Round ups from opening WorldSBK/SSP/SSP300 Saturday races at Jerez finale

2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 12 – Jerez

WorldSBK Race One

Alvaro Bautista got the holeshot when the 20-lap race got underway and immediately looked to pull out a gap over his rivals, while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) started from seventh but made his way into second by the end of Lap 2 knowing he had to win the race to have any chance of delaying Bautista’s coronation. With Bautista a few tenths clear, Razgatlioglu set about closing the gap and was faster in some sectors, while the Ducati was faster in others.

However, despite the Turkish rider’s pressure in the first half of the race, the reigning Champion was able to start edging clear with the gap reaching just under a second by the start of Lap 11. As the margin increased, so did his grip on the Championship. Needing just two points to win his second title, Bautista’s victory by just over a second, after backing off on the final lap, meant he wrapped up the World Championship, to become the first Ducati rider to retain his title since Carl Fogarty in 1998 and 1999.

Razgatlioglu came home in second despite his valiant efforts in the early stages of Race 1, with the Turk finishing just over a second behind the now double WorldSBK Champion, and immediately congratulating his rival on the cool-down lap.

The win was Bautista’s 25th win of the season, while it was his 87th podium in his WorldSBK career. For Razgatlioglu, it was his 114th rostrum to move him level with Tom Sykes as he took his 19th second place of the year.

The fight for the final spot on the podium was a three-way fight between Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), who started from the fourth row, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the early stages before Lowes dropped down in the closing stages. ‘Loka’ came through on Lowes at Turn 13 for P4 on Lap 12, before making the same move on future team-mate Rea two laps later to claim third and his 14th career podium. Rea finished in fourth, just under a second back from the Pata Yamaha rider.

With Lowes dropping down the order, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) battled for fifth, with Petrucci taking P5 by just 0.887s. Petrucci was able to close in on Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in the Independent Riders’ battle as Bassani crashed out after an incident with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at Turn 9 on Lap 14. Rinaldi was given a Long Lap Penalty for the incident and finished in eighth; six-seconds behind Lowes who was able to stem his drop down the field for seventh. In the fight to be the second Ducati rider in the standings, Bassani’s non-score and Rinaldi’s eight points have allowed the latter to close the gap to just three points. For the Independent Riders’ battle, Petrucci now trails Kawasaki-bound Bassani by 28 points.

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) claimed ninth after being unable to take advantage of Rinaldi’s penalty with the Italian coming out ahead of Lecuona after serving his Long Lap Penalty. He was three-seconds clear of teammate Xavi Vierge, while Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 11th. With Kawasaki Puccetti using a factory ZX-10RR this weekend, the Spaniard was able to equal his best result in WorldSBK. He was two-seconds clear of Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) in 12th, while Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was the lead BMW rider in 13th. He fended off team-mate Garrett Gerloff as he recovered from a Turn 2 crash on Lap 10, with the American able to battle back for two points. Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) rounded out the points scoring positions.

Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) narrowly missed out on his first point of the year in 16th, as he finished less than a tenth away from the Malaysian. Late substitute Leandro Mercado (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) was 17th, just a few seconds away from his team-mate, while Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 18th. Aegerter tumbled down the order in the opening stages after suffering a technical problem but was able to finish ahead of wildcard Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) in 19th.

After an impressive Tissot Superpole performance, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed out at Turn 8, after making contact with the back of Bassani’s Panigale V4 R, with Bassani able to stay on his bike despite the contact. The Australian was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following his crash and he will be reassessed tomorrow morning before Warm Up after suffering a deep abrasion on his right elbow. Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing) had been fighting for top BMW honours but a technical issue around the halfway stage forced him into the pits. ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders also retired. Scott Redding brought his bike into the pits after completing seven laps, while Michael van der Mark crashed at Turn 13 a few laps later.

WorldSBK Race One Results

WorldSBK Quotes

World Superbike Championship Points

WorldSBK Superpole

There were red sectors and personal bests everywhere in the final three-minutes of Superpole; Remy Gardner went into P2 but it was Bautista who stormed to provisional pole after a blistering second half of the lap. Razgatlioglu was only able to go fourth whist Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) demoted him one place further with a stunning P2 effort. Bautista was untouchable at the front and took a first pole since Misano back in June. Dominique Aegerter’s P2 took a joint-career-best, thus a best for Switzerland in WorldSBK. Completing the final front row of 2023, Alex Lowes surged to third for back-to-back front rows for the first time since Barcelona and Portimao last year.

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The second row features strength and surprises with Rea going from fourth after his final Superpole session in green, the 96th top four Superpole result for him with Kawasaki. His first race with them started with a pole! In fifth place, Remy Gardner will look to achieve a first podium in his rookie season from the middle of the second row, whilst Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) left it late to go sixth, which had a crucial impact on the third row.

Toprak Razgatlioglu missed the front two rows by just 0.060s, so he’s stuck to P7 for Race 1 and the Superpole Race. The third Yamaha in the Superpole classification took his worst Superpole result since he was eighth in Barcelona. Eighth for final round on the grid belongs to Scott Redding, who was pushed back down the order after initially hitting the front row, whilst his 2024 teammate Garrett Gerloff clinched ninth. In his last weekend working with crew chief Andrew Pitt, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) completed the top ten, his joint-worst of the season with Magny-Cours.

WorldSBK Superpole Results

WorldSSP Race One

Nicolo Bulega’s penultimate FIM Supersport World Championship race ended with another victory by more than four-seconds ahead of his rivals at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto to take his 15th win of the season, while the battle for second went right to the line. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) took second ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) at the Prometeon Spanish Round, with the pair separated by less than a tenth at the end of the 17-lap race.

As seen so often throughout 2023, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) got the holeshot and used his early race pace advantage to full effect, pulling out a gap of just under two seconds in the first few laps. Despite starting from the front row, Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) dropped back as the lights went out but was soon fighting back as he went in search of his first win. However, he was out of contention early in the race, when he crashed at Turn 6 on Lap 5 while fighting with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) for the podium places; not long after, teammate Bahattin Sofuoglu, who started from the pitlane, went down at the same corner. Both re-joined the race, but outside the points. Sofuoglu had battled his way close to the points but was given a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding by the FIM Stewards.

Schroetter’s crash promoted Caricasulo to second and Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) to third, with the two Italians fighting for the podium places, while it also gave Bulega a four-second lead over the chasing pack. The #62 pulled off a typically aggressive move on ‘Carica’ on Lap 7 to claim second, with Caricasulo attempting to respond a lap later into Turn 6. He was able to pull alongside him but had a moment under braking, costing him time. He was able to make up that time to have another look at passing the Yamaha at the same corner a couple of laps later, but Manzi was able to resist his rival’s challenge.

On the penultimate lap, the Ducati rider looked to make a move under braking heading into the Turn 6 hairpin and, while he was able to get ahead, could not stop his bike in time and ran wide which allowed the #62 back through. Despite his best efforts, Manzi stayed ahead to claim second place with ‘Carica’ in third. Bulega took his 15th win of the season, two behind the all-time record of 17 with only one race left, while it was Manzi’s 21st podium in WorldSSP. For Caricasulo, it was his 34th rostrum visit while the trio were on the podium for the fifth time, equalling the record with two combinations: Dominique Aegerter, Lorenzo Baldassarri and Bulega as well as Joan Lascorz, Eugene Laverty and Kenan Sofuoglu.

Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) took fourth after a late battle with Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha). The Frenchman had been running in fourth, and looked like he was closing in on the podium battle, but he lost to fourth to the #9. Their battle ran right to the wire, with Navarro beating Debise by just 0.055s. The two Ten Kate Racing riders’ results meant that the Dutch squad were able to wrap up the Teams’ Championship with a race to spare. Navarro’s compatriot, Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki), ended his run of retirements with sixth place. The #99 battled with Navarro in the early stages before losing three seconds to the #9, finishing in sixth.

Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed seventh wand was only 1.5 seconds away from the top six, while he finished eight seconds clear of a fierce fight for eighth. The battle was won by Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) ahead of Niki Tuuli (PTR Triumph) and Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team). However, it had been a four-way scrap with wildcard Yeray Ruiz (MDR Offitec Yamaha) impressing with his tenacity and speed. However, the Spaniard crashed on the final lap at Turn 5 which ended his chances of a maiden top ten.

Turkish star Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) put in another points-scoring race despite losing time in the closing stages of the race, as he searches for full fitness. He took 11th, more than five seconds back from van Straalen, but 3.5 seconds clear of Simone Corsi (Altogo Racing Team). The Italian started from the pit lane due to a technical infringement but was able to fight his way to 12th. Czech rider Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) was 13th ahead of Anupab Sarmoon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) in 14th and Schroetter in 15th; the German fighting back after his crash for a point, with teammate Sofuoglu in 16th after serving his Long Lap Penalty.

The opening couple of laps featured several crashes. Wildcard Emanuele Pusceddu (J.Angel by Edafos) crashed at Turn 1, with Filippo Fuligni (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) involved, and was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following his tumble. He was conscious but declared unfit with concussion, and the Italian was transported to hospital for further assessments. On the same lap, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) crashed at Turn 7, and, like his compatriot, he went to the medical centre for a check-up. He was declared unfit with a fracture to the left metacarpal bone on his hand. On Lap 2, Malaysian rider Muhammad Mohd Norrodin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) crashed at Turn 6. Although he re-joined the race, he opted to bring his bike into the pits to retire.

It was a dramatic day for two one event riders who had shown promise prior to Race 1. Melvin van der Voort (Team SWPN), and Gabriele Giannini (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) crashed at Turn 9 with both retiring from the race. The incident was investigated by the FIM Stewards. In the final third of the race, Miquel Pons (Zeus Motorsport) brought his Yamaha machine into the pits and retired.

WorldSSP Race One Results

World Supersport Championship Points

WorldSSP Qualifying Results