WorldSBK Pirelli Spanish Round Race 1: Scott Redding takes his first Superbike win, outstanding performance by the tyres in spite of the high temperatures

With the first race of the Jerez weekend, Scott Redding finishes on the top step of the podium for the first time ahead of Rea on Kawasaki and Razgatlioglu on Yamaha. Locatelli wins again on Yamaha in the WorldSSP class to confirm his leadership in the overall standings

Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 1 August 2020 – The first day of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship Pirelli Spanish Round has just come to a close at the Jerez – Angel Nieto circuit, where the riders had to reckon with the difficulties of returning to the track after a long period of down time, as well as the extremely high temperatures of the Andalusian location.

For the first time, double races are scheduled over the weekend for the three Championship classes. In fact, the WorldSBK, WorldSSP and WorldSSP300 riders were all on the track today for Race 1 in the respective categories. The same, packed schedule will be repeated tomorrow for Race 2 in each class, in addition to the traditional TISSOT® SUPERPOLE RACE for WorldSBK.

Coming out on top in WorldSBK Race 1 was Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) who, for the first time in his Superbike career, rode his Ducati to the top step of the podium, finishing ahead of the Kawasaki ridden by five-time reigning champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) and the winner of the first race of this season, Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1).

In WorldSSP600, on the other hand, Italian rookie Andrea Locatelli on Yamaha (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) won his second race of the season, confirming his status as championship leader, ahead of Frenchman Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) and German rider Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R). Last, but not least, in the season opener of the World championship for the small 300 bikes, Spaniard Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT / Kawasaki Ninja 400) took the win on his Yamaha R3.

The weekend in Jerez de la Frontera allowed Pirelli to obtain further feedback on their standard tyres. In fact, the DIABLO™ Superbike slicks in SC1 compound on the front and SC0 on the rear, tyres which are already sold regularly on the market, were used by the vast majority of the riders in the WorldSBK class, confirming the outstanding performance of the products even with the high temperatures that characterised the first day of this round.

Outstanding performance as well for the standard slicks used for the first time by the WorldSSP class. All the riders on the grid opted for the standard SC0 solution on the rear, whereas most of the riders went with the standard SC1 for the front.

WorldSBK Race 1:

Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) got off the starting grid well, taking the lead, followed closely by Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1) and pole man Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) in third place. Behind them were Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1) in fourth, Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMWS1000 RR), Ducati rider Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) and Van Der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1). On the fourth lap, Italian rider Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team / Yamaha YZF R1) crashed out of the race, whereas on the fifth lap, due to a technical problem, Sykes fell back to last place and boxed, later re-joining the race, still in last place. In the meantime, Rea continued to lead, ahead of Razgatlioglu on Yamaha, less than four tenths of a second behind but threatened several times by Redding, with Loris Baz bringing up the rear of the leading group on his Yamaha. During the eighth lap, it was a battle for sixth between Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000RR) and Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R), with the Spaniard gaining the upper hand, moving ahead of Rinaldi and Van Der Mark, who went off track due to a technical problem and was forced to retire. In the meantime, Razgatlioglu was gaining ground and several times seemed to be a threat to the five-time world champion’s Kawasaki, but on the twelfth lap, he was overtaken by Redding, who moved into second place. On the thirteenth lap, the Ducati ridden by Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R) ran into technical troubles and was forced to abandon the race. Seven laps from the end, with a shrewd manoeuvre of his Ducati, Redding managed to force his compatriot’s Kawasaki wide to snatch the race lead. The leading quintet was packed to within 1.5 seconds of one another, led by Redding ahead of Rea, Razgatlioglu, Baz and Davies, with the latter attempting to overtake the French rider’s Yamaha several times, finally succeeding early in the eighteenth lap and managing to maintain the position despite a heated battle that lasted all the way to the last lap. The order of the leading group remained the same, with Scott Redding winning his first World Championship race ahead of Rea on Kawasaki and Razgatlioglu on Yamaha.

WorldSBK Race 1 Standings:

1) S. Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)

2) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

3) T. Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1)

4) C. Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)

5) L. Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1)

6) M. Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN / Ducati Panigale V4 R)

7) Á. Bautista (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000RR)

8) M. Melandri (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)

9) A. Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

10) L. Haslam (Team HRC / Honda CBR1000RR)

11) G. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team / Yamaha YZF R1)

12) C. Ponsson ((Nuova M2 Racing / Aprilia RSV4 1000)

13) X. Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

14) S. Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

15) E. Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)

16) S. Barrier (Brixx Performance / Ducati Panigale V4 R)

17) L. Gabellini (MIE Racing Althea HONDA Team / Honda CBR1000RR)

18) T. Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea HONDA Team / Honda CBR1000RR)

NC) T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMWS1000 RR)

RT) M. van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team / Yamaha YZF R1)

RT) F. Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team / Yamaha YZF R1)

RT) M. Scheib (ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)

RT) L. Mercado (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R)

WorldSSP Race 1:

Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) rocketed from the second spot on the starting grid to take the lead, followed by pole man Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) and Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R). It was fourth place for Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) until he was overtaken in the early stages of the race by Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R). Lying sixth, on the other hand, was Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6) ahead of former WorldSSP300 champion Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R). Viñales (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6), forced to start from the last spot on the grid due to incorrect tyre pressure along with Carranza (EMPERADOR Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6), suffered a technical problem on the seventh lap and was forced to box. In the meantime, astride his Yamaha, Italian rookie Locatelli managed to move back into the lead, increasing the gap to more than a second and a half ahead of the Frenchman. Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675), who started from the seventh spot on the grid, managed to gain the upper hand against Bassani to move into fifth place behind Mahias. Toward the end of the race, the tightly packed trio made up of Bassani, Perolari and Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) began to battle for sixth. In the end, Odendaal came out on top, whereas Bassani crashed out of the race on the penultimate lap. During the fourteenth lap, Hobelsberger (Dynavolt Honda / Honda CBR600RR) also retired due to a technical problem. On the last lap, Mahias and De Rosa locked horns in a heated battle for fourth just a few corners from the end, with the Frenchman and his Kawasaki coming out on top. Locatelli crossed the line first on his Yamaha, more than three seconds ahead of French rider Cluzel (second), and seven seconds ahead of Oettl (third).

WorldSBK Race 1 Standings:

1) A. Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6)

2) J. Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)

3) P. Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)

4) L. Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)

5) R. De rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)

6) S. Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)

7) C. Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)

8) M. Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R)

9) C. Öncü (Turkish Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R)

10) H. Soomer (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)

11) A. Carranza (EMPERADOR Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)

12) D. Webb (WRP Wepol Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)

13) F. Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)

14) L. Cresson (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth / Yamaha YZF R6)

15) L. Montella (DK MOTORSPORT / Yamaha YZF R6)

16) L. Epis (MPM Routz Racing Team / Yamaha YZF R6)

RT) I. Viñales (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)

RT) P. Hobelsberger (Dynavolt Honda / Honda CBR600RR)

RT) H. Okubo (Dynavolt Honda / Honda CBR600RR)

RT) P. Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth / Yamaha YZF R6)

RT) G. Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)

RT) A. Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)

RT) A. Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing / Yamaha YZF R6)

WorldSSP300 Race 1:

The final event of the day was the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship race, with M. Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78 / Yamaha YZF-R3) starting from pole position. Taking the win was Spaniard Unai Orradre (MS Racing / Yamaha YZF-R3 Yamaha), who finished ahead of the two Kawasakis ridden by Brit Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM - Kawasaki / Kawasaki Ninja 400) and Dutchman Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT / Kawasaki Ninja 400).

The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for WorldSBK Race 1 and WorldSSP Race 1:

In the WorldSBK class, the solution used by most of the riders on the grid for the front was the standard SC1 (option B), but Razgatlioglu, Bautista, Lowes, Gerloff and Fores opted for the standard SC2 (option C). Melandri and Gabellini, on the other hand, preferred the Y1231 SC1 development solution (option A). For the rear, 19 out of the 23 riders went with the standard SC0 (option B), the exceptions to the majority being Rea, Lowes and Scheib on the standard SC2 (option C), Melandri and Takahashi on the Y1231 SC1 development solution.

In WorldSSP Race 1, all the riders on the grid opted for the standard SC0 (option A) on the rear. For the front, 13 out of the 24 riders chose the standard SC1 (option A), whereas the remaining riders used the standard SC1 (option B).

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 1:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) in 1'40.801 on the 2nd lap

• Most used front solution: standard SC1 (16 out of 23 riders)

• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (19 out of 23 riders)

• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 8

rear

Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 68, including 32 front and 36 rear

• Air temperature: 37° C

• Asphalt temperature: 56° C

Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP Race 1:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) in 1'43.893 on the 6th lap

• Most used front solution: standard SC1 (13 out of 24 riders)

• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (24 out of 24 riders)

• Air temperature: 38° C

• Asphalt temperature: 64° C