Penultimate Round For KRT

The compact 2020 FIM Superbike World Championship season will feature its penultimate round next weekend at the well-known WorldSBK circuit of Magny Cours, located in the epicentre of France. Jonathan Rea enters as the clear championship leader with his team-mate Alex Lowes looking to get back into the podium positions once again.

The second-to-last round will take place outside of Iberia for only the second time this season in what has been a unique WorldSBK campaign in terms of the outright number of rounds, due to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic.

With three races per round in the modern era it has still provided 18 individual races so far. Rea has won half of the races during a season that has delivered no fewer than seven individual race-winning riders – including his team-mate Lowes early in his first year as an official Kawasaki rider.

This weekend offers Jonathan the first arithmetical opportunity to secure the Riders’ Championship itself, should the overall results go in his favour strongly enough. He enjoys a 51 point lead at present and if this should grow to 63 points or more by the end of the weekend in France Rea will be crowned champion no matter the results of the final round, to be held at Estoril in Portugal, in mid-October.

Of his five successive championship wins Jonathan has secured three of them at Magny Cours, in the 2017, ‘18 and ‘19 seasons. He has taken six of his all-time record 97 race victories in WorldSBK at Magny Cours.

Starting his 2020 campaign on the Ninja ZX-10RR with a win and another podium finish at the opening round in Australia, Lowes is keen to get back into top-three contention to move himself up the championship table after experiencing some tough luck in recent rounds. Alex is sixth overall, just 12 points from the rider ahead of him, on the eve of the French round.

None of the top teams in WorldSBK has tested at the 4.411km long Magny Cours circuit this season, which throws another unknown quantity into the pre-race mix. Changeable weather is always a potential factor to take into account in central France at this time of year.

Friday 2 October will see the first qualifying action at the Magny Cours circuit, which will be hosting a WorldSBK round for the 19th time. Racedays will follow on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “Magny Cours is a circuit I have a lot of special memories of in the past. Recently they have resurfaced the circuit so we need to pay attention to that. In Magny Cours we will face cooler weather conditions than we have for most of this season’s championship. There is always the possibility that it will be wet but we will just take that in our stride. Magny is different to the circuits we have been riding on during the season so far. It is very stop and go, with a lot of hard acceleration and fast changes of direction. We have been strong in those areas in the past so we just need to understand our base set-up and manipulate that as the track requests. I have been feeling good with the bike this season and I am excited to get stuck in. Of course, while we need to keep one eye on the weather forecast, the target is always the same – to win races and go step-by-step.”

Alex Lowes, stated: “After a tough race in Barcelona last time out I’m excited to get back on the Ninja ZX-10RR. It’s a new track for me with this bike but a venue that both Kawasaki and I have had some good results at in the past. As always at Magny Cours it’s going to be about adapting well to the weather conditions but I’m looking forward to the challenge. Overall, it doesn’t seem right only having two rounds left this year. I still feel relatively new with the bike and the team so it’s about finishing this year as strongly as possible and then building momentum into next.”

Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) will enter the Magny Cours round in 15th place overall with a best individual 2020 season race result of eighth at the first Motorland Aragon race in late August. Valentin Debise (Outdo Kawasaki TPR) will continue to deputise for the injured Sandro Cortese. Chilean rider Maximilian Scheib (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) has undergone surgery to repair his recently injured shoulder and Spanish rider Xavier Pinsach will replace him at the French round.

2020 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics

Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019

2020: Races 18, Wins 9, Podiums 15, Superpoles 4

Career Race Wins: 97 (82 for Kawasaki)

Career Podiums: 183 (141 for Kawasaki)

Career Poles: 27 (23 for Kawasaki)

Alex Lowes:

2020: Races: 18, Wins 1, Podiums 2, Superpoles 0

Career Race Wins: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)

Career Podiums: 22 (2 for Kawasaki)

Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)

7 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)

5 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018 & 2019)

5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)

Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics

Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 156 – second overall

Total Kawasaki Podiums: 450 – second overall

Total Kawasaki Poles: 92 – second overall

SERT WINS ENDURANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!

SERT: GSX-R1000 – 2019/ 2020 EWC World Champion

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team has clinched its 16th Endurance World Championship crown at the fourth and final round at Estoril in Portugal.

Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon recorded 416 laps of the Estoril Circuit aboard their GSX-R1000 to finish the 12 Hours of Estoril in fourth position and claim the season victory by 18 points over runners-up YART.

SERT started the race from fourth on the grid on Saturday morning. Gregg Black had the first stint and, as usual, he performed well as soon as the race began as he achieved the holeshot.

Lap by lap, the SERT set their pace by staying close to the leaders, but without taking any risks. The first part of the event went according to Team Manager, Damien Saulnier’s battle plan. And as a result, by the eighth hour, the #2 Suzuki was fourth in the provisional classification and earned a seven-point bonus.

Masson, Black and Siméon then ensured very fast stints in order to keep the pressure on their main rivals. However, the magic of endurance racing also lies in its twists and turns, and during this final under pressure, the SERT were not spared: Two mechanical warnings (engine mounting bracket and gearshift selector) during the eighth and 10th hours of the race did not prove a major issue to the highly-efficient SERT technical staff who managed to repair rapidly without losing much time.

Damien Saulnier – Team Manager:

“I have a thought for the former SERT team, without whom we would not be here today. I also think about Vincent Philippe who was with us for the victory at the Bol d’Or. But I am also very proud of my new team. The SERT have always been a great human history and it is important for me to continue in this direction. I would also like to thank our partners, Dunlop, Motul, Yoshimura and of course all the others that helped us a lot and with whom we will continue the adventure.”

Gregg Black:

“Last year we missed the title. But we did it in 2020 with a new team. It has been a complicated year and this last race wasn’t easy either because we had to manage our advantage in the championship. However, we remained focused on our goal until the end. The SERT is a great team. I am very happy to be part of it and I hope to have many more great moments within this family!”

Etienne Masson:

“This title makes me extremely happy! I’ve been running after it since 2016, since Anthony’s accident. What happened next was very complicated. We had to get up and fight every day. Then we had to manage the new SERT and start almost from scratch. Finally, we had to deal with Vincent’s departure and the arrival of a new rider. There were many things to deal with, but everything worked very well from the beginning. The competition is getting tougher and tougher but the SERT never gives up!”

Xavier Siméon:

“It’s not easy to adapt to Endurance racing when you come from MotoGP. My teammates had a few doubts, I had doubts too. Nevertheless, I was warmly welcomed and in order to thank them, I gave 100% during the races. I feel something special for this team. My father was part of the family 20 years ago, as he was a Suzuki dealer. As for me, I also was European Champion with Suzuki. I hope that in the future I will also be able to celebrate a full title with the SERT!”

More, from a press release issued by Honda Pro Racing:

Second place for F.C.C. TSR Honda France at the 12 Hours of Estoril

12 Hours of Estoril

Circuito do Estoril, Portugal

F.C.C. TSR Honda France have wrapped up the 2019/2020 FIM Endurance World Championship in third place after the grand finale took place at Estoril yesterday (Saturday 26 September), where Freddy Foray, Mike Di Meglio and Josh Hook finished second aboard the all-new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.

Coming into the final round F.C.C. TSR Honda France were sitting second in the overall standings after their win last time out at Le Mans moved them 40 points behind series leaders SERT, but it was also mathematically possible for eight other teams to be in contention of the 2019/2020 EWC title.

The 12 Hours of Estoril was a new challenge for all endurance teams, historically the Suzuka 8 Hours hosts the season finale in July, but due to COVID-19 the season was reshuffled after some event cancellations, which saw the 24 Heures Motos (Le Mans) much later in the year and Estoril as the final race. Even at a new circuit F.C.C. TSR Honda France were looking strong from the first practices and hungry for the title fight.

Di Meglio started the 12-hour race for the team in second place after a strong qualifying session and once the flag had dropped the opening laps at the 4,182km circuit were frantic, with positions changing as the tyres warmed up to the cool morning temperature. At the first pit stop, Hook took over from Di Meglio and F.C.C. TSR Honda France were sixth.

At the end of the eight-hour mark all eyes were on the championship as SERT were down in fourth and they needed to stay in the top-ten to still be in with a chance of taking the title. Meanwhile, Honda’s endurance specialists were putting pressure on race leaders YART, maintaining second place and often taking back the lead thanks to Honda’s pit stops strategy. As a result of their good performance F.C.C. TSR Honda France took nine bonus points at the end of the eighth hour, boosting their championship ranking.

Around 11 hours and 20 minutes in to the race, F.C.C. TSR Honda France made their final pit stop, where they were sitting second and roughly one-minute and 10s behind YART, who needed to have a final ‘splash and dash’ stop. Coming down to the final minutes YART made their stop and managed to stay seconds ahead of the chasing Fireblade, where Di Meglio brought the team home in second place, 24 seconds from the win, having completed 421 laps.

Finishing the 2019/2020 FIM Endurance World Championship season in third place (24 points behind winners SERT), F.C.C. TSR Honda France made a stunning comeback from the 8 Hours of Sepang last December where they were 12th in the overall standings. Dominating the 24 Heures Motos they led from start to finish and were promoted in the standings to second place as they arrived at Estoril.

Dates for next year’s FIM Endurance World Championship are yet to be announced but F.C.C. TSR Honda France will be looking to start where they finished after showing the potential of the all-new 2020 Fireblade, where in its debut EWC race it took the win at Le Mans and finished this weekend’s 12-hour on the podium in second place.

Freddy Foray 5

Finishing second isn’t that bad, I would like to thank my teammates who finished the race and who did an extraordinary job on such a physical circuit like Estoril. I have some shoulder issues that are depriving me of strength in my arms, which caused me some trouble in Le Mans and even more in Estoril where we needed to have a strong pace. I will make the most of the inter-season to resolve this problem and I hope that I’ll soon be able to fully enjoy riding this fantastic bike.

Mike Di Meglio 5

The race was intense, we started with a tyre choice that wasn’t ideal for us. Then we managed to get a good race pace, and I think we could have fought for the victory towards the end, so the pleasure would have been even better. But I think that we have to accept this second place, it is a great result anyway. Everybody did a great job and it was only the second race on this new bike, so all in all it’s only positive experience for next year.

Josh Hook 5

We had a good bike throughout the race and we had the pace to win the race. It was definitely hard during the back-to-back stints towards the end. There are definitely some things we have to improve on in the pit lane, because I think this cost us a good chance of winning this race. But we have to be happy with the result, we finished second, our lap times were good and even if it’s not a win it’s a good result. When your bike is amazing, it doesn’t matter where you are. The team has made an amazing job in here and I want to say a big thank you to the team and everybody who was involved. I am already looking forward to next year.

Will more history be written as WorldSBK heads to Magny-Cours?

Jonathan Rea has his first chance to clinch World Championship number six as WorldSBK goes to another iconic venue for the penultimate round of 2020

The 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is all packed and ready to go to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours for the penultimate round of the 2020 season for the Pirelli French Round. Reigning five-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has his first chance to claim his sixth World Championship.

Should Rea leave Magny-Cours with a points lead of 63 points or greater, Rea will be crowned Champion for a sixth consecutive time, although he could win it after the Tissot Superpole Race with an 87-point lead. Magny-Cours is a circuit Rea has finished on the podium in five consecutive races, as well as clinching titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019, so he has good form and good reason to believe that a heroic sixth title could be clinched here. Teammate Alex Lowes will be looking to get back onto the podium, something he has not done since his Phillip Island victory. He secured three top-ten finishes at Catalunya and will be hoping to build on that at a track where he has two podiums – including in Race 2 last year.

Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) is still in title contention and currently sits 51 points behind Rea. After securing a podium in Race 1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Redding fell back in the next two races and will be hoping he can carry more of his speed from Race 1 across to the Magny-Cours weekend. Coincidentally, Redding leads teammate Chaz Davies by 51 points in the standings with Davies scoring four podiums, including a win last time out, in his last seven races as he hauled himself up the standings. Davies has won three times at Magny-Cours and will be hoping to add to that tally, although he’s not been on the top step of the rostrum there since Race 2 in 2017.

Just behind Davies is Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team), who occupies fourth in the Championship after his win in Barcelona and will be hoping he can claim more podiums at a circuit he has five already. Teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu has won twice in only five races at the French track, both from 16th in 2019, his first ever wins, but was declared unfit after a high-speed Warm Up crash at Catalunya; the Turkish rider will need to be declared fit after he was diagnosed with a chest injury but hopes he can return to action at a track he won his first ever race in the WorldSBK paddock at, back in 2014 in STK600.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) is the highest placed Independent in the Riders’ Championship standings despite being outscored by Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) at the Acerbis Catalunya Round; Rinaldi suffering a technical issue towards the end of Race 2 when fighting at the front while French star Baz was able to secure his second podium of 2020 with third place in the Tissot Superpole Race. Baz was a podium contender at Magny-Cours last year on his way to fourth in Race 1 and hopes for a first home rostrum in front of his fans this weekend coming.

Another rider who had an up and down weekend was Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), who finished fifth in Race 1 and was leading the Tissot Superpole Race until a spectacular highside just a few corners later ended his race. Unable to start Race 2 due to a technical issue, Bautista will be hoping to better last year’s showing at Magny-Cours, when he secured two top-five finishes. Teammate Leon Haslam has lots of experience at Magny-Cours, having raced at the circuit back in 2003 for the first time, with three podiums to his name – his last coming on a Honda in 2014.

BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team duo Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty come into the Pirelli French Round full of confidence having both secured their best finishes of the year in Race 2 in Barcelona. Sykes has 11 podiums at Magny-Cours and shares the record of pole positions with Rea, with four each, meaning Sykes will be hoping he can score more top five finishes. Sykes’ most recent podium of his career came at Magny-Cours, also the most recent for BMW. Laverty also has three podium finishes at Magny-Cours and after his strong showing last time out, will be hoping for another good weekend.

After securing his maiden WorldSBK podium, Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) comes into the French Round full of confidence; the rookie became the first American to stand on a WorldSBK podium since the late, great Nicky Hayden in 2016. His teammate, Federico Caricasulo, has raced at the circuit four times in WorldSSP and secured one podium, in 2017, and aims to use this experience to help him secure a top ten finish.

Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) comes to the Pirelli French Round with four consecutive point scores and hopes to be competitive given his past podium pace from 2018. Valentin Debise (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) will continue to substitute for the injured Sandro Cortese having scored a best finish of 14th at Catalunya. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) will be looking to make a step forward on a circuit he secured his joint-best WorldSBK result on, with tenth. Barrier and Debise being on the grid mean there are three French riders lining up for their home race.

Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) finished just outside the points in Race 1 in Barcelona but retired from the Superpole Race and Race 2 with the Italian youngster looking to bounce back at Magny-Cours. Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) underwent successful surgery on a right wrist injury and is aiming to return for Magny-Cours, while Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) will be not be racing after he underwent surgery on a separation of the right acromioclavicular joint injury and aims to be back for Estoril. He will be replaced by Xavier Pinsach this weekend.

#FRAWorldSBK: Title on the table: will the Cours(e) of history continue in France?

Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 6

1. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (290 points)

2. Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (239 points)

3. Chaz Davies (GBR) Ducati (188 points)

Two to go: WorldSSP takes on Magny-Cours for 2020’s
penultimate encounter

Plenty to play for during the Pirelli French Round as Yamaha can seal the 2020 Manufacturers’ Championship title

After the drama of the Catalunya Round, the FIM Supersport World Championship heads to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours for the penultimate round of the Championship, with the Riders’ Championship decided but plenty to play for up and down the grid at the Pirelli French Round. There’s a strong home presence which promises to bring battles of great magnitude to Champion Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), as the Italian heads to another new circuit.

Locatelli’s run of victories may have come to an end in stunning fashion during Race 1 at Catalunya but he responded in perfect fashion in Race 2 to claim his tenth victory of the season and secure the Riders’ Championship. Magny-Cours is a new circuit for the Italian, but new circuits have not stopped him winning so far in 2020 as Locatelli will look to continue his dominant season and end the year with more victories and more records in what is already an historic season. His BARDAHL Yamaha team suffered a double DNF last year and will hope that luck is back on their side this year.

Now second in the Championship, Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took two second-place finishes at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and now, the Frenchman looking to go one better at his home race and claim his first victory of 2020. He won at Magny-Cours in 2019 after a last lap scrap with Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) and has three podiums in his last four races, not finishing outside the top four in WorldSSP. Mahias could be a home hero once more.

Having been unfit for Catalunya, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) is currently on the entry list for WorldSSP’s visit to Magny-Cours but will need to be declared fit for the round; Cluzel suffering two fractures to his left leg following a crash in the Pirelli Teruel Round with Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse). It’s a circuit that Cluzel goes well at having won four times in WorldSSP and is the home round for the GMT94 Yamaha team.

Following a strong Catalan weekend, German rookie Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) visits yet another new track but hopes his momentum from Montmelo will carry him forward. Oettl may be competing at Magny-Cours for the first time in his career but the German has shown strong pace all season and will be hoping he can stand on the podium once again and perhaps even bag his first win.

Italian rider Raffaele de Rosa lies fifth in the Championship after battling from the pitlane in Race 1 to 14th and fourth in Race 2 and will be looking to continue his strong race pace. De Rosa’s best finish in WorldSSP at Magny-Cours is fourth, achieved last year, but has continually improved his results with every race here. He was 12th in his first race at the circuit in 2013 before returning in WorldSSP five years later with seventh. The Italian also has WorldSBK experience at Magny-Cours, securing a top ten finish in Race 2 in 2017.

Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) seemed to thrive as the sole full-time rider in the GMT94 Yamaha squad over the Catalunya Round and showed strong pace throughout; fighting in the lead group and, in the early stages of both races, leading the field. Perolari has raced at Magny-Cours twice in WorldSSP, securing a top-seven finish in both 2018 and 2019.

Catalunya Race 1 winner Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) is full of confidence following his shock victory and will look to be fighting in the top ten once again – this time, in front of his home crowd. He secured a fourth-place finish at Magny-Cours in 2019 while in WorldSSP300; the experience of the track is something he will hope will give him a slight advantage over some of his competitors.

There are two One-Event riders taking part in the Pirelli French Round with Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) and Karel Hanika (WRP Wepol Racing) lining up on the grid. Hanika has experience in WorldSBK having secured two points finishes at Laguna Seca in 2018 and joins Danny Webb in the team managed by James Toseland, while Frossard last competed in WorldSSP in the same year. Yamaha will be able to seal the Manufacturers’ Championship for 2020 by outscoring Kawasaki by three points across the two races; one Yamaha bike in the top 12 will crown the Japanese manufacturer as Champions, regardless of Kawasaki’s performance.

Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 6

1. Andrea Locatelli (ITA) Yamaha (263 points)

2. Lucas Mahias (FRA) Kawasaki (159 points)

3. Jules Cluzel (FRA) Yamaha (146 points)

WorldSSP300 readies for hair-raising Magny-Cours title fight 

With the Championship there for the taking, there’s even more dynamics to keep an eye on this weekend…

The 2020 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship heads to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours with the possibility of the Championship being wrapped up at the French track for the third consecutive season. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) leads teammate Scott Deroue by 16 points meaning that the Championship can only be done and dusted after Race 2. Mathematically, any of the top nine riders in the Championship can still take the title (besides a side-lined Ana Carrasco), making WorldSSP300 even more hectic than ever.

With three race wins, three other podiums and since Portimao, nothing but top five finishes, Jeffrey Buis has been a sensation in WorldSSP300 this year and has Championship match-point this weekend. The 18-year-old will be hoping that he can continue his strong run of form at a circuit where he took his best result of the 2019 season at with eighth. Can Buis boss his way to the top again?

Teammate Scott Deroue emphasises the MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT team’s work and backs up his teammate at the head of the field. Deroue only has one victory this year at Portimao but five other rostrums keep him in contention. A best result of third from last year, the 24-year-old aims to better that this weekend. A Dutch rider has never won at Magny-Cours in any class of the current WorldSBK paddock; can Buis and Deroue change that this weekend?

Or perhaps, we will see a resurgence from Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300), with the Turkish rider some 47 points behind Buis. Whatever happens, Sofuoglu’s title chances won’t be dashed in Race 1 but he needs to build on his two race wins and one other podium so far. Just 23rd in the race last year, Sofuoglu will surely be further up the order this weekend, but will he be in the title race come the end of Sunday?

60 points back and at risk of being locked out of the title fight after Race 1 on Saturday in France, Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) needs to be in the battle for victory from the off. Fourth in the standings and supporting Sofuoglu and Yamaha’s charge to the top, Orradre’s form of late has been troubling, with his worst results of the season at Catalunya. 19th in the Magny-Cours race last year, the winner of the first race of 2020 needs a return to the fore.

Lying fifth in the Championship, Ana Carrasco (Provec Kawasaki WorldSSP300) continues her recovery from a testing crash and has now left hospital, although is out for the rest 2020. That means that sixth in the standings, Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) could move up with strong results. He took Great Britain’s first pole and win at Catalunya and looked on course for a double until being wiped out on the last lap of Race 2. A new track for Booth-Amos, 64 points behind the Championship leader is sizeable and his title hopes could go after Race 1.

Elsewhere on the grid, you can’t rule Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) for a strong challenge, nor his teammate Mika Perez or Brazilian star Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD78), all seventh, eighth and ninth overall respectively. Completing the top ten in the Championship is Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT), who, after five races without points, took a thrilling first victory at Catalunya in Race 2 in an audacious final corner, last lap pass. With three top eight finishes in the last three races, Okaya’s teammate Koen Meuffels can’t be ruled out either, whilst one place him is Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo), who took his first podium in Race 1 last time out.

Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 6

1. Jeffrey Buis (NED) Kawasaki (158 points)

2. Scott Deroue (NED) Kawasaki (142 points)

3. Bahattin Sofuoglu (TUR) Yamaha (111 points)