As the 2019 World Superbike Championship headed to Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for round seven, only three riders had won the main races (non-Superpole races):
Alvaro Bautista, who claimed nine – including the opening eight-straight races
Jonathan Rea, who claimed one
Michael van der Mark, who also claimed one
Two weeks ago in Jerez, Aurba.it Racing Ducati’s Bautista won the opening race, but suffered his first-ever WorldSBK crash aboard the V4R during race two, causing him to DNF.Kawasaki’s Jonathan ReaHe was hoping to regain his rhythm this past weekend in Italy, but he couldn’t perform at optimal levels. He earned third in race one and dominated the Superpole sprint race. But again he crashed out of race two.The story was much different for the four-time reigning WSBK Champion Rea. The Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-10RR pilot earned both wins and his first double of the season. Rea led all but two laps in the restarted race one, and the final four of race two.In race one, Rea was joined on the podium by BMW Motorrad’s To Sykes and Bautista. In race two, Rea was joined by Turkish Puccetti Racing Kawasaki’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Rea’s teammate Leon Haslam for a ZX-10RR 1-2-3.“Winning two races at Misano was good for us, especially the two important races,” Jonathan Rea says. “Unfortunately in the Superpole Race today I made a big mistake in turn ten when I lost the front. But I restarted to finish fifth which was all important for the weekend. Race Two today was a tough one because the temperature was hot. I was very unsure of the pace.“I felt like it was slow but I did not want to push any faster. I saw Alvaro go down very early in the race and the conditions out there were very tough, especially for the front tire. The rear was just not digging in and going forward, it was just spinning so much – but we won, which was the main thing. It was a super-nice day for Kawasaki because we put three bikes on the Race Two podium. Team Suzuka! Donington next and we will go to every track with an open mentality.”With his wins, Rea is now only 16 points behind Bautista, who has 330 points after seven of 13 rounds. The WorldSBK Championship heads to Rea’s home round at Donington July 5-7.Following are the official race recaps from WorldSBK.com.Kawasaki’s Leon Haslam
Misano WorldSBK Recap, Race 1
After the miserable rain became a pain in WorldSBK Race 1, it was sunny blue skies at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in Italy, ahead of the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race. The 10-lap encounter saw red-hot action all the way as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) went head-to-head in the early stages. After a third in Race 1 yesterday, Bautista took the verdict ahead of the Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team), whilst Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was a solid third, whilst teammate Rea crashed in the closing stages.On the opening lap, Rea took the holeshot ahead of Cortese and Bautista, with the Spaniard moving ahead of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Alex Lowes straight away. Down in to Turn 8, Bautista got ahead of the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK machine, now with his sights set on Rea. Further down in the battle for sixth, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) barged his way ahead of Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the exit of Turn 10. The British rider got ahead of Turkish star later in the race.At the end of the second lap however, after a lap of riding right behind Rea, Bautista made his move down the front straight, using the horsepower of the Ducati Panigale V4 R to his advantage. The Spaniard hit the front and never looked back, whilst Jonathan Rea looked a strong second. Further down the order in the battle for fourth, Tom Sykes had been passed by Alex Lowes.In the closing stages, it was all change in a dramatic set of circumstances, as Sandro Cortese crashed at Turn 16 with just over three laps to go. Then half a lap later, Jonathan Rea had an unusual accident at Turn 10. Cortese was out after looking good for a first podium, whilst Rea remounted and finished fifth. On the final lap, it was devastation for Tom Sykes, as another technical problem meant he was out with just half-a-lap to go.Giving Ducati their 30th win at Misano, Alvaro Bautista will start on pole position for Race 2, extending his championship lead. Alex Lowes enjoyed good luck and was second, whilst Leon Haslam completed the podium; a 400th for Kawasaki.Toprak Razgatlioglu will head up row two after a fourth-place finish, with Jonathan Rea in fifth and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), who came from 19th on the grid to finish a remarkable sixth.After an impressive race, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) took a well-earnt seventh ahead of his wildcard teammate Michele Pirro, with third row starts being key for the Independent team. Completing row three with his first top nine performance since Race 1 at Assen in 2018, Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), as the Argentine enjoyed a second consecutive top ten.Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista
Misano WorldSBK Recap, Race 2
The title fight is on! A 75th WorldSBK win for Rea as he went head-to-head with Toprak Razgatlioglu on the final lap, whilst Bautista crashes early on!With a 39-point advantage over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) had a comfortable margin ahead of Race 2 in WorldSBK, combined with a pole position start. The 34-year-old Spaniard looked set for another win but, for a second round, Bautista crashed out of the lead at the start of Lap 2 at Turn 4. This made for an incredible battle at the front as the championship catapulted into life in Italy.With the race underway, Bautista took the holeshot into Turn 1 as the pack filtered through as neat as possible. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) blasted through the order and was into third by Turn 1, challenging Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into Turn 4. At Turn 14, Jonathan Rea sliced under the Turkish rider for third place.Then, drama at Turn 4 on Lap 2 as Alvaro Bautista made another error, crashing out of the lead as the front end gave way. The Spaniard crashed out, leaving Leon Haslam in the lead ahead of teammate Rea, whilst Razgatlioglu was third ahead of Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Bautista re-joined but was at the back of the field.With 18 laps to go, it was Razgatlioglu who put a move on Rea at Turn 4, before leading at Turn 1 a lap later, ahead of Leon Haslam. At Turn 14 on the same lap, Rea lunged ahead of Haslam, as the five-time WorldSBK race winner began to fade away. The number 91 then suffered a collision with Marco Melandri as the Italian tried an audacious pass into Turn 2. Both stayed upright but it allowed Razgatlioglu and Rea to break away.It was another race to forget for Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), from a weekend that looked to show so much promise after Saturday. The German crashed once more but re-joined the race.With 12 laps left to go, the race was far from decided, with two separate battles: Razgatlioglu defended at the front from Jonathan Rea, whilst Leon Haslam held on to third ahead of Marco Melandri, as Alex Lowes began to claw time back on the battling duo ahead of him. Meanwhile, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) was lapping half-a-second a lap quicker than those ahead of him.Three laps to go and it was another disaster for the GRT Yamaha squad, as Marco Melandri crashed at Turn 8, as grip deteriorated with rising track temperatures. Melandri’s crash promoted Bautista into the points. A lap later, and the battle for the race win had calmed, as Rea made a mistake at Turn 10, momentarily letting Razgatlioglu off the hook.The final four laps was when Jonathan Rea made his move out front, taking the lead at Turn 1. It was a heart-in-mouth moment for Razgatlioglu at Turn 4 however, as he came within millimetres of hitting the rear of Rea, with his rear wheel in the air. The fight was far from done, as the 22-year-old Turkish rider stayed glued to the rear end of Rea.The final lap beckoned, and it was going to be a head-to-head between the young pretender and the four-time WorldSBK Champion. Razgatlioglu tried at Turn 4 but thought better of it, waiting until Turn 8 to make his move. Toprak ran wide, with Rea slicing back ahead and the gloves were really off. As the lap came to a close, Rea defended superbly and despite Razgatlioglu bouncing up the rear wheel of Rea at the final corner, he couldn’t get the better of the reigning-quadruple WorldSBK Champion. Rea took the win ahead of the Turkish star, to take a 75th WorldSBK win and become the highest point-scorer of all time. Third place went to Leon Haslam, ahead of Lowes and Michael Ruben Rinaldi.Sixth went to Tom Sykes ahead of Chaz Davies, whilst Michele Pirro (BARNI Racing Team), Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Goeleven) and Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) completed the top ten, in a frantic, feisty end to Race 2.The championship gap is down to 16 between Bautista and Rea at the top, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu moved into the top Independent slot in the championship, with his best ride of his WorldSBK career.
Misano World Superbike 2019 Race 1 Results
Pos.
Rider
Manufacturer
Nationality
Time
1
Jonathan Rea
Kawasaki
GBR
32’16.526
2
Tom Sykes
BMW
GBR
00’03.692
3
Alvaro Bautista
Ducati
ESP
00’07.756
4
Loris Baz
Yamaha
FRA
00’12.932
5
Chaz Davies
Ducati
GBR
00’15.801
6
Marco Melandri
Yamaha
ITA
00’41.963
7
Sandro Cortese
Yamaha
DEU
00’45.967
8
Yuki Takahashi
Honda
JPN
00’46.479
9
Lorenzo Z Zanetti
Ducati
ITA
09’47.695
10
Leandro Mercado
Kawasaki
ARG
00’48.026
11
Alessandro Delbianco
Honda
ITA
00’49.700
12
Jordi Torres
Kawasaki
ESP
00’49.833
13
Samuele Cavalieri
Ducati
ITA
01’08.793
14
Ryuichi Kiyonari
Honda
JPN
01’13.510
15
Markus Reiterberger
BMW
DEU
01’36.134
Misano World Superbike 2019 Race 2 Results
Pos.
Rider
Manufacturer
Nationality
Time
1
Jonathan Rea
Kawasaki
GBR
34’06.731
2
Toprak Razgatlioglu
Kawasaki
TUR
00’00.381
3
Leon Haslam
Kawasaki
GBR
00’05.880
4
Alex Lowes
Yamaha
GBR
00’06.203
5
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
Ducati
ITA
00’07.147
6
Tom Sykes
BMW
GBR
00’07.682
7
Chaz Davies
Ducati
GBR
00’10.916
8
Michele Pirro
Ducati
ITA
00’14.268
9
Lorenzo Z Zanetti
Ducati
ITA
00’20.043
10
Jordi Torres
Kawasaki
ESP
00’22.127
11
Markus Reiterberger
BMW
DEU
00’27.107
12
Loris Baz
Yamaha
FRA
00’27.475
13
Samuele Cavalieri
Ducati
ITA
00’36.333
14
Alvaro Bautista
Ducati
ESP
00’37.033
15
Sandro Cortese
Yamaha
DEU
00’47.697
16
Marco Melandri
Yamaha
ITA
00’50.834
2019 World Superbike Point Standings (after 7 of 13 rounds)
