Over 76,000 fans came out in force at the Misano World Circuit - Marco Simoncelli this weekend, as the home crowd was treated to an action-packed Sunday.
Race 2 Highlights
Starting from pole position Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) led from the start and dominated the 21 lap race. His speed and consistency was incredible as he opened a lead of almost 10 seconds at the end of the race. The Turkish rider set the fastest lap of the race in the early stages of the race. It marked the seventh occasion this season where he has taken the Pirelli Best Lap Award
Following a Superpole Race crash Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) started from the fourth row of the grid. It took five laps to get into second position with moves being made on Alvaro Bautista, Alex Lowes, Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Locatelli on consecutive laps
There was little to choose between Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and his rivals in the early stages but once he overtook Locatelli on Lap 12 he opened a gap of two seconds in the closing stages. The double WorldSBK champion was combative with his teammate in the early laps and he came away with his first podium in six races
Locatelli’s weekend ended with three top five finishes as he had a faultless day at Misano to finish comfortably ahead of Petrucci. The Barni Spark Racing Team rider spent two third of the race in fifth position but spent the entire race under pressure. At the chequered flag Iker Lecuona was just one tenth of a second behind. The Honda HRC rider overtook Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) on the penultimate lap
- Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) finished eighth. The American was involved in a five rider scrap in the closing stages but crashes for Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding saw Xavi Vierge and Michael van der Mark round out the top ten
Championship Highlights
Razgatlioglu now trails Bulega by just nine points. This is the closest margin between the duo at the end of any round this season
Petrucci continues to hold third position in the standings as the leading Independent Rider
Ducati lead BMW by 42 points in the Manufacturers’ Standings with Yamaha third
P1 – Toprak Razgatlıoglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
“I want to thank my team because they have done an incredible job this weekend. We have improved the bike with every session. I had a big problem at Turn 4 this weekend but I managed it during the race. I pushed really hard because I knew that I had to keep a strong pace with Nicolo starting from tenth. I’m very happy to have three wins.”
P2 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
“It wasn’t a perfect weekend. I had some bad luck and I’m happy with my second place in Race 2. When I passed the riders in front and moved into second position Toprak already had a big gap. I decided that finishing second was the smart result because catching him would have required taking too many risks. He was very strong, so congratulations to him and BMW.”
P3 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
“It’s been a very difficult weekend. The temperature didn’t help and the mornings were better because I could go fast and be consistent. As the track got hotter it became more difficult. In the hot conditions the bike is harder to stop in the low grip and I was pushed wide several times. Yesterday we had the pace for a podium but starting from the back makes it tough here. The field is very close here so it was important I gained positions in the Superpole Race and started better in Race 2. I fought for the podium and I’m happy to finish third. I’m looking forward to improving my feeling and being more competitive.”
Race 2 Results
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’33.471
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +9.685s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +14.438s
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +16.752s
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +19.273s
6. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +19.402s RACE 2 RESULTS
Tissot Superpole Race Highlights
- Pole sitter Bulega’s race ended at Turn 1 after a crash with Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). Bassani made a fast start from the outside of the front row but on the inside line he crashed and Bulega was a hapless victim
With Bulega out of the race Razgatlioglu, using the harder SCX compound tyre, was mistake free from the start. On the opening tour Alex Lowes gave chase but ultimately Razgatlioglu opened a four second lead at the end of the 10 lap race
Lowes claimed bimota’s first podium since returning to WorldSBK this season. At their home round the Italian manufacturer claimed their first podium since Phillip Island in 2000
Andrea Locatelli spent the race in third position. The Pata Maxus Yamaha’s performance was his first podium since his Dutch Round victory in April
By finishing seventh Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) had his best performance of the season
Superpole Results
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +4.281s
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +6.122s
TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS Oncu takes the spoils in shortened Supersport race
A red flag on Lap 13, due to a Kaito Toba (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) crash, saw Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) take the honours after an action packed battle at the front
Oncu spent the early laps battling with Stefano Manzi but on Lap 9 the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing rider crashed from the lead at Turn 16. The battle at the front was now a four rider group and when the red flag came out Oncu was 0.291s ahead of Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) and Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse)
Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) matched his season’s best result in fifth position. The Spaniard came out of a race long scrap with Roberto Garcia (GMT94-YAMAHA). On his debut weekend in the class the 19 year old impressed to come away with a top six finish
Championship Highlights
Manzi’s non-score today sees his championship lead reduced to 47 points over Oncu
Oncu’s victory saw him jump from fourth in the standings to second
Bo Bendsneyder could only come away with eighth position at the flag today. The MV Agusta Reparto Corse drops one place in the standings while a non-score for Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) sees him now sitting fifth at the halfway point of the campaign
Yamaha now holds a 96 point lead over Ducati in the Manufacturers’ Standings
P1 – Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team)
“I’m happy because I was really disappointed yesterday. I was sad after making a small mistake but today the team promised me an incredible bike. You could see in the result that this was true! I have to say a big thanks to my team and to Yamaha because they did an amazing job. We focused only on riding and staying consistent. I’m not thinking about the championship because the priority is to be on the podium and to enjoy our racing. After some really difficult times in the past I feel that I deserve to enjoy moments like this.”ACCESS
Race 2 Results
1. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team)
2. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.291s
3. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) +0.424s
4. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.846s
5. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) +4.924s
6. Roberto Garcia (GMT94-YAMAHA) +6.290s
Fastest lap: Tom Booth-Amos (Triumph) – 1’37.741s
Fernandez takes the win and the championship lead
A start line incident between Emanuele Cazzaniga (Racestar Trasimeno) and Felix Mulya (ProGP NitiRacing) saw the initial staging of the 12 lap WorldSSP300 race red flagged. As a result the race was reduced to 8 laps when proceedings got back underway. When racing restarted Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) took the holeshot from Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing)
On an action packed final lap the lead changed multiple times in the leading group. Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) led out of the final corner but on the drag to the line he was slipstreamed by Benat Fernandez. The Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove rider’s second victory of the season came after leading just one lap in the final metres
Just 0.035s covered the podium with David Salvador in third position. The Team ProDina XCI rider had a Long Lap Penalty in the early laps but kept a cool head to get back into victory contention for the final laps. He held off his teammate Antonio Torres and Carter Thompson to take the final step on the podium
Coming into this round Buis was the championship leader but after contact at Turn 11 on the opening lap he settled into the group and finished in tenth position. The Dutchman was less than one second behind the race winner in the closely fight of the lead group
Championship Highlights
Benat Fernandez leads the World Championship by just a single point from Julio Garcia
Kawasaki leads the Manufacturers’ Standings by 25 points
P1 - Benat Fernandez (Team #109 Retro Traffic Kove)
"This weekend was very important for us. We've now finished the first half of the season and we can fight for the championship. I feel good and we are calm because we are all really close in the standings. I'm happy because I won this race. It was our target for this weekend even if it wasn’t fully expected. We need to keep working and performing well every weekend. It's definitely better for us to be at the front but in every race it is crazy. You are always in a group and you need to be ready for anything. We just need to keep working hard."