SBK - Superbike World Championship

09/18/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/18/2021 09:45

SUNDAY STATS PACK: can Ducati make it another 1-2-3 on Sunday in Barcelona?

An iconic day for the Bologna bullets, an Italian rookie puts in a stunning performance and the Championship battle takes yet another twist

The 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship battle takes another twist in what is turning out to be one of the most unpredictable seasons in the Championship's history. As the rain came down hard just moments before lights-out in Race 1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, it was clear that a crazy race would be in the offing. However, as the Championship lead changed once more, one manufacturer took a historic 1-2-3 - the first of the season - and an Italian rookie took a career-first podium. Saturday's stats are debriefed, Sunday's stats lie ahead.

  1. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) took his first win at Catalunya and the 11th of his career, putting him level with Regis Laconi, Stephane Mertens and Ruben Xaus in the 25th all-time position. Redding's win also means that Great Britain moves on to 800 podium places, an all-time record in WorldSBK.
  2. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) becomes the 126th rider to stand on the podium in WorldSBK and the 15th youngest, as well as the 20th Italian rider on the podium. It's the first podium for the Motocorsa Racing team in WorldSBK.
  3. Bassani also becomes the 70th rider in WorldSBK to take a podium in his rookie season.
  4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) took third place, his fifth podium of the year and his eighth for Ducati, moving him to 24th in the manufacturer's podium standings.
  5. Historic achievement for Ducati, as they take a 1-2-3 for the first time since Assen Race 1, 2012, then Sylvain Guintoli took a first win, Davide Giugliano took a first podium and Carlos Checa took third. Coincidentally, like Bassani, Giugliano in second was also a rookie.
  6. In stark contrast to Ducati's 1-2-3, if three different manufacturers take the top three spots in a race on Sunday in WorldSBK, it'll be the 325th time this has happened.
  7. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took fourth place, his first race finish off of the podium since he was 20th at Donington Park after crashing in Race 2. Despite this, the Championship lead changes again - Rea leads by six points.
  8. Heartbreak for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) as for the second time in 2021, he is taken out of the lead of the race by external factors. In Assen Race 2, it was by Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) at Turn 1 anf this time, it was by mechanical problems.
  9. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took his 51st pole position during Tissot Superpole, the fifth for BMW in World Superbike and the first for the new BMW M 1000 RR.
  10. Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) returned to winning ways in WorldSSP for the first time since Misano 2019, meaning that he gives Yamaha a 110th win in the class. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) took second and the 300th podium placement for Yamaha.

Make sure you don't miss any more action with the Tissot Superpole Race starting at 11:00 local time (GMT+2), all LIVE on the WorldSBK VideoPass!