Pirelli participates in twelfth WorldSBK round at the San Juan circuit during the month when it celebrates its 111th anniversary in Argentina with the launch of motorcycle tyre production in the Merlo, Buenos Aires plant.
San Juan (Argentina), 16 October 2021 – At the San Juan El Villicum circuit in Argentina, which hosted the penultimate round of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship season, Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) won Race 1, riding his Yamaha YZF R1 to the top step of the podium. The Yamaha rider finished first ahead of six-time world champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on Kawasaki with an advantage of more than five seconds and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati), third across the line. With this win, Razgatlioglu confirms his leadership in the championship standings, taking his advantage over Jonathan Rea to 29 points.
In WorldSSP, Frenchman Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) triumphed, ahead of Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6) and Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R).
This closes out the first day of racing for the MOTUL WorldSBK Argentinian Round, with the world title still very much up for grabs in both the WorldSBK and the WorldSSP categories. Pirelli has been participating in rounds in Argentina since 2018 with the factory derivatives series on the San Juan Villicum circuit, a track which has now become one of the major Argentinian motorsport venues.
For the Italian tyre manufacturer, being at the San Juan circuit in October 2021 has particular meaning. In fact, this month, Pirelli celebrates one hundred eleven years of operating in Argentina and, for the occasion, is opening the country’s first motorcycle tyre production line in the Merlo plant. This will make Pirelli the only motorcycle tyre manufacturer in Argentina, further expanding the Merlo production plant in the Buenos Aires province and strengthening its strategic presence in the country.
WorldSBK Race 1:
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1) had the best start of all the riders, taking the race lead ahead of Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) who, however, lost control of his bike on the first lap and was forced to re-join the race in last place. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) was in second place, one second behind the Yamaha rider and ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing / Ducati Panigale V4 R), who had started from the third spot on the grid, and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR). In the meantime, Michael Ruben Rinaldi was demonstrating an outstanding pace and, after starting from the ninth spot on the grid, he managed to move up no fewer than six positions, first overtaking Lowes and then Bassani for a podium position. Razgatlioglu proved to be uncatchable in the second half of the race, finishing first more than five seconds ahead of Jonathan Rea in second, with third place going to Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who gave Ducati their 980th WorldSBK podium. Scott Redding took home an impressive ninth place, clawing his way back up through the ranks from last place.
WorldSBK Race 1 Standings:
WorldSSP Race 1:
It was pole man Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) who had the best start, leading the group ahead of Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R), who had started from the fourth spot on the grid, Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team / Yamaha YZF R6) and Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6). Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6), in fifth position, tried several times to overtake Steven Odendaal but was never able to be decisive in the first part of the race. The battle for fifth was between Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6), Steven Odendaal, Raffaele de Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6). At the halfway point, race leader Jules Cluzel had more than a two-second advantage over Can Oncu, who was under constant attack by Manuel Gonzalez for second. The Spaniard managed to gain the upper hand during the thirteenth lap, whereas the battle for fourth continued to rage on between championship leader Odendaal and Aegerter. Cluzel proved to be uncatchable, taking his second win in three race ahead of Manuel Gonzalez (second) and Can Oncu (third).
Dominique Aegerter was declared winner of the 2021 World Supersport Pirelli Best Lap Award today for having done the most fast laps during the season.
WorldSBK Race 1 Standings:
The Pirelli solutions chosen by the WorldSBK riders for Race 1:
For WorldSBK Race 1, no fewer than twenty-one riders on the grid unanimously chose to race on standard SC1 tyres (option A) at the front and standard SCX tyres (option A) at the rear. Going against the current was the defending World Champion who preferred instead the standard SC2 medium solution (option B) at the front, paired with the standard SCX at the rear.
In WorldSSP Race 1, all the riders chose to race on the front standard SC1 solution (option A) and the standard SCX rear solution (option A) with the exception of Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6), who preferred racing with the standard SC0 (option B) at the rear.
Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 1:
Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP Race 1:
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