Friday

Rabat seeks the ideal setup during WorldSBK practice at Barcelona

The second WorldSBK championship round got underway today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. This is the home round for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat and, following a recent two-day test at this track, the Spaniard and his team are aiming to improve the performance of their Ninja ZX-10RR KRT Factory Replica.

During the morning’s first free practice, Rabat set a fastest time of 1’42”647, while in FP2, and given the decidedly higher temperatures, he was unable to improve on his earlier reference (1’42”722). The Spaniard therefore placed twentieth in the combined standings at the end of day 1.

Tito will be back on track tomorrow for the Superpole and the first of the weekend’s WorldSBK races.

Circuit de Catalunya – Barcelona – Spain
Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Bautista (Ducati) – 3) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 4) Van der Mark – 5) Rea (Yamaha) ……… 20) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “I’m not very happy with how today’s practices have gone. We started with the set-up we’d identified during testing but the weather and track conditions were different today and so we were unable to improve as we’d hoped. For tomorrow we’ll try some different solutions in order to run a good Superpole and score a solid position for the race. Big thanks to the team as they’ve done a great job as ever.”

Can Oncu second in Superpole at Barcelona

The sun was out at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first day of action making up this second WorldSSP championship round. Rider Can Oncu likes the Spanish track and is highly motivated to score strong results.

During the morning’s first free practice, the young Turkish rider proved very competitive and placed already third with a time of 1’44”999.

The new WorldSSP format means that Superpole runs on Friday afternoon, the 40-minute session establishing the grid positions for the two races. With a very impressive time of 1’44”47, Oncu finished the session second, which translates into a front row start for tomorrow’s first race, which will run over 18 laps.

Circuit de Catalunya – Barcelona – Spain
Supersport World Championship
Free practice: 1) Montella (Ducati) – 2) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 3) Oncu Kawasaki) – 4) Mahias (Yamaha) – 5) Navarro (Triumph) – 5) Caricasulo (MV Agusta)

Superpole: 1) Huertas (Ducati) – 2) Oncu (Kawasaki) – 3) Manzi (Yamaha) – 4) Mahias (Yamaha) – 5) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 6) Montella (Ducati) – 7) Debise (Yamaha)

Can Oncu: “The Superpole went really well, better than I expected because I’m usually faster in the race than in qualifying, but here I’ve found really good feeling with my bike and feel comfortable around the track. When I was in a bad way after my crash last year at Assen, with all the physical problems that caused, Manuel Puccetti, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Kenan Sofuoglu told me that I’d be back racing soon enough. And they were right – I’m back and am stronger than ever! I’m not yet fully fit, but I’ll get there, and tomorrow I’ll do all I can to score a strong race result.”

Saturday

Tyre problems for Rabat in WorldSBK Race One at Barcelona

The Superpole and first race making up round of the WorldSBK championship took place today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. Yesterday Tito Rabat completed the first two practice sessions, working with his technicians to identify the best set up for his Ninja ZX-10RR KRT Factory Replica.

This morning, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider was back out for FP3. Setting a best of 1’42”169, the Spaniard improved on Friday’s references to close in nineteenth place.

The second Superpole of the season ran in the late morning. Tito improved on his lap time by a second (1’41”145) to place seventeenth, but a penalty saw him demoted to twentieth on the grid.

Getting away well from row seven, Rabat maintained a good rhythm, climbing up as far as fifteenth. Unfortunately, in the final stages, an unexpected drop in tyre grip caused him to lose positions, which meant he ultimately crossed the line in twenty-first place.

Tomorrow the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider will return to the track for the Superpole race and Race 2, which rounds out this second WorldSBK weekend.

Circuit de Catalunya – Barcelona – Spain
Superbike World Championship

Superpole: 1) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 2) Bulega (Ducati) – 3) Iannone (Ducati) – 4) Van der Mark (BMW) – 5) Lowes (Ducati) – 6) Aegerter (Yamaha) ……… 20) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 1 – 1) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 2) Bulega (Ducati) – 3) Bautista – 4) Iannone (Ducati) – 5) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 6) Lowes (Kawasaki) ……… 21) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “I’m pleased with my performance but not my results. In Superpole I wasn’t able to improve on my best lap and in the race I made a good start, but then my rear tyre unexpectedly gave in on me and I struggled to finish the race. It’s a shame because the race was going well until then. It’s a shame because we were having an excellent race. We’re working hard and making progress anyway, so hopefully if we continue in this way, our hard work will begin to pay off.”

Eighth in Race One for Can Oncu at WorldSSP Barcelona

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain today hosted the first race of the second WorldSSP round. Can Oncu was on track yesterday for free practice, after which he set a very fast time in Superpole to qualify second.

The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider therefore lined up on the front row of the grid for the afternoon’s 18-lap race.

The young Turkish rider got away well as the lights went out, holding second position until around the mid-race point, when a drop in tyre performance forced him to slow his pace. This caused Oncu to slip back a little, but his eighth-place finish was nevertheless a strong result.

Tomorrow Oncu will return to the track for the second and final race of this Catalan round.

Circuit de Catalunya – Barcelona – Spain
Supersport World Championship
Race 1: 1) Huertas (Ducati) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha) – 3) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 4) Montella (Ducati) – 5) Debise (Yamaha) – 6) Caricasulo (MV Agusta) – 7) Navarro (Triumph) – 8) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “We tried to improve our pace today and managed to do so, but we need to continue pushing hard to be even better. It is not so easy and there is not anything special to say except we need to work harder. We set a good lap time in Superpole but in the race itself we suffered a big drop and I hope tomorrow we can find more grip to complete a better race. The initial pace we had was for the win, so we need to work ahead of race 2. Let’s see how it goes.”

Sunday

Rabat in the points in WorldSBK Race Two

The second round of the 2024 WorldSBK championship has drawn to a close at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain with the Superpole Race and second Superbike race.

Conditions were cool and cloudy for both races, though the track remained dry. In the ten-lap Superpole race, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat started from row seven but was soon able to make up positions. Despite the limited number of laps available, the Spaniard crossed the line in seventeenth place.

In race 2, which consisted of 20 laps, Rabat made a very strong start, finding very good pace which kept him inside the top ten for the best part of the race. Only in the final stages, when the tyres started to deteriorate, did the Spaniard have to slow his pace slightly. Rabat eventually crossed the line in fifteenth position to score his first championship point of the season.

The next Superbike World Championship round will take place over the weekend of 19-21 April at the TT Assen Circuit in The Netherlands.

Circuit de Catalunya – Barcelona – Spain
Superbike World Championship

Superpole Race: 1) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 2) Iannone (Ducati) – 3) Bautista (Ducati) – 4) Bulega (Ducati) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 6) Van der Mark (BMW)……. 17) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 2 – 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Bulega (Ducati) – 3) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 4) Van der Mark (BMW) – 5) Petrucci (Ducati) – 6) Lowes (Kawasaki) ……… 15) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “After making a good start to race 2, I was able to maintain a strong pace and stick with the chasing group for a long while. Only towards the end, when the tyres started to lose grip, did I have to slow down. This meant I lost some positions, but I still finished the race inside the points. We’re starting to see the results of all our efforts and hard work and I’m sure that if we continue along this path, we’ll get there. Thanks to the whole team doing such a great job here at Barcelona.”

A physical problem limits Oncu in WorldSSP Race Two

With race 2, the second WorldSSP round drew to a close today at the Circuit de Barcleona-Catalunya in Spain. Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Can Oncu completed an excellent Superpole session yesterday, qualifying second. Later in the day, unexpected tyre wear meant that the Turkish rider had to settle for eighth position in Race 1.

Today, in cool, cloudy conditions, Oncu was back on track for the final race of the weekend.

Having made a good start, Oncu was lying seventh when the race was interrupted with a red flag following an incident for another rider. The race was restarted but reduced to just six laps. As the lights went out, Can again made a good start and had moved up into the front group when a sudden hardening of the muscles in his right arm forced him to slow his pace and drop positions. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider gritted his teeth and finished the race in ninth place. He will travel to Italy this coming week to have surgery to remedy this compartmental syndrome that limits performance.

The next Supersport World Championship round is scheduled to take place on 19-21 April at the Assen TT Circuit in The Netherlands.

Circuit de Catalunya – Barcelona – Spain
Supersport World Championship
Race 1: 1) Manzi (Yamaha) – 2) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 3) Mahias (Yamaha) – 4) Montella (Ducati) – 5) Debise (Yamaha) – 6) Sofuoglu (MV Agusta) ……….. 9) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “We had a good race in the end, and the bike was competitive. I enjoyed it. We will work hard to try and do even better in the next races. In the end we did a good job but next week I am going to have arm pump surgery so that I can improve on my own performance. Hopefully in Assen we will be much stronger.”