Rea strikes back on Sunday afternoon at Portimao

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 11 – Portimao

The rollercoaster venue that is Portimao provided more ups and downs in the battle for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came back from crashes in the opening two races before an emphatic victory on Sunday afternoon, as championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) crashed out of the race at turn 15. The Turk put the crash down to a strange fault with his front fender that caused him to have front end slides.

Rea’s victory narrowed the gap at the top of the championship back down to 24-points ,which means that with two rounds and six races still remaining, the war for the championship is far from over.

WorldSBK now heads to Argentina on the weekend of October 17, before the finale is staged at Indonesia’s new Mandalika International Street Circuit on November 21.

WorldSBK Superpole Race

After the rain that fell over Portimão during the warm-up sessions, the Algarve circuit was in the drying-out stage and put the teams to a hard test in terms of tyre choices. All the riders eventually chose rain tyres and the Tissot Superpole Race got underway on schedule with Aussie rookie still making the start despite a crash on the warm-up lap.

Jonathan Rea made the best start of all the riders, moving immediately into the race lead, but then crashed out later on that opening lap. Most also thought that his championship chances also disappeared in the gravel trap but there was to be more twists and turns in the afternoon…

With Rea out of the race Scott Redding took over as the new leader ahead of Michael van der Mark, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Loris Baz.

During the first half of the race, the Dutch BMW rider demonstrated a pace that was distinctly superior to that of his rival, putting in the fastest laps to then snatched the race lead.

On the other hand, Razgatlioglu was unable to find the pace and dropped back five positions.

Holding on to second place was Redding ahead of Loris Baz and Leon Haslam, battling it out for the podium, whereas Andrea Locatelli and Álvaro Bautista were fighting for fifth.

Michael van der Mark made all the right moves in the final laps, taking his first win of the season and BMW’s first victory since the 2012 season, with an advantage of more than five-seconds ahead of Scott Redding and more than seven seconds over Loris Baz, who celebrated his second podium of his wild-card weekend.

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Locatelli took fourth ahead of Bautista while championship leader Razgatlioglu took only four-points from his sixth place finish.

WorldSBK Superpole Race  Results

WorldSBK Race Two

The start was delayed due to a technical issue when the riders were lining up on the grid, with the delay meaning the race distanced was reduced one lap to 19 laps.

Starting from tenth place, Jonathan Rea was on the move from the get-go and was second by the end of the opener, while Toprak Razgatlioglu moved into third place.

Rea made his move for the lead through the fast turn nine left-hander on lap two on Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), relegating the British rider who had led from the start. At the start of lap two, Razgatlioglu passed Rea into turn one before the six-time world champion responded.

The trio were battling throughout the opening laps, with both Razgatlioglu and Rea able to take advantage of Redding running wide at turns five and ten on the same lap.

Razgatlioglu made a move on Rea down the start-and-finish straight to move into the right-hander of turn one at the start of lap seven, before Rea responded at turn ten.

At the end of lap ten, Razgatlioglu crashed at turn 15, the same place Rea did in race one, forcing the championship leader out of the race.

Rea went on to take the 110th win and the 210th podium of his career, narrowing the gap in the championship to 24 points.

Rea’s victory means both he and Razgatlioglu have scored 25 podiums this season, the first time it has happened in WorldSBK history. The top two in the Championship are also tied with 25 podiums and 11 wins each.

At the start of lap 13, Loris Baz moved up into podium contention after his third-place start in race two after overtaking Andrea Locatelli into turn one; Alvaro Bautista had tried to pass both of them but Baz was wise to it, cutting back on the Spanish rider to re-take third place.

Two laps later and Bautista looked to make a move through the opening couple of corners with Baz defending and keeping the position. The battle went on through lap 16 and 17 with Bautista looking to make the move into turn one each time and Baz responding into turn two.

On lap 18, Bautista looked to make a move on Baz into the turn five hairpin, with Bautista running wide and Baz looking to reclaim the place. Through the exit of the corner, the pair made contact with Bautista coming off his bike and retiring from the race.

Baz held on to cross the line in third place, while Locatelli came home in fourth place after withstanding a late surge from fellow Yamaha rider Garrett Gerloff in fifth place. After the race, Baz was sanctioned with a one place position drop, demoting him to fourth place and promoting Locatelli to third; the Italian’s fourth podium of his rookie campaign.

Michael van der Mark was sixth after starting from first place, five seconds clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi with the Italian suffering from a right ankle sprain and contusion and a right hip contusion following his Tissot Superpole Race crash. He battled with Leon Haslam throughout the race with the pair separated by just three tenths at the end of the 19-lap encounter.

Italian rookie Axel Bassani continued his strong form with ninth place, after battling with Rea during the open lap of the race, eventually finishing two tenths clear of Eugene Laverty as he scored points again while standing-in for Tom Sykes.

Laverty finished five-seconds clear of Leandro Mercado in 11th place, who was also clear of Spanish rider Isaac Viñales in 12th place.

Japanese rookie Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 13th, just over a second behind Viñales, with Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) rounding out the points. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) was the last of the classified runners in 16th place.

Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was the first retirement of the race after a crash at the start of lap three, with the Belgian rookie taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the incident. Cresson was diagnosed with a concussion and a left knee injury and was transported to Portimao Hospital for further assessments.

Cresson’s team-mate, Lachlan Epis, retired from the race with technical problems while Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) also suffered from technical issues during the early running and brought his bike back to the pits. Wildcard Gabriele Ruiu (B-Max Racing Team) was also a retirement from race two after completing 10 laps.

Toprak Razgatlioglu – DNF

“In the rain, after I see Jonny crash again, I close gas and just finish to focus on Race 2, because my feeling was not so good compared to Barcelona wet race. Race 2 was just bad luck for me, because something on my front fender was broken and after it entered the front tyre, and then front sliding, this is very bad luck! I say ‘why not possible to be broken on the straight, when it gives no problem?’ ‘Why broken on the last corner!’ But this is life, this is racing. I’m not happy because I was fighting for the win, but I crash and it was not my mistake. I am not looking back at this, I am only looking to focus on the next race. Every race weekend it is still changing in the championship. I am focused on the Argentina race now, and I am fighting again for the win – if I win, I take the points but I am still not looking!”

Jonathan Rea – P1

“Complicated is the word, disappointing is a better word. I’m really frustrated because my team put me in such a good position to capitalise this weekend and I threw it away. I made two silly mistakes by being impatient when my bike was working well, and I had a rhythm. I’ve already apologised to them. I was really upset with myself after the Superpole Race and I just said to the guys that we had nothing to lose. We’ve been in this position before. Let’s just try to enjoy my bike.”

Looking back on Race 2 where he started in tenth after his sprint demise, Rea added: “I sat on the grid with no pressure. I just wanted to make a really good start. I had such a perfect launch; I was just going forward. It was the best start of my season. From that point, I was able to gain good track position, be clever with my passes and tried to put sectors two and three to good use. I really struggled going down that start straight into the headwind. When I could keep in front for a few laps, I knew that I was trying to keep my rhythm. I saw Toprak was out so that gave me some breathing space, I could really not buck the rhythm, enjoy the race and ride to the pit board. That was a nice feeling.”

WorldSBK Race Two Results

World Superbike Championship Standings

WorldSSP

The FIM Supersport World Championship action concluded at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in thrilling style with Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) claiming his fifth win of the season and denying Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) a Portimao double by just 0.011s across the line in Race 2 for the Motul Portuguese Round as the South African cut his gap in the Championship.

Although Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) got a good start as the lights went out, Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was the rider on the move as he battled his way up from seventh to lead at the start of the second lap after passing three riders into Turn 1, with the action on the opening lap setting the tone for the rest of the race.

Soon, a lead group of nine riders formed with Odendaal leading as the seventh lap started before, he was passed by Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) into Turn 1, with the lead constantly changing throughout the 17-lap race. As Lap 10 ended, Odendaal ran wide throughout the final corner and lost time and positions, allowing Cluzel to take the lead of the race with the South African dropping down into the mid-pack of the lead group.

The race would go down to the wire between Odendaal and Cluzel, as the lead group fragmented in the second half of the race, with the South African claiming victory for the fifth of his season and his first since Race 1 at Most, ahead of Cluzel who doubled up on podiums at Portimao. The pair were separated by just 0.011s at the end of the 17 laps, with Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) claiming his first podium since 2019 at the same venue. Just 0.364s separated the podium trio at the line.

Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) had been in the lead group but a mistake at Turn 1 dropped him down the order, with Championship leader Aegerter in fifth place as he saw the gap closed in the Championship with Odendaal’s victory, with Gonzalez just six tenths separating Gonzalez and a race victory. Yari Montella (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed sixth place in Race 2 of his debut WorldSSP Round, ahead of 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing). Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) was another who had been competing in the lead group but a Lap 16 crash at Turn 4 forced him out of the race with just a few laps to go.

German star Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the lead Kawasaki runner in eighth place, finishing just ahead of Hungary’s Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in ninth with Sebestyen claiming his best result of the season. Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) got a good start and was competing in the front group in the first half of the race but finished the race in tenth place.

With Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) finishing in 11th place, the Italian rider claimed the WorldSSP Challenge title for 2021 as he retained his crown. Manfredi leapfrogged Caricasulo due to his three points, with Caricasulo only entering the WorldSSP Challenge for two rounds as a replacement for Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing). David Sanchis Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing) secured points with 12th place ahead of Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) in 13th.

Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had shown strong pace throughout the majority of the race but a late crash at Turn 13 on Lap 16 put the Italian rider down the order, with De Rosa re-joining the race and finishing in 14th place. German rider Patrick Hobelsberger (Bonovo MGM Action) rounded out the points-paying places with 15th place, just 0.003s behind De Rosa.

De Rosa’s fellow Italian rider, Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) was 16th ahead of teammate Marcel Brenner in 17th, with the Swiss rider battling his way back through the field after an early issue to finish just a second behind his teammate. Ondrej Vostatek (IXS-YART Yamaha) claimed 18th place with Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) and Bill van Eerde (IXS-YART Yamaha) rounded out the top 20.

Eduardo Montero Huerta (DK Motorsport) did not take part in the final race of his campaign, as a WorldSSP Challenge competitor, due to a technical issue. Leandro Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was the first retirement of the race after he had a Lap 3 crash at Turn 13, while Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) had a spectacular highside at Turn 2 on Lap 4, putting him out of the race; Orradre was taken to the medical centre for a check-up. On Lap 11, Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) crashed out of the race at Turn 5.

WSSP Race Two Results

WSSP Championship Standings

WorldSSP300 Race Two

The Spanish rider was crowned Champion on Saturday and followed that up with a resounding victory in the final race of the season

The final race of the 2021 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship provided some of the same drama and excitement at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve as the rest of the season has as newly-crowned Champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) claimed victory in Race 2 for the Motul Portuguese Round in a typically-frantic encounter to round out the 2021 campaign.

The first half of the 13-lap race involved riders looking to try to break away but it was the 2021 Champion, Huertas, who was able to do so with just a handful of laps to go, extending his lead at the start of the penultimate lap to more than two seconds as he ended the season in scintillating style for his sixth victory of a record-breaking season; decorated in a special gold livery on his Kawasaki machine and his helmet. Huertas’ victory was the 25th for Spain in the Championship, as well as the eighth of his career which equals teammate Jeffrey Buis’ (MTM Kawasaki) from 2020.

British rider Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) had challenged for the title in 2021 but an injury sustained in Catalunya derailed his title aspirations, but he was able to secure second in the Championship after finishing second in Race 2 after Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) retired from the race following a late-race crash which forced the 2020 Champion out of the race, with Buis taking third in the Championship. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) had crossed the line in third place but was given a three-second time penalty in lieu of a Long Lap Penalty after it was deemed he had being riding irresponsibly, meaning he was classified in 17th place, while Iñigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) claimed third place.

Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) backed up his third place in Race 1 with fourth place in Race 2. Rookie Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed a second successive top-six finish during his debut weekend, although the German rider had crossed the line in fifth place but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. He would have finished in fourth but for the penalty, which initially demoted him to sixth before gaining a place with Sofuoglu’s penalty.

Dutch rider Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) was in sixth place ahead of Oliver König (Movisio by MIE), with the Czech rider claiming another top-ten finish but just 0.081s away from Meuffels. Mirko Gennai (Team BRcorse) was in eighth, two tenths clear of Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) in ninth and Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) who rounded out the top ten.

Gabriele Mastroluca (ProGP Racing) was 11th ahead of Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project); Sabatucci had crossed the line in 12th but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. Like Geiger, Sabatucci benefitted from Sofuoglu’s penalty to be classified in the position he had originally finished in before his own penalty.

Meikon Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) was 13th, although the gap to Sabatucci was recorded as 0.000s following the Italian’s penalty for a track limits infringement. Kawakami held on to 13th place ahead of Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) who claimed 14th spot and Yeray Ruiz (Yamaha MS Racing) who claimed the final point. The Dutchman had been running towards the front of the field in the early stages of the race but dropped back as the race progressed.

Ruiz was just 0.038s clear of Alex Millan Gomez (2R Racing) as Millan Gomez missed out on a point by the smallest of margins. Harry Khouri’s (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) season came to an end with 18th place in Race 2, ahead of the penalised Sofuoglu, finishing 0.060s clear of Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing). Alessandro Zanca (Kawasaki GP Project) rounded out the top 20.

Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) was the first retirement of the race with a technical issue shortly after he had a crash at Turn 5, with the Race 1 winner retiring from the race on Lap 9 of 13. Alfonso Coppola (Team Trasimeno) was the second retirement of the race as he crashed out on Lap 10 at Turn 13.

WorldSSP300 Race Two Results

WorldSSP300 Championship Standing

2021 WorldSBK Calendar