Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) participated in the Crmeona testing event this week and offered first thoughts regarding the circuit and its technicality. Bulega stated, “This is the standard bike and there’s a big difference to my race bike. I like the track. It’s a very technical circuit, you have to be very precise. It’s a good layout. I hope to be competitive everywhere, not only at Cremona! I came here just to learn the track with the standard bike. We’ll come here with the official bike, so I wanted to have a day of testing, go on the track and when I already know the bike with the official bike.”
Rinaldi commented on the changes the track has seen over the years. “The track has changed. I was here about eight years ago and they’ve made some improvements. It’s not such a fast track so it’s important for us to have a good test because the base setup for everybody needs to be adjusted. It’ll be something different for the Championship.”
World Superbike is on a long break at the moment as the riders await the next round at the Emilia Romagna Round in Italy at Misano.
MotoGP returns this weekend for the Catalan Grand Prix. With the title race wide open currently valuable points are up for grabs as Jorge Martin continues his charge for the championship. Martin leads two time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia by 38 points heading into the weekend. Bagnaia will desperately want to outscore Martin to cut the lead down. Actions gets started this Friday.
The Full Race Weekend Schedule is Below
Image Courtesy of DornaAfter starting the Superpole race in P7, Alvaro Bautista surged to the front making a series of sensational passes. The track conditions were dry and sunny providing the riders with optimum track conditions. Despite starting on pole, Jonathan Rea slipped behind going into the first turn of the race. He continued to move backward before finding an equilibrium and finished P5 from pole. Rea failed to improve on his result of P5 in race 1. In race 2 he finished P19, a disappointing finish to the weekend. Alex Lowes finishing third in Superpole.
Race 2
In race 2 Toprak Razgatlioglu took the win which shook up the championship point standings helping Alvaro Bautista to move into the top spot and Razgatlioglu ending the weekend 6 points back in second place. “Race 2 was like all weekend, really tricky and difficult because conditions were really changing,” Baustista said. “In the morning Superpole Race, I had a good feeling with the bike, and I could push 100%. The conditions were more stable than the rest of the weekend. It was the first time we had normal conditions. I enjoyed it, especially the first laps where I battled a lot with other riders to make a really impressive comeback. In the afternoon, I had a good start.
I tried to keep my pace. I was quite confident, making good lines, but then it started to rain a little bit and it basically never stopped lightly raining during the race. In one part of the race, it started to rain a bit harder in some areas. We slowed down a little bit, then, after I tried to push again, I think the rear tire cooled down too much and I couldn’t get the temperature to push at the end, so I didn’t have the same feeling as the start of the race. To finish on the podium was important. It’s been a really tough weekend.”
Razgatlioglu wasn’t available for comment after race 2 regarding his win.
Superpole Race Results from Assen
Assen Race 2 Results
In a mixed condition race Nicholas Spinelli (Barni Spark Racing) won race 1 after finishing P21 on day 1 of track action. Spinelli is subbing this weekend at Assen for the injured Danilo Petrucci. The win marks the team’s first win in World Superbike. Spinelli made the perfect call regarding tires opting for the Intermediate tire in the front and rear. His on track advantage because apparent right away in race 1. Given the mixed conditions opinions were mixed on tire selection.
On Lap 14 the race was red flagged due to an oil spill. After the restart most of the riders opted for slicks which ended up being the wrong call after the race restart. Those on slicks struggled for grip and those on intermediate pulled away rapidly. Spinelli was able to build up a 2 second gap by the end of the race.
Razgatlioglu Fends off Bautista
In the heated battle behind, Toprak Razgatlioglu carved out a P2 finish after a multi-lap battle with Alvaro Bautista. The two were separated by 1 tenth of a second. Despite finishing P3 Bautista has shown signs of his dominance in 2023 but has yet to put the pieces together to return as his normal self. Bautista has been pressured this year with the likes of Nicolo Bulega but Bulega had an extremely disappointing finish only mustering the pace to finish P11.
The weather shook up the field as expected. Remy Gardner and Alex Lowes rounded out the top 5.
Alvaro Bautista showed his mastery with racing in the rain today at Assen as he set the fastest lap time in FP2. FP2 was a battle at the top between Toprak Razgatlioglu and Bautista. The pair were separated by 0.277s. Bautista said, “It was a very complicated day because of the weather conditions and the heavy rain limited the grip on the track. It was also not easy to ride with the strong wind. But in the end, we have to adapt because these are situations that all riders have to face. However, I am satisfied because, despite these difficulties, the feeling with the bike was good. Hopefully, the weather will be more consistent tomorrow.”
GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team rider Remy Gardner put his experience to the test and finished 3rd fastest in the session.
Barni Spark Racing World Superbike rider Danilo Petrucci suffered a major injury during a motocross training session. His participation in next weekends World Superbike Championship remains doubtful pending preliminary examination. Barni Spark Racing stated, “As a result of a fall during a training with the motocross bike Danilo Petrucci suffered a fracture of the right clavicle and jaw.” It was later announced that Petrucci would undergo surgery.
Given that the next round is one week away time is against Petrucci for getting fit enough to race. We would assume he will miss at least the next round depending on how he recovers from surgery. More to come as we receive updates.
The US media conglomerate Liberty Media announced an acquisition of 86% of Dorna. Dorna, a Spanish company has been the long lasting owner of MotoGP since 1992.
We are thrilled to expand our portfolio of leading live sports and entertainment assets with the acquisition of MotoGP,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Media President and CEO. “MotoGP is a global league with a loyal, enthusiastic fan base, captivating racing and a highly cash flow generative financial profile. Carmelo and his management team have built a great sporting spectacle that we can expand to a wider global audience. The business has significant upside, and we intend to grow the sport for MotoGP fans, teams, commercial partners and our shareholders.”
“This is the perfect next step in the evolution of MotoGP, and we are excited for what this milestone brings to Dorna, the MotoGP paddock and racing fans,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna. “We are proud of the global sport we’ve grown, and this transaction is a testament to the value of the sport today and its growth potential. Liberty has an incredible track record in developing sports assets and we could not wish for a better partner to expand MotoGP’s fanbase around the world.”
“Liberty Media will acquire 86% of MotoGP with MotoGP management retaining approximately 14% of their equity in the business. The transaction reflects an enterprise value for MotoGP of €4.2 billion and an equity value of €3.5 billion with the existing debt balance at MotoGP expected to remain in place after close. The equity consideration to sellers is expected to be comprised of approximately 65% cash, 21% in shares of Series C Liberty Formula One common stock (Nasdaq: FWONK) and 14% of retained MotoGP management equity.”
Liberty Media Corporation operates and owns interests in a broad range of media, communications and entertainment businesses. Those businesses are attributed to three tracking stock groups: the Liberty SiriusXM Group, the Formula One Group and the Liberty Live Group. The businesses and assets attributed to the Liberty SiriusXM Group (NASDAQ: LSXMA, LSXMB, LSXMK) include Liberty Media’s interest in SiriusXM. The businesses and assets attributed to the Formula One Group (NASDAQ: FWONA, FWONK) include Liberty Media’s subsidiaries Formula 1 and Quint, and other minority investments. The businesses and assets attributed to the Liberty Live Group (NASDAQ: LLYVA, LLYVK) include Liberty Media’s interest in Live Nation and other minority investments.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) got the weekend started off with back to back wins in the Race 1 and the Superpole Race. After the Superpole race Razgatlioglu said, “I am really happy; I didn’t have more chances because at Turn 10, I lost it because I wasn’t close enough to attack,” said Toprak in Parc Ferme. “I was then just thinking in the last corner and what Valentino Rossi did many years ago, so I thought ‘why not now?’ and I was close enough. I used second gear in the last corner, took the line and the plan was perfect. The acceleration wasn’t bad and I am winning again. I’m not surprised, I was just thinking in the last corner!”
Unfortunately for him he wasn’t able to complete the hat trick in Race 2 because Alvaro Bautista had other plans. It was a positive day for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. Especially in race 2 where the team finished with both riders in the top 5.
Bautista Bounces Back
The champ is back! Alvaro Bautista secured his first win of 2024 in race 2. It’s no secret that Bautista has been fighting to get back to 100% fitness after a last season injury lingered preventing him from participating in the majority of pre season testing. However, those troubles seem to be behind him now. In Race 1 he showed his prowess fighting from P14 to a podium. That success continued as he pushed through the weekend. The win in Race 2 resulted in his 4th podium of the season and drew him closer to the championship leader; his teammate Nicolo Bulega. Bulega has had a sensational start to his rookie World Superbike season but fell short this weekend for two P2 finishes in Race 1 and Race 2. He currently leads the championship ahead of Bautista by 8 points.
Full Catalunya-Barcelona Round Race 2 Results
After topping the table in Superpole Toprak Razgatlioglu won Race 1 adding his name to the mix of winners in 2024. Razgatlioglu started from the front and didn’t look back. Prior to the race Toprak said, “I think it will not be an easy race weekend for me because we need further improve tire life but the test was also very positive, we also worked on race pace and that was very good.
We are still not at really 100 per cent but I am learning the bike every day and we are improving. My general feeling is not bad. This race weekend will be very important for me. I try to make it to the podium and my big target is to win the race because I never won at Catalunya before. I hope we will win this weekend, I will try to do my best.” Little did he know his efforts would end up seeing him to the top in Superpole and the winner in race one.
Razgatlioglu Reflect After the Race
After the race Razgatlioglu’s tone changed, “I am really happy. Thanks to my team, they did an unbelievable job with really hard work and finally we are winning,” he said. “This victory has special importance for me as I never won here on this circuit before. It has been my dream and finally I have a victory in Catalunya. This is an unbelievable moment because this race was really hard. If we win here, I think fighting will be easier on other race tracks. After Bulega passed me, I just followed him but after two laps I said, okay, I am pushing a little bit too hard for the rear tire. The podium is enough for me because I know that on this track, the rear tires have a big drop on the last five laps.
Then on the last five, six laps I saw that Bulega started to drop and I pushed hard, especially on the brakes. At the first round of the season I felt a lot of pressure as I was my first weekend with BMW but here that was not the case anymore but as Markus Flasch is here, we wanted to achieve something for him. To get pole position and win the race made it an unbelievable day. We have two more races tomorrow and now we will focus on those.”
The Ducati Front Runners Settle for 2nd and 3rd
Nicolo Bulega beat out his teammate and last years champion. The pair finished P2 and P3 respectively. Alvaro Bautista finally looked his normal self on track today after struggling to get back to form after fighting a pre season injury. One thing that has become clear. Alvaro Bautista will not be running away as the sole championship contented this year. While still early its clear that there are multiple contenders for the title this year. The most important is Bulega who as a rookie has outperformed the reiging champion thus far in 2024.
Sam Lowes and Jonathan Rea did not finish the race.
Full Race 1 Result are Below
The top four riders in FP2 were all aboard Ducatis. The pack was led by Nicolo Bulega the World superbike rookie that has turned heads since pre season testing for his first run at a world superbike title. Bulega said, “I’m happy because we worked very well today collecting a lot of data that will be useful tomorrow. We also did a good job with the tires which allowed us to have clearer ideas. It will be essential to make the right choice also because tire wear will probably be one of the determining factors for the race.” On day one of racing action at Catalunya Ducati riders Bulega, Alvaro Bautista, Danilo Petrucci and Alex Lowes topped the field. Toprak Razgatlioglu fell to P5 after topping the table in FP1 ahead of his teammate.
Alvaro Bautista Responds to Hints at Intra Ducati Competition
Alvaro Bautista finished behind his new teammate Bulega in FP2. Bautista has been battling injuries that have lingered from the pre season which have slowed down his pace on track. When asked about intra team competition Bautista said, “If it’s like that, I’ll sign now! Because for me it has been a really hard winter and first race, because the feeling riding the bike was not the best and I couldn’t ride as I wanted. First, I thought it was because of my injury, but in the test, I felt okay and I couldn’t ride like I wanted yet, so there was something wrong.
Fortunately, today we found something that helped me a lot to ride as I wanted. Tomorrow will be another day and we will try to keep this improvement. Races in Barcelona are really hard for the tires, and you have to manage really well the situation. In the past I did it well, but I was the fastest on race pace, so it was easy to be 3-4 tenths slower than my normal pace to manage the tire. Now I’m not the fastest guy, so I need to push from the beginning. It’s a different situation.”