Thursday brought news of the return of Jonathan Rea and, above all, of leader Toprak Razgatlioglu. The Aragon round of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) therefore promised to be a great one, and perhaps to decide the fate of the season.
Andrea Iannone back on top in Superbike
To kick off the weekend, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) secured his second consecutive pole position ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) and Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), ensuring an all-Ducati front row. In ambush, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) qualified in fourth position, enabling Ducati to lock up the top four places on the grid for the first time in 20 years (Brands Hatch, 2004). Returnee Toprak Razgatlioglu completes the top five.
Andrea Iannone came out on top in the first race, breaking an eight-year winless streak. Benefiting from Bulega's technical problems on the warm-up lap, Iannone was promoted to pole position and made the most of it. Danilo Petrucci and Toprak Razgatlioglu took it in turns to challenge Iannone, but the latter resisted, regaining the lead after briefly ceding to Petrucci on lap eight. Despite running out of fuel on the final lap, the Italian held on to cross the line 0.845s clear of second-placed Razgatlioglu.
Results Race 1 (Top 5)
WorldSBK: everyone gets a piece of the action?
This triumph in Race 1 makes Iannone the fourth new winner of the season and the eighth rider to win in 2024, a first since 2012. He also becomes the 15ᵉ Italian to take a WorldSBK victory and the 82ᵉ winner in the championship's history.
Few would have bet on a Petrucci victory in the final round at Cremona (Italy) before now. The fact that Toprak Razgatlioglu, accustomed to squatting on the top step of the podium, had just returned from injury, left room for the others. Álvaro Bautista seized the opening in the Superpole race. Bautista, who had yet to reach the top 3 in Superpole this season, took advantage of the gap to make his mark and shine on home soil after an intense battle with the Turkish rider.
Alex Lowes, who was fighting for the top 6, suffered a crash (his second this weekend after qualifying) at Turn 1, eight laps from the finish, and was declared unfit for Race 2.
Superpole Race results (Top 5)
Superpole, Race 2... Same old, same old
Álvaro Bautista confirmed his exceptional form with a one-two finish on home soil in Race 2. Starting from pole position, Bautista quickly took the lead as soon as the lights went out, resisting the attempts of Razgatlioglu and Iannone in the opening laps. Bautista extended his lead in the second half of the race, winning by over three seconds from Razgatlioglu.
el Turco' admitted he had to settle for second place after suffering heavy wear on his front tire in the closing laps. Nicolo Bulega, after dropping to ninth at the start of the race, made a spectacular comeback to finish third, overtaking Iannone in the closing laps. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) finished fifth, followed by Danilo Petrucci and Michael van der Mark to complete the top 7. Iker Lecuona and Andrea Locatelli were eighth and ninth, while Xavi Vierge was tenth.
Results Race 2 (Top 5)
WorldSBK weekend summary
1. Ducati on form: Ducati shone all weekend, locking up the top 4 in qualifying for the first time since 2004, with Bulega, Iannone, Bautista and Petrucci at the front. In the pack, Bautista was imperial with a one-two finish on Sunday.
2. Bautista, local hero: The reigning champion dominated proceedings on home soil, winning both the Superpole race and Race 2, and thus giving Spain its 100ᵉ WorldSBK victory... One week after giving Ducati its 100ᵉ podium in the elite. Individually, it's 50 points in the bag and first place over the whole weekend for the 39-year-old Spaniard.
3. Andrea Iannone, 3,000 days later:the Maniac' ended a long wait of 2,967 days without a win, becoming the eighth different winner this season. He held off pressure from Razgatlioglu and Petrucci to win Race 1.
4. Toprak Razgatlioglu solid despite pain: After missing two race weekends, the 2021 champion came back strongly with two podiums, finishing second in both Sunday stages. Still no victory in Aragon, but valuable points added to the overall standings.
5. Gerloff and Petrucci in ambush: Garrett Gerloff put in a solid performance, finishing in the top 5 in every round, while Danilo Petrucci added another podium to his record in Race 1, confirming his good pace after his treble in Cremona.
World Superbike Championship standings after ten rounds (of 12)
This is the 26ᵉ time that Bautista has won ahead of Razgatlioglu. Because even when he's not winning, Razgatlioglu is never far behind... His lead had shrunk from 92 points to just 13 before the first race of the weekend, but he had taken up the slack with his three second-place finishes, not without difficulty.
Statement from number 54, overall leader Toprak Razgatlioglu:
After a month, it's not easy to just jump on the bike and get on the podium. I'm just feeling some muscle pain, the general feeling is good, but especially the shoulder and ribs, there I'm hurting. On the bike, this position felt good. I don't feel tired, only after the race, but that's normal.
WSBK 2024 calendar: Toprak blows the whistle ?
"True recognizers true", Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu both came out
spanish round.
1. Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round - Australia, February 23.
2. Pirelli Catalunya Round - Catalonia, March 22.
3. Pirelli Dutch Round - Netherlands, April 19.
4. Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round - Italy, June 14.
5. Prosecco DOC UK Round - Great Britain, July 12.
6. Czech Round - Czech Republic, July 19.
7. Pirelli Portuguese Round - Portugal, August 9.
8. Motul French Round - France, September 6.
9. Acerbis Italian Round - Italy, September 20.
10. Tissot Aragon Round - Spain, September 27.
11. Estoril Round - Portugal, October 11.
12. Prometeon Spanish - Spain, October 17.
The Aragon Round could have kick-started the championship once and for all, but El Turco decided to put the finishing touches to its edifice. 39 points now separate the leader from the runner-up, ahead of the last two dates on the calendar.
Photo credits: WorldSBK
