British riders dominate on home soil as WorldSBK completes round six at Donington
The PATA UK Round concluded on Sunday afternoon with a dramatic Race 2, which brought victory for World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) after a crash on Saturday, with Rea’s KRT colleague Tom Sykes and Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Chaz Davies also on the podium.
Rea’s eighth victory of 2017 extends his lead in the standings to 55 points after six rounds and he rode brilliantly at the Donington Park Circuit to beat his teammate to the line by 1.601s and win his home race.
The result brought an end to Sykes’ remarkable run of nine successive wins at Donington and the Yorkshireman was amongst the first to congratulate Rea on his triumph. It was also Kawasaki’s 100th race win in WorldSBK.
In parc ferme after the race Rea dedicated his win to the late Nicky Hayden who so sadly passed away earlier in the week after a cycling accident in Italy.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) had looked good for a podium result but was caught for third in the final stages by a determined Davies – who had crashed and finished eighth on Saturday.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) completed the top five and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) made it five Britons in the top six, crossing the line five seconds behind Lowes.
Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) was seventh and he was joined in the top ten by Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven), Jake Dixon (Royal Air Force Reg. & Res. Kawasaki) and Raffaele de Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team).
Only 14 participants were able to finish the race as a number of high profile riders crashed out, including wild card Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team), Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia), Leandro Mercado (IODARacing) and Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project).
Meanwhile, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) stopped on the eighth lap after the chain of his Ducati Panigale R broke.
Jonathan Rea – P1
“I had an incredible first lap today. I had been really frustrated because I got penalised by no fault of my own yesterday in scoring no points and then penalised again with my grid position today, when I went back to tenth. I knew I had to make a good start straight away otherwise my race was over. I was really quiet today and after warm-up I was really nervous. I was going through all these scenarios in my head about what I would do with a good start, or a bad start, and then what my race plan would be. My guys worked really hard overnight to build a completely brand new bike because yesterday’s was destroyed. The first time I rode it this morning, with some set-up changes from Pere. The bike was talking to me in a way I have not had this year. So I knew today was mine if I could get a good start.”
Tom Sykes – P2
“I was closing the lead but with three laps to go I started to ‘over-ask’ from the bike in some corners. But if there were three more laps to go then I could have continued in a more calculating way and continued the progress. When I started the race I was on the inside of the grid and turn one was a complete disaster. I had to almost stop the bike because some people were trying to win the race in the first turn. We had this to deal with and then there was a crash in the last turn which made us all hesitate, so the race got off in a very bad way for me. I am disappointed to lose my Donington winning record in this way. But all things considered I was beaten fairly and Jonathan rode very well. This day had to arrive at some moment in my racing life but unfortunately it came today, even though I believe our race pace was very strong.”
Chaz Davies – P3
“It would have been nice to get away with the Kawasaki pair, but third place is all we could ask for today. We had a terrible start, which made it for a very difficult race. We had to get through a lot of traffic, I was trying to avoid riders crashing in front of me, and it felt like playing a game of Mario Kart. To be here, on the podium, in front of the home fans, was the most important thing. Towards the end, when I was getting closer to VD Mark, I didn’t have great grip because I had to stress the rear a lot to come back through the field. I just dug in, trying not to make mistakes and figure out where to pass really quickly. It was close racing. Anyway I’m confident for the rest of the season because this track has always been difficult for us and we can take a lot of positives going into Misano.”
Michael van der Mark – P4
“My start was not perfect and at Donington, especially at the first corner, you have to be at the front. On lap two I passed Leon Haslam at Melbourne, then at the last corner I took Mercado and I was in second place. After that I kept pushing and I saw Johnathan Rea was too fast, but I kept pushing and did my own race. I improved my pace from yesterday by a lot so I was really happy. I saw I was opening a gap behind me, but in the last nine laps Chaz Davies was behind me and he was closing all the time. One lap before the end he passed me. I tried to get him back but unfortunately, I missed the podium. I am really happy with my race and the bike, it showed we can be on the podium in a normal race and I am very pleased with that. We should be strong at Misano. We know where we need to improve now, in the slower corners, it is also where Chaz was stronger than me which unfortunately happened to be the last part of the track. It is good for us to see we are strong in the faster areas and to see where we need to improve. We have a nice test at Misano this week, then hopefully we can arrive for the race weekend there having made a step.”
Alex Lowes – P5
“Today’s race was obviously not as much fun as yesterday with all the overtakes! My start wasn’t too great and on the first couple of laps I got a bit boxed in. I was really struggling to pass Mercado on the Aprilia. I tried a few times but ran wide at one point and my gap to Michael had grown to a couple of seconds. Once I got a clear track I was putting in some consistent times, but honestly, I was struggling to go any quicker. Near the end of the race when Chaz came past, there was nothing I could do because he was quicker than me, so I had to just be sensible. Of course, it would have been nice to have been able to have pushed to the end and join the fight for the podium, but I didnt have the correct feeling to do that today so I had to settle for the points. A third and fifth at my home round is really good, I am happy with that, and we closed down the gap to the guy in fourth in the championship. Its been a really positive weekend. Massive thanks to all the people that came, because its really, really nice for me to ride in front of my home fans. I think we can say we did a good job and I am looking forward to Misano. One of the good things is that the top guys in the championship passed me during the race and I could follow them to see where we are strong and where we need to improve, so I am looking forward to the test at Misano to try and improve.”
Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Principal
“As a team, we can’t have any complaints about the way the weekend has gone at our home race here at Donington Park. Perhaps a 22 rather than 23-lap race might have been nicer for Michael, then we could have had a double podium! Aside from that, everything has gone well. Michael took full advantage of his front row start and rode very aggressively in the early laps to force his way through into second position, and then maintained a fantastic pace through the race. He fought really hard against Chaz Davies in the last few laps, very narrowly missing out on the podium. It was a confidence building performance for him, and a good indication of more to come. Alex’s race was compromised by a less than perfect start and getting a little bit stuck behind Mercado for too many laps, creating a big gap in front. Once he had had a short fight with Chaz, he didn’t quite have the same confidence in the bike to push as hard as yesterday, so fifth position in the race and closing the gap significantly on fourth position in the championship is another very positive result. The R1 was fantastic around Donington Park and we only lost out to the top guys through the slow speed last sector. We found similar problems in Imola so it is very clear where the focus needs to be, and we will be working hard in Misano next week on taking the next steps forward.”
Stefan Bradl – P11
“We made a couple of changes to the chassis set-up before the race to improve the rear-end grip and it turned out to be a little bit better. Just after the start of the race, though, at turn one Krummenacher crashed in front of me and I had to brake and almost stop, so I lost a lot of time. I found myself last so I had to do my best to recover as many positions as possible. Eleventh place is an OK result, but there is still a lot of work to do, but fortunately we have a test coming up in Misano which will be very important for us.”
Pieter Breddels – Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team
“Before the race we decided to make a couple of adjustments to the set-up and things improved. Still, we seem to be skirting around the problem because we haven’t yet found the right throttle connection for Stefan. We will take this 11th place, though, and get ready for the Misano test, where we’ll be able to evaluate a lot of new material. We will welcome back Michele Magnoni, who was also our test rider some years ago. He will help us to go through all the things we have to try and hopefully we will be able to make that step forward we’ve been looking for.”
Marco Melandri – DNF
“It’s been a difficult weekend for us. Since Imola, we’ve been struggling with some unusual issues. The bike is moving a lot under acceleration, the rear is lifting off the ground while changing gears, and we’re forced to cut some power. Today, unfortunately, these vibrations caused the front sprocket to fall off. It’s a real pity, because today the bike was more balanced and I had a better feeling with the front. Anyway, despite all these issues we’re always fighting for podiums. The team is working hard to improve the package, and we’ll keep doing it during next week’s test. We’re very determined to find a solution as soon as possible in order to fight for wins again.”
Stefano Cecconi, Aruba S.p.A CEO and Team Principal
“Surely this round’s results do not mirror our potential. Chaz rode a great race and managed to finish on the podium despite some unlucky episodes that temporarily pushed him back. Marco was forced to retire due to a technical problem, but once again was ready to fight for the podium. We leave Donington with a bitter taste in our mouths, and we want to wash it away in Misano in front of our home fans.”
#UKWorldSBK at Donington Park: Race 2
- JONATHAN REA 65 GBR 25 KAWASAKI RACING TEAM KAWASAKI 33’53.138
- TOM SYKES 66 GBR 20 KAWASAKI RACING TEAM KAWASAKI +1.601
- CHAZ DAVIES 7 GBR 16 ARUBA.IT RACING DUCATI +12.200
- MICHAEL VAN DER MARK 60 NDL 13 PATA YAMAHA YAMAHA +12.984
- ALEX LOWES 22 GBR 11 PATA YAMAHA YAMAHA +18.953
- LEON CAMIER 2 GBR 10 MV AGUSTA REPARTO CORSE MV AGUSTA +23.971
- XAVI FORES 12 SPA 9 BARNI RACING TEAM DUCATI +29.892
- ROMÁN RAMOS 40 SPA 8 TEAM GO ELEVEN KAWASAKI +44.742
- JAKE DIXON 27 GBR 7 ROYAL AIR FORCE REGULAR AND RESERVE KAWASAKI KAWASAKI +50.662
- RAFFAELE DE ROSA 35 ITA 6 ALTHEA BMW RACING TEAM BMW +51.749
- STEFAN BRADL 6 GER 5 RED BULL HONDA WORLD SUPERBIKE TEAM HONDA +59.459
- RICCARDO RUSSO 84 ITA 4 GUANDALINI RACING YAMAHA +1’12.794
- ONDREJ JEZEK 37 CZE 3 GRILLINI RACING TEAM KAWASAKI +1’22.719
- AYRTON BADOVINI 86 ITA 2 GRILLINI RACING TEAM KAWASAKI +5 laps
NC LORENZO SAVADORI 32 ITA 0 MILWAUKEE APRILIA APRILIA dnf
NC LEANDRO MERCADO 36 ARG 0 IODARACING TEAM APRILIA dnf
NC MARCO MELANDRI 33 ITA 0 ARUBA.IT RACING DUCATI dnf
NC JORDI TORRES 81 SPA 0 ALTHEA BMW RACING TEAM BMW dnf
NC EUGENE LAVERTY 50 GBR 0 MILWAUKEE APRILIA APRILIA dnf
NC ALEX DE ANGELIS 15 RSM 0 PEDERCINI RACING SC-PROJECT KAWASAKI dnf
NC LEON HASLAM 91 GBR 0 PUCCETTI RACING KAWASAKI dnf
NC RANDY KRUMMENACHER 15 SWI 0 PUCCETTI RACING KAWASAKI dnf
Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 6
- Jonathan Rea Kawasaki GBR 260
- Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 205
- Chaz Davies Ducati GBR 185
- Marco Melandri Ducati ITA 137
- Alex Lowes Yamaha GBR 121
- Michael van der Mark Yamaha NLD 102
- Xavi Fores Ducati ESP 99
- Leon Camier MV Agusta GBR 84
- Jordi Torres BMW ESP 72
- Eugene Laverty Aprilia GBR 58
- Román Ramos Kawasaki ESP 57
- Leandro Mercado Aprilia ARG 43
- Nicky Hayden Honda USA 40
- Stefan Bradl Aprilia DEU 40
- Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia ITA 32
WorldSBK will be back in action at the Pirelli Riviera Di Rimini Round at Misano over the 16th-18th June weekend
WorldSSP: Unstoppable Sofuoglu registers third successive victory
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) made another big statement of intent in the 2017 WorldSSP championship fight on Sunday afternoon at the PATA UK Round, taking a third win in three races. He was joined on the podium at the Donington Park Circuit by standings leader Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) and Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda).
Having missed the opening two rounds of the year due to a training injury, Sofuoglu has clawed his way back to second in the championship after six races courtesy of a 100% record in the last three rounds. In a restarted race, after a red-flag in the initial get away, pole man Sofuoglu notched up a dominant win in a shortened 13-lap contest, crossing the finish line 2.45s in front of closest challenger Mahias.
For Mahias it was his third consecutive second place finish behind the Turk and the result means he maintains the championship lead by 30 points, even if he can feel Sofuoglu on his shoulder as the World Champion moves up the general standings.
A good performance by Cluzel on the Honda CBR600RR saw him bring it home in third, for his second podium of the season. The Frenchman pushed his compatriot Mahias hard for second place but just could not make a move stick over the final corners.
The top five also featured Luke Stapleford in fourth place as the top British finisher and his fellow Profile Racing rider – Irishman Jack Kennedy – in fifth.
Sheridan Morais (Kallio Racing) finished in front of Anthony West (EAB West Racing), the Australian clambering his way forward from a 16th place grid start to finish a highly creditable seventh place at the flag. Countrymen Lachlan Epis and Giuseppe Scarcella crossed the line in 23rd and 27th respectively.
A crash at turn 12 for Cardelus Garcia (Race Department ATK#25) had seen the initial race start red-flagged as the marshals cleaned the track – following the incident for the MV Agusta F3 675-equipped rider.
Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) crashed at turn 12 soon after the race was restarted and his Italian compatriot Christian Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing) also crashed out in the final stages of the race. An issue for PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) meant he did not participate in the restart.
Kenan Sofuoglu – P1
“To be very honest I am still not thinking about the championship but my goal is to keep winning races. I missed the first three rounds of the year. Then I thought I could not be champion but I knew I would be happy to win races. I have zero stress for the races and finally I was fast again today. On Friday and Saturday I could not make the pace I wanted but today it was not difficult. It was nice to know that if I wanted to go faster there was a big potential. I made some changes in my riding style today and the lap time was immediately better.”
Lucas Mahias – P2
“It was a very good race! I fought a lot with Jules but honestly, I would prefer to have been fighting for first position, but for the championship it is very important I finished in second, because I only lost five points. The bike was very good and I am very happy as I managed to improve my lap time by 0.3s from SP2, which is great because I was right on the limit during qualification. It’s another good result for the championship, because while Kenan may have closed the gap to me by five points, I managed to extend my overall lead. My plan was to follow Kenan and then go on to win the race but I didnt have a great start, and lost too much time on my opening lap, so my other plan was to finish in second! The battle with Jules was difficult because the bike was sliding a lot and he followed me closely, so I tried to brake as late as possible into every corner. I liked the fight very much, we were both pushing at the limit, so to win the battle was very good. We shall go to Misano with the aim of winning and taking maximum points. I never go to a track wanting to finish fourth or fifth, I want to win the race.”
#UKWorldSBK: WorldSSP Race
- K. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
- L. Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team)
- J. Cluzel (CIA Landford Insurance Honda)
- L. Stapleford (Profile Racing)
- J. Kennedy (Profile Racing)
- S. Morais (Kallio Racing)
- A. West (EAB West Racing)
- K. Smith (GEMAR Team Lorini)
- H. Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
- J. Francis (HALSALL Racing Team)
- K. Ryde (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
- G. Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven)
- H. Soomer (WILSport Racedays)
- R. Rolfo (Team Factory Vamag)
- K. Watanabe (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven)
- A. Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25)
- M. Canducci (Puccetti Racing Junior Team FMI)
- R. Mulhauser (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
- R. Hartog (Team Hartog – Jenik – Against Cancer)
- Z. Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
- J. Van Sikkelerus (MVR Racing)
- N. Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
- L. Epis (Response RE Racing)
- N. Tuuli (Kallio Racing)
- P. Sebestyén (SSP Hungary by Pedercini Racing)
- H. Kunikawa (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
- G. Scarcella (GEMAR Team Lorini)
RT) C. Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing)
RT) A. Zaccone (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
RT) D. Allingham (EHA Racing Jewsons Yamaha)
RT) F. Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team)
RT) P. Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
RT) X. Cardelus Garcia (Race Department ATK#25)
WorldSSP Championship Standings Pata UK Round
- Lucas Mahias 105
- Kenan Sofuoglu 75
- Sheridan Morais 68
- Jules Cluzel 55
- Patrick Jacobsen 55
- Roberto Rolfo 43
- Kyle Ryde 41
- Federico Caricasulo 35
- Anthony West 32
- Luke Stapleford 30
Turkish rider wins STK1000 race at Donington and is joined on podium by Marino and Scheib
It was a great day for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Toprak Razgatlioglu as he took victory in the Superstock 1000 European Championship race at the PATA UK Round on Sunday, crossing the line ahead of fellow podium finishers Florian Marino (Pata Yamaha Official STK1000 Team) and Maximillian Scheib (Nuova M2 Racing).
There was drama as pole man Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) crashed out at turn 12 early in the race, having come under pressure from Razgatlioglu – and the Turk took full advantage. He pushed on for a 1.8s victory over nearest challenger Marino, with Scheib a further 2.4s back in third. The result moves Razgatlioglu nine points ahead of Rinaldi in the standings after four races, with plenty more racing to come in 2017.
Completing the STK1000 top five at the Donington Park Circuit were Italian duo Roberto Tamburini (PATA Yamaha Official STK 1000 Team) and Federico Sandi (Berclaz Racing Team).
The top ten also featured Illia Mykhalchyk (TripleM Racing), Sebastien Suchet (Berclaz Racing Team), Jeremy Guarnoni (Pedercini Racing), Luca Vitali (Nuova M2 Racing) and Mike Jones (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team), with the first eight riders all crossing the line within 10 seconds.
Mike Jones had fought his way forward from 17th on the grid to claim that top ten spot and the important six championship points that go with it. Despite that though Jones has slipped from 10th to 12th in the championship standings, and now has 21 championship points to his name.
Glen Scott had qualified 18th and took the chequered flag in 16th place, just missing out on a championship point.
FIM STK1000 Race Results Donington 2017
- Toprak Razgatlioglu 22’40.211
- Florian Marino 00’01.813
- Maximilian Scheib 00’04.225
- Roberto Tamburini 00’05.399
- Federico Sandi 00’05.869
- Illia Mykhalchyk 00’06.210
- Sebastien Suchet 00’06.331
- Jeremy Guarnoni 00’09.295
- Luca Vitali 00’17.538
- Mike Jones 00’17.959
WorldSSP300: Coppola secures stunning victory in final lap battle
Alfonso Coppola (SK Racing) took his debut victory from pole position at the Pata UK Round, in a stunning World Supersport 300 final lap battle around Donington Park.
Mika Perez (WILSport Racedays) got the holeshot into the first lap but had Borja Sanchez (Halcourier Racing) hot on his tail, whilst home rider Chris Taylor (MTM HS Kawasaki) was taking no chances and moved up for the fight in the opening laps in front of his home crowd.
As the pack began to settle, with eight laps remaining a front group of Perez, Coppola and Marc Garcia (Halcourier Racing) began to break away as they were locked in the fight for the victory. With a stunning scrap developing for the victory, the Honda of Perez and Yamaha of Coppola were swapping places throughout the 4.023km laps. But with a strong move coming out of the Melbourne Hairpin saw Coppola secure the victory, 0.1s ahead of Perez.
World Championship leader Scott Deroue (MTM HS Kawasaki) spent the race down in fourth position and was chasing the front group down, and crossed the line in fourth meaning he holds onto his championship lead but only by two points. Armando Pontone (IODARacing) rounded out the top five, narrowly ahead of Robert Schotman (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP300 Team) in sixth.
P1 – Alfonso Coppola (SK Racing)
“It was a great weekend, pole position, winner and fastest free practice. This win was the strongest, the pace was very fast. I keep calm and study Perez, I stayed calm in the final lap and passed him on the final lap. I want to thank Yamaha and SK Racing for their work.”
World Supersport 300 Donington 2017 Race Results
- Alfonso Coppola (ITA) Yamaha
- Mika Perez (ESP) Honda +0.174
- Marc Garcia (ESP) Yamaha +0.241
WorldSSP300 Championship Standings
- Scott Deroue (NED) Kawasaki (68 points)
- Alfonso Coppola (ITA) Yamaha (66 points)
- Marc Garcia (ESP) Yamaha (51 points)
