World Superbike

The 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship takes to the Circuito Estoril this weekend and after a sunny opening Friday to start the Round, patterns are already emerging. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) was shining brightly like in 2020, but the opposition are right behind him with very little to split them going into the remainder of the weekend, with three different manufacturers inside the top three.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) was once again on fine form in the hotter afternoon session at the Circuito Estoril, with the Turkish rider putting in a strong run of fast laps to head the majority of FP2 and therefore, both sessions, despite a closing-stages off-track excursion. Teammate Andrea Locatelli was also looking in good shape, with the Italian rookie quietly chipping away and making progress throughout day one, finishing 11th. With both the factory Yamahas looking in-form and one at the head of the field, it is a strong start to one of the favourite manufacturers this weekend.

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) put together a 19-lap run on the SCX tyre throughout the afternoon, with numerous laps inside the 1’37s bracket. The British rider was second in FP2, and second overall on the combined times, as he aims to cement another challenge to the top this weekend. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi had it a little bit quieter in the afternoon, as he improved his time and dipped into the 1’37s, placing third in FP2 with a final flying lap to propel him up the order and to fifth overall.

Championship leader and reigning six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) placed third overall and fifth in the afternoon session, as he got about dialing himself into the Circuito Estoril layout. He had good company though, as Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took fourth place overall behind teammate Rea, with the Kawasakis not on top after the opening day of action, much like MotorLand Aragon. Both riders are relying on their morning time, as neither improved in the afternoon session.

Leading the charge for the Independent riders was Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), with the American once again shining on his way to sixth overall. However, he was joined by three other Independent riders in an opening day that showcased great pace from the non-factory entrants. Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse) had his best day of the season so far as he placed seventh overall, ahead of Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing), both of whom were eighth and ninth combined. For Davies, the afternoon session saw him suffer a technical issue, meaning he missed the majority of the session. Completing the top ten overall was the top factory BMW and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), although he crashed at Turn 1 in FP2. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Isaac Viñales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) will hope to be in the fight for the Independents as they were 17th and 19th respectively.

There were all sorts of issues for Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), as he missed almost the entirety of Free Practice 1 in the morning, before having a clearer run at things in the afternoon to finish 12th overall. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) crashed not once, twice but three times throughout the course of the day, as he suffered one of his worst Fridays to finish 15th on the combined times. Teammate Leon Haslam didn’t do much better, as he was only 13th.

Tito Rabat crashed at Turn 4 in FP2 on his way to 14th overall, but it was Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) who was 18th but suffered a huge crash at Turn 13 which sent his motorcycle cartwheeling through the air. He went to the medical centre and was thankfully declared fit. Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) also suffered a spill at Turn 9 but re-joined. Samuele Cavalieri (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) suffered technical issues in the afternoon session, although he finished ahead of teammate Loris Cresson, with both 21st and 22nd respectively.

World Supersport

It was a dramatic day of action in the FIM Supersport World Championship as the paddock descended on the Circuito Estoril for Round 2 of the 2021 campaign, the Gaerne Estoril Round. Swiss rookie Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) usurped the rest of the field with a last gasp effort to top the timesheets after Friday’s two practice sessions.

It had looked like Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) and teammate Federico Caricasulo would be at the top of the timesheets with nothing to separate the pair as the session came to a close. However, Aegerter put in a lap of 1’40.571s with just a few minutes remaining of the session to head the field ahead of Frenchman Cluzel by 0.164s. Caricasulo eventually finished in third despite looking like he was going to go faster than Aegerter later in the session, with the Italian also topping the morning running in Free Practice 1.

German Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in fourth place, just three tenths off Aegerter’s pace, while Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) was fifth in both sessions as well as the combined times; the Spanish rider yet again showing his consistent pace in WorldSSP. Christoffer Bergman (Wojick Racing Team) was sixth with the Swede showing strong pace in the early stages of Free Practice 2 by topping the times in the early stages of the session although he did have a crash at Turn 1 later on in the session.

Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was in seventh place, less than half a second away from Aegerter’s pace, showing how compact the field is in the 2021 campaign. He was just ahead of Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) who recovered from a crash at the final corner in Free Practice 1 to finish eighth in the combined standings, with 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) and Italian Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) completing the top ten; all ten riders separated by less than 0.7 seconds after Friday’s action.

Sammarinese Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) was just outside the top ten and the first rider outside a second of the leaders, sitting 1.085s away from Aegerter. He was less than a tenth ahead of Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) with Turkish rider Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 13th. Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) was in 14th place ahead of Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) who completed the top 15.

Davide Pizzoli (VFT Racing) and teammate Federico Fuligni were placed in 16th and 18th respectively, sandwiching Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) in 17th. Spanish rider Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing) was 19th with Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in 20th; Pratama penalised and forced to miss the first 20 minutes of the second session due to irresponsible riding in Free Practice 1. Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) was 20th with Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing), Luigi Montella (Chiodo Moto Racing), Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Eugene James McManus (WRP Wepol Racing), Pawel Szkopek (Yamaha MS Racing) and Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) rounding out the 27-strong field.