Castle Donington, England,
04
July
2021
|
09:57
Europe/Amsterdam

Toprak Razgatlioglu is the new Championship Leader after winning WorldSBK Race 2

  • Worldsbk Race 2
  • WorldSBK Race 2 start
  • Jonathan Rea
  • Jonathan Rea
  • WorldSBK Race 2- podium
  • Toprak Razgatlioglu
  • WorldSBK Superpole race - tyre selection on starting grid
  • WorldSBK Race 2- tyre selection on starting grid
  • WorldSBK Race 2- podium
  • Worldsbk Race 2 podium
  • Toprak Razgatlioglu
  • Garrett Gerloff
  • Rea Razgatlioglu Sykes
  • Jonathan Rea
  • Sykes - van der Mark - Haslam
  • Tom Sykes - Michael van der Mark
  • Tissot Superpol Race Podium
  • Tissot Superpole Race

Jonathan Rea triumphs in the Tissot Superpole Race at Donington Park and it’s a spectacular double podium for BMW with Tom Sykes and Michael van der Mark; Pirelli intermediate solution protagonist of the morning race

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1) and Yamaha were the protagonists of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship round held this weekend at the English Donington Park circuit.

Thanks to his victories in Race 1 and Race 2, the Turkish rider now leads in the Championship Standings, two points ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR). Rounding out the podium in Race 2 was the satellite team Yamaha ridden by Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1) and BMW rider Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR) after a solid weekend for both.

Jonathan Rea won the Tissot Superpole Race which started at 11:00 in the morning, preceded by a downpour that wetted the track down slightly, putting riders and teams to the test in terms of the right tyre selection. For most of the riders, the choice fell to the intermediate solution (option I) which, for the second time this season after Race 2 at Aragón, proved to be the optimum solution in mixed asphalt conditions.

In Race 2, tyre selection was unanimous: all the riders took to the track with the front soft standard SC1 solution (option A) and the rear super soft standard SCX solution (option A). The latter allowed the riders who used it this weekend to maintain an extremely high and consistent race pace all the way to the final laps, in spite of the lower asphalt temperatures (about 36°C) on Sunday and the semi-wet track on Saturday.

Significant signals arrived from the premier class in terms of the rediscovered competitiveness of various manufacturers and riders. Worth a mention is the performance by Tom Sykes and Michael van der Mark who rode the two M 1000 RR bikes to a podium finish: the first double podium for BMW since Nürburgring in 2013, the first podium for Sykes since Magny-Cours in 2019 and the first bronze for Michael van der Mark with the factory BMW team. Also noteworthy was Leon Haslam’s performance, who finished the Superpole Race in fourth place.

WorldSBK Superpole Race:

On a semi-wet track, world champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) started well, followed by teammate Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) who gained several positions straight away, and the two BMW riders Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR) and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR). The Kawasakis maintained a good pace, forming a duo one second ahead of the rest of the grid, but on the second lap, Alex Lowes crashed out, re-entering the race in the trailing positions. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1), currently second in the championship standings and winner of Race 1, also had an outstanding pace, starting from the thirteenth spot on the grid and gaining no fewer than six positions in the early laps of the race. BMW riders Sykes and van der Mark battled it out, overtaking back and forth for second, as Honda rider Leon Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R) Yamaha rider Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1) looked on from behind, ready to pounce on any mistakes for a podium position. In the meantime, Jonathan Rea made no mistakes, finishing first ahead of Tom Sykes and his teammate Michael van der Mark, taking his first podium with the Bavarian manufacturer and BMW’s first double podium since 2013.

WorldSBK Superpole Race Standings:

  1. J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  2. T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
  3. M. van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
  4. L. Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
  5. G. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
  6. T. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
  7. L. Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  8. C. Davies (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  9. A. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
  10. M. Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  11. A. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  12. E. Laverty (RC Squadra Corse / BMW M 1000 RR)
  13. I. Viñales (ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  14. A. Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  15. Á. Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
  16. J. Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing / BMW M 1000 RR)
  17. L. Mossey (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  18. S. Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  • RT. T. Rabat (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  • RT. L. Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  • RT. C. Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1)

 

WorldSBK Race 2:

At 2:00 in the afternoon, Race 2 started on a completely dry track. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) started well from pole position, taking the race lead straight away, followed closely by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1), who once again managed to make a brilliant start from the sixth spot on the grid, and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR) on BMW. The Yamaha standard bearer spared no time, attacking and overtaking the defending World Champion on the second lap, with the latter unable to respond straight away, momentarily conceding the lead. Behind the leading trio were five riders with four different manufacturers: Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1), Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R), Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) and Leon Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R). Thirteen laps from the end Rea exploited a mistake by the Turkish rider, overtaking him for the race lead, but a few turns later he crashed out, ending up in the gravel and re-joining the race in last place. In the meantime, satellite team rider Gerloff managed to catch Tom Sykes, overtaking him for the second step of the podium. In the final laps, an outstanding race pace was maintained, but no overtakes: Toprak Razgatlioglu won WorldSBK Race 2 ahead of Garrett Gerloff and Tom Sykes.

WorldSBK Race 2 Standings:

  1. T. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
  2. G. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
  3. T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
  4. S. Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  5. M. van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
  6. A. Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  7. C. Davies (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  8. M. Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  9. L. Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
  10. Á. Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
  11. A. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
  12. L. Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  13. A. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  14. T. Rabat (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
  15. E. Laverty (RC Squadra Corse / BMW M 1000 RR)
  16. L. Mossey (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  17. I. Viñales (ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  18. C. Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1)
  19. L. Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  20. J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
  • RT. J. Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing / BMW M 1000 RR)

 

The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for the WorldSBK Superpole Race and WorldSBK Race 2:

After a warm-up session on dry asphalt, the rain surprised everyone about a half hour before the Tissot Superpole Race started. Given the asphalt conditions, the riders chose to use the intermediate and wet solutions brought by Pirelli, including the new front solution. About two-thirds of the grid preferred the intermediate standard solution on the front and rear (option I). Six riders decided to race on rain tyres. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R), Luke Mossey (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR), Álvaro Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R), Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing / BMW M 1000 RR). Of these six, all but Jonas Folger opted for the new A0593 rain development solution (option RA), whereas on the rear, the most popular solution was the standard SCR1 rain tyre (option RB). Going against the current, on the other hand, was Tito Rabat, who preferred racing with the A0593 development rain solution (option RA) on the front and the intermediate solution on the rear.

Tyre selection for WorldSBK Race 2 was simpler than it had been for the sprint race. With the track completely dry in the afternoon, all the riders on the grid opted for Pirelli slicks. At the front, the unanimous choice fell to the soft standard SC1 solution (option A), whereas for the rear, the solution used by all the riders was the super soft standard SCX (option A).

Pirelli statistics for the WorldSBK Superpole Race:

  • Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1), in 1’30.196 on the 7th lap
  • Most used front solution: intermediate standard solution (14 out of 21 riders)
  • Most used rear solution: intermediate standard solution (15 out of 21 riders)
  • Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 270.2km/h, done by M. Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) on the 6th lap
  • Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSBK class: 5 front and 6 rear
  • Number of tyres available for each WorldSBK rider: 64, including 32 front and 32 rear
  • Air temperature: 19° C
  • Asphalt temperature: 24° C

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 2:

  • Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) in 1'28.078 on the 8th lap
  • Most used front solution: soft standard SC1 (21 out of 21 riders)
  • Most used rear solution: super soft standard SCX (21 out of 21 riders)
  • Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 277.2km/h, done by M. Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) on the 1st lap
  • Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSBK class: 5 front and 6 rear
  • Number of tyres available for each WorldSBK rider: 64, including 32 front and 32 rear
  • Air temperature: 22° C
  • Asphalt temperature: 36° C