WorldSBK News: Final Round, Estoril, full report all classes

The records and the Championships keep coming for Jonathan Rea as he secured his sixth consecutive MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, although the wait will go on for his 100th win as Razgatlioglu took a stunning victory for the Pirelli Estoril Round – IRPR.

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki

Race One
Razgatlioglu made a good start from pole position and held first place as he converted his first career pole into his second win of the year; following on from his victory at the season-opening Australian round. He was joined on the podium with Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) as they fought off Rea to secure a podium place.

Rea started from the middle of the grid following a crash in the Tissot Superpole session but soon found himself inside the top ten as he gained an impressive eight laps on the opening lap, and quickly improved his position on the follow lap as he passed teammate Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) at turn one to move into the podium places.

He moved into second place as he made a move on Gerloff into turn one but the American rookie was able to respond a few laps later, after Davies was able to make a move on Rea to move into second place. Rea and Gerloff engaged in a sensational battle for third during the remainder of the 21-lap race; allowing Razgatlioglu and Davies to pull away at the front as they finished first and second. Gerloff moved ahead at turn one and started pulling away from Rea as he secured his second career podium.

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha

Rea finished the race in fourth place as he lost ground to the riders in front of him but had a large margin over fifth-placed Leon Haslam (Team HRC), who battled hard with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC); the Spanish rider had been fifth until lap 20 before he crashed out of the race. Lowes finished in sixth place after being unable to catch Haslam on the last lap.

2021 Ducati rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) finished in seventh place, just behind the Lowes-Haslam-Bautista battle but unable to take advantage of the trio battling each other, finishing ahead of Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in eighth and Frenchman Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in ninth.

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Toprak Razgatlioglu, PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team, Yamaha YZF R1, Dainese

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten with the British rider finishing just behind Baz, but 2.5 seconds clear of Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) in 11th as the wildcard secured points in his second race of the season, finishing 10 seconds clear of Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

Argentinean rider Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) finished in the points as he secured a 13th place finish ahead of Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) and teammate Eric Granado; the Brazilian finishing in the points in his first WorldSBK appearance of the season. Sheridan Morais (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) finished just outside the points with 16th, with Bautista being classified in 17th place ahead of Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR).

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Scott Redding, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, Ducati Panigale V4 R, Spidi

Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) did not finish the race after he crashed out in the second half of the race, with van der Mark not finishing the race after he came off his bike while battling for the podium. Redding retired from the race with a technical issue on Lap 6, effectively confirming Rea as a six-time World Champion as Redding had to win the race, while Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) did not finish the race.

WorldSBK Race 1 Estoril, Portugal (Full results here)

Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team)
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +3.039s
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) +4.220s

Tissot Superpole Race
The Tissot Superpole Race for the Pirelli Estoril Round had a familiar feel to it at the Circuito Estoril Round: Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) claimed victory without a challenge from his rivals while Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was able to fight back through the field, along with Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) in the penultimate MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race of 2020.

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha

Razgatlioglu got a good start from pole position and maintained the lead of the race on the opening lap before pulling out gap of over one second ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) in second; Gerloff securing back-to-back podiums for an American rider since Ben Spies in 2009. There was a titanic battle between Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) with the duo battling out for the entirety of the 10-lap race; the Dutchman coming out on top as Yamaha claimed a 1-2-3 finish for the first time in WorldSBK history and secure the front row starting positions for Race 2.

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki

Davies finished the race in fourth place ahead of the duo of Rea and Redding as the duo battled their way back from 15th and the back of the grid respectively as they secured a row two start for Race 2; Rea still chasing his 100th WorldSBK victory while Redding will look to end the season well to use as a springboard into a 2021 title challenge.

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) and teammate Leon Haslam finished in seventh and eighth place respectively to secure a third row start for the final race of the season and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) finished in ninth; the one point gained for Rinaldi enough to secure him the Independent Riders’ title as Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) crashed out on Lap 3.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was a non-finisher in the race after he crashed at the end of the opening lap of the Superpole Race; having a lowside crash at the Turn 13 final corner.

WorldSBK SPRINT Results (Full results here)

Toprak Razgatlioglu – Yamaha
Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha +1.928 s
Michael van der Mark – Yamaha +2.940s

Race Two
The season-ending race two at the Pirelli Estoril Round was full of drama at the Circuito Estoril as Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) claimed victory in his final race for the ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati outfit, taking a commanding win in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season finale.

Davies had started the race from fourth place and was instantly in the fight for victory, moving into second place before passing Toprak Razgatlioglu on lap two before pulling away from the Turkish star, who had won two of the three races at Estoril prior to race two.

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Chaz Davies, Ducati

The battle for second came to a premature end when Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) made contact with Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha machine at turn three as he tried to pass the Turkish rider for second place. Rea was able to re-join the race and finished down in 14th place while Razgatlioglu was able to finish in third, after Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) managed to overhaul Razgatlioglu for second place; Redding ending the season with a Ducati 1-2 as ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati claimed the Teams’ Championship ahead of KRT. The 1-2 finish for Davies and Redding meant Ducati secured its 950th podium placement in WorldSBK.

Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) ended his Yamaha career with a fourth-place finish, having lost out at the start of the race. He finished clear of Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) in fifth place as Honda secured another top-five finish, five seconds clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN).

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Chaz Davies, Ducati

Rinaldi finished in sixth place after heading a four-way fight with Leon Haslam (Team HRC), Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively; Fores’ eighth place meaning he was the highest-placed Kawasaki rider and therefore scored enough points for Kawasaki to beat Ducati to the Manufacturers’ Championship by just one point.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten as he finished around 2.5 seconds away from Caricasulo, and finished 1.5 seconds clear of Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing); Folger finishing in the points despite following Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) off the track when Baz suffered a technical issue.

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Chaz Davies, Ducati

Irish rider Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Official Team) finished in 12th place with Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) in 13th, Rea in 14th and Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) in 15th in his second appearance of the season. Eric Granado (MIE Racing HONDA Team) missed out on points by less than a second with teammate Takumi Takahashi just behind Brazilian Granado.

Sheridan Morais (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) was 18th in his third race on his first appearance of the season, ahead of Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) in 19th on his debut WorldSBK weekend. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) crashed out of the race on lap three at turn four when he was running in the podium places; the American having a lowside crash at turn four on the third lap as he looked for this third consecutive podium. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) also did not retire from the race after he crashed with just a few laps to go.

FIM Superbike World Championship, Round 08, October 15-18, 2020, Estoril, Portugal, Chaz Davies, Ducati

P1 Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)

“It was such a weird couple of hours. I was at on the grid and all my mechanics were in tears, they’ve all written personal messages on the tank. I was like ‘I’ve got to go concentrate right now; I’ve got to pull something out of the bag’ when I’m welling up. Here we are, 21 laps later and top of the podium. Just got to put things to the back of your mind sometimes and just send it. That I did and it paid off. My crew did a great job. Even yesterday I said not to touch my bike, I’ve got a bit in reserve and didn’t ride at my best. I felt like, even with the bike I had yesterday, it was good enough for a little bit better. They improved it again today and it was that one step better. It was such a pleasure to be out there today alone, by myself, for the time being in my last race. What a fairytale ending.”

WorldSBK Race 2 – rd 8 Estoril, Portugal (Full results here)