2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Two – Mandalika, Indonesia
WorldSBK Race One
Toprak Razgatlioglu lined up on pole with team-mate Andrea Locatelli alongside him and Aruba Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista completed the front row. The first Yamaha 1-2 in qualifying for almost 13 years.
Michael Rinaldi headed the second row and while Jonathan Rea had qualified fifth the Northern Irishman had to start from eighth on the grid after he was given a three-place grin penalty for impeding Philipp Öttl during Superpole.
Remy Gardner was missing from the grid. The Australian finished sixth on Friday but was struck down with Bali Belly (gastro) overnight and failed to turn a wheel on Saturday. Remy’s complaint was not a rare one as much of the grid had some level of discomfort from gastro issues.
The majority of the riders were on the standard Pirelli SC2 front and standard SC0 rear but Bautista, Rinaldi and Vierge were on the super soft SCX-A (spec B800) at the rear matched to an SC1 front. The track temperature was 50-degrees and the ambient 31-degrees.
Michael Rinaldi tagged the back of Axel Bassani on the entry into turn one which saw Rinaldi hit the deck and many riders have to take evasive action.
Razgatlıoğlu led from the front for the opening laps until he was overtaken by Alvaro Bautista and the Ducati man then pulled away from the field to a convincing win.
Suffering from a drop in grip from his front tyre after around eight laps, the Turkish ace was unable to fight back for the win but pushed to the end to secure a hard-earned second position.
Locatelli lost out in the race start and was running P5 in the opening laps before recovering quickly to close in on the top three and made the crucial overtake on Axel Bassani (Motocorsa) on Lap 10 before extending a comfortable gap over his countryman to secure a rostrum finish.
Danilo Petrucci battled with the KRT pairing for Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes in the early stages and that duo got the better of him early on before their tyres went away in the later stages which allowed Petrucci to overhaul them and pull away to claim fifth place.
Xavi Vierge had made a strong start and was eighth for a good part of the race before battling with Rea for seventh in the second half. Once past the Kawasaki rider, he was also able to move in on Lowes, passing him too on lap 17. Vierge lost sixth place to Michael van der Mark late in the race.
Dominique Aegerter had worked his way through the field, eventually getting into contention for the top six in the latter stages of the race. Finally, on the last lap, he pulled off a great double move to overtake the Kawasaki’s of Rea and Lowes and secure an impressive eighth place.
Jonathan Rea had moved up to fifth place by lap five, and stayed there until lap ten. Losing front tyre grip, Rea struggled and slipped back to finish ninth.
Alex Lowes had been as high as fifth after he passed his team-mate on lap ten, but he also had to drop back as front tyre wear played its unwanted part and crossed the line just behind his KRT team-mate.
Quotes
Alvaro Bautista – P1
“It was not as easy as it may have seemed. With such high temperatures, it was very important to manage the tires in the best possible way, lap after lap. In the first part of the race I was behind Toprak trying not to stress the front tire too much. Then I realized I had the potential to overtake him and also to break away from the chasing group, which was large. I am happy because last year we struggled a lot at this circuit. This means we have made an important step”.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P2
“For me, the race was very difficult because I try to win but after eight laps the front tyre dropped and I am just fighting all corners – I try to enter but I lose the front on right corners. After, I understand Bautista is very strong every lap – I don’t understand because he use the softer tyre but looks new. We need to improve tomorrow this and maybe bike set-up or tyre choice. We need to understand tonight and in Warm-Up because we have just one chance, but we will see tomorrow. We will keep fighting, I hope tomorrow we have the first win of 2023, I always try my best also especially today – many times I almost crash but I hope for tomorrow we can improve and I think maybe we are fighting for the win.”
Andrea Locatelli – P3
“It was a strong race and unfortunately we just lost in the first part of the race, when I lost a lot of positions on the start – in the end I just needed to try and improve and recover the gap to the front but I think it was a little too late, so we need to try to be faster on the start better tomorrow. Sometimes we start very well, sometimes it was not easy like today. In the end it was a good result, P3, to be honest we were ready from yesterday because we started working very well but we did not know the rhythm of the other riders. It’s the first big result to start the weekend, and we have tomorrow the Superpole Race and Race 2 to try to improve the bike and fight for the podium again. It’s just the second weekend, but for sure it’s a good way to start the championship – so I want to try and take more good results.”
Danilo Petrucci – P5
“I’m pleased with the work we’ve done and with my race, but the team and I will only be truly happy when we reach the podium, because that’s our goal. The team has done a great job understanding what we needed here, and everything worked today. I was a little too conservative early on and allowed too many riders to pass me which limited me a bit. I battled hard with Rea, but lost contact with Bassani in the meantime – I was pretty worried about tyre consumption too. Now I know that tomorrow I can be a little more incisive off the line, but that aside, I have to say I’m pleased with today’s result. We’re finally up where we should be.”
Xavi Vierge – P7
“Even more than usual I want to say a big thanks to the team because after a difficult Australian round they came up with the perfect plan to bring my confidence back. We knew that our race pace was quite strong here but unfortunately, I again struggled to exploit the qualifying session. I made some mistakes that caused me to lose two or three tenths which set me back on the grid considering how close everyone’s times were. And it makes a big difference whether you start on the first three rows or further back. Having said that, my start was very good and I soon made up a few positions. I was able to stick with the front guys, part of a group of very strong and competitive riders. I did my best to manage the tyres until the end but the battle was tough and I lost a little ground through the middle of the race and one position on the very last lap but, all in all, it was a good race and now we will try to make some small refinements to the setup in order to try and be just a little faster tomorrow. But again, thank you so much to the team for the support they give me each time.”
Dominique Aegerter – P8
“I was unfortunately forced to go wide at the start as another rider crashed in front of me. Anyway, I tried my best to recover, and the rhythm was good; I was satisfied with the race pace. Like I said, unluckily, I lost a lot of time at the beginning, but we’ll take the positives and look forward to the next races. It would be great to have a strong Superpole race to have a better starting position in race two; let’s see if we can do it. I’d like to thank the team for the job they’ve done and the Indonesian fans for the massive support they gave me.
Jonathan Rea – P9
“It was a difficult day. In Superpole I got lap cancelled because of a yellow flag and then a penalty for being in the way of Philipp Öttl. Big apology for that and no excuses really. In the race, I got involved in that melee in Turn One with Rinaldi, and lost some track positions. I got back to Andrea Locatelli and I thought that would be where I would race, with Locatelli and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Most of the sectors were OK, except for the fast succession of early right hand corners. I lost all my front confidence going through there. At angle, on the gas, the front was moving and sliding as I committed to T7. I had no front stability to turn there, then to change direction to get a good exit from T8. After that it was just a fight for positions. Not great for us today, but that was my race.”
Alex Lowes – P10
“Superpole was tough, as the wind got up in that session and caught me out a bit. Then I had a yellow flag when I had fitted a fresh tyre. So I set my best lap when the tyre was not quite at its best anymore. A couple of tenths can make a big difference around here so I ended up on the third row of the grid. In the race, I didn’t feel too bad for the first 12-13 laps. Then I had massive problems with front grip, and couldn’t stop the bike the way I wanted, to enter the corners. I was struggling to lean the bike. Other guys looked like they had a lot better package than me. And the worst thing about this track is that when people get past, they nudge you off the racing line, and you lose a second instead of two tenths to half a second. So that pushed me back and back. In general, we need to work on the second part of the race.”
Iker Lecuona – P12
“I’m so happy after the first race here in Mandalika because I now feel like “Iker” again on the bike. I was able to ride again, maybe not like in Australia because I’m still missing something, but I began to regain my confidence lap by lap, and also during the race. We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying because I could have finished around P10 but I didn’t see a yellow flag and so had my lap time cancelled. We placed P16 in the end, which made a big difference, also because my start was not good and I found myself in almost last position through turn one. I soon recovered though and felt very good throughout the race. My pace was unbelievable and I set my fastest lap time on lap 15, which meant I could lap in the mid ’33s right to the end. I made up a lot of ground with respect to the group up ahead, made up of Xavi and some other strong guys. So I don’t think P12 reflects our true level here, but we must focus on the positives which make us very happy. Our pace was great and I was able to ride in a relaxed way and enjoy the racing.”
Michael Rinaldi – DNF
“I am sorry for the crash, especially because I couldn’t see how things were going to go. Given the way the race went, I think we could definitely have fought for the podium, so my disappointment is double. Luckily the crash had no consequences for me or the other riders on the track. The potential, after yesterday’s practice and this morning, was high. Now we just have to think about having a good race tomorrow”.
World Superbike Race One Results
Pos | No. Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4R | 32m44.093 | 296,7 |
2 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | +4.809 | 288,8 |
3 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +6.586 | 287,2 |
4 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4R | +8.871 | 292,7 |
5 | D. Petrucci | Ducati Panigale V4R | +11.667 | 293,5 |
6 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW M1000 RR | +12.685 | 291,1 |
7 | X. Vierge | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +13.610 | 291,9 |
8 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R1 | +13.961 | 289,5 |
9 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +14.454 | 290,3 |
10 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +14.590 | 290,3 |
11 | L. Baz | BMW M1000 RR | +16.431 | 288,8 |
12 | I. Lecuona | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +16.793 | 290,3 |
13 | P. Oettl | Ducati Panigale V4R | +26.167 | 291,1 |
14 | G. Gerloff | BMW M1000 RR | +30.580 | 289,5 |
15 | L. Baldassarri | Yamaha YZF R1 | +35.520 | 282,7 |
16 | H. Syahrin | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1m02.195 | 284,2 |
17 | O. Konig | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1m09.875 | 278,4 |
18 | T. Sykes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +4 Laps | 284,2 |
Not Classified | ||||
RET | S. Redding | BMW M1000 RR | 9 Laps | 289.5 |
RET | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4R | / | 241.1 |
World Superbike Superpole / Qualifying Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1’32.037 | 286.5 |
2 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.069 | 286.5 |
3 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4R | +0.165 | 295.9 |
4 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4R | +0.505 | 292.7 |
5 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.513 | 291.9 |
6 | L. Baz | BMW M1000 RR | +0.601 | 288.8 |
7 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4R | +0.601 | 289.5 |
8 | D. Petrucci | Ducati Panigale V4R | +0.672 | 291.9 |
9 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.760 | 289.5 |
10 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW M1000 RR | +0.965 | 288.8 |
11 | S. Redding | BMW M1000 RR | +0.968 | 291.1 |
12 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.998 | 285.0 |
13 | X. Vierge | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1.057 | 293.5 |
14 | G. Gerloff | BMW M1000 RR | +1.057 | 290.3 |
15 | P. Oettl | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.350 | 291.9 |
16 | I. Lecuona | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1.906 | 289.5 |
17 | T. Sykes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +2.160 | 282.7 |
18 | L. Baldassarri | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.271 | 284.2 |
19 | H. Syahrin | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +2.641 | 284.2 |
20 | E. Granado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +2.903 | 278.4 |
21 | O. Konig | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +3.507 | 278.4 |
Not Qualified | ||||
NQ | G Gardner | Yamaha YZF R1 | / | / |
World Superbike Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Alvaro Bautista | 87 |
2 | Andrea Locatelli | 50 |
3 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 43 |
4 | Jonathan Rea | 38 |
5 | Axel Bassani | 38 |
6 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 31 |
7 | Danilo Petrucci | 26 |
8 | Iker Lecuona | 26 |
9 | Philipp Oettl | 23 |
10 | Xavi Vierge | 23 |
11 | Dominique Aegerter | 20 |
12 | Michael Van Der Mark | 14 |
13 | Alex Lowes | 12 |
14 | Scott Redding | 10 |
15 | Remy Gardner | 10 |
16 | Garrett Gerloff | 10 |
17 | Loris Baz | 6 |
18 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | 1 |
19 | Hafizh Syahrin | 1 |
World Supersport Race One
A few spots of rain had fell as the race started but conditions were primarily dry with almost the whole field on the SC2 front and SC0 rear.
Can Oncu got away to a handy early lead in the opening World Supersport bout of the weekend at Mandalika as Federico Caricasulo, Niki Tuuli and Nicholas Spinelli tripped each other up while tussing over second place.
Poleman Nicolo Bulega had been shuffled down to seventh place from the start and found making progress from there tough work. Oli Bayliss was lying 15th in the opening laps.
Can Oncu was making the best of his clear air up front as he continued to pull away and by lap seven he had 1.8-seconds over Caricasulo and Tuuli.
On lap eight Nicholas Spinelli went down and out of fourth place after losing the front. Mantovani had gone down a lap earlier.
By half-race distance Oli Bayliss had wrestled his way up to tenth. Oncu led Caricasulo and Tuuli by 2.7-seconds at this juncture. Raffaele De Rosa was fourth ahead of Glenn Van Straalen, Nicolo Bulega and Marcel Schroetter.
Oncu continued to pull away over the final laps to complete a dominant victory, his first in the category.
Can Öncü – P1
“Today was incredible. I was just thinking to push as hard as I could every lap from the start and I saw a gap opening up behind. So, I kept pushing. An incredible race and so much fun. I want to say big thanks to Kawasaki, Puccetti Racing, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Kenan Sofuoglu. They have always been with me and I hope to continue this form and have a good result in Race Two on Sunday. Thanks for everything and thanks to Mandalika.”
Caricasulo won the battle with Tuuli over second place.
A few seconds further back there had been a heady four-way tussle over fourth place in the final laps between De Rosa, Schroetter, Van Straalen and Bulega. On the penultimate lap though Van Straalen clashed with Bulega which left the Dutchman on the deck, he remounted to claim 11th but it was a case of what might had been… As a result Schroetter made that fourth place his and Bulega claimed fifth. De Rosa went out of sixth place on the final lap with a flat rear tyre.
Benefitting from those misfortunes was Oli Bayliss who kept his nose clean to claim eighth place at the flag, 40-seconds behind the race winner.
World Supersport Race One Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | C. Oncu | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 28m56.637 | 252.9 |
2 | F. Caricasulo | Ducati Panigale V2 | +3.305 | 254.1 |
3 | N. Tuuli | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | +4.172 | 252.9 |
4 | M. Schroetter | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +7.813 | 250.0 |
5 | N. Bulega | Ducati Panigale V2 | +11.558 | 254.7 |
6 | V. Debise | Yamaha YZF R6 | +20.218 | 252.3 |
7 | S. Manzi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +35.418 | 250.0 |
8 | O. Bayliss | Ducati Panigale V2 | +39.987 | 252.9 |
9 | B. Sofuoglu | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +41.431 | 254.1 |
10 | J. Mcphee | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +42.621 | 251.2 |
11 | G. Van Straalen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +46.092 | 250.6 |
12 | J. Navarro | Yamaha YZF R6 | +46.595 | 254.1 |
13 | A. Sarmoon | Yamaha YZF R6 | +54.197 | 252.3 |
14 | T. Mackenzie | Honda CBR600RR | +56.861 | 243.8 |
15 | A. Norrodin | Honda CBR600RR | +1m16.156 | 244.9 |
16 | T. Alberto | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1m27.344 | 248.3 |
17 | H. Truelove | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | +1m27.819 | 255.3 |
Not Classifed | ||||
RET | R. De Rosa | Ducati Panigale V2 | 1 Lap | 250.6 |
RET | N. Spinelli | Yamaha YZF R6 | 10 Laps | 250.6 |
NS | A. Wongthananon | Yamaha YZF R6 | / | 248.3 |
Disqualifed | ||||
DSQ | A. Mantovani | Yamaha YZF R6 | 10 Laps | 253.5 |
World Supersport Superpole / Qualifying Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | N. Bulega | Ducati Panigale V2 | 1m35.520 | 254.7 |
2 | F. Caricasulo | Ducati Panigale V2 | +0.003 | 254.1 |
3 | C. Oncu | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +0.092 | 252.9 |
4 | N. Tuuli | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | +0.395 | 252.9 |
5 | M. Schroetter | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +0.407 | 250 |
6 | R. De Rosa | Ducati Panigale V2 | +0.511 | 250.6 |
7 | G. Van Straalen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.545 | 250.6 |
8 | N. Spinelli | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.607 | 250.6 |
9 | J. Navarro | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.676 | 254.1 |
10 | S. Manzi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.901 | 250 |
11 | J. Mcphee | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.432 | 251.2 |
12 | V. Debise | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.593 | 252.3 |
13 | B. Sofuoglu | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +1.633 | 254.1 |
14 | A. Mantovani | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.819 | 253.5 |
15 | O. Bayliss | Ducati Panigale V2 | +2.059 | 252.9 |
16 | T. Mackenzie | Honda CBR600RR | +2.372 | 243.8 |
17 | A. Wongthananon | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.574 | 248.3 |
18 | A. Sarmoon | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.674 | 252.3 |
19 | H. Truelove | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | +3.016 | 255.3 |
20 | A. Norrodin | Honda CBR600RR | +3.679 | 244.9 |
World Supersport Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Nicolo Bulega | 61 |
2 | Can Oncu | 41 |
3 | Stefano Manzi | 39 |
4 | Niki Tuuli | 36 |
5 | Marcel Schroetter | 35 |
6 | Federico Caricasulo | 26 |
7 | John Mcphee | 26 |
8 | Valentin Debise | 21 |
9 | Jorge Navarro | 21 |
10 | Nicholas Spinelli | 20 |
11 | Glenn Van Straalen | 18 |
12 | Oliver Bayliss | 14 |
13 | Tarran Mackenzie | 13 |
14 | Anupab Sarmoon | 13 |
15 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | 12 |
16 | Raffaele De Rosa | 9 |
17 | Adam Norrodin | 6 |
18 | Harry Truelove | 5 |
19 | Apiwath Wongthananon | 4 |
Mandalika WSBK Round Schedule
Saturday | ||
1130-1200 | WorldSBK | FP3 |
1255-1315 | WorldSSP | Superpole |
1340-1355 | WorldSBK | Superpole |
1500 | WorldSSP | Race 1 |
1630 | WorldSBK | Race 1 |
Sunday | ||
1130-1145 | WorldSBK | WUP |
1155 | WorldSSP | WUP |
1330 | WorldSBK | Superpole Race |
1500 | WorldSSP | Race 2 |
1630 | WorldSBK | Race 2 |
World Superb
2023 FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar | ||||
Date | Circuit | WSBK | WSSP600 | WSSP300 |
24-26 Feb | Phillip Island | X | X | |
3-5 Mar | Mandalika | X | X | |
21-23 Apr | Assen | X | X | X |
5-7 May | Catalunya | X | X | X |
2-4 Jun | Misano | X | X | X |
30 Jun-02 Jul | Donington Park | X | X | |
14-16 Jul | Imola | X | X | X |
28-30 Jul | Autodrom Most | X | X | X |
8-10 Sep | Magny-Cours | X | X | X |
22-24 Sep | Aragón | X | X | X |
29-Sep-01 Oct | Algarve | X | X | X |
13-15 Oct | San Juan Villicum | X | X |