2019 WSBK MID-SEASON REVIEW - ROUND 7-9 - JUST BIKES

2019 WSBK mid-season review - Round 7-9

ROUND 7 - June 21 – 23 – Misano, San Marino

A real mixed bag in Free Practice at Misano saw Rea top the first session and van der Mark the second. When the rain came down for FP3, it was Baz who took advantage as several riders chose not to go out.

In a dry and warm Superpole session, Rea grabbed the Number 1 grid position ahead of an impressive Cortese, with Sykes completing the front row. Bautista qualified fifth, between Lowes and Haslam, on the second row.

The rain returned before Race 1, leading to a delayed start, which was barely two laps old before the red flags came out as the rain intensified.

At the restart, Lowes and Rea handled the wet conditions best in the early stages, the pair leading from Sykes, Davies, Haslam and Bautista who were locked in their own battle further back.

In the treacherous conditions, Lowes held the lead and Rea held his nerve as Bautista closed in. When Lowes crashed out on Lap 9 and Davies ran wide a lap later, Bautista was up to fourth place, but still 10 seconds adrift of the leading Rea. When Haslam crashed on Lap 12, Bautista inherited the final podium place behind the Brits: Rea winning and Sykes recording his first podium on the BMW.

In much more palatable conditions for Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race, Bautista was back on form, using the Panigale V4 R’s horsepower to take the lead from Rea early: his job made easier when Rea crashed on Lap 8. Able to remount, Rea finished fifth and gained some valuable points.

Race 2 changed the championship dynamic yet again when Bautista had his second fall in as many rounds. Lowsiding out of the lead on Lap 2, Bautista rejoined in last place, making up only a handful of positions to finish in fourteenth.

Haslam inherited the race lead, then Razgatlioglu as Rea settled into second place. With riders crashing behind them, the Kawasaki pair pulled away, Rea less than a half-second behind the Turk.

On lap 18 Rea made his move and despite a wobble three laps from the end that gave the Turk a sniff of victory, Rea just held on to take his fourth win of the season and 75th of his career.

More importantly for Rea, he cut Bautista’s championship lead again, down to just 16 points – 330 to 314.

SUPERPOLE

Rea – Kawasaki. 1m34.596s

RACE 1 (restarted)

J. Rea – Kawasaki 32m16.526s
T. Sykes – BMW +3.692s
A. Bautista – Ducati +7.756s

SUPERPOLE RACE

A. Bautista – Ducati 16m01.109s
A. Lowes – Yamaha +7.261s
L. Haslam – Kawasaki +9.154s

RACE 2

J. Rea - Kawasaki 34m07.731s
T. Razgat’lu - Kawasaki +0.381s
L.Haslam - Kawasaki +5.880s

ROUND 8 - July 5 – 7 – Donington Park, UK

Questions asked after the Misano round about Bautista’s rash of crashes and his ability to take the 2019 championship got louder and more frequent after this round.

Those questions stared in Free Practice, when Bautista was no better than sixth and didn’t improve on this position in Superpole. Sykes took pole, the 49th of his career and first on a BMW, with a 1m27.619s lap ahead of Rea and Haslam.

Brits like Rea, Haslam and Sykes were always going to have the edge at their home round, and duly delivered in Race 1; Rea taking the early lead from Sykes and Haslam in the wet, but Baz was a surprise inclusion in the leading pack.

Bautista was already 15 seconds off the lead by Lap 5, his weekend getting worse when he crashed on Lap 11.

By this stage, Rea had a comfortable margin of more than six seconds over Sykes, with Haslam a similar distance behind in third. These positions were unaltered at the chequered flag, which, combined with Bautista’s DNF, meant that Rea was now leading the championship for the first time.

Now the hunter, not the hunted, Bautista needed to reset his championship, starting with a win in the Tissot Superpole Race. Unfortunately, the Spaniard was never in the hunt during the sprint; in fifth place when the race was red-flagged due to oil on the track from Peter Hickman’s blown BMW.

A crash from Sykes on that oil during the cool-down lap left him unable to get back to the pits in the allocated time, which meant he lost his second placing and was classed as a non-finisher. This elevated Bautista to fourth, with Haslam and Razgatlioglu also benefitting.

A dry Race 2 got underway with Rea leading the field, but Razgatlioglu (who scored his first WSBK podium at this circuit last year) was on a charge, taking the lead on Lap 3, then duelling with Rea for the remainder of the race. As this pair were pushing each other forward, Haslam was falling back and would be passed by Bautista on Lap 13.

The scrap between Rea and Razgatlioglu continued for the reminder of the race, as did that between Bautista and Haslam. The Spaniard hung on to take third and important points as Rea’s win extended his championship lead to 24 points (Rea 376, Bautista 352) heading into the Laguna Seca round.

SUPERPOLE

Sykes – BMW. 1m27.619s

RACE 1

J. Rea – Kawasaki 38m22.405s
T. Sykes - BMW +11.348s
L. Haslam - Kawasaki +23.071s

SUPERPOLE RACE (red flagged six laps)

J. Rea – Kawasaki 10m15.862s
T. Razgat’lu – Kawasaki +0.393s
L. Haslam – Kawasaki +1.174s

RACE 2

J. Rea – Kawasaki 33m51.931s
T. Razgat’lu – Kawasaki +0.365s
A. Bautista - Ducati +5.930s

ROUND 9 - July 12 – 14 – Laguna Seca, USA

Granted the 2019 championship isn’t over yet, but if there was a round that will prove to be the turning point, Laguna Seca was it.

Having never raced at Laguna Seca before, Bautista was at a disadvantage, but soon got the hang of the tricky circuit. Inside the top three in the final two Free Practice sessions, Bautista qualified third in Superpole behind Rea and Davies. The second row was made up of Sykes, Haslam and Torres.

When Race 1 got underway, it was Rea who led the field, closely followed by Bautista and Davies.

Davies set set a new race lap record on Lap 2 in his pursuit of Rea, which Bautista broke on the following lap! While he was able to nudge past Rea on a couple of occasions, Davies had a problem maintaining the pace. Bautista was having bigger problems, though, crashing on Lap 5.

After that, the field spread out and the race became somewhat processional as Rea recorded his fifth straight win ahead of Davies and Razgatlioglu, with Sykes holding off Torres and Lowes for fourth.

In Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race, Bautista’s bad weekend got worse when he had another crash. This one was more serious, though, a shoulder injury requiring referral to the medical centre.

With Bautista out, Rea cruised to another race win ahead of Davies, while Sykes was strong again, completing the podium ahead of Razgatlioglu.

Race 2 saw Bautista make the start, but unable to safely control the bike with his injured shoulder, he pulled out after one lap, ending a round from hell where he scored zero points.

Davies was having a better day, taking the Race 2 lead from the start. Rea tried to pass on Lap 2 and ran off line doing so, after which he appeared content to stay in second, maintaining a comfortable lead over Razgatlioglu.

Davies’s win was his first since Aragon last year and reward for the hard work he’s put into adapting to the new Panigale V4 R.

For Rea, his championship lead now stands at 81 points (433 to 352) – more than a full weekend’s worth of race wins.

Four rounds remain, with a possible 248 points on offer. To get back in championship contention, Bautista not only needs to win everything, he also needs a DNF or two from Rea. Based on current form, Bautista’s chances of breaking Rea’s grasp on the championship seem remote, but as this year has proven already, anything is possible!

SUPERPOLE

Rea – Kawasaki. 1m21.876s

RACE 1