2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Six – Donington Park
WorldSBK Superpole Race
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) claimed his second victory of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign after a hard-fought battle between the regular three front runners at Donington Park on Sunday.
Bautista got the holeshot but six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) responded immediately to take the lead at Turn 2. Bautista was soon demoted to third as Razgatlioglu went through at the Old Hairpin to move up the order before the trio battled it out for victory. The Ulsterman tried to stretch his legs and got the gap up to half a second before the 2021 Champion brought the gap back down to just over a tenth at the halfway stage.
The Spaniard remained in touch as he posted several lap records, including a 1’25.896s on Lap 6 to bring the gap across the top three to 0.5s. As the 10-lap encounter progressed, Bautista closed in on his rivals and he made a last-lap pass at Turn 9 to move into second and soon set his sights on Razgatlioglu but, with two corners left, the Turkish star was able to hold on to claim his second win of the season and ended the Championship leader’s winning streak.
Razgatlioglu’s victory means he ends Bautista’s run at 11 races with the Spaniard unable to break the all-time run, while Razgatlioglu took his 34th career win. It is the first time Bautista has finished a race and not won in 2023, while Rea moved on to 251 WorldSBK podiums and he also took Kawasaki’s 530th rostrum in the World Championship. The trio would go on to start alongside each other on the front row in Race 2. It was also the closest podium finish of the season.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) will start Race 2 from fourth place after he made a move on Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) on Lap 4, with Petrucci joining him on the second row. Home hero Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) will be alongside them for Race 2 as he took sixth in the Superpole Race. In the early stages of the encounter, Lowes moved into fourth after passing Petrucci but dropped back in the closing stages.
American star Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) will be the highest-placed BMW rider on the Race 2 grid as he took seventh, narrowly missing out on a spot on the second row by just three tenths. Italy’s Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) took eighth, moving up the order from his starting position, to secure a third row start this afternoon with Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completing that row in Race 2.
Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was an early crasher when he went down at Turn 12 on the opening lap, although he re-joined the race to finish in 23rd. Tom Sykes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had been in the top nine when he crashed at the same corner on the penultimate lap, which it was another difficult race for Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). He ran wide on the opening lap at Turn 11, and into the gravel, which dropped him to the back of the field. The Italian was able to battle back for 17th.
WorldSBK Superpole Race Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | 14m26.442 |
2 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4R | +0.315 |
3 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.537 |
4 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +4.247 |
5 | D. Petrucci | Ducati Panigale V4R | +5.018 |
6 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +5.330 |
7 | G. Gerloff | BMW M1000 RR | +5.629 |
8 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4R | +6.884 |
9 | S. Redding | BMW M1000 RR | +9.047 |
10 | P. Oettl | Ducati Panigale V4R | +11.167 |
11 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R1 | +12.125 |
12 | B. Ray | Yamaha YZF R1 | +13.346 |
13 | I. Lecuona | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +13.712 |
14 | X. Vierge | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +14.295 |
15 | R. Gardner | Yamaha YZF R1 | +17.793 |
16 | L. Baldassarri | Yamaha YZF R1 | +20.959 |
17 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4R | +22.256 |
18 | T. Sykes | BMW M1000 RR | +25.381 |
19 | H. Syahrin | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +28.530 |
20 | T. Rabat | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +28.954 |
21 | I. Vinales | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +29.146 |
22 | O. Konig | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +35.084 |
23 | L. Baz | BMW M1000 RR | +35.269 |
24 | E. Granado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +36.476 |
WorldSBK Race Two
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had to fight hard for his Race 2 victory at Donington Park after a fierce fight with title rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) throughout the shortened and red-flagged race. It was also a day to remember for Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) as he stood on the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship podium for the first time since he arrived in the paddock after an incredible Prosecco DOC UK Round.
The race was red flagged on the opening lap following a crash involving Tom Sykes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) on the exit of Coppice. All riders were conscious following the crash. The race was restarted over a 22-lap distance, one shorter than the original distance, although it did not feature the three riders involved. The new race grid was based on the Tissot Superpole Race results.
Sykes broke ten rear ribs, including three in two places, in the crash while he also sustained a thoracic injury and a left ankle injury. Sykes, who was standing in for Michael van der Mark as the Dutchman continues his recovery, was enjoying a strong weekend on home soil as he raced inside the top ten during all three races and narrowly missed out on a 52nd pole position in Saturday’s Superpole session.
Michael Rinaldi was knocked off the track by Baz in the incident and he was taken to the medical centre following the crash. He was diagnosed with a mild concussion and right ankle injury.
As the lights went out for the new race, Bautista got the holeshot to take the lead before rival Rea attempted to move from third to first at Turn 4. At the Old Hairpin, he was able to pass Razgatlioglu but ran wide when overtaking the Championship leader and stayed second. However, in the same lap, Razgatlioglu made his move on Rea at Turn 11 to re-claim P2. A lap later and there was a thrilling fight as Razgatlioglu stood Bautista up at Turn 11 which allowed the six-time Champion through to demote the reigning Champion to third.
On Lap 7, Bautista made a small error at Turn 7 when he ran wide but he was able to recover without losing position and his pace allowed him to close back in on the leading duo by the end of the lap. The Spaniard ran wide a couple more times, but he soon promoted himself to second when he overtook his rival at Turn 9 on Lap 10. Rea’s pace dropped into the 1’27s while the top two remained in the 1’26s, allowing them to pull a gap over the Ulsterman.
The battle between the last two Champions reached a crescendo on Laps 13 and 14 as the duo switched positions on several occasions. Bautista had tried to move ahead on Lap 12, but the move came at Turn 1 the next lap before Razgatlioglu responded at Turn 4. Bautista repeated the Turn 1 move a lap later but was able to create a gap and resist Razgatlioglu’s pressure to claim his second victory at Donington with the Turkish star in second.
Bautista’s win means he is now only one shy of record victories in a season with 16 in 2023, with the all-time record standing at 17. He has also gone level with Colin Edwards and Marco Melandri with 75 podiums. Razgatlioglu is closing in on a century of podiums and now has 99, putting him level with Chaz Davies.
With Rea dropping back from the lead pair, the battle for the podium heated up. Rea was initially under pressure from teammate Alex Lowes but, as the race progressed, other riders were joining the party. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) started from the second row but his pace, like in Race 1, allowed him to fight for the podium as he did in Race 1. He moved into fifth place by passing Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) on Lap 15 at Turn 11 before moving into fourth by overtaking Lowes at Turn 9 two laps later. The Italian rookie’s crucial move for the podium came on Lap 18 when he overtook Rea at Turn 4 before he pulled a gap to take his maiden WorldSBK rostrum and Barni Ducati’s first since Argentina 2018. He also became the 129th different rider to stand on the podium.
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) enjoyed his best result of the season so far as he claimed fourth place after he passed both KRT riders in the closing stages. He overtook Lowes for fifth on Lap 18 at Turn 11 before a sensational fight with Rea over the next few laps. On Lap 19, Redding overtook Rea at Turn 11 before the pair switched positions on the penultimate lap although the BMW was able to hold on for his best result of the season. Rea took fifth on home soil after two podiums in three races at Donington, while Lowes finished sixth.
The fight for the top four featured six riders throughout the race. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) took seventh place as he showed impressive late-race pace to finish ahead of Locatelli. The Yamaha rider got off to a good start as he moved into the top four, and put pressure on the leading trio, but he dropped down the order to finish in seventh. It was a similar story for Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) who claimed ninth while German rider Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven), who had a strong weekend, rounded out the top ten.
Swiss rookie Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished just outside the top ten with 11th place, six seconds clear of teammate Remy Gardner after what had been a trickier weekend than usual for the GRT Yamaha squad.
Home hero Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) took 13th place as he, Gardner and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) scrapped. Lecuona finished in 14th place with Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) securing the final points-paying position.
Isaac Vinales (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) narrowly missed out on a second points finish of the UK Round with 16th, just two seconds down on the Honda rider. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO), Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) completed the last of the classified finishers. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) retired after bringing their machines into the pits.
WorldSBK Race Two Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4R | 31m51.175 |
2 | T Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.650 |
3 | D. Petrucci | Ducati Panigale V4R | +7.936 |
4 | S. Redding | BMW M1000 RR | +9.198 |
5 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +9.506 |
6 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +9.960 |
7 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4R | +10.292 |
8 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +10.537 |
9 | G. Gerloff | BMW M1000 RR | +11.036 |
10 | P. Oettl | Ducati Panigale V4R | +14.317 |
11 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R1 | +17.697 |
12 | R. Gardner | Yamaha YZF R1 | +23.762 |
13 | B. Ray | Yamaha YZF R1 | +24.052 |
14 | I. Lecuona | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +24.543 |
15 | H. Syahrin | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +48.163 |
16 | I. Vinales | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +50.201 |
17 | O. Konig | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1m05.224 |
18 | E. Granado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1m08.928 |
19 | L. Baldassarri | Yamaha YZF R1 | +1m12.643 |
Not Classifed | |||
RET | T Rabat | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 4 Laps |
RET | X Vierge | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 8 Laps |
RET | L Baz | BMW M1000 RR | / |
RET | T Sykes | BMW M1000 RR | / |
RET | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4R | / |
WorldSBK Rider Quotes
Alvaro Bautista
“If someone had told me that I would have come back from Donington with 2 victories and a second place, I might have had trouble believing it. That’s why I’m really happy about this weekend. The feeling with the bike was once again fantastic. I don’t look at the standings: I only think about the next race and I can’t wait to be in Imola.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“For me it was not a bad weekend, but I am trying more than 100% to win. The short race was a good race for me and in the last lap we took first place – Race 2 is always important, I tried my best and we took second place. I still tried to fight as much as possible, but it was not possible to fight Bautista after 10 laps – and second position is better than to crash. Now I am just looking at Imola, I have good memories there and I hope we can win again – but not only the Superpole Race, also Race 1 and Race 2! This is ‘real’ winning and I hope me and my R1 can do it.”
Andrea Locatelli
“I’m disappointed with the result from Race 2 because I think the potential during the weekend was really high, we were fast but I was fighting a lot with the rear grip. When I was trying to catch Rea and Lowes, more riders were coming from the back with more pace – like Petrucci and Redding. I gave everything because the feeling was not bad and we were fast across the weekend. I pushed the maximum from the beginning to the end, but we lost something this afternoon. Yesterday we were fast from the middle of the race until the end, today was a bit different – but we had a good result in the Superpole Race, my bike was great in this race. Now the weekend is over so we’re looking forward to being ready in Imola. I’m not so happy about the Race 2 result today but we will take it and continue to work.”
Jonathan Rea
“I got a podium in the Superpole Race and then fifth in Race Two, but I would have been a bit happier if the results had been reversed. It is always nice to finish the day with a solid result. But if we start with the positives from this morning, I felt amazing for the ten lap race. It was just maximum attack from me, and I knew I needed to get to the front early. I passed Alvaro into T1, on the inside, and then just went as fast as I could go! On the penultimate lap there was probably a little bit left out there, with a few mistakes, and that got Toprak close enough to have a lunge in the Melbourne Loop. I got into the previous chicane a bit fast. When I was starting to think about taking my time into the chicane on the last lap, to set Toprak up for the last corner, or to get close, Alvaro popped in and parked it on the apex. I think we probably deserved a bit more than third given where we had come from but I am happy and disappointed at the same time. In the final race I struggled from the beginning with rear tyre traction and I could see quite early I was struggling on the edge of the tyre. From mid race distance, when Alvaro passed me, I struggled so badly. The rear was just sitting and spinning, spinning, spinning. It was really hard because it became so physical and the bike was moving a lot.”
Danilo Petrucci
“Today’s result is fantastic. I owe the team a great deal as they never lost heart. Only a few rounds ago we were really in difficulty because I couldn’t understand the areas in which we needed to improve but in Misano we took a good step forward. We’re still struggling too much in Superpole Race, and in the first part of the long race I was a little behind but then in the second half I was able to set really good pace. I was quicker but couldn’t pass on the brakes. When I saw Johnny up ahead, I thought it would be difficult to pass him but then I had my chance and knew I couldn’t wait any longer. This result is for the team and for everyone at home who helps me.”
Alex Lowes
“The general characteristic of the weekend was the same today. We were quite fast but when the tyre drops we struggle to keep our pace. Johnny manages it better, obviously, but it is a similar characteristic because he was fighting for the win, especially in the Superpole Race, but then runs out of grip. I felt a bit better than Johnny in the middle part of Race Two, and I was trying to relax behind him but when you have a group of seven you cannot relax too much. Petrucci passed me and was riding well, then Redding passed me and just upset my rhythm. I felt he bike was maybe working a little bit better than Johnny’s as we made quite a big change for the last race. The lap times are so fast from everyone it is a different game now. The set-up change we made for the last race seemed quite positive.”
Dominique Aegerter
“Unfortunately today the feeling was not so good, as I said yesterday, we were missing track time. We tried to change something, but it didn’t work out quite how we wanted, although we feel we’ve now figured out what we can do to improve. That gives us confidence for the next round in Imola, another track that I don’t know with the Yamaha R1, but we’ll give our best to fight for great results.”
Remy Gardner
“Not the easiest weekend at all, not knowing the track didn’t help and the tricky conditions didn’t make it any easier. Anyway, we should look at the positives, we improved on some technical aspects, and we got faster with each session. Thankfully we’ll have another round in just a few weeks, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Scott Redding
“Today has been pretty good. Warm up wasn’t the best for me so I thought it is going to be a hard day. The Superpole race was not bad and I finished ninth. I needed to be up there for race two. You saw the difference it makes as I had a good start. Unfortunately there was this accident, so I send my wishes to Tom and Michael. At the re–start, I got through pretty cleanly, and I do generally struggle at the start of the race to go with the front guys a little bit more. Then I thought to just keep the pressure on because I knew I come stronger. I was believing in myself to come better in the end. I had Petrucci in front and he was a bit faster so I could not get him but I got the Yamaha and I got the Kawasakis and just pushed until the end. It would have been nice to have a podium but to have a ride like that after such a difficult season is great.”
Garrett Gerloff
“I was really, really happy in the Superpole race. The bike felt so good for the first time this weekend. We’ve been playing with some different settings and finally on Sunday in the Superpole race everything felt super good. So, I was able to finish in the top nine places in seventh position. That was really positive for myself and the whole team. In race two, I got a great start after the red flag and was in fifth place. I felt so good, then I just struggled to maintain the pace. I was fighting with some arm fatigue. It wasn’t arm pump, I was just losing strength in my arm and that made it difficult to be consistent. I made a couple of stupid mistakes and people passed me, but in the end I was still with the group with Scott and the other guys. That was super positive and I’m very happy about that. We’re getting closer and closer and I know we’re going in a good direction. This is what makes me happy and I’m really excited for the next round at Imola.”
Loris Baz
“Unfortunately, there is not so much to say about today. First of all, I want to send my best wishes to Tom and Michael. I hope they are ok. It was so scary! I’m just glad that I didn’t hit Tom. There was just nothing I could have done. The consequence could have been much worse. We’ve just been lacking luck all weekend with some technical issues, rain and all the problems. I couldn’t do more than six, seven laps in a row, so it was hard for me to keep the pace and I felt I was running behind. I tried to catch back the speed during the whole weekend. I’m just disappointed, as Donington is a track that I really like and I felt the BMW could do well. Garrett and Scott have shown that in race two. Now, I’m just trying to get some sleep, because I have a big headache from the crash. Now we’ll regroup and start again from Imola. Thanks to all the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team guys for the hard work again. We try harder than anyone and we will try harder next time. We’ll stay strong.”
Iker Lecuona
“It was a hard weekend honestly, and we struggled quite a lot. It’s true that yesterday I crashed, but even without that I was struggling and the same went for the sprint race. But there have been some positives, in that we changed the base of our bike setup before race 2, taking a bit of a gamble to be honest, but it was something we had to try to understand and find a way forward. Straight after the start it was tough and on the very first lap, I almost crashed through turn seven but luckily, I was able to stay on the bike and just keep going. And lap by lap, by maintaining focus and continuing to push, the situation improved and my pace too. In fact the entire second part of the race was a progression, I made up a few seconds on the group ahead and the lap times were really good. So, even if fourteenth is not even close to where we aim to be, that part of the race was good. We must now analyse everything and understand what happened”.
Xavi Vierge
“Of course this weekend was a tough one for us, and we didn’t expect to struggle so much here really. As always me and the team worked very hard to try and achieve the maximum possible in every session. Today we were unable to score points in the end – in the sprint race we were not fast enough and in race 2 we made a good start and were lying mid-pack but unfortunately we had a small problem that forced me to pit. It’s the first time it’s happened to be fair, and better for it to happen in a race where we were struggling anyway rather than during a weekend where we’re fighting for a strong result. So thank you again to everyone for their hard work, we will continue on to try and improve and fight for the positions everyone on the team deserves”.
Michael Rinaldi
“It has been a really unlucky weekend where something important always happened in the early laps. Today’s accident was really bad. I only remember finding myself on the ground with a lot of pain in my ankle. Fortunately, the initial analysis ruled out fractures. I wish a speedy recovery to Sykes, who was at the medical centre with me.”
Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Prometeon Team Principal
“Both guys and the R1 WorldSBK performed very well here in the UK yesterday, and we took another step forward resulting in an incredible win for Toprak in one of the most exciting Superpole Races we’ve seen for a long time – backed up by a very close fourth for Loka. Toprak gave everything and more in Race 2. The pace was incredible compared to yesterday afternoon, but despite every tactic in the book and incredible speed – it wasn’t quite enough for Bautista again. None-the-less, congratulations to Toprak and all the crew on a brilliant weekend’s performance. Loka will be disappointed with Race 2, he finished only a second off fourth place but wasn’t quite able to finish his best-ever Donington weekend on a high. Next up is Imola, we’re looking forward to re-visiting this iconic circuit and we’ll be doing our best to put Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK back on top of the podium.”
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“It was a weekend that we conclude with mixed emotions. The weekend started off difficult due to the unpredictable weather. Both practice sessions on Friday had partly wet conditions, making it challenging to prepare for the races, but that applied to everyone, of course. Even in FP3 on Saturday morning, there were damp patches on the track, and qualifying was more or less the first dry session. We were performing quite well there. Tom had the potential to put the bike on the front row in ‘Tomington’ but he was unlucky with the yellow flag. With the other guys, we didn’t immediately find the right setup for the newly resurfaced track due to the lack of time in the practice sessions, however we had a stable pace with good results in the first race. Therefore, we started Sunday with confidence. Garrett also showed a good and consistent performance in the Superpole race, improving to seventh place. Tom also gave a strong performance with stable lap times but had a small slide. As a result, Scott took ninth place. We had a good pace in this race as well.
“The second main race started with Tom’s terrible crash, which subsequently affected Loris and Michael Ruben Rinaldi. It has just been confirmed that Tom has multiple rib fractures. He is currently undergoing further examinations in the hospital. We wish him a speedy recovery, and at this point, as BMW Motorrad, we would also like to send our best wishes to Michael. Fortunately, Loris was relatively okay after the accident, but he had fallen on his head and decided not to participate in the restart. Garrett had a very good start but then dropped back a bit. Scott grew stronger throughout the race, ploughed through the field, and in an extremely exciting battle, especially against the Kawasakis, secured a very strong fourth place. Just under two seconds behind, Garrett crossed the finish line in ninth place. These are pleasing results, especially with fourth place not far from the podium. We will carry this positive momentum with us to Imola.”
Giorgio Barbier – Pirelli
“At Donington, with the low temperatures and the new asphalt, the standard SC0 rear was the undisputed protagonist and that is only right. Otherwise, if you could use the SCX in every race, having a range of compounds to cover different types of asphalt and weather conditions would be superfluous. However, it is important to point out that the SC0 is certainly not a fallback choice – anything but. It performed extremely well, registered a highly contained level of wear, and was consistent throughout all the races, allowing the riders to push hard from start to finish and maintain an extremely fast pace even in the final laps, as can also be seen by the fast laps done in both categories and by the overall race time which was significantly lower than previous years, with better lap times to the tune of one second. Credit for this undoubtedly also goes to the new asphalt which provides more grip and optimised the surface, but even with rather low temperatures, the SC0 performed extremely well. Congratulations to Ducati riders, Bautista and Bulega, as well as to all the protagonists of the weekend. Now Imola awaits where we will undoubtedly find much hotter weather.”
World Superbike Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Alvaro Bautista | 357 |
2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 264 |
3 | Andrea Locatelli | 175 |
4 | Jonathan Rea | 163 |
5 | Axel Bassani | 146 |
6 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 102 |
7 | Alex Lowes | 99 |
8 | Danilo Petrucci | 98 |
9 | Dominique Aegerter | 97 |
10 | Xavi Vierge | 92 |
11 | Remy Gardner | 69 |
12 | Iker Lecuona | 66 |
13 | Scott Redding | 63 |
14 | Garrett Gerloff | 61 |
15 | Philipp Oettl | 52 |
16 | Michael Van Der Mark | 19 |
17 | Loris Baz | 13 |
18 | Tom Sykes | 11 |
19 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | 9 |
20 | Bradley Ray | 8 |
21 | Hafizh Syahrin | 8 |
22 | Isaac Vinales | 1 |
23 | Ivo Miguel Lopes | 1 |
WorldSSP Race Two
The FIM Supersport World Championship title race took a huge twist at Donington Park as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) doubled up on British wins while Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) had a mixed day after claiming fifth following a crash and a penalty. History was made during the Prosecco DOC UK Round with the first all-Ducati podium in the Championship’s history as Bulega extended his title lead with half the season completed.
The fight for victory was between a trio of Italian riders in the opening stages. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) surged into the lead as the lights went out as he looked to go one better than his Race 1 second place, but he soon found himself demoted to P2 as Championship leader Bulega battled his way into the lead with a move at Turn 9 on the opening lap. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) forced his way into second place on Lap 2 as he lunged Montella at Turn 11, but he soon fell down the order.
A crash at Turn 11 on Lap 5 dropped him to tenth place but he soon fought his way back up. On Lap 7, he passed Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) at Turn 1 aggressively to move into seventh, before overtaking home hero Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) at Turn 11 on the same lap. On Lap 9, the FIM Stewards gave the Italian a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding after he forced Mahias onto the grass on the exit of Turn 1, which he took a lap later before fighting his way back.
With the Yamaha rider dropping out of contention, Bulega was able to pull away from the chasing group with Montella and Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team). The #11 was posting lap record pace throughout the race with a best of 1’29.018s on Lap 4 as he extended his Championship lead over Manzi. Montella finished two seconds down on his compatriot but he fended off ‘Carica’ to claim his second consecutive second place finish with Caricasulo securing third place. Montella’s pace was so strong that he set his personal best lap on the final lap to make sure the #64 was unable to challenge him.
Ducati secured their first podium lockout in WorldSSP while it was the fifth all-Italian podium of 2023. Bulega’s victory gave him his eighth World Supersport win to put him level with Sam Lowes in the all-time list. Montella’s rostrum gave him his third in the Championship and consecutive podium finishes for the first time, while Caricasulo moved up to fifth in the all-time list, level with Broc Parkes, with his 32nd rostrum.
2021 WorldSSP300 Champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) took his best result since graduating to WorldSSP as he claimed fourth place, missing out on a podium by just a few seconds, with Manzi coming home in fifth. He took his Long Lap Penalty on Lap 10 and re-joined back down the order. He passed Debise again on Lap 11 before overtaking Booth-Amos for the second time at Turn 11 for sixth; he was promoted to fifth when Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) crashed on Lap 15 at Turn 12 which put the German rider out of contention. He was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash and diagnosed with contusions to his left scapular and back. Booth-Amos did stay with Manzi in the final few laps but was unable to re-pass the Championship
Debise took seventh place as he enjoyed a strong weekend on his return to World Supersport following illness, with Turkish star Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in eighth. The Barcelona race winner had crashes on Friday and in Sunday Warm Up, but he was able to respond in Race 2 to claim a top-ten finish after fending off Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in the closing stages as the pair battled at Donington. Dutchman Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) was just behind the fight as he rounded out the top ten.
Rookie Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) just missed out on a place in the top ten as he finished 11th, with Finland’s Tuuli taking 12th. Andy Verdoia (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) scored points on his return to action as he stands in for Apiwath Wongthananon. Verdoia, the youngest-ever race winner in WorldSSP, finished 13th and less than a second clear of Tom Edwards (Yart-Yamaha WorldSSP Team) in 14th while it was a point-scoring return for Suzuki. Wildcard Rhys Irwin (Astro-JJR Suzuki) secured 15th place on his WorldSSP debut.
Tom Edwards
“I’m really happy with the progress we’re making as a team. Each round, we learn more and more. We just need to keep at it.”
Harry Truelove (Dynavolt Triumph) retired from Race 2 in the opening stages, while French rider Mahias brought his ZX-6R machine into the pits at around the halfway stage as he also retired. Wildcard Eugene McManus (Completely Motorbikes Triumph) had his race ended after two crashes in quick succession. He went down at Turn 12 on Lap 10 before re-joining but he went down again at Turn 1 on the next lap.
Luke Power took the chequered flag in 24th place while countryman Oli Bayliss didn’t make the grid after his crash earlier in the weekend.
WorldSSP Race Two Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | N Bulega | Ducati Panigale V2 | 28m31.049 |
2 | Y Montella | Ducati Panigale V2 | +2.119 |
3 | F Caricasulo | Ducati Panigale V2 | +3.629 |
4 | A Huertas | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +7.880 |
5 | S Manzi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +11.657 |
6 | T Booth-Amos | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +12.721 |
7 | V Debise | Yamaha YZF R6 | +13.339 |
8 | B Sofuoglu | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +14.734 |
9 | R De Rosa | Ducati Panigale V2 | +15.321 |
10 | G Van Straalen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +16.171 |
11 | J Navarro | Yamaha YZF R6 | +17.840 |
12 | N Tuuli | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | +20.766 |
13 | A Verdoia | Yamaha YZF R6 | +28.914 |
14 | T Edwards | Yamaha YZF R6 | +29.704 |
15 | R Irwin | Suzuki GSXR750 | +30.882 |
16 | N. Spinelli | Yamaha YZF R6 | +31.317 |
17 | J Kennedy | Yamaha YZF R6 | +31.691 |
18 | J Mcphee | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +38.301 |
19 | A Sarmoon | Yamaha YZF R6 | +38.401 |
20 | A Diaz | Yamaha YZF R6 | +39.078 |
21 | F Fuligni | Ducati Panigale V2 | +40.240 |
22 | M Kolfer | Ducati Panigale V2 | +52.898 |
23 | T Mackenzie | Honda CBR600RR | +53.608 |
24 | L Power | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +53.639 |
25 | Y Okaya | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +56.531 |
26 | A Norrodin | Honda CBR600RR | +1m06.346 |
Not Classified | |||
RET | M. Schroetter | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | 5 Laps |
RET | E Mcmanus | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | 9 Laps |
RET | L Mahias | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 11 Laps |
RET | H. Truelove | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | 11 Laps |
World Supersport Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Nicolo Bulega | 247 |
2 | Stefano Manzi | 192 |
3 | Federico Caricasulo | 156 |
4 | Marcel Schroetter | 156 |
5 | Niki Tuuli | 93 |
6 | Glenn Van Straalen | 89 |
7 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | 84 |
8 | Valentin Debise | 80 |
9 | Jorge Navarro | 77 |
10 | Can Oncu | 63 |
11 | Yari Montella | 60 |
12 | Adrian Huertas | 58 |
13 | Nicholas Spinelli | 57 |
14 | Raffaele De Rosa | 55 |
15 | Tom Booth-Amos | 33 |
16 | John Mcphee | 31 |
17 | Oliver Bayliss | 26 |
18 | Simone Corsi | 23 |
19 | Lucas Mahias | 21 |
20 | Tarran Mackenzie | 15 |
21 | Tom Edwards | 15 |
22 | Anupab Sarmoon | 14 |
23 | Adam Norrodin | 9 |
24 | Andrea Mantovani | 9 |
25 | Harry Truelove | 5 |
26 | Apiwath Wongthananon | 4 |
27 | Andy Verdoia | 3 |
28 | Marco Bussolotti | 2 |
29 | Rhys Irwin | 1 |
30 | Federico Fuligni | 1 |
31 | Adrian Fernandez Gonzalez | 1 |
2023 FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar | ||||
Date | Circuit | WSBK | WSSP600 | WSSP300 |
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 |