Aces high for Bautista in Barcelona, Pirelli passes the test with flying colours
The Spanish Ducati rider wins all three races, Aegerter wins Race 2 as well in WorldSSP and Victor Steeman takes his fourth victory in WorldSSP300
FOCUS ON THE SUPERPOLE RACE
(asphalt: 25°C / air: 17° C)
With the exception of the rear SC0 and SCQ solutions, in the Superpole Race, all the tyres Pirelli brought to this round saw action. At the rear the SCX B0800 development tyre remained, as it was in Race 1 yesterday, the tyre most selected on the starting grid. However, various riders, including race winner Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing - Ducati), pole man Iker Lecuona (Team HRC), and Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven), decided to rely on the standard SC0. Precisely the latter who, finishing sixth was also the best of the private riders, was the only one besides Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) to choose the SC1 B0570 at the front. Front tyre choice was once again subjective and for this reason, all the tyres were used, with the SC1 A0674 development solution prevailing slightly. After his victory in Race 1, the Ducati riding Spaniard won the Superpole Race ahead of Kawasaki riders Jonathan Rea, second, and Alex Lowes, third.
TYRES IN ACTION IN RACE 2
WorldSBK (asphalt: 39°C / air: 22° C)
In Race 2, the SCX B0800 development solution was once again the absolute protagonist at the rear. In fact, it was chosen by all the riders except for Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) who preferred the standard SCX. At the front, as already happened in Race 1, the SC1 A0843 development tyre prevailed. Those who did not choose this compound opted for the other SC1 development solution, the A0674 specification. Starting from pole position by virtue of his Superpole Race victory, Álvaro Bautista led the race almost all by himself and in the lead the entire time. As demonstration of Ducati’s superiority on this track, finishing behind the Spaniard was his teammate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The bottom step of the podium went to reigning World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), on the podium for the first time on this difficult weekend for the Iwata-based manufacturer.
WorldSSP (asphalt: 34°C / air: 21° C)
In Race 2, tyre choice was more or less in line with that of Race 1. At the front, all the riders except for wild card Julián Giral (Valvulas Arco JG76 Team), who used the SC2, opted for the standard SC1. As for the rear, the SCX remained the favourite option but there were still 13 riders on the grid who preferred the SC0. Defending World Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) also won Race 2 ahead of Turkish rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), second, and Italian Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) who rode his Triumph to a podium finish once again, after his third place in Most in Race 2.
For more details on the tyres used in the race by the individual riders in the WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes, please see the sheets attached to this press release.
WorldSSP300 (asphalt: 41°C / air: 23° C)
The second WorldSSP300 race win went to Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki), his fourth victory of the season. Celebrations were postponed for Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) who, finishing fourth today, now has a 50-point lead over the closest contender but mathematically still not enough to be World Champion.
GIORGIO BARBIER, MOTORCYCLE RACING DIRECTOR
“We knew that this would be a demanding weekend for the tyres, but the end result is positive. Throughout the three days, more or less all the options allocated for this round were used and they all performed well. Naturally, we saw extremely high wear, especially for the rear tyres, because this is a circuit that leads to rapid tyre wear but, if we look at the lap times and race paces, we can’t say that this had a great influence on performance and on the spectacular show on the track. This was certainly a round where setting up the bikes and the riders’ individual skills managing the tyres played a key role. This circuit also represented a sort of litmus test for the latest development solutions that we introduced more recently and we can say that they passed the exam with flying colours.”