WorldSBK: Rea does the double in the Pirelli Riviera di Rimini Round and the larger Pirelli tyres were approved by all the riders with flying colours

Victory for Caricasulo on Yamaha in WorldSSP600, Bastianelli and Reiterberger on the top step of the podium respectively in WorldSSP300 and Superstock 1000, great satisfaction in the Pirelli camp with the rider response to the new larger size front solution on its first ever appearance

Misano Adriatico (Italy), 8 July 2018 – Kawasaki rider Jonathan Rea finished out the Pirelli Riviera di Rimini Round, the ninth of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship season, giving the Akashi-based manufacturer a splendid double win. In fact, the three-time World Champion won Race 1 yesterday and repeated the performance in Race 2 today, finishing ahead of Yamaha rider Michael Van Der Mark and Ducati rider Marco Melandri. With this double win, Jonathan Rea increases his grip on the Championship lead, taking the advantage to 92 points over his nearest follower Chaz Davies.
The other winners of the day were Italian rider Federico Caricasulo in FIM Supersport 600 World Championship, Manuel Bastianelli in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship and Markus Reiterberger in the Superstock 1000 European Championship.
 
There is great satisfaction in the Pirelli camp with the feedback obtained throughout the weekend where the larger size tyres, in the case of the front making its first ever appearance, were chosen by practically all the Superbike riders. On this issue, Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli Moto Racing Director, had this to say: “We are very satisfied with the race weekend because it rewarded the constant and continuous development efforts that we have been moving forward for years here and in other championships like Formula 1^®. Unlike other World Championships, where the solutions are decided at the beginning of the year and the riders are forced to use those solutions throughout the year, the big difference that we are able to make in the World Superbike Championship is precisely that of always developing new solutions which, as occurred this weekend, are often immediately popular with the riders. It is surprising to think that until Friday morning, none of the riders had ever tried the new larger size front tyre and on Saturday in the race, most of them chose it until today in Race 2, when it was used by all the riders. This is a very important sign for us because it demonstrates how much reciprocal trust and respect we have managed to create with the riders and teams in the Championship and it obviously means that our development efforts are moving in the right direction. In 2013, we were the first manufacturers to make the historic switch from 16.5 to 17 inches. Now we want to continue making innovation our warhorse and set the trends that the rest of the market will follow in the coming years.” 
 
In Race 2, Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) started from pole position because of the Race 2 grid inversion rule based on the Race 1 finishing order.
At the start, Xavi Forés (Barni Racing Team) got off the line well from the third spot on the grid, managing to take the race lead, overtaking both Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and the Dutch Yamaha rider. Bringing up fourth and fifth were Ducati riders Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with the latter being overtaken shortly thereafter by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who managed to move up from ninth to fourth place.
Unfortunately, during the third lap a technical problem brought things to an early end for race leader Xavi Forés, forced to retire. Reaping the benefits was Michael Van Der Mark who took back the lead.
During the fifth lap, Marco Melandri got the best of Tom Sykes, moving into position behind Van Der Mark. In the meantime, Rea approached his teammate Sykes menacingly until managing to snatch third place from him on the seventh lap.
Van Der Mark, Melandri, Rea and Sykes formed the leading quintet, all within a second and a half gap of each other.
After moving into third, the three-time World Champion Kawasaki rider set off after Marco Melandri until overtaking him on the ninth lap.
In the final laps, Andreozzi and Mercado crashed out of the race.
On the nineteenth lap, after several attempts Jonathan Rea managed to gain the upper hand, overtaking Michael Van Der Mark for the race lead. Shortly thereafter, the Northern Irish Kawasaki rider crossed the finish line first ahead of Michael Van Der Mark, second, and Marco Melandri with an outstanding third.
 
WorldSBK Race 2 standings:
 
1) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
3) M. Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
4) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
5) T. Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
6) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
7) L. Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia)
8) E. Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia)
9) L. Baz (GULF ALTHEA BMW Racing Team)
10) L. Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)
12) M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing - Junior Team)
13) T. Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
14) N. Canepa (Yamaha Motor Europe)
15) J. Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)
16) R. Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki)
17) Y. Hernandez (Team Pedercini Racing)
RT) P. Jacobsen (TripleM Honda World Superbike Team)
RT) L. Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
RT) A. Andreozzi (Guandalini Racing)
RT) X. Forés (Barni Racing Team)
RT) J. Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
 
At 11:30 AM local time, the first race of the day got underway, namely the FIM Supersport World Championship race. Five out of the first six on the grid were Yamaha riders, with Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team) in pole position. Unfortunately, Eemeli Lathi and Alex Baldolini retired before the race start.
At the start, Jules Cluzel (NRT) got off the line well immediately from the second spot on the grid and moved into the lead, but the Italian Yamaha rider took the position back during the fourth lap when the French NRT rider was overtaken, not only by the pole man, but also by Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag).
On the second lap, defending World Champion Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team), who had started from the sixth spot on the grid, was forced to retire after a high side.
In the meantime, wild card Stefano Valtulini (Pleo Racing Team) moved into fourth, only to yield the position to Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) who also managed to overtake Cluzel, thereby moving into third position behind De Rosa.
On the ninth lap it was a crash for Valtulini who, however, was able to rejoin the hostilities in twenty-sixth place, only to retire shortly thereafter. Capitalising were Cluzel and Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) who moved into fourth and fifth respectively.
There were far fewer passes in the second part of the race, especially in the top ten positions. In the end, Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team), after taking pole position, also took the race win, his first of the year. Finishing behind him were Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) and Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing), in that order. The latter now leads the Championship with an advantage of 5 points over Jules Cluzel (NRT), who finished fourth in this race, and 22 ahead of Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), fifth today, whereas the race winner is lying fourth in the Championship standings, 34 points behind Cortese.
 
WorldSSP standings:
 
1) F. Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team)
2) R. De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag)
3) S. Cortese (Kallio Racing)
4) J. Cluzel (NRT)
5) R. Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
6) A. West (EAB antwest Racing)
7) K. Smith (GEMAR Team Lorini)
8) L. Gabellini (G.A.S. Racing Team)
9) H. Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
10) A. Badovini (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag)
11) M. Bussolotti (Team ROSSO CORSA)
12) C. Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha)
13) R. Hartog (Team Hartog - Against Cancer)
14) L. Stapleford (Profile Racing)
15) H. Soomer (Racedays)
16) D. Stirpe (Extreme Racing BARDAHL)
17) P. Sebestyen (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
18) R. Mercandelli (Scuderia Improve - Firenze Motor)
19) M. Canducci (Team Rosso e Nero)
20) W. Tessels (Chromeburner Wayne's Racingteam MtM)
21) J. Iturrioz (Team GoEleven Kawasaki)
22) J. Van Sikkelerus (GEMAR Team Lorini)
23) A. Coppola (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Junior Team)
RT) N. Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
RT) S. Morais (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
RT) C. Stange (Team GoEleven Kawasaki)
RT) L. Cresson (Kallio Racing)
RT) S. Valtulini (Pleo Racing Team)
RT) T. Gradinger (NRT)
RT) S. Hill (Profile Racing)
RT) R. Bodis (NORDFILM Packaging SSP Hungary Racing)
RT) L. Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team)
RT) E. Lahti (Sterkman Motorsport by HRP)
RT) A. Baldolini (GEMAR Team Lorini)
 
As usual, the third event of the day was the Supersport 300 World Championship race, where victory went to one event rider Manuel Bastianelli (PRODINA IRCOS Team) ahead of Spaniards Mika Perez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Manuel González (Pertamina Almeria BCD Junior Team by MS). Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team) finished tenth, still holding onto her lead in the overall Championship standings.
 
The Superstock 1000 European Championship race was the last event of the day. The win went to Markus Reiterberger (Alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMW) who maintains his leadership in the Championship, finishing ahead of Maximilian Scheib (Aprilia Racing Team) and Italian rider Riccardo Russo (MOTOCORSA Racing).
 
 
The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for WorldSBK Race 2 and WorldSSP:
 
In Race 2, the combination of the new X0417 solution (option D) in the larger 125/70 size on the front and the larger 200/65 X0175 tyre (option B) on the rear earned the preference of all the riders except for Patrick Jacobsen (TripleM Honda World Superbike Team), who decided to go with the standard SC0 on the rear (option A) and the standard SC2 on the front (option F).
 
In the WorldSSP race, 2/3of the riders on the grid chose the X0012 SC1 development solution (option B) for the front, while for the rear, they went with the standard SC0 (option A). Those who did not use these two solutions relied on the X0582 SC2 development solution (option C) for the front and the X0633 SC0 development tyre (option B) on the rear.
 
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 2:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)in 1'34.944 at the 10^th lap
 
• Most used front solution: development SC1 X0417 (20 out of 21 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: development SC0 X0175 (20 out of 21 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 272 km/h, achieved by Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) in the 4^th and 5^th lap
 
• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSBK class: 8 front and 9 rear
 
Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 112, including 56 front and 46 rear
 
• Air temperature: 29° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 50° C
 
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP race:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing), in 1'38.193 in the 8^th lap
 
• Most used front solution: development SC1 X0012 (20 out of 32 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (20 out of 32 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa tyres: 241.1 km/h, achieved by Stefano Valtulini (Pleo Racing Team) in the 3^rd lap
 
• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSSP class: 6 front and 5 rear
 
Number of tyres available for each WorldSSP rider: 58, including 31 front and 27 rear
 
• Air temperature: 27° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 49° C