WSBK - Phillip Island

[wull]

Final round of the year coming up, championship already finished but second place still to play for albeit Toprak is a fair chunk ahead of Jonathan ( 37 points ).

[weeksy]

Rinaldi to win one.

Before he's then taken out the back of the garage and shot like an old carthorse.

Lowes to get a 3rd and for people to ask "oh, i thought he'd retired"

[wull]

[wull]

Toprak reckons Alvaro will possibly run away like in Catalunya because of the longer start finish straight, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Apparently something will be in place for the 2024 season with regards to rider weight limits etc or potentially 2023 going by what some have said but I doubt it.

[weeksy]

Toprak reckons Alvaro will possibly run away like in Catalunya because of the longer start finish straight, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Apparently something will be in place for the 2024 season with regards to rider weight limits etc or potentially 2023 going by what some have said but I doubt it.

We had all of this with Pedrosa though when he was winning... but time and history shows that it wasn't just his weight that was the factor. It was also the Honda that was exceptionally good at that time, both in 250s and in 500s.

Redding never complained about the Ducati power when he had it... No-one is say Rinaldi has an unfair advantage...

I'd say give the Yamaha a higher rpm limit, give the Kwak the same, let BMW and Honda do what they like and fight like me.

"you're winning by too much, we're slowing your bike down" is just a bit too F1 for me really. I don't approve of it in the slightest.

In GPs the Ducati is both the fastest on the straights and has the most riders, but why are we not having the same discussions on this in GPs too ?

It's all a little confusing for me.

[wull]

The thing is it’s not even a matter of opinion, it’s matter of fact. The difference in speed down the long start finish straights is undeniably obvious, it’s there to be seen, there’s no ifs or buts.

Bautista is just better than Rinaldi, but when you have a circuit where Bautista can’t exploit the power and speed advantage of the Ducati then he doesn’t win, it’s as simple as that, a circuit where he can he usually wins or wins by a decent amount. Some tracks he can make up 0.5s on the straight alone, where’s the talent in that? There is none.

I like Bautista but it’s absolutely bullshit when you’re fucking off on the straights like he does, like I’ve said before him and that V4R are the perfect combination.

[wull]

I reckon if JR and Toprak hadn’t had as many crashes and mechanicals, mechanicals being the Yamaha then it may have been a different story, the points that Toprak bled away must be relatively high, hopefully next season we can have a tight championship that’s exciting right to the very end.

[Bigyin]

Toprak has it done for 2nd unless he lobs it in practise/race1 and gets injured. JR will push it as far as he can.

Dont forget Buatista won here on his last stint on the Ducati in its previous development before it was a straight line rocket ship

[wull]

Toprak has it done for 2nd unless he lobs it in practise/race1 and gets injured. JR will push it as far as he can.

Dont forget Buatista won here on his last stint on the Ducati in its previous development before it was a straight line rocket ship

Something like 11 seconds ahead or something like that.

[weeksy]

The thing is it’s not even a matter of opinion, it’s matter of fact. The difference in speed down the long start finish straights is undeniably obvious, it’s there to be seen, there’s no ifs or buts.

Bautista is just better than Rinaldi, but when you have a circuit where Bautista can’t exploit the power and speed advantage of the Ducati then he doesn’t win, it’s as simple as that, a circuit where he can he usually wins or wins by a decent amount. Some tracks he can make up 0.5s on the straight alone, where’s the talent in that? There is none.

I like Bautista but it’s absolutely bullshit when you’re fucking off on the straights like he does, like I’ve said before him and that V4R are the perfect combination.

How about when Stoner destroyed everyone in GP on the insanely fast Ducati?

[wull]

But we’re discussing WSBK and Alvaro, not Stoner or GP

Also, I didn’t mind someone dominating a class when it’s purely down to rider skill etc, not when you’re fucking off on the straights.

[Skub]

I reckon if JR and Toprak hadn’t had as many crashes and mechanicals, mechanicals being the Yamaha then it may have been a different story, the points that Toprak bled away must be relatively high, hopefully next season we can have a tight championship that’s exciting right to the very end.

Toprak and JR falling off while battling each other gave Alvaro a leg up too. He was rubbing his hands while that was going on,then spat the dummy when JR made him join in.

[wull]

Yeah Alvaro has been so consistent this year, not what people were expecting.

[Bigyin]

Yeah Alvaro has been so consistent this year, not what people were expecting.

Dare i say that the straight line speed advantage he has this time means he doesnt have to push the front end as hard in the twisty bits and under braking which is what caused his crashes last time.

Not crashing like he did during the second half of his last season on the Ducati has given him the consistency he lacked

[Skub]

Yeah Alvaro has been so consistent this year, not what people were expecting.

Dare i say that the straight line speed advantage he has this time means he doesnt have to push the front end as hard in the twisty bits and under braking which is what caused his crashes last time.

It was JR's turn for that,this year.

[wull]

Australia WorldSBK FP2 Results: Jonathan Rea denies Alvaro Bautista late on





Results from Friday Practice, round 12 of the 2022 WorldSBK Championship at Phillip Island, Australia.

Jonathan Rea left it late to top FP2 ahead of Alvaro Bautista, although the WorldSBK champion appears to be the favourite heading into Saturday's opening race in Phillip Island.

Fourth fastest in FP1, Alex Lowes immediately found more pace as he went fastest to begin FP2.

As the British rider looked set to improve even further on his next effort a red flag was deployed due to Cape Barren geese appearing on track.

As the session got back underway, Bautista rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 1:31.570s.

The new world champion then improved by just under a tenth to extend his advantage over Lowes, while Rea was third aboard the second factory Kawasaki machine.

After a strong showing in FP1, Tetsuta Nagashima was again in fine form aboard the Team HRC Honda bike as he sat inside the top five early on.

Over 1.3 seconds down on Bautista with 15 minutes gone, Toprak Razgatlioglu’s difficult start to FP2 resulted in him being down in eighth place as improvements were needed.


2022 WORLD SUPERBIKE PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA - FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (2)
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK 1:31.127s
2 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +0.105s
3 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +0.289s
4 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK +0.543s
5 Andrea Locatelli ITA PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK +0.594s
6 Tetsuta Nagashima JAP Team HRC WorldSBK +0.742s
7 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +0.869s
8 Garrett Gerloff USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +0.931s
9 Scott Redding GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +1.122s
10 Michael Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +1.202s
11 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +1.391s
12 Michael Van Der Mark NED BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +1.402s
13 Lucas Mahias FRA Puccetti Kawasaki +1.593s
14 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +1.653s
15 Xavi Fores SPA Barni Spark Ducati Team +1.687s
16 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +1.875s
17 Hafizh Syahrin MAL MIE Honda Racing +1.884s
18 Eugene Laverty IRL Bonovo Action BMW +1.991s
19 Oliver Konig CZE Orelac Racing Kawasaki +2.357s
20 Kohta Nozane JPN GRT Yamaha +2.421s
21 Leandro Mercado ARG MIE Honda Racing +3.024s
22 Kyle Smith GBR Pedercini Kawasaki +3.495s


Directly behind Rea on track, Bautista went even faster as he put two tenths between himself and Lowes.

Rea and Bautista then switched positions as the Kawasaki rider pulled off the racing line to allow the Ducati rider through. With the Spaniard in front of him, Rea was able to find more pace as he moved ahead of Lowes.

There was a big moment for Michael Ruben Rinaldi as the Italian ran off track at turn four following a mistake under braking.

Continuing to lead the way, Bautista was demonstrating incredible long-run pace as he continued to lap within three tenths of his fastest time. The Ducati rider was also challenging Rea and Lowes’ best times with more than ten laps on the tyres.

An impressive lap on his third stint saw Rea close the gap on Bautista to +0.065s.

Razgatlioglu, who was following Rea, eventually found the type of performance expected as he moved up to fourth place, three tenths off Bautista.

Just as though Bautista looked safe at the top of the leaderboard, an impressive final stint from Rea saw him challenge the former MotoGP rider on several occasions before finally getting the better of him.

Rea set the fastest lap of the day in order to go quicker than Bautista, while Lowes remained ahead of Razgatlioglu.

[weeksy]

6 Tetsuta Nagashima JAP Team HRC WorldSBK +0.742s

oooooh

[wull]

Phillip Island qualifying results












Race 1 results


Australia WorldSBK: Jonathan Rea masters changeable conditions for first win since Estoril






Jonathan Rea took a dominant WorldSBK victory in Race 1 at Phillip Island, his first in 25 races, after managing changeable conditions better than his competitors.

Starting from pole for just the second time in 2022, new WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista made a brilliant start as he led into turn one.

With conditions still very wet although drying quickly, Rea, who has a very good record in such conditions, lost a place to Toprak Razgatlioglu.

The second Pata Yamaha of Andrea Locatelli also found his way through on the other factory Kawasaki bike of Alex Lowes, however, the Brit responded before the opening lap was over to regain fourth.

Keen to win his first race since round three at Estoril, Rea saw an opportunity to claim second off Razgatlioglu but the six-time world champion ran wide at turn one which handed the advantage back to the Yamaha rider.

As riders started lap three, Rea made the identical move stick as he began to close in on Bautista for the lead.

Three turns later and Rea was now the leader of the race as Bautista was struggling in the beginning of the lap.

The same turn four then saw Razgatlioglu pounce on Bautista for second before Lowes did the same at turn seven.

Similar to practice sessions throughout the weekend, Rea was lacking speed in sector four as Razgatlioglu took nearly four tenths out of the Kawasaki star.

With 17 laps to go, Razgatlioglu, who again gained huge chunks of time in sector four, made his first overtake for the lead stick heading into turn one.

After running wide at turn two, Razgatlioglu was then overtaken by Rea before Lowes made it a Kawasaki 1-2 with a brave move at Stoner corner.

Lowes, who was clearly the fastest rider on track, then took the lead from Rea before beginning to open an immediate gap. Rea was instead coming under intense pressure from Razgatlioglu and Bautista.

The scene to his last race win in WorldSBK, Lowes was continuing to control things out front although Rea was staying within touch. That was also the case for Bautista after the Spaniard came through on Razgatlioglu following another error from the Turkish star.

As conditions dried significantly, Rea and Razgatlioglu decided to enter pit lane and switch from wets to dry tyres.

Lowes and Bautista, who were the two fastest riders still on wets decided to stay out. Prior to Rea and Razgatlioglu changing tyres Michael Ruben Rinaldi was one of the first to switch tyres as he went on to unlap himself as Lowes was now slower than those on dry tyres.

Bautista pitted on the next lap around but lost time as Rea and Razgatlioglu managed to perform the overcut.

Lowes did the same on lap 11 as he too lost positions to Rea, Razgatlioglu and Bautista. With Scott Redding the current race leader and trying to last the distance on wet tyres, the BMW rider had to instead abort that plan as conditions were now too dry.

Struggling for pace having made the switch to dry tyres, Lowes and Locatelli rapidly closed in on Bautista before a move was made from Lowes towards the end of lap 17.

Locatelli did the same as riders began lap 18 as Bautista's surprising lack of pace continued.

Despite losing time to Razgatlioglu during the last few laps, Rea took a comfortable win ahead of his rival and team-mate Lowes.

[Skub]

Well,that was an interesting race. Action packed and dramatic for different reasons.

[wull]

Well,that was an interesting race. Action packed and dramatic for different reasons.

I felt sorry for Lowes and a few others, Lowes at the worst time was leading, Yamaha struggling with changing the front wheel losing them 5 seconds, probably wouldn’t have made a huge difference but with Toprak on Jonathan’s hoop it may have changed it up slightly.

The total leader laps is incorrect, it was correct after Mandalika but for some reason they have it now with Mandalika not included, so 183 + 2 today totalling 185 for Toprak when it should be many more, more than Alvaro, 220 odd comes to mind.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings