WorldSBK Pirelli Teruel Round: Rinaldi takes his first win in the WorldSBK class on Ducati; Locatelli dominates WorldSSP.

The Italian National Anthem echoed over the track twice at the Pirelli Teruel Round, the weekend that marks the halfway point of the 2020 MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship season.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R) took home his first win and the best result ever of his WorldSBK career after being a protagonist from the first free practice sessions on Friday. The second step of the podium went to Northern Irishman Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) who, in the qualifying session, managed to break the track record once again with a time of 1'48.760. Rea also confirmed his leadership in the overall Championship Standings with a significant, thirty-point advantage over Scott Redding. Rounding out the podium was Ducati rider Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R).

In the Supersport class, rookie Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) continues to dominate the category, taking his eighth consecutive win, widening the gap in the overall Championship Standings to fifty-four points. Finishing behind him were Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675) for his third podium finish of the season, and Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6).

On the first day of the Pirelli Teruel Round, all the riders chose to race on the standard solutions brought by the Italian manufacturer. In WorldSBK Race 1, the entire starting grid chose to have the standard SC1 (option A) on the front, whereas for the rear, preferences were not unanimous. Eleven riders relied on the standard super soft SCX solution (option A), while the other half of the grid selected the standard soft SC0 solution (option B) for Race 1.

In the World Supersport class, for the umpteenth time, the entire starting grid relied on the soft standard SC0 solution (option A) for the rear as confirmation of the versatility of this solution even with the lower temperatures that characterised this first day of races. For the front, this time 14 out of the 24 riders chose the soft standard SC1 (option A), whereas the remaining riders on the grid used the standard SC2 (option B).

WorldSBK Race 1:

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) took the race lead straight away ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R), Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R), Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1) and Álvaro Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000RR). A battle ensued immediately between the five-time world champion and the privateer rider who proved to be the revelation of the weekend, managing to overtake during the first lap, moving into the lead. In the meantime, Toprak Razgatlioglu dropped back to sixth position behind Welshman Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R), who had started from the seventh spot on the grid, and Bautista, who was beginning to look like a threat even to Scott Redding for a podium position. The latter, busy fending off the Honda-riding Spaniard’s attacks, made a mistake on the eighth lap which put him out of the race and cost him important championship points. It was an outstanding performance by Michael van Der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1) who, from the twelfth spot on the starting grid, clawed his way up through the ranks to finish sixth behind his teammate. Behind him, four manufacturers were battling for seventh: Leon Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000RR), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR), Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team / Yamaha YZF R1) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMWS1000 RR). After a head-to-head with Chaz Davies for the third step of the podium, Bautista ended up in the gravel and was forced to retire. When the chequered flag came out in Aragón, Michael Ruben Rinaldi won his first WorldSBK race ahead of Rea and Chaz Davies.

WorldSBK Race 1 Standings:

1. M. R. Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2. J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
3. C. Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
4. M. van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
5. T. Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
6. A. Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
7. L. Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000RR)
8. E. Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
9. F. Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
10. T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMWS1000 RR)
11. G. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
12. R. Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
13. L. Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1)
14. X. Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
15. M. Ferrari (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
16. T. Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea HONDA Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
17. M. Scheib (ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

• RT. Á. Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000RR)
• RT. S. Barrier (Brixx Performance / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
• RT. M. Melandri (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
• RT. S. Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)

WorldSSP Race 1:

Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) took the lead from the very first corner ahead of Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6), Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6), Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675), who lost a couple of places with respect to his starting position. As the championship leader began to widen the gap, Cluzel and Viñales battled it out for second place until the Spaniard made a mistake that forced him into the gravel and a DNF. The Italian MV Agusta rider, on the other hand, after overtaking Mahias, began to threaten Frenchman Cluzel as well and, early in the eighth lap, he managed to move into second place. Behind Mahias was German rider Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R) in fifth place and a battle for sixth between Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth / Yamaha YZF R6) which raged on all the way to the chequered flag, with the Spaniard coming out on top. Andrea Locatelli finished first for his eighth win of the season ahead of compatriot De Rosa in second place and Jules Cluzel third.

WorldSBK Race 1 Standings:

1. A. Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
2. R. De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)
3. J. Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
4. L. Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
5. P. Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
6. M. Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
7. P. Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth / Yamaha YZF R6)
8. D. Webb (WRP Wepol Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
9. C. Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
10. F. Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)
11. A. Carranza (EMPERADOR Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
12. G. Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
13. K. Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
14. A. Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6)
15. A. Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
16. L. Cresson (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth / Yamaha YZF R6)
17. M. Herrera (Dynavolt Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
18. L. Montella (DK MOTORSPORT / Yamaha YZF R6)
19. H. Soomer (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)

• RT. S. Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
• RT. I. Viñales (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
• RT. P. Hobelsberger (Dynavolt Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
• RT. C. Öncü (Turkish Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
• RT. H. Okubo (Dynavolt Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
• RT. L. Epis (MPM Routz Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)

WorldSSP300 Race 1:

Race 1 of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship closed out the second day of the weekend at Motorland Aragón with, yet again, some highly entertaining action. Spaniard Victor Rodriguez Nunez (2R Racing / Kawasaki Ninja 400) took the win ahead of Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300 / Yamaha YZF-R3) and J. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT / Kawasaki Ninja 400).

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

In WorldSBK Race 1, all the riders on the grid used the standard SC1 solution (option A) on the front. For the rear, on the other hand, the starting grid was split: eleven riders, including Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Chaz Davies decided to go with the standard super soft SCX solution (option A) for this race, whereas ten riders, including Jonathan Rea, preferred the standard SC0 tyre (option B).

In WorldSSP Race 1, the entire grid used the standard soft SC0 tyre on the rear (option A), whereas most of the riders chose the standard SC1 solution for the front (option A). On the other hand, there were five riders who preferred the standard medium SC2 solution (option B) on the front: Isaac Viñales, Manuel Gonzalez, Odendaal, Epis and Okubo.

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 1:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R) in 1'50.121 on the 2nd lap

• Most used front solution: standard SC1 (21 out of 21 riders)

• Most used rear solution: standard SCX (11 out of 21 riders)

• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 8 rear

Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 68, including 31 front and 37 rear

• Air temperature: 28° C

• Asphalt temperature: 45° C

Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP Race 1:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: A. Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) in 1’54.382 on the 5th lap (new race record)

• Most used front solution: standard SC1 (20 out of 25 riders)

• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (25 out of 25 riders)

• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Supersport class: 4 front and 4 rear

• Number of tyres available for each Supersport rider: 41, including 21 front and 20 rear

• Air temperature: 30° C

• Asphalt temperature: 47° C