#indworldsbk

The Ducati rider bounced back after his DNF in the Tissot Superpole Race to take the win ahead of Razgatlioglu and Vierge. Alvaro Bautista claimed his 37th WorldSBK win in an interrupted Race 2. He heads to the first European Round as the Championship leader with 87 points and a 37-point advantage in the standings. Toprak Razgatlioglu was second and 1.218s off Bautista. He moved up in the Championship standings to take second place with 55 points. Xavi Vierge secured his maiden podium finish for Honda with third place, finishing 3.050s behind the race winner. Jonathan Rea crashed out of the race after he crashed at Turn 7. The six-time World Champion was diagnosed with a right distal thigh deep abrasion following the crash. The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s visit to the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit for the Motul Indonesian Round featured another dramatic race in Race 2 as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fought back to claim victory in Indonesia in a red-flagged Race 2 after battling with teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi. It was also a memorable race for Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) as he claimed his first WorldSBK podium after a strong Indonesian Round.

The original race was red flagged at the start of Lap 8 after an incident at Turn 11 involving Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) with both riders retiring from the race and unable to take the restart. Van der Mark was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. The starting grid for the restarted race was based on the last completed timing point for every rider and the race distanced reduced to 14 laps for the restarted race. Rinaldi started the restarted race from pole position and, despite losing momentum at the start, was able to hold that throughout the opening laps of the 14-lap race. The gap was at over one second at when Bautista passed Razgatlioglu before the reigning Champion started closing in on teammate and by Lap 11, he had closed the gap back down to a tenth. Bautista made the move on his teammate on Lap 13 of 14 at Turn 10 to move into the lead of the race. On the final lap, Rinaldi ran wide at Turn 10 and lost two positions to Razgatlioglu and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in third place with Vierge taking his first WorldSBK podium after claiming third place after he started the restarted race from third on the grid. He was running in the chasing group throughout Race 2 and was able to take advantage of Rinaldi running wide to move into the podium places behind Razgatlioglu, who had been fighting for the podium throughout the restarted race.

Rinaldi ended up in fourth place and less than a second clear of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in fifth place with the two Italians separated by just 0.780s at the end of the race. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) continued his impressive Indonesian Round with sixth place with Petrucci less than a second behind Locatelli in sixth place. Locatelli had briefly led the original race but lost ground shortly afterwards, dropping him down the order on the grid for the restarted race. WorldSBK will return with the Pirelli Dutch Round taking place from the 21st to the 23rd of April at the TT Circuit Assen.

WorldSBK Race 2 Results 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +1.218s 3. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +3.050s 4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.068s 5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +4.848 6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +5.838s WorldSBK Championship standings 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 112 points 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 75 points 3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 70 points Tissot Superpole Race Results 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu / Yamaha 2. Andrea Locatelli / Yamaha / +1.110s 3. Alex Lowes / Yamaha / +1.372s P1 | | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati “In Race 2, starting from tenth position was not easy especially because, on this track, it’s not easy to pass. In a normal situation, there aren’t a lot of points to overtake other riders but with this condition with only a small line of good grip, it’s almost impossible. I tried to remain focused at the beginning. When they showed the red flag, I started from fourth place and maybe the lines got a bit easier. I had to start with the harder rear tyre because we didn’t have more softs. I had to choose between a hard with two laps on it or a soft with eight laps on. We put the hard tyre on and tried to adapt. I tried to stay calm at the beginning. When I saw Rinaldi go away, I thought he had a really good pace. It was a good reference for me to get some advantage on Toprak. I was catching him but at Turn 1 I made a mistake and went a bit wide. I lost more than one second, so I lost a lot of distance to Rinaldi. I didn’t think I could catch him but in the last laps I saw drop him a lot. I tried to keep my pace. When I caught him, my pace was much faster, but I didn’t want to risk an overtake. I waited a couple of laps just to be sure that, when I pass him, I did it in a safe place without risk for him or for me. I’m so happy because, from a really difficult start today, we came back and we showed that we are strong this year. I’m happier with this victory than the other ones.”

Federico Caricasulo took his first Supersport win since 2019 and his first one with Ducati in Race 2. He is now fourth in the Championship standings, three points away from third place. Stefano Manzi recovered from tenth on the grid to fight at the front but was denied the win by Caricasulo in the last lap. He is second in the standings with 59 points. Nicolo Bulega was third and remains the Championship leader as he leaves Mandalika with an 18-point advantage in the standings. There was an incredible fight in the FIM Supersport World Championship during the Motul Indonesian Round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) claimed his first win of the 2023 campaign. Caricasulo lead an Italian 1-2-3 in the 18-lap race to claim his first win since Portimao in 2019 as he ended a four-year wait for victories in WorldSSP. At the start of the race, Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) were fighting for first position with the Turkish star making a move on Bulega at T1 on Lap 3. Oncu looked to break clear, but he was never more than a second away from the chasing pack and, on Lap 13, Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) passed Oncu into Turn 10 move into the lead of the race.

Manzi led until the final lap of the race but Caricasulo, who also battled past Oncu and Bulega at around the halfway stage of the race, made a move on his compatriot at Turn 10 to move into the lead of the race. Caricasulo was able to hold on to claim his first win in 68 WorldSSP races, as he took his seventh WorldSSP victory and 29th podium. Ducati claimed their third win in the 2023 season, equalling their previous best season in terms of wins which was in 2000. Manzi was able to come home in second place for his seventh WorldSSP podium, while Bulega was able to fight back on Oncu to return to the rostrum. Oncu took fourth place after leading throughout the first half of the race, finishing more than 1.5 second down on the podium positions at the end of the race while he was also three seconds clear of rookie Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in fifth place. Schroetter had an early-race battle with Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) with the Finn taking sixth spot at the end of the race meaning five manufacturers were inside the top six in Race 2. WorldSSP will return with the Pirelli Dutch Round taking place from the 21st to the 23rd of April at the TT Circuit Assen.

WorldSSP Race 2 Results 1. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) 2. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.325s 3. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +1.546s 4. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +3.148s 5. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +6.199s 6. Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) +8.453s WorldSSP Championship standings 1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 77 points 2. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) 59 points 3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 54 points

The 2022 World Champion won Race 1 in front of Yamaha duo Razgatlioglu and Locatelli, Rea ninth Alvaro Bautista took his fourth win of 2023 after his Phillip Island hat-trick, finishing 4.809s ahead of Razgatlioglu. He now has a 37 point-advantage in the Championship standings. Polesitter Toprak Razgatlioglu took second place in Race 1 at Mandalika. Locatelli completed the top three with his eighth Superbike podium. Rookie Danilo Petrucci took his best WorldSBK result with fifth place. Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea struggled in Race 1 to take ninth place, finishing 14.454s off the race winner. Race 1 in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship during the Motul Indonesian Round was a dramatic affair at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made it four wins in a row in the 2023 season after a fighting victory in Indonesia. Bautista went head-to-head with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in the early stages of the race at a circuit where Razgatlioglu has been so successful at since it joined the calendar in 2021. Bautista was initially behind Toprak Razgatlioglu in the opening five laps of the race as the pair led the first group. The reigning Champion applied pressure to Razgatlioglu in the early stages but did make his move until Lap 5 as he caught Razgatlioglu by surprise through Turn 15 to move into the lead of the race. Bautista’s fourth win in the 2023 season means he is now on a winning run of six races that stretches back to Phillip Island in 2022, while he also claimed his and Ducati’s first victory at Mandalika. Ducati are also edging closer to a milestone win as the Italian manufacturer now have 396 wins in WorldSBK.

Razgatlioglu was able to pull away from Bassani to claim second place behind Bautista. Razgatlioglu took his 85th podium. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) was able to make the move on Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) on Lap 11 at Turn 10 to move into third place for his second podium of the 2023 season. Locatelli’s third place means he remains second in the Championship standings behind Bautista. With Bassani dropping back from the podium fight, he ended up battling with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) for fourth spot with the pair exchanging positions on several occasions. Lowes passed Bassani at Turn 12 on Lap 12 before Bassani responded at Turn 16 to re-gain fourth place and, after that, Lowes found himself dropping down the order. He was overtaken by Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) around halfway through the race with the rookie taking his best WorldSBK finish to date with fifth. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) charged through the field in the closing stages of the race to take sixth spot in Race 1, including some incredible fights with his rivals.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was the first retirement of the race after he was involved in a Turn 1 crash on the opening lap, after a collision with Bassani. Rinaldi retired from the race but Bassani was able to continue. Rinaldi went to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. He will be reassessed ahead of Warm Up on Sunday morning after being diagnosed with a minimal head injury but no signs of concussion have been detected currently. WorldSBK action resumes on Sunday from 8:30 (Local Time) with the Warm-Up, followed by Tissot Superpole Race at 10:30 and Race 2 at 13:30.

WorldSBK Race 1 Results 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +4.809s 3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +6.586s 4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +8.871s 5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +11.667s 6. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +12.685s WorldSBK Championship standings 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 87 points 2. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 50 points 3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 43 points WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Results 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu / Yamaha / 1’32.037s 2. Andrea Locatelli / Yamaha / +0.069s 3. Alvaro Bautista / Ducati / +0.165s

P1 | | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing Team "The race wasn’t easy because we had to compromise the performance and the management of the tyre life as we had many issues during practices. I was able to make a good start and recover some positions. I was behind Toprak in the first few laps trying to not overstress the front tyre. Then, I saw we were a big group, and I thought the pace could be a bit faster to reduce the number of riders in the group. I tried to pass Toprak and put my pace. I got a good feeling with bike, and I enjoyed the race. I’m happy because last year I struggled a lot here and this year we are so competitive. We made big improvements.”

Starting from the front row, Can Oncu claimed a dominant first Supersport victory by more than three seconds in Race 1 at Mandalika. Federico Caricasulo took second place in Race 1 finishing 3.305s behind Oncu. Niki Tuuli completed Race 1 top three, clinching his first podium with Triumph. Nicolo Bulega couldn’t turn his first pole position into a podium finish as he concluded Race 1 in fifth place. It was a dramatic Race 1 in the FIM Supersport World Championship at Mandalika as Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) blasted off from the start to claim his first WorldSSP win during the Motul Indonesian Round. Oncu started from the front row and, with drops of rain falling at the start of the race, moved clear to win by more than three seconds for his first win at the 65th time of asking. Rain started falling before the start of the race, but all riders opted to stay with slick tyres, with the rain not getting harder during the 18-lap race. At the start of the race, Oncu took the lead on the opening lap after starting from third place and from there he did not look back. The Turkish star, now in his fourth WorldSSP campaign, was able to use a combination of his pace and his rivals battling behind him to take victory by more than three seconds for his first WorldSSP win. The battle behind Oncu was an incredible fight between Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) and Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) with the pair consistently changing positions. Caricasulo was able to resist Tuuli’s pressure throughout the closing stages of the race before pulling a gap over the Finnish rider to take his 28th WorldSSP podium, while Tuuli took his tenth podium in the Championship, his first one with Triumph. The battle for fourth was just as fierce as the battle for second between Raffaele De Rose (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) as three manufacturers battled hard. The battle ended when Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team), who closed the gap as the riders in front battled hard, collided with van Straalen at Turn 16 with the Dutchman going down before re-joining. It meant Schroetter took fourth spot at the end of the race ahead of Bulega in fifth, while De Rosa had been running in fifth before a puncture dropped him down the order before he retired from the race.

Setting a best time of 1’32.468s, Michael Ruben Rinaldi topped Friday’s timesheets, finishing ahead of teammate Alvaro Bautista. Alvaro Bautista finished 0.029s behind his teammate in Friday’s running. Toprak Razgatlioglu took third place with a best time of 1’32.625s, 0.157s behind Rinaldi. Jonathan Rea was fourth 0.735s off Rinaldi’s fastest time. Michael van der Mark was the lead BMW rider in fifth. The opening day of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action in Indonesia has come to an end and the order has left us all intrigued going into Saturday. Despite Ducati never having won at the circuit before, their pace from Australia has been carried to the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit, as Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ended the day on top and led a factory Ducati 1-2, with teammate Alvaro Bautista second. It was a dry first day of action and with humidity high, although rain is forecast for parts of the weekend.

It was a strong start for Ducati and particularly Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who, having topped FP1 despite a Turn 10 crash, repeated the achievement in FP2 although this time, without a tumble. Rinaldi continued his strong showing from Phillip Island and with a Friday clean-sweep and a Ducati 1-2 but in reverse order to Australia, the Bologna bullets may be the ones to beat. Reigning World Champion Bautista set strong lap times throughout the course of the session, despite suffering a Turn 1 crash. After a brief stint in the box, Bautista went back out on track and improved his time, although not enough to overthrow his teammate. Doing a 16-lap run but returning to the box and stating that he was struggling to turn into the left-hand corners, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) went for a time attack in the closing stages of the session and placed third. Back in the mix after a Sunday to forget in Australia, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) kept his powder dry on day one, opting not to go out in FP1 until the final 17 minutes as the track cleaned up and rubbered in. Rea was in the mix throughout the session and was right behind the Ducatis for most of it, on his way to P4 overall. It was a late burst up the order for Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), with the Dutchman just less than three quarters of a second away from Rinaldi’s top time. The #60 was only 0.010s behind Rea directly ahead of him in fourth, as he showcased the BMW M 1000 RR’s potential at Mandalika, a circuit where it’s been on the podium – back in 2021 in the wet with van der Mark. WorldSBK action resumes on Saturday with FP3 from 08:30 (Local Time), followed by Tissot Superpole at 10:40 and Race 1 at 13:30.

WorldSBK Combined Results after FP2 1. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’32.468s 2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.030s 3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.157s 4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.735s 5. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.745s 6. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.906s

P1 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | Aruba.it Racing Team | 1’32.468s “Today has been a positive day despite the crash after a few laps in FP1. I immediately felt good on the bike. It’s a strange track here because every session and every lap, the surface changes. There are not many motorcycle races here so there’s no rubber on the asphalt and outside the racing line is dirty, so you can’t make a mistake. From FP1 to FP2, we improved a lot the times and the feeling with the bike changed. I’m happy to be first but the conditions changed quickly, and I think it doesn’t really matter if we are first today. Tomorrow, we will come back to the track and maybe it’s a different story. We need to be calm, humble and try to do our best job.

Nicolo Bulega topped both Free Practice session as he set his fastest time in FP2, improving by more than 3s his morning time. Can Oncu concluded Friday in second place just 0.024s off Bulega. 0.046s behind Bulega is Niki Tuuli in third place, it’s his first-time racing at Mandalika with Triumph. The times tumbled during the FIM Supersport World Championship as Free Practice 2 concluded during the Motul Indonesian Round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as riders found several seconds between FP1 and FP2. All riders improved their time in the second session with Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) fastest in the combined classification with the top four riders separated by less than a tenth. Bulega’s best time of the day was a 1’36.705s to end Friday on top as he looks to continue his winning run in WorldSSP having won the first two races of 2023. He was 0.024s clear of Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in second place after he posted a 1’36.729s. Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph), a race winner here in 2022 when with MV Agusta, was third and only 0.046s. German rookie Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) took fourth spot with a gap of only 0.079s to Bulega, while Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was fifth at the end of the day’s running despite a Turn 16 crash with just over 10 minutes in FP2 to go in the session. It meant that five of the six manufacturers competing in 2023 were represented in the top five. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had been competing for top spot but dropped down the order to sixth place, and only 0.173s down on Bulega, while Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) was seventh. Caricasulo was 0.266s down on Bulega’s time and had his FP2 disrupted in the final seven minutes after a Turn 2 crash. WorldSSP action resumes on Saturday with the Tissot Superpole from 09:55 (Local Time), followed Race 1 at 12:00.

WorldSSP Combined Results after FP2 1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’36.705s 2. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.024s 3. Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) +0.046s 4. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.079s 5. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.161s 6. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.173s