Alvaro Bautista on Ducati finishes in style by winning the Superpole Race and Race 2, Nicolo Bulega improves the Supersport World Championship victory record
La spanish sleeve, the last test of 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship, ended with the victories of the Ducati riders newly crowned world champions Alvaro Bautista in Superbike and Nicholas Bulega in Supersport.
Both the Spaniard and the Italian won every race over the weekend and were also awarded the Pirelli Best Lap Award for having achieved 19 and 11 fastest race laps respectively during the year. The WorldSSP300 title was won by Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) with 4 fastest laps in the race.
As for the tires used during this round, at the front, the SC1 was chosen by all the riders, both in Superbike and Supersport, while at the rear, all the soft solutions in SCX or SCQ mixture were ensured exceptional performance even with relatively low temperatures and optimal consistency from start to finish, as demonstrated by the duel carried out until the last corners between Bautista and Razgatlioğlu in race 2.
A positive season for Pirelli under the sign of development
“This season's results for Pirelli are undoubtedly positive and we have managed to advance the development program we set at the start of the year. In Superbike, the main objective was to improve the mileage of the SCQ extra soft rear not only in qualifying, but also in the Superpole race – a result we achieved with the C0004 specification which will become the standard compound in 2023, replacing the current SCQ. The other rear development solution that will join the standard range is the A1126 midrange which will become the new SC1. As for the front, we started working on a soft SC0 option this year and this development will continue next season. In Supersport the focus has been on the SC1 front end and again we have been able to improve performance with the B1333 specification which will join the standard range as the new SC1 front end. It is therefore clear that the Superbike World Championship remains the best development platform for our racing tires for us, because most of the motorcycle manufacturers are present, which means that we can test our products until they work well with several motorcycles. This is an ideal condition, taking into account that these same tires are sold regularly on the market, and therefore they must be versatile and able to adapt to any motorcycle. We will now stay in Jerez for two days of testing to prepare for next season. »
- The Superpole race was red flagged on the second lap, then restarted for a distance of eight laps. Up front, all riders used the standard SC1, while at the rear the most popular solution was the SCQ C0004 development tire. Only Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) decided to start with the SCX B0800 development solution, while Rabat (Kawasaki), Ruiu (BMW), Syahrin (Honda) and Konig (Kawasaki) opted for the standard SCX. In the new start, Alex Lowes also moved to the SCX B0800 rear, while Aegerter (Yamaha), Rinaldi (Ducati) and Lecuona (Honda) moved from the SCQ to the standard SCX.
Starting from pole position, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) also won this race, finishing ahead of Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).
- In the Race 2, the drivers largely confirmed the tire choices they had made yesterday in Race 1: SC1 at the front and SCX standard or development (B0800) at the rear.
In the last race of the year, Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioğlu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) engaged in an exciting duel. Overtaking maneuvers until the last lap and Razgatlioğlu finished first, before being penalized for exceeding the track limits at the exit of the last corner. Victory went to Bautista, with Razgatlioğlu relegated to second place and the other Yamaha rider, Dominique Aegerter, to third. The Turkish rider celebrates this 100th podium with Yamaha before moving to BMW in 2024, while Aruba.it Racing – Ducati wins the world team title.
- For the Race 2, riders confirmed the tires chosen in Race 1 at the rear, so virtually everyone was on the grid with the standard SCX except Kawasaki riders Adrian Huertas and Can Oncu who started with the standard SC0. Up front, some riders who had chosen the standard SC1 for Race 1 switched to the SC1 B1333 development tire, which remained the most widely used solution. After the red flag, there were some changes: Adrian Huertas and Can Oncu switched to the SCX rear tire, while Filippo Fuligni (Yamaha) used the SC0.
– Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) won the race and improved the record set yesterday for the most victories in a season. As in race 1, he finished ahead of Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). Third place went to Turkish rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).
