A new Champion has been crowned in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK Team) claimed the title after a dramatic and intense Race 1 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit for the Pirelli Indonesian Round. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed victory in Race 1 but Razgatlioglu’s second place was enough for him to be crowned Champion after the incredible spectacle.
TITLE RIVALS FIGHT IT OUT
Despite some rain falling prior to the start of Race 1, which was delayed and shortened to 20 laps from the original 21, all riders started on slick tyres. Razgatlioglu lost ground as the lights went out for the 20-lap race but battled his way back to lead the race at the start of Lap 3 after overtaking Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into the right-hander of Turn 1. Behind, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was making his way through the field to briefly lead the race after passing Rea on Lap 4 at Turn 12 and then Razgatlioglu on Lap 5 at Turn 10.
At the end of Lap 5, Rea forced his way through on Bassani on the exit of Turn 16 before Razgatlioglu followed through at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 16, before Rea and Razgatlioglu exchanged first place throughout Lap 6. Rea eventually re-claimed the lead and started lapping around one tenth quicker than his title rival, who remained in second place. On Lap 9, Razgatlioglu took the lead with a move on Rea into Turn 10. Lap 10 featured yet another change for the lead as Rea passed Razgatlioglu into Turn 16, before Razgatlioglu responded straight away into Turn 1. On the same lap Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed second place from Rea with a similar move that Rea made on Razgatlioglu at Turn 16.
Turn 16 continued to provide drama as Razgatlioglu ran wide into the long left-hander at the penultimate corner, losing the lead of the race to Redding and Rea moved into second place with the Turkish star re-joining in third place. Although he lost the two positions, he started chipping away at the gap as he chased down the lead two riders. Rea claimed the lead of the race on Lap 16 at Turn 10, before Redding lost ground trying to respond to Rea’s move allowing Razgatlioglu to close the gap. Redding lost more time at Turn 16 and, despite defending into Turn 17, Razgatlioglu made the title-winning overtake on Lap 18 at Turn 1. Razgatlioglu closed the gap to Rea throughout the final two laps but claimed second place behind Rea to take the 2021 title; although the gap is 25 points, Razgatlioglu has won more full-length races than Rea with Tissot Superpole Races not counting in the event of a tie. The top three in the Championship are now locked into place; Razgatlioglu in first, Rea in second and Redding in third. It means Razgatlioglu has claimed Yamaha’s first title since the 2009 season, when they won with American Ben Spies, and ended Rea’s run of consecutive titles at six. The Turkish star, at 25 years, 1 month and 5 days, becomes the third-youngest Champion of all time, behind James Toseland and Troy Corser. Rea’s victory means he has now won at 21 different circuits, a record for wins at different venues in WorldSBK.
BASSANI CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Bassani ran in the top three for the majority of the first half of the race and briefly led the race, before he eventually dropped back from the leading three. He eventually finished in fifth place after losing out to Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in the closing stages of the race, as Locatelli made up ground as track conditions continued to improve.
He had also made a move on Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to move into fifth place and push the Dutch rider down to sixth place; van der Mark showed strong pace again in the difficult conditions as he looked to challenge for a podium, but ultimately fell to sixth place. Locatelli’s fourth place means he moves into fourth in the Championship standings, one point clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), while van der Mark could still claim fifth from Rinaldi.
FINISHING IN THE TOP TEN
Alvaro Bautista’s penultimate race for Team HRC saw him claim seventh place after withstanding a late charge from Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven), with Davies looking to end his WorldSBK career on a high note. Argentinean rider Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) claimed ninth place after another strong performance, beating Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who claimed tenth. Sykes had been running inside the top six in the early stages of the race before dropping back.
CLAIMING POINTS
Despite a strong start and running in the top positions in the early stages of the race, Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in 11th place; with Bassani in fifth, the battle for Top Independent Rider in 2021 will go down to the final race. Rinaldi finished in 12th place as he lost ground in the race for fourth place in the standings.
Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was another who had strong early race pace but dropped back slightly in the closing stages, finishing in 13th. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) claimed 14th place with Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claiming the final points-paying position.
TO NOTE
Oliver König (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) had made a good start from the back of the grid but had a crash at Turn 3 on Lap 2 from a points-paying position, which put the Czech rider out of the race. Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) was another retirement following a Turn 1 crash in the latter stages of the race, while Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) also retired from the race.
The top six following WorldSBK Race 1:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.670s
3. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.155s
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +7.644s
5. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +8.133s
6. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +9.809s
Fastest Lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha): 1’34.288 (New Lap Record)
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 551
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 526
3. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 481
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 283
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 282
6. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 246
Rea doubles up in Indonesia with wet-weather WorldSBK victory after thrilling battles
The season ended with an incredible battle between second and third in the Championship in a rain-affected shortened Race 2
A shortened Race 2 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit provided plenty of drama in wet conditions, with a delay to the start due to weather conditions meaning the race was run to a reduced 12 laps, down from the originally planned 21 laps. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) doubled up on victories in Indonesia as he battled it out with Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for victory.
A WET WEATHER MASTERCLASS FROM REA AND REDDING…
As the race got underway, newly crowned Champion Toprak Razgatligolu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) kept the lead from the race, with the lead five quickly looking to break away. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) were able to break away with relentless pace as they battled it out for Race 2 honours.
Rea and Redding both exchanged first place as they looked to end the season on the top step of the rostrum, including a superb move around the outside of the Ducati rider on Lap 7, although Redding was able to respond. As the final lap started, Redding was able to make a move into Turn 1 before Rea responded into Turn 10. Heading into Turn 16, Redding went up the inside of Rea but ran wide, allowing Rea to move back into the lead of the race and claim his second victory at Mandalika for the 215th podium of his career. Redding’s second place earnt Ducati their 660th race on the podium.
INTENSE BATTLE FOR THE PODIUM
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) got a good start to be in the lead group of five riders, and on Lap 4 he looked to move up the order into a podium place. Into Turn 17, Bassani and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) made contact and Bassani crashed out of the race, with the incident placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards, with no further action taken. On the run to Turn 17, Bassani and Razgatlioglu were battling which allowed van der Mark to get alongside Bassani on the exit.
Van der Mark and Razgatlioglu battled it out for third place with the former teammates going head-to-head for the final place on the podium, with van der Mark passing the 2021 Champion on Lap 7 to claim his third podium of the 2021 and the 50th podium placement in WorldSBK for BMW. Razgatlioglu came home in fourth place meaning the gap between him and Rea at the end of the season was 13 points, while it also secured the Manufacturers’ Championship for Yamaha for only the second time; Yamaha winning the Riders’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles in 2021.
ROUNDING OUT 2021 IN THE TOP TEN
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished his BMW stint with a top five finish in the wet conditions, finishing three seconds clear of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in sixth place. Gerloff’s result, coupled with Bassani’s retirement, meant Gerloff claimed the Best Independent Rider award for 2021. He finished ahead of teammate Kohta Nozane in seventh place, the best of his rookie season in WorldSBK as he ended the season on a high.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) finished in eighth place after a battle with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in Race 2. Although Rinaldi did get ahead of Locatelli on track, he had a crash at Turn 6 which forced him out of the race and allowed Locatelli to claim fourth in the Championship standings. Following the race, Rinaldi was transported to RSUD NTB Hospital by air ambulance for further assessments after being diagnosed with a cervical strain. Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) ended his rookie campaign with his best result of the season with ninth, ahead of fellow Spaniard Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC); whose Team HRC career ended with a top ten finish.
TAKING HOME POINTS
Frenchman Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) finished 11th place after he battled with the retiring Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) in the closing stages of the race, with Davies ending his WorldSBK career with 99 podiums, 32 victories and 2999.5 points. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 13th place and Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) was 14th and the last of the classified riders.
TO NOTE
Despite a good start and running in the top six, Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) crashed out of the race at Turn 14.
Oliver König (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was declared unfit after a Race 1 crash, where he was diagnosed with a minimal head injury. Leon Haslam’s Team HRC farewell came to a premature end after he was declared unfit with a right shoulder functional impairment and missed both races, while Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was declared unfit with a right acromioclavicular join separation.
The top six following WorldSBK Race 2:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.283s
3. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.437s
4. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +10.641s
5. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +21.707s
6. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +24.555s
Fastest lap: Scott Redding (Ducati): 1’42.390s
FINAL 2021 Championship standings:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 564
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 551
3. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 501
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 291
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 282
6. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 262
7. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 228 (Best Independent)