Gordon Ritchie | July 7, 2019
WorldSBK Race Two
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored his first ever triple in WorldSBK after winning the final race of the weekend, by a slender 0.365 seconds, from Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing).
A superb three-rider fight between those two Kawasaki riders, and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) for much of the first half of the race, ended when Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) came back strongly to finish third, albeit 5.930 seconds from Rea, and further behind in the championship points.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team), Haslam and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) finished in a group just behind Bautista from fourth to sixth, and with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) just off the back of it, the top seven riders finished within 8.542 seconds of each other.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was an eventual eighth, with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ninth and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) tenth – and almost 30 seconds back.
In the championship, Rea leads by 24 points from Bautista, 376 to 352, with VDM on 206, Lowes on 192 and Haslam on 187.
2019 British World Superbike Results—Race Two (click PDF)
WorldSSP Race
For the second time in the championship this year, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) won a race, after a close and tense WorldSSP battle out front over 20-laps at Donington.
Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was second and long time early race leader Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) third.
Caricasulo took an immediate lead from pole but after former world champion Mahias got his sights set properly he took the top spot and pushed hard, leaving black lines in places as he led a small group out front.
Cluzel was the third rider in the leading bunch, after impressive British wildcard rider Brad Jones (Appleyard Macadam Integro) had slipped back slowly from fourth place, to finish ninth.
Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) had been well behind at one stage, staring from 11th place on the grid.
He was up into fourth place with two thirds of the race gone, and setting the fastest laps of the race consistently.
A scrap between Mahias and Caricasulo, behind CLuzel, allowed Krummenacher to come back even closer, until Caricasulo picked up the pace again to go second.
In the final laps Krummenacher could not quite pass Mahias, and finished in fourth place, with the top four covered by just 0.804 seconds after another WorldSSP contest of the highest order.
Front row starter Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) had a bad start but got back up to fifth, ten seconds back on the leaders.
Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing Yamaha) was sixth and a strong charge from wild card man Jack Kennedy (Appleyard Macadam Integro) put him seventh. Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) was eighth, Jones ninth and Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) the last rider inside the top ten.
In the points, Krummenacher has 173, Caricasulo a closer 158, Cluzel 132 and Mahias 82, now in fourth place overall.
2019 British World Superbike Results—WorldSSP Race (click PDF)
WorldSBK Superpole Race
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) won the ten-lap Tissot-Superpole race at Donington, even if it was only finally classified after seven laps.
A massive oil leak from Peter Hickman’s BMW Motorrad S1000RR saw him run off at the Melbourne Loop but the oil his bike had put on track on the braking area saw five following riders crash in succession and the red flag be shown.
As the lead riders – Rea, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) came round at a much reduced pace under the red flag Sykes found the oil under braking and crashed.
As he could not ride his bike back to the pitlane within the prescribed time limit, he was eventually knocked out of the race results altogether, despite his fall being caused by another machine’s oil spill, and under a red flag.
The top three was thus Rea, who had taken the lead at half race distance, Razgatlioglu and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fourth, and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) a dry weather fifth, 2.7 seconds from Rea.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was sixth, and every other rider behind him was classified as a lap behind, given that the latest championship rules ‘freeze’ results at the point of a red flag being shown, sector-by-sector.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was seventh and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) eighth, with Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) ninth and tenth respectively.
After some discussion, the results were declared final, with Sykes not classified as a finisher.
Rea moved 15 points clear of Bautista, with the second full 23-lap race to come in the afternoon.
2019 British World Superbike Results—WorldSBK Superpole Race (click PDF)
WorldSBK Saturday
Rea Scores As Bautista Falls Again
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) took a masterful start-to-finish win in a wet Race One at Donington Park, and with it the championship lead for the first time in 2019. He is now nine points in front of Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who fell once again, in fully wet conditions.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ended up second, and 11 seconds adrift of Rea, who had taken a huge lead after just a single lap.
Homeboy Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) was a crowd-pleasing third, if 23 seconds behind the winner.
Wet weather wizard Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was fourth; Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) fifth.
A strong run from Argentinean Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) saw him sixth.
Peter Hickman (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was seventh, Misano faller Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) eighth, with Alessandro Delbianco (Althea MIE Racing Team Honda) ninth and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) tenth.
WorldSBK Friday
Not quite a WorldSBK Superpole win but being fastest on Friday has its own merits for the all-new BMW S1000RR project and lead rider Tom Sykes, at another round where the runaway championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a difficult time compared to his previous all-conquering best.
Sykes had been well ahead of the rest in the morning session but he was only 0.018 seconds up on Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in second place after two free practice sessions.
Donington podium finisher in 2018, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was finally third fastest, after a last lap crash in FP2.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) lifted himself up to fourth after FP2, with his team-mate Leon Haslam fifth.
Bautista was finally sixth, and only 0.272 seconds from Sykes out front.
WorldSBK rookie Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha) was seventh and another non-official Yamaha rider Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) eighth.
On a modest day for Ducati, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed ninth while privateer rider Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) finished inside the top ten.
With series regular Markus Reiterberger missing with ‘flu, late substitute rider Peter Hickman (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was an impressive 12th from 18 riders, and only 0.834 seconds from the overnight pole time.
2019 British World Superbike Results—Friday WorldSBK Times (click PDF)
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