Rea sweeps Imola WorldSBK breaking records

Jonathan Rea took the WorldSBK double, and in doing so claimed equal WorldSBK wins to record holder Carl Fogarty, as Kenan Sofuoglu retired from racing, foregoing his final World Supersport race, after taking a front row position on the grid in qualifying.

WorldSBK race one

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took his first win at Imola since 2015 with a dominant performance, controlling the race from the start and not giving anyone on track any opportunities. His teammate Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) completed the second consecutive KRT one-two of the season, with Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) returning to the podium in third.

WorldSBK kicked off in Imola

The Kawasaki riders shot out from the lights, quickly opening up the break from their foes. The gap would increase to 3-4 seconds between the British pair at the halfway point, with both riders leading the race from that point forwards. Rea is now just one victory away from the all-time win record in MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship history, and opens up a 42-point lead at the top of the standings.

Sykes too gave no option to the rest of the field, showing that his Assen pace was no fluke and that, when he’s got room in front, his ZX-10RR’s pace is almost unparalleled. It will be interesting to see how the rider from Yorkshire fares starting from 8th in Race 2, given the issues that have plagued him in the past. He now moves up to fourth in the championship.

Tom Sykes

The first two laps were a nightmare for Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), looking for his fifth consecutive win here. Following his crash in Superpole 2, the Welshman struggled at the lights, falling back from third to seventh.

After climbing back to fourth, Davies went straight through the Variante Bassa chicane, losing several positions along the way and any chance of victory. He later redeemed himself with two wonderful passes at turn 21, but by then the podium was out of sight, thanks to the fantastic rhythm shown by Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in front of his home fans. The Italian equalled his best WorldSBK result here in third, while Davies’ fourth will at least have the consolation prize of starting from pole Sunday.

Jonathan Rea

Behind the two teams that have dominated proceedings throughout the weekend, Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) repeated his 2017 race one finish with fifth place, finding the pace to hold off Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) in sixth. The Dutchman will however be pleased at his performance, after starting from the back of row four.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) had an extraordinary start to race one, moving up to third in lap one. He fell back as the race progressed, but his seventh-place finish equals his best result in WorldSBK. Just behind, Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) completed his best finish of the season in eighth.

Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished a successful return to the WorldSBK paddock in ninth, pipping ahead at the line of fellow Brit Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team). Haslam beat his teammate for this weekend in Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), whose WorldSBK Imola debut finished with him in eleventh.

WorldSBK Race 1 Results – Imola, 2018

Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki
Tom Sykes- Kawasaki
Marco Melandri – Ducati

WorldSBK Race 2

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has won race two at Italy’s Imola circuit, equalling Carl Fogarty for the most wins in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in the process. Victory number 59 came after a stunning battle with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who fought off several attacks from the reigning champion before having to settle for second place.

Jonathan Rea

The battle had been anticipated all weekend, but it was Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who made the early move, flying out from the blocks and taking the lead ahead of Davies. The Welshman kept close behind however, finally making his move at Variante Bassa at the end of lap three. By then, Rea had made it up to third, and a few bends later, at Tosa, passed Rinaldi and set up the fight.

For nine laps, it was cat-and-mouse game, with barely a tenth of a second separating the two. For several laps, Rea stalked Davies, creeping up and planning his pass. He fired the first shot at Tamburello on lap 10, going wide and allowing Davies back through by the straight. Shot two came at Tosa two laps later, and it couldn’t have been closer. Rea found the pace he needed around Tosa, but Davies took the inside line. The pair touched, Rea went wide, and the Ducati stayed in front.

Chaz Davies

It was third time lucky for Rea, however, one lap later, at the entry to Variante Alta. From there on, the fired-up reigning champion put on an incredible display, giving Davies no chance to even answer back, and increasing the lead to four seconds by the chequered flag.

Behind the flying duo was Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), completing an all-British duo for the first time this season. Sykes had a beautiful battle with Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) throughout the race, finally managing to make it past the Spaniard, who finished fourth, with three laps to go.

Tom Sykes

Before that, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), who had been contending for that final podium place, came together on lap 10 around Rivazza. The pair collided and ended up on the gravel, neither man able to return.

Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) scored his best result of the season with a scintillating fifth place finish, after starting on row four. One place behind him on the grid and finally at the flag, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) came in sixth, equalling his best Imola result.

Rinaldi also equalled his race one result in seventh. The Italian was unable to keep up his initial pace, but comes out of the Italian round with his best return over two races in WorldSBK. He beat Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) to the flag, also matching his best WorldSBK result.

In ninth, Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) made his return from injury a successful one. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), closed the top ten, with one of his best performances of the season.

WorldSBK Race 2 Podium – Imola 2018 – Davies, Rea, Sykes

WorldSBK Race 2 Results – Imola, 2018

Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki
Chaz Davies – Ducati
Tom Sykes – Kawasaki

WorldSBK championship point score – Imola, 2018

Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki 209 points
Chaz Davies – Ducati – 162 points
Tom Sykes – Kawasaki 137 points
Marco Melandri – Ducati 131 points
Xavi Fores – Ducati 124 points

WorldSSP: Cluzel returns to top with electric Imola win

It took Jules Cluzel (NRT) a year and a half to find his way back to the top before Assen. For win number 2, it has taken just 21 days, as the French rider won his second consecutive race of the 2018 FIM Supersport World Championship season.

Jules Cluzel

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola witnessed a thrilling fifth race of the year, with Italian pair Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) and Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) in second and third.

Things got emotional early at Imola. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who was third on the grid, decided at the last moment to not take part in what was supposed to be his final race. The WorldSSP legend climbed on his Kawasaki ZX-6R one last time, led the field one lap around the track, and headed into the pits. A final bow, on his terms, from an inimitable champion.

Of course, there was still a race left at Imola – and perhaps as a tribute to Kenan’s career, it was an electric, drama-filled affair. Right from the start, five riders shot out ahead, with Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) protecting his lead from Cluzel and Caricasulo. The reigning champion defended brilliantly until lap 6, when a slip at Rivazza left him tumbling down to 20th.

Jules Cluzel

The now-front four led with blistering pace, tenths of a second amongst themselves but double figures with the rest. Caricasulo, fighting to hang on after a mistake in lap seven, managed to overtake Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) and De Rosa in the closing stages, but Cluzel proved to be just that inch too fast, racing ahead and meeting the chequered flag, with the Italian in second.

De Rosa managed to put his MV Agusta onto the podium for the second race in a row. The rider in red has grown into the championship, and adds another name to an already stacked front-end. Cortese, meanwhile, finished fourth, just 0.084 seconds off.

Behind the leading four, Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) managed to climb through from 11th on the grid and becomes the new championship leader, on 81 points.

Anthony West (EAB antwest Racing) made a triumphant return from injury with sixth place, while Mahias, in full-damage limitation mode, was beaten to seventh by Niki Tuuli (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) by just one thousandth of a second. The Frenchman relinquishes his championship lead, but remains just two points behind Krummenacher. Most importantly, however, the distance between first and fifth is now down to just 12 points.

Completing the top ten, Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) came in ninth, scoring valuable points to keep him in touching distance with the front riders, while Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the race in tenth.

The World Supersport championship returns in two weeks-time from Donington Park, UK.

Jules Cluzel on the podium

WorldSSP Results – Imola, 2018

Jules Cluzel – MV Agusta
Federico Caricasulo – Yamaha
Raffaele De Rosa – MV Agusta
…6. Anthony West – Kawasaki

World Supersport 300

Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team) has taken her first win of 2018 and second of her FIM Supersport 300 World Championship career at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola, with the most dominant display of the season so far. Incredibly fast all weekend, the Spaniard also becomes the new championship leader after three races, after Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) crashed out in the final lap.

Ana Carrasco

Right from the start, Carrasco gave no option to her rivals, shooting out from the lights. The DS Junior rider had shown in yesterday’s Superpole how comfortable she is riding alone around Imola, and it showed here: by the end of lap 1 she was a whole 2 seconds ahead, and by the end had opened a 13 second gap with the rest.

With the Murcian so far ahead, the usual scrap to the line continued for second, with eight riders fighting for two podium places down to the end. Deroue was the only rider to bow out before the end, losing his front end at Acque Minerali when he was second.

The Dutchman out of the fight, it was Borja Sánchez (ETG Racing) making it a Spanish one-two with his first podium finish of the campaign. Sánchez had come in just behind wildcard Kevin Sabatucci (PROGP Racing), but in a twist of fate, the Italian was sanctioned with one position by Race Direction (last year Sánchez had his third place demoted to fourth after the flag). Still, the Italian managed a fantastic third on his WorldSSP300 debut.

Behind them, Luca Grunwald (Frendenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) continued his good form with fourth place, with Galanig Hendra Pratama (BIBLION YAMAHA MOTOXRACING) taking fifth. Jan-Ole Jähnig (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) finished in sixth position, with Maria Herrera (BCD Yamaha MS Racing) scoring her best finish in WorldSSP300, climbing up from 19^th on the grid to seventh.

Ana Carrasco topped the World Supersport 300 podium in Imola

World Supersport 300 Imola results

A. Carrasco – ESP
B. Sanchez – ESP
K. Sabatucci – ITA
L. Grunwald – GER
G. Hendra Pratama – INA

World Superstock 1000

Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) took the first win of his short career in the European Superstock 1000 Championship, after a blistering run which saw him start from the third row, before methodically picking off every single one of his rivals, and resisting a late revival from Roberto Tamburini (Berclaz Racing Team SA).

Matteo Ferrari

Running only his fifth STK1000 race, his third at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola, Ferrari passed Maximilian Scheib (Aprilia Racing Team) at the end of lap 9, and kept his distances from then on. It could have been close if the race had been any longer, however, with Tamburini mounting an incredible comeback from thirteenth in the second half of the race.

Championship leader Markus Reiterberger (alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMW) quickly made his way up to fifth in the first lap, but then struggled to find the same pace he had at Aragon and Assen, only gaining one more position. After a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes from the German, particularly at Acque Minerali, he finished the day in that same fifth position, losing ground at the front of the championship standings: Tamburini is now just one point behind.

Scheib finished the race in third, passed by Tamburini in the final lap, with Federico Sandi (MOTOCORSA Racing) coming in fourth and group that led most of the race. Behind them, the battle for sixth was won by Florian Marino (URBIS Yamaha Motoxracing STK Team), after Luca Vitali (Aprilia Racing Team), originally sixth, was penalised with a one position drop for exceeding track limits on the final corner.