A win a piece for Rea and Redding, as Rinaldi takes maiden WorldSBK victory

WorldSBK Race 1: Rinaldi claims sensational maiden WorldSBK victory

Michael Ruben Rinaldi wins his first WorldSBK race in stunning fashion as Scott Redding crashes out from third place.

A new face stepped on top of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship podium as 24 year old Italian, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN), claimed a sensational maiden victory in race one for the Pirelli Teruel Round at MotorLand Aragon. Rinaldi had started from second on the grid and had topped all three free practice sessions as he continued his impressive pace.

Despite appearing to get a bad start, Rinaldi held second place on the opening lap but used the straight line speed advantage of his Ducati machine to pass pole-sitter Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the run to turn 16 on the opening lap and from there, he did not look back; lapping consistently faster than the reigning champion. In his third year in the category, victory came in his 66th race in world supers, and his fifth round with GoEleven Ducati team.

Rea finished the race in second place, almost six seconds behind Rinaldi but the 20 points gained on championship rival Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), with Redding crashing out on lap 7 while under pressure from Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), means the five-time champion is now 30 points clear of Redding.

Redding’s ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati teammate, Chaz Davies, claimed a podium as two Ducati machines finished in the top three. Davies was in a battle for third with Bautista before the Spanish rider crashed at lap 14 on turn 14 and retired from the race. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) finished in fourth place for the 18-lap race as the lead Yamaha rider, one place ahead of teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) battled both the field and illness to take a sixth place finish after a titanic battle with numerous riders. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed his best result of the season with eighth place with Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) claimed a top ten finished ahead of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) finished in 11th place ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in 12th. Just four seconds separated Lowes in sixth and Baz in 12th to show how competitive the WorldSBK field is in 2020. Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) secured a 13th place finish while Matteo Ferrari (Motocorsa Racing) secured a points finish on his WorldSBK debut, finishing ahead of Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Honda Team) to complete the points.

Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) was the last classified rider in 16th place after an incident in the early stages of the race, with Bautista and Redding not completing the race alongside Roman Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR), Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) and Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) also not retiring from the race.

WorldSBK Race 1 Podium

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN)
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.888s
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +10.035s

P1 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN): “It’s unbelievable! I’m very happy but I don’t know how to explain this emotion right now. It was a difficult year last year but this year I’ve found a family. Always I’ve had some people behind me who support me in difficult times. Now we are here! I couldn’t hope for a better race and I will enjoy this.”

Tissot Superpole Race: Redding bounces back to claim Superpole race victory

Championship protagonists battle throughout the 10-lap race as Scott Redding takes his first Superpole Race win of the season.

The top two in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings engaged in a titanic battle in the Tissot Superpole Race with Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) claiming a stunning victory as he bounced back from his race one crash in the perfect fashion; taking his first victory in Tissot Superpole races and denying Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) six Superpole race victories in a row.

Redding got a good start from third on the grid and instantly passed race one winner Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) before passing Rea at turn 15 on the opening lap, lap one becoming the first lap in Tissot Superpole races in 2020 that Rea has not led. Redding was able to manage the gap to Rea to claim victory, and his tenth WorldSBK podium, with Rea in second and Rinaldi claiming his second podium in two races. Redding will start from first on the grid in race two with Rea second and Rinaldi third.

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) Will start from fourth place after a strong showing in the Superpole Race with the Spanish rider in a thrilling battle over fourth place with Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK); Davies and Lowes starting fifth and sixth for Race 2.

Turkish sensation Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) claimed a third row start for Race 2 with a seventh-place finish after surviving a late fight from Leon Haslam (Team HRC), the British rider finishing in eighth place. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completes the front three rows for the Race 2 grid after finishing in ninth place in the Tissot Superpole Race.

Tissot Superpole Race Podium

Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.970s
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) +3.685s

WorldSBK Race 2: Rea battles Rinaldi to claim thriller

A race-long fight between Jonathan Rea and Michael Ruben Rinaldi ends with Rea taking his 96th WorldSBK career victory.

A thrilling battle in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship between Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) was the story of the day at Aragon’s Tureul round as the reigning champion extended his championship lead to 36 points. The pair duelled throughout the majority of the 18-lap race with Rea coming out on top; Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finishing in third place.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) won the start, but was passed by Redding at turn 13 who took the lead.

It was Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) who took advantage of the Redding and Rea battle on lap 6. The warring duo went wide at turn 8, allowing Rinaldi to cut back through turn 9 and get the run on both riders; eventually diving down the inside of Redding to take the lead.

Rea was able to get ahead of Redding and pull out a gap, allowing the five-time champion to start applying pressure to Rinaldi. Rinaldi defended his lead position, not buckling under the pressure of racing with Rea, but with three laps to go the defending champion assumed control to take the victory with Rinaldi second, the young Italian’s third podium from the weekend’s three race.
Rea had a couple of huge moments during the race; making a superb save after running wide while trying to pass Rinaldi while he also had to make another save at turn one shortly after passing Rinaldi.

Redding was unable to respond to the leading duo and came home in third place, securing a podium place but finds himself now 36 points behind Rea in the championship standings. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) secured his best result of the 2020 season with fourth place, finishing more than a second clear of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in fifth. The duo crossed five seconds ahead of Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team); the Dutchman coming home in sixth place.

Michael van der Mark’s teammate, Toprak Razgatlioglu, finished in seventh place ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha); Baz finishing more than five seconds behind Razgatlioglu and holding off the challenge from GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team duo Federico Caricasulo and Garrett Gerloff as five Yamaha machines finished inside the top ten.

Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) just missed out on a top ten finish with 11th place, less than a second away from Gerloff. Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) scored a points finish with 12th place, with Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 13th. Matteo Ferrari (Motocorsa Racing) secured another points finish on his WorldSBK debut with 14th place, ahead of Roman Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR). Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the last classified runner in 16th place.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) became the first retirement from the race when he pulled into the pits on the opening lap while Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) crashed out on lap 4. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) crashed out at turn 7 on lap 5, forcing the Spanish rider to retire from the race. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was another retirement from the race after a crash on lap 13 while he was running in the top five, while Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) also did not finish the race.

WorldSBK Race 2 Podium

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) +1.244s
Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +5.326s

P1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) “It was a great day. In the Tissot Superpole Race, I just didn’t have the opportunity with Scott. In the early laps, he had a really good rhythm. In Race 2, I just tried to go and got aggressive in the first few laps. It was all fine and fun. And then with Michael at the end, he had good rhythm, he was strong in some sectors and I was strong in others, especially corner entry, turning around the corner and initial traction. I couldn’t find an opportunity, but he ran a bit wide at Turn 5 and I capitalised on the exit. From there, I just put my head down. It was an incredible day for the Kawasaki Racing Team.”

WorldSBK Championship Standings After Race 2

Jonathan Rea (GRB) Kawasaki (243 points)
Scott Redding (GRB) Ducati (207 points)
Toprak Razgatliogluv (TUR) Yamaha (147 points)

WorldSSP Race 1: Domin-eight: Locatelli secures eighth consecutive WorldSSP victory

Andrea Locatelli survives early pressure from Jules Cluzel to move into seventh place in the all-time WorldSSP winners list.

Italian rookie Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) continued his streak of race victories in FIM Supersport World Championship as he secured a win in Race 1 at MotorLand Aragon for the Pirelli Teruel Round as he survived early pressure to make it eight in a row. Locatelli, like in all races so far this season, started from pole position and claimed the fastest lap on his way to victory.

Locatelli had initially fallen behind Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) at the start but quickly swept past the Spanish rider on the opening lap to regain the lead. Despite trying to pull a gap to the rest of the field, Locatelli was put under pressure in the early laps by Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha); the Frenchman unable to pass Locatelli.

Cluzel would end up in a battle with Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) for second place with the Italian rider getting by despite strong defence from Cluzel; the Frenchman completing the podium but lost more ground to Locatelli in the Championship fight as Locatelli moves 54 points clear at the top.

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the race in fourth place ahead of teammate Philipp Oettl in fifth while Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) equalled his best WorldSSP result of his career; the 2019 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship title winner finishing in sixth place.

It was a career best finish for Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) with a seventh-place finish at MotorLand Aragon; Sebestyen continuing to show impressive pace throughout the weekend as he looks to make a step forward. Gonzalez and Sebestyen had a battle that lasted until the last lap with Gonzalez just holding on. Danny Webb (WRP Wepol racing) finished in eighth place with Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) and Federico Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) completing the top ten.

Alejandro Ruiz Carranza (EMPERADOR Racing Team) finished in 11th place as the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider while Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) secured his best result of the season with 12th place. Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team), Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) and Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) rounded out the points.

Viñales did not finish the race following a crash on Lap 3 while Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) retired from the race after a high-speed crash at Turn 7 on Lap 5. Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) was the first retirement from the race following an incident on Lap 1 while Patrick Hobelsberger (Dynavolt Honda), Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) and Lachlan Epis (MPM Routz Racing Team).

WorldSSP Race 1 Podium

Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +6.012s
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +10.079s

WorldSSP Race 2: Locatelli on cloud nine after ninth consecutive WorldSSP victory

Collision between Jules Cluzel and Raffaele de Rosa hands Andrea Locatelli his second Teruel Round victory.

Race 2 for the FIM Supersport World Championship at MotorLand Aragon for the Pirelli Teruel Round was full of drama as Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) claimed his ninth consecutive WorldSSP victory, extending his Championship lead to 79 points, as he won the 15-lap race by more than six seconds.

Locatelli had fallen to third place before responding on the second lap and was looking to battle his way through the front running pair of Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) and Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse). Cluzel was fighting with de Rosa, the Italian putting pressure on Cluzel from second place, before the pair collided at Turn 1 on Lap 4; forcing both riders out of the race. Cluzel was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the incident and was diagnosed with fractures to his left tibia and fibula, with Cluzel transferred to a local hospital for further assessments.

It meant Locatelli assumed the lead of the race with 11 laps to go but took a handful of laps before he could pull out a gap from Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) with Mahias not giving Locatelli any room to breathe until around the half distance point of the race. After that, Locatelli was able to pull out a gap to claim his ninth win of the season, the first rider to win nine races in one WorldSSP season. Mahias claimed a comfortable second place ahead of Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing), who completed the podium, after an epic last-lap battle with Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing); the pair separated by just 0.032s at the line.

Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) finished in fifth place after being in the titanic battle for third place, finishing just ahead of Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth); the Hungarian rider securing his best-ever WorldSSP result with sixth, beating Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) by just 0.043s at the line.

Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) finished in eighth place, the 2019 WorldSSP300 World Champion in a drag race to the line with Sebestyen and Perolari and finishing just 0.043s behind Perolari. Gonzalez finished just two seconds away from a podium finish as he showed strong pace throughout, finishing almost six seconds clear of South African rider Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) in ninth and Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) completing the top ten.

Alejandro Carranza Ruiz (EMPERADOR Racing Team) was the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider with 11th place, holding Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) by around 1.5 seconds. Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) finished in 13th place, ahead of Federico Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) completing the points.

Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) did not take the start of the race while Luigi Montella (DK MOTORSPORT), Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team) and Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) all retired from the race alongside Cluzel and de Rosa; with Öncü bringing his bike back to the pits after just five laps.