WorldSBK News: Rd6, Catalunya, Spain - Rea, van der Mark and Davies share victory!

The first ever MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was won by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) as the reigning champion claimed victory in race one for the inaugural Acerbis Catalunya Round; extending his championship lead to 41 points.

Race One
Rea started from pole position after going quickest in this morning’s Tissot Superpole session and held position off the line as the lights went out, maintaining and increasing a gap to his nearest rivals on track. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finished in second place after getting a superb launch off the grid after starting from seventh place; the British rider taking advantage of a close call between Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and teammate Michael van der Mark at turn one.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) and Redding battled in the early stages of the race before trying to work together to close the gap to Rea but they were unable to do so with Rea extending his lead to eventually win by 2.6s. Redding came home to finish in second place while Rinaldi fell down the order in the latter stages, eventually finishing in seventh.

Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) battled his way through the field to finish in third place meaning British riders have now locked out the podium on 54 occasions in WorldSBK, with Davies finishing ahead of van der Mark in fourth. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) lost ground compared to his starting position, finishing in fifth place with Razgatlioglu in sixth after the incident with his teammate at turn one. Bautista lost a position to Davies lap 15 of 20 when he went wide into turn one, allowing Davies to sweep around the outside of Bautista.

Rinaldi finished in seventh place after losing lots of time in the final few laps, being passed by Davies, van der Mark and Bautista in three successive laps. He finished ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) as the American continued his strong performances in dry conditions in Barcelona.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was in ninth place with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) completing the top ten. Eugene Laverty picked up points for his efforts with 11th place, just one tenth away from a top ten finish. Wildcard Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) battled his way through the field after not setting a time in qualifying, moving up from 21st to finish 12th.

Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) completed the points paying positions by rounding out the top 15. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) finished in 16th on his first appearance in 2020, ahead of last-minute call up Lorenzo Zanetti.

Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance), Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) and Valentin Debise (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) were the rest of the finishers in the race with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) retiring from the race in the early stages.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – Race 1 (Full results here)

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +2.625s
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +4.459s

Superpole Race
There was drama from the start in Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the inaugural Acerbis Catalunya Round where the 10-lap race was won by Dutchman Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) in dramatic finish with van der Mark claiming his first victory since Jerez race two in 2019 and claiming Yamaha’s 80th victory in WorldSBK.

Van der Mark started the race from fourth place and moved up to second from the start, slotting in behind Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the opening lap. The order stayed the same throughout the opening two laps but Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) moved passed both of them on lap 13 to take the lead.

Bautista’s lead would not last long as he had a massive highside at the right hander of turn 4 four which forced the Spaniard out of the race; Bautista taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the accident. Both van der Mark and Rea avoided being collected in the accident with the Dutchman taking the lead and building his lead throughout the race. It meant van der Mark was joined on the podium by Rea and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha); the trio completing the front row for race two.

Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finished in fourth place after fighting from tenth on the grid while Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) was in fifth after battling with Davies throughout the race; the pair separated by just 0.056s at the line. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN), one of three riders not to use the SCX tyre in the race, finished in sixth to complete the second row for race two.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was seventh with Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) in eighth; Redding not using the SCX tyre in the Superpole Race. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was in ninth after starting from the front row to secure a third row start in race two.

There was a collision between Leon Haslam (Team HRC) and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) with the British rider taken to the medical centre for a check-up. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) also did not finish the race after a crash at turn five.

Superpole Top Three (Full results here)

Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team)
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.372s
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +2.923s

Race Two
Chaz Davies became the seventh different winner of the 2020 WorldSBK season while American star Garrett Gerloff scores his first WorldSBK podium. Race 2 from MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s was full of drama and intrigue at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) claimed his first win of the 2020 season and became the seventh different winner in 2020, while American rookie Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) claimed his maiden World Superbike podium.

Davies was able to get to the front in the early stages of the race before taking the lead and controlling the action, withstanding pressure from Tissot Superpole Race winner Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) after the pair passed each other in the first half of the race. Van der Mark then fell into the clutches of Gerloff after the American made a sensational start from fifth place to run in the top three, putting pressure on van der Mark all race.

Gerloff passed van der Mark for second place on the last lap but a mistake from Gerloff on lap 10 allowed the Dutchman through for second; Gerloff coming home in third place. Davies held on to win his 31st race in his career, equalling Colin Edwards on the all-time list of winners. Gerloff’s podium means he becomes the first American to stand on the WorldSBK podium since Nicky Hayden in 2016.

Championship leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) extended his lead at the top of the standings with fourth place, finishing five seconds clear of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finished in sixth place after being passed by Sykes with just a couple of laps to go. Rea had lost ground at the start, but was able to regroup to finish in fourth place and take a 51 point lead into the next round at Magny-Cours.

Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) secured his best result of the season with seventh place as he showed more impressive pace, ahead of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in eighth. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was the sole Honda rider in race two and finished in ninth, with Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in tenth after losing lots of ground at turn one at the start.

Jonas Folger’s (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) impressive wildcard weekend continued as he battled his way from the back of the grid to 11th place; Folger not setting a time in Tissot Superpole and missing out on a top nine starting grid for race two by the smallest of margins. Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) was 12th after starting from the back of the grid; Caricasulo penalised for irresponsible riding in the Superpole Race after a collision with Haslam.

Lorenzo Zanetti (Motocorsa Racing) scored points after being called up to the championship on Friday evening with 13th place while Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) and Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) completed the points-scoring positions.

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) did not start the race following a technical issue on the sighting lap; the Spanish rider, who was declared fit following his dramatic highside crash in the Tissot Superpole Race, pulling off the track shortly after leaving the pit lane.

Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) crashed out in the early stages, while Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) and Valentin Debise (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) had a coming together on lap 17 while battling for 15th place. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN), who had been running in the top four for the majority of the race, had a technical issue in the latter stages of the race forcing him to retire from the race on lap 19.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – Race 2 (Full results here)