Gordon Ritchie | July 14, 2019
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Race Two
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) won his first WorldSBK race since Motorland Aragon in 2018 after taking the 25-lap final race at Laguna Seca in confident and determined form.
Davies led the early laps having opted for an ‘A’ rear tire rather than the ‘X’ he used in the first long race on Saturday.
This was his 30th career WorldSBK win and the first for him on the all-new Ducati V4R.
Eventual second-placed rider Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was his shadow early on and started to pull himself forward for a time but Davies continued his front-running pace as Rea lapped a couple of tenths per lap slower towards half race distance, and ended up 3.333 seconds down at the flag.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was third, for the second time this weekend in a long race, but he could not get up to the top riders after their early breakaway.
In a seemingly impossible turn of unfortunate events, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) retired from Race Two, in the very early stages, having started from tenth on the grid after his Race One no-score. He left Laguna Seca 81 points behind Rea with a long summer break looming in his sights, and an injured left shoulder to deal with.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) placed fourth, after passing the early midfield leader Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who held on using his ‘X’ rear tire for fifth, with Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) sixth.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) finished seventh, Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) and Torres another pleasing eighth.
Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) closed in on the back of that fight to finish ninth.
The top ten was rounded out by Laguna rookie, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team Ducati). JD Beach (Attack Performance Estenson Yamaha) was 16th and just missed a championship point.
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Race Two
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Superpole Race
A high-drama and restarted Tissot Superpole race was eventually cut to eight laps, not 10, after a red flag stoppage when Alessandro Delbianco (Althea MIE Racing Team Honda) and JD Beach (Attack Performance Estenson Yamaha) clashed going into The Corkscrew and each fell heavily.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was already out after a contact with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) into the tight left at Turn Two, leaving the field open for eventual race winner Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), who now takes pole for Race Two as well as a dozen more championship points.
Bautista no-scored as he could not make the restart and his repaired bike sat waiting on him in the shell-shocked official Ducati garage.
Rea, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) led the eight-lap race, with only Rea not on an ‘X’ rear tire for the eight-lapper.
The top three finishing order was Rea, Davies, and a cock-a-hoop Sykes, with Razgatlioglu, Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finishing off the top six.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) got by the impressive Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) for seventh, as Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was ninth and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) tenth. Sixteen riders finished.
Race Two, over a full 25 laps, will take place at 14.00hrs local time this afternoon.
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Superpole Race
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Race One
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored a clear and confident Race One win at Laguna Seca as his main championship rival Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crashed yet again.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) used the ‘X’ rear tire to take second place, 5.693 seconds behind Rea, as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) finished third for yet another 2019 podium.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) also used the X rear tire to finish fourth, having lost the tow of the leading group in the early laps.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) came from behind to claim fifth place, easing away from long-time top five-man Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki), who was a still-impressive sixth.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was seventh and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) eighth.
Italian riders Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team Ducati) were ninth and tenth respectively.
Bautista had set a new lap record behind Rea and Davies on lap three – a 1’22.945 – but then crashed shortly after while trail braking into turn five. He got going again but finished 17th and last. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the first faller in the race, and no scored.
Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven Ducati) was 11th but local one-off rider JD Beach (Attack Performance Estenson Yamaha) was forced to retire.
Rea now leads Bautista by 49 points.
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Race One
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Superpole
The Laguna Seca Superpole competition was cut into two parts after a red flag when one of the air fence panels was punctured and had to be replaced. In the time remaining time Jonathan Rea (KRT) came close to beating the previous pole record, but his 1:21.876 was just outside of Tom Sykes’ 1:21.811 from 2014. This was Rea’s first pole at the tricky Laguna Seca circuit and his fourth of 2019.
Rea, with 20 career Superpoles to his credit, is now just one behind Carl Fogarty’s career total of 21.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fastest in Friday and second fastest in Superpole, with former championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) third.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was fourth after being in the Friday mix all through, just over half a second from Rea, with Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) just behind him.
A brilliant run for privateer Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) put him sixth in Superpole, 0.867 from Rea, and ahead of recent podium sensation Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) by one place. Torres had been seventh in combined free qualifying.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was eighth, and after a crash from Michael van der Mark, the fastest Yamaha rider, ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). Returnee from injury Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven Ducati) rounded out the top ten.
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Superpole
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Friday Qualifying
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) went from sixth on Friday morning for the 2019 World Superbike Championship round at Laguna Seca to fastest in FP2 on Friday afternoon as he eased long-time practice leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) out by 0.032 seconds.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made for more Ducati satisfaction in third place, 0.263 seconds from his team-mate Davies.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was potent on the new BMW but eventually dropped to fourth place as his bike stopped out on track in the closing stages of the afternoon session.
Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) was fifth and the Ten Kate return continues apace with Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) sixth.
Double Donington podium finisher Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was seventh and the second top Yamaha rider was Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in eighth place.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the only rider in the top places not to improve his best lap in the afternoon and was ninth as a result.
Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) completed the top 10 on a dry and relatively cool Friday. One event rider JD Beach (Attack Performance Estenson Yamaha) was 15th.
2019 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results—Friday Qualifying
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