WorldSBK Jerez Race Reports
Race One report – Jerez
Jonathan Rea World Superbike Champion with a 4th place; while team mate Tom Sykes wins race one
The opening race of the Pirelli Spanish round of this year’s eni FIM Superbike World Championship has been won by Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), the former champion notching up his 60th WorldSBK career podium finish as team mate Jonathan Rea sealed his first World Title by finishing x after an early race fight with rival Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) who eventually finished 2nd. Sykes dominated after leading from the start easing away to take his 26th race win.
Not wanting to risk a mistake, Rea was overhauled by Michael van der Mark who showed some real speed on his Pata Honda, the Dutchman claiming his 3rd podium of the year ahead of the new World Champion and Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) who was in contention despite a lowly 11th position grid slot.
Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) finished a credible 6th ahead of Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s Alex Lowes, Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and the outgoing champ Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) who completed the top ten.
Jordi Torres made life difficult for himself, the Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils rider running off track at the start. Rejoining he ended the opening lap in 18th before eventually finishing 12th 4 seconds adrift of compatriot David Salom (Team Pedercini) who had the accolade of being the best placed Spanish rider.
The final points finishers were Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven), Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) and Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia).
Niccolo Canepa (Althea Racing) was running a strong 4th in the early stages before losing the front of his Ducati Panigale at Turn 6. The Italian, fresh from his first front row start was able to rejoin proceedings – he eventually finished 17th.
Race 1 Results
1 Tom Sykes 34m14.685s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Chaz Davies +2.865s GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
3 Michael van der Mark +6.665s NED HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
4 Jonathan Rea +9.059s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
5 Leon Haslam +9.318s GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
6 Michele Pirro +10.466s ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
7 Alex Lowes +15.945s GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
8 Matteo Baiocco +18.020s ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
9 Leon Camier +18.654s GBR MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
10 Sylvain Guintoli +19.510s FRA HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
Race Two report Jerez
Davies takes race two with Aprilia pair on podium
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) went one better than in race 1 to win the second race of the day at a very hot and sunny Jerez circuit in Spain.
Unlike the opening encounter race 1 winner Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was unable to break away after taking the holeshot for the second time and despite stretching his advantage in the early laps was passed with ten laps to go by Davies who went on to grab his 9th win of 2015.
The race pace was slower this afternoon, as expected because of the increase in track temperature, with Davies pulling away in the second half of the race to win by x from Jordi Torres, who made amends for his race 1 and his Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils team mate Leon Haslam who both overhauled early leader Sykes to complete the podium.
Fresh from winning the 2015 Superbike World Championship title in race 1, Jonathan Rea took another 4th position aboard his Kawasaki ahead of race 1 winner Sykes who seemed to suffer in the hotter conditions.
The top 6 was completed by Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing) ahead of Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) who had another solid race to finish 7th.
8th to 10th positions were taken by Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World SBK Team) and Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing).
Niccolo Canepa finished 11th after starting on the front row aboard his Althea Racing Ducati with David Salom (Team Pedercini) finishing 12th.
Michael van der Mark crashed his Pata Honda out of the podium fight with 5 laps to go. The Dutchman was however once again in contention until he lost the front at Turn 9. He rejoined to salvage 3 points with 13th at the flag.
14th was Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) with the final point taken by the youngest competitor Christophe Ponsson (Team Pedercini).
Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) was given a ride through penalty after pulling into the pit lane after a lap, a disappointing end to his weekend after a strong showing in race 1.
By finishing 4th and 5th in race 2, Rea and Sykes give Kawasaki the 2015 FIM Manufacturer Title.
The penultimate round of the championship takes place in two weeks at the Magny-Cours circuit in France.
Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki Racing Team – Race 1 4th Race 2 4th – 2015 WorldSBK Champion – “This is an amazing moment for me in my career .There has been a lot of hard work from myself, sacrifice and dedication from my family, but most of all this championship would not be possible without Kawasaki. I want to thank both my team manager Guim Roda, and Steve Guttridge from KME, who really believed in me and gave me this opportunity. Right now it has not sunk in. Moments like this are even more special because of the challenges I have faced with injuries. When I watched the 2002 World Championship between Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss I got so much inspiration from it. It became like, ‘I have to do this.’ So even in tough times I never doubted my ability. Right now it still does not feel real but I am world champion and I am really proud.”
Chaz Davies – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team – Race 1 2nd Race 2 1st – “What a second race! I thought it would be very difficult to win here today but we did well not to change anything from race 1; the track conditions were very different and it went better. In race 1, I knew that I’d have trouble in the early stages. I was able to match Tom’s pace in the second half but I expected a drop in his tyre performance that never arrived. I’m very pleased with today’s results of course and it’s really important to have taken good points at this stage of the championship. I know the battle for second in the overall standings will be tight and I hope it goes to the wire in Qatar.”
Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team – Race 1 1st Race 2 5th – “Overall I am fairly satisfied because we have never won at this circuit, so considering the whole season it is fairly acceptable. We struggled in race two and perhaps chose the wrong front tyre. But when you win with that margin at a circuit you have never won at before it’s is still good. I think if we had changed the front tyre we would have had a much different bike. It is great to be part of Kawasaki winning the Manufacturers’ Championship. Obviously the majority of the points have come from Jonathan but I think that over the years I have helped create an environment and package that helped all the riders who have contributed toward Kawasaki’s first Manufacturers’ title.”
Jordi Torres – Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – Race 1 12th Race 2 2nd – “I’m very happy about the result in Race 2. I really wanted to do well here at home. The team worked perfectly and I gave 100% every time I went out on the track. From about midrace on I had to change my riding style a bit to accommodate tyre wear. With this heat it was very difficult but in free practice we worked on the settings precisely in consideration of this problem. In Race 1 I got off the line well but in the first turn I shifted into neutral and ran on. I tried to recover but I just didn’t have the right feeling with the front brake and I had to settle for collecting some championship points.”
Michael van der Mark – Pata Honda – Race 1 – 3rd Race 2 – 13th – “All weekend I’ve had some difficulties with the clutch, so the start in race one was not perfect. I managed to stay with the guys even though I was missing some grip at the beginning. As the pace dropped a little I was able to close the gap but I had to wait a little more before I could pass Leon [Haslam] and Jonathan [Rea]. I tried to close the gap to Chaz [Davies] but the grip was not there. Race two was a little bit similar at the beginning and I closed the gap to the front as the pace began to drop. I had a good feeling when I got to the back of Torres and Haslam so I was holding back a little bit because I saw they were pushing really hard. Then I just lost the front in a slow corner and crashed. I was able to get back on and do some good lap times before the end of the race and I think overall I must be happy with the performance this weekend. We finally had a weekend without problems and that’s really good for my motivation, and of course the podium is great motivation for the whole team.”
Leon Haslam – Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – Race 1 – 5th – Race 2 – 3rd – “The conditions in Race 2 helped us out. We worked to solve yesterday’s problems and we were successful. If I was sure after FP3 that I could win, after Superpole I would have been happy with a podium, given my position on the starting grid. I managed to get off the line well and come back in both races, but in the first I was struggling coming out of the slow turns. In Race 2 we corrected this problem but the podium still wasn’t easy since after 9 laps the tyres had already begun to deteriorate and it would have been easy to make a mistake. I’m pleased with this podium. I hadn’t been there since Misano and having two Aprilias up there is well-deserved satisfaction for the team.”
Michele Pirro – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team – Race 1 – 6th – Race 2 – 7th – “In race 1 I didn’t go to badly but hoped to be able to do better in the second. We changed the front tyre for race 2, opting for a slightly harder solution but unfortunately it didn’t perform as we’d hoped. I had no grip at the front and it was all I could do to keep the bike upright and get to the end of the race. A pity, as I would have liked to do more but I thank the team for having given me the opportunity and for all their hard work this weekend.”
Sylvain Guintoli – Pata Honda – Race 1 – 10th – Race 2 – 9th – “It’s been a difficult Sunday. I thought we could have done a bit better than this, to be honest, but it was a bit of a struggle. I was trying really hard in the races and maybe that wasn’t the best thing. I just lost my mojo a bit and didn’t feel comfortable. The feeling was not good and the pace wasn’t there so it’s been a very difficult Sunday. We need to have a sit down to put it back together. Hopefully it will be a different story at Magny-Cours; it’s a track I really like and I want to finish the season strongly so I’ll reflect on what happened here and why I was so slow and try to understand how to pick it back up.”
Alex Lowes -Voltcom Crescent Suzuki – Race 1 – 7th – Race 2 18th – “Overall a slightly disappointing day but we had a solid seventh in race one. We made the bike better for race two and had really good pace, but unfortunately we had an issue with the tyre at the start, which if it wasn’t for this, we could have had an even stronger second race. I’m pleased with how I’ve been riding all weekend, the team have worked hard and I did the best I could for 40 laps. Unfortunately we didn’t get the results we wanted but we’ll look forward to Magny-Cours. I feel like I’m riding the best I have all season so my confidence feels good and I’m looking forward to the last two rounds of the year.”
Randy de Puniet – Voltcom Crescent Suzuki – Race 1 – 16th – Race 2 – DNF – “Two difficult races for me today. We fixed the problem with the brake this morning, which was good but I needed time to adapt my riding style with this. In race one the brake was consistent but I was not 100% comfortable with the bike, I was racing with the guys who finished 13th all race but unfortunately I finished 16th. In race two my bike stopped on the sighting lap so I had to push it to the grid. A weekend to forget again and I really hope for more luck in Magny-Cours for my home race.”
Race 2 Results
1 Chaz Davies 34m29.546s GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
2 Jordi Torres +1.840s ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
3 Leon Haslam +2.335s GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
4 Jonathan Rea +7.619s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
5 Tom Sykes +11.500s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
6 Matteo Baiocco +12.705s ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
7 Michele Pirro +12.995s ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
8 Leon Camier +15.332s GBR MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
9 Sylvain Guintoli +18.411s FRA HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
10 Leandro Mercado +21.544s ARG DUCATI BARNI Racing Team
13 Michael van der Mark +31.948s NED HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
Championship Standings
1 Jonathan Rea 478 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Chaz Davies 353 pts GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
3 Tom Sykes 331 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
4 Leon Haslam 286 pts GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
5 Jordi Torres 210 pts ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
6 Sylvain Guintoli 175 pts FRA HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
7 Michael van der Mark 144 pts NED HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
8 Matteo Baiocco 125 pts ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
9 Alex Lowes 121 pts GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
10 Davide Guigliano 119 pts ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
World Supersport
Kawasaki, Honda and MV Agusta fill Spanish WSS podium
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) moved one step closer to his 4th World Supersport title after controlling today’s 19 lap race at Jerez.
Startiing from Pole Position, the Turkish rider made a perfect start to lead from the start where he was never headed, eventually winning the 32nd WSS race of his career by 1.037s.
The final places on the podium were taken by PJ Jacobsen (CORE Motorsport Thailand) and Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) the pair lapping consistently but unable to challenge Sofuoglu today.
After a steady start Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) finished 4th ahead of WSS debutant Nico Terol (MV Agusta Reparto Corse). Terol was drafted after the unfortunate crash on Friday that curtailed Jules Cluzel’s title ambitions. The rider who began the season in WorldSBK looked strong on his supersport debut, moving into the top 8 from the start, eventually finishing a very credible 5th after some elbow to elbow moves with Smith saw him lapping almost as fast as the leaders.
Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) completed the top 6.
7th to 10th positions were taken by Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25), Christian Gamarino (Team Go Eleven), Kevin Wahr (SMS Honda), and Roberto Rolfo (Team Lorini), while the final point scoring positions were taken by Dominic Schmitter (Team Go Eleven), Marcos Ramirez (Team Lorini), Aiden Wagner (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) and Martin Cardenas (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) and Janos Chrobak (Schmidt Racing).
Lucas Mahias (MG Competition) was back in action but the Frenchman’s race lasted a lap before he retired with a technical problem, he had been in the leading group.
Gino Rea (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) crashed out of the top ten as the race approached half distance as did Vladimir Leonov (DMC Racing). Both were unhurt.
World Supersport Race Results
1 Kenan Sofuoglu 33m17.651s TUR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
2 Patrick Jacobson +1.037s USA HONDA CORE Motorsport Thailand
3 Lorenzo Zanetti +2.020s ITA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
4 Kyle Smith +3.561s GBR HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team
5 Nicolas Terol +7.777s ESP MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
6 Marco Faccani +11.391s ITA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
7 Alex Baldolini +16.822s ITA MV Race Department ATK#25
8 Christian Gamarino +28.339s ITA KAWASAKI Team GO Eleven
9 Kevin Wahr +29.997s GER HONDA SMS Racing
10 Roberto Rolfo +31.822s ITA HONDA Team Lorini
World Supersport Championship Standings
1 Kenan Sofuoglu pts TUR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
2 Patrick Jacobson pts USA HONDA CORE Motorsport Thailand
3 Jules Cluzel pts FRA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
4 Lorenzo Zanetti pts ITA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse
5 Gino Rea pts GBR HONDA CIA Landlords Insurance Honda
6 Kyle Smith pts GBR HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team
7 Gino Rea pts GBR HONDA CIA Landlords Insurance Honda
8 Roberto Rolfo pts ITA HONDA Team Lorini
9 Alex Baldolini pts ITA MV Race Department ATK#25
10 Christian Gamarino pts ITA KAWASAKI Team GO Eleven
11 Marco Faccani pts ITA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
Tamburini wins in STK1000 and keeps his title chances alive
Roberto Tamburini (MotoxRacing BMW) has kept his slim title chances alive by winning the 15-lap FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race at Jerez today. The 24-year-old Italian managed to pull away in the early stages of the race to cross the line with a comfortable 4.6s lead over Althea Racing’s Raffaele De Rosa.
Series leader Lorenzo Savadori (Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia) completed the podium with a strong ride in spite of his finger injury but, despite the 25-point advantage in the standings over Tamburini, he still has to finish in the top 15 in the final race at Magny-Cours to clinch the title.
Riccardo Russo made a fine debut aboard Team GM Racing’s Yamaha ZF-R1M as he narrowly missed out on the podium, the Italian finishing fourth ahead of Jeremy Guarnoni (Team Trasimeno Yamaha), Lukas Trautmann (MRS Yamaha), Fabio Massei (EAB Racing Ducati) and Ondrej Jezek (Triple-M by Barni Ducati).
The other Nuova M2 Racing rider Kevin Calia had a disappointing end to the race as he crashed out of second place in the second half of the race.
The final race of the 2015 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup will take place at Magny-Cours in a fortnight’s time.
Superstock 1000 Jerez – Race
1 – Roberto Tamburini Team MotoxRacing BMW
2 – Raffaele De Rosa Althea Racing Ducati +4.667
3 – Lorenzo Savadori Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia +6.652
Standings (7 of 8 rounds completed)
1 – Lorenzo Savadori Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia 156
2 – Roberto Tamburini Team MotoxRacing BMW 131 (-25)
3 – Raffaele De Rosa Althea Racing Ducati 105 (-51)
