WorldSBK MOTUL Portuguese Round: Rea responds and wins Race 2, the rear tyres in SC0 compound allow for action packed races

An uncatchable Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) responded to his adversaries in the best possible way, taking home the Race 2 win at the MOTUL Portuguese Round which ended today at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. The World Champion shortened the gap behind championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1) to just 24 points and the 2021 MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship season has now heated up more than ever.

In the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race, which was held on a semi-wet track, Dutchman Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR) triumphed, riding his BMW to the top step of the podium for the first time since 2012. Rounding out both podiums of the day were factory Ducati rider Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) in second place and wild card Ducati rider Loris Baz (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R) third.

The WorldSBK circus will now head to Argentina for the penultimate round of the season: Toprak is still leading in the overall championship standings with a 24-point advantage ahead of Jonathan Rea and 54 points ahead of Scott Redding. Today was also the final day of the WorldSSP class European Championship, with Italian rider Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6) triumphing, whereas the race for the World Championship title is still open.

The Sunday of the Portimão race weekend also gave Pirelli reason for great satisfaction. The tyres used in the Superbike and Supersport categories, all in the SC1 compound at the front and the SC0 compound at the rear, allowed for spectacular races, with battles from the first to last corner and the best times put in the books during the final laps of the race. Likewise, the three rain tyre solutions used in the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race, which happened on a drying track, allowed for a thrilling sprint race and an unprecedented ranking led by Michael van der Mark, who delivered the first win for the Bavarian manufacturer in over nine years. This is further confirmation of the outstanding performance of these products, even on extremely demanding circuits like Autódromo Internacional Do Algarve in Portimão, which places the tyres under particularly high stress.

WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race:

After the rain that fell over Portimão during the warm-up sessions, the Algarve circuit was in the drying-out stage and put the teams to a hard test in terms of tyre choices. All the riders were on the grid with rain tyres and the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race got underway regularly at 11:00 in the morning. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) had the best start of all the riders, moving immediately into the race lead but during the first lap, he crashed out, ending his race early. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) took over as the new leader ahead of Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1) and Loris Baz (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R). During the first half of the race, the Dutch BMW rider demonstrated a pace that was distinctly superior to that of his rival, doing the Best Lap and snatching the race lead. On the other hand, Razgatlioglu was unable to find the pace and dropped back five positions. Occupying second place was Redding ahead of Loris Baz and Leon Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R), battling it out for the podium, whereas Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1) and Álvaro Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R) were fighting for fifth. Michael van der Mark made all the right moves in the final laps, taking his first win of the season and BMW’s first victory since the 2012 season, with an advantage of more than five seconds ahead of Scott Redding and more than seven seconds over Loris Baz, who celebrated his second podium of his wild-card weekend.

Tissot Superpole Race Standings:

1. M. van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
2. S. Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
3. L. Baz (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
4. A. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
5. Á. Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
6. T. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
7. A. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
8. G. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
9. E. Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
10. I. Viñales (ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
11. L. Mercado (MIE Racing HONDA Team / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
12. S. Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
13. J. Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing / BMW M 1000 RR)
14. T. Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
15. G. Ruiu (B-Max Racing Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
16. C. Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1)
17. L. Epis (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

• Rt. M. Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
• Rt. L. Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
• Rt. K. Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
• Rt. L. Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
• Rt. J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

WorldSBK Race 2:

Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) moved into the race lead from the second spot on the grid ahead of factory Yamaha riders Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1), and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR), who had the best start of all the riders and in a single lap went from the tenth spot on the grid to fourth place. The reigning World Champion continued with an outstanding pace and, after gaining the upper hand against the Yamahas on the straight, went on the offensive straight away, attacking Scott Redding for the race lead and succeeding in snatching it from him during the fourth lap. Redding lost a position to Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli brought up the rear of an extremely compact leading quartet. The Ducati rider, lying third, increased his pace, trying to catch the championship leader who crashed out into the gravel on the tenth lap due to a technical problem. At that point, Rea managed to build up a gap of more than two seconds ahead of Scott Redding as the battle for third raged on between Loris Baz (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R) and Álvaro Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R). In the end, the Frenchman prevailed, finishing once again on the podium. Finishing second was Scott Redding, with Jonathan Rea responding to his adversaries with an exceptional performance and taking his first win in a full-distance race since the Assen round.

WorldSBK Race 2 Standings:

1. J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
2. S. Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
3. L. Baz (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
4. A. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
5. G. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
6. M. van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
7. M. Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
8. L. Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
9. A. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
10. E. Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
11. L. Mercado (MIE Racing HONDA Team / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
12. I. Viñales (ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
13. K. Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
14. C. Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1)
15. J. Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing / BMW M 1000 RR)
16. S. Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)

• Rt. Á. Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R)
• Rt. T. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
• Rt. T. Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
• Rt. G. Ruiu (B-Max Racing Team / BMW M 1000 RR)
• Rt. L. Epis (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
• Rt. L. Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

WorldSSP Race 2:

Beneath a sky that had once again turned blue, WorldSSP Race 2 started at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) took the race lead straight away followed closely by Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6), Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti / MV Agusta F3 675) and Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6), bringing up the rear of the leading quartet. The deck was shuffled repeatedly throughout the first half of the race thanks to a succession of passes and slipstreaming in the lead group, which was joined by Raffaele de Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6). In the second half of the race, the leading group was still compact and included eight riders – the first four all within one second of one another – and the battle raged on for the podium positions. The sixth-place MV Agusta rider once again did the fast lap with a time of 1’44.910 four laps before the chequered flag, but a crash brought his race to an early end and sent Aegerter wide, causing him to lose a few positions. On the next lap, Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6) put the best lap time of the race in the books. Stevan Odendaal managed to hold onto the lead for the final laps, finishing first after a spectacular race with an advantage of eleven thousandths of a second ahead of second-place finisher Jules Cluzel and three tenths of a second ahead of the third-place rider, Federico Caricasulo.

WorldSBK Race 2 Standings:

1. S. Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
2. J. Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
3. F. Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6)
4. M. Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
5. D. Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
6. Y. Montella (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
7. R. Krummenacher (CM Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
8. P. Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
9. P. Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
10. C. Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
11. K. Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
12. D. Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
13. H. Soomer (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
14. R. De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
15. P. Hobelsberger (Bonovo MGM Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
16. F. Fuligni (VFT Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
17. M. Brenner (VFT Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
18. O. Vostatek (IXS-YART Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
19. V. Takala (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
20. B. Van Eerde (IXS-YART Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
21. H. Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
22. S. Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse / Yamaha YZF R6)
23. M. Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6)
24. L. Montella (Chiodo Moto Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)

• Rt. L. Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
• Rt. G. van Straalen (EAB Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
• Rt. U. Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
• Rt. N. Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti / MV Agusta F3 675)
• Rt. E. Montero (DK Motorsport / Yamaha YZF R6)
• Rt. P. Barbosa (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti / Kawasaki ZX-6R)

WorldSSP300 Race 2:

At 3:15 in the afternoon local time, the final race of the season started for the WorldSSP300 class. Finishing first was newly-crowned World Champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki / Kawasaki Ninja 400) ahead of Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport - RT Motorsports by SKM - Kawasaki / Kawasaki Ninja 400) and Yamaha rider Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF-R3).

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

Despite the rather deceiving weather conditions, for the Tissot Superpole Race, all the riders on the grid chose to race with rain tyres. At the front, the entire grid used the only available solution, the standard SCR1 Diablo Rain (option R), whereas at the rear, the riders had a choice. The X1251 development solution (RA) gained the favour of fourteen riders on the grid, whereas Michael van der Mark, Álvaro Bautista, Leon Haslam, Andrea Locatelli, Eugene Laverty, Loris Cresson, Jonas Folger and Lachlan Epis preferred using the standard SCR1 (option RB).

In WorldSBK Race 2, most of the riders on the grid confirmed their tyre choices from the previous day, whereas four riders made changes. Andrea Locatelli and Axel Bassani went from the standard SC1 to the A0674 SC1 development tyre (option A), which made it the most popular choice at the front. As for the rear, Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Axel Bassani switched to the A0415 SC0 development solution (option C), whereas the most used solution remained the standard SC0 (option B).

Last, but not least, for Race 2 in WorldSSP, at the front, sixteen riders decided to race on the soft standard SC1 solution (option B), whereas the rest of the grid opted for the A0460 SC1 development solution (option A). There was no disagreement on rear tyre choice, with all the riders on the grid choosing the standard SC0 solution (option A).

Pirelli statistics for the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M 1000 RR)in 1'54.895on the 5th lap
• Most used front solution: Standard SCR1 rain (22 out of 22 riders)
• Most used rear solution: X1251 Rain development (14 out of 22 riders)
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 292.9 km/h, done by Loris Baz(Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R) on the 4th lap
• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 7 rear
• Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 68, including 33 front and 35 rear
• Air temperature: 20° C
• Asphalt temperature: 25° C

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 2:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) in 1'41.309 on the 8th lap
• Most used front solution: A0674 SC1 development (12 out of 22 riders)
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (14 out of 22 riders)
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 315.9 km/h, done by Álvaro Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000 RR-R) on the 13th lap
• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 7 rear
• Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 68, including 33 front and 35 rear
• Air temperature: 22° C
• Asphalt temperature: 36° C

Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP Race 2:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6) in 1'44.910 on the 15th lap
• Most used front solution: standard SC1 (16 out of 30 riders)
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (30 out of 30 riders)
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 279.3 km/h, done by Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) on the 16th 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: 43, including 25 front and 18 rear
• Air temperature: 21° C
• Asphalt temperature: 32° C