Sunday WorldSBK and WorldSSP round up from Donington

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Five – Donington Park – Sunday

WorldSBK Superpole Race

For the first time this season, the rear SCQ was the undisputed protagonist of the 10 laps in the Superpole Race held on Sunday morning. In fact, no fewer than 16 out of the 25 riders on the grid chose to use it. These included basically all the Kawasaki, Yamaha, and BMW riders, whereas the Ducati riders (including Álvaro Bautista) and the Honda riders opted for the SCX, the same solution already used in Race One. Choices for the rear, on the other hand, remained relative to each rider’s style, which is why some opted for the standard SC1 (like defending World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu) whilst others preferred the A0674 SC1 development tyre (like Rea, Lowes, Redding, and Bautista).

Toprak Razgatlioglu scored the holeshot at the start to move into Turn 1 and, also like in Race 1, went on to lead every lap of the race, finishing ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in second place. The battle for third was also reminiscent of Race 1 as Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) fighting for third place; Redding this time able to come out on top for his first BMW podium.

Lowes made moves on Redding through the Turn 9-10 chicane, battled with him through Turn 11 and into Turn 12 before Redding responded into Turn 1. After that, he had to fight with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for fourth place, with the Championship leader coming through at Turn 9 on the final lap for fourth.  Bautista was the highest placed rider using the SCX tyre with the front three all using the SCQ, while team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi was sixth also on the SCX tyre.

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was seventh ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) who came home in eighth and ninth respectively.

Wildcard Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) retired from the race after a crash with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) at Turn 12 on Lap 4, with Vierge able to re-join the race. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards.

WorldSBK Superpole Race Results

WorldSBK Race Two

Toprak Razgatlioglu led the field into Turn 1 once again but this time he was unable to escape from his rivals as Rea stuck with him throughout the race, usually within just a couple of tenths of a second. On Lap 3, Rea initially got past into Turn 9 but Razgatlioglu responded immediately into Turn 11 with the same happening again on Lap 6 after Razgatlioglu was a bit off-line through the Foggy Esses.

Early on Lap 14, Razgatlioglu was able to start opening up the gap to Rea after resisting 13 laps of constant pressure from the six-time Champion, with the pair often alongside each other on the run down to the Foggy Esses.

Bautista was able to attack Rea in the closing stages of the race, the Spaniard passing the Kawasaki man on Lap 19 to move into second place with Ulsterman Rea finishing in third place.

The results mean all three riders in the 2022 title fight have now taken a WorldSBK hat-trick in their career, with Razgatlioglu the latest to join the exclusive club following his three wins. Razgatlioglu has now taken 22 WorldSBK wins in his career and 66 podiums while Yamaha now sit on 99 wins. Bautista’s second place gave him his 40th WorldSBK podium while Ducati now have 999 podium placements in the Championship, with Rea moving on to 228 podiums in his career.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed fourth place and at one stage it looked like he would be able to challenge Rea for the podium spot before the gap stabilised at 1.2 seconds.

RelatedPosts

Volunteers required for Phillip Island WorldSBK event in November

August 11, 2022

WorldSBK/SSP/SSP300 Sunday wrap from Most

August 1, 2022

Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) concluded a very strong weekend with fifth place, leaving his home round with third, fourth and fifth-place finishes. Redding was ahead of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in sixth, with Lowes and Redding seemingly inseparable throughout the three races.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was once again the lead Independent rider as he secured yet another top-seven finish, his tenth in the first 15 races of the season. The Italian finished ahead of compatriot Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in eighth place. Locatelli was more than seven seconds clear of an incredible fight for ninth place where Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) took home that ninth place after a battle with four other riders, passing Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in the latter stages of the race.

Lecuona had to fend off a late challenge from American rider Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with the Spanish rider coming out on top by just 0.084s; Lecuona remains the only rider to have scored top ten finishes in every race this season. Gerloff was just half-a-second clear of rookie Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) in 12th with Lecuona’s Honda team-mate Xavi Vierge less than a second back from Oettl.

Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) completed then points-paying positions with 15th place, the wildcard fighting his way up for field after being given a five-place grid penalty for irresponsible riding following a crash with Vierge in the Superpole Race.

Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) was another who fought his way up the field as he claimed 16th place, finishing seven seconds clear of Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) in 17th place. Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 18th after losing a couple of positions in the closing stages of the race, and the Japanese rider withstood a late charge from wildcard Peter Hickman (FHO Racing) who finished 19th. Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team), Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) rounded out the classified riders.

Ukrainian rider Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the first retirement of the race after he had a Lap 3 crash at Turn 7. Leon Haslam (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) retired from the race when he brought his bike into the pitlane on Lap 8 of 23. Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) was the final retirement after he came out of the race in the closing stages of the race.

WorldSBK Race Two Results

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSBK Rider Quotes

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“Finally, this weekend three victories – my dream! I’m really happy and thanks to my team for doing an incredible job. Now, I’m feeling the bike is how I ride last year in ‘Toprak style’ and I’m really happy for this, but also we are much faster than last year. The Superpole race was very fast because everybody is pushing every lap, we don’t need to save the rear tyre. We used the Q tyre in the race for the first time and it was an unbelievable pace, we see lap times in 1’26 – this is very fast lap time and I am winning again! Second long race win is very important for me, because it was very hot and Johnny very fast. I knew he was following me but I kept the rear tyre in a good condition and after some laps I see my board has 0.3s gap and I push again. I’m very happy with today and the triple win. The championship is not finished, we have many races and we will keep fighting.”

Jonathan Rea

“In the Superpole Race we used the SCQ rear tyre for the first time. I was quite convinced that tyre would be good. We crossed the line not too far from Toprak and that is encouraging because this is a really strong track for him. He has been strong here since he was a rookie on the Kawasaki. I felt good for half the final race and I was able to understand where I was good and where I have to improve. There were certain areas I was better but I really overcooked the front brakes – because I was right behind Toprak in the slipstream, always. So I had to take some time to cool down a little bit, fix my rhythm. Alvaro was coming with a really strong pace at the end of the race. We made some good changes from Saturday to today and I feel we are still learning a lot about the bike in hot temperatures. It was a weak area for us but now we can be happy. After Misano last time, I felt a lot closer here. To come out of the weekend with a 2-2-3 finishing record is strong. Yesterday we were fortunate to get a bit of a gift with points, so we halved the deficit in the championship. The big picture is OK but it is frustrating not to win. I really wanted to win here. But, we have to roll with it and look at the big picture.”

Scott Redding

“To get the first podium was great – it was a sprint race but at least we got it. We were in the top three and it wasn’t due to conditions or somebody else crashing. I had to fight for it, and really bite down in the helmet to dig deep over the last laps. I think we deserve it for all the hard work we have done, the guys at BMW have been working hard behind the scenes. It just shows that we can do it and that motivation helps the project a lot. To have Dr. Schramm here as well was great. The whole weekend has been very good, we were consistently in the top five or top six and the gap is significantly closer, even lap by lap and then in the race. I am feeling good with the bike and how it is working. I feel like another little step came this weekend with the updated parts even for the comfortability for me riding it. I feel more like it is my bike and this is very important. I have got the confidence with the front. It has been good to back it up consistently, not just one session with the new tyre and you’re there, and then one session you’re not. We were in a good position all the time this weekend and we’re getting closer. Also from race one to race two we closed the gap a lot. This was a big step for me, and I’m happy. With where we are in the project, I always say: it’s steps. If it’s half a second or half a tenth, if we are getting closer, this is what we need to do until we are there. Overall, I had a nice weekend, it was quite busy, having all the fans cheering, going crazy in all the races. They can see that I ride the bike hard, which I enjoy, and this is another key point for me. I am having fun, and this is what we need to do.”

Alvaro Bautista

“Despite the crash in Race-1 I think it was a very positive weekend because we knew the difficulties we could encounter on this track. It was not an easy race today, especially because of the pain in my hand after the crash. But I gritted my teeth and managed to stay close to Toprak and Johnny, securing a second place. I look forward to being in Most, a circuit that I think may be  more suitable for our characteristics”

Alex Lowes

“I got beaten up at the end of the Superpole Race. I was feeling quite good. Scott Redding passed me and put me wide, then Alvaro passed me. So I went from feeling quite good with a few laps to go, thinking I would get on the podium again, to getting beaten up, finishing fifth and feeling quite disappointed at the end of that race. It can happen in racing. Those guys did a good job and I was close to the podium, so that was acceptable really. This afternoon, in Race Two, I tried a small change on the front of the bike – I don’t really think that made the difference – but I didn’t have the confidence in the front that I had all weekend. I think with the temperatures rising up I was sliding the front early on and it made the race a little bit lonely. I tried to pass Rinaldi early on but he came straight back past on the start/finish straight. It is a shame but we seem to drop off when we get to a certain temperature and above.”

Michael Rinaldi

“I am very happy with this weekend. Yesterday we missed a chance to get on the podium because of an inconvenience we had during the race. The pace, however, has always been very strong and that is what we need. Today we had a decent Superpole Race and in Race-2 I pushed hard. I could say that this was the toughest race of my career and for that reason, I am very satisfied with the final result. I want to thank the whole team for the work done these days.” 

Iker Lecuona

“This morning in warmup I felt good on used tyres so I knew we had the potential to fight for a top five finish. In the Superpole race, my start wasn’t exactly the best and then I lost time in a lengthy battle with Loca. By the time I finally overtook him, a gap had opened between me and the guys ahead. I finished seventh, not a bad result all things considered, and still good for race 2 grid. I was also able to manage my arm pump issue over the short race distance. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said of Race 2 when I struggled a lot physically speaking. A lack of energy and pain in my right arm made the situation quite difficult to manage. I felt a first drop in my physical performance already after five laps. So race 2 was tough, but we managed to finish top ten anyway, which isn’t bad considering we are having a consistent season but at the same time it’s frustrating because the result doesn’t reflect the potential of the bike here. P10 would be not our position today if I had not had that issue. A big thanks to the team anyway, as they do not only work very hard but support me regarding every aspect of the weekend. Leon (Camier) arranged to have a physiotherapist here to try and help me with my arm, so thanks to everyone on the team and now let’s rest up ahead of the next round.”

Andrea Locatelli

“We improved in respect to yesterday, and we improved in respect to Friday but unfortunately we arrived a little bit too late. Today in Race 2, the gap was not so big compared to yesterday and the feeling with the bike was a bit better but we lost time working to improve the bike on Friday and Saturday. In the end, not the best weekend for us, but we have been able to take some points for the championship so it’s not all bad. To be honest, I’m not happy but I want to say thank you to the guys because we work so hard together and they did a lot of work during the weekend. Now we have just one week until we go to Most, I have good memories from there last year! We will forget Donington and find some good points to restart again in Most.”

Xavi Vierge

“This weekend has been tough for us, more so than we expected. We weren’t exactly envisaging an easy weekend, considering I’m returning after injury, surgery and a four-week break, and that this is a totally new track, but we were hoping for more, honestly. If we focus on the positives as we always try to do, we can say that we’ve been able to improve a lot over the course of the weekend and in the final race today we closed the gap to the front compared to where we were at the beginning. We don’t expect to be fighting for these positions, but it is what it is and at least we collected a lot of information while getting the maximum from this weekend. Thanks to the team for all their efforts, and now let’s look ahead to the next one.”

Garrett Gerloff

“We tried our best to make improvements on the bike but it was a difficult time here in Donington. I had a couple of great starts but the first laps were not easy. I tried to fight back through, but we’re struggling with stability. We need to understand what happened here but we took some good data that will be useful for Most.”

Kohta Nozane

“Today we made some progress and did two good comebacks. The speed was not bad compared to yesterday, even though I’m disappointed for not taking points. Anyway, we have to move on and keep working for the next round, we know we can do better and I’m eager to prove it at Most, which luckily will be in just two weeks.”

Leon Haslam

“It was a tough weekend. We lack a little in acceleration and we struggled to stop the bike, but it was pleasing to salvage a points finish in the opening race after a mistake in the first part. The sprint race, we were the top privately entered Kawasaki which was nice but to end the weekend in the pits is never nice. I am taking the positives though. We were running in the top ten in Race 2 before the issue and this is the important thing.”

Loris Baz

“I had to fight in all three races. After my mistake in Superpole, I lost a bit of confidence but managed to finish in P9 three times. I also secured a better grid position for race two. It was not a super good weekend for me, I expected more to be honest, especially after Friday. I can be fast on one lap; I am just not on the pace consistently at the moment. So, we must understand why. We definitely made a big step in the right direction with the BMW guys, and I am really happy for that. It’s good to see the first podium from Scott. As I said at the beginning, we must all focus on the same direction and push each other and that works. We all do our best, trying to work hard so it’s good to see that it pays off. Now we know that Donington is a good track for BMW, so we will see how it will be in Most, which is a completely different track. But we definitely made steps in the right direction and now we look forward to the next round to make another one.”

Ilya Mikhalchik

“I came here to ride and to learn more from this championship. From that point I certainly gathered a lot of experience again. But on the other side I am of course a bit frustrated about my results and especially with my feeling with the bike. It was not so good for me and unfortunately, I was not able to use the strong point of my riding style which is what I would normally do. I was just riding the bike like I would on track days. But I just need to leave that behind me, I know that I can do better, that I can ride a fast pace and fight with the top guys.”

Eugene Laverty

“From the first laps it was a struggle. The team and I tried everything but there was no way to make the rear tyre work this weekend. It was clear that compared to the other three BMW riders when we checked the tyre consumption, I don’t use any. With my smaller size on this track, I cannot use the rear tyre, and this was the main problem all weekend. It was difficult, I am not a rider that likes to stop but in the final race there was no point in carrying on over the last laps as I was so far back. I did everything I could, the team never give up on me but right now it’s tough. We must regroup and look ahead to Most.”

Peter Hickman

“Overall, it has been a really good weekend. The whole team has come together, it has been a good team exercise to do something a little bit different for all of us. It was also great of course for Faye Ho and the FHO Racing team to do their first international World Superbike round. To do that a year and a half after the team was born is pretty impressive. So overall I am very happy. We have learnt quite a lot, even though the electronics are very different, there is always something to take away and something new to learn. So, a big thanks to the team. In the sprint race today, we actually had a really good race. We managed to finish 16th. And then 19th in the final race, still an improvement on yesterday. And in both races today we have been the third BMW home. So that’s a really positive for all of us.”

WorldSSP600 Race Two

Dominique Aegerter was forced down to fourth place on Lap 8 as both Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) came through at Turn 11, with all three looking to chase down Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) at the front of the field. Baldassarri passed Caricasulo at Turn 9 on Lap 10 before passing Bulega at the Old Hairpin on Lap 16. Aegerter, on the same lap, passed Bulega at Turn 11 before passing his title rival at the same corner a lap later.

Aegerter went on to claim victory by just 1.063s ahead of Baldassarri in second, for the seventh team this season they have finished in this order, with Aegerter making it nine wins in a row and his 19th in WorldSSP. He also has 26 podium visits in 31 races. Baldassarri claimed his seventh consecutive podium while Bulega claimed his sixth podium; the 130th for Italy in WorldSSP and he matches Jonathan Rea for podiums in WorldSSP.

Dominique Aegerter – P1

“It’s nice to win nine races in a row, especially today because the race was really exciting. We had a great battle at the front, but it was interesting to battle the Ducati. I could see where we were faster, and just waited for the opportunity to pass. In the end we got to the front and took the victory. Nine wins in a row isn’t easy because every track is different, with different conditions and everything needs to be perfect to win. The team have worked hard throughout the winter to make the bike as good as it can be and I’m happy I can repay them and our sponsors for their hard work like I have. I’m looking forward to Most, our goal is to extend our championship lead and have a clean weekend. If we add more wins to the tally, then that’s a bonus!”

Lorenzo Baldassarri – P2

“It wasn’t an easy race, but I enjoyed it a lot. I was giving my maximum and it showed because we were fast, but Dominique Aegerter just had a bit more than us. I hoped that once I got ahead of Bulega, Aegerter would lose a bit more time than he did, but he was really quick to pass him and caught me. When he got ahead, the last two laps were on the limit, so fast, but I’m happy to take second and another podium. Thanks to the team, to Yamaha, and we’ll try to take a step to secure a good result in Most ahead of the summer break.”

Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) had been fighting in the podium places but lost out on Lap 10 to Baldassarri at Turn 9 and on Lap 11 at Turn 1 to Aegerter, with Caricasulo claiming fourth place, his best result of this season. He finished ahead of Italian duo Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) and Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP); with Manzi fighting his way through the field to claim fifth spot. It means, for the first time, five riders from one country finished inside the top six in WorldSSP.

Rookie Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) equalled his best finish in his maiden WorldSSP season with seventh place as he battled with Turkish rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) on the last lap. Oncu had been in the lead group but dropped back as the race progressed to finish in eighth place. Andy Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha) claimed ninth spot ahead of wildcard Simon Jespersen (CM Racing) in tenth.

Mattia Casadei (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) missed out in a top ten finish by just under a second behind Jespersen, while the Italian was three seconds clear of Unai Orradre (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP), who bounced back from a difficult Race 1 with a points finish. Orradre was four seconds clear of rookie Oli Bayliss (BARNI Spark Racing Team) who secured another points finish in his maiden campaign.

Oli Bayliss – P13

“A decent weekend for us here at Donington. We had a problem with the front tyre in race 2 and the drop in pressure prevented me from pushing, especially from mid race on. Overall, it was a real learning experience, and we take away a lot of useful indications for the future. Big thanks to the team for all their help.”

Stand-in rider Isaac Vinales (D34G Racing) claimed points on his WorldSSP return with the Spanish rider the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider. Italian rider Leonardo Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) rounded out the points with 15th place, finishing just ahead of Hungary’s Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team).

Tom Booth-Amos (Prodina Racing WorldSSP) claimed 17th place as he recovered from a Turn 11 crash on Lap 3, with Ondrej Vostatek (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP), Ben Currie (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti), team-mate Jeffrey Buis and Federico Fuligni (D34G Racing) rounding out the classified riders in Race 2 at the end of the 19-lap race.

Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) retired from Race 2 on the opening lap after contact with Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) at Turn 1, with van Straalen able to continue in the lead group, although the Dutchman crashed out at Turn 11 and retired from the race. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) crashed on Lap 2 that put the WorldSSP Challenge competitor out of the race. Wildcard Harry Truelove (ColinAppleyard/Macadam-Yamaha) retired from the race in the early stages, along with Maximilian Kofler (CM Racing) and Sander Kroeze (Kallio Racing). Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) crashed out of the race on Lap 8 at Turn 6. Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph) enjoyed a strong start to the race but brought his bike to the pits on Lap 9. Kyle Smith (VFT Racing) also crashed out of the race at Turn 11.

WorldSSP600 Race Two Results

WorldSSP600 Championship Points

2022 WorldSBK Calendar