Het eerste WSBK Raceweekend is achter de rug met een hoop opvallende resultaten. Nicolo Bulega won race 1 overtuigend, al was het vooral Alex Lowes die zijn stempel op het weekend zette met winst in de SuperPole en Race 2, nadat hij ook in Race 1 het oude ronderecord met meer dan 1 seconde (!) verbrak. De Australische manche bleek vooral een pijnbank voor de banden, waarop Dorna ingreep en een verplichte pitstop invoerde om de bandenslijtage onder controle te houden. Of de resultaten van de eerste races een graadmeter zijn voor de rest van het seizoen, blijft dus nog even afwachten.
PERSBERICHT (Pirelli)
RACE1
It was an all-Italian podium for the first race of the FIM World Superbike Championship, held today at the Australian Phillip Island circuit.
In his WorldSBK class début, Nicolò Bulega and his Ducati took pole position, setting the new track lap record, before winning Race 1 ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) and Andrea Iannone (Ducati).
Satisfaction for the manufacturer from Borgo Panigale in WorldSSP as well, with Yari Montella victorious and doing the fastest lap of the race.
The races were held with compulsory pit stops and extremely high paces, as the riders’ record times demonstrate. In fact, the unseasonably low temperatures allowed the Pirelli tyres to fully express all their potential.
Intense races, high paces and record laps
“The race paces were extremely high. Just imagine that, before the one Bulega did after the pit stop, Alex Lowes had set the new race lap record, breaking the one Rea had set in 2019 by more than one second. The fact that he was able to do so on the eighth lap means that the tyres were still in excellent condition. The temperatures should be very similar tomorrow, or maybe just a bit warmer, but this is an unpredictable track, so it’s hard to make predictions. The asphalt temperatures today were relatively low, never exceeding 40°C. In addition to the rubber that has accumulated on the asphalt over the past few days to favour the development of the track, this has contributed to containing thermal degradation, consequently improving tyre wear. We already had an inkling from the tests that the lower temperatures might have been able to have a positive influence on this aspect, and today we had confirmation of this. Last, but not least, my congratulations to Nicolò Bulega and Andrea Iannone for their outstanding championship début.”
· In Superpole, the standard SC0 rear compound, which can be used in this round only for qualifying in place of the SCQ, allowed an amazing 16 riders to break the track record Tom Sykes had set in 2020, later broken by Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in the tests Tuesday. Four riders did better than the Turk: Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), in pole position with a time of 1’27.916, Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) with 1’28.154, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in 1’28.239 and Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with a time of 1’28.403. All the riders used the SC1 at the front with the exception of Andrea Locatelli who preferred the SC2.
· In Race 1 of WorldSBK, almost all the riders used the SC1 rear combined with the SC1 front. The only ones who opted for the SC2 front were BMW riders Toprak Razgatlioglu and Scott Redding, as well as Yamaha riders Andrea Locatelli and Philipp Oettl. Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) successfully exploited his advantage in pole position, finishing the race in first place. Behind him were two other Italians: Andrea Locatelli, on Yamaha, and Andrea Iannone, on Ducati.
· In WorldSSP, both in Superpole and in the race, the forced choice was the standard SC1 at the rear. At the front, Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) were the only two riders to use the SC2 in the race. The win went to Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) who finished ahead of Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), second, and Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), third.
RACE 2
It was an action-packed Sunday for the FIM World Superbike Championshipround that just ended on Phillip Island, Australia, with a double win going to Alex Lowes (Kawasaki). The Brit dominated the Superpole Race and bested Álvaro Bautista (Ducati) in Race 2 on the final lap. In WorldSSP, it was yet another win for Yari Montella and the Ducati operated by Barni Spark Racing Team.
The Australian round put the Pirelli tyres to a hard test due to the characteristics of the new asphalt which proved to be extremely abrasive, particularly with higher temperatures. At the same time, thanks to the grip offered by both the new surface and the tyres, several riders managed to break the track records.
Australia confirms its status as a demanding and useful test bench for development
“Australia confirmed its status once again this year as a test bench for the tyres, made even more demanding and unpredictable than in the past by the new asphalt which accentuated thermal degradation and, consequently, tyre wear. This affected more than just Pirelli, as was seen in the Australian Superbike races where, in any case, the Pirelli-shod bikes dominated over those who used competitors’ tyres. From a purely entertainment point of view, pit stops resulted in a weekend with five extremely heated and high-paced sprint races, as the many lap records demonstrate. Our goal is clearly to always ensure that the races are held regularly, but in this case, the right choice was taken. We will be taking a lot of useful information home from this round that we did not have before on the new asphalt and we will be exploiting it to further improve our product. The protagonists of this opening round make us optimistic for a highly competitive battle throughout the season with a lot of riders capable of fighting for the podium, so we are looking forward to a great racing season.”
· In the Superpole Race, the same solutions used in Race 1 were substantially confirmed with only two exceptions: Toprak Razgatlioğlu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) who switched from the SC2 to the SC1 at the rear, whereas Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) remained the only riders in the race on the SC2. Bautista did the fast lap on his penultimate time around the track with a time of 1’29.273. The race, held with an asphalt temperature of 42°C, was won by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) ahead of Locatelli, second, and Razgatlioğlu, third. The race fast lap went to Álvaro Bautista on the ninth lap with a time of 1’29.273.
· In WorldSBK Race 2, the riders’ tyre choices were in line with the other races which had already been held this weekend, with the majority opting for the SC1 at the front. Yamaha riders Locatelli, Gardner, Aegerter and Oettl, as well as Redding (BMW) and Sam Lowes (Ducati), went with an unconventional choice, mounting the SC2 at the front. The race was red-flagged on the third lap when Rea crashed. This left eleven laps to race at the second start, without a compulsory pit stop. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) replicated his performance in this race after a magnificent outside move to overtake Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who had been dominating the race up to that point. Third place went to Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team).
· In Race 2 of the WorldSSP championship, the riders used the same solutions they had chosen for Race 1, in line with the WorldSBK riders, namely the standard SC1 at both the front and the rear. The only riders opting for the SC2 at the front were Bahattin Sofuoglu and Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), as well as Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha). Due to oil on the track, the race was initially delayed and then shortened to 9 laps in order to allow time for WorldSBK Race 2. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) won this race as well, taking a brilliant double home from the Australian circuit. Behind him were Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), who also did the fast lap, and Adrián Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)