WorldSBK Italy (1): Rea and Kawasaki drop Italian motorcycles at home
Large winner of the Superpole this morning at Imola, Jonathan Rea did not give his opponents a chance in the first race. The "Number One" Kawasaki approaches the 59 successes of the "King" Carl Fogarty in the category… and a fourth coronation, already ?
Ahead – by 46 small thousandths of a second! – by Alex Lowes and his official Yamaha during the Superpole in Assen (Netherlands) three weeks ago, Jonathan Rea totally dominated the debates this afternoon on the Imola track, in Italy, at the controls of his unbeatable ( ?) Kawasaki n ° 1.
A third of a second slower than the three-time Superbike world champion – the first to field three titles in a row, firmly decided and on course to pile up a fourth … -, Tom Sykes and his own factory ZX-10RR n ° 66 ahead of a horde of Italian girls in heat…
Drama for as he crashes in SP2!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
As fast as Rea on Friday (!), Davies complete without much surprise despite a fall at the beginning of SP2 (!!) the first row of the Italian grid. The n ° 7 Ducati rider has been undefeated for two years at Imola and intends to take advantage of this event at home – WorldSBK’s fault in Wales – to get back on the ruthless "JR" in the provisional (30 points behind).
The official Ducati n ° 33 of Melandri follows, the private Ducati n ° 12 of Fores, the Aprilia n ° 50 of the revenant Laverty (Camier, him, had to withdraw after the FP1 and was replaced by O’Halloran), the MV Agusta n ° 81 by Torres, the Ducati "Junior" but factory n ° 21 by Rinaldi and the second Aprilia n ° 32 by Savadori.
Off we gooooo! Green lights for WorldSBK FP1
Follow all action LIVE with the VideoPass!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
In the fourth row appears the previous poleman Lowes and his Yam n ° 22, just in front of the guest driver Leon Haslam (who rides on a Kawasaki Pucetti n ° 91 repainted in the colors of Elf … thus of his dad Ron Haslam!) And Van der Mark’s second factory Yamaha n ° 60.
Loris Baz got stuck this morning at the gates of SP2 and started from 13th place at the controls of his BMW n ° 76. Our sole representative in World Superbike assured at the start of the weekend that his S1000RR had improved during the last tests in Brno. We’ll have to prove it now !
Lights go out and we are GOOOOO
19 laps to go!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
Departure : Rea and Sykes are ahead of the Italians! Davies’ Panigale rears up on its rear wheel, forcing its pilot to briefly give up the throttle … The n ° 7 is passed by his teammate Melandri, his brother-in-law Laverty, his colleagues Fores and Rinaldi !
The four-time winner of the event (doubled in 2016 and 2017) "Chazie" climbs back to Laverty then Fores in the first lap. The junior pilot of the official team Rinaldi passes in front of Melandri in the break leading to the low chicane commanding the not very straight line of the pits. The stands shake as they pass !
Davies him, misses in this same final chicane is traced straight in the loophole, joining the track in ninth position, just in front of Lowes. Jason O’Halloran’s fall is announced in the wake … The Australian who rides in a British Superbike may have got a little too excited.
There’s a strong Ducati battle at the front!
Melandri, Rinaldi and Davies battling for the last podium spot!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
The Kawasaki escape – far too … – quickly: as a result, the peloton is having a blast and some riders make mistakes to try, in vain, to stay in contact with the two Ninjas. Rinaldi in particular, passes through the gravel trap of the high chicane in the 3rd lap…
At the end of the 4th lap, Jonathan Rea already has a lead of more than two seconds over his teammate Tom Sykes. Marco Melandri occupies a solitary third place, two seconds behind the Kawasaki n ° 66, and a good second ahead of the Ducati n ° 21 of the young Rinaldi and the n ° 12 of the experienced Fores.
Bouncing back!
After dropping some positions is back to the leading group!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
Two seconds away, Chaz Davies whips his own Panigale R to make up for his blunder on the first lap: the "Welsh dragon" attacks and defeats the "flying Dutchman" in the final chicane of the 5th lap. Laverty is in eighth position, while Lowes, Haslam, Savadori, Razgatlioglu fight for ninth.
A few lengths from this happy group, Loris Baz has to be content with a fourteenth place as frustrating as it is stressful: our "Savoyard Cheetah" is chased by Roman Ramos and his Kawasaki n ° 40 … Gagne and Torres do their best to enter the points. Hernandez and Jezek are too far away.
In the lead of the race since the lights went out, Jonathan Rea approached the halfway point by turning again just below 1 ’47. Sykes and Melandri gave him a few tenths of a second, Fores, Davies and Rinaldi who rolled together are a second slower than the leader.
Double overtake
10 laps to go!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
Michael Rinaldi suddenly let go of the Fores – Davies duo on the 10th lap. The Italian’s sudden drop in power also benefits another Michael: Van der Mark runs at the same pace as Xavi and Chaz … Or Chaz and Xavi rather, since n ° 7 plunges inside n ° 12 in the final chicane of the 12th lap !
Starting very strong, as often, Eugene Laverty gradually loses his footing: on the 13th lap, the Irishman who is perhaps beginning to "feel fatigue" is not only outstripped by his teammate Lorenzo Savadori, but also threatened by Leon "Ron" Haslam ! Baz is in 15th position, in the Ramos wheel.
Much faster than Rinaldi at the end of the race, Van der Mark executed an impeccable and unstoppable overtaking on Rinaldi when braking hard on the n ° 7 Tosa hairpin. The Yamaha rider now has a clear track to try to get back on Fores, which is three seconds before him…
Great move from Yamaha rider who moves up to 6th!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
Chaz Davies is also embarking on an improbable recovery on his teammate Marco Melandri: with five laps to go, the 2017 World Superbike vice-champion is three seconds behind the MotoGP vice-world champion (2005!) And rolls half a second faster.
Warned of Davies’ return, Melandri put his neck down on the 16th lap and maintained the two seconds which separated him from the British No.7. For the first time this season, Marco appears to be able to ride his No.33 Ducati without struggling in the stretches….
More than 15 seconds away, Laverty animates the end of the race, trying to prevent any attack from Lowes. Our international "Bazooka" also ensures the spectacle: Roman Ramos forced to return to the pits, Loris fights for thirteenth place against Leandro Mercado !
Last lap is underway and is who leads!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
Alex Lowes carries a courageous attack in the descent towards the famous double right Acque Minareli … Surprised by this daring but successful attempt, "Yudjine" bites into the external vibrators and lets pass the patient and fast Razgatlioglu…
About thirty seconds ahead, Jonathan Rea completed his irreproachable race in the lead: the triple champion won his 58th World Superbike success! From tomorrow, the new "King of Assen" will be able to equal the all-time record for WSBK victories held by Carl Fogarty.
Championship leader takes a stunning victory!
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)
Tom Sykes and Marco Melandri accompany the northern Irishman on this first 2018 podium at Imola. Unable to follow Jonathan Rea on the track, the two pilots console themselves by going up to Chaz Davies in the championship: the Italian and the English are respectively 10 and 20 points behind the Welsh who had the pace to climb on the podium. . but maybe not to win ?!
Fifth in the first Italian round this afternoon, Xavi Fores is once again the first "independent" driver. Site congratulates Leon Haslam who was able to adapt extremely quickly to the ZX-10RR of the Pucetti team (in British SBK, the n ° 91 wins on a Ninja without electronics!).
Finally, let’s encourage our compatriot Loris Baz who knew how to defend his thirteenth place to the end against a solid Roman Ramos, then a tough Leandro Mercado and a hot Jordi Torres! See you tomorrow to experience the second Superbike round and the Supersport race live, live: stay tuned…
Result of the 1st WSBK 2018 race in Imola
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