WSBK 2018

Misano Race One

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had his Superpole snatched away in the closing seconds of Superpole, but that mattered little to the reigning champion by the time Race One rolled around.

A fantastic start from the Kawasaki rider shot him ahead of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at the lights, and with an open track ahead, Rea proved to be unbeatable once again.

There was a stunning battle for the podium however as Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) completed the podium in the 21 lap race.

Rea was the only rider to make it into the 1’34s at the start of the race, opening a comfortable gap with the large group of pursuers. There was plenty movement behind inside the opening laps, with Laverty and Davies, who had blasted up the field at the lights from seventh on the grid, making quick work of Sykes, while Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) also put his name in contention for a rostrum spot with a stunning start from eleventh.

With Rea flying away into the distance, Davies finally managed to catch the Aprilia by lap 16. Laverty went very wide going into Turn 16, a mistake that Davies welcomed going through the straight. It’s the Welshman’s third consecutive second position and yet another solid ride this season.

While his teammate’s Aprila RSV4 RF suffered from performance issues in the final third of the race, there were no such problems for Laverty, who takes his second consecutive podium. After four years without a WorldSBK top three finish, this time it has only taken the Irish rider two weeks to claim a return to the rostrum.

Van der Mark completed an excellent Race One with fourth position, less than five seconds off of Rea despite his row four start, and making it four manufacturers in the four top spots. He crossed the line ahead of Sykes and will start from pole tomorrow, with the Englishman only able to make it through in fifth after starting from the front of the grid.

Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team), in special ‘tricolore’ livery for the Misano race, was the best independent rider in Race One, making his way to the line in sixth, ahead of the home duo of Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in seventh and Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) in eighth.

Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) returned to the top ten after a disappointing GEICO US Round with ninth place on Saturday. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) meanwhile scored only his fourth top ten finish of the season, coming in behind the Honda in tenth. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), who was until today the sole rider to score points in every race of 2018, crashed twice and was unable to finish.

A new 125/70 front tyre, developed by Pirelli to match their larger 200/65 rear made its first ever appearance at Misano. Despite never even being tested by the riders until the first sessions on Friday the new wider front proved popular straight away and was the most used choice today in race one, including the entire top ten.

P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“We had good pace all weekend and the idea was to try and make a holeshot and then set my rhythm. I got a good start and I was able to put my bike in a good position in turn one and then make my rhythm from there. It was kind of a textbook race and in the first three laps with the bigger profile tyres, especially the rear tyre, it just kind of takes a few laps to find its rhythm. Once I found that I was able to increase the gap lap-after-lap. That made the last seven laps more stress free. My bike was quite balanced all the way through and I did not feel I was riding over the limit at all.”

P2 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“We have to be happy with this result, it wasn’t easy coming back from 7th position on the grid. I feel like we got the best out of the package and myself today. The Panigale R was working well, we need just to make a few more steps forward to win, so overall it’s been a positive day. During the race I really understood the bike and got a clear idea of what we need to do to improve. We’ll try to make the most of the data collected and come back even stronger for Race 2. We’ll start from third row again, but I’m kind of used to it and today we got a blistering start, so hopefully we’ll be able to repeat that.”

P3 – Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia)

“Its nice to back a Laguna podium up, to get the podium here as well as the front row; I was feeling so good in the middle of that race, I was reeling in Jonny, but we had a rear sensor break and that cost me, and cost me second as well, but a few rounds ago I’d have bitten your hand off for a podium so we’ll take that.”

WSBK 2018 – Misano Race One Results

1. J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
3. E. Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia)
4. M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
5. T. Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
6. X. Forés (Barni Racing Team)
7. M. Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
8. L. Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia)
9. L. Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)
10. L. Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
11. T. Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
12. N. Canepa (Yamaha Motor Europe)
13. J. Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)
14. R. Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki)
15. A. Andreozzi (Guandalini Racing)
16. P. Jacobsen (TripleM Honda World Superbike Team)
17. M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team)
18. J. Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)

WSBK Championship Standings

1. Rea 354
2. Davies 265
3. Van der Mark 228
4. Sykes 207
5. Lows 183
6. Melandri 177
7. Fores 164
8. Laverty 105
9. Razgatlioglu 96
10. Savadori 83

WorldSSP

Caricasulo takes home pole position at Misano

Home hero Caricasulo stuns his home crowd with a determined pole position
Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) has taken his first pole position of the 2018 FIM Supersport World Championship after a stunning fastest lap of 1’37.694. The Italian was nearly half a second faster than Jules Cluzel (NRT) in second, and will be in a prime place to claim his first win of the year.

After dominating through Friday and Saturday morning, Caricasulo was again incredibly impressive in qualifying. Three of his laps were faster than the best from anyone else out on track, and with a good start the Italian could bounce back from his Brno DNF in perfect fashion and find himself again in the fight for the championship.

Jules Cluzel clinched another front row start with the second fastest time of Superpole 2. The good news didn’t end there for the Frenchman, as Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) could only end the session in fifth. A crash just two minutes in left the German with little time to find his form on the Rimini track, and with Cluzel two points behind in the standings, is in danger of losing his championship lead.

Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) was third in qualifying, completing an all-Yamaha front row and boosting his options towards a first return to the rostrum since Assen. Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) was just six thousandths of a second behind the Swiss star, but had to make do with fourth ahead of Sunday.

With Cortese in fifth, that row two will be completed by Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) in sixth. The Frenchman had finally found his pace going into his final lap of Misano, but a mistake in the third split took away any option from Mahias of finishing higher up.

One event rider Stefano Valtulini (Pleo Racing Team) was the first Kawasaki in qualifying, clinching a fantastic seventh on tomorrow’s grid ahead of Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) in eighth and Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), through from the Superpole 1, in ninth. Anthony West (EAB antwest Racing), a former Misano race winner, closes off the top ten.

WorldSSP Superpole at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli 2018

1. Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team)
2. Jules Cluzel (NRT) +0.491
3.Randy Krummenacher (BARDHAL Evans Bros. WorldSSP Team) +0.804

WorldSSP300

Hendra Pratama unstoppable in Misano Superpole

Galang Hendra Pratama has taken his second successive Tissot Superpole of the season at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, blasting ahead of his rivals in utterly dominant fashion. The Indonesian teenager rode his best lap of 1’50.517 halfway through the Superpole 2 session, which was at the time well over a second faster than anyone else out on track.

Day two of the Pirelli Riviera di Rimini Round for the WorldSSP300 riders started in shocking fashion, as the top three in the championship failed to make it through the Superpole 1. Ana Carrasco had not qualified lower than fourth this season, but finds herself down in 17th tomorrow, with Luca Grunwald in eighteenth, and Borja Sánchez in twentieth.

Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki), fourth in the championship, was the big victor from his title rivals’ troubles, taking second place on tomorrow’s grid. Deroue was the only rider to trouble Hendra Pratama’s times at any moment, and will be searching for his first win of the season.

Returning from injury, Mika Pérez found his way onto the front row with the third fastest time on Saturday. Dorren Loureiro  leads row two in fourth, ahead of Manuel González in fifth and wildcard Thomas Brianti in sixth.

Row three sees Luca Bernardi in seventh, Daniel Valle in eighth, and Ukranian rider Nick Kalinin in ninth, with wildcard Kevin Sabatucci , back in WorldSSP300 after his Imola podium, closing the top ten.

Tom Edwards qualified 1.3-seconds off the pole winner in 26th while Tom Toparis will line up 31st on the grid after lapping 2.3-seconds off the pole time.

WorldSSP300 Superpole – Misano 2018

1. Galang Hendra Pratama (BIBLION YAMAHA MOTOXRACING)
2. Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) +0.344
3. Mika Perez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) +0.388