Tag

Race 2

Browsing

Photos: © 2019 Andrew Kohn / Asphalt & Rubber – All Rights Reserved

Because of tire wear issues during Race 1, at the World Superbike season-opener at Phillip Island, Sunday’s Race 2 will include a mandatory pit stop, where riders can come in and change machines.

Due to the extra-abrasive conditions found at Phillip Island this year, these race change will also affect Sunday’s World Supersport race, as well.

Similar to the tire issues we saw in the MotoGP Championship at Phillip Island, back in 2013, Sunday’s race will include a mandatory pitstop before the end of the 12th lap for WorldSBK riders (after nine laps for WorldSSP riders), which will operate under the series’ flag-to-flag rules.

This means that riders will dismount their machine, and mount a new bike, fitted with fresh Pirelli race tires, in order to avoid the tire-wear issues found during Saturday’s race.

For the first time since Portimao 2011, Yamaha was able to celebrate two riders standings on the WorldSBK podium. In an action packed Race 2 at Magny Cours, Chaz Davies claimed his seventh race win of the season, ahead of Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark.

For Yamaha, this was the culmination of their efforts throughout the last 12 months – to turn their WorldSBK program into a front-running effort. While there is still clearly work to be done to transform the YZF-R1 into a race-winner, it has now been able to claim five podiums in 2017.

Jonathan Rea took another step towards retaining the World Superbike championship, after a dominant weekend at the Portuguese round of the series. In Race 2, the Northern Irishman took longer to hit the front, but the end result was the same: 25 points.

The victory saw Rea extend his title lead to 120 points over his Kawasaki teammate, Tom Sykes. With the Englishman sitting out this weekend due to injury, Rea’s path to the title was given an unexpected boost, but overall it was business as usual for the 30-year-old.

In claiming his 34th Kawasaki victory, Rea became the Japanese manufacturer’s most successful rider of all time, but it wasn’t plain sailing for Rea.

Ducati’s Chaz Davies romped to back to back races in Germany, with a superb performance in Race 2 at the Lausitzring.

The Welsh wizard became the King of the ‘Ring, with his third dry weather victory in a row at the circuit. It wasn’t an easy day for the riders however, with spits of rain and the threat of showers hanging in the air. 

“I knew the second race was going to be tighter,” said Davies. “It was hard to come from the third row, I made some good passes out there, and had a lot of fun.”