Gordon Ritchie | November 21, 2021
Sunday
WorldSBK Race Two
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) won a final (and short) 12-lap race of the 2021 season from Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and new champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
An astonishingly combative wet race saw a tough early top four of Rea, Redding, Razgatlioglu and Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati)
go at each other like it was a club race in dry conditions, not a tricky soaking wet WorldSBK race on a track that is still bedding in.
Jonathan Rea and Scott Redding put on a classic wet weather race at the front, with Rea taking the win on the final lap.
Maybe the leading riders were looking to entertain the fans who had stuck by them thick and thin despite the atrociously wet weather conditions – on two consecutive days. But, until Bassani was knocked off after an incident initially involving Razgatlioglu and the fast arriving Michael van der Mark, the top riders fought out a thrilling season finale with the big championship battle already decided.
After that VDM/Bassani point of contact with eight laps to go, it became a Redding v Rea battle right out front and a Razgatlioglu versus van der Mark fight for the final podium position.
The collision was put under investigation, but not further action was taken. There were a few other, smaller touches in those hectic early laps.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) signed off from WorldSBK with an eventually lonely fifth place, Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) was sixth, Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha) seventh and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) eighth.
Isaac Vinales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was a strong ninth and the top ten was rounded out by Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda). Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was a confident looking top five rider early on but finally crashed out of the race on his privateer Honda.
Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven Ducati) retired from WorldSBK today in 12th place.
In the final championship points, Razgatlioglu has 564, Rea 551, Redding 501, Locatelli 291 and Race Two faller Rinaldi 282. Yamaha won the Manufacturers’ title, by 13 points from Ducati and 37 from Kawasaki.
2021 Thai WorldSBK Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
|
| 2 |
Scott Redding |
(Duc) |
+ 0.283s |
| 3 |
M. van der Mark |
(BMW) |
+ 7.437s |
| 4 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+ 10.641s |
| 5 |
Tom Sykes |
(BMW) |
+ 21.707s |
WorldSSP Race Two
Another superb WorldSSP Race finished off the season with on-track fireworks and all the competing machines in the championship in with a shout of the win from first to very nearly the last.
The early pace was set by Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) but he would eventually get passed and then make a small error that left him sixth, in his final finishing position.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) won the race after a last corner sort out that saw eventual third placed Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Federico Caricasulo (VFT Racing Yamaha) fight so hard on the final curve that they ran wide and then Cluzel came through to win – and one-time race leader Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) finish second.
Federico Caricasulo (94), Dominique Aegerter (77) and Jules Cluzel (16) in a proper barroom brawl on the 600s. Cluzel would get the gold.
Aegerter took third, Caricasulo fourth, and just one second behind them was the winner of Race One, Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) in fifth place.
With Öncü sixth Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing Yamaha) placed seventh, Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing Yamaha) eighth, Philipp Öttl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) ninth and Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros WorldSSP Yamaha) tenth.
Both championship runner-up Steven Odendaal (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) and Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) fell out of contention. Only 15 riders finished.
In the final points Aegerter has 417, Odendaal 323, Gonzalez 286, Cluzel 279 and Öttl 252.
2021 Thai WorldSSP Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Jules Cluzel |
(Yam) |
|
| 2 |
Niki Tuuli |
(MVA) |
+ 0.419s |
| 3 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(Yam) |
+ 0.640s |
| 4 |
Federico Caricasulo |
(Yam) |
+ 0.714s |
| 5 |
R. De Rosa |
(Kaw) |
+ 1.802s |
WorldSBK Race One
A true classic finale saw one WorldSBK champion relinquish his number one plate despite winning the race and another crowned new champion while still trying to win the race despite a few worrying moments, pre-race dramas, and having no need to try and take the race victory.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is the new champion with one race to spare, after finishing second in a 20-lap race that will live long in the memory for the action and overtakes as much as the consequences of where the three best riders in the championship finished in the first ever race at Mandalika.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) went down fighting, winning a race that looked like it could be taken by at least two other riders at times, including third place finisher Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu head the train. Rea would win, but the title would go the way of Turkey’s Razgatlioglu.
We had to wait for the action to get going on Sunday, even after the monsoon on Saturday, as rain re-appeared just as the riders lined up on the grid.
The race got going with a small delay and another couple of exploratory laps, but dry tyres were finally used on a drying track surface.
The pace was immense and the passes frequent, with the best three riders of the season – Razgatlioglu, Rea and Redding – finally getting the best of upstart privateer Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati), who finished only fifth after being overhauled by the rapidly advancing Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda), Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven Ducati), Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten on a day when it was all about the new World Champion and Yamaha’s first Riders’ Championship win since Ben Spies in 2009.
In gold leathers, helmet and bike after a quick change out on track Razgatlioglu did impressive rolling burnouts down pitlane as he came in to the pits to be greeted by his ecstatic team and Yamaha staff.
2021 Thai WorldSBK Results—Race One
| 1 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
|
| 2 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+ 0.670s |
| 3 |
Scott Redding |
(Duc) |
+ 2.155s |
| 4 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Yam) |
+ 7.644s |
| 5 |
Axel Bassani |
(Duc) |
+ 8.133s |
All WorldSBK races have been postponed to Sunday due to inclement weather conditions.
Saturday
WorldSBK Superpole
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) carried his strong Friday form into Superpole qualifying and beat his championship rival Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) into second place on the starting grid for today’s potential championship-deciding race.
Razgatlioglu was fully 0.324 seconds faster than Rea as he went into a whole new time bracket of his own with a 1:32.877.
The big 2021 championship beasts were on strong form as Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed third, just 0.055 seconds from Rea.
Toprak Razgatlioglu took pole in Thailand, but one two wheels, not one…
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) took the first grid spot on the second row, in fourth place, with the second factory Yamaha of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) fifth and the best BMW rider Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) sixth.
Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) went seventh on the top privateer Ducati, Alvaro Bautista was eighth and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ninth, despite still suffering from suspected food poisoning. A strong display from Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) placed him tenth, one spot ahead of the soon-to-retire Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven Ducati).
Neither Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) nor Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) made it into Superpole, with Haslam declared unfit in the morning after a recent operation and Lowes falling in FP3 and suffering a right shoulder AC joint separation.
2021 Thai WorldSBK Results—Superpole
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
1:32.877s |
| 2 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
+ 0.324s |
| 3 |
Scott Redding |
(Duc) |
+ 0.379s |
| 4 |
Garrett Gerloff |
(Yam) |
+ 0.668s |
| 5 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Yam) |
+ 0.711s |
WorldSSP Race One
The 16th podium of Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki rider Raffaele De Rosa’s career was his first race win, as the veteran Italian held off the pressure from new World Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) on the last lap. This was De Rosa’s 89th WorldSSP race.
A bizarre contest in some ways saw Federico Caricasulo (VFT Yamaha) third, having looked like he could win until Aegerter came past in the final laps and Caricasulo’s chase of De Rosa came to an end.
Raffaele De Rosa came through for a career-first WorldSSP win.
A few drops of rain fell at Mandalika in the run up to the 19-lap race but it remained largely dry until the rain started to fall more heavily on lap three, wetting the track and the lenses of the TV cameras.
Aegerter won the Superpole contest at Mandalika and took an early lead but Caricasulo was past him on lap one. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) was the leader as the rain started.
Local rider Hendra Pratama came in to change tyres first but the leaders carried on with their slick options as the rains did not get any heavier.
De Rosa took the lead from Gonzalez as the leader bunched up in the rain, using each other as braking markers.
As the conditions changed through the race fortunes changed with them, but the one constant near the end was the great pace of Aegerter, who came within 0.105 seconds of yet another 2021 season race win.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was the first rider off the podium, with the one-time potential winner Gonzalez fifth. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was sixth and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) seventh.
Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing Yamaha), Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing Yamaha) and Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros WorldSSP Yamaha) completed the top ten.
2021 Thai WorldSSP Results—Race One
| 1 |
Raffaele De Rosa |
(Kaw) |
|
| 2 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(Yam) |
+ 0.105s |
| 3 |
Federico Caricasulo |
(Yam) |
+ 3.108s |
| 4 |
Jules Cluzel |
(Yam) |
+ 3.671s |
| 5 |
Manuel Gonzalez |
(Yam) |
+ 4.312s |
Friday
WorldSBK
World Championship points leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx) dominated the early sessions at the all-new and spectacularly appointed Mandalika venue, finally ending up with a 1:34.985 best new lap time.
Nobody could touch the pace and confidence of Razgatlioglu but as if scripted by the overlords of the WorldSBK finale, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) finished second after a slow start in the morning session.
Friday fastest for Toprak.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) had a much practice at Mandalika as anyone – none at all before today – and that possibly helped him to go third fastest.
Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) moved up to fourth place at the 4.300 km long circuit, with Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fifth.
The Honda effort was strong at the start of the final weekend of the 2021 season, as Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) was sixth, ahead of early FP2 crasher at slow speed, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) rounded out the top ten places.
WorldSSP
Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing Yamaha) set the best day one time at the all-new Mandalika Circuit in Indonesia after two sessions of action in hot and humid conditions.
The brand new track surface was already breaking up in some areas but otherwise the riders enjoyed the mix of flowing corners and the odd tight hairpin. Track temperatures reached 56°C in FP2.
Krummenacher came good for the Friday fastest time in WorldSSP.
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), the new World Champion, was second fastest overall. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was the best Kawasaki rider, in third place, 0.362 seconds from Krummenacher.
Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) started fast and finished fourth for the day, ahead of the Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberian Yamaha Motoxracing) and race winner in Argentina, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha).
Philipp Öttl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) placed seventh, one place up on Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti).
Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) and his team-mate Peter Sebestyen rounded out the top ten.
One more practice session, Superpole qualifying and then Race One are next up for the 21 riders on the Mandalika grid.
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