[WSBK] Aragon Tests: The 2019 field and calendar in detail

It is on Wednesday November 14 that next year's Superbike World Championship begins at MotorLand in Aragon. We will first examine the forces present here, with a lot of changes, then we will move on this Wednesday and Thursday to the sporting part and the times to situate the performances of Kawasaki, Ducati and Yamaha.

Kawasaki :

Having decided to invest fully in Superbike to the detriment of MotoGP, Kawasaki intends to continue its domination (after the last 4 rider and manufacturer titles) by homologating a new ZX-10RR for 2019 and retaining the best rider of the category, Johnny Rea, until 2020 inclusive. Leon Haslam   (2018 BSB champion) replaces Tom Sykes, for a better atmosphere within the KRT team and for greater efficiency for the Suzuka 8H (Sykes was not invited in 2018, replaced by Kazuma Watanabé as teammate of Rea and Haslam).

Among the privateers, Manuel Puccetti trusts Kawasaki equipment to Toprak Razgatlioglu, just like Lucio Pedercini for Gabriel Ruiu, Orelac for Leander Market, and for the fifth consecutive year GoEleven, Denis Sacchetti's team, for Roman Ramos.

Ducati :

Chaz Davies launches the 1000 V4, without its new teammate Álvaro Bautista, replacing Marco Melandri. The Spaniard is taking part in his last MotoGP Grand Prix this weekend and is therefore not taking part in the tests. But nationality question we need an Italian driver in Aruba who stretches the currency, so the driver of his junior team is now Michael Ruben Rinaldi (22 years old) placed with Barni Ducati in place of Xavi Fores. Rinaldi won the Superstock 1000 Championship in 2017 and competed in the European SBK World races in 2018 as part of the Aruba Junior team. These are Michele Pirro et Lorenzo Zanetti who were responsible for testing and developing the new 1000 V4. Zanetti is expected to participate as a wild card in the two Italian events (Imola and Misano) of the 2019 World Championship with the Motocorsa team, with whom he won this year's Imola and Misano races in the Italian CIV Superbike Championship.

Yamaha  :

Yamaha has made huge progress going from 308 points in 2017 in 26 races without a victory (behind 599 for Kawasaki and 520 for Ducati) to 378 points in 2018 in 25 races (behind 570 for Kawa and 459 for Ducati) with 3 victories .

The official Pata Yamaha team, managed by Crescent, the team of Paul Denning, Yam dealer in Guernsey, retains the duo Michael van der Mark et alex lowes, who each won their first World Superbike Championship race this year.

The Giansanti Racing Team (GRT), owned by former 125 and 250 cc GP rider Mirko Giansanti, World Supersport champion team with Lucas Mahias in 3 and managed by Filippo Conti, enters two R2017s in Superbike for the new Supersport Champion on Yamaha Sandra Cortese and for the ex-Ducati rider Marco Melandri, now 36 years old. Former 250cc World Champion, Marco also won 3 Grands Prix in MotoGP, then 5 races in Superbike (with a total of 22 podiums in SBK). Melandri and Cortese will make their R72 debut at Jerez on November 1-26, when the bikes are ready. The Giansanti Racing Team is based in Terni, north of Rome, the birthplace of Danilo Petrucci.

Honda :

Until now, the CBR1000RRs have been prepared and entered since 2004 by Ten Kate, a Dutch dealer based in Nieuwleusen, and financed by Honda Europe. These Fireblade CBR1000RR SP2 Superbikes are now replaced by others prepared by HRC, entered by Moriwaki (with logistical support from Althea Racing) and financed by the factory.

Ten Kate brought a SBK world title to Honda (James Toseland in 2007) and 9 Supersport titles (2014 Michael van der Mark, 2010 Kenan Sofuoğlu, 2008 Andrew Pitt, 2007 Kenan Sofuoğlu, 2006 and 2005 Sébastien Charpentier, 2004 Karl Muggeridge, 2003 Chris Vermeulen and 2002 Fabien Foret).

Moriwaki Engineering, founded in 1973, competed in MotoGP from 2003 with Tamaki Serizawa to 2005 with Naoki Matsudo and Tohru Ukawa. Its only significant victory came in 2010 when a Moriwaki chassis entered by Gresini Racing took the inaugural Moto2 title with Toni Elias.

As for the pilots, Leon Camier had its option for 2019 confirmed in June by Honda. His new teammate is Ryuichi Kiyonari (36 years old, like Melandri), from whom we don't expect a miracle: “It’s been ten years since I last raced in SBK, explains the Japanese. I am very happy to join this great project. I have two years of experience in WorldSBK (in 2008 and 2009). »

A third CBR is engaged by Genesio Bevilacqua under its own Althea colors, but it would be surprising if its pilot Alessandro Delbianco (7th in the STK 1000 Championship this year) has a real factory bike. Bevilacqua (ceramic manufacturer) wants to provide a motorcycle to his protégé, and it can only be a Honda since he is now the brand's logistics supplier in WSBK, but the HRC will not offer him an official Fireblade however. .

On the side of the German team Triple-M, with Patrick Jacobsen as driver this year, its owner Matthias Moser was warned by Robert Watherston ("Head of Motorsports" for Honda Motor Europe) that Honda Motor Europe was no longer responsible for the global program, and that there would therefore be nothing more for him. For the record, Matthias Moser is the Ducati dealer in Frankfurt, who explains this double partnership as follows: “ business is business, racing is racing.”

As for Ten Kate, now that Honda Motor Europe no longer pays 80% of its total budget of 4 million annually, the World Superbike (started in 2004 with Chris Vermeulen) is definitively over. Red Bull's subsidies, intended first for the late Nicky Hayden, were only used temporarily for Jake Gagne. Here too, the tap is turned off for the Dutch.

BMW :

The factory is entering the new S1000RR by entrusting it for 3 years to Shaun Muir Racing (ex-Milwaukee Aprilia in 2018) which will now bear the name of BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team with as drivers Markus Reiterberger et Tom Sykes. Marc Bongers, former Technical Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, becomes Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport under the direct orders of BMW Motorrad boss, Dr. Markus Schramm.

BMW, which until now only provided Althea (and Loris Baz) with the engine and electronics, now provides the cycle part and aerodynamics. Everything else is Shaun Muir's responsibility. For Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad: “Sport has been an integral part of the BMW Motorrad success story for almost 100 years. This is why our international racing activities are extremely important to our brand. Therefore, the next logical step is to compete with our new BMW S 1000 RR at the highest level of near-production racing, the FIM Superbike World Championship. The 2019 season will help us chart a new course for our involvement in WorldSBK and expand it significantly. »

MV Agusta :

Andrea Quadranti, owner of the MV Agusta Reparto Corse team, abandons MV in Superbike, to represent the brand only in Supersport, or to ride with…

…Aprilia:

…if the Noale builder makes him an interesting proposition. In 2018, the price of renting RSV4s from SMR (€1,5 million) was too high compared to the performance of the machine. The requested amount was halved for 2019, putting Go Eleven in the running.

Suzuki :

Like Kawasaki, Suzuki has chosen its side. And that’s MotoGP. There is therefore no factory GSX-R in World Superbike. If a team wants to enter official GSX-Rs, Suzuki is ready to help it to the tune of 500 euros in equipment.

In terms of drivers, for the moment Loris Baz, Eugene Laverty, Xavi Fores and Lorenzo Savadori are unfortunately on foot.

Video: Ducati 1000Panigale V4R:

SUPERSPORTS:

There will be no Supersport these two days in Aragon. We will only find them in January in Jerez and Portimao (or in discreet private tests). This does not prevent us from taking stock of the current situation of the main teams:

Kallio Racing (Yamaha):

Reigning World Champion with Sandro Cortese, the team of Vesa Kallio (the brother of Mika, KTM MotoGP test rider) based in Valkeakoski in Finland, is retaining the Belgian for 2019 Loris cresson. Its other driver could be Jules cluzel, but nothing has been decided yet, for a question of money.

GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team:

Second in the world with Lucas Mahias and fifth with Federico Caricasulo, Mirko Giansanti's team, the Giansanti Racing Team (GRT) will no longer race in 2019 in Supersport, devoting its efforts to Superbike with Cortese and Melandri.

Nerds Racing Team (NRT):

Third in the Championship with Jules cluzel, the team of the Indian Vafi Khan, based in Dubai and owner of Motorcycle Nerds LLP and NRT, is managed by Mrs. Yasmeen Vafi Khan. We don't know the future of this team.

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing:

World Champion in 2015 and 2016 with Kenan Sofuoglu, the team of the Italian Manuel Puccetti, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing  was “decapitated” in Supersport this year by the end of the Turkish champion's career at Imola due to injury. Hector Barbera replaced him, without success, the other pilot being the Japanese Hikari Okubo. The Nippon remains with Puccetti, but he strengthens his team with Lucas Mahias, World Champion in 2017.

GMT94 (Yamaha):

After replacing Mike Di Meglio off the cuff, Corentin Perolari distinguished herself brilliantly within the team of Christophe Guyot, an endurance defector where she excelled magnificently for years. A second very high level and young driver (22 years old) will be his teammate. Contracts are being signed.

Bardahl Evan Bros (Yamaha):

Fourth in the 2018 World Championship, the Swiss Randy Krummenacher, defector from Moto2, will ride again next year for Team Bardahl Evan Bros.

Photos © Ducati, Kawasaki & worldbk.com / Dorna