Nevers (France),
29
September
2018
|
12:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Legendary status for Jonathan Rea: fourth WorldSBK title in Race 1 at Magny-Cours; further confirmation for the larger size Pirelli solutions

The Northern Irishman takes the win in Race 1 for his fourth consecutive world title crown, tying “King” Carl Fogarty's record; the new larger size Pirelli tyres break the track record

Jonathan Rea, astride his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR, won Race 1 of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship today, held on the French Magny-Cours circuit in Nevers and was crowned FIM Superbike World champion for the fourth year in a row.

This gives the Northern Irishman, with his thirteenth win of the season, legendary status, becoming the only rider to have ever won four consecutive World Superbike Championship titles, tying the number of championships won byKingCarl Fogarty.

As for the tyres used in this first race, the larger size Pirelli solutions were confirmed as the most used both on the front and on the rear. Specifically, on the front, more than 70% of the riders opted for the development SC1 in the 125/70 size, whereas on the rear, all the riders used 200/65 size tyres, with preferences split between the two solutions available in the larger size.

Furthermore, the larger size solutions, also used in the second Superpole® session, allowed Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) to smash the track record with a time of 1’35.696, improving on his own record set in 2014 by almost 7 tenths of a second. The previous record was also broken by World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who, with a time of 1’35.843, took the second spot on the starting grid ahead of Italian Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia)and in Race 1 he set the new fastest race lap with a time of 1’37.152.

In Race 1, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) started well from pole position. Behind him were, teammate Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia). At the start of the second lap, the defending World Champion managed to overtake Sykes for the race lead.

During the third lap, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) ended up in the gravel but managed to rejoin. In the meantime, Xavi Forés (Barni Racing Team) succeeded in moving up to third place, overtaking Savadori, whereas Smrz, Lussiana and Rinaldi retired. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it RacingDucati), the only rider capable of disturbing Jonathan Rea's aspirations for the title, was unable to get into the race, staying in fifth place behind Savadori.

Positions remained the same for the rest of the race and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finished first to be crowned FIM Superbike World Champion for the fourth year in a row. Finishing behind him were Tom Sykesand Xavi Forés, the latter astride a privateer Barni Racing Team Ducati.

WorldSBK Race 1 standings:

1) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2) T. Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
3) X. Forés (Barni Racing Team)
4) L. Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia)
5) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
6) M. Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
7) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
8) T. Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
9) E. Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia)
10) L. Baz (GULF ALTHEA BMW Racing Team)
11) L. Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)
12) J. Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)
13) J. Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
14) L. Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
15) R. Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki)
16) P. Jacobsen (TripleM Honda World Superbike Team)
17) J. Guarnoni (Team Pedercini Racing)
18) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
19) M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing - Junior Team)
20) M. Lussiana (Dreamteamcompany)
21) J. Smrz (Guandalini Racing)

The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for WorldSBK Race 1:

In Race 1, the riders chose mainly the larger size tyres for both the front and the rear. As for the front, the most used solution was once again the larger size 125/70 X0417 SC1 development tyre (option C), chosen by almost all the riders on the grid.

At the rear, rider preferences fell to the larger size 200/65 X0175 SC0 development tyre (option B), used by xx out of the 21 riders on the starting grid. The remaining riders, including Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes, opted for the new X0914 SC0 development solution (option C), also in the larger size.

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 1:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK),in 1'37.152 at the 8th lap

• Most used front solution: devolpment SC1 X0417 (15 out of 21 riders)

• Most used rear solution: devolpment SC1 X0175 (14 out of 21 riders)

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 294.3 km/h, achieved by Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) in the 11th and 17th lap

• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 9 rear

Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 87, including 39 front and 48 rear

• Air temperature: 18° C

• Asphalt temperature: 30° C