WSBK Phillip Island J3: Baz sets Australia on fire, Lowes pulls out the chestnuts…

De Corsedimoto.com

INTRODUCTION

The Superbike weekend at Phillip Island continues with the Superpole Race at 1:50 a.m. and Race 2 at 5:00 a.m. (French time). In race 1, there was no shortage of emotions or hand-to-hand duels, starting with the fight between Jonathan Rea et Tom Sykes, which forced the reigning champion from Kawasaki off the track. After getting back on track, JR1 got back on track shortly before a fall that knocked him out of the game and gave him the first zero of the season. In the four-way challenge including the two Yamahas, alex lowes et Scott Redding, the brave Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated on his new R1.

Federico Caricasulo was also involved in a collision with Jonathan Rea. The Yamaha rider from Ravenna had to continue his first race in the Superbike World Championship with the airbag open, managing to bring home a shy but encouraging 12th place. The other Italian pilot Michael Rinaldi closes the top 10. Good start also for the Honda HRCs of Leon Haslam et Alvaro Bautista , in fifth and sixth place respectively. Sad start, however, for the Barni Racing Team which had to give up participating in the GP due to the poor physical condition of Leon Camier.

READY FOR A NEW SHOW
09h10. Twenty minutes before the warmup which will open the Sunday program for the Australian round of the World Superbike. The opening on Saturday was fantastic: a first confrontation full of twists and turns, contacts, falls and a finish which saw Toprak Razgatlioglu win by 8 thousandths over alex lowes and 41 on Scott Redding. It was the second closest sprint ever, after Monza 97, when the top three drivers arrived divided by just 7 thousandths of a second. The warm-up lasts 15 minutes.

WEATHER: LIGHTLY CLOUDY
09:25. Five minutes after the start of the warmup, the sky is slightly overcast, with no threat of rain. Temperatures: air 18°C, asphalt 19°C. The conditions are therefore much cooler than for Saturday's race. This short run will be used to prepare for the Superpole race which will start at 12 p.m., or 2 hours in France: it will be ten laps of pure adrenaline...

REA WITH THE REBUILT KAWASAKI
09:35. The warmup is gone. Jonathan Rea will have to check the perfect functioning of his rebuilt Kawasaki after the disastrous crash on the 6th lap of race 1.

LORIS BAZ AT THE TOP
09h. Four minutes before the deadline, the Frenchman Loris Baz is the fastest, in 1'30.470. The Yamaha Ten Kate rider finished seventh in Race 1, losing 4 seconds to winner Toprak Razgatlioglu.

WARMUP: BAZ IN THE LEAD, REA ONLY EIGHTH.
09:55. The warmup ends with Loris Baz (Yamaha) in first place, followed byAlex Lowes (Kawasaki) and Scott Redding. With the Honda, Leon Haslam is fourth in front Toprak Razgatlioglu, winner of race 1. Jonathan Rhea finished eighth, in 1'30.754, against 1'30.470 for Baz. The world champion made a slight digression on the curb in the third turn, very fast.

Below are the times:

EUGENE LAVERTY WILL NOT RUN
11:08 The organizers announced thatEugene Laverty will not take part in the Superpole race or Race 2. The Irish driver, who was making his debut with the BMW, suffered a violent crash entering Turn 10, the hairpin bend on the descent. The accident didn't look very serious, but as he bounced along the ground, Laverty suffered a concussion, which is why doctors preferred to keep him on rest. In race 1, Laverty had finished eleventh, eleven seconds behind the winner Toprak Razgatlioglu.

ONLY 16 DRIVERS AT THE START, THREE PACKAGES
11:16. Only sixteen drivers will start today's two races: the Superpole race (2:00 a.m. French time, over 10 laps) and race 2 (5:00 a.m., over 22 laps). Leon Camier (Ducati Barni) had retired after Friday's training because his left shoulder was still sore from the mid-November test in Aragón. Eugene Laverty (BMW) and Garrett gerloff (Yamaha GRT) were injured today following accidents during warm-up: both suffered a concussion, prompting doctors to refuse clearance to return to the track.

HOW SUPERPOLE RACING WORKS
11:20. The starting grid is the same as for race 1 with Tom Sykes (BMW) in pole position. Only ten laps left: no driver will use the X-rubber, the super soft tire of the race. Pirelli has advised against using it. So everyone will use the A rear (W1049), which is the softest available. The finish will define the composition of the first three rows of the starting grid for race 2 (at 5:00 a.m. French time). These same nine drivers will also earn points in the world championship: 12 points for first, 9 for second, 7 for third and so on up to 1 point for the ninth finisher.

WEATHER AND TIRES
11:50. Ten minutes before the start of the first Superpole 2020 race. Weather: almost clear sky, air temperature 25°C, asphalt 23°C. Only ten rounds left. In 2019, Baptist (Ducati) won in 15'11″323 in front Sale (Kawasaki) and haslam (Kawasaki). They will all start with a rear A tire. Compared to race 1, the two official Yamaha motorcycles moved to the front A. Sykes had done race 1 with the B, now he prefers the A.

PALPABLE TENSION
11:58. There are scores to settle after Race 1, especially between Tom Sykes et Jonathan Rhea who made controversial contact at Lukey Heights during the opening round. It will be a very exciting start and ten breathtaking laps of the track.

LET'S GO !
12:02 One more time, Jonathan Rea burned the politeness to everyone at the start, from third place. On the first crossing of the finish line, he was ahead of Toprak, Sykes, van der Mark, Baz and Redding. Compact group.

ÁLVARO BAUTISTA FALL
Second turn : Alvaro Bautista went down in turn 6: the Honda driver is OK.

REA IN FRONT
4rd round: Jonathan Rhea leads the race but Toprak and Redding are stuck. The trio has less than a second on Baz And the others.

CONTACT REA–REDDING!
5th lap: At turn 4, it's a touchdown between Redding, author of the fastest lap and Sale. The Irishman keeps the lead but it is a furious war.

EVERYTHING TO DECIDE
Seventh round: Sale continues to lead the group of the unleashed seven: Redding, Toprak, Lowes, van der Mark, Sykes and Baz. Everything is still at stake. There are three rounds left to go.

THE FINAL SPRINT BEGINS
9nd round : Sale holds the reins of the race, Toprak and Redding also push and catch up Lowes. What a melee!

REA WINS, WHAT A SHOW!
Jonathan Rhea wins the sprint race after a magnificent duel with Toprak Razgatlioglu, who twice tried to surprise the Irish driver at turn 4. On the last lap it seemed done, but Sale regained the lead with a crazy overtake in turn 12, an almost impossible place. Redding finished third again.

LOOK AT THIS COMING!
Below are the images of the finish: Rea crossed the finish line 67 thousandths ahead of Toprak and 72 ahead of Redding, Lowes being 4th at 2 tenths.

89TH WORLD TRIUMPH FOR REA 
To Jonathan Rhea, this is the 89th victory in the World Championship. The 33-year-old Northern Irishman redeems the “zero” caused by a fall in race 1. But Soil threatens to become a major threat to the Cannibal. One more podium for the Ducatist Redding.

SUPERBIKE WORLD RANKINGS
The situation after two races (out of 39): 1. Razgatlioglu 34 points; 2. Lowes 28; 3. Redding 23; 4. van der Mark 18; 5. Haslam 21; 6. Rea and Baz 12.

RACE 2: ATMOSPHERE ON THE GRID
14:50. High expectations at Phillip Island for the final challenge of the opening round of World Superbike. The organizers have just announced the attendance: 54 spectators, a thousand more than last year.

BAYLISS AND GODDARD CELEBRATE
14:55. Phillip Island is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the arrival of Superbike at this track. On the starting grid, Peter Goddard, one of the winners of the 1990 edition, cuts the celebration cake with Troy bayliss. He had not yet started racing in 1990, but he remains the Australian icon in this championship.

LET'S GO !
First round : Sale sprints well from pole, but is immediately attacked by van der mark, who takes the lead. Next Toprak, Lowes and Redding, who is not in his best form from third place.

THE REA BACK IN THE FOREground
2rd round: Sale exceeds van der Mark with precise overtaking at turn 4. Meanwhile, haslam et Rinaldi find themselves on the ground at turn 10: the drivers are OK.

SLOW PROGRESS
Seventh round: Sale controls the stroke and pace, turning very slowly, at a pace of 1'32" high. The group is therefore very compact: only two seconds between the leaders and Sandra Cortese, tenth.

CARICASUL FALLS AGAIN
11nd round: Federico Caricasulo fell when he was in 10th place. At the head is Baz to attack Sale, always busy maintaining a very high racing pace. Compact group with ten riders in 2 seconds.

DOES REA HAVE ANY MORE?

Round 17: We are now close to a showdown and the group is still compact: Sale does he have anything to give? Behind him, they are all still grouped together.

REA TAKES FLIGHT
Lap 18: With his best lap, 1'32.173, Sale tries to escape but still not enough: van der Mark, Baz, Toprak, Redding and Bautista are still there.

TOPRAK, WHAT IS HAPPENING?
Round 20: With three to go, Soil widens for turn 3, perhaps a technical problem, and brings out a Baz unleashed from the trajectory and takes him into the sand. All standing, half a miracle...

LOWES DEFEATS THE CAPTAIN!
A very important finale: Soil stopped at turn 8, due to a technical problem. In the penultimate lap, alex lowes, for his first engagement with Kawasaki, put Sale in his line of sight and passed him without any hindrance. The world champion's reaction was useless and he was beaten by 37 thousandths. Redding finished third again, a triple podium on his debut with Ducati.

LOWES WORLD LEADER
With his second victory in the world championship, after Brno 2018 with Yamaha, alex lowes jumps to the top of the rankings. It's the first time for the 29-year-old Briton, who made his debut here with Kawasaki.

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Credit classification and opening photo: worldsbk.com