Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Montmeló) – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) were once again the stars of the final day of the Pirelli Catalunya Round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with victories in Superpole Race and Race 2 respectively.
Toprak triumphs in final corner, Rossi-style showdown with Bautista in Superpole Race
The Pirelli Catalunya Round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya gave its second final lap showdown of the weekend with an absolute hair-raiser between Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), which went to the final corner of the race.
Off the line, it was another poor start from Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), whilst it was the traditional fast-starting Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) who grabbed the holeshot from Race 1 winner Toprak. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was a big mover on the opening lap, up into contention. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Team) was also a fast starter once again in second and hit the front at Turn 9. Bulega tried to fight back into Turn 1 to get ahead of a charging Alex Lowes and did so but Lowes retaliated at Turn 3.
Changing backwards and forwards, the race really exploded into life on Turn 5. Sam Lowes had been dropped down to P5 but at the front, the gloves came off as Razgatlioglu, Iannone, Alex Lowes and Nicolo Bulega battled side-by-side through Turn 5 up until Turn 9, when Toprak took two in one move to lead. Iannone settled down but as was the case in the early stages, the #11 Bulega struggled in battle.
Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made his way into the podium places on Lap 7 when Iannone ran wide at Turn 10 and then battled back ahead of Bulegas, putting the reigning WorldSSP Champion wide and allowing Bautista into third. Toprak however was leading and looking comfortable, even if Bautista managed to get ahead of Iannone with 3 to go, with the top four covered by a second into the final lap.
Making his move for the lead, Alvaro Bautista hit the front at Turn 1, out-braking Toprak but it wasn’t done there; the favourite overtaking opportunities of Turn 4 and Turn 5, it all seemed to rest at Turn 10 but the Turk wasn’t close enough. However, having been so strong in the last two corners yesterday, both riders were evenly matched. Building through the downhill sweep of Turn 13, Toprak made a huge lunge at the final corner to pass Bautista in a replica of Valentino Rossi vs Jorge Lorenzo from MotoGP™ in 2009. Toprak forced Bautista to pick up which allowed rookie Iannone to surge through his fellow Ducati rider but couldn’t quite get Toprak. Two from two, Razgatlioglu doubled up in Barcelona ahead of Iannone and Bautista, with Bulega and Alex Lowes completing the top five.
Bautista beats Bulega in Race 2 for first win of 2024, Razgatlioglu makes it three Barcelona podiums
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ended his short MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship win drought with a Race 2 victory at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after scrapping with teammate Nicolo Bulega. After starting from the front row for the first time during the Pirelli Catalunya Round, the #1 took full advantage for his 60th win in WorldSBK but his first of the season, with Bulega coming home in second.
A crash on the opening lap took riders out of contention. Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) went down at Turn 4, with ‘Loka’ forced into the gravel although he was able to continue. The FIM Stewards opted to investigate the incident after the race. Out in front, Bautista got the holeshot into Turn 1 while teammate Bulega and Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) banged bars under braking for Turn 1.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) dropped down the order as lights went out but moved back into third on Lap 2. Bulega had to fight his way back into podium contention and did just that by first passing Iannone with a stunning overtake at Turn 9, before passing teammate Bautista at Turn 1 and immediately gapping the #1 by seventh tenths as he led the field. However, perhaps it was a case of too much, too soon for the #11 as, at the halfway mark, Bautista re-overtook Bulega at Turn 1 to re-claim first place.
Slowly but surely, the reigning Champion edged out a gap over his rookie teammate although ‘Bulegas’ didn’t allow Bautista to clear away, remaining within a few tenths off his more experienced rival to stay in contention. On Lap 15, Bautista lapped two tenths quicker to extend his lead back up six tenths before taking it to over a second with three laps to go. Behind the Ducati pair, Razgatlioglu came home in fourth place for his third podium of the weekend. It was Bautista’s 60th win in World Superbike, surpassing Carl Fogarty’s total of 59. For BMW, Razgatlioglu’s third place gave them their 50th race where they took a podium and already have four rostrums in six races, their best since 2021 when they had five across the whole season.
Iannone had been running a fairly comfortable fourth place but a crash at Turn 10 on Lap 13 forced him out of the race and promoting Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) into fourth. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was fifth after he made a late race move on Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) at Turn 1 in the final few laps, with the #87 holding on to cross the line in sixth. However, he was given a once-place penalty for exceeding track limits at Turn 5 on the final lap. This promoted Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who had been chasing the #87 down, into P6 with Gardner in seventh.
Manzi pips Schroetter to Race 2 victory in WorldSSP
The FIM Supersport World Championship continued to provide plenty of excitement as Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) claimed a first win of the 2024 season in Race 2 for the Pirelli Catalunya Round. In a shortened red-flag race, there were plenty of early title race twists with Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) the last classified rider after a small Turn 1 crash on Lap 5 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Huertas got a good start when the lights went out and kept the lead despite early pressure from Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Oncu, on Lap 2, tried to move into first by overtaking Huertas and Montella at Turn 1. All three made contact, and continued, but Huertas dropped to fourth, allowing Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) into the podium fight.
Huertas soon moved back into the lead with a two-for-one move into Turn 1 with Mahias in second, and the experienced Frenchman kept the pressure on the #99 until the red flags were shown. They were deployed following a crash for rookie Piotr Biesiekirski (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) at Turn 1, with the Pole taken to the medical centre following his tumble.
When the race got underway, it was over a six-lap distance with a front row of Huertas, Mahias and Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse). Montella got away well when the lights went out, taking the lead of the race, but it didn’t last long as Huertas pulled off another two-for-one overtake around the outside of Turn 1, passing both Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Montella. The battle continued to rage on until a mistake by Huertas meant he went into the gravel and dropping all the way down to 32nd place.
That promoted Schroetter into the fight, and he took advantage by passing Manzi into Turn 7 to take the lead before the #62 responded at Turn 1 on the final lap and instantly built a gap over the MV Agusta star. Manzi was able to hold on despite Schroetter’s pressure for victory by 0.086s, ahead of Mahias in third; the Frenchman taking his first podium since Estoril 2020. It was Manzi’s sixth win and 25th podium, while Schroetter claimed his 11th rostrum – and continues his record of scoring a podium in every race this year.
Iglesias secures stunning Race 2 victory, Julio Garcia takes Kove’s first rostrum
Race 2 was a story of redemption for Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) as he claimed a hard-fought victory at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. After crossing the line P1 in Saturday’s race before receiving a penalty, Iglesias took the win in Race 2 for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship after an incredible last-lap fight during the Pirelli Catalunya Round. Elsewhere, there was history made as Kove took their first podium thanks to Julio Garcia Gonzalez (KOVE Racing Team).
Iglesias was fighting at the front throughout and stayed there heading onto the last lap, fighting his way into P1 to respond from yesterday’s post-race disappointment. He was 0.064s ahead of Julio Garcia with the Spaniard taking Kove’s first podium despite losing ground before battling back over the final couple of laps. Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki), back in World Championship action on a full-time basis after a year away, claimed third and completed the podium.
A sustainable event
The Pirelli Catalunya Round has been ISO 20121 certified since 2021 for its commitment to sustainability, promoting actions to raise awareness among all stakeholders.
This year, the responsible use of water is a priority for the Circuit given the context of drought and the resulting restrictions. So is the efficient use of energy, with 100% renewable energy. Since 2022, the Circuit has the largest public self-consumption installation in Catalonia, with a total of 1,239 solar panels occupying 2,710 m2. The facility also has 14 charging points for electric vehicles.
As usual, the Circuit offers a committed and 0 km catering offer to reduce CO2 emissions and continues to promote the Zero Waste campaign to reduce plastic waste and the Stop Food Waste campaign to avoid food waste, donating all the surplus not consumed to a social diner. The use of the circular economy is another of the main pillars, giving a second life to materials and objects such as tyres, as well as installing recycling points in the paddock towers for the correct separation of waste.
All of this always trying to raise awareness in the community with areas such as the Educational Crater Forest or the sustainability stand in the Fan Zone (Paddock Area). The Red Cross offers transport service for people with reduced mobility (Gate 1 – Paddock).