WorldSBK. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) reignites title challenge with Most Race 2 victory.

The final race for the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Autodrom Most and the Tissot Czech Round was yet another intriguing spectacle. With Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) first and second on the grid and going for the same tyre combination (standard SC1 front and SCX rear), Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had opted for the SC1 front and SC0 rear. After hitting the front, Redding never looked back and beat Razgatlioglu, whilst Rea was a distant third.

Scott Redding rode the perfect race for a first win since Estoril’s Tissot Superpole Race, taking the plaudits of the passionate Czech fans at Most. Razgatlioglu finished second and was now just three points behind Jonathan Rea in the Championship – Rea himself finishing third. Locatelli took fourth in another stunning performance, whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) got fifth on the final lap with a pass on Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at Turn 1. Yamaha’s strength’s this weekend mean that they are now three points clear of Kawasaki in the manufacturer standings, with Ducati another three further back.

Lowes held on for sixth as he ran out of tyre life at the end of the race, whilst former teammate Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was top BMW in seventh. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took a solid eighth as his trademark late-race pace saw him come on strong. Ninth went to Tom Sykes, whilst Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) completed the top ten. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was eleventh ahead of Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) who fought back after Turn 1-Lap 1 drama.

Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team), Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport Yamaha) completed the points in Race 2. Behind them, Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing), Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Karel Hanika (IXS-YART Yamaha), Marvin Fritz (IXS-YART Yamaha), Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and teammate Jayson Uribe – after coming into the pits – completed the final results.

P1 Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I was trying hard this weekend! That’s why I was really upset with Race 1 because I put a lot of work in and I felt good. It was a bit aggressive but, come today, I let it go behind and I apologised for being a bit hot-headed. I like to retaliate in style and that was, for me, a really good race. In the Superpole Race, I was trying but I didn’t have the pace at the beginning. I said before there’s one race to go and I’ll try to win it. Managed to get a really good rhythm. I felt really good with the bike, it was working really well. I was just ticking off laps, I felt really good. I saw the gap growing behind and that put me a little bit more at ease so I could enjoy the last few laps. It was great to do it with the helmet for Brad, so I’m really happy that I can do that and give him as much energy as possible.”

P2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK)
“This weekend has been a very good weekend because we have taken many points for the Championship. Also, in the last race, I was fighting for the win. But Scott was very fast, and I felt the rear tyre dropping. I am fighting again but I thought it was better not to because I need many points for the Championship. Second position is good. I’m very happy.”

P3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
“I woke up a little bit delicate this morning. Yesterday was a big crash. I felt good on my bike. I really feel like I took the best out of our Ninja ZX-10RR this weekend. Really pushing on the limits. Just in this race, I didn’t have enough grip. I opted to go for the harder tyre. I hadn’t done a lot of work with the soft SCX tyre throughout the weekend, so it was a little bit of a gamble for us. I was a battling third, unfortunately not with the front group. Congratulations to those guys, they had a great race and a great weekend.”

WorldSBK Autodrom Most – Race 2

1. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +3.587s
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +12.460s
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +15.206s
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +19.479s
6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +19.901s.

Championship Standings (after Race 2, Round 6)

1. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (266 points)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (263 points)
3. Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (216 points).

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of Dorna WSBK Organization Srl