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Category: Crew On Two

  • Thrilling Climax to WSBK Racing in Portimao

    Thrilling Climax to WSBK Racing in Portimao

    If Saturday’s Superpole and Race 1 from the Algarve International Circuit, Portimão was edge of the seat racing, what would Sunday’s racing hold in store for us? The reigning Champion, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a commanding lead from start to finish in both the Superpole and Race 1 – are we going to see a repeat performance?

    An update on Sandro Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) following his crash at the end of Race 1: Cortese underwent surgery for a fractured vertebra and has also suffered a fracture of the right tibial bone, four fractured ribs and a suspected fracture of the right ankle. Wishing Cortese a speedy recovery.

    Superpole got underway and again it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who claimed victory to start from pole position in Race 2 with Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) in second place despite the early pressure he put in on Rea having passed Rea into Turn 1 but then running wide allowing Rea to pass back into 1st and build a gap. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) finished the top 3 with his first podium since 2014.

    Despite an early challenge from Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finished 4th, Redding 5th and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in an impressive 6th place.

    Michael van der Mark at Portimão WSBK 2020. Image courtesy of Yamaha.

    In 7th place Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) managed to finish four seconds ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) and Leon Haslam (Team HRC) who were battling for 8th position.

    Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had an incident at the Turn 5 hairpin on Lap 2 resulting in both riders managing to continue with the race but having fallen down the order in so doing and unfortunately Davies subsequently retiring from the race a few laps later.

    With a few laps remaining at Turn 3 we saw Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) and Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) run off the track but fortunately for both riders they were able to continue with Superpole.

    After an eventful session the starting grid looked like this:

    Row 1 : Rea : Razgatlioglu : Baz  Row 2: Lowes : Redding : Sykes

    Row 3 : van der Mark : Rinaldi : Haslam  Row 4 : Gerloff : Bautista : Caricasulo

    Row 5 : Fores : Mercado : Melandri  Row 6 : Barrier : Ponsson : Gabellini

    Row 7 : Takahashi : Laverty : Scheib  Row 8 : Davies

    With 20 laps of racing, Race 2 gets underway with Rea just managing to stay ahead of Razgatlioglu going into the first corner, Redding goes up into 3rd and Baz is down to 4th. At Turn 5 Laverty goes down with his bike ending up in the gravel, Haslam goes up into 7th and on the last corner at Turn 14, Baz suffers a high speed off and goes rolling into the gravel thus bringing his race to an early end.

    Redding is now up into 2nd with Rea in 3rd and Lowes passes van der Mark up into 4th. By Lap 3 Rea puts in fastest lap and is just starting to pull out a bit of a gap ahead of Redding who has dropped half a second and is now feeling the heat from Razgatlioglu who is closing in. Van der Mark is hot on the heels of Lowes and Davies is looking to get past Haslam who is causing a bottleneck with Rinaldi and Fores closing in.

    Razgatlioglu goes sliding into Turn 5 on Lap 6, he manages to recover the bike and rejoin the track in 14th place and now has a lot of work to do to fight his way back up the field. Turn 5 strikes again when Lowes goes down too, again he manages to rejoin the track but only to make his way to the pits and an early end to his race.

    The gap between Rea and third place van der Mark is 3 seconds. Razgatlioglu is looking to get past Mercado to take 12th position and makes his move at the end of the start/finish straight into Turn 1 with a late braking move slipping up on the inside.

    Scott Redding at Portimao 2020 WSbK Image courtesy of Ducati

    On Lap 11 Van der Mark is closing in on Redding and Turn 5 strikes again when Haslam goes down rejoining the track back down in 13th. Bautista is challenging Rinaldi for 5th position and successfully passes and is now looking to close in on Davies who is in 4th place

    Redding is starting to look like he is struggling for pace as van der Mark is all over him and then at Turn 5 Redding runs wide allowing van der Mark to cut through on the inside and claim 2nd place but then loses ground, runs wide at the next corner allowing Redding to pass by on the inside, van der Mark tries to cut back through but doesn’t make it.

    By lap 14 Rea has stretched the gap to 4 seconds ahead of Redding with van der Mark hot on his heels determined to gain 2nd place back again.

    Gerloff runs wide in Turn 2 on Lap 15 onto the kerb and comes back onto the track and into Fores. Fores goes down and out but Gerloff manages to keep the bike upright going through the gravel to rejoin the track in 11th place.

    Van der Mark is not giving up and is trying at every available opportunity to get that 2nd place with Rea stretching his lead to a comfortable 5 seconds.

    On the penultimate lap, Haslam passes Melandri up into 12th position with Laverty having a look too. Razgatlioglu has made his way up into 9th and as Caricasulo runs wide, manages to make up another place. The battle for 2nd place is so close, van der Mark is not giving up but Redding is successfully defending his position to the finish line. Rea takes a comfortable win and is now 4 points ahead of Redding in the Championship.

    An absolutely thrilling nail biting race and a terrific end to a great weekend of WorldSBK racing.

    Round 4 takes places at MotorLand Aragon, Teruel, Spain on the 28th to 30th August.

    BK

    The Driver’s/Team Standings so far at the end of Round 3 look like this:

    Riders Standings Team Standings
    Pos Rider Points Pos Team Points
    1 Jonathan Rea 136 1 Kawasaki 162
    2 Scott Redding 132 2 Ducati 134
    3 Toprak Razgatlioglu 103 3 Yamaha 131
    4 Alex Lowes 91 4 Honda 60
    5 Michael van der Mark 82 5 BMW 48
    6 Chaz Davies 75 6 Aprilia 4
    7 Alvaro Bautista 55
    8 Loris Baz 54
    9 Michael Ruben Rinaldi 53
    10 Tom Sykes 47
    11 Leon Haslam 36
    12 Garrett Gerloff 22
    13 Marco Melandri 17
    14 Eugene Laverty 16
    15 Sandro Cortese 14
    16 Xavi Fores 14
    17 Federico Caricasulo 12
    18 Maximillan Scheib 10
    19 Leandro Mercado 7
    20 Christophe Ponsson 4
    21 Sylvain Barrier 1

    Featured image courtesy of Ducati

  • Thrills And Spills Aplenty As The #BSBRestart Heats Up At Donington

    Thrills And Spills Aplenty As The #BSBRestart Heats Up At Donington

    After all of the drama and excitement of yesterday’s (Saturday August 8th)  opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, how would rounds two and three pan out on day two of the #BSBRestart? Read on to find out. 

    Round Two

    It was more of the same for Honda Racing’s Andrew Irwin as he once again saw off older brother Glenn to take maximum points from round two at Donington Park.

    Pole sitter Josh Brookes started brightly aboard his VisionTrack Ducati but was pegged back by Glenn Irwin at the Old Hairpin. Christian Iddon improved his position to third place and soon had Andrew Irwin for company with the Carrickfergus man performing an excellent manoeuvre on Iddon at the Craner Curves whilst McAms Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran edged himself into the thoughts of the front runners by running in fourth.

    Australian rider O’Halloran was soon engaged in an interesting battle with Oxford Ducati’s Tommy Bridewell as the two swapped places during the midway point of the race. O’Halloran eventually prevailed and attempted to pilot himself within distance of the Hondas after swatting away the challenge of Iddon on lap 16.

    With five laps to go, the Australian made his move on Andrew Irwin and temporarily held second place before the Northern Irishman fired back and took back his position with a move at Schwantz Curve.

    As the action moved into the final lap, either one of the Irwin brothers or Jason O’Halloran could have taken the victory. It would be the younger Irwin sibling who prevailed, performing a smart braking move at Roberts to force his older brother wide and eventually take the win to complete a second Honda/Irwin 1-2 of the weekend with O’Halloran taking third for McAms Yamaha’s first podium of 2020.

    Kyle Ryde at BSB Donington Park 2020. Image courtesy of Suzuki Racing

    Buildbase Suzuki’s Kyle Ryde recorded a career best fourth place after securing the position thanks to a last lap move that consigned Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan to fifth place. Josh Brookes made up some lost ground to finish sixth ahead of Tarran Mackenzie and team-mate Christian Iddon.

    Tommy Bridewell’s bid for third place on lap 24 almost ended in disaster but the Oxford Ducati man recovered and fought his way back through the field to finish ninth with Hector Barberá rounding out the top 10 on the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW.

    Round Three 

    The Honda monopoly during the opening weekend of the #BSBRestart was broken as Tommy Bridewell turned out a superb, dominant win aboard the Oxford Products Ducati to take his first win of 2020.

    Save for a hairy moment early on that almost unseated the Wiltshire native, Bridewell’s dominance shone through from lights to flag and by lap 11, he was running at almost four seconds a lap quicker than the remainder of the field.

    Josh Brookes looked comfortable in second before being reined in by both Irwin brothers and Jason O’Halloran. Glenn Irwin was the first to move on the Australian before the race’s dramatic moment when Andrew Irwin made his move up to second.

    At the exit of Redgate, the younger Irwin pulled level with Brookes and a slight collision at the entrance to Hollywood saw the Australian fly off his VisionTrack Ducati and off the track at high speed, thankfully the 38 year old came out of the accident unhurt.

    The Irwin Brothers at BSB 2020 Donington Park. Image courtesy of Honda Racing

    The collision means that at the time of writing, the result remained under investigation however the maximum points achieved by Tommy Bridewell doesn’t need to be scrutinised further. Andrew Irwin finished in second but faces a time penalty with Glenn coming in third.

    Jason O’Halloran ended in fourth position ahead of Christian Iddon, Danny Buchan and Tarran Mackenzie. Kyle Ryde ended an impressive race weekend with eighth place in round three ahead of Hector Barbera in ninth and Ryan Vickers completing the top 10 aboard the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki.

    Support Class Round-Up 

    Former British Talent Cup winner Rory Skinner took maximum points from the opening rounds of the British Supersport/British GP2 Championship with a  pair of dominant wins on the Tyser Yamaha R6.

    Honda’s Tom Neave took race one of the Superstock 1000 weekend before Chrissy Rouse on the Crowe Performance BMW held off the challenge of first Lewis Rollo and then Billy McConnell to take the spoils in race two.

    Owen Jenner made it three from three aboard his Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki in the Junior Supersport class while Casey O’Gorman and Franco Bourne were the weekend’s victors in the British Talent Cup.

    Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

  • All Systems Go At Donington As BSB Finally Gets Underway

    At long last the 2020 Bennetts British Superbike Championship got underway this afternoon (Saturday August 8th) at Donington Park. Here’s how the action unfolded during round one of the #BSBRestart. 

    Andrew Irwin Winner, Glenn Irwin second and third Josh Brookes. Image courtesy of Honda Racing

    Honda Racing’s Andrew Irwin claimed victory at the climax of a thrilling three-way battle alongside his brother/team-mate Glenn and VisionTrack Ducati’s Josh Brookes.

    Buildbase Suzuki’s Kyle Ryde took the early initiative from his qualifying position of third and led during the early stages going from Hector Barberá, the Irwin brothers, Danny Buchan and the Ducati pair. Andrew Irwin went into second place during the second lap, out braving Barberá in a classy move at Roberts.

    Buchan crashed out early on and was joined back in the garages by Synetiq BMW’s Bradley Ray and then Barberá himself.

    Andrew Irwin claimed the lead from Ryde in the sixth lap as the Suzuki rider found himself as the filling in an Irwin sandwich as Glenn took second position to fight for supremacy with his brother. Josh Brookes had been biding his time and made his move on lap eight before being reeled back in by Ryde. Unfortunately for the Buildbase Suzuki man, technical issues forced his withdrawal from the race allowing Brookes back into third.

    It was Glenn Irwin who held the lead when Brookes eventually made his bid for first on lap sixteen, which was successful but only temporarily as the Irwin brothers made a brave attack on Brookes at Schwantz which powered the two Hondas into the top 2.

    During a pulsating final lap, Andrew Irwin made his final and decisive move on his brother which saw him take the lead, a stern defensive approach followed which saw the younger Irwin brother take the first win of the delayed 2020 season by a tight margin of 0.119s with Brookes in third.

    Brookes’ Ducati team-mate Christian Iddon claimed fourth place ahead of Oxford Ducati’s Tommy Bridewell. Luke Mossey aboard the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW came home in sixth. Tarran Mackenzie finished in seventh, ahead of team-mate and pole sitter Jason O’Halloran, whose progress was hampered by the necessity for evasive action after Danny Buchan’s accident. Ryan Vickers on the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki and Lee Jackson on the Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki rounded out the top 10.

    Attention now shifts to races two and three which will take place tomorrow afternoon (Sunday August 9th).

  • Edge of the Seat Racing from Portimao in Superpole and Race 1

    Edge of the Seat Racing from Portimao in Superpole and Race 1

    WorldSBK Superpole and Race 1 took place today from Algarve International Circuit, Portimão, Portugal with the reigning Champion, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) taking pole position by nearly three tenths of a second with Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) taking second place and Rea’s teammate, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), slotting into third place.

    Last weekend’s Race 2 winner, Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT – Racing Ducati); took a tumble at Turn 5 but was able to get back on the track and to the pits for some quick repairs by his team before getting back out on the track again to finish in 8th place.

    The top independent rider, Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), secured a second row start with his impressive pace with the highest place Honda of Leon Haslam (Team HRC) in tenth position. Haslam’s teammate, Alvaro Bautista crashed in Sector 3 and, like Redding, he was able to get the bike back on track and to the pits.

    After a tense session the starting grid looked like this:

    Row 1 : Rea : Razgatlioglu : Lowes Row 2: Sykes : van der Mark : Baz

    Row 3 : Rinaldi : Redding : Laverty Row 4 : Haslam : Gerloff : Bautista

    Row 5 : Davies : Cortese : Fores Row 6 : Caricasulo : Scheib : Mercado

    Row 7 : Melandri : Barrier : Takahashi Row 8 : Ponsson : Gabellini

    With 20 laps of racing, Race 1 gets underway with Rea getting off to a great start with the opposite happening for Redding who, by the first corner is down two places. Sykes on his BMW has a full on wobble nearly losing it at Turn 4 but incredibly recovers and stays on track. Lowes has dropped back into 4th and Redding is now in 6th by Turn 6 and along with Lowes is now closing in on van der Mark.

    Rinaldi and Haslam got off to a good start but by Lap 2 Sykes is down to 9th having started from 4th place but manages to make up a place by Lap 3. Rea has set the fastest lap and is now starting to pull away from Razgatlioglu in 2nd place.

    Lap 4 sees Redding pass Lowes but then, Redding runs wide and Lowes takes the place back but Redding is all over Lowes looking to get back past. At Turn 11 Redding manages to pass Lowes and this time he makes it stick.

    Scott Redding at Portimao WSBK 2020. Image courtesy of Ducati

    Third place is now being fought over by Baz, van der Mark and Redding with some incredible racing taking place with the Ducati all over the Yamahas and at one point they are neck and neck but still holding their positions. Van der Mark has a huge wobble and how he managed to hold onto it and his place is incredible.

    Lap 6 sees van der Mark running wide and losing two places allowing Redding up into 4th and Lowes into 5th.

    On the start-finish straight on Lap 8 Redding passes Baz in a very smooth overtake on the inside and then on the following lap Baz runs wide allowing Lowes and van der Mark to nip past. Meanwhile Redding’s teammate, Davies, is not having a good race at all and has now dropped back to 14th.

    By Lap 11 van der Mark is hot on the heels of Redding fighting for position and Baz is now down into 7th place having been passed by Lowes on Lap 12 who is closing in on van der Mark and Redding. The fight for 3rd place is edge of the seat racing.

    Rea, by Lap 15, has now pulled out a 4 second lead ahead of Razgatlioglu, both of whom are having a very controlled and smooth race.

    Lowes has gone up the inside of Redding and now Rinaldi is having a look. Lap 16 sees Redding run wide, Rinaldi tries to get past on the inside but doesn’t manage it. Lowes is edging away from Redding and the battle for fifth is hotting up.

    On Lap 19 Rinaldi passes Redding and they both run wide with Rinaldi managing to stay ahead but Baz slips past Redding up into 6th place with Sykes now having a look to see if he can pass by too.

    It’s the final lap and Redding is looking to get back past Baz but Baz is managing to hold the Ducati off for now. Rea crosses the finish line easily in 1st position followed by Razgatlioglu, van der Mark and Lowes. Baz managed to hold off Redding to finish 6th with Redding down in 7th.

    Fantastic racing in Race 1, Race 2 is going to be nail biting!

    BK

    Featured image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

  • Ducati claimed their first 1-2 finish since 2012 in WorldSBK Race 2 @ Jerez 2nd August 2020

    Ducati claimed their first 1-2 finish since 2012 in WorldSBK Race 2 @ Jerez 2nd August 2020

    Race victory in the Superpole race on Day 2 of the WorldSBK championship at Jerez at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Andalusia went to reigning Champion Jonathan Rea having taken the lead from polesitter Scott Redding at the start of the race to jump from third to first. Rea held the lead for the full 10 lap race.

    Redding went down to third having also been been passed by Razgatlioglu at the start but whilst battling with Redding, Razgatlioglu suffered technical issues thus ending his race early enabling his teammate van der Mark to claim a podium place.

    The top independent rider Loris Baz was up into fourth ahead of the Redding’s teammate, Chaz Davies in fifth place and despite suffering issues in Race 1, Tom Sykes was able to claim 6th place even though he did drop three places from his start position.

    Lowes finished in 7th place followed by the Yamaha of Gerloff and claiming the last points paying position was Haslam on the Honda.

    The starting grid looked like this:

    Row 1 : Rea : Redding : van der Mark

    Row 2: Baz : Davies : Sykes

    Row 3 : Lowes : Gerloff : Haslam

    Row 4 : Razgatlioglu : Bautista : Rinaldi

    Row 5 : Laverty : Cortese : Caricasulu

    Row 6 : Fores : Scheib :

    Row 7 : Melandri : Mercado : Barrier

    Row 8 : Gabellini : Takahashi : Ponsson

    Race 2 : After the warm up lap, the riders line up on the start grid waiting for the lights to go green and when they do, Rea gets a good start but Razgatlioglu gets an even better start moving from tenth on the grid to 3rd. Davies has a look around the outside of Razgatlioglu but couldn’t quite make the pass and is in 4th.

    On Lap 2 Redding goes alongside Rea at the right-hander of Turn 1 and passes on the inside going into the corner. The BMW of Laverty can be seen slowing down with what looks like a technical issue and is unable to finish the race.

    Going into turn 3 on Lap 3 Davies goes up the inside of Razgatlioglu into 3rd place, Razgatlioglu is looking to get back past but can’t manage it. On the following lap coming into Turn 9, Davies goes on the inside of Rea pushing him wide and sliding past in a very smooth pass up into 2nd. Ducati are now 1st and 2nd.

    Lap 5 sees Razgatlioglu pass Rea but Rea manages to get back past and hang onto 3rd position.

    Toprak Razgatlıoğlu at Jerez WSBK 2020. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

    On Lap 6, Takahashi suffered a crash at Turn 5 thus ending his race and then coming into the corner at Turn 13, we see Baz lose it and slide into the gravel. He was able to get the bike back up and out of the gravel and rejoin the track but was now down in last place.

    Razgatlioglu eventually passes Rea on Lap 7 and moves up into 3rd place whilst the battle for 5th is hotting up between van der Mark and Rinaldi, In the meantime the two leading Ducati’s of Redding and Davies are pulling out a comfortable lead against the rest of the pack.

    Lowes is looking to get past Rea whilst Rinaldi is looking to get past Lowes and on lap 12 Rinaldi keeps a tight line alongside Lowes going into the corner and manages to stay ahead moving up into 5th place. Lowes tries to respond but Rinaldi has firmly got his sights set on Rea and is edging closer to the reigning Champion.

    On the following lap, Rinaldi shoots up on the inside of Rea coming into a corner but then runs wide allowing Rea to move back past again but on Turn 13 Rinaldi pulls out of the corner onto the start/finish line and comes back past Rea on the inside in a very smooth overtake and up into 4th place which he manages to keep hold off.

    On Lap 16 Lowes passes Rea on the inside pushing Rea down into 5th and by the following lap we can see van der Mark chasing Rea down in the hopes of getting past too. Surely Rea must have an issue with his bike as he struggling to hold his position.

    Sykes is now closing in on Gerloff and by the last lap you can see the riders are struggling with their tyres in the heat with many running wide.

    Redding passes the chequered flag with a very comfortable lead over his teammate, Davis followed by Razgatlioglu and Rinaldi. Lowes finishes ahead of Rea who has managed to keep van der Mark behind him to finish 6th.

    Another brilliant race win for Redding, his second win of this weekend and a double win for Ducati with 1st and 2nd place.

    Scott Redding and Chaz Davis after Race 2 at Jerez WSBK 2020. Image courtesy of Ducati

    What a brilliant weekend of WorldSBK racing we have had and luckily we haven’t got long to wait until Round 3 which is next weekend, the 7th to 9th August at the Algarve International Circuit, Portimão, Portugal.

    The Driver’s / Team Standings so far at the end of Round 2 at Jerez on the 1st and 2nd August looked like this:

    Pos Rider Points Pos Team Points
    1 Scott Redding 98 1 Kawasaki 100
    2 Jonathan Rea 74 2 Ducati 98
    3 Alex Lowes 72 3 Yamaha 86
    4 Toprak Razgatlioglu 66 4 Honda 41
    5 Chaz Davies 57 5 BMW 27
    6 Michael van der Mark 47 6 Aprilia 4
    7 Loris Baz 37
    8 Alvaro Bautista 37
    9 Michael Ruben Rinaldi 30
    10 Leon Haslam 28
    11 Tom Sykes 26
    12 Marco Melandri 15
    13 Garrett Gerloff 15
    14 Sandro Cortese 14
    15 Xavi Forbes 11
    16 Maximillan Scheib 10
    17 Eugene Laverty 6
    18 Christophe Ponsson 4
    19 Federico Caricasulo 4
    20 Leandro Mercado 1

    BK

    Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

  • WorldSBK Race 1 Gets Off to a Fantastic Start in Jerez

    WorldSBK Race 1 Gets Off to a Fantastic Start in Jerez

    What a great restart to to the WorldSBK championship at Jerez this weekend (31 Jul-02 Aug) for Round 2 in Spain at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Andalusia after a five month break.

    Superpole took place earlier in the day with the Championship leader Lowes crashing at Turn 13 in the first phase of the session and was unable to set a lap time but was able to get back on the track with 15 minutes left of the session and will start the race down in 14th place.

    Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado took a tumble at Turn 4. He will start the race in 20th place.

    After a tense session rookie Scott Redding took pole position by just 0.034s over Rea closely followed by Sykes.

    The starting grid looked like this:

    Row 1 : Redding : Rea : Sykes

    Row 2: van der Mark : Razgatlioglu : Baz

    Row 3 : Davies : Bautista : Haslam

    Row 4 : Rinaldi : Laverty : Cortese

    Row 5 : Caricasulo : Lowes : Gerloff

    Row 6 : Fores : Scheib : Ponsson

    Row 7 : Melandri : Mercado : Barrier

    Row 8 : Gabellini : Takahashi

    Before the start of Race 1, a minute’s silence was held in memory of those who lost their lives to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

    With 20 laps of racing and the air temperature at 36 degrees, Race 1 gets underway but Redding does not have a good start at all but manages to cling onto 3rd place by the first corner, Rea goes up into first place whilst Razgatlioglu makes an incredible start and is up into 2nd place from starting 5th.

    On Lap 3 Caricasulo crashes at Turn 4 and although he manages to get the bike going again, unfortunately this is only to the pits.

    Lap 4 sees firth place man Tom Sykes slowing down and pulling over to the side of the track as he approached Turn 1. It looked like some kind of technical issue as he does manage to get the bike going again and back to the pits. He was able to rejoin the race on Lap 12.

    By Lap 5 Rea is pulling out a lead and Razgatlioglu and Redding are squabbling for 3rd place with Razgatlioglu managing to hold off the rookie for now.

    Lap 8, a very unhappy van der Mark, suffers engine problems with lots of smoke coming from his bike. He manages to pull over and park the bike before getting a lift back to the pits on the back of a marshal’s scooter.

    By Lap 9 although Rea is still holding the lead, the gap between Rea and Razgatlioglu is getting smaller and Lap 10 sees Redding having a look to get past Razgatlioglu whilst Davies, who is in fourth place is lapping half a second quicker than race leader Rea.

    Chaz Davis, weaving through the pack at WSBK Jerez 2020. Image courtesy of Dudcati

    On Lap 11  Redding passes Razgatlioglu in a very smooth overtake as he now sets his sights on the leader, Rea.

    Mercado suffered a crash at Turn 6 on Lap 12 ending his race. Lap 14 sees Redding going down into Turn 6 getting alongside Rea before forcing him wide to claim the lead and although Rea nearly gets back past Redding on Lap 15, it wasn’t to be and Redding starts to pull out a lead.

    Rinaldi puts in a fastest lap on Lap 16 and Davies is now up to 5th place but he soon passes Baz on Lap 17 into 4th place and has his sights set on Razgatlioglu. A few times on the last two laps Davies nearly gets past Razgatlioglu but then on the last lap he runs wide effectively ending his hunt for third place.

    Redding crosses the finish line 1st followed by Rea in 2nd and Razgatlioglu in 3rd.

    A fantastic Race 1 and restart to the season. Looking forward to Race 2 tomorrow.

    BK

    Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

  • Jackson Fastest In BSB Testing Despite Impressive Showing From Honda

    Jackson Fastest In BSB Testing Despite Impressive Showing From Honda

    The 2020 Bennett’s British Superbike Championship season is now tantalisingly close and the excitement kicked up a gear on Tuesday 28th July as the teams descended on Donington Park for an official test session.

    Andrew Irwin, aboard the new Honda FireBlade for the factory team, set the pace in the first two sessions posting a fastest lap time of 1.07.079 in session one, followed up by a 1.06.663 in the second run-out. Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan was second fastest in the first two sessions recording times of 1.07.216 and 1.06.813 respectively.

    The elder of the Honda Racing Irwin brothers, Glenn, was quickest in the third and final session, posting a time of 1.06.640 with Buchan again recording the second fastest time with a 1.06.776.

    In session four, it was Buchan’s team-mate Lee Jackson who finished top of the pile, recording an impressive 1.06.583 aboard his Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki with McAms Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran finishing the final session second fastest with a 1.06.597.

    It was indeed Jackson who ended the day fastest overall, with O’Halloran again in second. Hector Barbera (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) was third, Glenn and Andrew Irwin rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively.

    Many people’s tip for the championship, Josh Brookes (PBM VisionTrack Ducati), best time came in session four with a 1:06.719. Brookes’ team-mate Christian Iddon’s best time was recorded in session three with a 1:06.719.

    In the support classes, Rory Skinner of Tyser Yamaha was quickest of the Supersport riders across the four sessions, finishing top of the pile in all four with his quickest coming in session three with a 1.08.450. Bradley Perie aboard the Diamond H Racing Yamaha was second in all four sessions.

    Chrissy Rouse dominated the test sessions for the Superstock riders, finishing fastest in three of the four sessions, piloting his Crowe Performance BMW to a 1.08.236 in session four, his fastest time of the day. Danny Kent, aboard the Morello Racing Kawasaki, finished fastest in session three, posting a 1.08.304.

    With testing out of the way and some of the lockdown-enforced dust shaken off, focus shifts to the weekend of 7-9 August when BSB returns to Donington for the opening round of the 2020 season.

    Featured Image courtesy of Honda Racing

  • The Return of World Superbikes 2020

    The Return of World Superbikes 2020

    World Superbikes returns this weekend (31 Jul-02 Aug) for Round 2 in Spain at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Andalusia after a five month break when the 2020 battle for the title WorldSBK championship recommences.

    At the moment there are 8 more rounds of this season but of course in this current situation this could change at anytime. The remaining rounds are:

    Round 3 : Algarve International Circuit, Portimão, Portugal : 07-09 August

    Round 4 : MotorLand Aragon, Teruel, Spain : 28-30 August

    Round 5 : MotorLand Aragon, Teruel, Spain : 04-06 September

    Round 6 : Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona : 18-20 September

    Round 7 : Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France : 02-04 October

    Round 8 : Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France : TBC

    Round 9 : Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, Riviera Di Rimini, Italy : TBC

    It has just been announced that after extensive discussions between the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO), that three rounds have been cancelled and these were to be held at Donington Park (the first time in WorldSBK history that there will not be a round in the UK); the Dutch Round at the TT Circuit Assen (which has been a permanent fixture on the calendar since 1992) and the Qatar Round at the Losail International Circuit.

    The Driver’s / Team Standings so far at the end of Round 1 at Philip Island on the 29 Feb-01 Mar looked like this:

    Pos Rider Points Pos Team Points
    1 Alex Lowes 51 1 Kawasaki 57
    2 Scott Redding 39 2 Yamaha 47
    3 Toprak Razgatlioglu 34 3 Ducati 39
    4 Jonathan Rea 32 4 Honda 23
    5 Michael van der Mark 31 5 BMW 17
    6 Alvaro Bautista 20
    7 Loris Baz 20
    8 Chaz Davies 19
    9 Leon Haslam 17
    10 Tom Sykes 17
    11 Maximillan Scheib 10
    12 Sandro Cortese 10
    13 Michael Ruben Rinaldi 7
    14 Xavi Fores 5
    15 Eugene Laverty 5
    16 Federico Caricasulo 4
    17 Garrett Gerloff 2
    18 Takumi Takahashi 0

    During the five months hiatus, teams were busy developing their bikes, engines and race strategies and the riders were continuing with their fitness regimes to ensure they are race fit.

    Leon Haslam at MotorLand Aragon WSBK test on 16-17th of July 2020. Image courtesy of Honda racing corporation

    Two days of testing took place at MotorLand Aragon on the 16th/17th July where track temperatures were pushing 50 degrees celsius during the afternoon session. Topping the board at the end of day one was Team HRC’s Leon Haslam who beat his teammate Alvaro Bautista followed by Christophe Ponsson riding for Nuova M2 Racing who are putting in five wildcard appearances this season on the Aprilia RSV4 1000. Ponsson was incredibly only about a second off Haslam’s pace.

    Day two of testing still saw the scorching heat meaning the track temperature was high again leading to a few crashes and red flags with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) riding the ZX-10RR being the man to beat after setting a blistering time in the morning session with his teammate Alex Lowes in 4th.

    Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was 2nd a mere 0.156s behind Rea and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 3rd with his teammate Eugene Laverty in 6th place.

    Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) finished 5th and whilst Leon Haslam in the Honda HRC team was inside the top five after lunch, he finished the day in 9th with his teammate Alvaro Bautista down in 15th.

    So after five months of waiting this is shaping up to be an exciting restart to the 2020 WorldSBK season.

    Featured image courtesy of Ducati

  • A triple Yamaha Podium at the AndalucÍaGP at Jerez

    A triple Yamaha Podium at the AndalucÍaGP at Jerez

    In the build up to the race everyone is talking about Marc Marquez, and how gutted they are that he’s not racing.  This is the first,  yes first race he’s missed in his MotoGP career.

    Fabio Quartararo did an interview before the race saying that in last weeks’ free practice the bike didn’t seem that good, but the progress through qualifying was outstanding. Fabio said last week that if Marc Marquez stays on track he would win the race and without Marquez in the race, it’s not going to be as good.

    On the grid Jack Miller says he is looking forward to the race but it’s really hot at the track, probably as hot as Malaysia. Track temperature is 60 degrees and 40 degrees ambient temperature. The Ducati is looking good on the grid though.

    Tyres are being talked about and the majority of the grid are going with hard front, soft rear with only Alex Rins going soft front and rear.

    Into the first corner. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

    The excitement builds during the warm up lap and the grid forms ready for lights out, and we are off! 

    Rossi had a good start but we had a skittle effect on the first corner, the riders involved were Oliviera, Smith and Binder. As a result of the crash, Oliviera is out of the race.

    At the end of the first lap top 3 is as follows:

    Fabio Quartararo : Yamaha
    Valentino Rossi : Yamaha
    Maverick Vinales : Yamaha

    The riders are pushing the limits of these bikes, Rossi has been 0.6 secs behind the leader and you know Rossi , he’s always getting ready to make a move.

    Miller left his seat for a second as the bike twitches. Rossi was being pushed by Maverick, who’s getting close to the Doctor.

    Cal Crutchlow and Alex Rins are running last places which isn’t hard to understand because of the injuries they are carrying.

    Fabio Quartararo hasn’t really been challenged for first place. The only thing that could stop him is his own bike, with the Yamaha’s having issues in the heat.

    Iker Lecuona came off with 19 laps to go, he was hoping to have kept the bike going but sadly, he couldn’t.

    Alex Rins is making this ride count as he’s slowly coming up the grid,  he’s now in 15th and in the points with 18 laps to go.

    Alex Marquez is riding in 14th with 17 laps to go, Jack Miller has been under attack from a bunch of riders and sadly lost a couple of places. Unfortunately, he came off on turn 9 of lap 11 which was gutting as he’s a great rider and looked promising in this race.

    Rossi is now 6 seconds behind leader, Fabio Quartararo, and other then the tyres falling off, I don’t think he will be caught.

    Bagnaia has overtaken Rossi for second place,  let’s see if he can catch the leader.

    With 13 laps to go, the bikes look to be struggling with grip on the front end but pushing these bikes is what these riders do.

    Brad Binder has just taken a spill as the bike kicked back going round a corner, the bike said I am not having any of this, and flipped the rider. It looked like a painful exit to the race.

    Alex Marquez is building momentum on his bike but he’s in the shadows of his brother’s reputation.

    The Yamaha’s have been having problems all weekend and indeed Morbidelli’s has just given up sounding like a bag of nails and has now retired from the race.

    Crutchlow has entered the pit lane and has an issue but decided that with the amount of riders on the track to go back out as he can score points.

    Seven laps remain and only 14 riders out on the track so everyone can get a point.

    Rossi is still keeping Vinales at bay in 3rd place and the last 3 laps seem to be as good as the previous laps as everyone on track is battling for places. Maverick is now up Rossi’s exhaust, they are that close!

    Rossi is teasing Maverick but the Spaniard makes it stick and now the Doctor is chasing Vinales but he is pulling away.

    LAST LAP

    Everyone on track is pushing so hard, Maverick just had a little wobble but was okay; Fabio Quartararo wins for the second time this season followed by Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi.

    It’s an all Yamaha podium which seemed unlikely at the start of this race.

    Featured Image courtesy of Yamaha racing

  • MotoGP Qualifying

    MotoGP Qualifying

    After FP4 Marc Marquez looked like he was favouring his right arm by taking right hand corners in two movements, he was hesitant on left hand corners and not going as low as usual.

    Qualifying 1

    As all the bikes were going out on the track, Marc Marquez only managed an out lap which he did not finish, he went straight down the pit lane, got off the bike and walked to his trailer indicating that his surgically repaired arm isn’t feeling good from that, you could say.

    Cal Cruchlow was banging out good times and didn’t seem to have an issue with his wrist as he got to 3rd in Q1. Alex Marquez came off the track in Q1 but he did put a time in of 1’38.648

    The top 3 in Q1 were:

    1 : Miguel Oliveira : Red Bull KTM Tech 3 : 1’37.355

    2 : Franco Mobidelli : Petrona Yamaha SRT : 1’37.512

    3 : Cal Crutchlow : LCR Honda Castrol : 1’37.644

    After qualifying these are the results for the top 12 riders:

    1 Fabio Quartararo FRA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1’37.007s
    2 Maverick Viñales SPA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.095s
    3 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Pramac Ducati (GP20) +0.169s
    4 Valentino Rossi ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.335s
    5 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) +0.337s
    6 Franco Morbidelli ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.405s
    7 Jack Miller AUS Pramac Ducati (GP20) +0.416s
    8 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.457s
    9 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16)* +0.589s
    10 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.593s
    11 Danilo Petrucci ITA Ducati Team (GP20) +0.899s
    12 Pol Espargaro SPA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +3.270s
    Fabio Quartararo at Andalucia MotoGP 2020. Image courtesy of Yamaha-racing

    The Repsol Honda Team have confirmed that Marc Marquez will not be taking part in the race on Sunday.

    Fabio Quartararo starts from pole. After he finished his timed lap he was going into turn one but the back end didn’t want to stay behind him, but he kept control and showed his skills. This is going to be a good race tomorrow.

    Valentino Rossi finished 4th in Qualifying which means the Doctor has a great chance here if he doesn’t have engine issues like last week.

    Maverick Viñales had a great performance again in qualifying.

    Alex Rins didn’t look comfortable with his shoulder injury, it was looking like it was giving him some issues but on the track tomorrow it could change everything.

    Andrea Dovizioso had a slow start at one point being down in 13th but by the end of Q1 he had made it up 4th.

    It promises to be an interesting race tomorrow.