but I wasn’t able to save it. It’s such a shame, the bike today was good enough for that top-six and it would have been nice to be consistent the whole weekend. It certainly seemed we have made some good improvements including both me and Michael. A disappointing end to the weekend but we can take the positives from it, and we will focus on that and try to build on it for the next round.”
Michael van der Mark:
“This morning’s crash was a stupid mistake by myself. I really wanted to go for it, and on the fastest corners of the track I tried to go even faster which was a silly mistake on my behalf. In race two, I had an okay start. I had a bit of luck at T1 starting in P11 and by the end of lap one I was in fifth but I didn’t have the pace or the grip I was hoping for. I was struggling to keep the bike on track and I just didn’t have any more to give so it was quite tough. But at the end of the race I found a little extra pace and managed to catch and pass Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Alex Lowes so P6 wasn’t too bad in the end. But I really wanted more.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
#NLDWorldSBK Scott Redding finishes second in a stubborn Race-2. P2 also for Michael Rinaldi in the morning Superpole Race.
The Sunday of Prosecco DOC Dutch Round ends with two podiums finish for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team thanks to the second place of Scott Redding in Race-2 and the same result achieved by Michael Ruben Rinaldi in the Superpole Race.
Superpole Race
Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s start (from the fourth position) is superb and the Italian rider takes the lead in the first lap. Rinaldi tries to push but on lap 3 he can’t defend himself from Rea (Kawasaki). In the final part of the race, Rinaldi loses momentum, surrendering in the last lap to the attack of Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and Locatelli (Yamaha), both later penalized for exceeding the track limits at the last corner.
Scott Redding starts from the third position but since the first laps, he doesn’t find a good feeling with the front tire, finishing in fifth position.
Race-2
Redding stays with the leading group from the beginning and his pace increases considerably from the middle of the race. After a great battle with Rinaldi for the third position, Scott starts chasing Locatelli, overtaking him with three laps to go, securing his second podium finish of the weekend.
Rinaldi’s start is once again incisive and in the first 3 laps, he tries to attack Locatelli to take the lead of the race. Since lap 4, however, the number 21 is not able to push effectively and is forced to settle for the eighth position, which allows him to climb to the fifth place in the world ranking.
After the Superpole Race Michael Ruben Rinaldi does a lap of honor of the Assen track riding the Panigale V2 Bayliss 1st Championship 20th Anniversary, the special bike presented last Thursday 22 July to celebrate Troy Bayliss’ first world title in 2001. During the press conference on Friday at the Paddock Show, Michael had the opportunity to exchange a few words with the Australian champion, recalling why he also races with the number 21 (the day he was born in December 1995).
Scott Redding on the podium at Assen. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I’m happy to end the weekend with another podium. I struggled a lot to find the feeling with the front tire but in Race 2 we were able to make that small step that allowed me to keep a better pace. In the beginning, I tried not to push hard to save the front tire and for this reason, I lost a little bit of ground compared to the lead. The pace has improved a lot since the middle of the race but the gap with Rea was too wide to fight for the victory”.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi on the Superpole Race podium. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“Honestly I can’t be satisfied with this weekend. Yesterday I gave my best but I crashed, while today I never had the feeling to be in the ideal conditions. The result of the Superpole Race is clearly positive, but it came after the penalization of Razgatlioglu and Locatelli; after a good start in the afternoon, since the tire performance started dropping, I have been no longer efficient. It’s a bit frustrating: we have to work to find a solution that will allow us to be more consistent”.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Locatelli Celebrates First WorldSBK Podium amid Heartbreak for Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
Andrea Locatelli. Photo courtesy Yamaha.
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK rookie Andrea Locatelli celebrated a sensational FIM Superbike World Championship career-first podium of third place after leading Race 2 for more than 10 laps at the TT Circuit Assen today.
The podium came amid heartbreak for championship protagonist Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, who was robbed of the chance to fight for victory after a first corner incident with the GRT Yamaha of Garrett Gerloff. Further frustration caused by a track limits infringement at the final chicane in the 10-lap Superpole Race also denied the Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK team of a double podium this morning.
Locatelli, having not put a foot wrong all weekend in the Netherlands, missed the chance to enjoy his first podium earlier today as both the young Italian and his teammate Razgatlıoğlu were relegated to fourth and third respectively for crossing into the painted green section of the circuit by just millimetres.
However, “good things come to those who wait” and “Loka” was the star of the day, taking a big step forward in performance to lead the first half of Race 2, coming from fourth on the grid and following up his fifth place in Race 1 yesterday.
In terms of the 2021 WorldSBK Championship, Locatelli closes in on ninth place overall in the riders’ standings, while Razgatlıoğlu’s inability to score in Race 2 sees him relegated to second position, 37 points adrift of leader Jonathan Rea.
The team’s Turkish rider will not need to wait long for a chance to reel Rea back in, as the sixth round of the championship lies just around the corner at the Czech Republic’s oldest permanent circuit – Autodrom Most – from 6-8 August.
Andrea Locatelli – SPRC: P4 / Race 2: P3
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
I immediately forgot the situation from this morning because I had another chance to race today, and you still focus to get the maximum when you can do it. I’m really happy because we got the first podium, also to do it in the long race, it’s really an amazing feeling. In the short race, you need to push hard but also it’s a shame to make the tiny mistake with the track limits, it was only a few millimetres! Then in Race 2, I got the lead immediately and was able to keep a good pace but in the end I fought a lot with the softer rear tyre. With the conditions like today and yesterday with some sun, we can push in all sessions and I learned and improved every time – now we are faster and I was in front! We have been close to the front all weekend and I am so happy also for my crew. We work so well together, they work hard and we make no mistakes, and also the R1 is working so well. It’s nice to ride here in Assen and we have another chance very soon to continue in this way and try to get some more podiums!
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – SPRC: P3 / Race 2: DNF
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
In the second race, Garrett made a bad mistake, I am not sure why he tried to do hard braking like this in the first corner – I was surprised and I only feel angry because we lost so many points for the championship. At the start, I passed Rinaldi into the corner but it was not “easy”, it was difficult to stop my own bike so I cannot understand why Garrett arrived inside me. In Most I will only be looking to fight for the win, I am not looking at championship points any more. This weekend, maybe I just had some bad luck, but we fight hard again for the next race.
Paul Denning – Team Principal
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
What a day of mixed emotions, achievements and missed opportunities. This weekend has been a breakthrough for Andrea – a podium in the Superpole Race but for 20 millimetres of his tyre on the green run-off area and then finally, leading Race 2 handsomely for more than 10 laps and managing the soft tyre choice superbly to achieve his first podium in WorldSBK! A huge congratulations to Andrea and his crew! It’s been a challenging weekend on Toprak’s side but we also have to take the positives. Assen has been Jonathan’s place for some years and to run him as close as we have all weekend, and to be in an undoubted position to fight to win the second race, shows that we can fight to win pretty much anywhere. Toprak had done his job off the start, made his customary, controlled late braking to take the lead into Turn 1, so it’s very difficult to know what Garrett either was or wasn’t thinking to come from that far back and cause the crash. A disappointing end to what turned out to be a very positive weekend, but we’re very much “chin up” and looking forward to redemption in Most.
More, from a press release issued by GRT Yamaha:
Gerloff’s crash ends GRT’s podium chances in Assen
Garrett Gerloff (31). Photo courtesy Yamaha.
The excitement was high for the final day of on-track activity of the Dutch round of the 2021 FIM Superbike World Championship. With the forecasted rain holding off yet again, hopes were high in the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team garage too, given the impressive race pace shown yesterday in dry conditions by Garrett Gerloff. Although, the outcome was not what the team had hoped.
The American, in fact, made one mistake that compromised his entire day. After only running three laps in the WarmUp (14th with a 1’39.740, on a drying track), he achieved the objective he had set for himself when he recovered all the way to 8th position in the Tissot Superpole Race, having started from the last row. This result allowed him to keep his finishing position as his starting place for the long race of the afternoon. After a fantastic start, he attempted to overtake the leader Toprak Razgatlioglu in turn 1. The two made contact and the Turkish rider crashed out of the race. For the accident caused by his mistake, Gerloff was given a ride through penalty, which relegated him to last place yet again. In the rush to make up as many positions as possible in the final few laps, he crashed in turn 9, ending his already disappointing race. Afterwards, he was apologetic towards both Razgatlioglu and Yamaha, the victims of his mistake on the first lap. He now has two weeks to put the negative Assen weekend behind him and reset his focus, before heading to the next round at the Autodrom Most.
It was a much better day for Kohta Nozane, who concluded his comeback weekend in convincing fashion with a solid Race 2. Having sat out the morning’s WarmUp, the rookie was disappointed by his pace during the Superpole Race and decided to make major changes to the setup of his R1 ahead of the afternoon’s long race. The adjustments proved effective and Nozane’s pace strongly improved in the first part of Race 2. In the latter stages, though, he was unable to stay close to the group of riders he was battling with, due to the pain in his still recovering right middle finger. At the finish line the Japanese was 12th, but he aims to get much closer to the other Yamaha riders starting from the upcoming Czech round.
Garrett Gerloff: 8th / DNF
“I’m devastated and I can only apologise to Toprak and to Yamaha for today. I got a good start from the third row of the grid, I felt the contact in turn one, but I didn’t realise it was Toprak until I looked back. I’m sorry for him, as he paid a big price for my mistake, but also for Yamaha, who have worked tirelessly to mount a championship challenge. I can only apologise to both, although I am well aware that this won’t change the outcome.”
Kohta Nozane: 15th / 12th
“Today my Superpole Race was not that good. I then made a plan with the team in order to set up the bike in the best possible way, we discussed it carefully and by Race 2 the bike was way better. My best lap in the race was faster than the time I set yesterday in qualifying, so I am happy, but my finger is unfortunately not yet 100% recovered, so with around 16 laps to go I started struggling. I couldn’t keep the same pace until the end of the race, so the gap relative to the riders in front became much bigger. In the end I finished 12th, but it was really difficult to maintain this position and keep the others behind me. All the Yamaha riders are riding more or less the same bike and, when I see them be competitive and fast, I feel like I have to push myself to get better and aim higher to be like them, even though I am a rookie and every track is brand new for me. The next race in the Czech Republic will be brand new for many riders, the conditions will be the same for everybody, so I will try to get there with my finger fully recovered and push myself to reach the level of the other Yamaha riders.”
The world championship standings now see Gerloff in 6th place with 105 points, whereas his teammate is 16th with 21. The next time we start our R1s’ engines will be in twoy 3 weeks, when the WorldSBK paddock visits the circuit of Most for the first time. Free Practice 1 will get the show going on Friday 6 August at 10:30 AM, with FP2 later at 3 PM, local time.
Action from a British Superbike race at Brands Hatch in 2021. Photo courtesy MSVR.
Editorial Note: American Brandon Paasch, riding his Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS 765, finished seventh in British Supersport Race Two Sunday at Brands Hatch.
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Three different race winners as Mackenzie crowned Monster Energy King of Brands
Three different riders claimed victories in the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this weekend, with wins for Tarran Mackenzie, Jason O’Halloran and Christian Iddon. Mackenzie was also crowned as the Monster Energy King of Brands as the series welcomed fans back to the Kent circuit in unrestricted numbers.
Mackenzie became the fourth different race winner of 2021 in the BikeSocial race on Saturday, before his McAMS Yamaha teammate O’Halloran bounced back from his tough opening race in race two this morning.
The Australian crashed out in qualifying and he had to fight his way through to fifth in race one, but a second row start in the following race gave O’Halloran a fighting chance and he duly delivered his fourth race win of the season.
Danny Buchan initially took the lead from pole position into Paddock Hill Bend at the start of race two, from Mackenzie and Iddon. The latter was in an attacking mood on his VisionTrack Ducati as he moved into second at Hawthorns on the opening lap.
A moment for Mackenzie at Westfield dropped him back into fifth, whilst O’Halloran moved towards the front, taking the lead with a decisive move at Stirlings. Iddon also piled the pressure on SYNETIQ BMW’s Buchan and on the sixth lap; he made his move into Paddock Hill Bend.
Tommy Bridewell carved his way up the order after losing out off the line and he was soon threatening for a podium position too. By half race distance, the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider was into second. Iddon fought back to reclaim the position but Bridewell was determined and soon back ahead.
Bridewell chased down O’Halloran, however despite getting within striking distance; he ended second to score his fourth podium of the season as the McAMS Yamaha team claimed its second win of the weekend.
The battle for the final podium position went down to the wire with Buchan holding third ahead of the final five laps. Behind him however, race one winner Mackenzie was aiming to make amends for his earlier moment, charging through late on to pass both Iddon and Buchan to steal the final place on the podium.
Buchan was then under pressure from Iddon as he made a final attack over the closing laps to try and claim fourth position. Despite the pair trading blows on the penultimate lap, Buchan had the edge at the chequered flag.
Rory Skinner was able to lead the FS-3 Kawasaki charge in sixth place ahead of teammate Lee Jackson. They had a comfortable margin over Glenn Irwin, Peter Hickman and Gino Rea who completed the top ten.
Iddon then became the third different race winner of the weekend as the VisionTrack Ducati rider claimed a gutsy victory in a restarted seven-lap sprint to the chequered flag. The standings leader held off a late charge from Mackenzie who was crowned Monster Energy King of Brands.
The initial race start was declared wet, but as conditions continued to change there were a variety of tyre choices throughout the grid. As the race got underway Josh Brookes launched to the head of the field from 16th place, sixth row starting position, having opted for wet option on both front and rear.
The defending champion has been relishing the damp conditions this weekend and he headed the pack from O’Halloran, Buchan and Gino Rea. The VisionTrack Ducati gapped the field initially, but by lap five the conditions had started to change and Buchan had moved into the lead.
Buchan the took advantage of his intermediate rear and wet front combination to lead from the front as the SYNETIQ BMW rider bridged the gap on Brookes who was soon under attack from his teammate Iddon.
Iddon’s choice of an intermediate front and slick rear was coming into play and he was charging through the order as he moved into second and was hunting Buchan on a drying track. However a blow up from Rea brought out the red flag and it would be a seven-lap sprint to decide the final winner of the weekend.
The restarted race was declared dry and Buchan launched into the lead ahead of Glenn Irwin and Iddon, with the pair wasting no time in making their moves on the opening lap. Iddon had hit the front of the pack, but Buchan regained second place with Irwin in third.
Tarran Mackenzie though was firing his way through the order and despite running seventh on the opening lap, he climbed quickly into the lead group.
As the race reached its final three laps, Iddon was still ahead with Buchan shadowing his every move with a resurgent Brookes holding third place. Mackenzie moved into the final podium position placing on the fifth lap with a move into Paddock Hill Bend.
At the front, Buchan grabbed the lead on the penultimate lap, with a lunge down the inside at Paddock Hill Bend, but as the pair approached Druids, Iddon had reclaimed the position.
On the final lap, appeared to have the edge, but it was all change as a determined Iddon returned to the front and was able to make it stick. He was then under fire from Mackenzie, who had broken through into second with a move on Buchan, which put him in the pound seat to become the Monster Energy King of Brands.
O’Halloran hadn’t given up hope on a return to the podium either and the Australian was also able to pull a pass on Buchan to move into third on the final lap. Buchan crossed the line in fourth place ahead of Brookes, who claimed his best result of the season in fifth.
Glenn Irwin held sixth place, fending off Peter Hickman and Lee Jackson, with Rory Skinner and Danny Kent completed the top ten.
Christian Iddon – VisionTrack Ducati
Race 3 winner
“I was fired up for the restart and I got out front as soon as I could and set a pace that I thought was quite good, but I was second guessing myself a little bit in where some of the damp patches were. Because I was out front I didn’t know how hard to push it. I knew there were bits that were a bit sketchier earlier on so I thought ‘don’t lob it up the road in the lead’.
“Danny came past me with two to go and I gave it the old Larry Lunge at turn one and managed to make it stick and defended the second half of the lap. It’s nice to come out of clearways in first, it was a really nice race. I was just a bit excitable, but it was all good and I look forward to watching it all later!
“I’m really happy to take the win and leave here still as points leader. The other important thing is podium points, we banked five of them after what I would say was a very disappointing first race today for me. Fifth in the first race was difficult for me, so to bounce back was great – it was a level playing field for that last sprint and we won it, so job’s a dream.”
Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha
Monster Energy King of Brands winner, P2 in Race 3
“I got a get out of jail free card in the third race with the stop because I was nowhere, 13th or 14th before that, way behind everyone! I was lucky with that. I knew I was starting 12th and slicks was the way forward and whether it was a good or bad thing I had the mentality just to go for it.
“I had a really good first lap and good start and just picked off pretty much one rider a lap then got behind Danny and Christian with a couple laps to go. I couldn’t quite get past Danny but on the last lap I got a really good run onto the back straight and I just didn’t shut off until he did.
“I got it stopped then chased Christian to the last few corners, it’s hard to pass on the last part of the circuit and Christian rode a great last lap so it was always going to be tough to pass him.
“So to turn it around from almost not even scoring points to a podium and getting the Bennetts Rider of the Weekend Award and the Monster Energy King of Brands – that is really cool. I turned my day around this last race so I’m looking forward to Thruxton now.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Hat-trick for Rea at Assen as Locatelli claims maiden podium after Turn 1 drama
Jonathan Rea’s (1) team greets him with cheers as he takes the checkered flag at Assen. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Jonathan Rea battled back from eighth place after Turn 1 to claim his 15th victory at Assen while Andrea Locatelli came home third for his first ever WorldSBK podium
A dramatic Race 2 at the TT Circuit Assen in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship came to an end with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claiming his third win of the Prosecco DOC Dutch Round and the fourth hat-trick of his career despite finding himself in eighth place after Turn 1 after starting from first. Behind him, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) came home in second with rookie Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) claiming his maiden podium.
LIGHTS OUT AND RAZGATLIOGLU’S OUT
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) got a good start but found himself out of the race after American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) made contact with the Turkish rider at Turn 1, with the American placed under investigation for the incident by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards and given a ride-through penalty for the incident. The crash forced Razgatlioglu out of the race.
The incident forced Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) down into eighth place while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK), running the SCX tyre, found himself leading a WorldSBK race for the first time in his short career. It took until the fourth lap for Rea to be back in second place, as he looked to secure a hat-trick at Assen. Locatelli led the first half of the race as Rea closed the gap to Locatelli with the six-time Champion able to take the lead on Lap 12 of 21, with Rea on the SC0 tyre, on the run to Turn 1.Rea’s victory means he is now on 199 WorldSBK podiums, one away from a historical 200 podiums.
Locatelli was able to stick with Rea for the next few laps, but Rea soon found himself extending the lead over the rookie, with Locatelli having to start watch out for Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in third as the British rider closed in. On Lap 19, Redding made his move in the final sector of the lap to move into second place, with Locatelli coming home in third for his maiden WorldSBK podium. Locatelli becomes the first WorldSSP Champion to claim a WorldSBK podium as a rookie since Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 2015, also at Assen.
COMPLETING THE TOP TEN
Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) missed out on his 100th WorldSBK podium on his 200th start for Ducati with fourth place after charging through the field, fending off the challenge from Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) by just one second with the Spanish rider claiming his best result of the season so far.
Behind Bautista, there was a titanic battle for sixth place that culminated with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) crashing out at the final chicane while battling with teammate Michael van der Mark, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati); Rinaldi falling down the order as he selected the SCX tyre. Dutchman van der Mark claimed sixth ahead of Lowes and Rinaldi. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) claimed another top ten finish with ninth as Leon Haslam (Team HRC) rounded out the top ten.
ROUNDING OUT THE POINTS
Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) claimed 11th place in Race 2 at Assen with Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) securing another points-paying position with 12. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was 13th on his return to the Championship after undergoing a testing programme with the team. Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) finished in 14th place, ending a run of results for the Spanish rider of finishing in odd-numbered positions, while Sykes claimed 15th after his crash.
Andrea Mantovani (Vince64) missed out on a second points finish of the weekend with 16th place, with Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) the last of the classified runners. Gerloff’s race came to an end after he had taken his ride-through penalty after he crashed at turn 9 on his Yamaha machine, joining Razgatlioglu as a retirement from Race 2.
Hugo Millan, R.I.P. Photo courtesy FIM CEV Repsol Press Office.
Editorial Note: Hugo Millan was 14.
Hugo Millán passes away
Following a serious incident in European Talent Cup Race One at the MotorLand Aragón Round of the FIM CEV Repsol, it is with great sadness that we report the passing of rider Hugo Millán.
Millán was involved in a multi-rider incident at Turn 5, with the session immediately red flagged. The Medical Intervention Vehicles arrived at the site immediately and the rider was attended to on track before being transferred to the Medical Centre at the Circuit.
Despite the best efforts of the circuit medical staff, the Medical Centre has announced that Millán has sadly succumbed to his injuries.
Millán was enjoying his most successful season so far in the FIM CEV Repsol, claiming several podiums to demonstrate his consistency as he competed at the front of the class.
The FIM, FIM Europe, Dorna and MotorLand Aragón Circuit pass on their deepest condolences to Millán’s family, friends, team and loved ones.
The start of British Superbike Race One at Brands Hatch. Photo courtesy MSVR.
Editorial Note: American Brandon Paasch, riding his Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS 765, qualified ninth in British Supersport Saturday at Brands Hatch.
Mackenzie becomes the fourth different race winner of 2021 Bennetts BSB
Tarran Mackenzie became the fourth different race winner of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this afternoon as the McAMS Yamaha rider held off the challenge from his rivals in the opening race of the weekend.
Mackenzie fired the McAMS Yamaha off the pole position to take the lead in the 12-lap restarted race, ahead of Bradley Ray and Christian Iddon with Danny Buchan fourth, ahead of Tommy Bridewell, who didn’t get the launch he wanted off the line, in fifth.
Iddon was pushing hard in his quest to extend his advantage at the top of the times and by the end of lap two, he had moved into second. Bridewell was also cutting his way through the pack after his poor start and he was shadowing Iddon by the fourth before making a decisive move at Surtees to move into second position.
Bridewell then chased Mackenzie, but the McAMS Yamaha rider just had the edge to the chequered flag with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider forced to settle for second. Iddon was able to claim the final podium position though to extend his advantage over Jason O’Halloran in the standings.
Buchan was in the fight for the podium positions but he just missed out for SYNETIQ BMW in fourth place, however just behind him, O’Halloran had delivered a heroic effort to move up the order from his sixth row grid start to finish in the top five.
Lee Jackson led the FS-3 Kawasaki team charge in sixth place, pushing Ray back into seventh on the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW. Rory Skinner held on to eighth place after a tough race from his front row starting position to finish ahead of defending champion Josh Brookes.
Danny Kent completed the top ten for Buildbase Suzuki, nudging Glenn Irwin into eleventh for Honda Racing.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, BikeSocial Race 1 result:
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha)
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.225s
Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +1.802s
Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +3.589s
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +6.838s
Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +7.036s
Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +8.664s
Rory Skinner (FS-3 Kawasaki) +10.447s
Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) +13.494s
Danny Kent (Buildbase Suzuki) +13.856s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Brands Hatch Race 1:
Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 127
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 116
Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) 104
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 101
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 80
Rory Skinner (FS-3 Kawasaki) 69
Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 57
Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) 56
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha
BikeSocial Race 1 winner
“I felt strong from the previous run so I knew if I could get a good start and ride my own race I could set my own pace. In the first start I kind of gapped them a little bit so I don’t know why but I had in my head that I was going to do that again.
“I kept coming ’round and my board was ‘plus zero, plus zero, plus zero’, and at one point it was plus .3 with Tommy, but then it came straight back down again. It was a strange race because it was so short, you just kind of think ‘I’m going to go balls out for 12 laps’.
“It was intense, the gap didn’t increase at all so I had to keep my concentration as high as possible and make sure I was as consistent as possible, which I think I was. I got a little bit of breathing room on the last couple of laps there, but I didn’t let up – came across the line to get my first win of the year.
“I’m really happy – flag to flag from pole position, I couldn’t ask for much more. I hope we can get two more podiums tomorrow.”
Moto3 pole-sitter Jose Antonio Rueda (95). Photo courtesy FIM CEV Repsol Press Office.
Editorial Note: Canadian Torin Collins was 24th and American Kristian Daniel, Jr. was 37th in Hawkers European Talent Cup qualifying Saturday at MotorLand Aragon.
Qualifying surprises on scorching Saturday at MotorLand
An exciting race day lies in store after Qualifying produced two brand new polesitters for the FIM CEV Repsol at MotorLand Aragon
In soaring temperatures, the pace on track was just as hot with Jose Antonio Rueda (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) claiming his maiden FIM Moto3™ Junior World Championship pole position after dominating the weekend so far. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro Talent Team-Ciatti) grabbed the advantage in the Moto2™ European Championship as the team-mate title battle looks set to continue, while Xabi Zurutuza (Cuna de Campeones) achieved his first ever pole position in the Hawkers European Talent Cup.
For the third consecutive round, FIM Moto3™ JWCh saw a first-time polesitter with Jose Antonio Rueda taking top spot. The 15-year-old was fastest on Friday and made full use of the faster track conditions in QP1 to take pole position by half a second with the young Spaniard hanging on despite a late crash in the afternoon session. Diogo Moreira (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) lifted himself up to second overall with the fastest lap in QP2, while another surprise contender emerged in third as Marco Tapia (Leopard Impala Junior Team) earned his first front row start in the class.
Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Aspar Junior Team) will be one to watch from fourth with Takuma Matsuyama (Asia Talent Team) returning to form after a difficult round at Portimao, securing fifth on the grid. Ivan Ortola (Team MTA) looked in danger of starting towards the back after a technical problem ruled him out of QP1 but an impressive recovery in the afternoon saw him rescue P6 on the grid.
The fascinating Moto2™ Ech title battle could be in for a twist tomorrow with Alonso Lopez taking his first pole position since Valencia in May. All eyes were on his team-mate Fermin Aldeguer (Boscoscuro Talent Team-Ciatti), who could clinch the championship tomorrow, but the 16-year-old was forced to settle for second after crashing in QP1. Another pair of team-mates line up just behind with Adam Norrodin (Liqui Moly Intact SIC Racing Team) edging out Lukas Tulovic for his second front row start in succession. Xavi Cardelus (Promoracing) will be hopeful of another podium challenge from fifth with the second row completed by Aleix Viu (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Stylobike Team) who substitutes for Dimas Ekky Pratama this weekend.
In HETC, Xabi Zurutuza is well placed to challenge for a third straight victory after claiming his first career pole position. The title battle will take centre stage with nearest rival Hugo Millan (Cuna de Campeones) snatching second on the grid, setting the fastest Group B time of the day in the dying seconds of QP2. Rising Finnish talent Rico Salmela (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) will start from the front row for the first time in third with Maximo Martinez (Team Honda Laglisse) another rider to watch from P4.
Television networks and media platforms, in Europe and across the world, are showing ever-more interest in live broadcasts of FIM CEV Repsol events. You can enjoy the live races via:
All the results and information about the Championship are on the official website: www.fimcevrepsol.com
A “press release” is promotional text issued by a rider, team, company or organization to inform
the public about an event, product, or service from the issuer’s own point of view, and if deemed
to have news value, may be placed on roadracingworld.com as a service to our readers.
A press release is not an article written by Roadracingworld.com staffers. When a post is labeled with the words “press release”, it means that Roadracingworld.com is not responsible for its content and that Roadracingworld.com makes no guarantee that it is accurate. Not all press releases are posted and Roadracingworld.com may reject press releases if the content is too heavy on commercial promotion with little or no news value or if the press release contains obvious errors.
Accessibility
Accessibility modes
Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Online Dictionary
Readable Experience
Content Scaling
Default
Text Magnifier
Readable Font
Dyslexia Friendly
Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Font Sizing
Default
Line Height
Default
Letter Spacing
Default
Left Aligned
Center Aligned
Right Aligned
Visually Pleasing Experience
Dark Contrast
Light Contrast
Monochrome
High Contrast
High Saturation
Low Saturation
Adjust Text Colors
Adjust Title Colors
Adjust Background Colors
Easy Orientation
Mute Sounds
Hide Images
Hide Emoji
Reading Guide
Stop Animations
Reading Mask
Highlight Hover
Highlight Focus
Big Dark Cursor
Big Light Cursor
Cognitive Reading
Virtual Keyboard
Navigation Keys
Voice Navigation
Accessibility Statement
www.roadracingworld.com
April 27, 2026
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
