#CatalanWorldSBK Sunday roundup: World Superbike, World Supersport, World Supersport 300

 In News, World Superbikes

World Superbike

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action concluded at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed a Barcelona hat-trick to extend his Championship lead, while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) pipped Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) on the line to deny Ducati a 1-2 finish in Spain.

Bautista lost out initially as the lights went out but recovered heading into Turn 1 to retake the lead although Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) did briefly take the lead on the opening lap, although it did not last long as Bautista recovered the lead of the race before building out a gap over teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi in second place, with Rinaldi able to build a gap over Razgatlioglu in third in the first half of the race. Rinaldi overtook Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at Turn 1 on Lap 5 to promote himself into second.

It had looked like Rinaldi would finish in second place to lead home a Ducati 1-2, but his final lap was around two seconds slower than Razgatlioglu and the 2021 Champion was able to overtake Rinaldi on the run to the line to take second place and secure Yamaha’s 400th WorldSBK podium, which demoted Rinaldi to third as he ended his Catalunya Round on the podium. As the race progressed, Razgatlioglu was able to pull out a gap over Lowes with the gap over a second by the start of Lap 17, allowing Razgatlioglu to claim his third podium of the weekend.

As the laps ticked down, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who started tenth, closed in on his teammate in the fight for fourth place but Rea was unable to make a move on his teammate. The KRT pair finished in fourth and fifth after Rea battled back from tenth place; he started there as a result of his Tissot Superpole Race crash.

WorldSBK returns for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagne Round at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” from the 2nd to the 4th of June.

World Supersport

There was a fierce fight for victory in Race 2 during the FIM Supersport World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and there were plenty of emotions on display on the podium for the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round as Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) took his first win in WorldSSP after fending off a challenge from both teammate Marcel Schroetter and Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in a thrilling three-way battle for victory in Spain.

Sofuoglu once again got a good start from ninth on the grid to put himself in the lead group in the early stages and he was soon in the lead of the race but it was a fierce fight for the win with Sofuoglu, Sofuoglu’s teammate Schroetter and Manzi who completed the podium positions with just 0.500s separating the top three at the end of the race, with Manzi moving into second on the final lap into Turn 1; Manzi crossed the line in second but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap at Turn 8.

Schroetter took the lead from teammate Sofuoglu at Turn 1 on Lap 11 but Sofuoglu responded a lap later, while Manzi moved into second after passing Schroetter at Turn 1 on Lap 13. However, Manzi ran wide a lap later at Turn 10 but two laps later he made up for his mistake by taking both MV Agusta riders at Turn 5 to move into the lead, demoting Sofuoglu to third. On the penultimate lap, Sofuoglu moved into the lead as he and Schroetter went either side of Manzi into Turn 1 and he was able to hold on to the lead despite late pressure from Manzi on the final lap. With Manzi’s penalty, Schroetter was promoted to second place for the first MV Agusta 1-2 finish since Phillip Island in 2015.

World Supersport 300

The final race of the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round, Race 2 in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship, was a traditionally unpredictable affair at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with only 0.027s separating the top two at the end of the 12-lap race. The race was won by Italy’s Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) after a thrilling last-lap fight with compatriot Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) in Barcelona.

Gennai hit the head of the field on the final lap but Race 1 winner Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) overtook him into Turn 7, before the trio of Gennai, Buis and Vannucci went side-by-side into Turn 10. Gennai and Vannucci came out side by side heading into the penultimate corner before the pair engaged in a race to the line on the final lap of the race, with Buis backing up his Race 1 victory with a second podium of the season.

Home hero Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project) crossed the line in fourth spot as he enjoyed a strong home round and he was just 0.047s ahead of Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) as he finished in fifth place. However, Mogeda was given a post-race penalty to drop one position for irresponsible riding, promoting Perez Gonzalez to fourth. Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) was sixth after he led the race around the halfway stage of the 12-lap race with just 0.578s separating the top six riders after 12 laps of racing.

 

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