Estoril WorldSBK weekend wraps up with belters across the board

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Three – Estoril

Estoril WorldSBK Superpole Race

After a wet warm up, the choice of tyres to use in the Superpole Race was a tricky one, riders were presented with a drying track registering a surface temperature of 23-degrees. Most of the front runners chose slicks; Razgatlioglu, Bautista, Redding and Locatelli all running a Standard SC1 front and SCX rear, while Jonathan Rea chose the SC1 A0674 Development front and an SC0 rear.  Rinaldi and Lecuona chose to run Intermediate fronts while some riders further back on the grid ran Intermediates at both ends.  Garrett Gerloff was missing from the grid after being declared unfit.

At the start, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) moved into the lead but halfway through the race, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) managed to overtake. However, the Turkish rider reacted, taking back the lost position and increasing the gap to more than one second.

The upset came just a few seconds before the chequered flag came out: Razgatlioglu had a huge front end slide which opened the door for Rea and the Kawasaki man didn’t need a second invitation, taking the lead and holding on to it for the win.

Álvaro Bautista rounded out the podium by a nose from Scott Redding while Andrea Locatelli, Michael Rinaldi, Iker Lecuona and Alex Lowes were all close behind, only 1.3-seconds covered the entire top ten in what was a belter of race.

Estoril WorldSBK Superpole Race Results

Estoril WorldSBK Race Two

With a dry track six-degrees warmer in the second race all riders chose the SCX rear, while front tyres were a mix of SC1 Development and SC1 Standard rubber; Rea, Lecuona and Lowes some of the front runners that chose the SC1 A0674 Development option.

In the opening laps, Razgatlioglu and Rea were once again the leading protagonists, followed by Lowes and Bautista.

Bautista eventually worked his way forward and took the race lead on lap 11 but his rivals responded quickly and the battle heated up.

Bautista held onto the race lead until the final lap, when Rea’s second attempt at a last lap lunge was successful, the Kawasaki man taking the lead at turn nine and holding on to the flag to claim victory.

Razgatlioglu had made a couple of mistakes that saw him lose ground on the front pair but clinched a safe third place, well ahead of Lowes, Locatelli and Lecuona.

Victory for Rea means he now has 117 WorldSBK victories to his name and 223 podiums, while Kawasaki are now edging closer to the 500-podium milestone; Team Green’s tally currently 497 after three more podiums this weekend.

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Estoril WorldSBK Race Two Results

WorldSBK Rider Quotes

Jonathan Rea

“The Superpole race was a little bit of a gift really. Toprak just got really deep into the chicane, used a lot of back brake, and that took the weight off the front. He lost the front and then I just kept my line. I wanted to lead into that last long right corner, and we did it. That was an exciting final race today! I had made a small mistake but in the penultimate lap I was quite strong and able to recover everything. Going into the last lap I just got really good traction from the last corner onto the straight, used the slipstream for the first part and said to myself, ‘just brake, don’t mess up.’ I was able to stop, hook the corner, and by T3 I was right there with Alvaro. My traction was really good out and I was able to drive close to him. I tried to pass in T7 but he cut back then parked in the apex of the chicane. I did my line and tried to make a good exit. On the final corner I had such a big slide that I thought he was going to ‘do me’ but I just kept riding the slide, riding the slide, and then eventually I was able to get the job done. It is really nice when a last lap goes your way. Race Two was a great battle, right from the early laps.”

Alvaro Bautista

“It’s a positive weekend with two really good races. If I have to be honest I had some troubles in the Superpole Race but the circuit conditions, due to the light rain, were very difficult. The battle with Rea in Race 2 was exciting. On the last lap, I was able to respond well to the first attack, but in the last corner, Johnny managed to close the door. I felt I was close to the limit so I consider second place a valuable result”.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“For me it was a very good weekend, because we are very strong and fighting in the front. Race 2, I try to fight for the win again – in the first 10 laps, I do my best to save the tyre for the last laps and so I don’t pass Johnny, just follow to keep the tyre life. But after 10 laps, a very strange feeling with rear tyre – a big drop and I start sliding a lot especially in the last corner. But anyway, we take good points with third position. This weekend, we tried our best – very close to win the Superpole Race but sometimes we also need luck! Especially in the first race yesterday when Alvaro passed me at the end and also the Superpole Race, my small mistake on the final lap – but also not small because almost a crash! I see the chequered flag and try to pass again for first position but it’s not quite possible! I say again, we take good points, I am disappointed not to win but I feel good, and I hope in Misano we are fighting for victory.”

Alex Lowes

“I was happy because in the second race, in dry conditions, at least I was able to mix it with them at the front for 12-13 laps. No-one has been able to do that. That is nice because I have been a long way off. The start of the year looks worse because of two DNFs at Assen. If you take them out, I have been pretty consistent all year. I struggled a bit in practice here, the base setting we had in the winter and in the first two rounds didn’t work, because this is a little bit of a strange track. It is quite tight and you need the bike a bit more on its nose to turn. Once we got that worked out the bike has been working quite well. I felt good this morning in the wet. I was a little bit cautious in the first few laps of the Superpole, race on slicks, and there were a couple of corners with just a little, thin, racing line. I dropped right back but my speed at the end of that Superpole race was good, even on the SC0 tyre. The changes we made on the bike settings from yesterday were good. I knew that starting from the second row in that final race my pace was going to be quite strong. We used the SCX tyre in Race Two and felt quite good except for the last five or six laps. In general, it has been a pretty solid weekend.”

Andrea Locatelli

“Superpole Race was a little bit strange for the weather and also for the condition of the track, but in the end we finished fifth place, which was important to start from P5 for Race 2. I’m proud about today, because in Race 2 we improve a lot with the bike in respect to yesterday, and the gap was a bit closer to the front group. I did some small mistakes in the first part of the race, so I lost the opportunity to stay with Alex and fight for P4. In the end, it’s another positive weekend for me and for my team. Now, we have another opportunity in Misano to continue – I can’t wait to be on the bike again to try to improve and close the gap.”

Iker Lecuona

“I’m really happy with our weekend here, my first visit to Estoril. We really improved the feeling with the bike over the weekend and this morning I felt very good in the wet during warm-up. If I’m honest, I would have been happy if the weather had stayed fully wet for the races. In the end, we had mixed conditions and in the Superpole race, even though we’d never tried the intermediate tyre, we decided to go with it at the front, together with the slick at the rear. It was a gamble, but I like a challenge! Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and, in this case, I struggled a bit with the front through the final laps, but we finished P4 and it was amazing, the feeling with the bike was really amazing. So we went into race 2 really confident but of course we experienced the most unlikely event, losing the front fender at the start of the warm-up lap! I tried to understand how to manage the race and I came really close to coming back into the pits, but then I realised that I could brake safely so I carried on. There was some vibration along the straight of course, and during braking too, but I was manageable, and we eventually finished just eight seconds from the winner. I was able to chase Loca and finish less than one tenth from him. We completed all three races in the top six, and are still P5 in the championship, so I leave here very happy and am looking forward to the next one!”

Michael Rinaldi

“I am quite disappointed. We clearly expected more, if only in terms of results. It’s a weekend that makes us think, but I have to say that together with the team we have the feeling that we are not far from being competitive again. Now we go home, I can’t wait to be at Misano and I can assure you that the one who will take to the track at WMC will be a different Rinaldi”.

Xavi Vierge

“It has not been the best race day for us today after a very positive Saturday. The Superpole race ran in mixed conditions, but we knew that we had good potential and we had much to gain and not so much to lose so we gave it our all. I had made up several positions early on when I hit a wet patch at turn 7 and crashed. I want to say sorry to the team for that mistake. In the second race we tried to match yesterday’s results and our pace was good, until I had a “big moment”, saving what could well have been a crash! After that, our rhythm was still good but not as strong as it had been previously, so I re-gained some positions but not as many as I was expecting. Anyway, another top ten, some good points scored over the weekend and a lot of information gained, so we can file this away as a positive round. Thanks so much to the team for their hard job; now we are looking forward to Misano.”

Scott Redding

“We had a bit of a better weekend here in Estoril. Qualifying was good after I had a better feeling with the bike in FP1. And this always helps for the rest of the weekend. In race one, we struggled with the front tyre a little bit which was difficult for us. Then in the Superpole race, we probably made the wrong tyre choice. In race two I just struggled to stop the bike so was unable to make good lap times. We had made some changes to the bike from race one to race two and it was not really the correct way to go. But in the end it was a better weekend for me so I hope to continue the form that we had in general over the weekend and seek to continue the momentum in Misano.”

Loris Baz 

“I didn’t put myself in the easiest position by crashing in Superpole and finishing this qualifying in 12th place. But I had a strong pace in race one and brought the bike back into the top 10. This morning in warm-up I was third, it was a nice session, I really enjoyed riding the bike in the wet for the first time. The Superpole race was really tricky. I usually like those conditions but unfortunately I hit a wet patch and had a big highsider. The guys did a fantastic job not only fixing one but two bikes to bring them back on the grid for race two. So hats off to them and big thanks, we’ll buy the guys a couple of beers tonight. Then race two I still had some brake problems as on Saturday and was not feeling too comfortable at the corner entry. It was really humid, raining in some corners and we just lost too much rear grip and I had no feeling to go any faster. At the moment, we are not fighting for the win or the podium but we have to accept that and work as hard as we can. This is what all BMW riders and the entire team do and I hope we will have a good step forwards in Misano.”

Eugene Laverty

“My biggest disappointment was my crash in the Superpole race. I had eighth position secured and touched the wet part of the track, had a huge crash, destroyed the bike and gave the mechanics some extra work. In race two I struggled with the brakes. It was a weekend to forget, but let’s move on. In general, the bike feels like its working well on one lap here, that’s good. But we are having problems this year with the rear tyre after a few laps and this is what we need to work on. It’s clear that I need something different as I am a smaller rider compared to the other three BMW guys so I need to work on something to push better on the rear tyre for me.”

WorldSBK Championship Points

Estoril WorldSSP600 Race Two

Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP team rider Dominique Aegerter took a second victory of the weekend in the FIM Supersport World Championship with Kyle Smith and Lorenzo Baldassarri also on the podium.

After a downpour of rain on Sunday, conditions improved ahead of the second Supersport race of the weekend, however, as drops of rain lingered in the air, it was set to be a tense 18-lap affair.

As the race got underway, the rain started to fall, creating a fierce nine-rider battle at the front. Slipping to sixth in the early stages, Dominique Aegerter played on his experience, adapting to the changing conditions before making progress in the second half of the race. Picking off riders one by one, the Swiss rider briefly took the lead with 11 laps to go but Kawasaki’s Can Öncü immediately responded.

After battling with Evan Bros’ Lorenzo Baldassarri for second, Aegerter then pulled the pin, reclaiming the lead with six to go. From there, the 31-year-old never looked back, opening a comfortable two second lead to take victory. Meanwhile, a hard-charging Kyle Smith had worked his way up to third place and made his move on Baldassarri for second. Unable to catch the leader, the British rider crossed the line in second to take his first podium of the season, with Baldassarri completing an all-Yamaha podium.

Can Öncü led the race more than once and Yari Montella came close to what would have been his first WorldSSP podium, losing out to Lorenzo Baldassarri by only 0.105 seconds. Yari’s push to try and secure a podium finish saw him confident enough to try and pass his rival around the outside in the final corner, setting up a tense sprint to the line along the extensive Estoril main straight to claim fourth place.

Can eventually found his tyre choice not ideal for the final track conditions and he dropped to fifth place, gathering more valuable points after finishing fourth in Race One on Saturday.

Oli Bayliss missed out on fifth by a nose, crossing the stripe less than five-hundredths behind Oncu at the flag, that sixth place is a breakthrough for the Aussie teenager and he was the top finishing Ducati.

Another rider who claimed their best result to date was Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) as the reigning WorldSSP300 Champion secured seventh.

Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) finished in eighth place as he looked to fight his way up the order, finishing more than nine seconds clear of Wildcard entrant Tom Edwards (Yart – Yamaha WorldSSP).

Tom Edwards worked his way into the top ten after starting from 20th on the YART YZF-R6, a great result for the 20-year-old.

The youngest rider on the grid, Ondrej Vostatek (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP), equalled his best result to date with tenth, finishing just 0.019s behind Edwards.

Coming back from extensive pre-season injuries, Ben Currie (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti Kawasaki) made a strong return to the track this weekend. Despite starting from the last row on the grid, Currie worked his way up into the points with a 15th place finish.

Jules Cluzel endured another tricky race. The Frenchman was dropped out of contention on the opening lap with a technical issue. Continuing in 27th, the GMT 94 rider retired from the race on lap two.

With a fifth win of the season, Aegerter sits 44 points clear of Baldassarri atop of the standings, while Glenn van Straalen lies fourth.

World Supersport will take a short break before returning to action in Italy for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round across the weekend of 10-12th June.

Dominique Aegerter – P1

“It’s been a fantastic weekend, our fifth win in a row and we lead the championship with a comfortable margin. We have been fast in all conditions, we broke the lap record in Superpole and rode to two victories, which is fantastic. Today’s race was difficult, we had drops of rain which turned into drizzle for the whole race, so it was quite challenging to stay consistent. I was not sure where the limit was, so I sat in the group for the first half of the race, but with three laps to go I decided to push, and we got the win. I want to thank the team, our sponsors and the fans at Circuito Estoril for their support and I’m looking forward to Misano.”

Kyle Smith – P2

“It was a difficult race, as it always is starting towards the back of the grid and there was quite a lot of riders I had to fight with in the beginning of the race. When you’re battling and trading places, it can be quite difficult to fall into a consistent race pace, but I got my head down, and as the conditions changed, the group came to me. I managed to work my way through the group quite quickly and got up to second. It was a fun race and I’m very happy with the podium and for the team.”

Lorenzo Baldassarri – P3

“Today was very tough, a very crazy race! There was a lot of riders battling for the position and with the rain falling it was not easy. But we can be happy about this weekend. We were fast in all conditions and had a good battle with Kyle (Smith) which just allowed Dominique (Aegerter) to escape. Today it was easy to take no points, but we took third, good points and I can’t wait for Misano in front of my fans for my home race.”

Yari Montella – P4

“I’m really pleased with fourth place today. I did all I could to reach the podium in the final stages, but I just missed out. This result reflects all the hard work I’m doing with the team and, with their help, I’m adapting to the bike and learning to exploit its full potential. Now we have to look ahead and prepare for my home round of Misano.”

Can Öncü – P5

“It was a difficult race and we chose the wrong tyres, so we made a small mistake. Apart from this I think we did a really good job and today was very positive for us. We are fast and everybody can see it. This weekend was not the best weekend maybe but I know that I will be much faster in Misano.”

Oli Bayliss – P6

“Sixth place in race two today, and I’m more than happy with that! I went into race two with the goal of hopefully getting into the top ten, after the solid result in race one, and the Barni Racing Team and I have by far exceeded our expectations.

“It was a tricky race, in terms of the weather, but thanks to the team getting me comfortable on the Ducati Panigale V2, I felt confident in being able to push hard throughout the whole race.

“Our first top ten finish as a team is something to celebrate and it gives us a lot of confidence heading into the next round of the championship at the Misano World Circuit, which is a home round for the team.

“Massive thanks once again to the team, our team sponsors and all the support from everyone. I really do appreciate all the messages of support. In terms of the championship, we now jump from 18th to 14th spot in the title fight with 21-points now on the board. We are looking forward to hopefully getting a bit higher in the standings as the championship moves on throughout the year.”

Estoril WorldSSP Race Two Results

WorldSSP Championship Points

Estoril WorldSSP300 Race Two

Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo Kawasaki) almost won the first race of the Estoril WorldSSP300 weekend but he took an emphatic and historic victory in Race Two – despite having to start from the back of the grid after his tyre pressures were deemed too low by the officials.

No rider in the short but intense history of this racing class, designed to train and showcase young riders in a race setting, has ever made up fully 30 places to win a race from that far back on the grid. He had started in 31st place.

Di Sora moved into second place overall in the championship standings.

In the points standings, after three exciting rounds and six thrilling races, Marc Garcia leads with 98 points, Di Sora is second on 85, Alvaro Diaz third with 80, Steeman fourth on 69 and Okaya fifth with 64.

Samuel Di Sora

“I didn’t know I had set a new record of some kind until after the race – but it is incredible. I was going lap by lap, turn by turn, passing riders and making my way through. It was hard but I was confident. At the beginning we had an issue with the tyre pressure, which is strange because we are always running with a little bit of margin over the lower limit, to make sure nothing like this happens. But when something like this rebounds on you, become stronger. The bike was incredible to ride and that is what’s made it possible to make a comeback like this. It is thanks to the work of the team. We were so, so close to the win in Race One on Saturday, so it was important for us to take the win in Race Two.”

Young Aussie Harry Khouri had a difficult weekend but is looking on the bright side and forward to making progress at Misano in a few weeks time.

Harry Khouri

“2X DNF this weekend. A bad weekend on paper with 2 non finishes (mechanical race 1, rider collision race 2), but I am happy that the team and I have resolved some of our struggles on the last day to end the weekend with some positives. Not the weekend we wanted but I know for sure that the next round will be great.”

Estoril WorldSSP300 Race Two Results

WorldSSP300 Championship Points

2022 WorldSBK Calendar