WSBK Superbike Imola Warm Up: Álvaro Bautista stumbles, Redding-BMW two more years

The sprint race will spark: In the short distance, Toprak Razgatlioğlu is convinced that he can beat Álvaro Bautista, who falls in the meantime.

Paul Goiters / Corsedimoto.com

Small fall for the dominant Superbike rider. Alvaro Bautista fell three minutes from the end of the fifteen-minute warmup that the top teams used to simulate the Superpole race, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Of the ten planned rounds, Toprak Razgatlioğlu is confident he can beat the Ducati, perhaps his only chance given the potential the fantastic Spaniard showed in Race 1. The Turkish Yamaha rider is meanwhile the fastest. Bautista is stuck with it, but the mistake is not good encouragement as we approach the most tense race of the entire weekend. The Ducatista rider lost control at the exit of the Acque Minerali, but nothing serious.

 

 

Will they start with the new SCQ?
Soil Razgatlioğlu and JJonathan Rea used the entire session to complete nine laps, i.e. an almost complete simulation. Because of his fall, Alvaro Bautista only made four. The choice of tires will be interesting: for the sprint race, the new SCQ (code number C004) is available, i.e. the "extended" qualifying tire. According to Pirelli's plans, it should be able to complete all ten passes without problems, especially since the temperatures are very high and therefore ideal for this type of solution. It should be remembered that, contrary to popular belief, with tires from the Italian supplier, normally sold for amateur track use, the higher the asphalt temperature, the greater the grip. With this much grip, the tire slips less, it does not overheat and consumption is more regular.

 

 

Scott Redding is not a newcomer to BMW
The German brand will formalize today the renewal of its agreement with Scott Redding, for the next two seasons. The Briton exercised his option, which was due to expire on Saturday July 15. This decision makes sense, for two reasons. First of all, because of the size of the salary: Redding earns around a million a year, plus a princely list of bonuses. Bautista, at Ducati, hits a third. The second is of a technical nature: with the arrival of Toprak Razgatlioğlu, BMW will revolutionize its racing structure, with the arrival of Chris Gonschor to the position of technical director. The current DT Marc Bonger becomes president, which means a more managerial than technical role. For the first time, there will also be a test team dedicated to the development of the Superbike project. Changing now, after two disappointing years, would not have made sense.

 

 

Results of the Superbike warmup at Imola: 

Classification credit: WorldSBK.com

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Paul Goiters