SBK – MotorLand Aragon Race 2. Davies gives Ducati and the Panigale a historic win.

The second 18-lap race at MotorLand Aragon, run in much warmer conditions, was won by Briton Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), after a dominating performance. The Welshman led from turn one to build up a comfortable lead courtesy of a stellar race pace, eventually taking the flag for his fifth career win by 3.1 seconds. Davies last won a WorldSBK race at the Nürburgring in Germany in 2013, but his victory in Spain not only ended Ducati’s 58-race winning drought but also marked the first win for the Panigale R machine in the series.

Race 1 winner Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), suffering from a fever, battled hard throughout the whole race with former team mate Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), who looked much more at home in race 2 than he did in the earlier encounter. Second position would eventually go to Rea, thus extending his championship lead to 26 points, with Haslam taking the final place on the rostrum as the pair were split by just 0.5s at the chequered flag.

The second 18-lap race at MotorLand Aragon, run in much warmer conditions, was won by Briton Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), after a dominating performance. The Welshman led from turn one to build up a comfortable lead courtesy of a stellar race pace, eventually taking the flag for his fifth career win by 3.1 seconds. Davies last won a WorldSBK race at the Nürburgring in Germany in 2013, but his victory in Spain not only ended Ducati’s 58-race winning drought but also marked the first win for the Panigale R machine in the series.

Race 1 winner Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), suffering from a fever, battled hard throughout the whole race with former team mate Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), who looked much more at home in race 2 than he did in the earlier encounter. Second position would eventually go to Rea, thus extending his championship lead to 26 points, with Haslam taking the final place on the rostrum as the pair were split by just 0.5s at the chequered flag.

Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) took a well-earned fourth position, circulating more or less alone for the latter part of the race, the rookie looking pleased on his return to the pit box. Xavi Fores claimed another solid result on his debut weekend with the Aruba.it Ducati Superbike Team in fifth.

David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) completed the top-6 after overhauling Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati), Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) and Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati) in the final two laps.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was running fourth and looked comfortable before high-siding spectacularly on lap five. Reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) also fell at the fast turn 14 which ends the lap, the Frenchman was able to walk away.

Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) had another race to forget, the young English rider running off track in the early stages before recovering to salvage two points with a 14th place finish at the flag.

WorldSBK MotorLand Aragon – Race 2
1 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team
2 – Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team +3.190
3 – Leon Haslam Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils +3.712

Standings (3 of 13 rounds completed)
1 – Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team – 140
2 – Leon Haslam Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – 114
3 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team – 83

Aragon WSS race win goes to Sofuoglu

The first European race of this year’s World Supersport championship was decided in favour of Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Poleman Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto) was in contention until lap twelve, when for the second race in a row he suffered a technical problem while fighting for the lead. The Frenchman was clearly distraught as he leaned his bike against the pit wall, leaving former Champion Sofuoglu to claim his 21st WSS race victory – ending the winning drought which lasted for exactly a year – by a comfortable margin of 3.224s, and with it the championship lead.

PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) who was also in the hunt from the start eventually finished second, with Pata Honda World Supersport’s Kyle Smith taking the final podium place in third.

Gino Rea recovered from an average start to end the race in fourth, the Brit getting the better of Italian Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in a photo finish. Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) continued his solid start to the year, scoring ten points for a hard earned sixth at the flag ahead of compatriot Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing Yamaha ) who had his best result in WSS since Imola last year.

There was a multi rider crashes on lap six, with Thai race winner Ratthapark Wilairot (CORE Motorsport Thailand), Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) all falling from the top-8 without injury.

WSS MotorLand Aragon – Race
1 – Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
2 – PJ Jacobsen Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki +3.224
3 – Kyle Smith Pata Honda World Supersport +5.695

Standings (3 of 12 rounds completed)
1 – Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing – 55
2 – PJ Jacobsen Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki – 42
3 – Ratthapark Wilairot CORE” Motorsport Thailand – 36

Tamburini maiden STK1000 win

The inaugural race of the season for the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup was one to remember and one which was decided at the very last turn. With a perfectly timed manoeuvre, Roberto Tamburini (Team MotoxRacing BMW) edged out fellow Italian Lorenzo Savadori (Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia) for the win, who led for most of the encounter. The pairing was part of a four-way pack that pulled away in the early stages, which also included Kev Coghlan (MRS Yamaha) and Raffaele De Rosa (Althea Racing Ducati), third and fourth respectively at the flag.

With Ondrej Jezek (Triple-M by Barni Ducati) in fifth and Bryan Staring (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) in sixth, the top-6 represented five different manufacturers. The French trio of Florian Marino (MRS Yamaha), Romain Lanusse (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) and Jeremy Guarnoni (Team Trasimeno Yamaha) came in seventh, eighth and ninth at the flag, with Sweden’s Christoffer Bergman (MG Competition Yamaha) rounding out the top-10.

FIM Superstock 1000 Cup MotorLand Aragon – Race
1 – Roberto Tamburini Team MotoxRacing BMW
2 – Lorenzo Savadori Nuova M2 Racing +0.154
3 – Kev Coghlan MRS Yamaha +1.485

Standings (1 of 8 rounds)
1 – Roberto Tamburini Team MotoxRacing BMW – 25
2 – Lorenzo Savadori Nuova M2 Racing – 20
3 – Kev Coghlan MRS Yamaha – 16

Razgatlioglu takes the STK600 double at Aragon

A relentless Toprak Razgatlioglu has come out on top in the second race of the Aragon Round double-header of the FIM European Superstock 600 Championship, leaving the Spanish track with maximum points after another display of great talent. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider had to deal once again with yesterday’s second place finisher Michael Ruben Rinaldi (San Carlo Team Italia), who took the fight to the Turk until the last lap, when he crashed out on turn 14 while attempting to close up on the leader.

With Rinaldi out of podium contention, the STK600 second race rostrum was completed by Federico Caricasulo (Pata Honda Junior Team) and Gauthier Duwelz (MVR-Racing Yamaha), who edged out Andrea Tucci (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki), Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing Team) and Augusto Fernandez (Pata Honda Junior Team).

FIM Europe Superstock 600 Championship MotorLand Aragon – Race 2
1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
2 – Federico Caricasulo Pata Honda Junior Team +7.213
3 – Gauthier Duwelz MVR-Racing Yamaha +7.222

Standings (2 of 8 rounds)
1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing – 50
2 – Federico Caricasulo Pata Honda Junior Team – 36
3 – Gauthier Duwelz MVR-Racing Yamaha – 29