In Most, WorldSBK podium riders relied on the intermediates and finished the race without a pit stop. Unstable weather and Pirelli DIABLO Wet intermediate tires were the protagonists of the first day of the FIM Superbike World Championship, which took place this weekend in the Czech Republic.
Jonathan Rhea, six-time world champion on Kawasaki, won the first WorldSBK race, breaking a dry spell of 252 days of absence on the top step of the podium. Rea, like the other drivers on the podium, opted for intermediate tires for the race and was rewarded, unlike the other drivers who opted for wet tires.
« We saw some unusual races today, influenced by unstable weather and where tire strategy was fundamental. Heavy rain began to fall during the 300 race, the first of the day, forcing drivers to return to pit lane to change tires. It then gradually calmed down, but at the start of WorldSBK Race 1, the track was still wet and it was still raining a little. In this case, we can say that the choice of tires decided the fate of the race. Those who relied on intermediate tires and the possibility that the track would gradually dry out took the advantage over those who decided to put on rain tires and who were forced to go through the pits to change tires. However, it should be noted that even after the halfway point, when the track was very dry, the intermediate tires continued to perform very well, with a performance difference of around two seconds compared to the slick tires, this which was not enough to allow the drivers who had switched to slicks to make up for the time lost during the pit stop. The intermediates were therefore the protagonists in WorldSBK. »
- Saturday in Most, Toprak Razgatlioğlu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) took his fourth pole position of the season, the twelfth of his career, not to mention Yamaha's 50th in WorldSBK, thus securing first place on the starting grid for Race 1 and the Superpole race. Using the standard SC0 at the rear, the Turkish driver once again set the lap record with a time of 1'30.801, beating the one Jonathan Rea set last year, in this case using the standard SCX. Right behind him, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) ahead Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who took third place on the starting grid. Almost all drivers qualified using the Standard SC0 at the reare and the Standard SC1 at the front. The asphalt temperature was slightly above 30°C.
- La of course 1 took place on a wet track, with heavy rain beginning to fall during the 300 race before slowly fading. The choice of tires was far from obvious, with some drivers (including the three who finished on the podium) deciding to go for intermediates, while others preferred to use wet tires.
- Race 1 rewarded drivers who opted for intermediates as the rain stopped completely during the race and the track began to dry, ideal conditions for these tires. On the other hand, those who opted for wet tires were forced to stop and switch to slicks, losing precious seconds. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), starting from fifth place on the grid, managed to win his first race of the season ahead of pole sitter Toprak Razgatlioğlu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), who finished third after starting from second on the grid.
Results of Superbike Race-1 in Most:
Classification credit: WorldSBK.com