ROME (ITALPRESS) – Different weather conditions compared to Saturday but the same race result for both WorldSBK and WorldSSP: Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) won Superpole Race and Race 2 while Nicolò Bulega (Aruba Racing WorldSSP Team) won Give it a comeback at WorldSSP.
After Saturday the conditions were severe with unstable weather and rain which forced the riders to fit wet tyres, today the climate and temperatures were milder and made it possible to use slick tyres.
“Over these three days we had completely different weather conditions and temperatures – commented Pirelli Moto Racing Director Giorgio Barbier – in free practice on Friday it was very hot and we hit 50 degrees off the asphalt in yesterday’s races we had much less air and degrees The heat of the asphalt and the rain in the race, finally today we are back to good weather conditions but with lower temperatures than on Friday.Despite the vagaries of the weather, the performance of the tires was excellent, showing excellent versatility and adaptability to different temperatures and low levels of wear, if What compared to the severity of this track. So we can say that the decision to bring the same tires already used here last year, although this year the races were held in February instead of November, was the right one and yielded good results.”
“Now Mandalica awaits us which, as a track, has very different characteristics compared to Phillip Island but can still hold some surprises, just I think last year in the race we got close to 70 degrees the temperature of the asphalt. Congratulations to Ducati and their riders for the exceptional display of power who appeared in this first round in both categories.”
Rider’s unanimous choice regarding the tires used in Superpole racing: They all chose the SC1 front band and the SC0 rear band, the latter usable only in qualifying and specifically in Superpole racing. At 10 laps, in fact, and with asphalt temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius, the soft rear proved to be able to offer more grip and therefore better performance than the SC1-A.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) won the Superpole race after starting from second on the grid. The Spaniard has always been in the lead from the first lap to the finish line. Behind him was his teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba. Racing – Ducati), and at the bottom of the podium was Tubrak Razgatlioglu (Bata Yamaha Propulsion World SPK). Fastest lap for Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) at 1’30.374 on the second lap.
In Race 2, practically all riders confirm the lead, so the standard SC1, with the exception of Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) who prefers the hard SC2. In the rear, everyone’s choice falls on the SC1-A (development media with A1126 specification) which has proven through testing and on Friday that it can deliver a higher level of grip than the SC1-B.
A’lvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati), after starting from pole position as a Superpole Race winner, also won Race 2 dominating the race from start to finish. He also set the fastest lap of the race at 1’30.766. Behind him, once again, is his Rinaldi and Yamaha teammate, in this case Andrea Locatelli (Bata Yamaha Propulsion World Sbk.
Dry asphalt and slippery tires are the same for everyone in Race 2: SC1 medium range at the front and SC1-A development average (A1128 specification) at the rear, i.e. the same solutions already used in Superpole before the rain tires were fitted for Race 1.
The race was stopped by red flags during the fourteenth lap due to some geese intruding into the track. At that moment, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba Racing WorldSSP Team) was leading the race and was thus declared the winner. The Ducati rider dominated the race from the start to the tenth lap temporarily handing the lead to Stefano Manzi (Teen Kit Racing Yamaha), who crossed the finish line in second and led for two laps before handing the position back to Bulega on lap 13. Third place to the Turkish Can Onko (Kawasaki) Puccetti Racing).
Photo: Pirelli Press Office
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