Bautista-Ducati hat trick with Pirelli SC1 front and SCX B0800 rear

Bautista-Ducati hat trick with Pirelli SC1 front and SCX B0800 rear

Bautista is once again uncatchable in Spain, winning all the races; first win for Sofuoglu and historic one-two for MV Agusta in WorldSSP with Gennai winning in WorldSSP300

 

 

After dominating in Phillip Island and Assen, Álvaro Bautista on Ducati takes home a hat trick once again in Barcelona, winning all three WorldSBK races scheduled for the weekend and taking his victories to 11 for the year out of 12 total races held.
It was a historic one-two for MV Agusta in WorldSSP and the first win in this category for Turkish rider Bahattin Sofuoglu who finished ahead of teammate Marcel Schroetter.
In WorldSSP300, Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) on Yamaha won his first race of the year, finishing ahead of compatriot Matteo Vannucci and Race 1 winner Jeffrey Buis.
Pirelli tyres put in a solid performance, with both the standard and development solutions successfully used in the race by the riders.

GIORGIO BARBIER INGLESE

Encouraging feedback on the new solutions

“In this round, we continued the work we had begun in Assen comparing a few solutions. In WorldSBK, we began to receive some more information on the SCX B0800 development tyre. Yesterday, we saw that it has an extremely wide range of use because it adapts well to very different temperatures and circuits like Assen and Montmeló. However, as already happened in Holland, we noticed that in the Superpole Race, the most popular selection was the standard range, probably because over the short distance, it is still able to offer a little something more than the B0800. As for WorldSSP, the riders who had chosen the 125/70 size yesterday actually confirmed it again today and that means that they liked it. We’ll have to see if it will gain the trust of other riders in the upcoming rounds. Regarding the results of the races, we saw another great test of strength by Bautista and Ducati in WorldSBK. Congratulations also to young Sofuoglu for his first WorldSSP victory. The next round will be in Misano where we’ll be celebrating an important event: our 20-year anniversary as Superbike Championship sole supplier!”

Superbike weather

 

  • Tyre choice for the Superpole Race was more complicated than usual due to a light rain which dampened the asphalt a half hour prior to the start. Some riders did the sighting lap with intermediate or rain tyres but, once they saw that the track was almost entirely dry, they all started on slicks. At the front, the most used solution was the standard SC1, but no fewer than 7 riders opted for the SC0. At the rear, on the other hand the standard SCX was back to being the protagonist, garnering more popularity than the B0800 development solution. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) won, also doing the fast lap on his second time around, finishing ahead of Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK riders, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli. Bad luck for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who crashed out during the final lap when the rain began to fall again.
  • In Race 2, the rear SCX-A solution (B0800 specs) was back to being the most used by the riders. At the front, the most popular was the standard SC2, although all the Ducati riders put on the standard SC1. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) once again set the race pace, leading all alone at the front and finishing first, once again with a gap of more than 8 seconds over his rivals. Toprak Razgatlioglu snatched second from Rinaldi on the straight, ruining what had looked like an almost certain Ducati one-two. Bautista once again had the fast lap of the race with a time of 1’41.730.
supersport weather
  • Race 2 was held with an asphalt temperature 12°C lower than that of Race 1. This clearly had an impact on rider tyre choices: in fact, the most used solution was the standard SC0, more protected against the cold. However, it is worth pointing out that Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) finished on the podium with the SCX rear. As for the front choices, the most popular solution was the standard SC1, but some of the riders chose the larger 125/70 version.
  • Winning the race was Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who, following in the footsteps of his uncle Kenan, took home his first Supersport race. The Turkish rider finished ahead of teammate Schroetter for an MV Agusta one-two that had not happened since Phillip Island 2015. Behind them, in third place, was Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), whereas pole man Nicolò Bulega (Aruba Racing WorldSSP Team) was forced to retire. The Ducati rider still managed to do the record race lap, however, on his ninth time around the track.
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