World Superbike Championship 2018 in Qatar

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World Superbike Championship 2018 in Qatar
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World Superbike Championship 2018 in Qatar

World Superbike Championship 2018 in Qatar
Race 2: canceled due to sandstorm and thunderstorm

No final second race of the Superbike World Championship in Qatar: Due to the consequences of a storm, the Superbike class race has been canceled. Driver safety is paramount.

Rowena Hinzmann

October 26, 2018

The grand finale of the 2018 Superbike World Championship comes to an abrupt end prematurely. A heavy sandstorm, strong thunderstorms and stagnant water on the track made it impossible for the riders to hold the second and final race of the Superbike season.

Cancellation after SSP races

“A storm causes an indefinite shift in driving operations”, it said in a message from those responsible in Qatar. The start of the Supersport final was therefore postponed twice because the track conditions were anything but perfect. Despite some wet spots on the track, Dorna and FIM gave the go-ahead for the Supersport race, in which the German Sandro Cortese emerged as the winner and thus secured his first world championship title.

After that, those responsible finally decided to cancel the start date for the second Superbike run, which had already been postponed by 45 minutes, in order not to endanger the safety of the riders. The MotoGP has already proven that the weather gods in Qatar are not always in a good mood on race weekends. The Qatar Grand Prix was on the verge of collapse twice due to chaotic weather conditions.

Rea undisputed number one

Jonathan Rea crowned another dominating season with victory in the first and, for 2018, last Superbike race: 545 points, ten wins in a row and many new records. Like last year, the world number two is Chaz Davies (356 points), followed by the Dutchman Michael van der Mark (333).

The 2019 Superbike World Championship starts with Rea, Lowes, Sykes & Co. on the last weekend in February, February 22nd, traditionally on Phillip Island in South Australia.

Race 1

The first race of the season finale in Qatar wins with a holeshot win by Jonathan Rea. With this, the already decided 2018 World Champion crowned a fabulous season with a 17th victory and broke another World Cup record set by Doug Poland in 1991.

Already at the start Rea put in a brilliant performance and also benefited from the wheelie start by Tom Sykes. Even before the first corner, Rea took the lead and shouldn’t give it up until the end of the race. 
Tom Sykes did the same: he got the short straw against Rea at the start, but managed to hold onto his position for the entire duration of the race and came in second.

Battle between Lowes and Laverty


World Superbike Championship 2018 in Qatar


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Alex Lowes fought for a deserved third podium against Eugene Laverty.

Yamaha rider Alex Lowes achieved a well-deserved third place. The Briton had continuous duels with Eugene Laverty throughout the race. It was particularly exciting between the two rivals in the last two laps before the finish, which were characterized by constant overtaking maneuvers. Four corners before the checkered flag, Lowes was able to push past again and thus finally close the bag for another podium placement.

Fores maneuvers to the end

Marco Melandri crossed the finish line in fifth. The Ducati rider started from ninth place and managed to fight his way steadily over the course of the race. The experienced Italian also countered the attack by Xavi Fores with ease. Fores, on the other hand, made a serious driving error in the end, which maneuvered him to last place with 13th place.

Wild triathlon

In the battle for sixth place, Loris Baz, Michael van der Mark and Chaz Davies faced a nerve-wracking duel at the finale of the first run. Abandoned from grip, Chaz Davies struggled with the track and came under increasing pressure from Michael van der Mark with Loris Baz in tow. A hasty overtaking maneuver by van der Mark sparked a wild three-way battle, in which Loris Baz ultimately benefited most, pushed van der Mark outward and sat behind Davies. At the next opportunity Davies saw Baz’s BMW crashing past him with absolutely no chance and shortly afterwards Michael van der Mark’s Yamaha pushed him down one more place.

Jake Gagne achieved one of his best results of the season with ninth place. Whereas the race for team-mate Leon Camier ended without points after a fall in the middle of the race. Toprak Razgatlioglu completes the top 10. Lorenzo Savadori, Leandro Mercado and Xavi Fores occupy positions eleven to 13. Roman Ramos and Gabriele Ruiu are at the bottom of the field.

Result race 1

1.  Jonathan Rea Kawasaki
2. Tom Sykes Kawasaki
3.  Alex Lowes Yamaha
4th. Eugene Laverty Arprilia
5.  Marco Melandri Ducati
6th.  Loris Baz BMW
7th.  Michael van der Mark Yamaha
8th.  Chaz Davies Ducati
9.  Jake Gagne Honda
10.  Toprak Razgatlioglu Kawasaki
11.  Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia
12th.  Leandro Mercado Kawasaki
13th.  Xavi Fores Ducati
14th.  Roman Ramos Kawasaki
15th.  Gabriele Ruiu Kawasaki
OUT Maximilan Scheib MV Augusta
OUT Leon Camier Honda

Superpole

As the grand finale of the 2018 Superbike World Championship, the drivers will head to the spectacular Losail International Circuit in Qatar on this early weekend (Friday and Saturday). In the floodlights, the drivers went into the battle for pole position for the last time, which Tom Sykes won with a 1: 56.124 lap time ahead of world champion Jonathan Rea. A Yamaha started the first race with Alex Lowes in third position.

Sykes undermines Rea’s pole record

On his last flying lap, Jonathan Rea sat at the head of the field, knowing full well that there weren’t many opponents behind him and that he might have the last pole of the year in his pocket. After all, it was Rea’s own team-mate Tom Sykes who thwarted Rea’s plans when he also undercut Jonathan Rea’s time by +0: 131 seconds on his last lap – and thus also prevented Rea’s personal pole record.


World Superbike Championship 2018 in Qatar


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Leon Camier starts from tenth place.

Exactly a hundredth behind Rea, Alex Lowes is in third position, who had already shown in the free practice sessions before that he feels right at home in Qatar. Eugene Laverty opened the second row in fourth, alongside Lorenzo Savadori and Xavi Fores. The latter, like Leon Camier before, was able to fight his way through Superpole 1.

Loris Baz, Michael van der Mark and Marco Melandri start from the third row. Leon Camier completes the list of the top 10 fastest drivers. In addition to Toprak Razgatlioglu on the eleven, Chaz Davies, who, like Melandri, struggled with the track and the bike, joins the world number two.

After a highsider crash on the last flying lap, Leandro Mercado could not save anything and went on the gas from 13th place in the evening. Behind them are Jake Gagne, Gabriele Ruiu, Roman Ramos and Maximilian Scheib.

Superpole result

1.  Tom Sykes Kawasaki 01: 56.124
2. Jonathan Rea Kawasaki 01: 56.255
3.  Alex Lowes Yamaha 01: 56.355
4th. Eugene Laverty Arprilia 01: 56.534
5.  Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia 01: 56.959
6th.  Xavi Fores Ducati 01: 57.281
7th.  Loris Baz BMW 01: 57.347
8th.  Michael van der Mark Yamaha 01: 57.362
9.  Marco Melandri Ducati 01: 57.407
10.  Leon Camier Honda 01: 57.682
11.  Toprak Razgatlioglu Kawasaki 01: 57.695
12th.  Chaz Davies Ducati 01: 57.867
13th.  Leandro Mercado Kawasaki 01: 58.440
14th.  Jake Gagne Honda 01: 58.559
15th.  Gabriele Ruiu Kawasaki 01: 58.956
16. Roman Ramos Kawasaki 01: 59,300
17th. Maximilan Scheib MV Augusta 01: 59.390

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