Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Montmeló)- The Pirelli Catalunya Round started with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) taking pole position. The Turkish rider set the fastest time and took his first pole position with BMW in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with a new record time of 1’39s at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The entire grid was fast, with up to ten riders under the existing record at the Catalunya Round.
In Race 1, Toprak proved to be inspired and took his first win as well, with BMW in only his fourth race after catching Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the closing stages and overtaking him on the final lap. It ends a run of 902 days without victory for BMW, while it also moved the #54 into third in the all-time podium list with 117 following his success during the Pirelli Catalunya Round.
It was a disastrous start to Race 1 for Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) dropping down to last and pulling into the pits at the end of the opening lap. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) got a mega start from the second row to launch into victory contention and, after hounding Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) for the first two laps, made the move on the inside of Turn 5 to take the lead, and lead his first laps in WorldSBK in just his fourth race.
Once the #14 got away from Razgatlioglu, he opened a gap to the #54 but his race ended at Turn 10. He lost the front of his V4 R at the left-hand hairpin and crashed from the lead and handing P1 to Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who, after losing ground at the start, picked off his rivals one-by-one to move back towards the front.
With his competitors battling behind him, Bulega started checking out in front with incredible race pace, often lapping in the high 1’41s or low 1’42s in the first half of the race. He was able to open up a four-second lead just over the halfway stage. In the second half of the race, Bulega was lapping around half-a-second slower than Razgatlioglu as the 2021 Champion closed the four-second gap to 2.6s at the start of Lap 18. At the start of the final lap, it was down to less than a second and the #54 was able to make the race-winning move at Turn 5. Razgatlioglu held on for victory with Bulega second, and the #11 claimed the Championship lead despite losing out on P1. Razgatlioglu joins an elusive club of riders who’ve now won with three different manufacturers, having tasted victory with Kawasaki, Yamaha and now BMW.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was penalised in the Tissot Superpole for slow riding on the racing line, dropping him from P11 to P14 on the grid. However, with his strong race pace in hand, the #1 fought back to claim a podium on home soil as he passed his rivals one-by-one to move up the order, including sensational moves in the final sector. He passed Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) on the run between Turns 13 and 14, before overtaking Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) through the final corner. The rookie was unable to hold off Bautista and finished in fourth, three seconds behind him after losing ground then the factory Ducati passed him. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was the highest-placed Yamaha rider in fifth, finishing almost 1.3s down on Iannone and having a similar margin to Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who fought for the five position in KRT’s home round.
Team HRC riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge finished 13th and 14th respectively, both separated by just 0.039s. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 21st position.
Huertas claims first WorldSSP victory after early Oncu battle
Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) ended a long wait for victory in the FIM Supersport World Championship with victory on home soil at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as he fended off his rivals to win by just over a second. The #99 backed up his second pole of 2024 with victory during the Pirelli Catalunya Round, with Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) rounding out the podium.
Huertas led the race from Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in the early stages, with the #61 getting past on two occasions before the Ducati rider responded. Eventually, the Spaniard pulled out a gap as Oncu dropped back, eventually finishing in eighth. Manzi took second after breaking away from the chasing group, finishing 4.5 seconds clear of Schroetter in third. The German, who took two podiums last season here, was promoted to third when Lucas Mahias (GMt94 Yamaha) crashed at Turn 10 on Lap 10.
Huertas became the 63rd different winner in the Championship, and the sixth youngest at 20 years, seven months and two days old. It was also Ducati’s 24th win in WorldSSP. For Manzi, it was his 24th rostrum – 15 of which have been second place – while Schroetter’s third means he’s now on ten podiums following his switch from Moto2™. He’s also the only rider to take three podiums out of three this year.
Buis takes first, his first KTM victory in WorldSSP300 after Iglesias penalised
The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship returned to action at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but it was as dramatic as ever. Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) crossed the line in first but a post-race penalty dropped him down the order to P13, allowing Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM – PALIGO Racing) to claim victory for KTM and start his title defence in perfect fashion during the Pirelli Catalunya Round.
Jeffrey Buis tried to make a break heading into the final lap to start his KTM career on the top step but running wide at Turn 10 allowed his Iglesias through, with the #58 taking advantage to cross the line first. However, a three-second penalty for being unable to complete a Long Lap Penalty demoted him to 13th. Iglesias was penalised for an incident at Turn 5. Galang Hendra Pratama (ProGP NitiRacing) crashed out after contact with Matteo Vannucci (Pata Yamaha AG Motorsport Italia) and Iglesias with the incident investigated by the FIM Stewards and the #58 penalised, dropping him down the order. It allowed Buis to claim victory on the KTM RC 390 R for the first time, and also his 21st podium as he became the record-holder for podiums in the Championship. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) was second with Samuel Di Sora (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) in third after fighting his way from the back of the grid.
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).
Tickets available at www.circuitcat.com
Tickets to attend the Superbikes Barcelona Motorfest – Pirelli Catalunya Round are available at the Circuit website. There are single-day tickets and three-day passes for the three days of the event, with all kinds of activities included. All modalities guarantee access to the paddock and the Fan Zone to experience the authentic atmosphere of the Superbike World Championship.
Access to the Circuit
Attendees can enter the venue from 8:30 am through Gate 1. Ticket Office 1 will also be open for any other business and they can park their vehicles in Car Park B. The grandstands open to follow all the activity on the track are the Main Grandstand (lower part), Grandstands C, G and B. From there, you can to walk to the paddock and Fan Zone.