It was a morning of obliterating the all-time lap record at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed the 30th pole position of his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship career and now has a hat-trick of pole positions at the start of the 2021 season.
THE TOP THREE
Rea’s pole position means Kawasaki have now equalled the run of pole positions at one circuit, equalling Ducati’s run of nine consecutive pole positions at Brands Hatch. Rea will start alongside Turkish star Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) in second and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in third.
WEEKEND PACESETTER MISSES OUT…
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing.- Ducati) had been the pacesetter of the entire field on Friday and on Saturday morning, but the Italian was only able to manage fourth place in Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session, two tenths clear of Eazi-Grip supported Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) rounding out the top six.
Eazi-Grip supported Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was a surprise of the 15-minute session with seventh place, bouncing back from a Friday crash, after shadowing Kawasaki stablemate Rea in the latter stages of the season. Mahias had been running as high as second at one point. Italian Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) claimed his best ever starting position in his short WorldSBK career with eight. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) will start from ninth with Eazi-Grip supported Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) rounding out the top ten.
JUST MISSING OUT…
Home rider Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) will start from 11th place in his first home race as a WorldSBK rider, just ahead of Leon Haslam (Team HRC). Eazi-Grip supported Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) will start Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race from 13th place with Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) rounding out the top 15.
NOTEWORTHY TALKING POINTS…
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) did not set a lap time in Superpole after he lost the front of his Yamaha YZF R1 machine at Turn 1 and 2, with the American due to start Race 1 from the pitlane after a sanction was handed out for a collision with Rinaldi last time out at Estoril. Following a crash in Free Practice 3 at Turn 10, Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse) was not able to take place in the Tissot Superpole session while he underwent medical checks.
The top six following Tissot Superpole in WorldSBK:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’33.416s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +0.099s
3. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.118s
4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.262s
5. Eazi-Grip supported Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.444s
6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.481s
Race 1:
In front of fans for the first time in 2021, local hero Michael Ruben Rinaldi claimed his first victory on the factory Ducati
The action kicked off almost immediately at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” for the Pirelli Made in Italy Emilia-Romagna as Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed an emotional victory in front of fans in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship to claim the second win of his career, and the first on the factory Ducati.
LIGHTS OUT AND RINALDI’S ON A MISSION
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) got a superb start as the lights went out to start the race, first passing Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) as well as teammate Scott Redding, before sweeping around the outside of Turn 1 on reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).
Rea tried to defend on the outside of the left-hander of Turn 2, which forced Rinaldi around the outside of the next corner but allowed Turkish star Razgatlioglu to take advantage to briefly take the lead of the race. Soon, Rinaldi made his move on Rea to take the lead but was unable to build up a gap.
THE BATTLE FOR VICTORY
Rinaldi resisted all pressure from the six-time World Champion Rea in the first ten laps of the race, with the gap fluctuating up to a maximum of half-a-second but with Rea not able to even consider making a move on the race leader. It was a similar story throughout as the two riders looked to apply pressure to each other.
The pressure would eventually pay off for Rinaldi when Rea made a rare mistake at Turn 1, having to save a massive slide on his ZX-10RR; Rea able to stay on his machine but lost time to Rinaldi as well as second place to Razgatlioglu, the pair around four seconds behind home hero Rinaldi. It meant Rinaldi became the first Italian winner at Misano since Marco Melandri in 2017. Rea’s podium meant he claimed his 150th podium with Kawasaki, while it was Kawasaki’s 350th race on the podium.
It meant the podium would finish with Rinaldi claiming a maiden factory Ducati victory after a difficult start to the 2021 season with his new team, with Razgatlioglu and Rea completing the podium. Redding, who initially tried to grab the lead in the opening corners of the race, was not close enough to Rea to take advantage of his error.
COMPLETING THE TOP TEN
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed fifth place on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, just finishing ahead of Team HRC’s Alvaro Bautista after the Spanish rider showed strong pace throughout the weekend. Less than a second behind was rookie and the youngest rider on the grid, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in eighth. Bautista, Eazi-Grip supported Sykes and Bassani engaged in a titanic three-way battle for sixth place, with Sykes holding on until the penultimate lap of the race.
Italian rider Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) claimed a ninth-place finish after a quiet but solid race battling his way up the order, finishing ahead of the rider he replaced at Pata Yamaha as Eazi-Grip supported Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten.
IN THE POINTS…
After a strong Tissot Superpole session, Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) came home in 11th place while Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) battled from the pitlane, starting there after being sanctioned for a crash with Rinaldi at Estoril, to finish in 12th place. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Leon Haslam (Team HRC) engaged in a battle for the majority of the second half of the race, with the Japanese rookie coming out on top in that battle; Nozane finishing 13th and Haslam 14th. Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) completed the points paying positions with 15th. Haslam and Gerloff were the only two riders to use the standard SCX tyre provided by Pirelli, with the other 19 opting to use the development SCX solution for Race 1.
THE REST OF THE FIELD
Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) just missed out on a points finish at Misano, finishing just 0.161s behind Rabat in 16th place, with Eazi-Grip supported Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in 17th place, nine seconds behind Folger. Frenchman Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) was 18th with TPR Team Pedercini Racing duo Samuele Cavalieri and Loris Cresson rounding out the classified finishers. Eazi-Grip supported Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) had been running in the top ten when he had a crash at Turn 4 at the Italian venue, meaning the British rider was unable to re-join the race.
The top six following WorldSBK Race 1:
1. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +3.657s
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.104s
4. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +10.247s
5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +13.474s
6. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) +14.766s
Fastest lap Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’34.476s New lap record
Race 2:
The Turkish star secured his first win of the 2021 season after a battle with Rinaldi to take a stunning Race 2 victory
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action came to a thrilling conclusion in Race 2 for the Pirelli Made in Italy Emilia-Romagna Round as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) claimed his first victory of the season at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” as he denied home hero Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) a hat-trick of wins on home soil.
LIGHTS OUT, RINALDI DROPS DOWN
The start was a precursor of what was to come throughout the 21-lap race as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) moved to the front after he took advantage of Razgatlioglu’s aggressive move on Rinaldi on the opening lap, ducking down the inside the pair of them at Turn 4. Rinaldi was able to recover to pass Turkish sensation Razgatlioglu.
Rinaldi soon made his move on Rea to take the lead of the race before a slight mistake from the Italian allowed Rea to respond; although Rinaldi was able to take the lead a lap later. Razgatlioglu made his move on Rea at Turn 8 to move into second place and soon set his sights on Rinaldi in search of his first victory of the 2021 campaign.
BATTLE FOR THE PODIUM
Rinaldi was unable to pull a gap out to Razgatlioglu with the Turkish rider keeping the pressure on the two-time race winner in 2021, before Razgatlioglu caught Rinaldi by surprise at Turn 14 on Lap 8 to take the lead, instantly pulling out a gap of around half-a-second before extending that to over a second at the start of Lap 1, with Rea able to put pressure on Rinaldi.
As Razgatlioglu continued out in front, Rea started to apply the pressure to Rinaldi with the Italian able to resist the six-time Champion and, as the laps counted down, Rinaldi started closing the gap to Razgatlioglu at the front as the trio broke away from Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The gap closed to around three tenths between the pair of them before Razgatlioglu once again extended the gap to claim his first victory of the season, with Rinaldi coming home in second ahead of Rea; closing the gap at the top of the standings to just 20 points. Razgatlioglu’s victory means Yamaha breaks a streak of 15 wins by Kawasaki or Ducati since Race 1 in 2014.
COMPLETING THE TOP TEN
Redding came home in fourth place, the only time in his WorldSBK career that the British rider has not collected a podium finish, with Redding finishing ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) after the American recovered from a challenging weekend to claim a top five position after a late-race battle with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who rounded out the top six.
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continued his impressive weekend on home soil with seventh place, his third top seven finish from Misano and the best weekend of his young WorldSBK career so far. Bassani and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) battled it out for seventh place with the Spanish rider finishing in eighth, finishing clear of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who completed the top ten; all five manufacturers taking a top ten finish in Race 2.
TAKING POINTS HOME
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) secured 11th place finish, bouncing back from a Tissot Superpole Race crash to finish ahead of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), with the British rider unable to convert into a top ten start into a top ten finish, finishing ahead of Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) and Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse); the Irish rider securing a points finish in Race 2 after missing out on Saturday’s action after a Free Practice 3 crash.
JUST MISSING OUT…
German rider Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) finished just outside the points after a wide moment through Turn 4 in the latter stages of the race, but he was able to finish ahead of Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Samuele Cavalieri (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and teammate Loris Cresson rounding out the classified runners.
Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was the first retirement of the race when he crashed on his Honda machine at Turn 2 in the early stages of Lap 4, while Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) retired for the third race at Misano with a technical issue.
The top six following WorldSBK Race 2:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK)
2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.286s
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.987s
4. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +9.102s
5. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +10.695
6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +13.117s