WorldSBK/SSP preview/schedule as paddock hits Argentina

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Ten – San Juan, Argentina

San Juan, with its Circuito San Juan Villicum has become one of the main motorsport venues of Argentina. Its mainly mountainous terrain interspersed by valleys and crossings under a mild dry climate makes it an ideal place for all kind of sporting activities.

The tenth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship will take place there this weekend and is the first round this year to be held outside the borders of the ‘Old Continent’.

The San Juan Villicum Circuit, was inaugurated in 2018 for WorldSBK and is a very fast track where the riders crack 300 km/h. The circuit rises to an altitude of about 650 metres above sea level at the foot of the Andes, which can mean a significant temperature range during the day. Also, the track is often very dirty due to the sand deposited by the wind from the surrounding desert areas, meaning Friday’s sessions can be very dusty, then improving over the weekend.

The Championship can’t be wrapped up in South America, but it can be a crucial round in determining the outcome, as now more than ever, those chasing behind need big results ahead of the back-to-back finale in Indonesia and Australia.

A winner on his San Juan debut and victorious of four of the last six races in 2022, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is a favourite ahead of this year’s trip to Argentina. The Spaniard is in fine form and with his previous Ducati experience at the track, he should be in contention for victory throughout the weekend once more.

Quick to deny that it’ll be another Barcelona-style show, the layout of San Juan – with its long back straight – suggests that it may well be another strong weekend for Bautista and Ducati, although his title rivals will be keen to make up plenty of time around the rest of the lap.

Alvaro Bautista

“The next race is in Argentina; sincerely, three years ago with Ducati I won on my first time there. But then I had some problems in the other races so… let’s see. It’s a tricky track because the conditions are very different from one day to another. We have to be ready for all kind of conditions and adapt as best as we can and just try to enjoy as we are doing and do our best!”

Reigning World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) knows he must reduce the Championship gap before the last two rounds of 2022. Currently at 56-points, it came down by just three at Portimao.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“Now, I’m looking forward to Argentina. I like this track, last year we won two races and this year we can improve more. I know it’s not an easy track to win, because the straight is so long. I remember especially that Alvaro was very strong in Argentina in 2019, but this year is different – we’ll keep fighting for the win, we will see! Now I’m focused on these races, I will enjoy and we’ll try our best.”

It’s an even more critical round for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who is the most successful rider in Argentina since racing begun there. The win drought dates back to Estoril and the Northern Irishman wasn’t able to break through for victory last time out at Portimao, with three third-place finishes that was something Rea admitted to being a ‘reality’ at the moment.

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Rea’s deficit to the Championship lead is 82, the most it’s been since he joined Kawasaki. The goal of a seventh World Championship is slipping away for 2022, with nine races to go, a monumental comeback is needed.

Jonathan Rea

“Argentina can’t come soon enough after a more difficult Portimao than we expected. Argentina kick-starts the flyaway races and it is a really busy time of the year. We will try and keep some momentum going. We will keep working with Pere, Davide and all my crew to try and maximise the potential of the bike. Portimao highlighted a few areas we need to improve, and being strong at the end of the races is an area we will focus on in Argentina.

“The circuit does not have a lot of activity so we will have to understand how the grip level is on day one and work from there. I really like the track and it has given me some good memories in the past. The atmosphere is always cool around the flyaways so we’ll try to take that feel-good factor and turn it into some good results.”

It will be an all-new experience for Honda’s line-up of MotoGP exiles with neither Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and team-mate Xavi Vierge having visited the circuit before.

The battle between Honda and BMW in the standings is intensifying too, as Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) closes up.

Lecuona failed to score points in two races at Portimao, particularly strange given his previous knowledge of the circuit and the testing preseason.

Iker Lecuona

“Argentina is a new track for me, so I’ve watched some past WorldSBK races just out of curiosity really. Before the real action start, I’ll run the track and talk at length with my crew chief, taking advantage of his experience there and of what we’ve learn from recent races. I’ll try and learn the layout as quickly as possible, hopefully in good weather.

“I’ve been to the country before but not to the same area. Everyone tells me that San Juan is beautiful. One thing that will surely be the same is the atmosphere and the fans who are super passionate, cheering on all the riders.”

For Vierge, it was more promising, and the 25-year-old Spaniard was able to come away with two eighth places in the longer races, perhaps starting a late charge to finish the season ahead of his teammate, although Lecuona is 48 points ahead of him.

Xavi Vierge

“I’ve always looked forward to the overseas races and travelling to distant countries and tracks is something that I generally enjoy, but this time we started our trip with sadness in our hearts. We prayed that Victor would win his battle but very sadly this was not the case.

“Regarding Argentina, it will no doubt pose a challenge because we’re again facing a totally new track, but I have great memories of my previous visit to the country, and the Termas circuit, where I have always achieved good results, so we’ll try to continue that trend also at San Juan.

“We’re coming off two solid weekends at Barcelona and Portimão, where we worked in the right direction and understood many things, so now it will be important to try and take another step towards the top five.”

In the aforementioned BMW camp, all eyes will be on Scott Redding who – after a tricky Barcelona and Portimao – aims to return to the podium in Argentina, where he’s the most recent winner. A dominant victory in 2021 with Ducati, it’s a circuit that Redding has been strong at and he’ll hope that it remains the case with the M1000RR.

Scott Redding

“Argentina is a track that I like. I enjoyed riding there last year and I enjoyed it with all the fans so I look forward to going back there, and I always like racing overseas, it is a bit different feeling which is nice towards the end of the season. My hope is that our bike can work well there so we can get some good results. That is the goal. Of course we are always working but the track seems to have a big effect on our results. So I hope here we can find something and try again to be towards the front.”

Team-mate Michael van der Mark put on a scintillating ride through the field at Portimao from 20th to eighth in the Superpole Race, a glimmer of the old magic that the Dutchman had prior to his injury.

Michael van der Mark

“It is always nice to go overseas and San Juan is a really nice racetrack. I enjoy going there a lot. So I am looking forward to it. We’ve had some positive results at Portimão, so we are making progress. I am feeling better and better with the bike and my body. Racing overseas is always a little different atmosphere but if we can continue the progress we made at the last round I am pretty sure that we will have some good results there.”

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP

After nine hard-fought rounds in Europe in the FIM Supersport World Championship, the title battle is heating up and this round is shaping up to be crucial in terms of where the title will head at the end of the year.

The one thing that can be said about the title this season is it will belong to either Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) or Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), both of whom are WorldSBK-bound for next season.

The only question is whether it goes to Switzerland with Aegerter or Italy with Baldassarri but, with 150 points available in the final three rounds, they are the only two in mathematical contention to claim the title this year.

The gap between the pair is 45 points as WorldSSP heads to Argentina, a venue Aegerter has not won at and Baldassarri hasn’t raced at. In 2021, Aegerter recorded fifth in Race 1 and third in Race 2 on his way to the 2021 title.

Turkish star Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) heads into Argentina on the back of three podiums in four races and, at a circuit he finished on the rostrum at twice last year, could Oncu spring a surprise and claim a first win in WorldSSP?

He is in a fierce fight for third place with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) and Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph), both of whom will be racing at San Juan for the first time. Bulega will be hoping for better after a disastrous Tissot Superpole session left him unable to set a lap time in Portugal and starting from the back of the grid, whilst Manzi and Triumph are on a high after taking their first win last time out.

Less than one race win separates the four riders between sixth and ninth in the Championship standings, with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) currently heading this group on 126 points. The Italian was able to fight at the front throughout the Portuguese Round, and this is something he will hope to take into Argentina. Whilst the four-rider group is separated by 23 points, Caricasulo has a 20-point lead over the pack behind him with Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) and Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) on 106 points each.

The hopes of Oli Bayliss finishing his debut season inside the championship top ten are starting to become harder.  Oli has bagged 48-points so far and is currently 15th in the championship, he will need to at least double that score over the remaining rounds to sneak into the top ten.

Championship leader Dominique Aegerter will have a new team-mate at Ten Kate Racing for the Argentinean Round as former MotoGP podium finisher Bradley Smith makes his WorldSSP debut in place of the injured Leonardo Taccini, who misses out with a broken wrist.

WorldSSP Championship Points

Argentinean WSBK Schedule AEDT

2022 WorldSBK Calendar