WSBK - Round 4 - Catalunya

[wull]

Race week again.

Hopefully someone can take it to Alvaro and get the better of him, ideally Toprak but if JR and Toprak can harass him a little maybe he will make mistakes.

He’s just unreal at the moment, everyone is saying it now and it’s 100% true, Alvaro and that Ducati are a match made in heaven, chances are he’s unstoppable this year.


Results last year in September.

[Skub]

It's half pint's championship to lose and we'll get to watch the race for the runners up.

[wull]

Rinaldi retaliates from Assen woes with P1 in Barcelona after WorldSBK FP1








The Italian preferred to do his talking on the track as he took charge of the first World Superbike session of the weekend
Bright sunshine brought warm temperatures and a track temperature of 37 degrees at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. The legendary venue hosts the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round, where it was a Ducati on top after FP1 but not the one that had been anticipated. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was on mighty form at a circuit he always goes well at, bouncing back after disappointment in the Netherlands two weeks ago.
Leading the way for the majority of the session, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) responded from his Dutch doldrums at Assen with a fine morning in Montmelo. The Italian set a 1’41.633 and was sitting pretty on the top of the timesheets, and will aim to improve further, already just a second off of last year’s Superpole time. In second place and with new chassis items to try and conserve the front tyre more, and the #65 looked good in the warm morning temperatures, just 0.019s behind Rinaldi. Third place honours went to Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), who charged up the order on his final stint to make it three manufacturers inside the top three. Pre-weekend favourite Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took fourth place but stayed in the pits for the final four minutes, heading out right at the end for a practice start. It’s always a strong round for Honda and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was fifth in FP1.

Bumping himself up to sixth place in FP1, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) was just ahead of Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) who was top Independent rider in P7, ahead of the second factory Honda of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), who crashed at Turn 1 in the closing stages of the session, although he was able to remount. English duo Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten.
There was a small crash for Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) at the start of the session and he finished in P17. Top Independent rider in the Championship standings Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was only 13th. Ivo Lopes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is replacing Michael van der Mark this weekend but didn’t get out to set a lap time with a mechanical problem

[wull]

LAYING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: Bautista blasts ahead in Barcelona on Friday





Track action was fierce as the opening day of the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round concluded with a sensational display from the reigning World Champion
The sun shone strongly at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship on Friday, with the field taking to the circuit with a track temperature approaching 50 degrees. Come the end of the day, it was Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who was in a league of his own, with a strong lap time at the end of the session being the icing on top of a strong race run cake.

With an additional 20 degrees of track temperature, it was somewhat unsurprising to see the Ducatis so strong on Friday afternoon. Alvaro Bautista remains the rider to beat over the long distance however, with a strong race pace in the morning and in the afternoon, with a run of 14 laps achieved in the 1’42s in FP1, more than his rivals. In the afternoon, Bautista did a 16-lap run, all of which were in the low-to-mid 1’42s before going out and setting a 1’41.486 to set the outright best time of the day, which will certainly make his rivals sit up and look. Teammate Rinaldi was second at the end of the day but didn’t improve his time at the end. Fastest in the first session in the morning, Michael Ruben Rinaldi came out the blocks fighting from the start and that translated into the afternoon too, as he was once again one of the riders to beat.

Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) afternoon wasn’t as strong as his morning session, with Rea outside of the top ten in 11th place for a lot of the session before ultimately finishing third. Due to everyone else struggling to better their opening time, Rea took third overall, but he’ll be fighting for the podium or the top five if race pace from the afternoon is anything to go by. Teammate Alex Lowes was ninth overall, reliant on his morning time, but 14th in the afternoon. Once more, Kawasaki struggling when temperatures come up and grip is at a premium, although for Rea, he seems to have found some sort of solution.
As for the blue corner, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) was third on the combined times but was inside the top five throughout FP2, as he enjoyed the heavy braking areas of Turn 1 and Turn 10. The Turk hasn’t won in Barcelona but will hope that he can turn that around this weekend. Teammate Andrea Locatelli’s afternoon saw him strong inside the top nine but he crashed at Turn 5. Losing the front, it was a typical Turn 5 tumble, but it was a costly error, as a new SC0 tyre needed to be tested and time is always of the essence. At the end of the day, Razgatlioglu was third and Locatelli remained sixth.


It was a strong opening day for Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and Honda, as they always shine in Barcelona – whether it is testing or not. Lecuona’s pace was in the 1’42s, and a solid effort will hope to be rewarded throughout the remainder of the weekend. As for teammate Xavi Vierge, he crashed in FP1 at Turn 1 but remounted but he wasn’t quite there in the afternoon, down in 12th, one place behind teammate Iker Lecuona. Come the end of the day however, they were still fifth and eighth and that will be filling Leon Camier’s team with confidence going forwards.

In terms of Independent riders inside the top ten, Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the sole representative in seventh place but he had a strong afternoon session once again, whilst top Independent in the standings, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was a big improver in FP2 but still only 13th.

For the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, their best efforts came from Scott Redding, unsurprising given that he’s the only full-time rider in the team this weekend. Redding was up in eighth in the hotter afternoon session but wasn’t top BMW. That honour went the way of Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), who was up in fourth after FP2, putting him tenth overall. Teammate Loris Baz was 13th, putting him 15th overall.
Elsewhere in the pecking order, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was only 14th at a circuit of which he’s had a MotoGP™ podium, whereas Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) was only 16th. The Independent Ducatis no match for their factory counterparts come the end of the session. Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) took 17th ahead of Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO), Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) and Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team). Ray was ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha), Isaac Vinales (TPR by Vinales Racing), Ivo Lopes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing), who had a technical problem at Turn 5.

[Skub]

I can't see anyone laying a glove on Bautista,he's got another gear on the opposition. Still,it's racing and anything can happen.

[weeksy]

Sykes 5s off the pace! That's huge

Edit.

Sorry, he was 3s. Still a chunk though

[Yorick]

Sykes 5s off the pace! That's huge

Edit.

Sorry, he was 3s. Still a chunk though

He was shite in BSB last year.
Past his sell by date.

[Skub]

Sykes 5s off the pace! That's huge

Edit.

Sorry, he was 3s. Still a chunk though

There has to be a story behind the scenes. That team is a wrong un.

[wull]

Did he not have electrical issues? I thought I heard them going on about that, and that they’re struggling to fix the problem, or are working their arses of trying to solve the problem.

[wull]

Sykes 5s off the pace! That's huge

Edit.

Sorry, he was 3s. Still a chunk though

He was shite in BSB last year.
Past his sell by date.

Yeah he was terrible at Donington

[Skub]

Chaotic scenes for the 300 SS superpole. Out of the pits the riders were dawdling and waiting for a tow down the long straight,so race direction red flagged the session and made all the riders walk to the end of pitlane to be told off like schoolboys! Then they only had 5 or 6 minutes to get back out and get in a lap for grid position.

[Skub]

300 SS race one was epic,every lap like the first lap,until the penultimate lap when the herd was thinned from 20 riders aiming for the podium to 13,when 7 went down in one move! I still haven't watched the second race.

I doubt if Bassani still has a chance of a factory Ducati next year after he bumped off Rinaldi in a race 1 rash move. Alvaro wins again. I had a laugh at Toprak with no seat,just sitting on the fuel tank. The sound was shit,as the trackside mics were set at too high a level and the commentary was drowned out at times.

Superpole race saw Alvaro piss off again,Rea seemed to be in a podium or bin it mood the last few laps. They are all so far off Bautista's pace,he makes them look daft.

Last superbike race and a clean sweep for Bautista. No one has any answers,so Yamaha and Kawasaki are now fighting to be the best of the rest. Honda were expected to do well at a favoured track and they must be disappointed,perhaps not a good sign for the reast of the year. BMW are just in a hole,I think Redding has given up on any expectations and just goes out to race and see what transpires.

[wull]

Sorry for not doing the usual posts, I’ll probably do them this evening, proper cunted this weekend, can’t be arsed doing anything

[Skub]

Sorry for not doing the usual posts, I’ll probably do them this evening, proper cunted this weekend, can’t be arsed doing anything

Tell her to go easier on your old bones.

[wull]

I wish

[wull]

Race 1 results

Alvaro Bautista wins as Axel Bassani wipes out Michael Ruben Rinaldi

Results from Race 1, round four of the 2023 World Superbike Championship in Catalunya, Spain.

World Superbike champion Alvaro Bautista has won his ninth race out of ten although disaster struck Ducati following a clash between two of its riders.

Despite a slitgly sluggish launch, Bautista’s straight line speed meant he was able to hold off Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Jonathan Rea on the run to turn one.

The biggest mover was Andrea Locatelli as the factory Yamaha rider came from the fourth row to end lap one in P4, one spot ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Locatelli was demoted to fifth by his teammate as Razgatlioglu began showing his prowess under braking.

Doing his best to stay with Bautista, Rinaldi was within six tenths of his teammate after two laps, however, lap three was a significant one as Bautista then improved his lead to over a second.

A red flag was then deployed on lap four following a crash for PETRONAS MIE Honda rider Eric Granado. The Brazilian went down at turn 11 before being stretchered away by marshals trackside.

Once the incident was cleared, a new race distance of 17 laps was confirmed as Bautista started from pole once again.

Bautista made a much better start this time around as he held onto the lead from Rinaldi and Axel Bassani.

On lap two, Rinaldi and Bassani came to blows as contact was made at turn three. On the racing line, Bassani was instead moved out wide by Rinaldi before more contact was made at turn 10.

This time it resulted in Rinaldi crashing out after Bassani was the rider who initiated contact. The incident was then investigated by race direction before a Long-lap penalty was awarded to Bassani.

Prior to their incident, there was another incident as Scott Redding crashed out at turn ten after running into the rear of Lorenzo Baldassarri's Yamaha.

Bassani, who was over two seconds down on race leader Bautista, took the penalty immediately and subsequently lost out to Rea, Razgatlioglu and Locatelli.

While Bassani attempted to make a comeback to podium places by overtaking Locatelli for P4, Bautista was in a league of his own as he stretched his lead to over six seconds.

Struggling behind Iker Lecuona, Alex Lowes suffered a crash with seven laps to go which was his second of the day.

Failing in his bid to close in on Rea and Razgatlioglu, Bassani instead went backwards as Locatelli came back through with 4 laps remaining.

After following Rea all race, Razgatlioglu finally made his move at the start of the final lap and was completely out of shape while doing so.

But the Yamaha rider somehow managed to make the apex at turn one before holding on until the checkered flag.


2023 WORLD SUPERBIKE CATALUNYA, SPAIN - RACE 1 RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati 17 Laps
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +8.864s
3 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +8.927s
4 Andrea Locatelli ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +13.992s
5 Dominique Aegerter SWI GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +14.206s
6 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +15.809s
7 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +18.222s
8 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +20.607s
9 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +20.841s
10 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Racing Team +22.930s
11 Remy Gardner AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +23.475s
12 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +31.286s
13 Bradley Ray GBR Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSBK Team +31.823s
14 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +32.859s
15 Hafizh Syahrin MAL PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +40.429s
16 Ivo Lopes POR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +46.947s
17 Tom Sykes GBR Puccetti Kawasaki +50.828s
18 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +1 Lap
19 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK DNF
20 Isaac Vinales SPA TPR by Vinales Racing DNF
21 Scott Redding GBR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team DNF
22 Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati DNF
23 Eric Granado BRA PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing DNF
24 Oliver Konig CZE Orelac Racing Kawasaki DNS
25 Gabriele Ruiu ITA Bmax Racing DNS

[wull]

Catalunya World Superbike Superpole Race Results: Alvaro Bautista wins but Jonathan Rea crashes

Results from the Superpole Race, round four of the 2023 World Superbike Championship in Catalunya, Spain.

World Superbike champion Alvaro Bautista has won again as rain caused choas during the final laps of the Catalunya Superpole Race

Following a couple of sluggish race starts on Saturday, Bautista had no such issues during the Superpole Race as he was unchallenged into turn one.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi also made another great start as he went from fourth to second, while Toprak Razgatlioglu came from eighth to fifth.

The Yamaha rider quickly got through on Lowes at turn three to make that P4, however, the Kawasaki rider responded just two corners later.

Not to be denied, Razgatlioglu got back ahead of Lowes at turn 11 before closing in on Rea.

Unlike Race 1 when it took the entire race for Razgatlioglu to overtake Rea, the 2021 world champion made his move as early as lap two.

Using a softer front tyre compared to his rivals, Razgatlioglu had a clear pace advantage on every rider except Bautista.

Razgatlioglu’s stunning charge continued on lap three as he overtook Rinaldi at turn 11.

With Razgatlioglu up to second, Bautista put the hammer down in order to pull clear. The Ducati rider extended his lead to 1.8 seconds with less than half-race distance remaining.

Seemingly with more pace than Razgatlioglu, Rinaldi began to challenge the Yamaha rider on lap eight as the pair exchanged second place on four occasions.

Then came huge drama as rain began to fall which led to Rea passing Rinaldi and Razgatlioglu on lap nine.

However, Razgatlioglu dived back to the inside of Rea heading into turn one on the final lap, before Rea lost the front-end of his Kawasaki under braking.

There was no contact between the pair as Rea surprisingly crashed from a completely upright position.

Bautista remained unchallenged as he took yet another win, while Locatelli completed a stunning final lap to claim third behind Razgatlioglu.



2023 WORLD SUPERBIKE CATALUNYA, SPAIN - SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati 10 Laps
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +2.110s
3 Andrea Locatelli ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +2.385s
4 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +2.868s
5 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +2.965s
6 Dominique Aegerter SWI GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +3.257s
7 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +3.398s
8 Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +4.102s
9 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +4.884s
10 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +6.031s
11 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Racing Team +6.154s
12 Scott Redding GBR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +9.424s
13 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +10.428s
14 Bradley Ray GBR Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSBK Team +14.325s
15 Ivo Lopes POR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +14.441s
16 Hafizh Syahrin MAL PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +21.393s
17 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +23.623s
18 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +26.209s
19 Tom Sykes GBR Puccetti Kawasaki +26.566s
20 Isaac Vinales SPA TPR by Vinales Racing +34.300s
21 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK DNF
22 Remy Gardner AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team DNF

[wull]

Catalunya World Superbike Race 2 Results: Alvaro Bautista a hat-trick hero again

Results from Race 2, round four of the 2023 World Superbike Championship in Catalunya, Spain.

Alvaro Bautista has completed his third hat-trick of the season after winning Race 2 of the Catalunya World Superbike round in dominant style.

As was the case during the final laps of the Superpole Race, rain again began to fall prior to Race 2.

But despite rain being in the air, it wasn't enough to dampen the circuit as riders began the final race of the weekend on slick tyres.

After a slow launch, Bautista managed to retain the lead into turn one before Michael Ruben Rinaldi overtook Toprak Razgatlioglu for second at turn four.

But then, for the first time all weekend, Bautista was overtaken as Razgatlioglu produced a sensational double overtake heading into turn five.

Lap one saw Hafizh Syahrin and Tom Sykes end their race early after an incident at turn five.

Back at the front, Bautista wasted no time on getting the lead back as Rinaldi followed him through along the start-finish straight.

Unable to break clear initially, Bautista was then beginning to come under pressure from Alex Lowes after the Kawasaki rider passed Razgatlioglu and Rinaldi.

On lap four, Bautista set a new fastest lap of the race and broke clear by over nine tenths. Lowes was then relegated to third as Rinaldi lined-up a move coming out of the final corner before out-dragging the British rider.

Beginning to struggle with the pace at the front, Lowes was immediately gapped by Rinaldi as Razgatlioglu started to apply pressure.

Razgatlioglu then made his move stick with 14 laps to go after pulling off his favourite hard-braking overtake into turn one.

While Lowes was keeping pace with Razgatlioglu, Andrea Locatelli and Jonathan Rea were beginning to fade as Xavi Vierge was not far behind.

In the lower points scoring positions, Scott Redding’s dismal weekend continued with seven laps to go as a technical issue brought an end to his race.

In a league of his own, as has been the case all weekend, Bautista extending his lead to over seven seconds, while Rinaldi also held a three second gap to Razgatlioglu with just a couple of laps remaining.

Rinaldi then lost over two seconds on the final lap before being beaten to the line in shocking fashion by Razgatlioglu.



2023 WORLD SUPERBIKE CATALUNYA, SPAIN - RACE (2) RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati 20 Laps
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +8.583s
3 Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +8.643s
4 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +11.366s
5 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +12.824s
6 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +15.242s
7 Andrea Locatelli ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +15.771s
8 Dominique Aegerter SWI GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +16.516s
9 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +18.946s
10 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +19.637s
11 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +21.561s
12 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Racing Team +23.410s
13 Remy Gardner AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +25.255s
14 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +29.381s
15 Bradley Ray GBR Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSBK Team +34.437s
16 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +37.717s
17 Ivo Lopes POR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +37.757s
18 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha DNF
19 Scott Redding GBR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team DNF
20 Tom Sykes GBR Puccetti Kawasaki DNF
21 Hafizh Syahrin MAL PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing DNF
22 Isaac Vinales SPA TPR by Vinales Racing DNF

[wull]