Rea seals sixth title as Razgatlioglu and Davies share victories in Portugal

WorldSBK Race 1: Commanding Rea crowned 2020 World Champion as Razgatlioglu claims Estoril victory

History maker Jonathan Rea wrapped up his sixth consecutive WorldSBK title with a stunning fightback as Toprak Razgatlioglu takes Race 1 win.

The records and the Championships keep coming for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) as he secured his sixth consecutive MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, although the wait will go on for his 100th win as Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) took a stunning victory for the Pirelli Estoril Round at the Circuito Estoril, while challenger Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) retired from the race with a technical issue.

Razgatlioglu made a good start from pole position and held first place as he converted his first career pole into his second win of the year; following on from his victory at the season-opening Australian round. He was joined on the podium with Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) as they fought off Rea to secure a podium place.

Rea started from the middle of the grid following a crash in the Tissot Superpole session but soon found himself inside the top ten as he gained an impressive eight laps on the opening lap, and quickly improved his position on the follow lap as he passed teammate Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) at turn one to move into the podium places.

He moved into second place as he made a move on Gerloff into turn one but the American rookie was able to respond a few laps later, after Davies was able to make a move on Rea to move into second place. Rea and Gerloff engaged in a sensational battle for third during the remainder of the 21-lap race; allowing Razgatlioglu and Davies to pull away at the front as they finished first and second. Gerloff moved ahead at turn one on lap 14 and started pulling away from Rea as he secured his second career podium.

Rea finished the race in fourth place as he lost ground to the riders in front of him but had a large margin over fifth-placed Leon Haslam (Team HRC), who battled hard with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC); the Spanish rider had been fifth until lap 20 before he crashed out of the race. Lowes finished in sixth place after being unable to catch Haslam on the last lap.
2021 Ducati rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) finished in seventh place, just behind the Lowes-Haslam-Bautista battle but unable to take advantage of the trio battling each other, finishing ahead of Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in eighth and Frenchman Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in ninth.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten with the British rider finishing just behind Baz, but 2.5 seconds clear of Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) in 11th as the wildcard secured points in his second race of the season, finishing 10 seconds clear of Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

Argentinean rider Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) finished in the points as he secured a 13th place finish ahead of Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) and teammate Eric Granado; the Brazilian finishing in the points in his first WorldSBK appearance of the season. Sheridan Morais (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) finished just outside the points with 16th, with Bautista being classified in 17th place ahead of Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR).

Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) did not finish the race after he crashed out in the second half of the race, with van der Mark not finishing the race after he came off his bike while battling for the podium. Redding retired from the race with a technical issue on Lap 6, effectively confirming Rea as a six-time World Champion as Redding had to win the race, while Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) did not finish the race.

WorldSBK Race 1 Podium

Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team)
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +3.039s
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) +4.220s

Tissot Superpole Race: Two from two for Toprak with historic Yamaha 1-2-3 at Estoril

Toprak Razgatlioglu made it two race wins at the Circuito Estoril while Rea and Redding battle their way up the field.

The Tissot Superpole Race for the Pirelli Estoril Round had a familiar feel to it at the Circuito Estoril Round: Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) claimed victory without a challenge from his rivals while Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was able to fight back through the field, along with Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) in the penultimate MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race of 2020.

Razgatlioglu got a good start from pole position and maintained the lead of the race on the opening lap before pulling out gap of over one second ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) in second; Gerloff securing back-to-back podiums for an American rider since Ben Spies in 2009. There was a titanic battle between Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) with the duo battling out for the entirety of the 10-lap race; the Dutchman coming out on top as Yamaha claimed a 1-2-3 finish for the first time in WorldSBK history and secure the front row starting positions for Race 2.

Davies finished the race in fourth place ahead of the duo of Rea and Redding as the duo battled their way back from 15th and the back of the grid respectively as they secured a row two start for Race 2; Rea still chasing his 100th WorldSBK victory while Redding will look to end the season well to use as a springboard into a 2021 title challenge.

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) and teammate Leon Haslam finished in seventh and eighth place respectively to secure a third row start for the final race of the season and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) finished in ninth; the one point gained for Rinaldi enough to secure him the Independent Riders’ title as Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) crashed out on Lap 3.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was a non-finisher in the race after he crashed at the end of the opening lap of the Superpole Race; having a lowside crash at the Turn 13 final corner.

Tissot Superpole Race Podium

Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team)
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) +1.928s
Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +2.940s

WorldSBK Race 2: Davies sign off from factory Ducati seat with thrilling Estoril Race 2 victory

Season finale ends with drama as Chaz Davies takes victory as Jonathan Rea crashes out after battling with Toprak Razgatlioglu; Kawasaki win Manufacturers’ Championship by one point.

The season-ending race two at the Pirelli Estoril Round was full of drama at the Circuito Estoril as Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) claimed victory in his final race for the ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati outfit, taking a commanding win in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season finale.

Davies had started the race from fourth place and was instantly in the fight for victory, moving into second place before passing Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) on lap two before pulling away from the Turkish star, who had won two of the three races at Estoril prior to race two.

The battle for second came to a premature end when Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) made contact with Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha machine at turn three as he tried to pass the Turkish rider for second place. Rea was able to re-join the race and finished down in 14th place while Razgatlioglu was able to finish in third, after Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) managed to overhaul Razgatlioglu for second place; Redding ending the season with a Ducati 1-2 as ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati claimed the Teams’ Championship ahead of KRT. The 1-2 finish for Davies and Redding meant Ducati secured its 950th podium placement in WorldSBK.

Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) ended his Yamaha career with a fourth-place finish, having lost out at the start of the race. He finished clear of Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) in fifth place as Honda secured another top-five finish, five seconds clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN).

Rinaldi finished in sixth place after heading a four-way fight with Leon Haslam (Team HRC), Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively; Fores’ eighth place meaning he was the highest-placed Kawasaki rider and therefore scored enough points for Kawasaki to beat Ducati to the Manufacturers’ Championship by just one point.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten as he finished around 2.5 seconds away from Caricasulo, and finished 1.5 seconds clear of Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing); Folger finishing in the points despite following Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) off the track when Baz suffered a technical issue.

Irish rider Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Official Team) finished in 12th place with Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) in 13th, Rea in 14th and Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) in 15th in his second appearance of the season. Eric Granado (MIE Racing HONDA Team) missed out on points by less than a second with teammate Takumi Takahashi just behind Brazilian Granado.

Sheridan Morais (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) was 18th in his third race on his first appearance of the season, ahead of Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) in 19th on his debut WorldSBK weekend. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) crashed out of the race on lap three at turn four when he was running in the podium places; the American having a lowside crash at turn four on the third lap as he looked for this third consecutive podium. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) also did not retire from the race after he crashed with just a few laps to go.

WorldSBK Race 2 Podium

Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +1.951s
Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +2.556s

Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati): “It was such a weird couple of hours. I was at on the grid and all my mechanics were in tears, they’ve all written personal messages on the tank. I was like ‘I’ve got to go concentrate right now; I’ve got to pull something out of the bag’ when I’m welling up. Here we are, 21 laps later and top of the podium. Just got to put things to the back of your mind sometimes and just send it. That I did and it paid off. My crew did a great job. Even yesterday I said not to touch my bike, I’ve got a bit in reserve and didn’t ride at my best. I felt like, even with the bike I had yesterday, it was good enough for a little bit better. They improved it again today and it was that one step better. It was such a pleasure to be out there today alone, by myself, for the time being in my last race. What a fairytale ending.”

2020 WorldSBK Championship Standings

Jonathan Rea (GRB) Kawasaki (360 points)
Scott Redding (GRB) Ducati (305 points)
Chaz Davies (GRB) Ducati (273 points)

WorldSSP Race 1: Locatelli returns to the top after stunning Estoril victory

Italian rider Andrea Locatelli takes his 12th win of the season as he survives a restart to take victory at Estoril.

There was plenty of action across Race 1 at the Pirelli Estoril Round for the FIM Supersport World Championship as Andrea Locatelli (BARADHAL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) claimed victory at the Circuito Estoril in a Red Flagged and restarted race in Portugal, with the second part of the race reduced to 12 laps.

The race was Red Flagged on Lap 3 when Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) crashed at Turn 13, the final corner at the Circuito Estoril, spraying gravel onto the track. The Red Flag was shown in order to give marshals a chance to clear the stones from the tarmac, with the new grid set by positions at the last timing point before the Red Flag was deployed.

The restarted race started dramatically when Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) collided at Turn 2 on Lap 1; with de Rosa retiring from the race on the spot while Mahias was able to return to the pitlane with his Kawasaki machine. It meant Locatelli was able to move clear at the front of the field to take victory; his 12th of the season after 14 races in 2020.

Italian rider Locatelli was joined on the podium by Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) as the German continued his impressive rookie season with his fourth podium of the season and his best result of 2020, having finished third on three occasions, while Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) took his third podium of the season and his third in a row.

There was a titanic four-way battle for fourth place that was won by Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing), finishing 1.5s clear of South African rider Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing). Odendaal fended off the challenge of Turkish star Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) and Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team); 2019 WorldSSP300 Champion Gonzalez finishing just 0.007s behind Öncü as they crossed the line.

Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) finished in eighth place as the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider as he looks to snatch the title away from Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team); the Italian down in 14th place. Jules Cluzel’s (GMT94 Yamaha) return from injury culminated in points with ninth place, finishing ahead of teammate Corentin Perolari who completed the top ten.

Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) battled from the back of the grid in the restarted race after crashing at Turn 3 in the first part to finish in 11th place, holding off Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) who came home in 12th. Federico Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Manfredi and Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) completed the points in Race 1; with Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) just missing out on points with 16th place.

Glenn van Straalen (MPM Routz Racing Team) finished in 17th place with Patrick Hoblesberger (Dynavolt Honda) and Vincent Falcone (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) the last of the classified runners. Alejandro Ruiz Carranza (EMPERADOR Racing Team), De Rosa, Mahias and Victor Alexandre Da Silva Barros (Palkalgar Yamaha – Evan Bros), the first Angolan rider in WorldSSP, did not finish the race.

WorldSSP Race 1 Podium

Andrea Locatelli (BARDHAL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +1.591s
Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) +1.968s

WorldSSP Race 2: Mahias heads titanic four-way battle for Race 2 victory at Estoril

Battling teammates, three manufacturers duelling and unpredictability define final race of 2020 WorldSSP season.

There were 18 laps of drama, action and battles as the FIM Supersport World Championship came to a thrilling conclusion at the Circuito Estoril for the Pirelli Estoril Round. The race was eventually won by Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) despite pressure from, at various points, up to seven other riders throughout the race as the season ended in sensational style.

Andrea Locatelli (BARDHAL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) had started the race from pole position but soon found himself down in fourth place having been jumped on the opening lap by Mahias, teammate Philipp Oettl and Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse); a sense of what was to come throughout the race right from the start.

Mahias had claimed the lead on the opening lap and looked as if he was going to pull out a gap but the chasing group were able to reel him in after five laps; with the Frenchman losing the lead to teammate Oettl at Turn 1. Mahias was able to fight back a lap later to regain the lead on Lap 6, but Italian De Rosa claimed the lead on Lap 7.

The lead changed once again on Lap 8 as Oettl passed De Rosa at the right-hander of Turn 2, but that would only last another lap as De Rosa reclaimed the lead ahead of Mahias and Oettl, with Locatelli lurking just behind – although the Italian faced pressure from South African Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing). Mahias took the lead with an aggressive move on Lap 9 at Turn 9 on De Rosa, with the battle continuing throughout the race.

De Rosa took the lead of the race at Turn 1 on Lap 14 but was unable to hold it for the rest of the race; Mahias taking the lead on the final lap from teammate Oettl after Oettl had taken the lead on Lap 17. It meant Mahias would take his second victory of the year ahead of Locatelli in second; the 2020 Champion moving ahead of De Rosa by just 0.002s on the line.

Odendaal finished the race ahead of Oettl after the German fell down to fifth in the latter stages of the race, with Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) finishing sixth as he almost pipped Oettl to a top five finish. Oettl’s fifth place was enough to overhaul Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) in the Championship for third place with Cluzel finishing in ninth; Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) in seventh and Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) in eighth.

British rider Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) secured a top ten finish in the James Toseland-run team with teammate and wildcard Karel Hanika in 11th as the team finished the season with two points finishes. Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) finished in 12th place but was not enough to claim the WorldSSP Challenge title as Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team) claimed that title despite a 18th place finish.

Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) was 13th with Turkish star Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) in 14th place and Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) completing the points-paying positions with 15th place.

Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) was an early retirement from the race as he pulled off the track on the opening lap; the Japanese’s rollercoaster season ending in disappointment as he was forced to retire from the race on the opening lap of the race. Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) and Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) were also retirements from the race, Indonesian rider Hendra Pratama crashing out of the race.