In WorldSBK Rea takes the Superpole® Race too while in WorldSSP Krummenacher wins the third race of the season, Race 2 and the WorldSSP300 race cancelled due to foul weather

The heavy rainfall from early afternoon compromised the races; in any case, Pirelli takes home important information on the solutions used during the weekend

Imola (Italy), 12 May 2019 – For the second consecutive round, foul weather played a key role in the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship, compromising the races scheduled for the weekend.
After the rain and snow at the last round in Assen, the event at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola had no better luck, forcing Race Direction to cancel WorldSBK Race 2 and the WorldSSP300 race due to the heavy rain, which began to fall over the circuit in the early afternoon hours.
However, this did not compromise the races held in the morning, namely the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole^® Race, won by Jonathan Rea on Kawasaki, and the WorldSSP600 race, won by Randy Krummenacher on Yamaha.
This gives the four-time world champion with the Akashi-based manufacture important championship points.
 
In any case, from the week at Imola, Pirelli will be taking home useful information for tyre development. The new soft rear slick showed that it has all the right stuff to be able to give the standard SC0 a run for its money. For this reason, this solution will most certainly be assessed further in subsequent races. The new SCX tyre also merits study, although it was not used very much at Imola due to the weather conditions.
As for the solutions intended for WorldSSP, the new standard 2019 rear SC0 proved to be decidedly better than the 2018 solution.
 
WORLDSBK TISSOT SUPERPOLE^® RACE:
 
In the Tissot Superpole^® Race, which lasts for a distance of 10 laps, the riders all used slicks, although with substantial differences in their choices. Like in Race 1, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) started well immediately, overtaking pole man Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R). The latter was also overtaken by his teammate, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) who moved into Rea’s slipstream. The order would remain the same until the seventh lap when Davies took second back from the Spaniard, moving ahead progressively until building up a three-second gap ahead of his teammate.
In the Tissot Superpole^® Race, defending World Champion Jonathan Rea managed once again to set the pace, finishing first ahead of Ducati riders, Chaz Davies and Álvaro Bautista, second and third respectively. Finishing behind the podium positions were the Yamahas ridden by Michael Van Der Mark and Alex Lowes in fourth and fifth ahead of the Kawasakis ridden by Leon Haslam and Toprak Razgatlioglu, finishing sixth and seventh.
 
WorldSBK Race 1 standings:
 
1) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
2) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
3) Á. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
4) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
5) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
6) L. Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
7) T. Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
8) T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
9) J. Torres (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
10) M. Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
11) T. Bridewell (Team Goeleven / Ducati Panigale V4 R) – sostituto di Eugene Laverty
12) L. Zanetti (Motocorsa Racing/ Ducati Panigale V4 R) - Wild Card
13) S. Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
14) H. Barbera (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
15) M. Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
16) R. Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
17) M. Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
18) A. Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
 
WORLDSSP RACE:
 
After the Tissot Superpole^® Race, at 12:15 in the afternoon local time, the FIM Supersport World Championship got underway with Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) starting from pole position.
When the lights went out, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6), starting from the third spot on the grid, overtook both of the Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team riders to move into the lead. During the second lap, the white flag came out because it had begun to rain in sector 2.
On the seventh lap, both Krummenacher and Caricasulo managed to take back the positions lost at the start, overtaking the French rider.
During the tenth lap, Thomas Gradinger, Lucas Mahias and Jules Cluzel were involved in an accident following contact on the final chicane. The first two were forced to retire, whereas the French Yamaha rider lost several positions, falling back to eighth place. This left Raffaele De Rosa and Massimo Roccoli following behind Krummenacher and Caricasulo.
With just four laps left in the race, Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) moved into the race lead just as rain began to fall in sector 4. Unfortunately, the Italian rider had some technical problems on the final lap, leaving his flank vulnerable to an attack by his teammate, who overtook him for the lead.
Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) thereby took his third consecutive win, finishing ahead of teammate, Federico Caricasulo, and Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675), who finished with an outstanding third place. Also noteworthy is the bad accident in the finale for Massimo Roccoli, a wild card in this race.
 
WorldSSP standings:
 
1) R. Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
2) F. Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
3) R. De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)
4) H. Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
5) A. Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
6) I. Viñales (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
7) J. Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
8) L. Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
9) H. Soomer (MPM WILSport Racedays / Honda CBR600RR)
10) P. Sebestyen (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
11) J. Danilo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
12) L. Cresson (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
13) K. Smith (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
14) F. Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)
15) M. Herrera (MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
16) R. Hartog(Team Hartog - Against Cancer / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
17) J. Van Sikkelerus (MPM WILSport Racedays / Honda CBR600RR)
18) L. Ottaviani (SGM Tecnic / Yamaha YZF R6)
19) N. Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
RT) M. Roccoli (Team Rosso Corsa / Yamaha YZF R6)
RT) A. Coppola (GEMAR - Ciociaria Corse WorldSSP Team / Honda CBR600RR)
RT) G. Ruiu (Team Toth / Yamaha YZF R6)
RT) G. Van Straalen (EAB Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
RT) T. Gradinger (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
RT) F. Massei (DK MOTORSPORT / Yamaha YZF R6)
 
The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for the WorldSBK and WorldSSP races:
 
In the Tissot Superpole Race, the riders made a wide variety of choices, especially because of the uncertain weather conditions. In any case, all the riders opted for racing slicks. The most widely used solution on the front was once again the standard SC1 in 125/70 (option A), chosen by no less than 16 out of the 18 riders on the grid. On the rear, the predominant choice was the standard SC0 in 200/65 (option B), but Álvaro Bautista, Markus Reiterberger, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Hector Barbera decided instead to go with the new SCX solution, designed specifically by Pirelli for use in Superpole^® and in the sprint race, although intended for use with asphalt temperatures a bit higher than those recorded today.
 
In the WorldSSP race, most of the riders decided to rely on the standard solutions. In particular, 24 out of the 25 riders on the grid use the standard 2019 SC0 solution (option B) on the rear, whereas on the front, the most used option was the standard SC1 (option A).    
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Tissot Superpole^® Race:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R),in 1'45.727in the 7^th lap
 
• Most used front solution: standard SC1 125/70 (16 out of 18 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 200/65 (10 out of 18 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 286.7 km/h, achieved by Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the 7^th lap
 
• Air temperature: 13° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 17° C
 
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP race:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6), in 1'51.186in the 16^th lap
 
• Most used front solution: standard SC1 (14 out of 25 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 2019 (24 out of 25 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa tyres: 254.3 km/h, achieved by Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) in the 3^rd lap
 
• Air temperature: 14° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 20°