Surprises on Sunday as Imola WorldSBK/SSP/SSP300 weekend wraps up

2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Seven – Imola

WorldSBK Superpole Race

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) beat Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in an epic Tissot Superpole Race scrap at Imola overnight. The battle for victory went down to the final lap as the 2021 Champion fought hard to claim his first victory at Imola with the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings closing ever so slightly with the results in the Prometeon Italian Round.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) once again got the holeshot and defended valiantly despite pressure from teammate Razgatlioglu, with their battle allowing Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to stay in contention. Razgatlioglu looked to pass his teammate on several occasions but was unable to make the move before the Spaniard bundled his way through on the Turkish star at the Variante Bassa at the end of Lap 5. Just a few corners later and the reigning Champion was out in front as he passed Locatelli into the Variante Tamburello.

It left the two Yamaha riders to fight it out and the 2021 Champion attempted to pass his teammate into the Tosa hairpin, but Locatelli held position. Heading out of Acque Minerali, Locatelli made a small mistake which allowed Razgatlioglu through forcefully at the Variante Alta. He soon closed the gap to Bautista out in front, with Razgatlioglu making the race-winning move at Piratella on Lap 9 as he caught his rival by surprise. Bautista kept him in his sights and looked for a way through on the final lap but the #54 was able to hold on for a hard-fought victory.

The Turk was able to hold on despite last-lap pressure from the defending Champion to claim his third win of the season and close the gap in the Championship standings by three points. It was his 35th win in WorldSBK, putting him alone at sixth in the all-time list. Bautista took his 77th podium while Locatelli resisted Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the second half of the race for his 12th podium. The front row for Race 2 would therefore be Razgatlioglu, Bautista and Locatelli.

Rea would lead off the second row after he moved up from seventh on the grid for the Superpole Race and he was joined by two Italians who go in search of a stunning home result at home. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) renewed their rivalry as they battled over fifth place, with Rinaldi coming out on top after the #47 fell down the order, partly aided by a poor start.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) would line up seventh for Race 2 as he finished 0.616s down on Bassani ahead. Danilo Petrucci’s (Barni Spark Racing Team) continued his strong run of form as he scored eighth place, the second consecutive Superpole Race he has taken points from. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the third row in Race 2 as he secured ninth; just beating Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) by 0.194s.

WorldSBK Superpole Race Results

WorldSBK Race Two

The final race of the weekend, on the advice of the medical director and with the approval of the riders, was reduced to 15 laps instead of the originally scheduled 19 laps due to excessive heat.

The gap in the championship standings up the pointy end was cut by the maximum 25 points as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) took advantage of Alvaro Bautista’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) opening lap crash in the final race of the Imola weekend.

Bautista got the holeshot in the shortened 15-lap race, but his race unravelled as soon as it started. He came off his Panigale V4 R at Turn 3 and into the gravel, ending his run of feature length wins in 2023. It allowed 2021 Champion Razgatlioglu to move into the lead as teammate Andrea Locatelli had to take avoiding action. While the Turkish star was in the lead, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) pulled off a mega move to go from fourth to second.

He took advantage of Locatelli running wide at the final chicane at the end of Lap 2 and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) being held up to blast past the pair on the run into the Tamburello chicane to take second. From there, he put in a series of fast laps to close the gap to the Yamaha rider. The gap was just over a tenth on Lap 7 with Rea in hot pursuit of the pair; less than half-a-second separating the top three.

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On Lap 8, Bassani made his move on Razgatlioglu for first. He looked to overtake into the Villeneuve chicane first but that didn’t work out, before he went up the inside of his rival at the left-hand hairpin of Tosa. He initially pulled out a small gap, but Razgatlioglu kept in touch as the race entered the final third of the race. At the end of Lap 12, Razgatlioglu made his move into Rivazza 1 with the #47 aiming to cut back into Rivazza 2 although the #54 held on through the exit. On his first full lap with clear air, the Yamaha rider pulled out a six-tenths margin as he went on to claim his first feature-length race win of 2023.

Razgatlioglu was able to claim his 36th career win and his 102nd podium, while it was also Yamaha’s 410th rostrum in World Superbike. Bassani took his sixth podium in the Championship, and his second this season, as he equalled his best result. Rea took two feature-length race podiums in a single round for the first time in 2023. With Bassani taking the fastest lap, a 1’47.491s on Lap 5,, Bautista secured the Pirelli Best Lap Award for 2023.

Locatelli was demoted to fourth when Rea overtook him at Turn 9 on Lap 3, and he remained there for the rest of the race to take P4 and end his home round in a good way following on from his Tissot Superpole Race podium. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fifth ahead of a three-way scrap for sixth. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) took a career-best sixth after fending off two BMW riders. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) and Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) were separated by just half-a-second at the line with Baz taking P7.

Rookie Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was ninth, five seconds down on the fight ahead. He also had a decent margin on the riders behind as they battled it out for a place in the top ten. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) put Honda in the top ten for the first time this weekend as he, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), teammate Dominique Aegerter, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) battled it out.

The quintet was changing positions throughout the race with Gardner finishing 0.44s down on Lecuona in 11th while he was almost two seconds ahead of his teammate. Aegerter was 12th with Gerloff and Vierge directly behind; just 0.117s separated the trio. Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) was the final points scorer in 15th, with Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) narrowly missing out on a home point. Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing), who started from the pitlane after exceeding the engine allocation, was 17th ahead of Roberto Tamburini (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) in 18th and his teammate, Eric Granado, completing the classified riders.

Tito Rabat (Barni Spark Racing Team) crashed out of the race on Lap 5 at Turn 12, while Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) retired after a trip across the gravel. It was a similar story for Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) while Isaac Vinales (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) crashed at Turn 12 on Lap 9. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a tumble at Turn 7 on Lap 12 which ended his hopes of a top-six finish.

WorldSBK Race Two Results

WorldSBK Quotes

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“I’m very happy, finally to win the long race! I am waiting this year for this moment – I am very happy and thanks to my team for the incredible job this weekend, every session we improve my R1. I am sorry for Alvaro’s crash but you know, this is racing– and after this I had a plan to ride easy, not take the risk and follow Axel to keep a really good pace and look after the tyre. Anyway, we arrived to the win and I am very happy! First time winning for Yamaha in Imola, we did a very good job here. It was a very good weekend, everybody could watch “real” racing today!”

Andrea Locatelli

“I think we did a really good job this morning in the Superpole Race, the choice with the tyre and the set-up was perfect! I am a little bit disappointed about Race 2, because we changed the rear tyre choice and I’m not sure it was the best one for me – I was fighting yesterday with the front grip and today with the rear. I think we lost the opportunity to fight for the podium in the long race, but it was a strong and positive weekend. We need to be happy! It’s also my first time here with the R1 WorldSBK, I am proud of myself and proud of the job the team and Yamaha are doing with me. We need to be looking forward now, coming back stronger and pushing hard!”

Jonathan Rea

“The Superpole Race seemed like our best chance to do a good job. But starting from seventh was not the best way to give yourself the best opportunity. I did make a good start but just didn’t have the pace. I was fighting with Locatelli and he was not making any mistakes, doing a really good job. There was a point in Race Two when I thought maybe we could fight a little bit more, to be honest. I wasn’t sure of Axel Bassani’s tyre choice but I was quite sure the option for our bike was good. We knew most of the competitors would be on the SCX. When I was there after a few laps I thought, ‘maybe I have hit the jackpot with this tyre? Maybe this could be for me?’ But at around three-quarters of race distance I really struggled with the front of the bike and also changing direction. In the first part of corner exits, I was just pushing the tyre too much, especially through turns two and three. The riders ahead were accelerating off the corners a little bit better. But I am happy. Happy with our points haul and this was  probably our best weekend of the season, with two podiums in the long races.”

Alex Lowes

“Overall, I am happy with the improvements we made today. The track conditions were really hot, which means the grip is reduced. We made some changes on the bike to try to give me a bit more feeling, and help getting the bike stopped. In morning warm-up and in the Superpole Race I was really happy with the step we had made. I was looking for a little bit of a better feeling for Race Two. After struggling so much in Race One, today we used the SCX tyre. It was moving quite a lot on the edge but my performance overall in the race was so much better so it is so frustrating to finish with a crash at Turn Seven. A first gear, small crash. The improvements that the team made on the bike were really big compared to yesterday. So it is such a shame not to be able to take the positives from the second race. But we did our best and I am already looking forward to Most in a couple of weeks. I want to offer a massive thank you to all in the team because when it is red hot like this it is hot for everybody, not just the riders. They always have my thanks but in these extreme conditions it’s a special thanks to everyone at KRT and Kawasaki.”

Alvaro Bautista

“There is little to say. I made a trivial mistake passing on the white line on the first lap. It can happen, and the important thing is to know what happened. It’s a shame because the feeling has grown a lot over the weekend, and that’s a positive thing anyway. See you in Most”.

Michael Rinaldi

“I gave it all and am happy to have brought some precious points home. Today was tough, I tried to push, but I felt I was at 50% of my potential. From tomorrow I’ll be able to resume training with consistency to arrive in the best possible conditions at Most”.

Remy Gardner

“It was once again a very hot day, and the weekend hasn’t been easy, but we have to focus on the good parts – the races today were not bad at all, the race pace was decent, and we could fight to recover positions. We took some valuable points and we gained good data for the future, let’s move forward to the next round in Most.”

Dominique Aegerter

“Today was incredibly hot and definitely not easy to manage. We tried to change something for the Superpole Race, but unfortunately the outcome wasn’t as good as we expected. Then, in Race 2, we fought back to gain as many positions as we could. Unfortunately, I went wide while attempting to overtake some riders and I dropped a bit, yet I was able to comeback to P12 and salvage some points. Now we’ll enjoy a little break before moving to Most.”

Danilo Petrucci

“Two very tough races. Already this morning I had no grip and couldn’t be quick in either race. I’m sorry about race 2 because I had no rear grip at all and couldn’t replicate the kind of pace I had yesterday, so we need to understand what happened. I was confident I’d be able to run a strong race like yesterday, but I really struggled to stay upright. A disappointing day. Thanks to the team as we’re doing a great job and are moving ever closer to the front, so I’d say we’re definitely working in the right direction.”

Iker Lecuona

“In the end I’m happy with how we’ve ended the weekend, because after struggling a lot in the beginning and qualifying a way back on the grid, step by step we’ve been able to turn the weekend around. And for this I want to say a big thank you to my team because they always had faith in me, just as I had faith that we’d be able to make a step forward with the bike. Already in today’s Superpole race I felt better lap after lap and realized I had quicker pace and could at least make up some positions. In race 2 the first laps were tough; it was not easy to overtake the riders ahead but once I was able to do that and move close to the group of riders fighting for tenth place, I managed to pass them too. On the last lap Remy tried to pass me back, but I was feeling very strong and could defend my position. Starting so far back meant it was impossible to do more but I’m happy to have finished in the top ten. And I’m happy to finally have one week to rest after seven consecutive weekends of racing and testing. So I’ll exploit these few days as a little “holiday” .”

Xavi Vierge

“It was another challenging day for us. I made a very good start in the Superpole race and was targeting the top nine but, lap by lap, I started to lose grip and on lap six I was forced to go straight to avoid hitting Remy, losing a lot of positions and every possibility at the same time. In Race 2, I again made a good start and was up behind Petrucci but I again began to struggle with a lot of spin. I did my best to hold my position, making the most of good feeling with the front but, like yesterday, once the front tyre dropped, I struggled so much that I couldn’t defend tenth place. On the last lap I came into contact with Aegerter and lost two more positions. Let’s say that the first part of the race I could manage, while in the second half I was too slow. Now we need to work with the team to understand why we suffered so much, especially in the second sector of the track, and then just keep working to prepare as best as possible for the next round.”

Loris Baz

“This good weekend is for all the guys inside the team. We had so much trouble from the beginning of the year and it was not only tough for me but also tough for them. It was just a lot of bad luck, but seeing all the guys smiling yesterday and today when I came back to the garage was really nice. I’m super happy. I had a good Superpole race, missed a bit of speed at the beginning of the race, then I caught back up on Scott, but couldn’t get this ninth spot on the last lap. The main target for me this weekend was trying not to crash and doing the most laps possible. That was what I was missing. I’m happy with that. In race two, I had a good start. I was behind Danilo Petrucci and didn’t want to overtake him straight away, because I thought he would be as fast as yesterday, but after two, three laps, I saw he was struggling, so I went past. But Scott and Bradley Ray were already gone, so I had to push so hard all race to come back. I was giving my all and I hoped I had something more in the last laps, but they reduced the race, so I also had to rush a bit. But finally, I came back and Scott made a mistake, so we both overtook him. Bradley was just a bit faster than us, but I’m super happy about this race. Finally, we have something good for all the team, although it was a bit more tough for Garrett this time. I think we can start working from here.”

Scott Redding

“The weekend has not been too bad, really. We had a good qualifying, the practices were not so bad. But we had a really high temperature coming in yesterday’s race and today. We just missed a little bit, really. When the grip drops from the temperature we seem to suffer a bit more than the other people. But from yesterday to today I tried to do something a little bit different, I tried to be a bit more calmer on the front tyre and it was better. The race was shorter but also it was so hot. I never felt this hot in a race, even atyAragón or Jerez when it was 42 degrees. It was not that hot as it is now. My hands were burning. It has been a good decision to make the race shorter because it was coming to a boiling point. Overall, regarding the hot conditions it has not been so bad for us here, we normally suffer more so I took some useable data that we can try to work on for the next races.”

Garrett Gerloff

“It was a very difficult weekend. I’m glad it’s over. It already started badly on Friday and continued like that on Saturday and today as well. I know we can do better than this. So now, I only want to get out of here and look forward to the next round at Most.”

Leon Haslam

“In race two, I had a small problem with the brake and I ran off, so it was my mistake. Overall, it has been a good but hard weekend. I tried to learn everything and working with the guys has been fantastic. It was a big learning curve for me understanding everything and it was difficult in the hot conditions but I enjoyed the battle with the Hondas and also with Garrett in the two races. So yes, I am happy.”

Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Prometeon Team Principal

“What a day! Yamaha’s first ever WorldSBK victory in Imola in the Superpole Race this morning – one of the most enthralling encounters we’ve ever seen – backed up by a brilliant podium for Loka. Toprak’s continued pressure possibly contributed to Alvaro’s mistake this afternoon, but anyway Toprak capitalised in full and controlled the race to bring home double victory. Loka didn’t quite have the rear grip in Race 2 that he had yesterday afternoon and struggled a little bit to more to fight with the front group – but still maintained a brilliant pace on his first ever big bike race here in Imola to cap off a really positive weekend for him and the team. We leave here in high spirits heading to Most, another good track for both of our riders and the R1 WorldSBK. Retaking the lead in the Teams’ Championship is just reward for all the efforts and commitment shown by everybody here in the garage.”

Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director

“It was an absolute scorcher. Imola is a beautiful track where we hadn’t been for four years. Our expectations were somewhat dampened beforehand because two of our four riders had never been here before, and the heat doesn’t usually favor us. At the end of the weekend, we can conclude that we had two top-ten finishes in every race. We can be quite satisfied with that. Loris gave a very strong performance with three top-ten results. He was the top BMW rider twice. He followed Scott’s setup, which clearly worked well for him. Garrett also had extremely strong performances in the practice sessions. Unfortunately, he was hindered by yellow flags multiple times during qualifying, starting from 15th place, and couldn’t convert his strong pace into the races. That was a shame. For Leon as a substitute rider, it was of course difficult to jump onto a new bike during a race weekend. He delivered what we expected. Now we look ahead to Most, a track where we were very successful last year. We will also see Michael van der Mark’s comeback there.”

World Superbike Championship Points

WorldSSP Race Two

Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) secured a double win at Imola. Starting from the third position on the grid, Manzi closed the gap to early race leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team). He eventually overtook Bulega and extended his lead to over seven seconds by the end of the race.

The battle for third place saw Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) claim his fourth podium finish in the WorldSSP class. He held his position comfortably, securing an all-Italian podium alongside Manzi and Bulega.

Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) achieved his best result in WorldSSP, finishing in fourth place, while Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed fifth place, his best result in the 2023 season. Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) engaged in a thrilling battle for sixth place, with Navarro ultimately securing the position.

With his double win, Manzi closed the gap to Bulega in the Championship standings. The gap between them has now narrowed to 41 points.

Tom Edwards had scored a brilliant tenth place finish but was later disqualified after his YART machine and himself were found to be under the minimum weight standards, due to how much weight Tommy had lost between weigh in and the end of race two after what had been a sweltering weekend at Imola. This disqualification promoted countryman Luke Power to 16th place for his first championship point.

Oli Bayliss had tried to ride on Friday but his injured shoulder caused him too much grief.

Oli Bayliss

“We knew that it was a possibility heading into the weekend but I still wanted to try, so I gave it a go. Unfortunately even if we had been given the green light to continue, I really don’t think I would have been in the condition to do well, especially given how demanding Imola is as a track (and how hot the weekend was overall). I am back in Rome now and we’ll soon know more about how long it will take for me to be back, but in the meantime I’d like to congratulate Max and the team for the great result in race two and hopefully I’ll be able to join them back soon.”

WorldSSP Race Two Results

World Supersport Championship Points

WorldSSP300 Race Two

In Race 2, Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) took the flag ahead of Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing ) but was ultimately demoted to second place as he went past the track limits on the inside of Turn 13 on the last lap.

Geiger continued his consistent form and eventually claimed the top of the championship standings, with a 17 points lead over Vannucci after being awarded the win in Sunday’s race. Humberto Maier claimed a solid third-place finish.

Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) finished in fourth place, closely followed by Lennox Lehmann in fifth, marking a strong presence for the Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing team. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) rounded up the top six finishers.

WorldSSP300 Race Two Results

World Supersport 300 Championship Points

2023 FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar
Date	Circuit	WSBK	WSSP600	WSSP300
24-26 Feb	Phillip Island	X	X
3-5 Mar	Mandalika	X	X
21-23 Apr	Assen	X	X	X
5-7 May	Catalunya	X	X	X
2-4 Jun	Misano	X	X	X
30 Jun-02 Jul	Donington Park	X	X
14-16 Jul	Imola	X	X	X
28-30 Jul	Autodrom Most	X	X	X
8-10 Sep	Magny-Cours	X	X	X
22-24 Sep	Aragón	X	X	X
29-Sep-01 Oct	Algarve	X	X	X
13-15 Oct	San Juan Villicum	X	X