WorldSBK riders reflect on Cremona R1 + WorldSSP/WCR reports/results

WorldSBK 2024 – Round Nine
Cremona – Saturday

WorldSBK Race One Report

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was back in action for an exciting Race 1 at the new addition to the race calendar today. Danillo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) claimed his first World Superbike win, making it his eleventh career podium. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took his fifteenth career podium in second whilst Spaniard Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) put in an impressive performance to take third. Petrucci becomes the first rider to win in MotoGP, WorldSBK, STK1000, STK600, MotoAmerica and a stage of the Dakar Rally.

It was a Ducati front row start at the Italian circuit, with Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) alongside Petrucci and Bulega on pole position. A close three-way battle followed in the perfect dry conditions. Petrucci, who had been strong all weekend, pushed hard for his maiden win, leading home a Ducati 1-2-3.

Turn 10 saw Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) crash out of contention despite riding a strong race in the top 10, whilst Spaniard Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was riding hard working his way through the field. Despite looking competitive for the rostrum, it wasn’t to be Iannone’s dream Italian race as he crashed out of contention, leaving Petrucci and Bulega battling for the top spot and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) holding third with 13 laps to go.

With 12 laps remaining in Cremona, Lecuona made an impressive move to take third place from Locatelli, whilst Bautista worked his way from seventh position to third with just eight laps to go.

At two-thirds race distance, the race was red-flagged due to camera issues at the circuit, resulting in a Ducati podium lockout, the first time in Italy since Imola in 2010.

Honda rider Lecuona took his first top-five since Portimao 2023 after an outstanding ride at the Italian Circuit.

Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took a P5 finish on home soil, his best result of the 2024 season, while it was also his first top-five result since MotorLand Aragon last year.

Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) came home in sixth place ahead of Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in seventh, after he started from 17th on the grid.

Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was eighth, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) in P9 and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) completing the top ten.

Danilo Petrucci – P1

“What happened today is incredible. After MotoGP, the Dakar, and MotoAmerica, I managed to win Superbike in the real home race of the team, whose headquarters are just a few kilometres from here. We’ve reached an excellent level of feeling together, and I want to thank them, as well as everyone who stood by me during these difficult months after the accident. This race reminded me of Mugello 2019, another first win in front of so many fans cheering my name. An incredible joy.”

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Nicolo Bulega – P2

“These are 20 very important points to put in my pocket. I’m really happy with second place today because it’s very important. Danilo was very, very fast today. It was dangerous to follow him because he had something more than me. I didn’t feel comfortable with my bike, so I decided that 20 points were better than nothing. We need to work and maybe we’ll have to go back to what we know because we tried something different and I didn’t like it. So I think we’ll return to the setup that works, and I hope to have my 100% feeling back.”

Alvaro Bautista – P3

“It’s been a really difficult day. Yesterday, I didn’t feel too bad but in Superpole when I had to push harder I felt that I was missing some strength. I couldn’t set a really good lap time. Starting from the back at this track is difficult and in the first few laps I felt some pain in my ribs, probably from trying to push too hard in Superpole. During the race I felt stiff on the bike and for the first few laps I couldn’t push. At that time, I thought, ‘Okay, if I still feel like this after 5 or 6 laps, I’ll have to retire.’ But lap after lap, I started to feel better, and the pain lessened. It was easier to move on the bike and I could be more aggressive and regain my pace. Honestly, I didn’t expect to finish on the podium. I’m really happy because on Thursday, I didn’t even know if I could race this weekend. To finish on the podium having started from the fifth row is a really nice result. Now, I just have to recover for tomorrow.”

WorldSBK Race One Results

WorldSBK Superpole Results

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP Race One

Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) stormed across the line to take the top step of the podium on Saturday at Cremona, achieving his 9th win and 13th podium of the season. The Italian Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) managed to hold off a respectable effort from Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team).

From lights out, Adrian Huertas continued his dominant form, taking victory after starting from pole. The race was marked by a close battle between the top contenders, but Huertas managed to fend off his rivals, including Stefano Manzi and Yari Montella. Huertas set the pace early, with Manzi and Montella keeping pressure on throughout the race. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) also made an impact but couldn’t quite break into the top three.

With Huertas well ahead, there was still plenty of action near the front, with the two Italian riders providing plenty of action for the spectators. With three laps remaining it looked like Montella was able to increase his gap between Manzi, however a last effort charge from the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing rider showed he wasn’t ready to settle for third. He took an impressive overtake on his fellow Italian rival, and despite some close battles, Manzi managed to maintain his position and cross the line in second.

Fourth-place finisher Marcel Schroetter was closely followed by Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph), who secured a respectable fifth position, whilst Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) and Britain’s John Mcphee (WRP by SKM-Triumph) rode to an impressive sixth and seventh. Completing the top 10 finsishers, were Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph), Finish rider Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) and Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse).

Tom Edwards was the first Aussie across the line in 11th.

Luke Power was 20th after recovering from an early incident.

Oli Bayliss had scored a great start and was as high as seventh on the opening lap before getting caught up in an incident with a number of riders.

WorldSSP Race One Results

WorldSSP Championship Points

World WCR Race One

WorldWCR race 1 got underway as scheduled on Saturday, in dry conditions, but was red-flagged after six laps following an incident for Alyssia Whitmore (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team). The race was restarted a few minutes later but shortened to just five laps. The new grid was based on the riders’ positions prior to the red flag, which meant that Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) got away from pole ahead of fellow Spaniards Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) and Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team), while Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team), Teyla Ralph (Tayco Motorsport) and Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) formed row two of the grid.

With only five laps in which to shine, the frontrunners wasted no time off the line, with Carrasco again taking an early lead. Herrera was able to pass her on lap three, but the race was far from over, with Maria, Ana and Sara battling hard and fast and taking the race all the way to the line.

It was championship leader Herrera who ultimately secured the 25-point prize today, crossing the line just 0.075 of a second ahead of Sanchez who, in turn, finished a mere 0.122 of a second in front of Carrasco.

Separated from the podium sitter by just a few seconds, Italian Ponziani boosted her points tally in crossing the line fourth, followed closely by the group comprising Neila, Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) and Relph.

Rounding out the top ten today were Kiwi wildcard Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motor Sports), Astrid Madrigal (ITALIKA Racing FIMLA) and Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team), with the top ten representing six different nations.

Local rider Ponziani set the fastest lap of the race, completing lap three in 1’41.235, which will give the Italian the advantage of starting Sunday’s Race 2 from pole position.

Sara Varon (ITALIKA Racing FIMLA), Lena Kemmer (Bertl K. Racing Team) and Whitmore crashed during heat one, meaning that none of them were able to line up for the restarted 5-lap race. Assessed at the medical centre, Whitmore has been diagnosed with a minor head injury, a suspected concussion and an injury to her right thumb. The rider has been transferred to Cremona hospital for further assessments.

P1 | Maria Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team

“I think this was the hardest race so far, but I also enjoyed it. Just five laps, so a bit short, but we were strong in braking and able to battle hard against Sara, who was also really strong on the brakes. On the last lap, I did well through sector one and set up the final corners well, but I still need to do more to improve along the straight, so we’ll look at the data and see what can be done there, and also decide if there’s anything we want to change on the bike for tomorrow’s Race 2. Overall, I feel I have good power but there are areas in which I can still improve, personally speaking.”

P2 | Sara Sanchez | 511 Terra&Vita Racing Team

“Another second-place finish, and so close to the win! It was tough today, and I had another close battle with Maria and Ana. I’m happy in that I was lying top three for the whole race, but I’d love to take a win of course, also as a morale boost, as we’re so close! We didn’t make the best start on Friday, and I had work to do to find feeling with the bike and the track, but then I made quite a good start in today’s race and was able to run at the front and fight hard. Let’s see what we can do in Race 2 tomorrow.”

P3 | Ana Carrasco | Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team

“I’m not so happy today because before the red flag I felt I had it all under control and that victory could be mine. Once the race restarted it was not so easy, and we only had five laps. Honestly, I expected to win today, as my pace was good and I was pushing hard. I didn’t really expect Sara to pass me on lap three and it was hard to start the final lap in third position, as I had little opportunity to try to pass Sara and Maria again. But it’s another podium, so that’s not bad. I expect tomorrow’s race to be similar, with a close group of four or five riders. I’ll keep working with my team this evening to see if we can find something extra for tomorrow’s Race 2, when I’ll go all out to try and win.”

World WCR Race One Results

World WCR Championship Standings

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