The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya provided fans with an unbeatable day of racing today. The programme of the Hyundai N Catalunya WorldSBK Round included one race in each of the World Superbike categories – WorldSBK, WorldSSP and WorldSSP 300 – as well as two more in the Yamaha bLU cRU Cup. Surprises, excitement, overtaking and changes in the weather conditions were the constant features of today’s race, a day not for the faint-hearted.
Scott Redding also had to live today’s race with his heart racing. The Aruba.it Racing Team WorldSBK rider took victory in a race with a great deal of surrealism and emotion. He was joined on the podium by Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in second place, the best of his WorldSBK career, and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Team WorldSBK). However, this finish was a far cry from what happened at the start of the race.
At the start, championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) took the lead while Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) lost a few positions and made up a few corners later. For two laps, the top two riders in the points were swapping positions, until Rea managed to get away. In that first quarter of the race, Razgatlioglu had to deal with Bassani, who wanted to take the silver from him. Both managed to make contact with Rea and overtake him.
With Rea out of the fight for victory came the second surprise, Razgatlioglu’s breakdown when he was leading. The Turkish rider not only lost the leading position in the race, but his retirement also led to a change in the championship lead in favour of Rea. Bassani, Rinaldi and Rea were in the top 3, but one rider came from behind pushing hard: Scott Redding. With only three laps to go before the chequered flag, the Englishman overtook his rivals and never let go of the lead again.
On the other hand, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), the poleman, had to settle for sixth position. Álvaro Bautista (Team HRC), on the other hand, showed his talent by moving up a total of seven positions. The Spaniard finished in ninth place, scoring valuable points for the championship.
Rain surprises in WorldSSP and Krummenacher makes the most of the opportunity
The first World Supersport race in Barcelona started in the dry, but after two laps there was a drastic turn of events. At the start Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) took the lead, but after the first lap he had to run wide to avoid a collision with Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). This incident caused the Swiss rider to drop to tenth position. Even so, Oncu did not keep the lead, but it was Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) who took the reins just as the rain made its appearance.
With the track very wet, practically all the riders came in to change their tyres. Loic Marie Benoit Arbel (Andotrans Team Torrentó) remained on the track, thus inheriting the lead. Of those on wet tyres, Krummenacher was the fastest to join the track, while Gonzalez started tenth. A few laps later, Krummenacher overtook Arbel, as did Odendaal. Arbel, who eventually finished sixth, was dropping down positions on his dry tyres.
The last quarter of the race was a spectacle for Gonzalez, who was making up positions with Raffaele de Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) following in his wake. On the final lap, Gonzalez overtook Odendaal to take second – only to first-placed Krummenacher – with De Rosa third. Odendaal finished eighth due to a 25-second penalty imposed by the race direction.
Jeffrey Buis gives a stroke of authority
The reigning WorldSSP 300 World Champion had the honour of taking the win amidst the WorldSSP 300 madness. With an endless group of riders fighting for the top positions and a constant dance at the front, the MTM Kawasaki rider managed to be the first to cross the finish line. The Dutchman, who started from seventh, was already making his way up the order to take the lead on the third lap.
This is something that Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) also did, leading. Although the Turkish rider was in the same position as his starting position – second – he also took the lead during the race. Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki), Huertas’ main rival for the 2021 crown, was involved in the fight. Even so, the Englishman was the negative note of the day, as he crashed and was declared unfit to take part in tomorrow’s race.
Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki), meanwhile, stayed in the fight until the end, when he finished in seventh position in a tight group of almost 20 riders in a row. Third place went to Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing). Íñigo Iglesias (SMW Racing), the poleman, and Yeray Ruiz (Yamaha MS Racing), also competed head to head with these riders, but in the end they finished 6th and 9th respectively.
Iker Garcia is proclaimed champion of the Yamaha bLU cRU Cup
The Yamaha bLU cRU Cup has already chosen its champion. Iker García (ARCO MotoR University Team) was the winner today after finishing first in the first race and seventh in the second. In this morning’s race, he was joined on the podium by his teammate and runner-up Julián Giral and Fenton Harrison Seabright (FHS Racing), in second and third place respectively.
In the afternoon and in wet conditions, Fenton Harrison Seabright took the top step of the podium, accompanied by Iannonis-Konstantinos Peristeras (Team ROC ‘n’ DEA) and Juan Antonio Conesa (Gasss Racing Team).
Parade Lap success
After all the activity on track, up to 800 fans had the opportunity to do a lap of honour around the Circuit guided by the WorldSBK Safety Car with their own bike, just a few minutes after their own idols had done it.
A sustainable event
The Circuit, certified in the ISO 14001 and ISO 20121 standards for this competition and the Biosphere Commitment, promotes different actions in the field of sustainability. For instance, Km0 gastronomy to avoid CO2 emissions from transport and favour the local economy; the efficient use of energy and water; the donation of surplus food to a local social diner; the circular economy with tyres, and the recovery of selectively collected waste fractions, among others.
Access to the Circuit
Spectators will be able to access the Circuit through Gate 1 from 8.30 a.m. onwards and park their vehicles in car park A. The grandstands from which all the action can be followed are C, G and B.
