WSBK Superbike Championship: Razgatlioglu threatens Rea, Ducati dethrones Kawasaki!

Kawasaki's domination will definitely have been undermined this weekend at Misano. The Japanese manufacturer and its number 1 driver Jonathan Rea showed themselves incapable of winning, leaving Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael Ruben Rinaldi to take the laurels. Which is not without consequences for the ranking…

The Cassandres will be at their expense: The Superbike world championship promises to be much more competitive than expected this season! Indeed, if Kawasaki had managed during the first two rounds to hold the upper hand by winning four victories out of six possible (always through Jonathan Rea), thus widening a first notable gap in the general standings, the Ninjas will on the other hand have been in much more difficulty this weekend on the Adriatic coast.

Only white bread for the Japanese manufacturer: the satisfaction of a new Superpole and a new time record, signed on Saturday by Rea. But that doesn't give any points, and it was during the three races run on the Marco Simoncelli circuit that the pack hurt.

The rebirth of Rinaldi

Michael Ruben Rinaldi, already devilishly fast during free practice, finished getting everyone to agree from Race 1, masterfully carried out, before doing it again during the Superpole Race. A real breath of fresh air for the Italian, unleashed on his land, and who had until then had a pitiful start to the championship with only 25 units registered.

 

 

But thanks to his performance at home, the Italian more than tripled his total, which now peaks at 82 sesames. Direct consequence: he moved up from tenth to fifth place. Without taking into account the effect that it must have on confidence to trigger such a dynamic, there is no doubt that we will have to keep an eye on number 21 during the next round.

Razgatlioglu threatens Rea in the standings

If Rinaldi has finally managed to launch his season, the real threat for Rea for the moment comes more from Toprak Razgatlioglu. The Turkish driver is certainly discreet, but he nevertheless constantly ends up on the podium. And it was during Race 2 contested this afternoon that he finally managed to climb the highest step, thus taking care of his balance sheet for the weekend. Already second heading into this third round, but relegated to 35 points behind Rea, “Razga” thus returns to within gunshot of the Northern Irishman, precisely 20 points, less than a victory.

 

Behind the two leaders, the status quo prevails, with Scott Redding retaining his third place after a weekend where he was transparent, just like Alex Lowes, free from errors but not flamboyant either. Rinaldi fifth as we said, followed by Garrett Gerloff, Michael van der Mark and Tom Sykes, who consolidated their positions already acquired before the weekend.

A weekend to forget for Davies

The one who lost big on the other hand is certainly Chaz Davies. The Go Eleven team driver experienced real hell in Italy, with three retirements from as many races, including one, the last, due to a mechanical breakdown. The Briton thus falls from fifth to ninth place in the championship, ahead of Andrea Locatelli.

Álvaro Bautista remains in 11th position, ahead of Axel Bassani, author of very good performances this weekend, and who moves up a level, finding himself 12th ahead Lucas Mahias. The Frenchman had a solid weekend with two 11th places where it mattered most, namely everything except the Superpole Race, during which he actually retired. Result of the races: The Montois climbs two notches in the ranking and now finds himself at the gates of the top 10.

 

Ducati new leader among manufacturers

As for the manufacturers' championship, we can obviously only point to the takeover of Ducati which, after showing up on Friday with 14 points over Kawasaki, is now four ahead. We must also highlight the progress of Yamaha, which has neither more nor less halved its delay over its Japanese rival, the gap between the two entities going from 32 to 17 points.

Finally, it should be noted that in the Supersport category the identity of the driver classification has also changed. Exit Steven Odendaal at the helm, and make way for Dominique Aegerter, who achieved a full success with two victories this weekend, now 17 points ahead of his South African opponent. With three victories each, there is little doubt that we have the two main contenders for the title this season.

Confirmation or denial at the next round, which is to be held in three weeks at the Donington circuit, in England.

 

Ranking – Drivers’ Championship:

Ranking – Constructors’ Championship:

Ranking – Team Championship:

Credit classification and photos: WorldSBK.com