Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) won race 1 at Autodrom Most by a commanding 4 second lead over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK). Rea benefited from choosing a superior tire strategy that did no require him to pit when the majority of the field had to as conditions changed. It was evident as the race progressed that full wet tires were not the best choice. Rea gained a 12 second advantage after the tire change and was able to hold on long enough to secure his first win of the season. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) who had a similar tire strategy secured his second podium of the season.
Championship points leader Alvaro Baustista made the wrong tire call and ended up finishing in 12th place. When the championship seemed all but guaranteed we’ve seen Bautista fall off in the last few round which has allowed Razgatlioglu the opportunity to crawl back and gain some traction in the points standings. Razgatlioglu’s second place finish means he is just 54 points behind Bautista. If the result were to repeat in the Superpole race or race 2 Bautista’s lead could dwindle.
Full Autodrom Most Race 1 Results are Below
In a continuation of form from the previous round at Imola, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) ran fastest in FP2 at Autodrom Most. In second was GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team rider Remy Gardner and in third Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) aboard his Ducati V4R.
Eslewhere on the grid Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who passed his medical check at the Autodrom Most. The Dutchman has been recovering from a fractured left femur in a highside at TT Assen back in April. He has missed every round since. He did not complete FP2 at Most after crashing in turn 10. The bike appeared to be heavily damaged and would not return to the session.
There were a number of riders that had lap times deleted due to a yellow flag in turn 17-18. You can find those violations below. Championship leader Alvaro Bautista finished 6th fastest. It appears that Razgatlioglu has found some mid season pace. He has made it clear that the title race is not over. We will see if Bautista has an answer. Currently Bautista has a 70 point lead in the championship standings. Full Fp2 results are below. Superpole will take place tomorrow.
Full FP2 Results at Autodrom Most
Today it was announced that Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) will replace Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in August. Alex Rins suffered a broken leg and thus Honda needed a substitute. This isn’t the first call Lecuona has received this season. Earlier this year Lecuona filled in for an injured Joan Muir for the MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix. He filled in again for Alex Rins at TT Circuit Assen. In both outings Lecuona was nearly in the points. We imagine with a third stent on the bike he might be able to muster the pace to score some points in MotoGP this year.
Lecuona had the following words for WorldSBK.com on his return to MotoGP action, “I wish Alex a speedy recovery; I know how difficult these situations are. In the meantime, I’m happy to jump on the bike, as I want to do my best and help the team. Besides, I like Silverstone’s layout, and we can have fun. I want to thank the Honda family and LCR for the opportunity.”
The following article was not authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From DORNA and WorldSBK.com…
The WorldSBK community raised a huge amount to help victims of the devastating floods in the Emilia-Romagna Round
The special auction organized by the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in collaboration with CharityStars, the international leading auction platform, raised an impressive €17,418 in support of the communities affected by the devastating floods that struck Emilia-Romagna in May.
Several highly coveted items, collected last month during the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, garnered significant attention, and fetched remarkable bids during the auction. Topping the list were the helmets signed by 2021 World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, which reached an outstanding bid of €5,225. Additionally, the X-Lite SBK® helmet, adorned with signatures from many stars of the Championship, attracted an incredible €4,000 bid. A VIP Experience package offered a remarkable experience for the winning bidder, raising €1,800 for the cause.
Other items included a boot signed by Danilo Petrucci, which secured a bid of €725, and reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista’s gloves at €560, showcasing the dedication of fans to contribute to the cause.
The success of the auction, which concluded shortly after the second round of the season held in Emilia-Romagna, the Prometeon Italian Round, was made possible by the unwavering support and generosity of WorldSBK teams, riders, and fans who actively participated in the bidding process. With every euro raised, the auction contributed to the ongoing efforts of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Agency for Civil Protection in assisting the affected communities.
The WorldSBK community would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved in the auction.
The Argentinean Round, the final scheduled round of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, was scheduled to take place on October 13th-15th at the Circuito San Juan Villicum. The race has been cancelled. This decision to cancel was due to the intense electoral calendar faced by the country, which has led to a complex situation affecting the daily lives of people, provinces, and businesses.
Given the upcoming social pressures and conflict regarding a transitioning government race officials decided it was the best course of action. No other information is available at this time regarding a replacement race. The FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization will soon announce a new venue that will host the final round of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season.
Rookie Brad Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) will miss the Acerbis Czech Round at Autodrom Most due to a lingering should injury that requires surgery. The surgery is scheduled for the 26th of July. Ray had the following words for the World Superbike media, “After such an amazing weekend at Imola, I’ve decided, in agreement with Yamaha and my team, to have an operation to definitively fix an ongoing issue that I’ve been having with my right shoulder, something I’ve been suffering with for a while. Even if it’s not debilitating, it often hinders my performance. Having been able to show at Imola, but also during previous rounds, that I deserve to be here in the Superbike World Championship, I want to tackle the second half of the season stronger than ever.”
“I’m obviously really sorry I can’t go to the Czech Republic and the Most circuit, but I’ll now have a lot of time to fully recovery and, once the surgery is done, I’ll be aiming to score even better results. I’d like to personally thank Andrea Dosoli, the entire Yamaha Motor Europe team and the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team of course for their understanding. I can’t wait to see you all again after the summer break!”
Team manager Sandro Carusi was in support of the decision to sit out by stating, “I’m really sorry that Bradley has to take this enforced break, just as some strong results were coming. We’ve decided to stop now in order to give him the time to recovery and then aim for the best possible final part of the season.”
We are not yet aware of a timeline for his full recovery and will monitor this story as it develops.
This weekend the World Superbike championship landed at the legendary Imola. Temperatures were in the record highs and due to the heat Race 2 had to be reduced by 4 laps amidst safety concerns. After winning the Superpole race Toprak Razgatlioglu seized a rare opportunity. Alvaro Bautista crashed out of race 2 on the first lap opening the door for Razgatlioglu to be able to score more points in a race weekend than Bautista for the first time this season.
Razgatlioglu had the following words for WorldSBK.com, “The biggest problem in the Superpole Race was that my dashboard wasn’t working, the buttons weren’t working and it looked like the electronics weren’t working, so I was full lean angle, zero electronics! Then, I picked up the bike a little bit and I felt a bit but then at some corners, I was sliding a bit strangely. I adapted, like on the lean angle, I was opening the gas very slowly! Finally, I did a very good job and step-by-step I got to Alvaro. I passed him at Turn 9 because I watched him every lap there and he was a bit slower. I said, ‘OK, now I need to pass’ because for me, it’s better that I ride alone at the front. I think my plan worked well but I was riding more than 100%!”
Razgatlioglu Continued
I’m very happy that this year, finally, I’ve won! I waited for this moment, so thanks to my team who did an incredible job this weekend. Every session, we improved the bike but I am also sorry for Alvaro but this is racing, and you try and do your best. It’s the first time he’s crashed. After, I made a plan and didn’t want to risk. I followed Axel and in the last three laps I passed him and took a good pace. In general, I’m very happy this weekend! It’s the first time that Yamaha have won at Imola this weekend and I love this track too. It was very hot this weekend and congratulations to everyone because of this. I think it’s been a very good weekend as everybody’s watched real racing! The Championship is not over; I am riding like before, I’m focussing just on winning.”
The race was a bit rough for many riders. There were 6 separate retirements in the race. Despite Bautista crashing out the race he still holds a 70 point lead over Razgatlioglu in what seems an all but decided championship race. Razgatliolgu showed that there is still some fight in him so we will see how the rest of the season plays out.
Full Race 2 Results are Below
Championship Standings After Imola
The first place and second place sitters in the World Superbike Championship Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK). The two gave racing fans an incredible back and forth battle in race 1 at Imola. Razgatlioglu lead for the first half of the race but after trading elbows and couple of on track scraps Bautista was able to recover and take the win. The win was Bautista’s 17th win of the season.
Bautista stated to the media, Discussing his win, “Honestly, I didn’t expect to win. It was only my second time here at Imola. Today, we made a small change to the bike, and I felt much better in the morning. It started to feel like it did at the other tracks. The race was really tough because it was hot and very slippery. In the beginning, I didn’t feel much confidence to push in the opening laps. I saw several riders with more confidence than me. I started to, step by step, push more. We were missing some grip. I thought it was maybe because I don’t have clean air and the front is struggling a bit. I had some laps with clean air. The feeling with the front was improving so I tried to stay in front and, at least, the front was better.”
The wins means Bautista’s lead in the standings is now at 98 points over Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu is 96 points clear of teammate Locatelli in third place. There will be more action tomorrow with the Superpole Race and Race 2. You can check out exclusive video content here WorldSBK VideoPass!
Full Race results can be found below
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aurba.it Racing) topped the table setting a fastest lap of 1’47.128 aboard his Ducati Panigale V4R. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) ran second fastest ahead of Garret Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW). Gerloff in the top 5 is a rare occurrence. We will see if he can take this pace on his BMW into the rest of the weekend. Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing) ran an uncharacteristic seventh fastest in the session. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) who ran fastest in FP1 by a margin of 0.003s ahead of Rea was tenth fastest in FP2.
Full FP2 Results are Below
Marc VDS Racing announced that they will be making the move from moto 2 to World SBK with Sam Lowes. Lowes will race a Ducati Panigale V4R. The move ends a 9 year stent in Moto2 for the veteran. Marc VDS Racing provide comments on the move to WorldSBK.com.
Marc van der Straten, Team Owner and Team Manager
“I’m delighted and ready to begin this new adventure in the World Superbike Championship. It gives me even more pleasure to do it with our great rider, Sam Lowes. I’m also very proud to start this new adventure with Ducati, which is undoubtedly the bike to be on in WorldSBK. This opportunity for expansion comes at the perfect time. After 14 years in MotoGP™, where the Marc VDS Racing Team has shown great potential, we are ready to face a new challenge. We have competed in Moto3™, Moto2™, MotoGP™ and MotoE™ and won three titles.”
“As this is a long-term project, we’ll be aiming to adapt quickly, so that we can get to the front of the pack as quickly as possible. It’s also a source of pride to be taking this step with Sam Lowes, a great rider who has shown what he’s capable of in Moto2™, and who shares our team’s values and know-how. Finally, counting on Ducati’s experience and success completes a package that has everything to be perfect and exciting!”
Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Corse Sporting Director
“We are very pleased to welcome the Marc VDS Racing Team in the Ducati family for WorldSBK 2024! Marc VDS is one of the most professional and successful structures in the Moto2™ World Championship, with three world titles won, and their participation in WorldSBK next year with the highly competitive Panigale V4 R will surely add more value to the whole Championship. I would like to personally thank, also on behalf of Ducati Corse, Marc van der Straten for his trust and commitment to this exciting new racing project together with Ducati.”
Sam Lowes Comments on the Decision to Make the Move
“I have a lot to learn with the new category including the bike, the tyres, and some new tracks. I am very motivated and excited for this opportunity. I am very open minded and ready to adapt and learn what I need to be competitive in WorldSBK. I always had a goal to race in World Superbike and after winning the World Supersport title in 2013 it was a normal step. But I chose to try the Grand Prix paddock. I’m happy and proud that I’ve had such a good Grand Prix career, and I’ve enjoyed it a lot.”
“I feel now it’s a great time to move across to WorldSBK to try a different machine and learn how to ride a superbike. I also believe in myself and know I can achieve good things. It’s a privilege to ride for Marc VDS Racing Team and to make this step together is a great feeling, as I am sure it can be a strong and top team in WorldSBK as well. I am very grateful to Marc van der Straten for trusting me to start this new project. We have a great relationship; we have achieved some nice things together and we aim for many more!”
Sam Lowes will join his twin brother Alex Lowes on the World Super Bike grid next year. Marc VDS Racing plans to remain in Moto2 with two riders while simultaneously managing this WorldSBK entry. Lowes [Sam] has taken 10 Moto2™ wins and 26 podiums, with his best Championship finish coming in 2020 when he took third place.