WSBK - Round 1 - Phillip Island

[wull]

Not long until the season opener which is starting next week, I’m looking forward to the close battles that we’re used to seeing.

What’s your predictions for Phillip Island? I suppose the two day test there early in the week will give a good indication to what will happen but I’d expect the usual 3 to be battling at the front. Alex Lowes always goes well there though so he could be in with a shout.

I’ll be rooting for Toprak as always.

[Skub]

Depends if the weather plays a part too. PI can be unpredictable.

I'd still expect the same top 3 to be in contention. Lowes and Locatelli finished well last year. Rinaldi had better bring the goods this season too,so he may be up for it.

[Noggin]

What channel is it showing on? Eurosport? Sky? BT?

Just working out when I need to sort a VPN by and if I can get to see what I want even if I have one!! LOL

[Skub]

What channel is it showing on? Eurosport? Sky? BT?

Just working out when I need to sort a VPN by and if I can get to see what I want even if I have one!! LOL

Eurosport 2 usually.

[wull]

Discovery+ app is what you need.

[Noggin]

Discovery+ app is what you need.

Does that need a VPN too or just the app?

[wull]

Discovery+ app is what you need.

Does that need a VPN too or just the app?

I’m not sure, I think I googled this last year when I was thinking I could give you my details for logging in but it states that if it’s a UK account then you can’t access it out with even if I was abroad myself.

[Noggin]

Discovery+ app is what you need.

Does that need a VPN too or just the app?

I’m not sure, I think I googled this last year when I was thinking I could give you my details for logging in but it states that if it’s a UK account then you can’t access it out with even if I was abroad myself.

That was a nice thought, thank you

I did google, but Discovery+.co.uk doesn't show in France, so I probably do need a VPN! I'm sure the French one will be in French - and I'd really like to understand the commentary!!

Will revisit the VPN thread and get myself sorted!!

[wull]

WorldSBK ignites in 2023 with FP1 at Phillip Island: Bautista on top, 14 riders within a second









2023 is now off and running and with 14 riders covered by less than a second in the opening session, it’s going to be a mouth-watering prospect this year and indeed this round

We’re officially underway; the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has fired into life with an action-packed opening session of the season. FP1 of WorldSBK at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit was our first chance to see everyone on track for what really counts, with testing ahead of the round now behind us.

Hitting the ground running with a strong race pace, reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) laid down the gauntlet in emphatic fashion.
With a stunning run in the early part of the session, Bautista an electric pace and clocked over 20 laps in the opening session of the season.

second place and once again top Yamaha like in the Official Test, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) continues to make steps and was in fine form in his final run. Third place went to Iker Lecuona (Team HRC), with the Valencian setting his fastest lap on his first flying lap. The #7 Honda rider did however have a big moment at Turn 4 on his penultimate lap before crashing at Turn 10 on what would be his last lap, with the front end washing out. Lecuona escaped injury and will seek a continuation of fast pace in the afternoon.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) made it four manufacturers inside the top four and was just under two tenths away from Lecuona, whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a strong end to the session to go P5.


It was a busy session for the BMW M 1000 RR of Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), with the Dutchman crashing at Turn 6 but pushing hard throughout and in the end, making it five manufacturers inside the top six with P6 at the flag, just 0.378 shy of Bautista.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took seventh place, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) could only manage eighth. Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) took his Ducati to ninth to finish as top Independent, whilst Remy Gardner’s (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) WorldSBK career started with a top ten in P10, despite a late Turn 2 run-off.

Rookie teammate Dominique Aegerter was next up, ahead of Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC). Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was 14th and the final rider within one second of Bautista, 0.948s away.


Rounding out the top 15, Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) debuted well, ahead of fellow rookie Italian Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), Frenchman Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) and his new teammate, American Garrett Gerloff).

P19 went to Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), one place ahead of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), with the 2013 World Champion missing a little bit of the session at the start. Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team) and rookie teammate, Brazilian Eric Granado, rounding out the order.


1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’31.032s
2. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.037s
3. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +0.097s
4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.272s
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.369s
6. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.378s

[wull]

Bautista blitzes Day 1, Razgatlioglu and Rea outside top ten in WorldSBK FP2








In what was a strange FP2 at Phillip Island, Bautista was one of the few consistencies throughout Day 1 of action in 2023
Sunny skies greeted the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship for their first day of action at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia, for the season-opening Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round. A mighty start to the season saw more domination from Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) as he eased clear by nearly half a second over his rivals.

Whilst there was a raft of changes up and down the order, there was one constant at the head of the field: Ducati. Alvaro Bautista continued to be in a class of his own with a half a second as an advantage over his nearest rivals. Setting more laps than anyone else in the entire week of Phillip Island track action, Bautista has been able to set outright lap times as well as consistent pace, making him one of the favourites for the remainder of the weekend, hoping to add to his tally of five Phillip Island race wins. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi was second in FP2 and fourth overall on the combined classification, but he did have a technical problem with ten minutes to go at the end of pitlane.

Leading Yamaha’s charge once again was Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), who continues to shine as he goes for gold in his third season in the team. Locatelli’s day was almost perfect, but he suffered a tumble at Turn 10 in the closing stages, but was able to get up and walk away without issue. His teammate, 2021 World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, struggled in the afternoon and couldn’t crack the top ten in what is turning out to be a bit of a bogey circuit for the Turkish star. Returning to the #54 and finishing in tenth overall, it’s not been an easy start for Razgatlioglu, who was the last Yamaha in FP2.

Third place honours belonged to Honda and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC), with the Spaniard relying on his morning time but nonetheless settled in well in his first competitive weekend at Phillip Island in World Superbike. The Honda star, who stated that he wasn’t sure whether or not the package is ready to race on Thursday, looked good in the afternoon too and although he couldn’t replicate his morning pace which was marred by a late crash, he was still competitive. Teammate Xavi Vierge wasn’t enjoying it as much, rooted to outside the top ten in both sessions and only 16th on the combined times.

It was a tricky day for Kawasaki too, who lost valuable running with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at the start of FP2. With work being done frantically on the front of the bike, Rea returned to the circuit and whilst he improved his session time, it wasn’t enough to improve on from the morning, staying fifth. However, perhaps the bigger concern was that at the time the race is going to be run, Rea was 14th. Teammate Alex Lowes was eighth on the combined times but faster than his teammate in the afternoon.

At the factory BMW team, it started with complications for Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who lost the majority of the session due to a technical problem. The British rider returned to track action with just over seven minutes to go and finished FP2 in 18th and as last BMW, whilst he was 15th on the combined timesheets. For teammate Michael van der Mark, he suffered a crash in FP1 but rallied to put in the sixth-fastest time of the day, making sure all five manufacturers were represented in the top six.

It was a day of shining for the Independent riders, particularly in FP2. Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven), whilst finishing seventh and best Independent overall, was third and best Independent in FP2 as well. He got the better of fastest rookie of the day Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), with the #9 ninth on the combined but fourth in FP2, in what was a Ducati 1-2-3-4. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was consistent on his first day, finishing 11th overall and taking tenth in FP2, working on race pace. His teammate, Dominique Aegerter, was smoking – quite literally – his way to good lap times in FP2 as he was sixth but 13th overall, one place ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) at the end of the day, with ‘Iron Balda’ 11th in FP2. Making a late bid to move up the order, Garrett Gerloff completed his first day of 2023 in 12th overall but P5 in FP2.

Elsewhere in the field, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continued to figure out the Ducati Panigale V4 R in 2023 trim and was 17th at the end of the day, one place ahead of Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), with the Frenchman struggling to get the feeling with his M 1000 RR. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) got the better of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) for P19 and P20 respectively, whilst Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) finished ahead of teammate Eric Granado, the latter of which had a crash at Turn 10.


1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’30.623s
2. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.446s
3. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +0.506s
4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.534s
5. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.681s
6. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.787s

[wull]

Well fuck me dead, let’s see what FP3 brings tonight, I wasn’t expecting that though.

Well, I was expecting Alvaro to be at top, that’s not a surprise.

[wull]

Above is the best times from the day, below is the times from FP2

[weeksy]

13th and 14th for Rea and Toprak ? WTF... lol.... Not only that but 1.5s off the pace.

[wull]

Toprak is a good 1.5s off his time set during the test earlier in the week. I’d imagine he’ll find something for FP3

[Yorick]

Bulega in WSS was faster than Tom Sykes and a few others.

[Skub]

Given the ongoing events in Turkey,I wonder if Toprak will have his mind 100% on the job in hand. He's been deeply affected by the disaster.

[Bigyin]

So just like MotoGP the Ducati boys hit the top

[wull]

Phillip Island World Superbike Results: Toprak Razgatlioglu snatches first pole of the season



A dramatic final few minutes to the opening Superpole of the 2023 WorldSBK season saw Toprak Razgatlioglu rally to pole position.

After struggling throughout Friday practice, Razgatlioglu was back to his best as the threat of rain loomed large.

Jonathan Rea became an instant threat for pole after setting the fastest lap of the weekend with just a few minutes remaining.

But as lap times continued to come in, so did the drama as rookie Dominique Aegerter went onto provisional pole.

The two-time WorldSSP champion was then beaten by Razgatlioglu, who like at the beginning of the session, was following teammate Andrea Locatelli.

2023 WORLD SUPERBIKE PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA - SUPERPOLE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK 1:29.400s
2 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +0.184s
3 Dominique Aegerter SWI GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +0.235s
4 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +0.315s
5 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +0.374s
6 Michael Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +0.375s
7 Remy Gardner AUS GRT Yamaha +0.441s
8 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +0.464s
9 Andrea Locatelli ITA PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK +0.556
10 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Ducati Team +0.675s
11 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +0.857s
12 Michael Van Der Mark NED BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +0.876s
13 Scott Redding GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +0.988s
14 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +1.009s
15 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +1.070s
16 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +1.073s
17 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +1.187s
18 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +1.204s
19 Tom Sykes GBR Puccetti Kawasaki +1.514s
20 Eric Granado BRA MIE Honda Racing +2.379s
21 Hafizh Syahrin MAL MIE Honda Racing +2.698s
22 Oliver Konig CZE Orelac Racing Kawasaki


Fastest and by some margin on Friday, World Superbike champion Alvaro Bautista snatched a crucial second place late on.

Like Aegerter, Phillip Oettl continued his stunning performance from day one as he finished fifth.

A career-best in qualifying for the German rider means he also got the better of Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

[wull]

Phillip Island World Superbike Race (1) Results: Alvaro Bautista beats Jonathan Rea to first victory of 2023




Results from Race 1, round 1 of the 2023 World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island, Australia.

Alvaro Bautista gets his World Superbike title defence off to the perfect start after dominating Race 1 in wet conditions.

After rain threatened to fall during Superpole, Race 1 eventually got underway in full wet conditions as Toprak Razgatlioglu started from pole.

As the lights went out it was Bautista who made the best start as he immediately took the lead from the Yamaha rider.

Following Bautista through was Jonathan Rea before the Kawasaki rider made his move for the lead at turn one.

Contact was made between Razgatlioglu and Alex Lowes, as the former was struggling to get up to pace.

Turn four was the scene of contact between both riders as Razgatlioglu closed the door on Lowes on corner exit.

There was an early crash for Michael Van Der Mark as the BMW rider suffered a violent highside on lap two.

Starting to find his feet in the tricky conditions, Razgatlioglu took back third spot from Lowes at the start of lap five after out-braking the British rider on the run to turn one.

2023 WORLD SUPERBIKE PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA - RACE (1) RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati 22 Laps
2 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +3.471s
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK +6.168s
4 Andrea Locatelli ITA PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK +16.789s
5 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +20.918s
6 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +27.015s
7 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Ducati Team +30.383s
8 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +30.625s
9 Scott Redding GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +37.447s
10 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +42.591s
11 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +44.142s
12 Remy Gardner AUS GRT Yamaha +48.833s
13 Dominique Aegerter SWI GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +51.617s
14 Michael Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +55.010s
15 Hafizh Syahrin MAL MIE Honda Racing +1'15.223s
16 Eric Granado BRA MIE Honda Racing +1'17.459s
17 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +1'20.226s
18 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +1 Lap
19 Tom Sykes GBR Puccetti Kawasaki DNF
20 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK DNF
21 Oliver Konig CZE Orelac Racing Kawasaki DNF
22 Michael Van Der Mark NED BMW Motorrad WorldSBK


After extending his lead to 1.6 seconds, Rea started to lose ground as Bautista set his fastest lap of the race on lap five.

Bautista took six tenths out of Rea in the opening few sectors of the lap before coming across the start-finish line 0.7s down.

With Bautista in touching distance of the race lead, Razgatlioglu was the rider to watch as he began closing in on the top two by over half a second.

Bautista then caught Rea by surprise as he took the race lead with a move at ‘Stoner corner’ on lap ten.

Now in the lead and pushing on the pace, Bautista suffered a big moment at turn eight as he nearly came unstuck in the same way as Van Der Mark.

Following his close moment, Bautista managed to settle into his rhythm once again as he started extending his lead to nearly a second.

With eight laps to go there was a change for P4 as Lowes crashed out of the race at turn two.

After seeing Bautista suffer a moment a few laps ago, Rea then followed suit as the rear of his ZX-10RR came around on the exit of turn ten.

Rea managed to avoid a crash although he lost a few tenths which eliminated him from contention.

[wull]

Just watched the WSS race, bit hectic to say the least but worked out well for McPhee and Taz, 3rd and 5th respectively.