Pirelli Thai Round: Bautista and Ducati do another triple, WorldSSP goes to Cluzel on Yamaha; satisfaction for Pirelli with the standard soft rear tyres that break the track record

In the second round of the season where Pirelli was Event Main Sponsor, the Spanish Ducati rider took no prisoners, winning all three races of the weekend, finishing ahead of Rea’s Kawasaki and Lowes’ Yamaha each time

Buriram (Thailand), 17 March 2019 – In this second round of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship, it was once again the new arrival to the series, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R), who outshone his rivals, taking home a splendid triple win for the second consecutive round.
In Race 1, the Tissot Superpole Race and in Race 2, the Spanish rider finished ahead of the Kawasaki ridden by defending World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR), second each time, and Alex Lowes on Yamaha (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1), third on every podium.
 
In the FIM Supersport World Championship, on the other hand, the winner was Jules Cluzel who, astride his Yamaha YZF R6 managed by team GMT94 Yamaha, finished first ahead of another two Yamaha riders, the teammates on Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team, Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo.
 
After winning all six races held thus far, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) leads in the overall standings with 124 points, 26 more than Jonathan Rea and 55 more than Alex Lowes. In WorldSSP, Jules Cluzel and Randy Krummenacher are tied in the overall standings with 45 points each.
 
The weekend on Thai soil was also one of great satisfaction for Pirelli who, thanks in part to the new standard rear solutions in soft compound, contributed to breaking all of the track records set by the WorldSBK riders on this circuit. Already yesterday, besides Bautista, Jonathan Rea, Alex Lowes, Sandro Cortese and Leon Haslam had also managed to drop well below the track record during Superpole^®  and, in Race 1, where everyone used larger size standard tyres, the race pace was more than one second better per lap compared to last year. This improvement was further increased in Race 2, where the overall race time was reduced by one second.
 
 
WORLDSBK TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE
 
In the Tissot Superpole Race, which is 10 laps long, the riders used the same tyre solutions they had already chosen for Race 1. The only one to make a change was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) on the front. Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven / Ducati Panigale V4 R) was forced to retire even before the start due to a technical problem. Álvaro Bautista(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) came off the grid strong straight away, followed once again by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1). As early as the third lap, the leading trio had already created a gap ahead of the rest of the pack, led by Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR).
At the mid-race point, Bautista tried to pull the pin, increasing his advantage over Rea to one second and almost two seconds over Lowes.
The race ended early in the sixth lap because of a bad accident on turn 3 involving Thai wild card Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) and Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR). This forced race direction to wave the red flag, granting victory to Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1), the same finishing order as Race 1.
 
WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race standings:
 
1) Á. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
3) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
4) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
5) L. Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
6) M. Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
7) S. Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
8) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
9) T. Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
10) T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
11) M. Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
12) L. Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
13) J. Torres (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
14) M. Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
15) A. Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
NC) T. Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) - Wild Card
NC) L. Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
RT) R. Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
NS) E. Laverty (Team Goeleven / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
 
 
WORLDSBK RACE 2:
 
Race 2 held no real surprises. For the third time of the weekend, Álvaro Bautista(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) took the race win, finishing ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1). On the seventh lap, a technical problem for Chaz Davies’ Panigale V4 R forced him to retire.
In the meantime, lap after lap, Bautista increased the gap ahead of his closest chasers and two-thirds of the way through the race, he already had an advantage of almost seven seconds over Rea and more than eight ahead of Lowes.
Bautista’s advantage then increased even further in the final laps, with the Spaniard finishing more than ten seconds ahead of Rea and more than twelve ahead of Lowes. Behind them were the Yamaha ridden by Van Der Mark, Haslam on his Kawasaki and another two Yamahas, ridden by Melandri and Cortese.
 
WorldSBK Race 2 standings:
 
1) Á. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
3) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
4) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
5) L. Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
6) M. Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
7) S. Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
8) M. Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
9) T. Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
10) J. Torres (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
11) M. Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
12) R. Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
13) A. Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
RT) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
RT) T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
RT) L. Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
RT) E. Laverty (Team Goeleven / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
NS) L. Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
NS) T. Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) - Wild Card
 
 
WORLDSSP RACE:
 
Between the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race and Race 2, at 2:30 in the afternoon local time, the second race of the FIM Supersport World Championship season got underway with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6) starting from pole position. At the start, the French Yamaha rider stood his ground against Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) and Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6), managing to maintain the race lead.
However, the lead group was very compact with eight riders all within a second and a half of one another. In the meantime, a few laps later, Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) was able to move into third place, while Krummenacher slipped back to seventh.
During the seventh lap, Viñales also overtook Caricasulo and moved up to within two tenths of a second behind Cluzel. The three set the race pace, forming a leading trio. However, the Italian was having none of it and after a few laps, he took back the lost position.
With less than 5 laps left in the race, Krummenacher moved into a podium position, relegating Viñales to fourth, whereas during the sixteenth lap, Caricasulo moved up on Jules Cluzel and succeeded in overtaking him. But, the Frenchman recovered the lost position in the finale, finishing first ahead of teammate Randy Krummenacher, second, and Federico Caricasulo, third.
 
WorldSSP standings:
 
1) J. Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
2) R. Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
3) F. Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
4) I. Viñales (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
5) R. De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)
6) H. Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
7) H. Barbera (Team Toth by Willirace / Yamaha YZF R6)
8) L. Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
9) L. Cresson (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
10) H. Soomer (MPM WILSport Racedays / Honda CBR600RR)
11) C. Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
12) P. Sebestyen (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
13) J. Van Sikkelerus (MPM WILSport Racedays / Honda CBR600RR)
14) R. Hartog (Team Hartog - Against Cancer / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
15) M. Herrera (MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
16) G. Van Straalen (EAB Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
17) A. Coppola (GEMAR - Ciociaria Corse WorldSSP Team / Honda CBR600RR)
18) N. Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
19) R. Nakcharoensri (YAMAHA PTT Lubricants TANN Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) – Wild Card
RT) F. Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)
RT) J. Danilo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
RT) C. Stange(GEMAR - Ciociaria Corse WorldSSP Team / Honda CBR600RR)
RT) T. Gradinger (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
RT) A. Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
 
 
The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for the WorldSBK and WorldSSP races:
 
In the Tissot Superpole Race, the riders basically confirmed the solutions used in Race 1 for both the rear and the front. So, on the rear, all the riders used the larger 200/65 SC0 standard tyre (option B) whereas for the front, twelve riders decided to match the larger rear tyre with the 125/70 size SC1 standard solution (option B) with seven opting for the X1071 SC2 development tyre in the larger 125/70 size (option C). Like in Race 1, Ryūichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR) confirmed the standard SC1 in 120/70 size, whereas Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) was the only one to change the front, going to the standard SC1 in the 125/70 size.
 
In Race 2, the riders made identical choices to Race 1, with the exception of Leon Haslam who switched from the X1071 SC2 development solution (option C) to the standard SC1 in 125/70 size (option B). Inversely, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) went back to the larger size 125/70 X1071 SC2 development solution he had used in Race 1.
 
In the WorldSSP race, the standard SC2 (option B) was the most used solution by the riders on the front, whereas for the rear, the riders preferred the 2018 standard SC0 (option B).
 
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Tissot Superpole race:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR),in 1'32.880in the 3^rd lap
 
• Most used front solution: standard SC1 125/70 (11 out of 19 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 200/65 (19 out of 19 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 309.5 km/h, achieved by Alvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the 6^th and 5^th lap
 
• Air temperature: 35° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 52° C
 
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 2:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R),in 1'32.785 in the 3^rd lap
 
• Most used front solution: standard SC1 125/70 (10 out of 17 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 200/65 (17 out of 17 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 308.6 km/h, achieved by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the 7^th, 8^th and 10^th lap
 
• Air temperature: 36° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 57° C
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP race:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6), in 1'37.852 in the 13^th lap
 
• Most used front solution: standard SC2 (17 out of 24 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 2018 (14 out of 24 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa tyres: 270.7 km/h, achieved by Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) in the 8^th lap
 
• Air temperature: 36° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 57°