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Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista topped the speed in Friday practice for the season’s second World Superbike event at Assen, beating off defending champion Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea.
Following the Kawasaki satellite team’s break with Loris Cresson, Leon Haslam will compete at this weekend’s World Superbike event in Assen for Pedercini.
Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista won his second World Superbike race in a row, defeating Jonathan Rea’s Kawasaki at Motorland Aragon.
Six-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea edged Alvaro Bautista by 0.101s in a nail-biting duel at Aragon to start his 2022 World Superbike campaign with a win.
Alvaro Bautista feels optimistic about his chances in this weekend’s World Superbike season opener in Aragon, citing his “very close” testing speed to Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu.
After agreeing to a deal with Pedercini Kawasaki, Leon Haslam will return to WorldSBK racing as a wildcard rider in 2022.
Alvaro Bautista had a great start to WorldSBK testing in Catalunya, taking the lead over Jonathan Rea by nearly two tenths.
Yamaha has revealed the bike that will be used by Toprak Razgatlioglu to defend his World Superbike title this year.
With just over two weeks until the start of the 2022 World Superbike Championship season at Aragon, Kawasaki has unveiled the latest generation of the ZX-10RR.
The launch dates for Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK, Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, and GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team have all been set ahead of 2022 Championship.
Yamaha has confirmed that Superbike World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu will test one of its MotoGP bikes later this year.
Danilo Petrucci will join Ducati for the World Superbike pre-season test at Portimao in February as he prepares for a potential move to MotoAmerica.
Leon Haslam has been forced to miss the remainder of this weekend’s Indonesia WorldSBK, his last race weekend as a world championship rider due to a shoulder injury. The 2018 BSB champion had been dealing with the injury over the last few rounds which led to surgery following last month’s San Juan round. This all comes after a very strong opening day for Haslam and Honda as he finished sixth overall in Mandalika, while team-mate Alvaro Bautista was two places higher in P4. Despite being just three tenths off championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu who dominated proceedings, the team cited a lack of strength and pain as the major reasons why Haslam will miss the final two days. Haslam himself called Friday’s running the best of the year aboard the CBR1000RR-R despite the injury, a situation he called ‘a big disappointment’. “It’s a big disappointment to not be able to race here this weekend. This circuit has been fantastic, especially for the Honda and I was up inside the top six after FP2 despite my injury,” added Haslam. “We were only 0.3 of a second from the fastest so, of all this year’s rounds and even in my current condition, this was probably the best Friday we’ve had, so being unable to race is very disappointing. “I really wanted to round out the season and my time with the team on a positive note, but the guys have been amazing and very supportive of my shoulder injury. “I simply didn’t expect to be in this much pain and that, combined with a lack of strength, means we cannot race this weekend, but I really want to thank Honda, HRC and the entire team because everyone’s been fantastic all season long.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu was right at the front on his first flying lap, whilst Championship rival Jonathan Rea took second place after his first attempt. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was third whilst Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was up in fourth ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing). The first run saw most riders head out on the Q tyre, eager to get a banker lap in with the spots of rain in the air. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) were notable outliers as they used the SCX tyre but were both inside the top ten after their initial efforts. With just over six minutes to go, everyone headed back out to try and go for a quick lap time, with Jonathan Rea leading the field around the 4.3km Pertamina Mandalika Circuit. The reigning six-time World Champion meant business as he put in a storming lap of a 1’33.201, the fastest lap we’d seen of the weekend. Scott Redding was next up, he took second provisionally but all eyes were on Razgatlioglu once again, with the Turkish rider storming to pole, with a 1’32.877 seeing him become the first and only rider to get into the 1’32 bracket. With Andrea Dosoli and Kenan Sofuoglu watching on and applauding accordingly, Razgatlioglu took pole ahead of Rea and Redding. The same three it has been all year at the forefront of the grid. Having been third all the way through Free Practice, Garrett Gerloff took fourth, his joint-best Superpole result of 2021 as he looks revitalised and rejuvenated ahead of racing action in Indonesia, coming at the right time as he is in the battle for Best Independent. Fifth place honours went to Andrea Locatelli, with three Yamahas inside the top five. Locatelli has steadily improved over the course of the Pirelli Indonesian Round weekend and, along with Gerloff, will hope to see if they can help Razgatlioglu out in the title battle, should he need it. Completing the second row with a last lap pushing him up the order, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) returned with a bang. Heading up the third row, revelation Axel Bassani will look to get in the fight for Best Independent with Gerloff, as well as support the likes of Scott Redding in Ducati’s quest for the Manufacturers’ Championship. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) was eighth, his joint-best Superpole result of the season as he looks to close the Honda WorldSBK chapter of his career on a high. Ninth place went to Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), with both the BMWs inside the top ten. It was an impressive showing from Leandro Mercado, who consolidated his pace from the last few rounds by taking a season-best Superpole result of tenth, his first top ten on the grid after Superpole since Magny-Cours 2017, when he was second. In his final round as a rider, Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) was 11th, ahead of an impressive showing from Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha), who took a career-best Superpole result of 12th. Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 13th as he continued to show his potential, whilst it was a Superpole session to forget for Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with the Italian, who is fourth in the Championship and just eight points ahead of rookie rival Andrea Locatelli, finishing 14th after setting just two laps, the fewest of anyone. There’ll be plenty of work to do from there. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) was 15th, ahead of Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Oliver König (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing). Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was declared unfit after a right shoulder functional impairment halted his weekend, whilst Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) suffered a crash in FP3 and was ruled out with a right acromioclavicular separation. WORLD SUPERBIKE MANDALIKA, INDONESIA – SUPERPOLE QUALIFYING RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME 1 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR PATA Yamaha 1:32.877s 2 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team +0.324s 3 Scott Redding GBR Aruba.It Ducati +0.379s 4 Garrett Gerloff USA GRT Yamaha +0.688s 5 Andrea Locatelli ITA PATA Yamaha +0.711s 6 Tom Sykes GBR Motorrad BMW WorldSBK Team +0.795s 7 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +0.898s 8 Alvaro Bautista SPA Team HRC +1.174s 9 Michael Van Der Mark NED Motorrad BMW WorldSBK Team +1.203s 10 Leandro Mercado ARG MIE Honda Racing +1.277s 11 Chaz Davies GBR GoEleven Ducati +1.550s 12 Christophe Ponsson FRA Gil Yamaha +1.554s 13 Isaac Vinales SPA Orelac Racing Kawasaki +1.561s 14 Michael Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Ducati +1.622s 15 Samuele Cavalieri SPA Barni Ducati +1.700s 16 Kohta Nozane JPN GRT Yamaha +1.783s 17 Tito Rabat ITA Kawasaki Puccetti +2.381s 18 Oliver Konig CZE Pedercini Kawasaki +2.987s
Toprak Razgatlioglu maintains his FP1 advantage to finish two tenths clear of title rival Jonathan Rea in World Superbike FP2 at Mandalika. Despite being 1.5 seconds down on Razgatlioglu’s overall best time from FP1, Alex Lowes quickly improved to go within two tenths of the Yamaha rider’s 1:34.985s. Jonathan Rea, who lost considerable track time in FP1 due to a technical issue, then went quickest for this session, second overall. Lowes then crashed at turn two – the same spot as replacement rider for Loris Cresson, Oliver Konig did this morning. While that was happening, Razgatlioglu went +0.003s down on Rea’s best FP2 time. After following each other for a couple of laps, Razgatlioglu dropped back from Rea to then start another push lap, a lap that saw him go fastest, although not quite enough to beat his own time from earlier on. However, Razgatlioglu did eventually go on to better his fastest lap of the day on his very next lap. A time of 1:34.815s put him -0.199s clear of Scott Redding who was just the second rider at this stage to set a sub 1m 35s lap. After a brief return to pit lane, Razgatlioglu re-joined the track with team-mate Andrea Locatelli in close proximity. The Turkish rider went another fourth tenths faster which helped the Italian move up to second – six tenths behind the series leader. Rea managed to split the two Pata Yamaha riders as he went just under two tenths down on Razgatlioglu, but this time it was sector one not four where the Kawasaki rider struggled to match Razgatlioglu. Impressive efforts from Garrett Gerloff and Leon Haslam saw both riders jump up to third and fourth during the final five minutes. Haslam’s team-mate Alvaro Bautista then pipped the British rider to fourth place courtesy of a lap that was a tenth quicker. WORLD SUPERBIKE MANDALIKA, INDONESIA – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (2) POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME 1 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR PATA Yamaha 1:34.230s 2 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team +0.174s 3 Garrett Gerloff USA GRT Yamaha +0.225s 4 Alvaro Bautista SPA Team HRC +0.230s 5 Scott Redding GBR Aruba.It Ducati +0.349s 6 Leon Haslam GBR Team HRC +0.371s 7 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team +0.528s 8 Andrea Locatelli ITA PATA Yamaha +0.647s 9 Michael Van Der Mark NED Motorrad BMW WorldSBK Team +0.708s 10 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +0.724s 11 Michael Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Ducati +0.727s 12 Isaac Vinales SPA Orelac Racing Kawasaki +0.742s 13 Tom Sykes GBR Motorrad BMW WorldSBK Team +1.181s 14 Kohta Nozane JPN GRT Yamaha +1.186s 15 Chaz Davies GBR GoEleven Ducati +1.206s 16 Leandro Mercado ARG MIE Honda Racing +1.361s 17 Christophe Ponsson FRA Gil Yamaha +1.407s 18 Tito Rabat ITA Kawasaki Puccetti +1.620s 19 Samuele Cavalieri SPA Barni Ducati +1.706s 20 Oliver Konig CZE Pedercini Kawasaki +4.692s Free Practice One
World Superbike championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated the opening free practice at Mandalika, while Jonathan Rea was only 11th fastest after being limited for track time. Reigning six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a nightmare, as his team worked on his bike for most of the session, meaning he only completed one full stint and ending the session down in 11th. Razgatlioglu was one of the first out on track and he took to the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit like a duck to water, with the opposition barely seeing which way he went. Razgatlioglu got three stints under his belt and set a sensational time of 1’34.985, some 1.5s quicker than Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in second. Lowes was in good form as he returned to action and was just marginally ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team). The American came good at the end of the session and will aim to help Toprak if necessary, this weekend. Fourth place went to Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) as he got dialled in at the new venue, hoping to get on terms with Toprak as he looks to lead Ducati to a manufacturers’ title. Completing the top five was the surprise of the morning Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), with the Spaniard looking good on his ZX-10RR and building on the flashes of brilliance he’s shown in recent rounds. An eager Razgatlioglu made his way past Leon Haslam during the early stages as he set about learning the new Mandalika track. Razgatlioglu’s first few laps saw him continuously lead Rea by over a second, while Isaac Vinales enjoyed an early run inside the top three. Sectors three and four seemed to be where Razgatlioglu was making up most of his time on Rea and indeed the rest of the field during the first part of FP1. WORLD SUPERBIKE MANDALIKA, INDONESIA – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME 1 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR PATA Yamaha 1:34.985s 2 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team +1.544s 3 Garrett Gerloff USA GRT Yamaha +1.600s 4 Scott Redding GBR Aruba.It Ducati +1.835s 5 Isaac Vinales SPA Orelac Racing Kawasaki +2.094s 6 Alvaro Bautista SPA Team HRC +2.099s 7 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +2.118s 8 Michael Van Der Mark NED Motorrad BMW WorldSBK Team +2.155s 9 Michael Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Ducati +2.195s 10 Andrea Locatelli ITA PATA Yamaha +2.305s 11 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team +2.401s 12 Leon Haslam GBR Team HRC +2.438s 13 Chaz Davies GBR GoEleven Ducati +2.496s 14 Tito Rabat ITA Kawasaki Puccetti +2.797s 15 Samuele Cavalieri SPA Barni Ducati +2.832s 16 Christophe Ponsson FRA Gil Yamaha +2.899s 17 Tom Sykes GBR Motorrad BMW WorldSBK Team +3.082s 18 Leandro Mercado ARG MIE Honda Racing +3.435s 19 Kohta Nozane JPN GRT Yamaha +4.096s 20 Oliver Konig CZE Pedercini Kawasaki +8.235s
