Gordon Ritchie | June 16, 2024
Sunday WorldSBK Race Two
Toprak Razgatlioglu took his official ROKiT BMW Motorrad machine to a a remarkable, but seemingly inevitable third win in three races at Misano. He did crash early in the weekend, but he was largely unhurt and then started inflicting pace pain on his rivals.
He had to see Niccolo Bulega (Aruba Ducati) lead for a while but once he got going his pace was unstoppable and he took the lead on lap eight.
With Bulega second, by almost three seconds, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba Ducati) had to overcome the spirited pace of Alex Lowes (KRT) to take the final podium on offer at Misano.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (54) was just too good in Misano for a perfect three from three.
Lowes was impressive again, adding a fourth place to his podium finish in the morning’s Superpole Race.
Fifth was Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and sixth the remarkable Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) who was still seriously hurting but took yet another strong finish for his team at their home round.
He took until near the end to get past the rejuvenated Axel Bassani (KRT) who made a personal breakthrough by finishing much less than a second from even the remarkably fast Razgatlioglu. He was only just over six seconds slower than his team-mate Alex Lowes.
Remy Gardner (GRT Yamaha) placed eighth, with Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) tenth, despite his Race One injuries hampering his progress.
In the championship points, Razgatlioglu has 179, Bulega 158, Bautista a close third with 155 and Lowes a slightly more distant fourth with 124 points.
Next Round Donington Park, in a month’s time.
Sunday WorldSBK Superpole Race
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) eventually won the ten-lap Superpole race at a warm and sunny Misano by a clear 1.651 seconds, and securing his second victory of the race weekend.
A spirited fight from local rider and new series regular, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) put him into the lead for a three laps but Razgatlioglu made a positive pass inside at the Quercia corner on lap four and eased away in typical style up front.
Razgatlioglu triumphed in the Superpole race.
Alex Lowes (KRT) placed third, with a challenge from the stalking Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ending when the double WorldSBK champion crashed at the Tramonto corner apex. He would remount to finish 17th, and out of the points.
An all Italian riding trio of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team), Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven Ducati) and Axel Bassani (KRT) filled the positions from fourth to sixth. This was Bassani’s best performance on the Kawasaki since he joined the official team this season.
Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) looked like he may catch Bassani but he finished seventh.
Injured in a Race One fall, Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) was declared fit and took eighth place in the Superpole Race, just holding off a still-recovering Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati).
The final top ten spot was taken by Dominique Aegerter (GRT Yamaha), with his team-mate Remy Gardner (GRT Yamaha) crashing out after a collision with Garrett Gerloff.
Sunday WorldSSP Race Two
With their lead WorldSBK riders being caned by a BMW and the Turkish phenomenon of Toprak Razgatlioglu, it was up to Ducati’s WorldSSP riders to make the winning runs again at Misano.
And did they how, with Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) battling it out up front at a pace not even the best Yamaha riders could match.
A red flag, thrown when the MV Agusta of Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) left a trail of smoke in its crashing wake, drew the fight to a close after 16 laps not 18, with Huertas having finally overtaken long time leader Yari Montella (Barni Spark Ducati).
Yari Montella (55) and Adrian Huertas (99) battled to the end but Huertas came out on top.
This time around the best R6 rider was Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) who pushed himself all the way to a podium, leaving Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) off his home-town podium.
Having just swapped from a Triumph to a Ducati, Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati) was quick enough for fifth place, ahead of Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and the wildly and patriotically painted MV of Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing MV Agusta).
Caricasulo was the first rider one whole sector behind when the red flag was thrown. Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Ducati), Niccolo Antonelli (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Ducati) and Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) completed the top ten.
Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing Ducati) was 13th in the final Misano race while Tom Edwards (D34G Racing Ducati) had an unfortunate technical issue and retired.
In the points, after four rounds, Huertas leads with 136 points to Montella’s 125. Manzi is third with 114 and Schroetter is fourth on 104.
Donington is next up for the WorldSSP hordes, with round four taking place between 12-14 July.
Sunday WorldWCR Race Two
The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship was another fight to the line in Race 2 at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, with Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) securing her second win of the weekend after overtaking Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) at the final corner on the last lap.
Both Herrera and Carrasco got superb starts as the lights went out, going side by side through the opening couple of corners before Carrasco came out in front. That didn’t last long, however, with the #6 responding almost immediately. The lead group was made up of four riders – Herrera, Carrasco, Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) and Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) – with Turn 10 and the run to Curvone being the preferred overtaking places. On Lap 5, Carrasco used the slipstream to move ahead but was unable to keep the lead and tried again on Lap 6 before Herrera responded at Curvone. A lap later and Carrasco was ahead heading into Turn 14, before her rival tried to respond under braking; Carrasco had the outside and just held on to P1 through the final sector.
Maria Herrera (6), Ana Carrasco (22), Sara Sanchez (66), and Neila Beatriz (36) going for it in race two.
With the lead group fighting hard, Sanchez looked to take advantage and got an excellent run out of Turn 10, using it to full advantage as she passed both Herrera and Carrasco to briefly lead, although she was unable to keep P1. Heading into the final three laps, Herrera was ahead of Sanchez while Neila had been in the top three before Carrasco reclaimed third on Lap 10. The #6 and #64 continued to trade fastest laps out in front with the gap stabilizing at around two tenths, but the final lap was a different story. Herrera led on the exit of Turn 10 but Sanchez slipstreamed her way alongside, and ahead, of the #6. However, she didn’t take that lightly, fighting around the outside of Turn 14, had a look at the inside of Turn 15 before outbraking Sanchez at Turn 16 to claim victory. It demoted Sanchez to second, with Carrasco completing the podium after her fight with compatriot Neila, who came home in P4.
Maria Herrera made it a double in the WorldWCR opener.
While the top four were fighting, home hero Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) was taking another strong result as she finished in fifth place, ahead of Isis Carreno (AD78 FIM Latinoamerica by Team GP3) in sixth, with the Chilean rider showing great potential once again as she returns to World Championship level. French rider Ornella Ongaro (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) came home in seventh and she was delighted with this, celebrating it like a win on the cool down lap.
Ran Yochay (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) finished in eighth place after missing out on P7 to Ornella by just 0.006s, while it was a fight that Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) was also involved in; the three riders were separated by less than two tenths. Chun Mei Liu (WT Racing Team Taiwan) had been running in the top ten, but a crash from P8 on the final lap meant she wasn’t classified with Lucy Michel (TSL-Racing) finishing in the top ten as a result.
Saturday WorldSBK Race One
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) steered his big white starship into the winning lead of the first WorldSBK race in two months, after early race leader Remy Gardner (GRT Yamaha) had been out front and pushing hard for three laps.
Toprak would not set the fastest lap of the 21-lap Race One, however, as second placed Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) chased him down. Razgatlioglu was simply too far ahead to be caught but Bulega got to within 1.782 seconds of the new championship leader. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed third today as he continues his strong, but not dominant, start to the season.
After a slightly difficult start Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team)
Toprak Razgatlioglu led home Alvaro Bautista and Nicolo Bulega in a processional WorldSBK race one at Misano.
secured fourth place, with the top Kawasaki Racing Team rider, Alex Lowes, in a strong fifth place, even in the hot air (29°C) and track (44°C) temperatures for the opening race.
Gardner’s fast early pace took its toll on his front tire as he finished sixth.
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven Ducati) was seventh, some 16 and more seconds down on the leader. Michael van der Mark (ROKit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was eighth, the still-pained but recovering Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) ninth and the top Honda rider Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) in tenth place.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) crashed out of the race and hurt his left wrist and hand. He will be checked over before Sunday’s sprint and final full distance races at Misano.
2024 Misano WorldSBK Results—Saturday Race One
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
|
| 2 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+1.782s |
| 3 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+3.176s |
| 4 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Pata Prometeon Yamaha) |
+10.337s |
| 5 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
+11.671s |
Saturday WorldSSP Race One
Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati) came out on top in a true man-to-man battle with pole man Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati), winning a full-duration 18-lap WorldSSP Race One by just 0.021 seconds.
Sporting a special home round livery on his R6, Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) secured a lone third place, with Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) fourth, and almost six seconds behind the winner Huertas.
Adrian Huertas (in red) only just edged Montella for the WorldSSP race one win.
In his first ride for his new team Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati) finished inside the top five, albeit almost 15 seconds down on the runaway race leaders at the flag.
Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was the top MV Agusta finisher in sixth, with another one, Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing), in seventh.
The fast starting Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing Ducati) went eighth in the end, leading home Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Ducati) and recent Assen race winner, Glenn van Straalen (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).
One more race remains at Misano for the 30+ regular WorldSSP riders and two wildcards.
2024 Misano WorldSSP Results—Saturday Race One
| 1 |
Adrian Huertas |
(Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) |
|
| 2 |
Yari Montella |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+0.021s |
| 3 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) |
+4.667s |
| 4 |
Valentin Debise |
(Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) |
+5.892s |
| 5 |
Jorge Navarro |
(Orelac Racing VerdNatura) |
+14.686s |
Saturday WorldWCR Race One
Saturday saw history being made, with the maiden FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship Race 1 taking place at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. In a day which saw several red flags, the fans were ultimately gifted the finish that such an occasion deserved, with Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) beating rival Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) during Race 1 for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round.
There was drama as soon as the lights went out for the original start, with Ornella Ongaro (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) and Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport) colliding at Turn 2, while wildcard Beatrice Barbera (Team GP3 AD11 by Tirso) crashed at Turn 4, with all three riders retiring from the race. Relph was taken to the medical centre for a check-up, while the incident will be investigated by the FIM Stewards after the race.
Maria Herrera (6) came out on top after battling longtime foe and compatriot Ana Carrasco (22) to take the first-ever WWCR win.
Herrera grabbed the holeshot from pole position, leading through the first half of the opening lap, but Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) didn’t let her have it all her own way. Through the high-speed sector three, the #22 tried to pass Herrera but the #6 was able to resist her challenge over the initial running before trying to build a gap with the 2018 WorldSSP300 Champion leading across the line, although Herrera was able to respond quickly. Carrasco didn’t let her get away, keeping the pressure on, with less than a second separating the top four. On Lap 6, the race was red flagged for a crash at Mia Rusthen (Rusthen Racing) at Turn 16, when she came down at the end of Lap 5. Rusthen has suffered a head concussion and is receiving treatment at the Bufalini Trauma Centre in Cesena; her condition is stable.
The race was eventually re-started, and then immediately red-flagged again for a crash that involved Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno). Howden ultimately suffered a concussion but was onscious following the accident. Following the accident, the remaining riders on the grid followed the quick start procedure and rolled back out onto the track for a five-lap race.
With five laps to be completed, it ultimately proved to be Herrera and Carrasco that would fight it out to determine who would make history as the first ever race winner in the WorldWCR Championship. Herrera spent four laps monitoring Carrasco, matching her pace through every sector and turn. In the last sector, Herrera made her move, sliding the bike under Carrasco to take a lead that would ultimately prove to be the win.
2024 Misano WWCR Results—Saturday Race One
| 1 |
Maria Herrera |
(Klint Forward Factory Team) |
|
| 2 |
Ana Carrasco |
(Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) |
+0.067s |
| 3 |
Sara Sanchez |
(511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) |
+0.986s |
| 4 |
Roberta Ponziani |
(Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) |
+1.454s |
| 5 |
Beatriz Neila |
(Ampito/Pata Prometeon Yamaha) |
+1.591s |
Friday WorldSBK
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) fell midway through the Misano WorldSBK FP2 session but his early pace in FP1 was enough to keep him at the top of the Friday combined times in what is effectively a season-restart round. He fell entering the final corner in FP2 but got back up without injury.
The third round of the championship took place in mid April, to this mid June date saw everybody get back into full race mood with the benefit of a recent well-subscribed test at Misano or most two weeks ago.
Toprak Razgatlioglu topped the day on Friday at Misano.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was second, but only after finding improvements in his bike’s set-up in FP2.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was third in the overnight times, with the top Yamaha being that of Aussie rider, Remy Gardner.
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven Ducati) was top Independent rider in fifth place, followed onto the virtual second row by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) was an impressive – relative other than many recent performances – seventh on day one, with local rider Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team) eighth.
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Ducati) was ninth and Dominique Aegerter (GRT Yamaha) tenth. The official Yamaha riders, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) and Jonathan Rea were 13th and 14th fastest respectively.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) was declared for enough to ride and placed 15th.
2024 Misano WorldSBK Results—Friday
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
1:33.448s |
| 2 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.063s |
| 3 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.465s |
| 4 |
Remy Gardner |
(GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) |
+0.473 |
| 5 |
Andrea Iannone |
(Team GoEleven) |
+0.512s |
Friday WorldSSP
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) proved to be strong once more in the WorldSSP class, taking his V-twin to the top spot in Superpole qualifying. He ended up only just ahead of a very close rival, Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati). Huertas was only 0.029 seconds back on Montella after two hot and humid sessions.
It was close in WorldSSP but Yari Montella came out with the Friday honors.
The first R6 home was ridden by Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) into third place, with the rejuvenated Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) fourth.
Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Ducati) was fifth on yet another Ducati, easing the best Kawasaki into sixth place. A visibly stronger Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was that sixth placed rider, with local man Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing MV Agusta) seventh and top MV rider.
Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing Ducati), having tested at Misano with some of his peers recently, was eighth. In his first Ducati ride, Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati), placed ninth, with local wildcard Luca Ottaviani (Extreme Racing Service MV Agusta) rounding out the top ten in a field of 34 riders in all.
2024 Misano WorldSBK Results—Friday
| 1 |
Yari Montella |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
1:36.876s |
| 2 |
Adrian Huertas |
(Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) |
+0.029s |
| 3 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) |
+0.613s |
| 4 |
Valentin Debise |
(Evan Bros WorldSSP Yamaha Team) |
+0.682s |
| 5 |
Niki Tuuli |
(EAB Racing Team) |
+0.757s |
Friday WCRR
The first pole in the history of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship was claimed by Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) as the Spaniard beat her rivals in a hotly-contested Tissot Superpole session. Herrera will lead away the Race 1 grid on Saturday (11:50 Local Time, UTC+2) at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” after fending off her rivals during the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round.
Maria Herrera took the first-ever Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship pole position at Misano.
As in this morning’s Free Practice session, the times kept improving as the session progressed. Herrera was able to set a 1’49.390s to claim the first ever WorldWCR pole but it was fine margins, with just 0.051s between the #6 and Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) in second. Sanchez, who topped the FP session, set a 1’49.441s, to claim second ahead of Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) in third. Just 0.124s separated the top three in a closely fought Superpole session. However, towards the end of the session, it was announced that Sanchez was under investigation for slow riding.
Italian star Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) will line up from fourth after fighting for pole position, finishing less than two tenths away from Herrera’s pole-setting time. South Africa’s Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) claimed fifth ahead of Chile’s Isis Carreno (AD78 FIM Latinoamerica by Team GP3), who will line up for Race 1 from sixth on the grid.
America’s Mallory Dobbs will start from 18th on the Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team entry.
Photography by Click Diversity.
Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) set a 1’50.437s as she claimed seventh place, finishing ahead of Ornella Ongaro (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) in eighth after the French rider set a 1’51.153s. Germany’s Lucy Michel (TSL-Racing) was ninth with Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) completing the top ten. Chun Mei Liu (WT Racing Team Taiwan) narrowly missed out on a top-ten spot, finishing just a tenth behind Ruiz.
America’s Mallory Dobbs suffered a fall during Friday’s action on the Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team entry and will start from 18th, 3.6s off Herrera.
2024 Misano WCRR Results—Friday
| 1 |
Maria Herrera |
(Klint Forward Factory Team) |
1’49.390s |
| 2 |
Sara Sanchez |
(511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) |
+0.051s |
| 3 |
Ana Carrasco |
(Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) |
+0.124s |
| 4 |
Roberta Ponziani |
(Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) |
+0.183s |
| 5 |
Jessica Howden |
(Team Trasimeno) |
+0.725s |
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