Redding Starts Strong as Rea Fights Back at Estoril

WorldSBK Race 1: Redding fends off Razgatlioglu and Rea in epic three-way Race 1 battle

Redding, Razgatlioglu and Rea duel it out at Estoril with the top three covered by less than one second.

The first race of Portugal’s Estoril Round proved to be a thrilling spectacle that ebbed and flowed throughout between the leading trio at the Circuito Estoril as Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed his second MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship win of the season with the top three separated by just one second.

LIGHTS OUT…
Redding and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) both got a good start but it was the Ducati of Redding who got the jump on Rea on the opening lap before Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) was able to jump Rea into second place. As Redding and Razgatlioglu broke away at the end of the opening lap, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was able to fight with Rea to pass him on lap 2, although Rea responded the following lap to move back into the podium places. The trio battled it out throughout the race, with Rea on the SC0 tyre and both Redding and Razgatlioglu on the SCX tyre.

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) got a good start on his SC0 tyres, one of only six riders to start on that tyre, to move from seventh into fifth on the opening lap before moving down the order as riders who had lost positions through Superpole times being deleted made progress; Mahias would eventually finish in 13th place.

TYRE CHOICES MAKE THE RACE EBB AND FLOW
Although the battle for the lead settled down in the middle stages of the race, Rea’s SC0 tyre appeared to hold on more throughout the 21-lap race as he put pressure on Razgatlioglu in the latter stages. Rea was able to get a run on Razgatlioglu on the start and finish straight, although the Turkish star was able to keep the position on the brakes into the right-hander of turn 1.

It means Redding claimed his first back-to-back wins following his race 2 victory at the Aragon Round last time out, while Rea stepped onto the podium for the 189th time in his WorldSBK career; while it’s Kawasaki’s first podium at Estoril since 1993.

THE TOP TEN
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished fourth after fighting back through the field after losing out at the start, including a battle with Rinaldi in fifth; Gerloff passing the Italian rider in the latter stages of the race to claim a top-four finish. Rinaldi was unable to keep his pace going throughout the race and dropped four seconds to Gerloff at the end of the race but was able to finish ahead of Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) in sixth.

Dutch rider Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) battled form outside the top ten to claim a seventh place finish as the new BMW M 1000 RR showed strong pace yet again, ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) after the Spanish rider started 18th following his Superpole time being deleted. Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) claimed his best WorldSBK result to date with ninth while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) secured a top ten finish after losing out in the early laps of the race.

COMPLETING THE POINTS
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), the youngest rider on the grid, was another rider who had a Superpole time deleted but the Italian rider was able to come home in 11th place and take home his best WorldSBK result to date, five seconds clear of Leon Haslam (Team HRC). Mahias finished in 13th place with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 14th despite the British rider moving up the order in the early stages before falling back down. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed the final point available in Race 1 with 15th place, finishing one second clear of Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action).

TALKING POINTS
Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) came home in 17th place on his first visit to Estoril on WorldSBK machinery, while Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse), who had made progress from 13th on the grid to run in the top seven lost the front of his BMW M 1000 RR at Turn 4 when battling with van der Mark, forcing the Irishman to tumble down the order although he was able to rejoin the race. At around the same time on lap 9, another rider who was making up ground, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed at turn 7 as he also lost ground after fighting from tenth. Like Laverty, he was able to rejoin the race to finish ahead of Loris Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing).

Samuele Cavalieri (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was one of two retirements in the race following a crash at turn 7, while Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) was the second retirement of the race.

WorldSBK Race 1 Podium

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +0.877s
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.915s

Tissot Superpole Race: Rea takes Superpole Race victory at Estoril with different tyre strategy

The reigning champion was one of only three riders to opt for Pirelli’s SC0 tyre for the ten-lap Tissot Superpole Race.

A thrilling three-way battle across the ten-lap Tissot Superpole Race dominated racing at Portugal’s Estoril circuit with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claiming victory after opting for an alternative tyre strategy to his main rivals.

LIGHTS OUT – FOUR WAY FIGHT FROM THE OFF
Rea was the only rider on the front two rows to use the SC0 tyre and was under pressure from Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati); the Italian trying to go around the outside at turn one.

Rea came out of turn one in the lead, but soon found himself shuffled down to third behind Redding and Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu jumped from third to first in one move at turn one, although he did have to fight to keep the lead from Redding.

Redding dropped down the order again after a mistake at turn six, allowing both Rea and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) through although Redding responded on Gerloff just a few laps later.

Meanwhile, heading into turn one, Rea was able to make the move on Razgatlioglu to re-take the lead of the race and claim his first victory in Estoril. Razgatlioglu was unable to respond and came home in second place, ahead of Gerloff.

COMPLETING THE FRONT THREE ROWS IN RACE 2
Rinaldi was unable to capitalise on his strong start to claim his podium with the factory Ducati outfit, coming home in fifth place after fending off the challenge from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) by just 0.040s to complete the second row alongside Gerloff and Rinaldi.

The third row will feature two BMW machines with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) coming home in seventh place ahead of his former teammate, Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse) in eighth. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) will start race two from ninth after fighting through from 15th to finish ninth in the Tissot Superpole Race.

JUST MISSING OUT
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) only just missed out on a third row start for race two as he finished in tenth place, just six tenths away from Davies, while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) was only four tenths away from the Spanish rider. Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) was unable to convert his top-ten start into a top-ten finish as he came home in 12th place, while Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was only half-a-second back from Rabat in 13th place.

Tissot Superpole Race Podium

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +0.690s
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.180s

WorldSBK Race 2: Rea fights back for Race 2 victory as Redding crashes from second in Estoril thriller

Sensational Race 2 at Estoril with drama throughout as Rea avoids chaos around him to take his 103rd WorldSBK victory.

The final race of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Portugal’s Estoril circuit was full of drama, excitement and tension as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed his second victory of the weekend after rival Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crashed out from second place

LIGHTS OUT, CHANGES GALORE
The race started with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) being given a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start, while Redding was able to get the leap on the rest of the field on the run into turn one, while reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) lost ground when Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) forced the British rider wide at turn four.

It enabled Rinaldi to move into second place, behind teammate Redding, and the young Italian had a look at his teammate into turn one, he backed out of the move. It meant he lost time to American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) before the American lost control of his Yamaha YZF R1 at turn six and made contact with the Italian; forcing both to retire from the race on the second lap.

REA VS REDDING
With Razgatlioglu’s penalties served, it enabled Rea to close in on Redding as the 21-lap race reached the halfway stage with the duo racing on different tyres; Rea once again on the SC0 and Redding attempting to complete the race on the SCX tyre as he did on Saturday when he claimed victory in race one.

On lap 14, Rea tried to make his first move at turn one but, despite the advantage of the slipstream, with Redding just holding on. Rea got briefly ahead at turn one before Redding used the cut back move to stay ahead. Redding then ran wide at turn three, allowing Rea to get back ahead, before Redding lost the front of his Ducati Panigale V4 R at turn four, forcing the British rider to tumble down the order.

Redding’s crash allowed Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) to close in on long-term rival Rea in the closing stages of the race although Rea was able to hold on to claim his second victory of the Estoril Round and fourth of 2021, with Davies on the rostrum for the first time in 2021. Razgatlioglu recovered from his double Long Lap Penalty to claim his third podium of the weekend.

THE POINTS SCORERS
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came home in fourth place in race two as his strong start of the season continued, finishing 1.6 seconds clear of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) in fifth; the Italian picking up his best result in WorldSBK so far in his debut season. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed sixth place on his BMW; three of the four BMW M 1000 RR bikes finished inside the top ten. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) battled through from 18th on the grid again to claim seventh place, ahead of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK).

Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse) was ninth with his second top ten finish of the weekend and the third BMW rider in the top ten. 2014 Moto2™ World Champion Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) claimed his second top ten finish of the weekend with tenth while Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) equalled his best finish of the 2021 season with 11th.

Team HRC’s Leon Haslam came home in 12th place on his Honda machine, finishing just ahead of Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) while Redding was able to secure two championship points despite his crash. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 15th after not being able to convert his strong starting position into a top ten finish.

OTHER MENTIONS…
Team HRC’s Leon Haslam came home in 12th place on his Honda machine, finishing just ahead of Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 14th despite a strong starting position with Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) completing the points paying positions.

While Redding finished the race in 14th place at the line, he was given a six-second penalty, the equivalent of two Long Lap Penalties, for a jump start in race two, meaning he was classified in 16th place, only ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) and Loris Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing).

Apart from Gerloff and Rinaldi from their lap two crash, there was only one more retirement from the race with Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) retiring in the early stages of the race with a technical issue with his BMW M 1000 RR. Samuele Cavalieri (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) retired on lap 17 of the 21-lap race.

WorldSBK Race 2 Podium

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) +2.787
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +9.484

WorldSBK Championship Standings After Round 2

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 110 points
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) 75 points
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 74 points

WorldSSP Race 1: Odendaal kickstarts 2021 with hat-trick of race wins after Estoril thriller

Five riders battled it out for victory in the opening race of the Estoril Round with just over a second separating the top five riders.

The FIM Supersport World Championship’s racing started at the Gaerne Estoril Round in thrilling fashion as five riders battled it out for victory with just 1.023s covering the top five riders at the Circuito Estoril as Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) secured his third win of 2021 after a stunning battle at the front of the field.

LIGHTS OUT AND A SWITCH AT THE FRONT

South African rider Odendaal got the jump on polesitter Federico Caricasulo (GMT94 Yamaha) at the start and immediately looked to build a gap ahead of the Italian who claimed his first pole position since returning to WorldSSP. Caricasulo was unable to hold on to second place as the race moved onto Lap 2 as Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) jumped the Italian at Turn 1 and started to close in on Odendaal.

Caricasulo was the first rider to have an incident when under pressure from teammate Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) with the Italian losing the front of his Yamaha machine at Turn 4; promoting Cluzel into third place while Caricasulo tumbled down the order although he was able to rejoin the race.

THE PRESSURE’S ON

Despite taking the lead of the race, Oettl was unable to pull away from Odendaal who kept the pressure on throughout the middle stage of the race as the South African kept the pressure on Oettl; the pair losing time to Cluzel as they went side-by-side onto the start and finish straight and into Turn 1.

Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) also joined the lead battle with less than a second separating the top five on Lap 10 of the 18-lap race. As the race headed on to Lap 14, Cluzel and Aegerter battled it out for third place with Swiss rider Aegerter making the move at Turn 1 on Cluzel before the Frenchman responded on the same lap at Turn 4.

Oettl had kept the lead until Lap 16 when Odendaal made his move, taking advantage of extra pace heading into Turn 6 as the South African rider took the lead before Oettl responded at Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 17 to re-gain the lead of the race, but as the race entered the last lap, Odendaal and Aegerter made their move at Turn 1 although Cluzel moved back on Aegerter; the pair going on a drag race until the line with Cluzel claiming third by just 0.015s, behind Odendaal and Oettl. Gonzalez equalled his best result in WorldSSP with fifth place as he held on to the lead group throughout the race.

THE REMAINDER OF THE POINTS SCORERS

Italian Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) responded from a bad start to move into sixth place but was unable to take advantage of the battling ahead of him to latch onto the lead group, while Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) secured another top ten finish with seventh place. Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) claimed eighth place with 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) in ninth place.

Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team), who had shown strong pace in the early stages of the Estoril Round, finished in tenth place with Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) in 11th despite starting the race in the pit lane following the crash with Cluzel at the Aragon Round. Caricasulo responded from his crash to claim 12th place, ahead of Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing), Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) and Davide Pizzoli (VFT Racing) completing the points; the latter being penalized by one position for track limits infringements while defending from Frossard. Swiss rider Frossard was the highest place WorldSSP Challenge competitor.

FIGHTING FOR THE TOP 15…

Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO by Puccetti Racing) finishing just three tenths away from a point scoring result at Estoril, finishing two seconds clear of Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in 17th place while Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) in 18th; Takala demoted one place at the end of the race.

Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) finished in 19th place ahead of Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). Luigi Montella (Chiodo Moto Racing) was 21st, 19 seconds away from Indonesian rider Pratama. Eugene McManus (WRP Wepol Racing) was 22nd on his first start of the season, finishing clear of Pawel Szkopek (Yamaha MS Racing) and Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P MOTOZOO by Puccetti Racing).

Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team), Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) all retired from Race 1.

WorldSSP Race 1 Podium

Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)
Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.350s
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.750s

WorldSSP Race 2: Aegerter takes emotional maiden WorldSSP victory, dedicates win to Dupasquier

The Swiss rider battled from fifth on the grid to take his first WorldSSP victory in emotional circumstances.

The FIM Supersport World Championship season continued with a thrilling battle for the win at the Circuito Estoril throughout Race 2 for the Gaerne Estoril Round as Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) claimed an emotional victory in Portugal, his first in the class after fighting from fifth on the grid and a poor start to claim victory and dedicated his win in Parc Ferme to Jason Dupasquier.

LIGHTS OUT – OETTL GETS THE JUMPS

Oettl was able to go straight to the front of the WorldSSP field at the start of the 18-lap race as he immediately got the jump on polesitter Federico Caricasulo (GMT94 Yamaha) from second on the grid and immediately looked to build a gap at the front of the field as the German rider was still searching for his maiden WorldSSP victory.

Caricasulo found himself losing places to three-time race winner Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in the first seven laps of the race, falling down to fifth place.

LEAD GROUP BECOMES A GROUP OF FOUR

As the race approached the halfway mark, the lead group had become Oettl, Odendaal, De Rosa and Aegerter with less than half-a-second separating the quadrant throughout most of the second half of the race although De Rosa made his move on Lap 12, passing Oettl and Odendaal at Turn 1 while Aegerter looked to make a move on Odendaal at the same time at the same corner.

No rider was able to pull out a gap at the front with a four-way battle in full swing throughout the 18-lap race, with all four riders looking to make their move. Aegerter made his made on De Rosa on Lap 14 and looked to make his move on Oettl to move into the lead of the race before making his move on Oettl at the start of Lap 15 at Turn 1, out-braking the German rider into the right-hander to take the lead of the race.

THE BATTLE RAGES ON

De Rosa had re-passed Aegerter to take the lead of the race but came off his Kawasaki at Turn 9 just a few corners later, allowing Swiss rider Aegerter to re-take the lead of the race yet again. This time he was able to hold on with Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) in second place, after Cluzel went off the track at Turn 1 while Odendaal had a technical issue on the final lap of the race; Bernardi taking San Marino’s first podium in WorldSSP and becoming fourth youngest rider to stand on the WorldSSP podium.

Oettl came home in third place after the late-race drama after leading for most of the race with Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) finishing in fourth, his best result in WorldSSP as he starts his second campaign with strong pace. Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) finished in fifth place with Caricasulo completing the top six.

THE POINTS SCORERS

Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed a season-best seventh place after taking advantage of the late race drama, ahead of Finland’s Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) in eighth. 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) claimed a top ten finish ahead of Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing).

Sweden’s Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) claimed another points finish with 11th place, ahead of Cluzel who came home in 12th place despite the last lap excursion at Turn 1. Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) was 13th ahead of Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) and Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) completed the points-paying positions; Manfredi edging out Frossard in the WorldSSP Challenge results.

JUST MISSING OUT…

Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) missed out on a points finish by just two tenths of a second with 16th place, fending off the challenge of fellow Italian riders Davide Pizzoli (VFT Racing) and Luigi Montella (Chiodo Moto Racing) in 17th and 18th respectively. Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was 19th with Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) in 20th; the Spanish rider forced to start from the back of the grid after a tyre pressure infringement on the grid. Eugene James McManus (WRP Wepol Racing), Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) and Pawel Szkopek (Yamaha MS Racing) rounded out the field.

There were four retirements from the race with Odendaal pulling into the pit lane on the final lap following his technical issue, while De Rosa also retired after he crashed out from the lead. Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) and Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) also retired; Taccini coming off his bike at Turn 3.