Jonathan Rea continues to pillage WorldSBK 2015
Jonathan Rea continues on his 2015 charge, taking the Portimao world superbike double, and bringing his haul to an impressive ten wins from 14 races for the season.
In Superstock 1000, Perth’s Bryan Staring finished sixth, and Brisbane’s Aiden Wagner finished a highly creditable 14th and top Suzuki in his first ride on the GSX-R1000.
Jonathan Rea #65 – Kawasaki Racing Team – Race 1 1st – Race 2 1st – “I have a great bike, a great team around me and great strategy for every weekend. My crew chief Pere and I sit down and work out a good set-up, evaluating our tyres. We learned from some mistakes in Donington that made us stronger here and I am riding well, but I have the tools to do it. So it is massive credit to all my mechanics for working so hard and KHI in Japan, who are continuing to develop. We know now where the limit is and we rode two good races today. The points gap is a lot after this round but I will try not change the way I am riding.”
Davide Giugliano #34 – Aruba Racing – Ducati SBK – Race 1 – 4th Race 2 – 2nd – “This was an important podium for me. In the I simply didn’t find the right feeling with my bike but fortunately it rained, because that way we were able to manage the situation a little better. For race two we made some changes and my team gave me a bike with which I was able to ride. The updates that my technicians have brought this weekend have helped me too and I’m really happy, especially because, after a three month break, my team has helped me to get back to a position in which I can fight for the win, which I hope will arrive soon.”
Leon Haslam #91 – Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – Race 1 – 12th Race 2 – 3rd “I made a bad mistake in Race 1 sliding on the wet asphalt and that worsened my ribs’ condition. In the second race I lost too much time at the beginning, missing a couple of gear changes, and losing touch with the leading group. In the middle section of the race I had a good pace and was able to move up a few places to third. When I had started catching up Giugliano I began to lose my feeling with the front. I was about a second behind but the race was over at that point. Getting onto the podium was important both for me and for the team considering how hard the guys worked this weekend.”
First wet win for Rea as a Kawasaki rider
After 20 action packed laps, that saw the first flag to flag race of 2015 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) has taken his 9th victory of the season in the opening race of the day at Portimao, coming home 9.384s ahead of team mate Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team) who completed the podium.
For the first 14 laps the Kawasaki pair were playing a game of cat and mouse until with 6 laps to go the rain began to fall. All but Sykes came in to change to wet tyres with Sykes following suit the following lap. The duo fought it out until Sykes made a mistake allowing Rea to notch up his 24th career win.
Sykes finished 2nd ahead of Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) who completed the podium after a titanic fight with Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) in the early stages.
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) was 4th with Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike) and Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing) 5th and 6th respectively.
Ayrton Badovini brought the BMW Motorrad Italia entry home in 7th ahead of Leandro Mercado who experienced his first ever flag to flag race on the Barni Racing Ducati.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) recovered to 9th after an off track excursion ahead of 10th placed Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) who also ran off track before the rain fell.
Jordi Torres was the first of the factory Aprilia riders in 11th, the WorldSBK rookie just beating team mate Leon Haslam who fell and re-joined on his first lap after changing to wet tyres.
Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), David Salom (Team Pedercini) and Nico Terol (Althea Racing) completed the point scorers.
Race One Results: 1. Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki 2. Tom Sykes – Kawasaki 3. Chaz Davies – Ducati
Race Two – 4th double win of the year for Rea as he extends championship lead
The conditions for second WorldSBK race at Portimao were almost perfect as the earlier rain had disappeared meaning a full 20 lap encounter on a dry circuit, won in the end by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), the 10th win of 2015 for the championship leader by 5.416s.
Rea’s double win moves him into 3rd overall in terms of most consecutive podium finishes (15), ahead of Carl Fogarty who has 13.
As in the first encounter, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) initially led before being passed by team mate Jonathan Rea and Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team), the trio pulling clear of the pack as their pace at the front increased.
As the race continued Rea began to stretch a lead, leaving Sykes and Giugliano to fight for 2nd until the former champion’s ZX-10R suffered what looked like a technical problem. The former champion would eventually finish 8th.
Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) took full advantage of the situation to take 3rd, his first podium since Aragon race 2.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) finished 4th to score more solid points ahead of the Pata Honda pairing of Michael van der Mark who got the better of reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli on the final lap who rounded out the top 6.
Chaz Davies (Ducati) R1 P3rd – R2 P4th – “Similarly to Donington, I think third was the best I could have done in race 1 here. Lap times were quick at the start and I was able to keep up with Rea and Sykes up to a certain point, but was then losing something in a couple of points of the track. We made a good pit-stop and I was able to hold third to the line, so I’m pleased with the result. The race was pretty wild, with very strong winds in addition to the rain. The second race was difficult right from the start. We made some changes between the first and second race but I didn’t have the right feeling with the front tyre, and couldn’t really brake or stop my bike as I would have wanted. I think that the variation in temperature made the difference and tomorrow we will work during the tests to better understand how we can improve when temperatures rise.”
Sylvain Guintoli (Honda) R1 P5th – R2 P6th – “It’s been a good couple of races for us with solid finishes, so a positive weekend really. In race one I was in a group with a lot of fighting and overtaking going on and then, when the rain came, the team did a fantastic job with the pitstop. I had three or four quite fast laps fighting with Giugliano so that was quite a good performance for us. Race two was good, too – it was a fight all the way to the flag. Near the end of the race we were closing on Sykes and Torres and I managed to gain two places by overtaking them both but then lost one place back to Mikey. Overall it was a very close race but we’ll carry on the good work trying to develop the CBR package continue to close the gap. We’ve got some more things to test tomorrow – it’ll be a long day so I hope the conditions are good.”
Michael van der Mark (Honda) R1 P9th – R2 P5th – “I was a bit held up at the beginning of race one and I was not really fast enough, but it was getting better and better. I closed the gap to the group in front of me but then I had an electrical problem and after a couple of laps I had to switch the bike off and on again to re-set it. It worked OK after that but then I made a mistake and went off the track and then it started raining! The pitstop was quite OK and the last couple of laps was just about surviving because the grip was not there, but I was happy to get some points. I had a better start in race two and then there was a gap to Sylvain which I was able to close quite fast. I had quite good pace and just stayed behind him because I wanted to take some more points. Then we both came to Tom [Sykes] and Jordi [Torres] who had some problems and we passed them at the same time. Then in the last corner I did a big overtake on Sylvain and got those extra points!”
Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) scored 9 points with his 7th place finish ahead of Sykes, Leandro Mercado who was in the top ten once again on his Barni Ducati (9th) and Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing).
Jordi Torres (Aprilia) R1 P11th – R2 P17th – “This was a difficult weekend, but we made a lot of progress. The RSV4 works well here. We were able to improve even compared to yesterday with a small change we made before the races. In Race 1 I didn’t start well. I was lacking confidence at the beginning. Then I set my pace until I was in about sixth place. Unfortunately the rain ruined everything. It was my first time riding the RSV4 in the wet and I was careful not to crash and ruin everything. In Race two I got off the line more aggressively and at mid-race I had the pace to defend sixth place well. But in the final laps I had a sudden loss of grip at the rear tyre. I didn’t take any risks and I settled for bringing home some important points. Unfortunately during practice on a new track it isn’t easy to make a good assessment of performance over race distance.”
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) R1 P2nd – R2 P8th – “It has not been a great day for us and it was such a shame that we had a small technical issue in race one and the a flat rear tyre in race two. In race one the revs dropped for a while and then it cleared again, so I could finish second. The tyre had started to go down in pressure from the beginning of race two and it is such a shame because I think we had a good bike set-up today. I really wanted to evaluate the bike in race two so we will never truly know the real race performance. We have a test tomorrow so we will use that as a good opportunity to try a few more things. We have had a consistent weekend in many way so it was shame to have this bad luck as Jonathan was on form, and we needed to capitalise.”
Matteo Baiocco (Ducati) R1 P6th – R2 P10th – “In general I’m pleased with how the whole weekend went because we were constantly fast and in race 1, despite the changes in weather, we did a great job and were able to bring home a strong sixth place finish. In race 2 we made some different set-up choices which didn’t bring the expected results, and so I chose to avoid mistakes and bring home additional points. We are taking a step forward each weekend and I’m pleased because together with the team we are doing a good job.”
11th to 15th positions were taken by Roman Ramos (Team GO Eleven), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia), Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Christophe Ponsson (Team Pedercini) and Nico Terol (Althea Racing).
Alex Lowes (Suzuki) R1 P10th – R2 P13th – “Our qualifying position yesterday flattered us and was really a case of holding my breath and doing the best laps I could. I knew I had the race pace for around eighth today, but I had some bad luck with a software fault causing the bike to push me and I ran off the track in both races. So, we’re still unfortunately having issues with the electronics. Hopefully the test tomorrow will allow us to find out why it is being inconsistent and move forward in the right direction.”
Randy de Puniet (Suzuki) R1 P13th – R2 16th – “It was a tough day today. I was struggling with a connection problem this morning which we were trying to work on but the bike was very aggressive. I have never felt this problem before for the whole weekend so it was strange. We made some adjustments for the afternoon but during the second race it was worse and I had big vibration on the brakes so I could not brake hard. I am really hoping that we will find a solution during the test tomorrow so we can make a step before Misano.”
Nico Terol (Ducati) R1 P15th – R2 P15th – A very difficult weekend. I’ve really struggled and didn’t expect to be so far back here at Portimao. The track does not suit my riding style and after two crashes it was not easy for me to try and push. I’m really angry because the Team is doing so much for me, working hard to help me find the right rhythm and I’m unable to repay them. Now I just want to concentrate on tomorrow’s test and try to regain the right level of confidence and feeling in order to go to Misano with better sensations and the right mentality.”
The next round of the championship takes place at Misano in a fortnight.
Race Two Results 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 2. Davide Giugliano (Ducati) 3. Leon Haslam (Aprilia)
Championship Pointscore: 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawa) – 330 points 2. Tom Sykes (Kawa) – 206 points 3. Leon Haslam (Aprilia) 199 points 4. Chaz Davies (Ducati) 184 points 5. Jordi Torres (Aprilia) – 131 points
WSS: Cluzel in control
Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) won this afternoon’s World Supersport race withstanding incredible pressure from championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, who found himself in fifth on lap one, before slowly making his way forward and overtaking the Frenchman on tour number twelve.
The Frenchman retook the lead at the start of the last lap as the two riders exchanged position twice again, before Cluzel pulled away to win by 0.184s. This is Cluzel’s win number nine in the series, his second in 2015 after the one taken in the opening round at Phillip Island. With seven events completed out of twelve, the MV Agusta rider is now 40 points shy of the lead.
PJ Jacobsen backed up his strong debut qualifying performance with his new team (CORE’’ Motorsport Thailand Honda) to take the final place on the podium. The American was in contention for the lead in the early stages before gradually losing ground from lap 8 onwards.
Gino Rea (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) missed out on the podium by 0.7s taking fourth ahead of Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team).
Christian Gamarino (Team GO Eleven), Roberto Rolfo (Lorini Honda), Martin Cardenas (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) and Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing) completed the top ten.
Australia’s Glenn Scott achieved his best result of the season, taking 13th and returning to the points with recent developments of the AARK Racing Honda CBR600RR helping to return Scott and the team to a point of challenging for the top ten on a regular basis.
Glenn Scott – “Portimao has been an unbelievable experience for me. Not only did it become my most favourite circuit, it gave me my best results of the season so far.
“Moving into this round we made a massive change to the front end of our bike and it was a really positive step forward for us at AARK Racing. It gave me a massive amount of confidence and I could really push to find my limits. Qualifying in 14th was a massive achievement for everyone at AARK. The bike felt great and we put together a great session, gaining a large amount of data for myself and the bike.
“Starting 14th, I knew I had to push on the start to hold or gain my position. Unfortunately I got a little caught up in the mid-pack drama, but found my feet a few laps in and pushed on. I was in a great battle for eleventh, which in the last two laps turned into a battle for tenth, it was very close and we gave it our all to come home in 13th. Only one second separated myself and tenth.”
“I am stoked with this result, our best of the season. I can’t wait to continue this success in Misano next week. There are many things to take away from this weekend that I can work on as a rider and a few spots we can improve the bike leading into next weekend.”
“I have to extend yet another massive thank you to AARK Racing, InsureMyRide, Shark Helmets and Gimoto for their ongoing support.”
Round eight of the World Supersport Championship takes place at the Misano World Circuit, Italy from 19-21 June.
WSS Results: 1. Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta) 2. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawa) 3. PJ Jacobsen (Honda)
FIM Superstock 1000
Roberto Tamburini (Team MotoxRacing BMW) has come out on top at the end of the 14-lap, FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race at Portimao’s Autodromo do Algarve. The 24-year-old from Rimini was able to pull away in the latter stages of the encounter to cross the line 4.3s ahead of the 4-way chasing pack of Lorenzo Savadori (Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia), Raffaele De Rosa (Althea Racing Ducati), Ondrej Jezek (Triple-M by Barni Ducati) and Kev Coghlan (MRS Yamaha), who battled out for the remaining podium places.
Second position eventually went to Savadori, the series leader edging out De Rosa as Jezek pipped Coghlan for fourth. Bryan Staring (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) successfully defended sixth position from Kevin Calia (Nuova M2 Aprilia Racing), Jeremy Guarnoni and Luca Marconi (Team Trasimeno Yamaha), with Sylvain Barrier (G.M Racing Yamaha) completing the top-10.
With three races to go in the season, Savadori now has a 25-point lead over Tamburini.
Aiden Wagner enjoyed a one of ride in Superstock 1000, after losing his world supersport ride with Intermoto Pony Expres last week when the team transporter and all rider belongings were seized by Czech authorities.
Aiden Wagner – “P14 in the race today. Not so bad, top ten was the aim but had a few issues during the race. Had a good time back on a 1000cc this weekend. Looking forward to next round in Italy to whatever it may bring. Will make it happen no matter what.”
Orellana wins EJC battle at Portimao
Spain’s Javier Orellana (Europ Foods) moved one step closer to the the Pata European Junior Cup crown after taking his 4th victory of the year in today’s shortened EJC race in Portugal.
Starting 2nd, Orellana who has now won 4 of the 5 races so far this year fought hard throughout the 6 lap race, (reduced after an initial red flag for a turn one crash involving several riders), eventually came out on top ahead of Pole setter Sam Wilford (IDWe Racing) and Portuguese wildcard rider Pedro Nuno (Honda Portugal), the trio split by 0.593s at the flag.
Guillaume Raymond (Activbike) just missed out on 3rd, finishing 4th ahead of Hannes Soomer (Lub Line Auto24Ring) and Illan Fernandez who completed the top 6.
Avalon Biddle (WILSport – CIG) was once again the leading female competitor in 16th overall.
In the championship Orellana now holds a 50 point advantage while in the Women’s Cup, Biddle is 5 points clear of Viktoria Kis (H-Moto Team), who finished 21st today.
