Rea and Davies share the victor spoils – Lausitzring WorldSBK 2016
World Superbike Race One
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Chaz Davies won Race 1 at the Pirelli German Round with a 10.5 second lead in a flawless performance, beating Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes into second ahead of Honda World Superbike Team’s Nicky Hayden completing the top three.
Davies led from pole into the first corner, before charging ahead to create a gap to his nearest rival Sykes. By lap five Davies was 3 seconds ahead with Sykes, teammate Jonathan Rea and Lorenzo Savadori (IodaRacing Team) fighting for second position.
Chaz Davies
“I didn’t think it would go like that to be honest, I thought it would be a bit of a lottery in the opening laps,” revealed Davies after the race. “I didn’t know with this harder tyre that we all had to run due to the conditions, well I didn’t put a lot of time on it yesterday. I had to just feel it out. Then when I saw the lap time from the first flying lap I was quite impressed with myself. Then I just kept the hammer down. I wanted to try and break away from the other guys nice and early and that’s pretty much how it went. The bike was mint for the whole race, it has really felt pretty dialed in since the test here.”
Tom Sykes
“For the championship it is awesome, so we’ll see,” said Sykes after the race results. “Today we rode in tricky conditions, yesterday we had great pace when the track was bedded in nicely with a lot of rubber. But today it was fresh again and Chaz had great pace in this condition. There was no way we could fight with him. His bike was turning so well and he was riding really well, so it wasn’t to be. Second is acceptable. We had a lot of pressure from some guys, especially Nicky all race, so it was a really nice race from this point of view. For tomorrow we need to try and improve. If we can close the gap to Chaz then that is fantastic but there are certainly a few little problems to iron out. Overall it is an acceptable Saturday. Now we can have a long time to socialise and find a better set-up for the ZX-10R for tomorrow.”
Nicky Hayden
“Racing can be like that, up and down in the same day,” exclaimed Hayden after his third position. “You start the day on the ground and with the mechanical (issues), but the team did a great job. Also they came here and tested and made a big effort. I got pushed a little wide in turn 1 and got roughed up and got dropped back. But I had a good pace, the bike was really good on the brakes, so I could make some passes. I really wanted to beat Tom, I saw the fans and I thought lets give them something, so I tried to push after him but he had enough in reserve.”
Drama struck early when reigning Champion Jonathan Rea crashed out on lap 8. The Northern Irishman walked away uninjured, but furious after a tough weekend so far. Rea’s retirement means the gap in the overall standings stands with only 26 points separating him from Championship rival and teammate Tom Sykes. Friday’s fastest Lorenzo Savadori crashed out of podium contention just after Rea, and local hero Althea BMW’s Markus Reiterberger was forced to retire early on lap 9 due to technical problems. With Rea and Savadori out, Hayden was able to focus on chasing down Sykes but couldn’t catch him and had to settle for third.
Davies crossed the finish line 10.5 seconds ahead of Sykes. The dominant win making him the third rider in WorldSBK history to win with three different manufacturers in the same country; Davies won in Nurburgring with BMW and Aprilia and can finally cross the Lausitzring off the list on a Ducati.
Althea BMW Racing Team’s Jordi Torres came home in fourth after battling with Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Michael van der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team) for the finish. After battling it out for some laps, Camier and van der Mark finally finished in fifth and sixth place.
Davies’ teammate Davide Giugliano finished in seventh position ahead of Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Alex Lowes, who came home in eighth after starting from P12 on the grid after crashing out in the morning’s warm up and sitting out Tissot-Superpole 2. Lowes’ teammate Sylvain Guintoli gave a solid performance in his first race back from injury, leading Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) and Anthony West (Pedercini Racing) home to ninth position. Alex De Angelis brought his Aprilia home in P12 ahead of Roman Ramos on Team GOELEVEN in P13. Australian Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW) and Luca Scassa (VFT Racing) rounded out the top 15.
Lausitzring – WorldSBK 2016 – Round Ten – Race One Results
- Chaz Davies Ducati GBR 34’20.100
- Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 00’10.561
- Nicky Hayden Honda USA 00’11.536
- Jordi Torres BMW ESP 00’12.493
- Leon Camier MV Agusta GBR 00’12.965
- Michael van der Mark Honda NLD 00’18.863
- Davide Giugliano Ducati ITA 00’18.970
- Alex Lowes Yamaha GBR 00’27.395
- Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 00’33.221
- Xavi Fores Ducati ESP 00’33.459
- Anthony West Kawasaki AUS 00’46.665
- Alex De Angelis Aprilia SM 01’02.000
- Román Ramos Kawasaki ESP 01’05.734
- Joshua Brookes BMW AUS 01’05.890
- Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 01’14.908
Lausitzring – WorldSBK 2016 – Round Ten – Race Two Report
Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea found redemption in Race 2 on Sunday at the Lausitzring in a dominant performance, seeing him win by a 9.3 second margin ahead of newcomers to the WordSBK podium IodaRacing Team’s Alex De Angelis and Barni Racing Team’s Xavi Fores.
Rain began to fall during the German National Anthem as riders were lined up on the grid, delaying the start of the race twice as the rain gradually came down heavier after every warm up lap attempt. Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes got the holeshot and lead into the first corner ahead of Race 1 winner Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Sykes’ teammate Jonathan Rea. Sykes ran wide allowing Rea to take advantage and shoot ahead. Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) got off to a bad start with a wheelie off the line before he got caught up in the first corner and dropped back to P17.
Sykes was the first victim of the weather and crashed out before the end of the first lap, leaving Rea to extend his lead ahead of both the rest of the field and in the overall standings. Sykes later rejoined and was able to salvage four points, finishing in P12. IodaRacing’s Lorenzo Savadori, and Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Davide Giugliano, closely followed by MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Leon Camier and De Angelis all had good pace in the wet and were all hunting down Davies. Giugliano charged ahead into second before a highside saw his chances of a podium finish disappear on lap five, one lap after Savadori crashed out after setting the fastest lap time.
Even though Sykes was out of podium contention, the reigning World Champion continued to charge ahead to secure the important 25 points to add to his title defence campaign. Leon Camier put in another incredible ride into the top four for MV Agusta Reparto Corse, trying to catch Fores for P3 before crossing the line just off the podium and equalling his best result of the year once again. Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team’s Sylvain Guintoli showed he’s back in form after battling with Chaz Davies to finish ahead of him in fifth.
Milwaukee BMW rider Josh Brookes showed his wet weather quality by finishing the treacherous race in seventh. Brookes is now 15th in the championship points standings, with 69 points, just ahead of long-time BMW rider and IDM Champion Markus Reiterberger.
After sliding out of the race in the closing laps, Honda World Superbike Team’s Michael van der Mark rejoined in an impressive push to the line on his battered Fireblade in eighth, ahead of Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) in ninth and his teammate Nicky Hayden finishing in tenth.
VFT Racing’s Luca Scassa overcame the slippery conditions to finish in P11, while Grillini Racing Teams’ Gianluca Vizziello finished in P13. Team Toth’s Pawel Szkopek looked hopeful moving into the top ten before a minor crash relegated him to P14 ahead of Milwaukee BMW’s Karel Abraham who picked up one point in P15.
Pedercini Racing’s Anthony West, had stormed through the field and looked likely for a podium finish but went down with ten laps remaining, the Queenslander’s frustration at sliding out from an almost certain podium finish clearly evident on the Queenslander’s face.
Anthony West
“I’m deeply sorry because this could have been a very important result for me and all my team. The race was going great even though during the warm up lap I had already realized how extremely difficult were the conditions of the track, which was really slippery in many turns. During the first laps I easily got past many riders and was confident I could get a great result. But the bike was very difficult to ride because of its extreme responsiveness to the throttle and at lap 8, closing the gas, the bike lost grip at the rear and I crashed.”
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team’s Alex Lowes, both Althea BMW riders Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger, Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing Team) and Dominic Schmitter (Grillini Racing Team) were also wet weather casualties, not finishing the race.
Jonathan Rea – Championship 1st 393
“It feels like probably the most important win of my career so far. I felt that after yesterday and Laguna our backs were against the wall. In morning warm-up I began to feel good with the bike again after we had made some positive set-up changes. When we saw the rain coming on the grid we had to completely change to a wet set-up. It was one of those positions that with me leading the championship I had a lot to lose – but a lot to gain as well. I took my chance and put my head down from the start. I really felt good with the bike so I have to thank all my crew because last night my bike was not in a great way. They worked really late, and meticulously, to make sure the bike was perfect. To reward them with this result means I am really happy. So this is for my mechanics that have worked so hard and also for Pere and Paolo, who gave me such a good wet bike set-up.”
Tom Sykes – Championship 2nd 346 points
“I think it was probably a rider issue for my crash today, as the bike set-up was not working well and I think I overstepped the mark in the first race. We need to find a small set-up improvement in the dry but much more in the wet. That is not so good in one respect but I also know I can win races in the wet. It is just finding the correct balance and feedback for the rider and at this moment I do not have it in those conditions. I am sure we can find it. In racing everything is possible and everything turns on its head so fast. Yesterday I was 26 points from the lead and today 47. The positive is that over the last three races the points gap is now at 47 but three races ago it was at 71. We still have three rounds remaining.”
Alex De Angelis – Championship 12th 80 points
“Of course to be on the podium is something amazing. Especially for me because it is my first one in this championship and also because I’m coming back from a very bad accident last year in Japan. It was really a long winter, doing a lot of rehabilitation. I am still not good but it was a really nice race and I’m very happy and I never gave up.”
Xavi Fores – Championship 9th 119 points
“I’m really happy with this as it’s my first podium in WorldSBK, especially because during the weekend we have had a lot of problems in dry conditions with trying to find a good set-up for the bike. I was looking forward to a wet race all through the weekend because I felt good on the bike. So I want to enjoy this result with my team. I want to say a special thanks to Barni (Team Principal Marco Barnabò) as he came back from yesterday as his father passed away, so this result is for him.”
Chaz Davies – Championship 3rd 295 points
“Track conditions were tricky today. It took me a while to get up to speed, but the priority was to stay upright and I was happy to finish the race since I didn’t have the best feeling on the front. It’s a shame the weather turned its back on us, but it was the same for everyone. The positive thing is that we’ve kept a good form ever since the summer tests. Had the weather stayed dry, we would have had another chance to win. We’ll try again in Magny Cours in two weeks’ time with the second place in the championship in our mind.”
Davide Giugliano – Championship 6th 194 points
“I didn’t expect the crash, because I quickly realized Rea and I could make a difference in the wet and I wasn’t on the limit. The plan was to wait until the last few laps to attack. I was cautious with the throttle, but wet races are always a lottery and all of a sudden the rear lost grip. It’s a shame because I really wanted to give the team another good result after Chaz’s win. The good thing is that we’ve made a big step forward in dry conditions as well today, showing a promising pace during warm-up. We’ll bounce back in Magny Cours, a track that I like much better.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Ducati Superbike Project Director
“Unfortunately, the weather had a negative impact on us today. Our potential in dry conditions was clear. We could have gone for a double win, but the rain mixed things up. It’s a pity that Davide crashed out, as he’s always very competitive in wet conditions. Chaz correctly adopted a conservative approach, collecting important points. We leave Lausitz with confidence nonetheless, as we’ve made steps forward during the summer break.”
Michael van der Mark – Championship 4th 203 points
“We had a nice dry warm up, in which we tried a couple of changes which gave us a bit more grip and I definitely felt better on the bike compared to yesterday. When it was time to race, race direction decided it was better to wait given the amount of rain that was falling. It was the right decision as there was basically no visibility at all. I got a good start to the race but the track was very slippery and I couldn’t lean as much as I wanted. After a couple of laps, I saw Giugliano crashing out of the race and I immediately thought about the championship situation, because the priority was to stay upright. Then, with three laps to go I simply locked the front and crashed. I really wanted to finish the race so I picked up the bike and rode two laps with barely any front brake. These are very important points for me, so all in all I’m not too disappointed.”
Nicky Hayden – Championship 5th 195 points
“Warm up went very well, but obviously the conditions changed for the race and it ended up not being my best day. I didn’t have a good race at all and I apologise to the team. Yesterday I did a silly mistake very early during FP3 in the wet so I had no data from the session for these type of conditions. This really put us on the back foot, especially in the early laps. Eventually I started to feel better but on the main straight, when I caught Lowes, he ended up crashing in front of me and by instinct I released the brakes for a split second and ended up running off. Given how the track is, when I returned to the track I had lost almost 15 seconds and a couple of places. Still my performance in the wet was not good and I will try to make up for it in Magny-Cours.”
Pieter Breddels – Honda WorldSBK Technical Manager
“We were ready and confident to race in the dry but of course it was not meant to be today. Michael had a good start and was running his own race, but unfortunately he ended up crashing with three laps to go. Eighth was not the result he was aiming for, but hats off to him for picking the bike up and riding it to the finish line. His last lap wasn’t even that bad considering the damage! Things simply didn’t go the right way for Nicky already ffom the start. After losing so many places he started to pick up the pace, but when Lowes crashed in front of him he lost that momentum again and with it the temperature in his tyres. In the end he took a tenth place, surely not what he was looking for especially after winning a race in Malaysia, but the two tracks have very little in common. We have some work to do now on our wet set-up, especially before Magny-Cours where it wouldn’t be surprising if it rains.”
Sylvain Guintoli – Championship 13th 76 points
“It is good to be back in the top-five – especially after almost five months away from racing. It was also good to just be back racing this weekend! I missed being on the bike a lot. Fifth place is a good result for us but saying that, I felt like I really struggled at the start of the race to get temperature and grip from the rear tyre and the bike was not giving me the feel that I wanted. I feel that it’s a bit of a lost opportunity as the YZF-R1 was really, really, good for braking and chassis-wise was very good also but I was struggling with traction out of the corners. All-in-all I’ve got to be happy with this, coming back to racing but I also feel like we should have done a lot better. I did everything I could and I almost crashed many times so we’ll take this and look towards my home race.”
Alex Lowes – Championship 11th 102 points
“What can I say? It’s been a disappointing weekend for me. I had really good pace in the dry on Friday but the weather just didn’t work out in my favour for today’s race. The grip and conditions were very challenging today and I really struggled at the start but I managed to get back up to the top ten quickly enough. I had consistent pace and was looking at some decent points but it wasn’t to be. We will continue to put in the work and look to come back stronger in France.”
Paul Denning – Yamaha WorldSBK Team Principal
“It was great to have Sylvain back with us after so long and to finish in the top-five was very impressive. The pace was good enough for the podium but the start and lack of feel in the early laps let us down. We don’t have a lot of wet-running experience with the YZF-R1 so this race will help a lot in preparation for the future. Alex’s dry pace was again strong in warm up today but we missed something in the wet, resulting in a lack of feedback and rider confidence. There were 12 crashes in the race, the track is unbelievably slippery – it was just a shame we were one of them! The whole Pata Yamaha team would like to extend their congratulations to Niki Tuuli for his dramatic second position in today’s Supersport race, and to Riccardo Russo and the Pata Yamaha Official STK1000 Team for their podium on his return from injury. Onwards to Magny-Cours, and an upturn in our fortunes there!”
Jonathan Rea will now take his Championship defense to Round 11 of the FIM MOTUL World Superbike Championship at Magny-Cours in two weeks time.
Lausitzring – WorldSBK 2016 – Round Ten – Race Two Results
- Jonathan Rea Kawasaki GBR 31’39.737
- Alex De Angelis Aprilia SM 00’09.396
- Xavi Fores Ducati ESP 00’13.041
- Leon Camier MV Agusta GBR 00’15.728
- Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 00’17.100
- Chaz Davies Ducati GBR 00’19.780
- Joshua Brookes BMW AUS 00’32.208
- Michael van der Mark Honda NLD 00’54.373
- Román Ramos Kawasaki ESP 00’57.271
- Nicky Hayden Honda USA 00’59.671
- Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 01’01.938
- Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 01’14.028
- Gianluca Vizziello Kawasaki ITA 01’14.038
- Pawel Szkopek Yamaha POL 01’46.309
- Karel Abraham BMW CZE 01’51.775
Championship Standings after Round 10
- Jonathan Rea Kawasaki GBR 393
- Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 346
- Chaz Davies Ducati GBR 295
- Michael van der Mark Honda NLD 203
- Nicky Hayden Honda USA 195
- Davide Giugliano Ducati ITA 194
- Jordi Torres BMW ESP 168
- Leon Camier MV Agusta GBR 134
- Xavi Fores Ducati ESP 119
- Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia ITA 110
- Alex Lowes Yamaha GBR 102
- Alex De Angelis Aprilia SM 80
- Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 76
- Román Ramos Kawasaki ESP 70
- Joshua Brookes BMW AUS 69
- Markus Reiterberger BMW DEU 68
- Anthony West Kawasaki AUS 55
- Karel Abraham BMW CZE 33
- Niccolò Canepa Yamaha ITA 30
- Matteo Baiocco Kawasaki ITA 12
WorldSSP: Sofuoglu Extends Championship Lead
Reigning World Champion Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu won the WorldSSP race at the Pirelli German Round in typical style, 1.7 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, the impressive Finnish rookie Niki Tuuli from Kallio Motorsport. Finishing comfortably in third was MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Jules Cluzel.
Sofuoglu showed his Supersport prowess once again by taking the holeshot and leading into the first corner ahead of Niki Tuuli and Jules Cluzel. However, it was the Finnish wildcard Tuuli who was the man to give Sofuoglu a run for his money by stealing his lead before the end of the first lap and commanding the next lap. Before long, Sofuoglu came back to form and showed Tuuli who was boss, by retaking the lead and pulling away to make a comfortable gap. Cluzel battled early with Swede Christoffer Bergman (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) before breaking away from him for third.
Championship contender Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Randy Krummenacher had a difficult start, falling back some places heading into the first corner. Once he got up to speed, he began to work his way back up the field and before long, caught up to Bergman, who had fallen behind and headed the group fighting for fourth position.
Birthday boy Gino Rea (GRT Racing) looked strong in the early stages of the race but was forced to retire on lap 8 as a result of technical problems. FIM Europe Supersport Cup rider Alessandro Zaccone (San Carlo Team Italia) was the first rider out after highsiding on turn 8 in the opening lap, before Stefan Hill (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) ran off a few laps later, luckily able to rejoin, before Lachlan Epis (Response RE Racing) retired before the end of the race.
In the final laps it was BARDAHL Evan Bros. Honda Racing’s Federico Caricasulo and Honda World Supersport Racing Team rider PJ Jacobsen who took the fight to Krummenacher, who fought hard to hold them off, but Krummenacher couldn’t match their pace in the last lap and finally finished in sixth. Jacobsen came home in fourth ahead of Caricasulo in fifth. Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) finished the race in seventh ahead of Bergman who fell back to ninth, with Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) locking out the top 10.
Profile Racing’s Luke Stapleford put in a solid performance finishing in P11 ahead of Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) in P12. GEMAR Balloons – Team Lorini’s Ayrton Badovini came home in P13, ahead of ESS riders Ilya Mikhalchik (DS Junior Team) in P14 and Axel Bassani (San Carlo Team Italia) taking a point in P15.
Kenan Sofuoglu
“Honestly I didn’t expect it to be like this. When I looked at qualifying and at warm up this morning I was thinking if I can ride 1’41.5 I can pull a gap to everybody. But I was surprised that Tuuli was so strong because I kept riding low 1’41 laps and he didn’t give up. When we were in the last five laps I was thinking maybe I have to give up the fight because for the championship I need to be careful. Then I thought this is a good chance, if I win this it will help me to get the title at Magny Cours, so that’s why I didn’t give up. I’m very happy with what I did this weekend, it’s 25 points and it is very important for my fifth title.”
Niki Tuuli
“I really didn’t expect it but I had a very good feeling with the bike. I had a good feeling behind Kenan and I just did what I had to do. At the end of the race I was just aiming for the podium and Kenan is so fast. He doesn’t make mistakes. I just wanted to get onto the podium and I did it.”
Jules Cluzel
“I’m happy because we have come from a long way back in the last races. At this race we have improved, with some new parts. We improved from this morning and we found something. Yesterday we worked until midnight and we really tried hard, so we deserve it. I’m happy because this is a step forward. There was one turn where I was losing a lot and I came back in the other places. We were strong but we just have to understand why that one turn was really critical. Anyway, it was a really good race, we have 16 points and I’m happy, so it’s good.”
Lachlan Epis was the only Australian in the race and unfortunately retired nine laps into the race.
Lachlan Epis
“While not the end result we were looking for, but the half a race I rode was the best this year, by a long shot so far. Almost every lap was between .5 to .9 faster then I qualified and I felt I was being held up by the rider I was dicing with. Once I finally got past I pushed to hard and clipped the inside ripple strip crashing and ending up a long way infield, photos supplied. Special thanks to Shane Kinderis, who flew over to take on crew chief role, as always massive thanks to my whole team and family for getting and keeping me learning on this grid. Magny Cour, France in ten days, staying in Europe so no excuses, no jet lag, plan on keep improving.”
WorldSSP will be back on track in two weeks time at Magny–Cours in France for the next Round.
WorldSSP Race
- Kenan Sofuoglu Puccetti Racing Team
- Niki Tuuli Kallio Racing (+1.757)
- Jules Cluzel MV Agusta Reparto Corse (+4.712)
WorldSSP Championship Standings Round 10
- Kenan Sofuoglu Puccetti Racing Team 171 points
- Randy Krummenacher Puccetti Racing Team 118 points
- PJ Jacobsen Honda World Supersport Team 109 points
Click Here for FIM Superstock 1000 Report with Bryan Staring on the podium
