The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings have a new leader in 2020 following Race 2 at the Motul Portuguese Round as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) moved to the top of the standings following his third race win in 2020 at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.
Rea initially faced a challenge from Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) with the Turkish sensation on the inside at Turn 1, but Rea swept around the outside of both Razgatlioglu and Baz to keep the lead and pulled out a gap to claim a dominant victory; moving to the top of the Championship by four points.
Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) claimed a stunning second place after making up three places from his starting position, the British rider ensuring Rea could not pull too far away in the Championship standings, having an almost race-long battle with Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team); the Dutch rider finishing the 20-lap race in third place.
Redding’s Ducati teammate, Chaz Davies claimed a fourth place finish as he fought his way through the field, finishing two seconds clear of Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) as the Spanish rider secured his best finish of the 2020 season; battling his way through the field to secure a top five finish. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) claimed a sixth place finish after showing another solid performance as he continued his impressive recent form.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) secured a seventh placed finish for BMW, two seconds back from Rinaldi but almost 12 seconds clear of the recovering Razgatlioglu in eighth; the Turkish sensation battling back from a crash at Turn 5 to claim a points finish. He battled with Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) in the latter stages of the race, taking advantage of the Italian running wide at Turn 5 with just a couple of laps to go.
Leandro “Tati” Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) secured his best result of 2020 with 10th place, holding off a challenge from American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) who finished 11th. Gerloff had an incident with five laps to go with Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) with the pair coming together at Turn 2; Fores having to retire from the race while Gerloff could continue. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) bounced back from a Turn 5 crash to claim points with 12th place, while Leon Haslam (Team HRC) finished 13th; also after a fall at Turn 5.
Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) finished in 14th place with Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) in 15th; Frenchman Barrier securing his best result of 2020 as he picked up the final point available in Race 2.
Baz was forced to retire after a high-speed crash at Turn 15 in the early stages of the race while Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Kawasaki VerdNatura) retired from the race following an incident on Lap 2. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) joined the list of fallers at the Turn 5 hairpin as he came off his bike on Lap 7, remounting the bike but bringing it back to the pitlane to end his race early.
P1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)“I can’t believe that I came in here 24 points back and go out leading the Championship, it’s incredible. We had some worries; we didn’t come here in winter testing when all the other teams did, and I rode terribly in Free Practice 1; I was starting to panic a little bit. I could see my pace in the races was very good, especially at the end I could do exactly as I wanted. This race, I just knew to keep the pace strong at the beginning with Scott. I knew, sooner or later, that the cord would break, and I could just ride with my pit board. My team gave me a great bike. The wind picked up a lot today and I had a few sketchy moments over the hill where the front was rolling so that was enough to tap me on the shoulder to look at the 25 points, and move on to Aragon in a couple of weeks.”
P2 Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
“It was a really hard weekend for us. We were kind of in damage limitation mode, I knew I could ride for the podium, but the bike wasn’t really working that well for us. I really wanted to get a podium here because I knew Jonny was going to win all three races after I saw his pace. It’s okay as you have tracks like that that suit bikes better, but it isn’t acceptable to finish fifth and then seventh is not ideal. We changed a lot of the bike and in the warm-up lap and told the team that I didn’t feel good. I felt good and could run with Jonny for quite a few laps. My target was to get a gap and then to manage because I knew I was going to suffer at the end. We managed to pull out second and I think that’s the best job we could’ve done here today.”
P3 Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team)
“I’m really happy with this race. From the start, I stayed on a consistent pace and people were making mistakes. I kept in my rhythm, I felt quite good and I struggled a little bit with the front tyre. In the end, I was with Scott. I was fast but I wasn’t stronger, so I had to wait until he made a mistake. I went in front but again hit neutral and lost that gap, and then couldn’t pass him. We had a similar level; he was stronger in some points than I was. I’m really happy with this podium, the temperatures went up again and the bike felt good again. Massive thanks to the team because this morning I was very disappointed.”
#PRTWorldSBK at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve - Race 2.
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +4.360
3. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +4.453
4. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +8.363
5. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) +10.336
6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) +12.566
Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 31. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (136 points)2. Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (132 points)3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (103 points)
#PRTWorldSBK at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve Tissot Superpole Race.
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +2.946
3. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +4.748
4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +.6.605
5. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +6.605
6. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.723
High five for Locatelli as he wins at PortimaoItalian rookie battles his way to the history books as he becomes the first rider to win five consecutive WorldSSP races
History was made at the Motul Portuguese Round as rookie Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) claimed his fifth consecutive FIM Supersport World Championship win, becoming the first rider to achieve the milestone; Locatelli claiming his second victory at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.
Locatelli had to fight his way back from fourth despite starting from pole position, with both Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha), teammate Corentin Perolari and Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) all getting ahead of the Championship leader. Locatelli quickly passed Viñales and Perolari but had to fight his way past Cluzel; the pair battling for half the race before Locatelli got by on Lap 9. Cluzel completed the 17-lap race in second place with Spanish rider Viñales claiming the final podium place.
It means Locatelli extended his Championship lead even further following his record-breaking race after fighting his way through the field to claim victory, with Locatelli now 35 points clear of Cluzel at the top of the standings; more than the 25 points available for a race victory in a WorldSSP race.
Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) claimed a fourth-placed finish in Race 2 at Portimao as he got by Perolari, with the Frenchman falling back behind Philipp Oettl during the race and then Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) on the race to the line; Oetll finishing in fifth with Gonzalez pipping Perolari to sixth place by just 0.045s.
Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) closed in on the battle between Oettl, Gonzalez and Perolari as he missed out on a higher-placed finish by just one tenth of a second; the Estonian gaining almost half a second in the second half of the final lap to miss out by the barest of margins. Soomer was four seconds clear of Miquel Pons (H43 Team NOBBY), who secured a top 10 finish in a wildcard appearance in WorldSSP. Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) completed the top 10 following a battle through the field.
Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) completed the race in 11th place with Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) finishing 12; the Italian coming off his bike on Lap 11 of 17 at Turn 5 but able to re-join the race to claim a points finish, beating WorldSSP Challenge rider Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team) by just over a tenth of a second; Manfredi the highest-place WorldSSP Challenge rider. Loris Cresson (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) finished 14th with Indonesian rider Galang Pratama Hendra (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) picking up the final point from the race.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the first faller in the race as he came down at Turn 2 on the opening lap, retiring from the race shortly after. Lachlan Epis (MPM Routz Racing Team) was not classified following a crash on the exit of Turn 3; Epis able to get up of his own accord but taken to the medical centre for a check-up.
P1 Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
“It’s an incredible job and we win everything! We stay calm and we worked a lot, we need to understand what the problem was in the first part of the race. For me, the track is not so easy and Jules was very fast, and for the final race we are stronger and thank you very much to the guys because every time, they do an incredible job.”
P2 Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha)
“I gave everything yesterday and today. I knew this was a circuit I’m faster than a lot of guys, especially Locatelli as well, because in practice I was feeling good with the used tyres. We are still trying to understand but more races are coming, and we still finish second. Yesterday I said to the team, and we decided to try to win. I was losing the front everywhere and losing so much time on the straight. Today, we started again but I felt like I was going to crash at every corner. I still fight and try but I understand in the end that I can’t, so I decided to concentrate on the gap to Viñales because he was riding really fast it was not easy. I am really happy with second place. We are the best of the rest, it’s a little bit disappointing because of that, but I’m racing doing what I love, and I need to enjoy these things.”
P3 Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing)
“I’m finally here on the podium. I tried hard at Jerez, but it was not possible because I had many problems. I tried yesterday and got nothing. Today, I’m on the podium and I’m very happy. Thank you to the team for all the work.”
#PRTWorldSBK Autódromo Internacional do Algarve - Race 2
1. Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
2. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +2.889
3. Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) +5.517
4. Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) +9.547
5. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +16.743
6. Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) +17.035
Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 31. Andrea Locatelli (ITA) Yamaha (125 points)2. Jules Cluzel (FRA) Yamaha (90 points)3. Lucas Mahias (FRA) Kawasaki (62 points)
Deroue wins dramatic, shortened WorldSSP300 Race 2 at Portimao
Race 2 is red flagged following incident at Turn 4 but the shortened race still provides plenty of drama…
The on-track action from the Motul Portuguese Round came to an end with a thrilling FIM Supersport 300 World Championship race with a dramatic seven-way battle for the win which was won in dramatic fashion by Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) after a Red Flag was deployed with just two laps to go.
Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) was able to get to the front of the field and had looked to be building a gap at the front. Deroue was able to close up a gap of around half-a-second to take the lead with about seven riders in contention for victory during the first eight laps of the 10-lap race. The red flag meant results were taken from the final timing point all riders crossed.
Deroue was able to hold on to the lead throughout the race despite challenges from numerous riders. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) claimed second place during the dramatic race after battling his way through from the fifth row of the grid, with Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) securing his first WorldSSP300 podium; following on from his history-making pole position from Tissot Superpole on Saturday.
Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) claimed a fourth-placed finish in Race 2 with Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300 finishing in fifth place as kept pace with the Championship leaders as he looks to mount his own challenge; with Deroue taking the Championship leader. Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) finished sixth.
Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) claimed a seventh place finish despite a dramatic finish after a crash with Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300); the pair colliding at Turn 5 with Carrasco unable to return back to the pits and therefore not being classified in the race. Thomas Brianti (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) finished in eighth place with Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) in ninth. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) completed the top 10; just two seconds off the lead.
Gleen van Straalen (EAB Ten Kate Racing) finished in 11th place, holding off Enzo De La Vega (Machado came SBK) and Oliver König (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team). Alfonso Coppola (Kawasaki GP Project) and Tom Bercot (ProGP Racing) rounded out the points paying positions with a strong 15th place finish.
The race was red flagged after an incident between Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) and Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) on the run from Turn 4. Booth-Amos almost came off his bike down the start and finish straight just moments before after clipping the rear of Okaya, but the British rider was able to continue after the incident with Okaya.
There was an incident at Turn 3 on Lap 1 as Maximilian Kappler (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) and Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) with the pair both retiring from the race before it really got going. There was also an incident between Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO) and Nick Kalinin (Battley-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki); with both riders not finishing the race although Kalinin did ride his bike back to the pits.
P1 Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT)
“I’m feeling great at the moment. It was a very difficult race because in the cooler conditions we’re very fast but in the warmer conditions we are struggling a little bit. Today it was really warm, so I was struggling a little bit to be honest but, just really happy to finish first. Thanks to the team and Kawasaki.”
P2 Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing)
“It was a very, very difficult race. I’m so happy because yesterday we crashed. The track is difficult for the Yamaha bike, but I fought in the first group and the position is so important. Thanks to the team because they worked a lot yesterday after the crash, thanks to Yamaha and all my sponsors.”
P3 Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT)
“I’m happy to get my first podium in this class. The race was very fast, I was at the maximum of my limits to follow Scott and Ana, but they were riding well in this race. I want to say congratulations to Scott.”
#PRTWorldSBK WorldSSP300 at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve - Race 2
1. Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT)
2. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) +0.122
3. Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) +0.313
4. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) +1.067
5. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WSSP300) +1.747
6. Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) +2.075
Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 31. Scott Deroue (NED) Kawasaki (67 points)2. Bahattin Sofuoglu (TUR) Yamaha (57 points)3. Unai Orradre (ESP) Yamaha (55 points) Infront Moto SPort