Scott Redding

Portimão WorldSBK Test Round Up: Toprak Is Back, Redding Is Hungry, Rea Turns To New Crew Chief

By Steve English |

The WorldSBK paddock decamped to the Iberian Peninsula for four days of winter testing. Unfortunately, rain and wind followed the paddock from Jerez to Portimão. Teams were severely hampered with running at both tests and the majority could only use two days of running to try and get ready for the start of the coming campaign.

While the tests wasn’t as efficient as manufacturers would have hoped it certainly wasn’t a waste of time. The majority of the field felt that enough was done to be ready for Phillip Island, because we’ll have two days testing at the thrilling Australian venue, and a mid-March test at Portimão will allow them to get fully ready for the start of the European season at the Portuguese venue.

BMW’s talisman is back on track

After missing the Jerez test a week previously Toprak Razgatlioglu was back on track at Portimao. The Turkish rider arrived mid-afternoon on Monday and was immediately the centre of attention. Speaking to him as he left the garage he was relaxed but obviously concerned about his finger injury.

Jerez WorldSBK Test Round Up: Lessons Learned Despite The Rain

By Steve English |

In four weeks time the lights will go out at Phillip Island and the 2025 WorldSBK season will start. The campaign is already underway, as WorldSBK is in the middle of the Iberian Winter Test season. Two days at Jerez followed by two days at Portimao are ideal for getting ready for the new season. Four days of running will be complimented by two days of testing in Australia before the first race of the season.

It’s hard to find a better way to prepare for the year. The south of Spain offers the promise of good weather and the Algarve almost guarantees it. These winter sun destinations are popular tourist traps at the time of year. What could go wrong?

Quite a bit it seems. Two days of rain-interrupted testing saw the value of the Jerez days questioned by teams. WorldSBK regulations limit teams to just ten days of testing throughout the season for their race riders. Was it better to get track time now to be ready for Australia or to save the days for later in the year? The majority of teams opted to sit it out. The expense of travelling to Jerez was balanced by the value of running.

Silly Season Round Up: Mir To Stay With Honda, Seats Filling Rapidly, WorldSBK Moves

By David Emmett |

With Marc Marquez slotting into the second factory Ducati seat, prompting Jorge Martin to leave for the factory Aprilia squad, the other pieces of the MotoGP rider puzzle are starting to fall into place. With Assen now just under two weeks away, the rider market is starting to move.

Motorsport.com's Germán Garcia Casanova brings news of one of the most surprising moves on the market. Motorsport is reporting that Joan Mir is set to sign a new two-year deal with Repsol Honda. This is rather unexpected, as Mir has suffered a difficult first part of the season, and has been open in his criticism of HRC and the current iteration of the Honda RC213V. There were even credible rumors that the 2020 MotoGP champion was pondering retirement.

Does WorldSBK Need A Minimum Combined Bike/Rider Weight?

By David Emmett |

Last week, the debate over the role of rider weight was reignited by a post on Instagram by BMW WorldSBK rider Scott Redding, comparing his own weight to that of Aruba.it Ducati's Alvaro Bautista, and asking whether there needs to be a minimum combined rider/bike weight in WorldSBK. To back up his claim, he posted some video clips and sector analysis from the San Juan Villicum circuit in Argentina. "I just think it should be as fair as possible for all of the riders," Redding wrote.

Though the sentiment is admirable, the thing about motorcycle racing is it is fundamentally unfair. Somebody else's bike will always be better than yours. Some other rider will be lighter, stronger, have it easier than you in one way or another. That is of little comfort to those racing in a particular class at a specific event, but it remains true nonetheless.

The way this has traditionally been dealt with is through what is usually called "the package". The combination of bike, team, and rider is different for each competitor, and rule makers have attempted to create space in each class to allow riders and teams to find multiple ways to be competitive.

Horses for courses

That does mean that each class requires a different set of specifications, depending on the philosophical starting point for that class. There are combined weight rules in Moto3 (152kg), Moto2 (217kg), and World Supersport (between 239kg and 244kg, depending on the bike). The reason for having a minimum combined weight in those classes comes down to a single, simple factor: in one way or another, the bikes in those classes are restricted from producing enough power to overcome the difference in combined weight.

Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Blog: That Whizz The Year That Was

By Gordon Ritchie |

The greatest WorldSBK championship fight for many years has just gone all the way to the very last day of competitive action. The new best Superbike rider in the world managed to become the most tip-top Top Cat after a season-long fight with the greatest WorldSBK rider of all time. And don’t forget another bloke in red, not blue or green. He also won more than a fistful of races.

Five of the top six riders also won at least one race, on four of the five competing manufacturer’s flagship products. All five manufacturers took multiple podiums.

When you see the final WorldSBK outcome written down like that then obviously 2021 will be regarded as a classic.

The past season will be remembered for many things, but primarily for Razgatlioglu vs Rea. It was, as even the most cursory glance under the roller-shutter pit garage doors proved, much more than just enthralling man-to-man combat.

Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Blog: Time And Tide (Wait For No Man)

By Gordon Ritchie |

I am striking while the iron of competition is hot here. In addition, it is halfway through the season now, so time for a recap. This is a chance to indulge in a bit of fortune telling and then possibly a nightcap when the laptop lid closes on another busy workday.

It’s just a short time since the racing fates piled into the 2021 WorldSBK street fights that took place in the shadow of a heavenly Czech Castle in Bohemia and the reflection of a ‘flame-off’ from whatever satanic mill was blasting away just down the hill from the Motodrom Most.

At a characterful but sporadically outdated new WorldSBK venue, the 2021 WorldSBK championship trendometer swung to full scale deflection once again as those aforementioned racing fates jumped on Toprak Razgatlioglu’s pillion and helped him win two, and nearly three, races on his factory Yamaha. Fairly turbocharged him they did, and a treble was almost achieved.

Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Blog: The Inside Jobs

By Gordon Ritchie |

After the first few races of the 2021 WorldSBK championship some trends have already become apparent.

One, the usual one, is that nine races/nine podium man Jonathan Rea is leading the championship by a fair margin of 20 points. That’s equivalent to a second place in a full race. Four 2021 race wins under his awning already, he became the first rider to smash through the 100 race victory barrier in WorldSBK history at the opening round.

Two, Toprak Razgatlioglu is now turning into the more rounded, consistent force his talents have always pointed towards. Maybe his factory Yamaha too? Hence it is he and not two-time race winner Scott Redding who went from 35 points behind Jonathan Rea after Estoril to 20 points behind after the long-awaited return of Misano after two years. Redding is himself a full race win of 25 points behind Razgatlioglu. So that’s 45 points - yes, numerology is clearly not just for cranks and conspiracists - of deficit to the leader for the person many thought would challenge Rea most strongly after his great 2020 ‘rookie’ season. And he still might, of course. He’s still many people’s best bet, for obvious reasons.

Steve English Superbike Snippets - Round 2, Estoril: Rea's Risk Averseness, A Deep Field, And Gerloff's Pitlane Penalty

By Steve English |

Back to back rounds kicked off the WorldSBK season and after six races, Jonathan Rea has opened a commanding 35-point lead. Estoril showed that the field is competitive but that Rea and Kawasaki still have the edge thanks to their experience and consistency. Over the course of a full season he’s very hard to beat, but over a race weekend it can be a very different story. Here’s some of the biggest stories from the paddock in Portugal.

Jonathan Rea is the margin for error

I said it on commentary this weekend, Rea is your margin for error. Whatever the circumstances in WorldSBK the Northern Irishman can make the most of the situation. He doesn’t make many mistakes and he’s always ready to capitalise on those of his rivals. On Sunday it was Scott Redding’s mistake when he tried to retake the lead that Rea took advantage of.

The Kawasaki rider has claimed over 100 victories by, amazingly, being more risk averse than his rivals. It’s very rare that Team 65 go to the grid with question marks. Rea and his crew chief, Pere Riba, generally use tried and tested settings rather than looking for a magic bullet on their tough weekends.

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