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Racing Armchair sits down with Chrissy Rouse of Crowe Performance BMW

Racing Armchair sits down with Chrissy Rouse of Crowe Performance BMW in an exclusive interview to discuss his route to Superbikes, and the game plan for the upcoming weekend at Thruxton and beyond.

Chrissy Rouse has made his full-time debut in the British Superbike Category in 2022 in partnership with Crowe Performance BMW. Having previously dipped his toe into Superbikes back in 2018 with the Halsall Racing team, riding a Suzuki at the time, Chrissy has this year made a full time move into the series to compete and complete the 2022 season.

Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane

Chrissy has previously ridden under the Crowe Performance banner when he took the 2020 Superstock 1000 Championship and hopes a return to the familiar infrastructure Phil Crowe provides will be a successful combination and one that ultimately pays off for both rider and team.

Racing Armchair spoke with Chrissy in an exclusive interview recently to discuss how the season came to be, how it’s going and what his aspirations are.

Racing Armchair – First and foremost Chrissy, you’ve made some career changes over the last few months. We all know you as the Motorcycle Racing math teacher. Why the career direction change?

Chrissy Rouse – So I decided to make some changes back in April. With entering the British Superbikes this year as a fully fledged privateer team, I’ve had a lot to organize. All the things in between rounds, getting to the races, setting up in the paddock etc. All these things wouldn’t have been possible had I remained in the teaching role. I needed something more flexible. In fairness I wasn’t “Just a teacher” working Monday to Friday. I was teaching 3 days a week, but I was also doing the Podcast, some commentary work for Eurosport and some other things but I found the teaching role really restrictive. I had to be in the classroom Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. As it stands, that isn’t going to work for me, so I had to make a choice and leave that behind for now. As a replacement for that role, I now work for the BSA brand of Motorcycles as a Franchise Manager in Coventry.

Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane

Racing Armchair – Is that in the line of a Sales Representative / Business Development Manager type of role? Approaching distributors and forging relationships and finding motorcycle outlets willing to stock and sell the motorcycles?

Chrissy Rouse – Absolutely. We have announced 7 dealerships and are currently in the process of building the dealer network. Once the dealership network is up and running, then the role is more of a “go-between” for the dealerships and the main brand.

Racing Armchair – Ok cool. Thanks for that. I’m sure all your fans wish you all the best in the role. Now touching on the Crowe deal, you obviously won the National Superstock 1000 Championship with Crowe Performance back in 2020, but for 2021 you signed with GR Motorsport on the ZX-10? Why was that?

Chrissy Rouse – In 2020, I was self-financing the running costs of going racing and as part of that, I had to take financial responsibility for the bike. So I was always riding knowing that if I crashed the bike, it was going to cost me a lot of money. Now obviously as a part time schoolteacher, I didn’t have that kind of money. It was a lot of money to be playing with. I was offered the GR Motorsport ride [for 2021] and it was financially a much better position and therefore a much better decision for me. There was also a route to Superbikes as well. I had won the championship with Crowe Performance [in 2020] and there were no offers from teams and no available rides in the Superbike Championship but I thought if I rode for a Superstock team and defended the championship, that would maybe open the door for a Superbike ride. In hindsight it was a bad move on my behalf. In 2020 I was averaging 18 points a race and in 2021 I averaged 9 points a race.

Racing Armchair – Do you have any specific reasoning behind why that was?

Chrissy Rouse – In 2020 I felt like I was getting the best out of the BMW S1000 but the following season, on the ZX10, I was pushing just as hard but for some reason I just wasn’t as competitive. The year that I won the championship, Tom Neave was 2nd on the Honda and Billy McConnel finished 4th in the standings on the BMW. The following season, Tom and Billy were 1st and 2nd in the championship and I was 7th. It’s not like there were riders that just came in and beat us. So looking back, it was a bad move for me with GR Motorsport.

Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane

Racing Armchair – Well looking forward to 2022, you again have teamed up with Crowe Performance BMW. Can you tell me how that came about?

Chrissy Rouse – At the end of 2021, I didn’t have any solid offers for a Superbike ride, and I really wanted to step up to the class. I won the championship with Crowe Performance and I feel very at home with the team as it’s like a proper family team unit. The first thing was to try and finance it. We had a few meetings towards the end of the year, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to raise the required funds to cover it but I worked for months and months with my current sponsors. I picked up new sponsors. I worked as hard as I could to secure the finances and we decided to go for it.

Racing Armchair – Is there a magic number for the finances you had to find? Are you allowed to talk about the pound note value?

Chrissy Rouse – Yes absolutely but it isn’t a set cost. Things change and move around. You have to account for things like crash damage and there are lots of things that need taking into consideration. I’ve budgeted myself for something like £10,000 a weekend. Well, £110,000 is what I have had to raise.

Racing Armchair – JESUS! So without £100,000 as a privateer, you are wasting your time trying to put a full season together?

Chrissy Rouse – No. That doesn’t account for buying the bike, the truck and loads of other things. So if you were literally starting from scratch, you’d need way more than that. I’d say at least £200,000 to just get on the grid for every race. Just to clarify though, the team own the bike in my case. Crowe Performance own the BMW but I pay for and towards the running costs.

Racing Armchair – Now that you’re a full-time rider, on the grid, is it harder than you thought it was going to be? I heard on your podcast that you mentioned you’d even surprised yourself with some of the people you’ve been lapping and racing with.

Chrissy Rouse – No I wouldn’t say I am surprised. I would say, at times I am not doing as well as I could be and I don’t feel like I have exceeded any of my own expectations yet.

Racing Armchair – Is that down to good old human nature though and being a driven person? Piling the pressure on yourself?

Chrissy Rouse – For me it’s a very careful balance because I am wanting to learn and progress on the superbike but I have to be careful in my performance. I cannot be throwing the bike at the scenery every week. I would say I am riding within my limits all the time but for me the most important thing is steady progression and learning as much as I can.

Racing Armchair – I think you are progressing massively. After a somewhat difficult start to the year with a few DNF’s here and there, it seems you are finding your feet and your points finishes are coming.

Chrissy Rouse – Well the first race of the year, my engine blew up. The second race, Tom Sykes fell off right in front of me and left me nowhere to go but to crash and I fully knocked myself out in that one, which really blew my chances early doors. So that was Race 1, 2 and 3 done. Then I missed the test at Oulton Park, so that ruined Oulton for me, including a DNF in race 3 where my clutch went. Donington Park was the first full and proper round I got. I feel my season started at Donington if I am honest. Brands weekend I also had a clutch go in race 1, so another mechanical DNF there too. That also meant I had to start at the back of the grid for race 2. We have had a few little gremlins and it hasn’t been all plain sailing but the main thing is I have been staying on the bike and progressing.

Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane

Racing Armchair – Again, I can see that. At Knockhill you were racing around with Sykes and Taz. At Brands you finished race 2 not far back from Danny Buchan and in race 3, I think you had something like 4/6 seconds between you and Andy Irwin / Danny Buchan.

Chrissy Rouse – If you compare against the other BMW’s then look at Donington. I was very close to the Factory BMW’s and managed to finish in front of them in one race. If you are looking at what was my best round, Donington were my best races. Another thing to mention though is at Brands Hatch, I didn’t have my crew chief with me. I had my mechanics etc but I didn’t have my crew chief.

Racing Armchair – So when you come back into the garage thinking the bike needs a click here or a turn there, how did you manage that situation?

Chrissy Rouse – I’m good mates with Steve Brogan. He helped out. He wasn’t working for us over the weekend but he was at Brands, so Steve was coming into the garage during the sessions to help me with bike setup. Now he doesn’t know anything about the way we had the bike set up, he has no experience with our bike on those tyres etc, but it was more for moral support. In fairness though, between sessions I do pester other teams now and then to get some help or a little guidance. FHO are really helpful. They help us out all the time. For example, before the next round I will speak to them and get some advice on what to do with the bike. I’m not just wheeling the bike out and riding it.

Racing Armchair – Is this like paddock lifestyle where other teams don’t like to see people struggling when they can help?

Chrissy Rouse – Exactly, yes!

Racing Armchair – Is there a plan moving forward? I work on the assumption that any rider would have aspirations to move up the pecking order with more established teams, when perhaps their riders aren’t performing as well as you?

Chrissy Rouse – I see what you’re saying but I don’t have a particular plan as such. Obviously a good option moving forward would be mainly to attract a bigger sponsor. I have everything I need to run a team. I have a truck, I have the garage equipment, I have some GREAT people and I really love my team. If I could get the financial backing to run my own team, I would absolutely love that. Failing that if there was an interest from a more established team, then that’s something I would have to look at. I haven’t got anything firmly fixed for next year just yet but I am open to suggestions.

Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane

Racing Armchair – I guess if any established team rang any rider to have a chat, put the feelers out for next year, would I be right in assuming that every single rider on the grid would at least entertain having a conversation about it?

Chrissy Rouse – 100%. Yes!

Racing Armchair – OK, thoughts moving forward to Thruxton? You’ve had podium finishes there last year, although we didn’t attend the circuit in 2020, in your championship winning year, how do you feel about the circuit?

Chrissy Rouse – To be honest, before ANY round I am always really excited. The whole weekend is what I live for, so I am never ‘not’ excited for a race weekend. Thruxton is a track that often throws up some anomalous results. It can work in your favor, or it can go the opposite way as well. I’m an optimist! I’m going to optimistically hopeful that there will be an anomalous result and I’ll maybe get a bit higher up than usual, but obviously we will just go and try to do our best and I’m looking forward to the challenge. Trying to get the best out of the bike,  and the tyres and hopefully be there at the end of the race to pick up some more points. That’s the aim!

Racing Armchair – There isn’t much in it now between you and the riders above you. It’s a handful of points in between yourself and established names in the series.

Chrissy Rouse – If you look at the championship, the 3 riders above me are Ryan Vickers, Storm Stacey and Tom Neave. Now Storm and Tom are only 1 point ahead of us. Now considering what a s**t run I have had, mechanical DNF’s and missing races, I think to be 1 point behind them when they’re in proper established Superbike teams, with proper support, and for both riders it’s their actual job/career, for me to be anywhere near them is a massive win in my eyes. If I can beat them on track, that is also a massive win for me.

Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane

Racing Armchair – Chrissy, thanks for your time and good luck at the next round and moving forward in the championship this year.

To keep up with the latest information from Chrissy, you can visit www.chrissyrouse.com or follow him on his social media pages. Chrissy also hosts the Chasin’ the Racing podcast with road racer Dominic Herbertson, which can be found on YouTube and all other podcasting platforms.

 

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F1’s silly season goes into overdrive

Although Sebastian Vettel’s retirement announcement on Thursday was a surprise to many, it wasn’t wholly unexpected. Few, however, could have predicted the events that have transpired since.

Aston Martin admitted to being caught unaware by Vettel’s retirement, with team principal Mike Krack talking only weeks ago about retaining the four-time world champion for another season. The rumours seemed to suggest that they would be replacing one German with another, with Mick Schumacher and current Aston Martin reserve Nico Hulkenberg being the main names touted for the seat.

It’s safe to say, therefore, that Monday’s announcement that Fernando Alonso would be extending his record-breaking career in green, rather than the blue and pink of Alpine, came almost out of nowhere. There had been mumblings that the Spaniard was considering a move out of Enstone for a third time, but many thought that a one-year extension for Alonso was a done deal. Even the 41-year-old said it would only take ’10 minutes’ to sort out a new contract with the French squad, but there was clearly some stumbling block in the background to force Fernando to go for a change.

Oscar Piastri testing for Alpine at the end of 2021. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

If Aston were surprised by Vettel’s announcement, Alonso’s left Alpine astounded. Team principal Otmar Szafnauer found out at the same time as everyone else, which is likely to lead to a very awkward meeting once the summer break is over. Once crumb of comfort for Otmar however, would have come with the fact that this freed up the seat for their junior driver Oscar Piastri, and it was announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he would be driving alongside Ocon in 2023.

As soon as the announcement was posted, however, questions started to be asked. There were no quotes from Piastri in the announcement. The tweet only spoke about how he was being ‘promoted’ into a race seat, not that he had signed any formal contract. And sure enough, just short of two hours later, the reigning F2 champion announced that he had not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023, and would not be driving for them next year. But how did Alpine get themselves into this mess?

Midway through last season, Esteban Ocon signed a contract for 2024 with the Enstone-based team. The plan seemed simple, keep Piastri in F2 for two seasons, and promote him once Alonso retired at the end of 2022. Problem one came when Piastri won the F2 championship, rendering him ineligible for the series this year. Problem two came with the fact that Alonso had no intention of leaving the sport just yet. Both are nice problems to have, but three into two doesn’t go, and frustrations were building in the background.

It looks like these frustrations have boiled over in the past week, and the lid will not be going back on this pot any time soon. Alonso feels his performances deserve more than a one-year contract, but as Alpine wanted to keep Piastri, this is all he was going to get. Other teams have picked up on this dilly-dallying from Alpine, with McLaren (who had the option to use Piastri as a reserve this season) allegedly swooping in to sign the highly rated 21-year-old for 2023, as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo winning in Monza in 2021. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

This isn’t the only contract shenanigans that McLaren finds themselves in at the moment. Over in IndyCar, reigning champion Alex Palou is being sued by his current team Chip Ganassi Racing, after they announced that he would be driving for them, prompting him to announce that he would be driving McLaren. If Palou and Piastri both end up in papaya next season, this gives them a glut of talent across IndyCar and F1, with their lineup for Formula E next season also yet to be announced.

It is possible then, that Alpine will have an Australian driving for them next season, just not the one they expected. Daniel Ricciardo did a stellar job in the yellow of Renault in 2020, and apart from a win in Monza last season has not looked close to the driver he was during his two-year spell with the French marque. The 33-year-old has made it clear he wants to stay in F1 next year, and this may well be his only opportunity.

Aston Martin fighting amongst themselves for the last points position in Hungary 2022. Image courtesy of Aston Martin Media

But let’s go back to how this all started. Sebastian Vettel clearly didn’t see enough progress at Aston Martin to convince him to stay in Formula One. His father said that the decision was made in Austria, where he qualified last and was involved in incidents in both races, which is enough to make anyone question their motivation. So if he’s not seen any positives, what has made Alonso take one last (presuming he does retire at the end of 2024) throw of the dice?

Next year’s Aston will be the first car to have the fingerprint of Dan Fallows on it. As a member of the aerodynamics department at Red Bull (and eventually the head of aero), Fallows was involved in the Milton Keynes-based team’s dominant run in the early noughties, as well as their recent resurgence. Joining Aston at the start of the season meant he was never able to have a massive impact on the 2022 car, although the new rear wing shown off at Hungary suggests he has some radical ideas to move the team up from the lower end of the order. Being ninth in the championship also means Aston Martin will get more wind tunnel time than nearly all their rivals, invaluable at any time but especially in this modern era of Formula One.

Vettel’s retirement brings to an end one of the most successful careers of all time, with only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher securing more wins than Sebastian. He will certainly be missed in the F1 paddock, and it is ironic that for a man who doesn’t like the spotlight away from the track, his departure has delivered plenty of drama for fans to discuss over the summer break.

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Verstappen Wins while Ferrari have more Strategy Problems

Max Verstappen wins from P10 with Hamilton finishing P2 from 7th and Russell rounding out the podium after getting pole in qualifying. Ferrari had another disastrous strategy resulting in them finishing off the podium in P4 and P6.

The weather looked like it could have played a part when it began to spit before the start of the race. Several cars locked up into turn 2 with the strong tailwind that was being created and could have affected them during the race.

Russell is ahead at the start of the GP. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media

Lights out and George Russell gets a great start from pole but behind him, Sainz has kept up with him going side by side with Carlos on the outside of into turn 1. Russell closes the door and manages to stay ahead of both Ferraris. Leclerc got a slow start meaning Norris could pressure for P3 but with no success. Hamilton was the main mover at the start, making it to P5 before turn 1.

Bottas got a slow start so both RedBulls were able to jump ahead of him and begin to chase down the Alpines. On lap 7, with a much faster car, Verstappen was able to make a move down the inside of turn 1 and move past Alonso before chasing after and passing Ocon. Perez was not far behind and took both Alpines just the next lap.

Hamilton lining up a move on Norris. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

By lap 12 Verstappen had closed down the gap to Hamilton in P5 who was battling Norris for P4. Just as Verstappen reached within the DRS range of the Mercedes, Hamilton made a DRS move on Norris down the inside of turn 1. Verstappen took advantage of this as Norris went slightly wide to have a drag race into turn 2. Verstappen, still with DRS, was able to go around the outside of Norris meaning the McLaren lost two places within two corners.

Just before the first pitstops, Leclerc began to complain that he was faster than Sainz in front of him. To solve this they brought Sainz in leaving Leclerc out for a longer stint. However, this benefited Leclerc who came in for his stop on lap 22 and then came out behind Russell but ahead of his teammate.

With fresher tyres, Leclerc didn’t take long to catch and overtake the Mercedes for the lead. On lap 30 Leclerc used DRS down the main straight to make a move around the outside of turn 1 which this time he made stick. Sainz was not far behind so this was Ferrari’s race to control.

Russell made a move on Leclerc. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media

10 laps later it was time for stop number two for Leclerc and Russell. In a bold move Ferrari but on the hard tyres, which no one had been able to make work in the cooler conditions. The pitstop hadn’t worked for Mercedes as Russell came out behind both RedBulls, with Leclerc out just in front of them.

The hard tyres would prove to be Leclerc’s undoing though. As he couldn’t get them to warm up and find pace, just one lap later Verstappen had DRS and passed him down the inside of turn 1. Just when we thought Verstappen had made the move stick for the net lead, he went for a spin, losing the back end of the car coming out of the penultimate corner.

This had a domino effect on Perez, who got caught up behind his teammate and now had to defend from Russell going down the main straight. Side by side, the Mercedes was able to make it around the outside of Perez in turn 1, nearly making it past the other RedBull before having to yield.

It wasn’t long before Verstappen caught up to Leclerc and overtook him in a similar fashion to before. This time though he was able to make it stick and create a gap to the Ferrari, which still had the hard tyres on.

On lap 54 Russell had now closed the gap on Leclerc as well and looked on for a move. Leclerc defended the inside of turn 1 but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep the Mercedes behind him. Moving Russell back into P2. Ferrari then decided enough was enough and pitted Leclerc for mediums one lap later. It was too late though as he came out behind Perez, who had struggled but was finding some good pace towards the end of the race.

At this point, Hamilton was back on a charge having made a late stop for soft tyres. Putting in fastest lap after fastest lap, he was able to make his way up to the podium places with ease. When he came across his teammate 5 laps from the end there appeared to be no team orders and they were allowed to race. However, Hamilton was just faster and after a clean battle, he did a switch back coming out of turn 1 on his teammate to take P2.

Verstappen took the chequered flag to win his 50th Grand Prix and be 80 points ahead in the drivers’ championship heading into the summer break. Mercedes got a second consecutive double podium, and it looks like they are on pace to compete for race wins if it weren’t for issues in qualifying. However, with the technical directive coming into play in Spa, this could affect the race pace of the top teams. Either way, Ferrari needs a flawless second half of the season to get back in the championship hunt.

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Round 6 WorldSBK Most, Czech Rep, Race 2

The earlier Superpole race, saw the reigning champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) claim the win, followed by Rea (Kawasaki KRT), and Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

WorldSBK 31.07.2022 Czech Rep Picture courtesy of Pata Yamaha Brixx

Before the start of the race both Lowes (Kawasaki KRT), and Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW), were declared unfit to start.

Lights out for race 2, and it was Toprak with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Bautista, Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati), and Rea in 4th. Bassani in particular, was looking really aggressive, and had barged through on Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati).

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Toprak 2. Bautista 3. Rinaldi 4. Rea 5. Bassani 6. Redding (BMW Motorrad). Toprak had already pulled out a gap of 0.6s, and was looking keen to get away.

Next lap and Rea out brakes Rinaldi into turn 1, to move up to 3rd. The leading group of 6 riders had already started to pull away from the rest.

On lap 4 of 22, drama for Rinaldi who over shoots into turn 1, losing the front end, and going down into the gravel. He was having a decent race up until that point.

Next lap and Bautista had now closed right up to Toprak, and was looking for a pass. It was Rea behind in 3rd who was setting the fastest lap time of the leading three, 1:32.206, and he was keen to not let either title rival get away. As he had in race 1, Redding was showing good pace, and managed to make a pass on Bassani, moving up to 4th.

With 17 laps remaining, drama for both Bautista and Redding, who both run hot into turn 1, running off the track. Both were able to rejoin, but lost positions in the process. Toprak, and Rea had both pulled away, and Bautista was able to rejoin in 3rd.

Next lap and Rea lined up Toprak into turn 1, and made the pass up the inside of the Turkish rider. Positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Bautista 4. Bassani 5. Redding 6. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha).

With 15 laps to go, Toprak repays the favour, and out brakes Rea into turn 1 to retake the lead. Meanwhile, Bautista had closed the gap down to 0.5s in 3rd. Further back it was 7th Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), 8th Lecuona (Honda HRC), and 9th Vierge (Honda HRC).

With 13 laps of 22 remaining, Redding had closed back up to Bassani, and made the pass up the inside of the Italian into turn 1. Rea was again the quickest of the leading 3, and posted a new fastest lap of 1:32.202. Bautista had clawed his way back, and as in race 1, the Ducati was looking much quicker in the second half of the race.

Next lap, and positions continued to be exchanged almost every lap, this time it was Rea to make another move on Toprak into turn 1, and again he retakes the lead. The gap from Bautista in 3rd to Redding in 4th, had been increased to 1.5s, and it was now a straight battle between the top 3 title contenders for the win.

With just over half race distance gone now, the Ducati was looking increasingly quick, and Bautista powered past Rea down the straight to take over the lead. The Kawasaki ZX10-RR didn’t have an answer to the Ducati’s sheer top end speed. Redding had now lost contact with the group ahead, and was adrift 2.0s behind in 4th, with Bassani behind in 5th.

With 8 laps remaining Toprak again burst under Rea into turn 1 to take 2nd. Bautista however, wasn’t getting away as he had in race 1, with both Toprak, and Rea still right on him. Meanwhile further back, both Nozane (GRT Yamaha), and Hickman (FHO BMW Motorrad) were having a better race in 15th, and 16th respectively.

WorldSBK 31.07.2022 Czech Rep Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team

Next lap, and a demon on the brakes, Toprak was able to cut under Bautista into turn 20 to retake the lead. Bautista was struggling to match the speed he had in race 1, possibly suffering from tyre grip issues, and Rea was keen to find a way past. Meanwhile further back it was 4th Redding, 5th Bassani, 6th Gerloff, 7th Locatelli, 8th Lecuona.

With 4 laps to go, Toprak looked to have managed his tyres to perfection, and set the new fastest lap a 1:31.713, increasing the gap to 0.9s to Bautista in the process.

Penultimate lap and Toprak Razgatlioglu had increased his lead to 1.2s, setting a new fastest lap of 1:31.705. Late drama for both Lecuona, and Gerloff who both suffer mechanical issues. The Texan is able to rejoin, but only at the back of the field. They were both having a decent race until then, notably Gerloff who was running in 6th.

Last lap and Toprak Razgatlioglu crosses the line to take the win, followed by 2nd Bautista, 3rd Rea, 4th Redding, 5th Bassani, 6th Locatelli, 7th Vierge, 8th Oetll (GoEleven Ducati), 9th Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti), 10th Bernardi (Barni Racing Ducati), 14th Hickman (FHO BMW Motorrad), 18th Gerloff.

Result top 5:

  1. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  2. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  3. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Redding (BMW Motorrad)
  5. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 298
  2. Rea – 267
  3. Razgatlioglu – 260

 

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Round 6 WorldSBK, Czech Rep, Race 1

Rea (Kawasaki KRT) set the fastest time in superpole with a time of 1:30.947, followed by Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), and Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) in second and third respectively.

Conditions in Most were much cooler then previous rounds, with the threat of rain hanging in the air.

Lights out for Race 1 and it’s Toprak Razgatlioglu with the hole shot into Turn 1 followed closely by Rea and Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati). Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), was having all kinds of early issues, and ran straight off the track into Turn 1, narrowly avoiding colliding with the leading riders.

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Razgatlioglu 2. Rea 3. Bautista 4. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) 5. Redding (BMW Motorrad) 6. Locatelli 7. Rinaldi 8. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) 9. Baz (Bonovo action BMW) 10. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

With 20 laps remaining, it was Bassani in 4th who set the new fastest lap of 1:32.303. Toprak, and Rea were pulling away from Bautista who was struggling to keep contact.

Next lap, and it was the turn of Toprak Razgatlioglu to set a new fastest lap. Rea was still all over the back of the reigning champion and looking for an early pass. Meanwhile Rinaldi had a terrible start from 3rd and now found himself in 7th.

With 17 laps of 22 left Rea makes his move, cutting  under Toprak to take over the lead. The Kawasaki was showing good acceleration out of the corners.

Next lap, and Toprak responded by out-braking Rea down the straight into Turn 1 to re-take the lead. The constant battling at the front had allowed Bautista to catch up, and there was now a three way battle for the lead. Toprak made a mistake and ran slightly wide, and Rea was quick enough to snap back and take back the lead.

With 14 laps to go, Rea held a gap of 0.2s to Toprak behind in P2. Further back Redding was having a great race, and was now up to 4th after getting past Bassani. Positions were as follows: 4. Redding 5. Bassani 6. Locatelli 7. Rinaldi.

Next lap, and Toprak again retook the lead into Turn 1, out-braking Rea. A few corners later, Rea responded by cutting under Toprak to take back the lead. All the while Bautista waited for his chance to strike back in 3rd. With light rain now falling around the track, riders were allowed to enter the pits to change their tyres.

Credit: Kawasaki Racing Team

On lap 11 of 22, Bautista made his move, getting through on Toprak and then using the power of the Ducati to blast past Rea down the straight, moving from 3rd to 1st in a couple of corners. The Ducati, as it had all season, was again showing good late race pace. Redding and Bassani had caught the lead group, with five riders now vying for the race win.

With 10 laps to go, it was British rider, Redding who set the new fastest lap of 1:32.545. Further back it was: P7 Lowes, P8 Rinaldi, P9 Lecuona and P10 Gerloff.

With 9 laps to go, Toprak re-took Rea into Turn 1 to take over 2nd, while Rea was now in 3rd with Redding behind. Rea responded a few corners later taking Toprak. Next it was the turn of Redding to take Toprak into turn 20, moving into 3rd. Toprak was now in 4th, while Redding was having one of the best races of his season so far.

With 7 laps to go, Redding took Rea into turn 1. The gap to Bautista was now 0.6s and closing. The pace at the front was too high for Bassani, who had now lost contact with the group and was adrift in 5th.

Next lap and positions were as follows: P1 Bautista, P2 Redding, P3 Rea and P4 Toprak.

With 4 laps to go, Bautista looked to be controlling a gap of 0.7s to Redding in 2nd.

Next lap, and again Toprak takes Rea into turn 1 to take 3rd, while Rea was now in 4th. Meanwhile Bautista looked comfortable at the front, and had pulled the gap out to 0.9s. Redding had the bit between his teeth, but wasn’t able to reduce the gap to the Spaniard.

Penultimate lap and 2nd and 3rd places were still very much up for grabs. Bautista, barring any incident, looked to have the win sewn up.

Credit: Kawasaki Racing Team

Last lap, and Bautista crossed the line to take Ducati’s 1000th win in World Superbikes. Toprak made a lunge on Redding, cutting inside him and forcing him wide to take 2nd. Meanwhile Redding after going wide had to hold off Rea, which he did to take his first podium of the season. It was a disappointing result for Rea who took 4th. Bassani was 5th, 6th Locatelli, 7th Rinadi, 8th Lecuona (Honda HRC), 9th Lowes, 10th Gerloff.

Result top 5:

  1. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  3. Redding (BMW Motorrad)
  4. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  5. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 271
  2. Rea – 242
  3. Razgatlioglu- 223

 

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Leclerc loses out again as Verstappen wins French GP

Max Verstappen took a giant step towards retaining the world championship with his seventh victory of the season at Paul Ricard, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out from the lead.

The Monegasque driver looked to be controlling the race before losing the rear at turn 11, hitting the barriers and retiring from the lead for the third time this season. This handed the race to Verstappen, who never looked like losing after that, and now has a sixty-three-point lead over Leclerc in the championship.

It was a great day for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton coming home second with George Russell in third, securing the Brackley-based team’s first double podium in 2022. Sergio Perez was fourth for Red Bull after a disappointing weekend for the Mexican.

Hamilton’s great start. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

In a race where track temperatures reached upwards of 50°C, tyre management was crucial, and the opening stages resembled Friday practice, with Verstappen looking to have the pace over Leclerc. Both were pulling away from the rest of the pack, which was being led by Hamilton after a brilliant start from the Brit, who was celebrating his 300th race in Formula One.

Despite this apparent pace advantage, Verstappen could only get alongside the Ferrari once, as overtaking opportunities were once again at a premium. This would prove to be his one and only chance to make the move on track, as the pace pendulum swung towards Leclerc. Being able to manage his tyres in clean air (and keep Max behind where it mattered), meant that Charles was in a better position as the laps ticked by, and was eventually able to pull a two-second gap before Verstappen pitted on lap 16.

Ferrari chose not to react instantly, with Leclerc’s tyres seemingly in a good condition. The car had looked unstable at the rear on a few occasions in the race, and it was that instability that proved to be fatal to their chances of a race victory. Leclerc lost the rear coming through turn 11, and his race ended in the barriers on lap 18. This handed the lead to Verstappen, who was able to control the race from the front, with Lewis Hamilton coming home in second, despite having a faulty drinks bottle throughout the race.

The safety car was brought out by Leclerc early on. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

The ensuing Safety Car did allow the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz to close up to the front of the field, but the timing was less than ideal. The Spaniard had to remove his hards earlier than planned, and things got worse for him as an unsafe release led to a five-second penalty. The medium tyres though were working well for Sainz, as he effortlessly dispatched of Ricciardo and Norris after the safety car ended, and soon found himself on the back of Russell after overtaking Alonso.

Unsurprisingly, this was a lot less straightforward for the Spaniard, but he was able to force Russell off-line into the Mistral chicane on lap 30, before sweeping around the outside of Signes to claim fourth, and was soon on the back of Perez. It was here where Ferrari’s strategical indecision reared its ugly head once more. Aware that a pit stop would cost them over half a minute (due to the penalty and an unusually long pit lane at Paul Ricard), Ferrari seemed in two minds as to whether to bring Sainz in and guarantee fifth, or keep him out and risk a podium. In the end, after a brilliant battle between the Ferrari and the Red Bull of Perez, which cost them both time, Ferrari brought in Sainz with only ten laps to go. He was able to recover to fifth and secured the fastest lap but was left wondering what might have been.

Perez’s prolonged battle with Sainz brought Russell into play, and the Brit was determined to take advantage. Russell attempted a move into the Mistral chicane, making slight contact with Perez who was forced to skip the chicane. This infuriated the Mercedes man, who felt he was squeezed onto the kerb, with team principal Toto Wolff having to come onto the radio to calm the 24-year-old down.

It looked like Perez was going to hang-on, until a virtual safety car was deployed as Zhou Guanyu retired from the race with mechanical issues. As this VSC ended, Perez was caught napping in the final sector, allowing Russell to sweep past at turn 13 and secure his fourth podium of the season.

Further back, Alpine and McLaren had an interesting battle for the best-of-the-rest crown, with Fernando Alonso coming home in sixth, ahead of Lando Norris in seventh. Norris’ teammate Daniel Ricciardo was eighth, with Esteban Ocon recovering to ninth, after a five-second penalty for a first-lap collision with Yuki Tsunoda, which ultimately led to the Japanese driver’s retirement.

Aston Martin provided some action in the final laps, as Sebastian Vettel was all over the back of Lance Stroll for the last point. Stroll smartly parked his car on the apex of the final corner on the final lap to prevent the German from getting ahead, coming home tenth for the fourth time this season.

Gasly trying to get past the Aston Martin. Image courtesy of RedBull Content Pool

Pierre Gasly was twelfth as Alpha Tauri’s pace woes continue, with the Italian team failing to score in four consecutive races for the first time since the Toro Rosso days of 2018. Alex Albon was 13th for Williams, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Mick Schumacher. It was a disappointing day for Haas, who lost out in the safety car period, with both cars also making contact with others during the race. Schumacher collided with Zhou after the safety car restart, with Kevin Magnussen and Nicolas Latifi colliding later at turn one. Both the Dane and the Canadian later retired in the pits, in order to save the car.

Verstappen knows from last year just how quickly a championship lead can evaporate, but the Dutchman has never previously led by such a margin in Formula One. Leclerc holds on to second by just seven points from Perez, with Sainz, Russell and Hamilton rounding out the top six. In the constructors, Red Bull has an eighty-two-point lead over Ferrari, despite having their own reliability woes earlier in the season.

The F1 paddock moves to Budapest next weekend, for the Hungarian GP, and it is expected that this track will suit Ferrari thanks to its twisty nature. If Leclerc is to remain in the championship challenge, he can not afford to leave empty-handed.

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Round 5 WorldSBK Donington Park, Race 2

The weather was heating up, and so was the racing.

The Superpole race saw the reigning champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), claim his second win of the weekend, followed by Rea (Kawasaki KRT), and Redding (BMW Motorrad), in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

WorldSBK Round 5 Race 2 at Donington Iker Lecuona Picture courtesy of HRC WorldSBK

Lights out for race 2, and again it’s Toprak with the hole shot, followed by Rea, Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), and Redding in 4th. Rea in particular, was looking more aggressive than he had yesterday, and was keen not to let the Turkish rider get away again.

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Toprak 2. Rea 3. Bautista 4. Redding 5. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) 6. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) 7. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) 8. Lecuona (Honda HRC) 9. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) 10. Baz (Bonovo Action BMW). Toprak put in the new fastest lap of 1:26.696, with Rea still trying to find a way through. The gap behind to Bautista was now 0.6s.

Lap 4 of 23, and it was the turn of Bautista to put in the new fastest lap of 1:26.644. This trio had already pulled out a significant gap to the rest of the field, with only Scott Redding keeping contact in 4th, 0.5s behind.

Lap 6 of 23, and Rea was desperate to find a way through on Toprak. The Turkish rider is an absolute demon on the brakes, and with so few places to pass, it was making life impossible for Rea. He tried a move in the Foggy Esses, briefly getting ahead, but Toprak was able to use the acceleration of the Yamaha R1 to retake the lead. As was the case yesterday, the constant battle between Rea, and Toprak was playing into the hands of Bautista, who had closed the gap to Rea. Meanwhile further back it was 7. Locatelli 8. Bassani 9. Lecuona 12. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 13. Vierge (Honda HRC).

On lap 9 of 23 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Pedercini) retires from the race. Meanwhile at the front, Rea was still throwing everything he could at Toprak, although the reigning champion was showing his grit, and standing firm. Bautista was still making ground in 3rd, with Redding having a decent ride in 4th, Rinaldi 5th, and Lowes 6th. Further back Tarran Mackenzie (MacAMC Yamah), the reigning BSB champion, was in 15th, while Peter Hickman (FHO BMW) was in 19th.

WorldSBK Round 5 Race 2 at Donington Scott Redding Picture courtesy of BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

With 11 laps remaining, Rinaldi finds a way through on Redding, who slips back to 5th, Lowes was in 6th. At the front Toprak was still holding off Rea, with a gap of 0.5s, while Bautista was in 3rd. Further back Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), was having another poor race, and was in 18th.

With 8 laps to go, Toprak had pulled out the gap to 0.8s, Rea looked to be having a problem either mechanically, or with the tyres.

Next lap and the gap had been increased to 1.4 to Rea, who was still struggling with the bike. Meanwhile Toprak was looking cool, and calm as he had in race 1, and would surely take the win.

With 5 laps to go, Bautista had now closed right up to Rea, and cuts under him into Melbourne loop taking over 2nd. Further back Bassani gets through on Locatelli to take 7th.

With 3 laps remaining, Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW), retires from the race, possibly having a mechanical issue. Meanwhile Rea was holding a gap of 1.2s to Rinaldi behind in 4th.

WorldSBK Round 5 Race 2 at Donington Toprak Razgatlioglu Picture courtesy of Pata Yamaha BRIXX WorldSBK

Last lap, and Toprak crosses the line proving he’s the king of Donington, taking his first career triple win across the weekend, and massively reducing the gap to the championship leader, Bautista, who comes in 2nd. Rea 3rd, Rinaldi 4th, Redding 5th, Lowes 6th, Bassani 7th, Locatelli 8th, Baz 9th, Lecuona 10th. Tarran Mackenzie takes 15th, while Hickman takes 19th on their debuts.

Result top 5:

  1. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  2. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  3. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)
  5. Redding (BMW Motorrad)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 246
  2. Rea – 229
  3. Razgatlioglu – 203

 

 

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Round 5 WorldSBK, Donington Park, Race 1

Donington Park was awash in glorious sunshine for the British round of WorldSBK, with the air temperature at 25 degrees Celsius, and a track temperature of 44 degrees Celsius. We were set for a scorcher on, and off, the track.

Rea (Kawasaki KRT) secured pole position with an unbeatable time of 1:36.080, followed by his team mate Lowes in 2nd and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) in 3rd.

WSBK Round 5 Race 1 Donington Toprak Razgatlioglu Picture courtesy of Pata Yamaha BRIXX WorldSBK

Lights out for race 1, and Toprak gets the hole shot, followed by the Kawasaki team mates of Lowes and Rea, Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) finds himself in 4th.

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Toprak 2. Lowes 3. Bautista 4. Rea 5. Lecuona (Honda HRC) 6. Redding (BMW Motorrad).

On lap 3 of 23 it was Lowes with the new fastest lap of 1:27.4 and was looking good in 2nd. Meanwhile in the lead, Toprak had now pulled the gap to 2nd place to 0.6s, and was showing great early race pace. Rea was looking frustrated in 4th, as he could see his title rivals disappearing into the distance, and was desperate to make up positions.

Next lap, and Toprak was showing no signs of slowing down, increasing his lead to 0.9s. Lowes had started to slip back, and Rea was able to get past his team mate to take over 3rd, setting a new fastest lap in the process of 1:27.263. Meanwhile it was Bautista in 2nd, and was showing good pace on the Ducati. Further back positions were as follows: 5. Redding 6. Lecuona 7. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati). 8. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) 9. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 10. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha).

With 17 laps to go Rea was still desperate to get past the Spaniard ahead of him. Meanwhile Toprak had now pulled the gap out to 1.6s. After showing good pace early on, Lowes had now dropped down to 5th, with Redding moving up a place. Rea tries a move on Bautista into turn 12 Goddards, but can’t get it done, as the Ducati has such good acceleration.

Next lap and the Argentine, Mercado crashes out, his race is over. Rea again tries a move into turn 12, this time he gets it done cutting under Bautista to take over 2nd. Rea was now 2.9s behind Toprak Razgatlioglu, and had massive work to do to catch him. Redding was in 4th, and 2.2s behind Bautista.

Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha), the reigning BSB champion, was having a decent ride in 12th on his debut. Further back it was a disappointing day for both Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), and Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW), in 18th, and 20th respectively.

With 12 laps to go Bassani had moved up to 6th, getting past Lecuona who was now in 7th on his Donington Park debut. Meanwhile at the front, Rea couldn’t shake off the intentions of Bautista who was all over the back of the Kawasaki. All of this was playing right into the hands of the reigning champion, who was continuing to pull away, and was now 4s ahead of Rea.

With 9 laps of 23 remaining, Rea ran wide into turn 12 the previous lap, allowing Bautista to come through, and retake 2nd. Toprak was now 4.7s ahead, and any chance of him getting caught was now firmly over. Then drama for Bautista the championship leader, who lost the front end into turn 12 going down into the gravel, he rejoined but later retired, giving a massive boost for both Rea, and Toprak in the points standings. Redding now found himself in podium contention in 3rd.

With 7 laps left positions were as follows; 1. Toprak 2. Rea 3. Redding 4. Lowes 5. Bassani 6. Rinaldi.

Next lap and Lowes had found some late race pace, and had caught right up to Redding, now only 0.3s behind him. Redding who himself seemed to be struggling with either tires, or the new rear swing arm, which the team had just fitted this weekend. Meanwhile the Texan Gerloff had moved up to 8th.

WSBK Round 5 Race 1 Donington Toprak Razgatlioglu; Jonathan Rea & Alex Lowes Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK

With 4 laps left, Redding was really struggling to resist the attempts of Lowes behind. Lowes finally made the right move into turn 12, and took over 3rd place. Redding fought back down Craner curves with some exciting racing for the fans, but Lowes held on to the position.

Penultimate lap, and Toprak was having fun out in the lead sliding his R1 Yamaha through Craner curves. Rea was still following, with Lowes in 3rd, followed by 4. Redding 5. Bassani 6. Rinaldi 7. Lecuona.

Last lap, and Toprak Razgatlioglu crosses the line to take his first win of the season, certainly looking more like the rider of last season. 2. Rea 3. Lowes 4. Redding 5. Bassani 6. Rinaldi 7. Gerloff 8. Lecuona 9. Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 10. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha). Meanwhile Tarran Mackenzie finishes 14th on his debut to claim 2 championship points, while the Isle of Man superstar Peter Hickman finishes in 22nd.

Result top 5:

  1. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  2. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  3. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Redding (BMW Motorrad)
  5. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 220
  2. Rea – 204
  3. Razgatlioglu – 166
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2022 Austrian GP Sprint Race

Round 11 of the 2022 F1 World Championship sees the return to Austria and the Red Bull Ring circuit, it’s also the 2nd Sprint Race weekend of the season. Less than a week since the British GP and one of the best F1 races in years the short Red Bull Ring has a lot to live up to.

After practice and Qualifying the local Orange Army were happy cheering on their beloved World Champion Max Verstappen, who put his RedBull onto pole position for today’s sprint race which would decide the grid for the all-important GP on Sunday. This season the top eight finishers in the sprint race receive points so the sprint race itself has become even more critical in terms of the championship fight.

Alongside Verstappen on the front row is Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari, after a disappointing string of results he could get his championship challenge back on track in front of the excited Orange Army. The Mercedes again looked to have returned to competitiveness but both drivers had offs in qualifying so would be starting 4th and 9th. With the short nature of the track the sprint race should be a close battle through the field.

Before lights out Alonso’s car still has the tyre warming blankets on as the rest of the field drive away, The Spaniard will now have to start from the pitlane. At the end of the formation lap Zhou in the Alfa Romeo stopped before the grid, the cars were sent on another formation lap and Zhou would also be made to start from the pitlane once he got the car started again.

The Sprint start. Image courtesy of RedBull Content Pool

Lights out and Verstappen leads the two Ferraris away, Sainz and Leclerc battling away for most of the first lap after the Spaniard led his teammate into turn two. Gasly went out at turn one after contact with Hamilton after trying to squeeze the Mercedes driver into the first corner.

After 3 laps Verstappen already had a 2 second lead over Leclerc, who led his teammate by half a second, they were followed by Russell, Ocon, Magnussen, Schumacher, Perez, Bottas, and Hamilton rounding out the top ten.

Leclerc set the fastest lap at the end of lap 4 trying to get within DRS of the leading RedBull. The two Ferraris were running so close together that they were letting the leading RedBull getaway. A great battle between them lap after lap but they had now fallen 3 seconds behind Verstappen, once again Ferrari seemed to be handing a win to the RedBull driver.

As lap 8 began Hamilton moved ahead of Bottas into P9, can the 7-time World Champion make up more places to get a better grid slot for tomorrow’s race?

Perez in the second RedBull was now making a move up the field, easily taking P7 from Schumacher as the young German concentrated on trying to overtake his teammate. On the following lap, he makes it passed Magnussen and up to P6.

Lap 11 and Vettel in the Aston Martin was sent into the gravel by Alex Albon in the Williams, the German manages to escape the gravel trap and return to the race.

At half distance Verstappen leads by 3 seconds from Leclerc, his RedBull teammate makes another paced and is up to P5 after taking Ocon Alpine. Hamilton has now made it onto the back of the two Haas cars, unfortunately for him, Schumacher had DRS so he couldn’t catch him enough on the straights.

As ever with a sprint race the field settles and laps pass with nothing much happening, if they are to keep this format they have to change something as it just doesn’t seem to work.

Hamilton was finally free of the Haas. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media

With 5 laps to go Hamilton is still stuck behind the Haas of Schumacher, back up front Verstappen leads by just over two and half seconds cruising to an easy win. The Ferraris have settled a few seconds apart with seemingly no pace to make any impression on the leader.

Lap 21 and finally Hamilton makes it passed the German, can he catch the next Haas in the remaining 2 laps.

At the chequered flag Verstappen wins again from Leclerc and Sainz, they are followed by Russell, Perez, Ocon, Magnussen, Hamilton, Schumacher, and Bottas.

Following them is Norris and Ricciardo in the disappointing Mclarens, Stroll, Zhou, Gasly, Albon, Tsunoda, and Latifi. Vettel and Alonso, who never made the start of the race.

Will Ferrari regret letting their drivers battle so much and let the RedBull driver getaway, once he had the lead he never looked troubled?

Tomorrow’s race should be a bit more exciting as strategy comes into play.

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BSB – Ducati Power or Ducati Whimper?

We are a third of the way through the Bennetts British Superbikes 2022 Season. Perhaps it’s time to sit down and cover a topic that has left many fans of the series, somewhat stumped. The mystifying rise and fall of the Ducati Panigale V4-R.

Josh Brookes Celebrating being the 2020 BSB Champion. Image courtesy of Ducati

Now don’t be fooled, if you are a new arrival to the BSB paddock for 2022, you’d be forgiven for thinking that one of the most expensive road bikes you can purchase from a dealer, is languishing in the mid-pack because the bike simply isn’t good enough or perhaps the riders aren’t either? In previous years this is anything but the case and I will also give my opinion as to why they do have the right people, but perhaps not the best bike.

Ducati have form for winning British championships. They have won on this iteration of the Ducati Panigale, but also the previous 1199. Championships won with riders such as Scott Redding, Shane “Shakey” Byrne, John Reynolds, Steve Hislop, Neil Hodgson, some bloke called Gregorio Lavilla and an Aussie fella called Troy… There is however one rider missing from this list. Hmmm I wonder who that could be?

Now, in mind of the above, let’s concentrate on this year’s line-up for the Italian manufacturer in the BSB series. MCE Ducati, ran by the PBM Paul Bird Motorsport team, have pinned their hopes for a 2022 championship trophy in the hands of Tom Sykes and Josh Brookes. Also running the Panigale V4-R is long standing Ducati customer, Oxford Products Racing, under the watchful eye of Steve “Wilf” Moore. Their rider of choice for this year, and the previous few is Tommy Bridewell.

Let’s start with Tom Sykes. Those keeping up with the world of racing, will know Tom has spent what feels like about 20 years (13 in reality) inside the World Superbike paddock. The Yorkshireman has long held a firm grip on the front half of the grid whilst having won the World Superbike championship himself in 2013 with Kawasaki. Sykes has also secured the runners up position on three occasions and finished third overall, twice.

Josh Brookes and Tom Sykes – Picture courtesy of Ducati

After a move from Kawasaki to BMW machinery for the 2019 season, Tom’s results didn’t pan out to where he, or the manufacturer would have wanted. This has resulted in BMW going with another rider line up for the 2022 season. Namely Scott Redding has replaced Sykes in the World Superbike team. Most fans of the sport would comment that the issue, to those of us on the outside, didn’t appear to be the rider, but the BMW itself. Years of midfield mediocrity do nothing to convince us hard core fans that BMW are serious about winning on their S1000RR – BUT THAT IS FOR ANOHTER ARTICLE!

Safe to say, there is no doubting Tom Sykes’ skill on a bike. Tom entered the 2022 BSB Champioship as a favourite for the title. A revelation this Racing Armchair witnessed first hand when attending one of Jamie Whitham and John McGuiness’ “Evenings with” to cover the Isle of Man TT earlier this year in Lytham. During the Q & A session with the audience, Whitham was asked who he thinks will win the BSB championship in 2022. There was an outpouring of voices from the audience (of only 1000 people but still a decent number) shouting the name Tom Sykes. Personally, I wasn’t convinced.

I have made my feelings known on Twitter many a times in a respectful but honest manner. I was yet to be assured of Sykes’ guaranteed victory purely on the basis that Tom hasn’t ridden these circuits for a LONG time. These bikes. These electronic (or lack of) packages. These tyres. Heck, he’s probably not really used to riding in the rain anymore. Imagine going from Laguna Seca, Barcelona, Philip Island to Knockhill or Cadwell Park? Exactly! I have personally tweeted Tom several times to say that a solid first season back in the paddock would be a top 10. I don’t think he needs to even worry about the showdown.

Aside of the change in track layouts, tyres, electric and good old British weather, Tom also has to deal with the hardened racers whom have inhabited the BSB paddock for a number of years. The likes of Brookes, Bridewell, O’Halloran, Peter Hickman, Glenn Irwin, Danny Buchan, Bradley Ray, Taz Mackenzie, and Christian Iddon etc are veterans of the series now. These riders have clocked up more laps of these tracks than Rossi has at his ranch! Not to mention the influx of young (some) and very talented Fighter Pilots such as Chrissy Rouse, Storm Stacey, Rory Skinner, Lee Jackson, Tom Neave and Kyle Ryde. And last but not least, the returning British Superbike Champion Leon Haslam, who makes his own return to the series for 2022. However as it stands now, Leon is only marginally in front of Tom, but that is still one place further down the pecking order.

Personally, I hope it works out for Tom after a somewhat underwhelming start to his new life inside the BSB paddock. I listened to a podcast at the start of the year in which Paul Bird was a guest and his words were along the lines of but paraphrased slightly “It’s a results business and it costs a lot of money. So, I am sorry, but yes you are expected to win!” The saving grace Tom has on his side happens to be that both Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell are complaining of the same issues he faces. Time will tell if Tom can get his head around the British Superbikes. But I for one wish him luck this year and hope to see him retained for another year with Paul Bird as no matter how good you are, everyone deserves a learning year.

Moving on to Tommy Bridewell (yes, I have skipped Josh Brookes for now). Tommy has been with the Oxford team now in full since the 2019 season of the British Superbikes. His strongest year by far. Also coinciding with the first year that the Panigale changed from the 1199 twin to the current V4-R 1000cc. It was a new bike at the time, and it proved THE bike to be on. Tommy going on to secure 3rd place overall in the championship behind Josh Brookes and the new champion, Scott Redding. Most of us will cast our memory back and see images of the three Ducati’s romping off to the podium but 2019 wasn’t an easy season by a long shot with multiple DNF’s across the three riders.

Oxford Products Racing Ducati – Picture courtesy of Ducati

Tommy had a dip in 2020 and his results placed him 7th overall but in 2021, he showed that he has true grit by coming forward in the showdown to fight for the 2nd place runners up spot to Yamaha’s Taz Mackenzie. We all remember Tommy winning at Oulton Park by about 15 seconds. Tommy winning the race wasn’t the surprise but the margin he won by certainly was. Enter 2022, and the current season is going better than Sykes and Brookes, but not by a great margin. An underdeveloped bike, rumoured to be there or thereabouts the same bike as the previous seasons for all the Ducati teams, However I’m sure Oxford run slightly different parts to the MCE PBM team such as exhaust brands and small details. Mainly, in my opinion the bike seems to have lost it’s edge over the other manufacturers. Something we can come back to in a moment.

The attentive reader will notice I didn’t mention Josh in the previous list of Ducati champions. Well, that would give the game away, wouldn’t it? Truth be told whether you are a fan of Josh Brookes, he used this very same Ducati V4-R Panigale to secure his second British Superbike Championship in 2020 with the then named Vision Track PBM Ducati. Josh’s first British Championship came in 2015 aboard the Milwaukee Yamaha R1. Josh has faced some of BSB’s most skilled riders over the years and won. Names such as Shakey Byrne, Scott Redding, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Leon Haslam, Alex Lowes, Tommy Hill, James Ellison, Jason O’Halloran, Jake Dixon, Taz Mackenzie and Dan Linfoot to name but a few. All of the above for Josh goes to show his racing CV and the quality of it and in the words of Paul Bird himself when asked if he was going to replace Josh half way through the 2021 season: “He’s a two time British Champion and I’m going to stick by him.”

So what is happening this year? I cast my mind back to a chat I had with Josh back at Oulton Park 2 race at the end of the BSB 2021 season. I watched the O’Show’s season fall apart right in front of me at the bottom of Clay Hill. For the next race I watched Taz punt Christian Iddon off into the gravel at Lodge, also right in front of me. At this point I’m starting to wonder if I am a bad omen but truth be told, it’s just BSB. Action on all fronts. I didn’t fancy braving the queue to leave Oulton Park after the final BSB race (those who have been know exactly what I mean) so decided to have a wander round, drink a brew and catch the Ducati Cup race at the end of the day. Watching Stalker and McPint razzing round on yet more Panigale V4’s.

One thing I love about Oulton is the paddock. How you can literally stand outside the back of the garages, full superfan with your marker and team shirt ready to sign. I’m not the starstruck type, but when Josh Brookes happened to walk out right in front of me and take a picture with a fan, I couldn’t help myself. “Chance of a piccie Josh?” Of course. No problem. My brother gets his phone out and all is normal. Smile for the camera. Click. Click. Click. Thanks Josh. Blah Blah Blah. But do you know when you just get that sense that someone wants to talk? And neither of you are really sure how to kick it off? Well in my line of work, I sell things. Talking is my trade. So I started with a very simple “How are you?”. The floodgates opened. We spoke about how physically tired he is after the 3rd race but more so at Oulton Park. The thin nature of the circuit and the undulations lend themselves to riders who are full body fit. Not just the runners. We are talking arms, legs, wrists, neck, knees and even your bottom muscles.

Josh stood there in his leathers looking like he had just finished the London marathon. We spoke about how the bikes are getting too powerful now for these nadgery little British tracks but Josh’s opinion was THAT is the very reason BSB is so good and why the fans love it so much. We spoke about his plans for 2022 (now bear in mind by this point we are where PBM haven’t announced what they are doing for 2022). Josh was very upfront as said he didn’t have a deal in place but he had spoken to Paul and had assured him he wanted to stay etc. I mentioned that Paul Bird had been interviewed at Brands Hatch saying he wanted to re-sign Josh. He was open and honest and said he hoped that Paul was a man of his word. So after 20 minutes or so Josh made his excuses and off he went. News followed around Xmas time that Josh had indeed been re-signed to the team.

Josh had been under a lot of pressure for 2021 after a dip in form and unfortunately 2022 hasn’t gone much better, BUT when all three bikes are in the same position, and all three bikes have the same complaints (according to Brookes on a recent podcast) perhaps we all now need to admit it could have been the bike last year. However the string of positive results and podiums from Christian Iddon in 2021 do counter that argument but you only have to look around any paddock to see that sometimes a rider clicks with a bike when 10 others cannot. Ala Marc Marquez. Toprak Razgatlioglu. Fabio Quartararo. Johnny Rea. Glenn Irwin etc.

There has been some forward progression for Brookes at the recent Knockhill round until a mistake going into the uphill chicane meant he had to cut the kerb and lost places which in turn saw him fall backwards from the front group. Josh has said they have made improvements with the bike but BSB rider Christian Iddon, former PBM Ducati rider is quoted as saying “It must be with the setting then because it looks exactly the same bike to me”. Most mechanically minded and educated people who follow the sport believe it to be a case of “if you aren’t moving forwards, you are standing still”. The bikes around them in the championship are progressing and making gains. Be that via upgrades to the package or just improvements in setting or Aero. For example the Honda seemed to have taken a step forwards under Glenn Irwin at the start of the season. The all-new BMW 1000M is slowly being dialled in by Peter “135” Hickman of FHO Racing and Danny Buchan of Synetic BMW. Along side the strong pairings of Jason O’Halloran and Tax Mackenzie (still recovering from injury but 2021 champion all the same) on the McAms Yamaha. Kyle Ride and Championship favourite, Bradley Ray, on the OMG Yamaha bikes are also taking up regular sports inside the top 6 and even on the box. With such gains made in terms of bikes and riders, is it any wonder the Ducati’s are struggling this year?

Josh Brookes -Picture courtesy of Ducati Racing

I hope the Ducati brand comes back to the front. The more bikes we have capable of running at the sharp end and winning races can only be better for what is considered to be the best domestic racing series on the planet!

Only 7 more rounds to go! Phew!

Have a Goodun, Armchair

Twitter – @RacingArmchair

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