Ducati one-two-three in WorldSBK on the podium of the Barcelona Circuit – Catalunya with Redding, Bassani and Rinaldi; Krummenacher wins in WorldSSP
The MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship once again gives fans spectacular, action-packed races, thanks in part to the performance of Pirelli Diablo Rain tyres. Jonathan Rea is back on top in the Championship Standings, six points ahead of Razgatlioglu
For the first day of MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship races held on the Barcelona Circuit - Catalunya, Ducati demonstrated superiority, finishing with three riders on the Race 1 podium, an event that had not happened since the 2012 season.
Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) finished on the top step of a Race 1 conditioned by poor weather ahead of rookie Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R), who took his first podium in the premier class, and teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R).
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) finished Race 1 fourth, taking back the lead in the overall championship standings with a six-point advantage over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1), who finished today with zero points due to a technical problem with his bike that forced him to retire.
WorldSBK Race 1:
Race 1 in the WorldSBK class started at 3:15 in the afternoon in a driving rain that forced the entire starting grid to choose rain tyres. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) was the rider with the best start, moving into the lead ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1) who lost precious ground in the early laps whilst engaged in battle with Ducati rider Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R), with the two putting on a spectacular show of back-and-forth overtaking. The Italian managed to gain the upper hand for second against the championship leader and began chasing down Rea. Behind them, Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR), and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) battled it out for fifth. In the second half of the race, the podium positions were reversed with Jonathan Rea dropping back to third, overtaken first by Razgatlioglu and then by Bassani, but during the fifteenth lap, the Yamaha rider was astonishingly forced to retire due to a technical problem. With three laps left in the race, an all-Ducati trio was leading with Bassani first, battling with Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) who, after a dismal start, managed to come back up an amazing eight positions and do the fastest lap of the race on the seventeenth lap, and Rinaldi, whereas Rea found himself relegated to fourth and forced to fend off Van der Mark’s attacks. In the final laps, the Ducati riders battled it out for the win with Redding coming out on top to finish first ahead of Bassani (second) and Rinaldi (third).
WorldSBK Race 1 Standings:
- S. Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
- A. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
- M. Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
- J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
- M. van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
- A. Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
- L. Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
- T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
- Á. Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
- C. Davies (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
- K. Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
- A. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
- L. Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
- I. Viñales (ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
- L. Mercado (MIE Racing HONDA Team / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
- S. Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
- C. Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1)
- L. Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
- J. Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing / BMW M 1000 RR)
- L. Epis (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
- Rt. T. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
- Rt. G. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
WorldSSP Race 1:
Race 1 of WorldSSP started at 1:45 in the afternoon, with Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R) starting extremely well from the tenth spot on the grid and moving into the race lead ahead of Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6), Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6), Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R), and Raffaele de Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R). Before the end of the first lap, the white flag came out due to rain showers which surprised everyone and convinced most of the riders to pit and put Rain tyres on. Loic Arbel (Andotrans Team Torrento / Yamaha YZF R6), on the other hand, preferred to continue racing on slicks, finding himself momentarily in the lead with an advantage of about thirty seconds over Odendaal, who re-entered in second place, Oettl, and Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing / Yamaha YZF R6). The Swiss rider demonstrated an outstanding pace and, during the second half of the race, managed to gain the upper hand over his rivals, taking the lead and building up a safe gap. Oncu fell back several positions and there was an intense battle for second on the final lap between Manuel Gonzalez, Raffaele de Rosa, and Steven Odendaal. When the chequered flag came out, Krummenacher crossed the line first for his first win in Misano since 2019 ahead of Gonzalez (second) and de Rosa (third).
WorldSBK Race 1 Standings:
- R. Krummenacher (CM Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- M. Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
- R. De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
- C. Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
- P. Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
- L. Arbel (Andotrans Team Torrento / Yamaha YZF R6)
- H. Soomer (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- S. Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
- P. Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
- G. van Straalen (EAB Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
- S. Jespersen (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
- C. Bergman (Wójcik Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
- H. Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
- V. Takala (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- L. Cauchi (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
- U. Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- D. Valle (Yamaha MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- F. Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- N. Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti / MV Agusta F3 675)
- S. Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse / Yamaha YZF R6)
- M. Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
- B. Van Eerde (IXS-YART Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
- L. Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
- S. Kawasaki (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
- F. Fuligni (VFT Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- P. Hobelsberger (Bonovo MGM Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- M. Brenner (VFT Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- M. Patacca (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- M. Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- K. Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
- B. Sahin (Altogo Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
- Rt. L. Montella (Chiodo Moto Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
- Rt. A. Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
- Rt. E. Montero (DK Motorsport / Yamaha YZF R6)
- Rt. D. Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
WorldSSP300 Race 1:
Taking the win in Race 1 of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship was French Kawasaki rider Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki / Kawasaki Ninja 400), now third in the overall championship standings, 61 points behind the leader, Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki / Kawasaki Ninja 400). Rounding out the podium were the Yamahas raced by Turkish rider Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF-R3) and Brazilian Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing / Yamaha YZF-R3).
Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Cup Race 1 and Race 2:
Iker Garcia Abella (#2) won Race 1, with second place going to Julian Giral (#76) and Fenton Harrison Seabright (#47) third. The British rider also finished on the top step of the podium in Race 2 ahead of Ioannis-Konstantinos Peristeras (#41) and Juan Antonio Conesa Benit (#74).
The Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Cup Championship comes to an end on the Saturday of the Hyundai N Catalunya Round, with the Spanish rider Iker Garcia Abella of the ARCO MotoR University team crowned champion of the 2021 season.
The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for WorldSBK Race 1 and WorldSSP Race 1:
In WorldSBK, due to the driving rain that began to fall on the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit twenty minutes before the start of Race 1, the riders made the unanimous choice to go with the rain solutions. At the front, the riders used the standard Diablo Rain tyre (option R), whereas at the rear, they used the X1251 development rain tyre (option R).
In WorldSSP, the riders turned up on the starting grid with slicks mounted. The solutions used the most were the standard SC1 (option B) at the front and the standard SCX (option A) at the rear. After the rain began to fall, all the riders pitted to put on Diablo Rain tyres, with the exception of Loic Arbel (Andotrans Team Torrento / Yamaha YZF R6), who continued and finished the race on slicks. During the race, some riders pitted a second time to mount intermediate or slick tyres.
Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 1:
- Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) in 1'56.166 on the 17th lap (New race record)
- Most used front solution: standard rain (22 out of 22 riders)
- Most used rear solution: X1251 development rain (22 out of 22 riders)
- Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 311.2 km/h, done by Michael Ruben Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) on the 16th lap
- Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 5 rear
- Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 64, including 33 front and 31 rear
- Air temperature: 23° C
- Asphalt temperature: 26° C
Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP Race 1:
- Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti / Kawasaki ZX-6R), in 1'49.275 on the 14th lap
- Most used front solution: standard SC1 (24 out of 35 riders)
- Most used rear solution: Standard SCX (34 out of 35 riders)
- Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 274.1 km/h, done by Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) on the 15th lap
- Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Supersport class: 5 front and 4 rear
- Number of tyres available for each Supersport rider: 46, including 23 front and 23 rear
- Air temperature: 25° C
- Asphalt temperature: 32° C