“It was a very hard race for everyone with the hot conditions. There was less grip from the track. I used the hard front tyre and for the first part of the race it was ok but then I started to lose the front tyre. I want to thank my team for their hard work but it’s not over, we have two more races tomorrow. I’ll give my best tomorrow as my target is to win all three races this weekend!”
Misano 2024 – Superbike Race One podium
Nicolò Bulega – P2
“Unfortunately, the start wasn’t one my best. I immediately lost contact with the front guys and had to recover some positions. When I could make my way clear, I tried to push to catch Toprak. Towards half of the race, I thought I could catch him, but his pace was really incisive. We will try again tomorrow.”
Nicolo Bulega put in the fastest lap of the race as he worked his way forward to second
Alvaro Bautista – P3
“It wasn’t an easy race for me. I got off the line well, but the feeling I had, especially with the front, did not allow me to push as I wanted to. Now, we will study the data to find a setup that will suit the higher temperatures expected for tomorrow.”
Alvaro Bautista
Andrea Locatelli – P4
“It was one of the best races we’ve had in Misano. We did well during the test, so I was sure that we could do a good race here and I believed in myself and the R1. From the beginning of the year we have made a lot of progress and we always try to make a step forward – we’ve done well here and it’s only Race 1! I believe that tomorrow we can do a little bit better, I would like to finish on the podium. It’s not so far, but it will not be easy because we know our competitors are strong. Let’s see, but the opportunity is there so we will try. We have a lot of support here from Yamaha, and I never feel any extra pressure here for my “home race” probably because Yamaha has become like my family. What we feel here in Misano this weekend is something positive, in the past Misano was probably not the best for my riding style but step-by-step and year-by-year I can probably adapt better with more experience, so what we did today was a step forward.”
Andrea Locatelli
Alex Lowes – P5
“We had a solid race. We know this track in these conditions can show some of our weakest points but I managed a lot more consistent race here than in the past. We are missing a little bit of feeling on the front and have a few areas to improve for tomorrow. More with the front, and especially when on the power – which is a little bit different from normal. But we had a solid race today, a solid effort, a good Superpole qualifying and we just need to work on a few areas to be ready for tomorrow.”
Alex Lowes
Remy Gardner – P6
“I had a fantastic start and I was feeling confident leading the race, unfortunately I struggled a bit with the front tyre and even though I tried to stay with the leading pack, I had to conserve my tyres to the end. It wasn’t too bad, but following the Superpole I was expecting a little bit more, but we can take it as a positive sign, it means we’re pushing for more and we’re aware of our potential. We’ll now check the data to improve our performance tomorrow.”
Remy Gardner leading
Andrea Iannone – P7
“Yesterday I felt a better feeling, today, as in previous rounds, with the higher temperatures it was more difficult. It went slightly better towards the end of the race, but we definitely need to review some details. We will work to try to improve in view of tomorrow and understand why there is a lack of grip in acceleration. We are still the first independent team, but we need to refine various aspects and try to fight higher.”
Remy Gardner led the opening laps
Danilo Petrucci – P9
“After yesterday, I didn’t think I would be able to finish the race, let alone be in the top ten. I practically raced with one arm (laughs). In fast right-hand turns, I lose half a second because I can’t hold the bike, and in braking, I have to help myself with my legs and the rear brake, but at that point, the bike vibrates a lot. The last five laps were very tough, especially mentally because I’m always in a state of alert and afraid of falling. This result shows that we have the speed, and I hope to return to the top 5, where we have always been, when I regain full functionality of my arm.”
Danilo Petrucci
Iker Lecuona – P10
“Finally, a proper race, despite some frustration during qualifying, which was the only session of the weekend so far where we struggled to maintain a positive trend. Not being able to exploit the Q-tyre has often been a weakness for us. I took risks with both soft tyres and encountered a small issue with the bike on my second flying lap, forcing me to slow down midway. Consequently, I had to start from further down the grid, but I knew my potential was better than that. The first lap was tough as I got caught in traffic after the first corner and dropped to about eighteenth position, but I managed to overtake five riders at turn four, so not a bad start to the race overall. I held onto thirteenth place behind Tito (Rabat) for some time until he noticed I had better pace and made me pass, which meant I was able to chase down Bassani. I pushed hard while also taking care to manage the tyres and succeeded in passing him on lap 18. Towards the end, I kept pushing to closing in on Danilo, but then I preferred to finish the race safely, with only a couple of laps to go. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to fight on track, enjoy overtaking, and have fun. So I’ll take this tenth place finish and work with the team to analyse the data collected today in order to hopefully make further improvements tomorrow, especially in terms of the front-end feeling”.
Axel Bassani – P11
“That was difficult today. We tried to push but the position at the moment is always the same, even though we are trying to improve. The first half of the race was quite good. I was having fun staying with the first few riders. After half race distance I started to be in trouble with the rear and then also with the front, which was always closing. I tried to manage things to arrive at the end inside the top ten but the last laps were too slow. It is difficult to race like this but the team is working hard to try to improve the bike, and the feeling with me on the bike. I hope to find something for tomorrow.”
Michele Pirro – P13
“Unfortunately, qualifying didn’t go well, and as if that wasn’t enough, I had a little mishap at the start. I basically found myself last, and that’s why, in the end, the thirteenth place is a good result. All in all, I gained experience that I can use tomorrow.”
Michele Pirro
Xavi Vierge – P16
“Another challenging day this weekend, but with some positives to take away. While it’s true we’re still not fast enough, we’ve worked hard in the garage to improve the feeling and setup of the bike compared to yesterday. We’re still missing around half a second compared to the front runners, but we’re pushing hard and getting all we can from what we have. Unfortunately, in Race 1, I was hit by another rider on the first lap and crashed. I managed to recover, rejoin the race, and finish to gather valuable data for tomorrow. My pace was consistent, and I believe without the incident, we could have been fighting for a position somewhere between eighth and twelfth. For now, that’s our limit, so we need to stay focused and continue our efforts. Once again, I want to thank the entire team and everyone at HRC. Despite the challenges, everyone is doing their best, and we’ll keep forging ahead in this way.”
Adam Norrodin – P20
“We didn’t have the best qualifying. We improved on our lap time right away and were even quicker than we’d been in testing actually. I’m sure I could have done more on my final flying lap in qualifying but unfortunately, I nearly lost the front at turn 11 and so missed out on the chance to improve, which was a pity. The race wasn’t so bad, at least through the first six or seven laps, but then I started to struggle with the front. At least we completed the race, but we have many things to work through and understand ahead of tomorrow’s races.”
Jonathan Rea – DNF
“Really frustrated, because my race ended before it had begun. It was a knock-on effect from a bad qualifying, being in the middle of a mess in the first corners and then when things started stringing out in the fast section, I got quite close to Aegerter in the fast Turn 12 and just opened up the line a little bit to create some space but ran over the shoulder of the corner and to be honest from that moment, it was just a blur really – it was that fast. I went down and it felt like I was tumbling forever, but I’m so thankful to have good protection from Alpinestars and Arai – they kept me safe today, apart from a few bumps and bruises, but I should be good for tomorrow. The target is to try to get some good feeling tomorrow, make a good start and start finding some confidence.”
Sam Lowes – DNF
“It’s a bit frustrating to end Race 1 with a DNF because I had good pace and was managing the situation well and not too far away from the top six. But the conditions were incredibly hot, and I was struggling a little with the front tyre grip. I’ve never used the Pirelli rubber in such heat and with the track temperature not far away from 50 degrees it wasn’t an easy lesson to learn. I’m sorry to my crew because we were well on course for a solid top 10 and some good points, but the experience gained today can only help us in the future in the same situation. We’ll be better prepared if the conditions are as hot again tomorrow and hopefully I can come away with two strong finishes.”
Dominique Aegerter – DNF
“It was not our day at all. In the Superpole we went faster than last year but everyone made a big improvement and that made me start from P9. I tried to recover as many positions as I could, but unfortunately the start was not too good and I tried then to make my way through the field to gain places. Unluckily in the middle of the race I suffered a technical problem and had to retire. I’m sorry for that, but we’ll try to comeback stronger tomorrow starting with the Superpole Race, where we’ll try to win a better grid starting position for Race 2.”
Tarran Mackenzie – DNF
“We made a good step this morning in terms of lap time, and I felt good in qualifying. My best lap ended up getting cancelled, but I was happy anyway. We then made a small change for the race, but unfortunately this made a big difference to the feeling I had on the bike. This created a few problems, and I wasn’t comfortable riding at all. Tomorrow we’ll try something else and will hopefully have a better race!””
WorldSBK Race One Report
Once again, Toprak Razgatlioglu made all the difference on Saturday in Race 1 at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. “El Turco”, who started on pole following an epic Tissot Superpole session earlier in the day, initially surrendered his lead to Remy Gardner, but was able to regain it again as the laps wore on. Once at the front he never looked like relinquishing his advantage; the Turk stretched out a commanding advantage before crossing the line in P1.
Remy Gardner leading Toprak
Nicolo Bulega and reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) both enjoyed successful races, with both riders finishing P2 and P3 consecutively. Bulega, in particular, showed strong pace and stable consistency throughout Race 1, especially at the beginning. Reigning World Champion Bautista started to come on strong towards the end of the race, having struggled for pace in the opening laps of Race 1. Bautista has been vocal about his struggles in finding a consistent race setup for his Panigale V4 R; however, the reigning Champion will be hopeful that he has found something positive based off his late-race pace on Saturday.
Toprak into the lead
A very interesting variety of riders was aptly represented at the end of Saturday’s Race 1. Yamaha, in particular, enjoyed a successful day on the Adriatic Coast, with both Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) securing P4 and P6 respectively. Gardner led early on before fading to sixth after his front-end grip went away.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) rounded out the top five. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team – Ducati) ensured strong representation for Ducati at their home round. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished in a respectable P8, whilst Iker Lecouna (Team HRC) secured an impressive top-ten finish.
It was a day to forget for Jonathan Rea after a disappointing Superpole qualifying session put him on the fifth row of the grid for Race 1, further compounded by a high-speed crash on the opening lap at Turn 13 that took the Northern Irishman out of the contention. Rea was lucky to escape with bruising to his left hand and right knee, and hopes to come back and find confidence again tomorrow.
Sam Lowes
Sam Lowes was forced to retire following a sliding crash towards the end of the race.
WorldSBK Race One Results
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 T Razgatlioglu BMW 33m07.016
2 N Bulega Duc +1.782
3 A Bautista Duc +3.176
4 A Locatelli Yam +10.337
5 A Lowes Kaw +11.671
6 R Gardner Yam +14.822
7 A Iannone Duc +16.637
8 M Van De Mark BMW +19.044
9 D Petrucci Duc +20.686
10 I Lecuona Hon +24.041
11 A Bassani Kaw +26.233
12 G Gerloff BMW +30.303
13 M Pirro Duc +32.536
14 M Rinaldi Duc +35.186
15 S Redding BMW +35.566
16 X Vierge Hon +45.895
17 P Oettl Yam +46.811
18 B Ray Yam +54.387
19 T Rabat Kaw +1m04.508
20 A Norrodin Hon +1m10.077
Not Classified
RET S Lowes Duc 6 Laps
RET D Aegerter Yam 11 Laps
RET T Mackenzie Hon 13 Laps
RET J Rea Yam /
WorldSBK Superpole
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 T Razgatlioglu BMW 1m32.320
2 N Bulega Duc +0.236
3 R Gardner Yam +0.586
4 A Lowes Kaw +0.755
5 A Bautista Duc +0.791
6 A Locatelli Yam +0.809
7 A Iannone Duc +0.868
8 S Lowes Duc +0.876
9 D Aegerter Yam +0.914
10 T Rabat Kaw +1.224
11 A Bassani Kaw +1.288
12 D Petrucci Duc +1.312
13 G Gerloff BMW +1.314
14 I Lecuona Hon +1.324
15 J Rea Yam +1.362
16 M Van Der Mark BMW +1.454
17 X Vierge Hon +1.514
18 M Rinaldi Duc +1.615
19 M Pirro Duc +1.622
20 S Redding BMW +1.784
21 T Mackenzie Hon +2.413
22 P Oettl Yam +2.712
23 B Ray Yam +3.218
24 A Norrodin Hon +3.762
WorldSBK Championship Points
Pos Rider Points
1 Toprak Razgatlioglu 142
2 Alvaro Bautista 139
3 Nicolo Bulega 129
4 Alex Lowes 104
5 Andrea Locatelli 77
6 Andrea Iannone 73
7 Michael Van Der Mark 66
8 Remy Gardner 64
9 Danilo Petrucci 54
10 Dominique Aegerter 46
11 Garrett Gerloff 33
12 Sam Lowes 31
13 Axel Bassani 27
14 Nicholas Spinelli 25
15 Xavi Vierge 25
16 Jonathan Rea 23
17 Michael Ruben Rinaldi 23
18 Scott Redding 19
19 Iker Lecuona 9
20 Tarran Mackenzie 7
21 Philipp Oettl 4
22 Michele Pirro 3
23 Tito Rabat 2
24 Bradley Ray 2
WorldSSP Race One
With the FIM World Supersport Championship back in full swing, it was the turn of the middleweight class to take to the track for Race 1 action on Saturday. And it certainly did not disappoint. As has been the story of the season, Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) decided to fight it out between themselves to determine the race win, as well as the lead of the Championship.
Adrian Huertas continued his incredible start to the WorldSSP season by engaging in yet another all-action battle with title rival Yari Montella. The Spaniard stalked Montella around the track for nearly the entirety of the race, before starting to close in on his rival towards the final sector of the track. By the time the final corner came, Huertas capitalised on a slight slide by Montella to level his bike alongside the Italian and just pip him to the line. A truly exciting championship battle, indeed.
Huertas pipped Montella for the win
Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) rounded out the podium with a solid P3 performance.
2024 WorldSSP – Misano Race One – Podium
Many of the Championship contenders rounded out the top six to continue their title ambitions. Valentin Debise (Evan Bros WorldSSP Yamaha Team) quietly continued his impressive season to date as he claimed P4, whilst Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) claimed a very solid P5 placing. German Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) completed the top six.
Adrian Huertas in what looks like a very tight pitbox at Misano!
As has been the story of the weekend, it was an extremely competitive fight for the top ten. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) continued his impressive weekend by finishing P7, whilst long-touted prodigy Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) picked up P8. Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) finished P9, and Glenn Van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) completed the top ten.
Also worth noting is the performance of Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team), who finished in P12. He was the highest-finishing WorldSSP Challenge rider. Countryman Luke Power went out of the race on lap three.
WorldSSP Race One Results
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 A Huertas Duc 29m30.653
2 Y Montella Duc +0.021
3 S Manzi Yam +4.667
4 V Debise Yam +5.892
5 J Navarro Duc +14.686
6 M Schroetter MV +17.884
7 F Caricasulo MV +20.092
8 O Bayliss Duc ++23.887
9 N Tulli Duc +25.354
10 VAN Straalen Yam +27.410
11 L Ottaviani MV +35.672
12 T Edwards Duc +35.691
13 F Fuligni Duc +35.830
14 L Baldassarri Tri +35.991
15 L Mahias Yam +36.659
16 Y Ruiz Yam +39.830
17 A Sciarretta Duc +39.895
18 P Biesiekirski Duc +40.717
19 O Vottatek Tri +45.853
20 S Jespersen Kaw +55.178
21 BIN Pawi Hon +1m03.398
22 K Keankum Yam +1m04.464
23 N Antonelli Duc +1m05.176
24 DE Rosa QJM +1m10.530
25 M Brnnner Kaw +1’m6.416
26 K Toba Hon 2 Laps
Not Classified
RET J Mcphee Tri 9 Laps
RET B Sofuoglu MV 14 Laps
RET S Corsi Duc 14 Laps
RET T Booth-Amos Tri 15 Laps
RET L Power MV 15 Laps
RET A Sarmoon Yam 15 Laps
RET C Oncu Kaw 17 Laps
RET G Giannini Kaw 17 Laps
WorldSSP Championship Points
Pos Rider Points
1 Adrian Huertas 111
2 Yari Montella 105
3 Stefano Manzi 101
4 Marcel Schroetter 94
5 Federico Caricasulo 63
6 Valentin Debise 62
7 Jorge Navarro 56
8 Bahattin Sofuoglu 55
9 Glenn Van Straalen 52
10 Lucas Mahias 40
11 Oliver Bayliss 30
12 Niki Tuuli 25
13 John Mcphee 25
14 Can Oncu 22
15 Niccolò Antonelli 21
16 Tom Edwards 19
17 Yeray Ruiz 18
18 Kaito Toba 10
19 Anupab Sarmoon 10
20 Lorenzo Baldassarri 9
21 Thomas Booth-Amos 7
22 Twan Smits 6
23 Luke Power 6
24 Tom Toparis 6
25 Luca Ottaviani 5
26 Simone Corsi 5
27 Piotr Biesiekirski 4
28 Federico Fuligni 3
29 Marcel Brenner 3
30 Lorenzo Dalla Porta 3
31 Ondrej Vostatek 2
32 Gabriele Giannini 1
33 Khairul Idham Bin Pawi 1
WorldSSP300 Race One
WorldSSP300 Race One
The action has firmly resumed in the FIM World Supersport 300 Championship, and Race 1 on Saturday delivered in spades. Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) and Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) delivered a last lap battle for the ages, with the Spaniard pipping the Indonesian rider to the chequered flag by just seven-thousandths of a second.
WorldSSP300 Race One – Misano 2024
In one of the closest race finishes in recent memory, Inigo Iglesias and Aldi Mahendra delivered a truly titanic last lap battle, one more than worthy of the occasion at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. Swapping first place several times over the course of the last lap, Mahendra stole a march on Iglesias heading into the final sector, before Iglesias straightened up on the final straight in a drag ra