WorldSBK step foot in Argentina where the Championship fight is hot in contention
Suan Juan will ignite to the sound of World Superbike action as a passionate crowd, a dramatic backdrop and fierce on-track action promise a spectacular Motul Argentinean Round.
The chase for gold in the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has landed in the land of silver, as the tenth round of the season enters the horizon at the Circuito San Juan Vollicum venue at the foot of the Andes in Argentina. The Motul Argentinean Round is always a spectacular event, not least for its jaw-dropping backdrop and the passion that oozes from the packed grandstands. The Championship can’t be wrapped up in South America, but it can be a crucial round in determining the outcome, as now more than ever, those riders who are hot on Bautista’s heels will need big results ahead of back-to-back finale in Indonesia and Australia.
Bautista is still fighting fit in the Championship hunt, leading over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) with a healthy advantage. This weekend see’s a ‘now or never’ approach for Razgatlioglu and Rea. Reigning World Champion Razgatlioglu knows he must reduce the Championship gap before the last two rounds of 2022. Currently sitting 56 points behind Bautista, it came down by just three at Portimao and was by no means enough for Razgatlioglu to be complacent. Razgatlioglu will head into the round with a bout of confidence, being a double winner in Argentina in 2021, and is the only Yamaha rider to step on the podium at Suan Juan.
This Argentinian Round is even more critical for Jonathan Rea, who is the most successful rider in Argentina since the WorldSBK paddock first raced there in 2018. However, Rea is still chasing his first win since Estoril back in May – So all eyes will be on the six-time World Championship to see if he can fight back and regain his composure, before the Title chase is completely out of grasp.
For Alvaro Bautista, the story is a little different this weekend. The Spaniard is in fine form and with his previous Ducati experience at this circuit, he should be in contention for victory this weekend. Quick to deny that it’ll be another Barcelona-style show, the layout of San Juan with its long backstraight, will highly suit the Ducati rider this weekend, who we are sure will be taking a calm approach to continue climbing the Championship leaderboard.
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continues to lead the way in the Independents battle, despite a crash in Race 2 last time out at Portimao that ended a 26 consecutive race finish run. Bassani was in the battle for victory in Argentina last year, also the scene of his first and only front row start after Superpole to-date, so we could be seeing some strong results this weekend.
Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is next up on the Independent championship ladder, who also finds himself in 11th in the overall standings.
