26
February
2023
|
13:14
Europe/Amsterdam

Pirelli slicks and rain tyres for the Ducati sweep

At Phillip Island Bautista and Bulega win all the races of the weekend with wet tyres on Saturday and dry on Sunday

Different weather conditions than Saturday but the same race result both in WorldSBK and in WorldSSP. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) won both the Superpole Race and Race 2, whereas Nicolò Bulega (Aruba Racing WorldSSP Team) took the brace in WorldSSP. After a Saturday strongly conditioned by unstable weather and rain which forced the riders to put on wet tyres, conditions and temperatures today were milder, allowing the use of slicks.

Outstanding tyre performance in different weather conditions

“Over the course of these three days, we had rather different weather and temperature conditions. In the free practice sessions on Friday, it was quite hot and we reached asphalt temps of 50°C. In the races held yesterday, we had very low air and asphalt temperatures, as well as rain in the race and then today we were back to fair weather conditions but with lower temperatures than Friday. Despite the varying weather, the tyres performed respectably, demonstrating outstanding versatility and adaptability to the different temperatures and contained wear levels if looked at in proportion to the harshness of this track. We can therefore say that the decision to bring the same tyres already used here last year, even though this year we’re racing in February instead of in November, was the right one and it led to good results. Now we have Mandalika ahead of us which is very different from Phillip Island as tracks go, but it can still hold some surprises. Just think that last year we reached asphalt temperatures of almost 70°C. Congratulations to Ducati and their riders for the extraordinary show of strength in this first round in both classes.” 

  • The riders made unanimous choices when it came to the tyres used in the Superpole Race. They all opted for the standard SC1 at the front and the standard SC0 at the rear, the latter permitted for use only in qualifying and the Superpole Race. In fact, over a distance of 10 laps and with asphalt temperatures exceeding 30°C, the soft rear proved to provide more grip and, therefore, higher performance than the SC1-A.
  • Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) won the Superpole Race after starting from the second spot on the grid. The Spaniard remained in the lead from the first lap all the way to the end. Behind him were teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) and, on the bottom step of the podium, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK). The race fast lap went to Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with a time of 1’30.374 on the second lap.
  • In Race 2, practically all the riders confirmed their front tyre choice, so the standard SC1, with the exception of Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) who preferred the hard SC2. At the rear, all the riders chose to use the SC1-A (medium development tyre in A1126 specification) which had proven on Friday to provide better grip than the SC1-B.
  • Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati), after starting from pole position as the Superpole Race winner, also won Race 2, dominating the race from start to finish. He also had the fast lap of the race with a time of 1’ 30,766. Behind him were once again his teammate Rinaldi and a Yamaha, in this case the one ridden by Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK).
  • Dry asphalt and the same slicks for all in Race 2: standard medium SC1 at the front and development medium SC1-A (A1128 specification) at the rear, so the same solutions already used in Superpole before putting on the rain tyres for Race 1.
  • The race was red-flagged during the 14th lap due to geese on the track. At that moment, Nicolò Bulega (Aruba Racing WorldSSP Team) was leading the race, so he was declared the winner. The Ducati rider dominated the race from the start all the way to the tenth lap when he momentarily yielded the lead to Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), who finished second after leading for two laps before yielding the position back to Bulega on the 13th lap. Third place went to Turkish rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).

More details on the tyres used in the race are available on the technical sheets attached to this release.