After dominating the Superpole Race and Race 1 Toprak Razgatlioglu looked to secure the hat trick at Magny-Cours. However, Alvaro Bautista had other plans. Bautista was able to bounce back in the final race of the weekend to claim the win. Bautista got a great start sending him to the front of the field. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) didn’t let up though. Rea went for a move at Turn 5 on the reigning Champion on the inside, but Bautista was able to pick his bike up well and reclaim the lead instantly. Rea kept the pressure on Bautista but his efforts would be futile as Bautista edging out a gap. The fight behind became the race as Rea and Razgatlioglu duked it out for the best for the rest. Ultimately their fighting on track removed them from ever being able to catch Bautista.
Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had an on track incident that resulted in the stewards ruling in Aegerter’s favor. Redding would receive a double long lap penalty. The incident brought out red flags. Aegerter was not able to continue. Redding continued the race but had a mechanical issue arise and thus retired.
Racing is Where it Counts
After a surprise pole position secured by Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW). Gerloff was not able to hold on to the top spot but he made strides of improvement on the weekend. He finished fourth in Race 1 and fifth in Race 2. The finish was his best of the season and is definitely something to build off of in the coming rounds. It was a special occasion where 4 different manufacturers filled the top 5 spots in Race 2.
Full Race Results are Below
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) cut into Alvaro Bautista’s (Aruba.it Racing) championship lead with a win in race 1 today at Magny-Cours. the win marked his sixth of the season. Razgatlioglu currently sits 55 points behind Bautista in the championship standings. Baustista got the holeshot but Razgatlioglu passed him on Lap 2 of the race. Unfortunately for Bautista he suffered a mechanical issue with his bike that he was not able to correct until falling all the way to P24 on the grid.
Bautista’s teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi finished P2 and attempted to make a late challenge for the lead. However, his efforts would be futile and Razgatlioglu defended and held on to the win. Jonathan Rea who had a great weekend in France finished 3rd for his 257th WorldSBK career podium. Rea led the field in FP2 and was able to carry that pace to a podium.
Full Race 1 Results are Below
In a surprising turn of events Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) secured pole position ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing). The pole position marked the first pole claimed by an American in 12 years. It was also the first for BMW since 2021. Gerloff found the pace to secure pole with just 5 minutes left in the session.
After running fastest in practice Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finished P5 in Superpole. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) finished P4.
Top six after WorldSBK Superpole:
1. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’35.453s
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.059s
3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.367s
4. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.415s
5. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.506s
6. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) +0.551s
Full Superpole Results are Below
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) edged out Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing) by 0.073 seconds in FP2. Rea led FP1 one and continued that form in the second session of the day. He was fastest overall in the combined sessions. Res had the following words after the session.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team Rider): “The guys did a good job and my first lap was a 1’37.6. With new tires the bike felt really good and I was able to get to a strong rhythm. We had a really positive FP1, then in FP2 I felt like the track temperature went higher and I was expecting to stop the bike better, especially in the hairpin. I couldn’t stop in the last part of braking. They changed the front chassis position, but in reality I really struggled on the side of the tire, during turning and in trail braking.”
Rea Continued
“I lost some confidence, so although there were a lot of red flags that actually helped as Pere and the team had time to go back to the FP1 set-up. Even with quite a few laps on the tires I was able to improve. I think the race options are quite clear for us. But we still need to improve the trail braking feeling and have more front confidence. I don’t know if we can say that we have fixed the issues we had with overloading the front at the start of the year, but certainly in these conditions of 50°C on the track we found that the front tire consumption wasn’t as bad as we experienced at the beginning of the season.”
The session saw two red flags. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) had a viscous high side which brought out the first. The second was because of an engine issue for Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), leaving fluid on the track. Saturday action get started at
Full FP2 Results are Below
Jonathan Rea released a bombshell today when he announced that he will not be continuing with Kawasaki after his current contract is up. He will make a move to the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK squad at the end of 2023. The six-time Champion has spent nine seasons at the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK and won all his titles with Kawasaki. He also has over 100 wins under his belt with the manufacturer. His arrival means Toprak Razgatlioglu will be exiting. Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli is contracted with Yamaha through 2025.
Speaking of Rea’s departure, Guim Roda, Team Manager of KRT, said:
“In life as well as racing, priorities define the path to follow. I am very happy and proud that during these nine years Johnny has defined his priorities with KRT and has given us so many successes. I consider myself, our team, Kawasaki and all our fans worldwide, privileged to have been part of this journey. Whichever direction he goes in the future, I hope he can continue to grow as a rider. The task we have now is to finish the 2023 season as best we can with the tools we have been able to forge this year. As always, we will continue to look for improvements and seek advantage wherever possible. KRT is committed to putting on a good show with Johnny during his last four races on the formidable and impressive Ninja ZX-10RR that he has become synonymous with”.
Jonathan Rea reflected on his time at KRT saying:
“I want to thank everyone at KMC and KRT for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to prove myself at the highest level. I have learnt and grown so much as a person and a rider since the first day throwing my leg over the factory Ninja ZX-10R superbike.
Winning six consecutive WorldSBK Championships will always be the most obvious highlight of my time with Kawasaki; but it will also be the amazing memories, the life lessons and the laughs that I will take with me into the future. And, for sure, it’s our mission to complete the 2023 season as strongly and with as much commitment as we have always shown.
Now, looking back on our journey, it fills me with pride at the joy and happiness we have brought Kawasaki fans and Kawasaki owners around the world. This is not a goodbye, because you don’t say goodbye to family, but it is simply the end of this incredible chapter. I wish everyone at KRT the best of luck for the chapters that will surely follow. See you at the track!”
Jonathan Rea topped the table at the World Superbike Aragon Test days. Danilo Petrucci and Bautista topped the morning session but Rea was able to edge out the top spot by less than one tenth. In surpsiing fashion Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) surged into the top 4 securing the fastest lap time of all of the Hondas in the session. Lecuona also rode the least amount of laps out of the Honda riders.
Bautista suffered from a crash in turn 14 at the end of the last day of testing. He did not appear to be seriously hurt. We will report back if there is news of an undiscovered injury moving forward. Other than the crash the session was largely uneventful.
Full results from day two at Aragon:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’49.101s, 68 laps
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’49.168, 97 laps
3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’49.168, 47 laps
4. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) 1’49.466s, 58 laps
5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’49.791, 130 laps
6. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) 1’49.984, 87 laps
7. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’50.094, 72 laps
8. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’50.362, 79 laps
9. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’50.557, 83 laps
10. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’50.655, 81 laps
11. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’50.935, 73 laps
12. Tetsuta Nagashima (Team HRC) 1’51.026, 80 laps
After running third fastest in the Aragon test on Day one Danilo Petrucci appears to have finally found come to find some long lasting chemistry with his Ducati V4R. On day two of testing Petrucci ran fastest in the morning session setting a 1m49.168 lap time to top the table.
Petrucci commented on his day 1 success: “Maybe it’s the first day of the test this year that went straight. We didn’t make many modifications, but we got some new parts; new brake discs. We needed to compare some parts, like the triple clamp and small setup adjustments. In the end, it wasn’t bad. The lap times were harder to repeat in the afternoon as the wind was a bit stronger; in the morning, I had a better feeling. In the end, without using a Q tyre, we were fast until the end and with the pace, I can repeat the time and I can be satisfied.”
Petrucci Continued His Thoughts on Day 2
“Day two was okay. We found the track was a bit faster than day one, and it was less windy. The feeling was good. We followed our programme to test some different triple clamps and something different on the brakes and engine brake. We also put on an SCQ tyre at the end of the morning session, and I felt okay. One of the areas I’m struggling in the most is Superpole, and the first laps of races, so we focused on this at the test. Since lap one this morning, I was able to be fast and the feeling with the bike was okay.”
“With the WorldSBK format, if you have a bad Superpole or Superpole Race, your Race 1 and Race 2 are over. If you’re not fast, you start so far back. Superpole is really important and especially being with a new tyre to create a gap and follow the first riders. This is one of the things we worked with at this test.”
The test results are welcomed after Petrucci struggled in the early season to find the pace for podium contention. Now that Petrucci has a few podiums under his belt and is learning the bike we anticipate he will return to his winning ways and potentially compete with Bautista. Unfortunately the championship race is all but over for Petrucci. Bautista currently holds a 272 point lead over Petrucci who currently sits in sixth place in the championship standings. With 4 rounds left this year there are not enough points on the table to turn things around but there is room to improve finishing position in the championship. If the pace that Petrucci has found is long lasting it could throw the front runners for a loop as the season comes to a close.
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK rider Alex Lowes participated in one testing day at Aragon as a shake down to get familiar with the ZX10RR program. Lowes completed 130 laps on the day running fifth fastest amongst the participants.
“The lap time wasn’t bad, it was at the hottest part of the day just after lunch. I finished with a 15-lap run on harder tyres to try and take some grip away, because that’s where we normally struggle. It was mentally tiring. I had three bikes. You’re sort of a bit nervous to make the wrong call now in case it hinders you in four months. A lot of the stuff we’re trying was the first try of new parts. You have to get a feel for it, give your positive and negative points and then move on. It’s not a case of keeping it on the bike and building up a setting like you would in a race weekend.”
Lowes Continued
“We need to try to find some more speed on the straight. Our bike is very good especially when the track’s grippy. With the Kawasaki, you can go down to a lap time so fast. Our first laps today were already in the mix even though we missed a day’s testing. It’s very easy to ride the bike to a certain level. We need to now find some real performance in terms of a race situation and being able to battle with the guys a bit easier. A lot of that will come from acceleration and speed. That’s an area that we’re focusing on, whether it’s engine, aerodynamics, rider position… that’s our main focus.”
Team Manager Guim Roda also Spoke on the 2024 Development Plan After the Test Day
“It was positive. It’s not easy for a fast rider. Many times, it’s just a matter of times of feedback, not how fast or not we can go. It’s to collect information, it’s not easy. Especially for a rider who immediately wants efficiency. At the same time, we combined them with some idea that we can use in the last four rounds. It has been, from an engineering perspective, very productive. I know Alex would like to do more laps on his race bike, but he understood the target.”
Alvaro Bautista and the Aruba.it Racing team will participate in the Malaysian Grand Prix the 10th-12th of November 2023. The race will be held at the Sepang International Circuit two weeks after the conclusion of the Superbike World Championship, from 27th-29th October, in Jerez.
Alvaro Bautista stated: “I’m really happy to be able to race in MotoGP as a wildcard at Sepang, a track that I really like and that I’m happy to be back at since it’s not on the WorldSBK calendar. The tests with the Ducati Desmosedici GP gave positive feedback: the feeling was good, and I had fun. I want to sincerely thank Ducati and Aruba.it because, without them, it would have been impossible to have this opportunity. At the same time, I would like to say that this MotoGP race will be a bonus for me and not a priority.
“That’s why we must stay focused on the WorldSBK Championship, which is the only thing that matters now. I want to stay focused for this last part of the season, which will be very demanding, with many races in a short time. The feeling with the Panigale V4R machine is good, and I hope to continue on this path. Then, when the season ends, we’ll think about going to Malaysia and having fun. Now I’ll have a little holiday, and then we’ll be back at Magny-Cours.”
World Superbike weekend has come to an end at Autodrom Most. Starting with the Superpole race. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) came out swinging in a battle with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). Rea was riding with a new wind this weekend coming off of a win in race 1. Razgatlioglu edged out Rea by 1.203 seconds. Alvaro Bautista returned to the podium after a disappointing race 1. The podium helped with championship points damage control, Bautista would follow the Superpole race up with a win in Race 2. Bautista ended up extending his lead in the championship by 4 points.
Jonathan Rea walked away from the weekend with three podiums. We did not officially see if the Kawasaki team finally decided to take advantage of the performance increase allotted to them by the FIM stewards. Regardless it appears he is finding chemistry with the bike and will look to improve his championship standings position. He is currently 102 points behind Toprak Razgatlioglu with a lot of work to do.
Of note Danilo Petrucci secured two more podiums this weekend. It’s clear that Petrucci is finding a groove with his Ducati V4R. In the last few rounds he has returned to his podium finishing ways. We will see if Petrucci can add more to the win column. There are plenty of opportunities to do so with 3, potentially 4 races to go in the season.