Team HRC riders Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam have concluded the first of the races making up round 2 of the 2020 Superbike World Championship at Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain, with both riders closing inside the top ten.

Out on track this morning for the final practice session, Leon and Alvaro made the final adjustments to their CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP machines. The all-important Superpole followed soon afterwards in what were already fairly high temperatures. By the end of the 25-minute session, Bautista placed eighth with a best of 1’39.598, while Haslam made his quickest lap towards the end of the session, a 1’39.655 with which he closed ninth just behind his team-mate. The pair therefore earned spots on the third row of the starting grid for the afternoon’s first 20-lap SBK race.

Superbike race 1 got underway at 2pm CET in very hot conditions (air 37°C, track 59°C). Both riders made a solid start, lying sixth (Alvaro) and seventh (Leon) by the end of lap one. Battling as part of the chasing group together with another three riders, by mid-race the pair were positioned seventh and eighth, the gaps between the various groups having begun to open up. Struggling due to a lack of grip throughout most of the race, Haslam lost a little ground, eventually crossing the line in tenth position, while Bautista held seventh to the line. 

Alvaro Bautista 19

7th

“I was hoping for better feeling during the race, similar to what I had during the practices. I’m not thinking to the race result here, I’m referring to my feeling with the bike because we’d worked well until this point of the weekend. My Superpole lap time was not so bad even though I didn’t exploit my qualifying tyre to its full potential. So we expected more from this race. Instead we struggled with front feeling and the bike’s turning, something that we had partially solved in the test in Aragon but that here, with higher temperatures and such a slippery track due to the extreme conditions, prevented us from pushing as we wanted during the race. So even though I’m not happy with the feeling I had today on the bike, on another hand I’m happy that we are very clear on where we need to work and the problem we have to solve.”

Leon Haslam 91

10th

“It felt like a very long race to be honest. We suffered a similar problem to Australia, which began in the opening laps and gradually got worse throughout the race. I struggled to manage the front and the grip and essentially went backwards. So we need to make a new plan for tomorrow, hopefully rectifying some of these problems. I think our pace through the opening laps can see us up with the top five so I’m confident we can take a step forward tomorrow.”

WorldSBK 2020
Race Round 02   Spain

Results Superpole

Sunny
Humidity
70%
Track Temp
37°C
Air Temp
29°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Redding Scott 45 GBR ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'38.736
2 Rea Jonathan 1 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'38.770
3 Sykes Tom 66 GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'38.776
4 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha 1'38.998
5 Razgatlioglu Toprak 54 TUR Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha 1'39.208
6 Baz Loris 76 FRA Ten Kate Racing - Yamaha Yamaha 1'39.214
7 Davies Chaz 7 GBR ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'39.568
8 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA Team HRC Honda 1'39.598
9 Haslam Leon 91 GBR Team HRC Honda 1'39.655
10 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA Team Goeleven Ducati 1'39.656
11 Laverty Eugene 50 IRE BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'39.685
12 Cortese Sandro 11 GER OUTDO Kawasaki TPR Kawasaki 1'39.869
13 Caricasulo Federico 64 ITA GRT Yamaha Yamaha 1'39.902
14 Lowes Alex 22 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'39.980
15 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA GRT Yamaha Yamaha 1'40.141
16 Fores Xavi 12 SPA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 1'40.162
17 Scheib Maximilian 77 CHI Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki 1'40.403
18 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia 1'40.425
19 Melandri Marco 33 ITA BARNI Racing Team Ducati 1'40.665
20 Mercado Leandro 38 ARG Motocorsa Racing Ducati 1'41.013
21 Barrier Sylvain 20 FRA BRIXX Ducati Ducati 1'41.323
22 Gabellini Lorenzo 63 ITA MIE Racing Althea Honda Team Honda 1'41.576
23 Takahashi Takumi 13 JPN MIE Racing Althea Honda Team Honda 1'42.357
WorldSBK 2020
Race Round 02   Spain

Results Race 1 (20 Laps)

Sunny
Humidity
31%
Track Temp
59°C
Air Temp
37°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Redding Scott 45 GBR 25 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 33'58.961
2 Rea Jonathan 1 GBR 20 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1.147
3 Razgatlioglu Toprak 54 TUR 16 Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha 2.252
4 Davies Chaz 7 GBR 13 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 2.699
5 Baz Loris 76 FRA 11 Ten Kate Racing - Yamaha Yamaha 3.301
6 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA 10 Team Goeleven Ducati 6.367
7 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA 9 Team HRC Honda 10.228
8 Melandri Marco 33 ITA 8 BARNI Racing Team Ducati 18.713
9 Lowes Alex 22 GBR 7 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 20.421
10 Haslam Leon 91 GBR 6 Team HRC Honda 24.361
11 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA 5 GRT Yamaha Yamaha 26.610
12 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA 4 Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia 34.651
13 Fores Xavi 12 SPA 3 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 34.709
14 Cortese Sandro 11 GER 2 OUTDO Kawasaki TPR Kawasaki 38.138
15 Laverty Eugene 50 IRE 1 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 38.365
16 Barrier Sylvain 20 FRA 0 BRIXX Ducati Ducati 49.601
17 Gabellini Lorenzo 63 ITA 0 MIE Racing Althea Honda Team Honda 52.357
18 Takahashi Takumi 13 JPN 0 MIE Racing Althea Honda Team Honda 53.802
19 Sykes Tom 66 GBR 0 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 6 Laps
20 Scheib Maximilian 77 CHI 0 Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki 7 Laps
21 Mercado Leandro 38 ARG 0 Motocorsa Racing Ducati 9 Laps
22 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL 0 Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha 12 Laps
23 Caricasulo Federico 64 ITA 0 GRT Yamaha Yamaha 17 Laps
Location Information

Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto Carretera Jerez-Arcos, km 10 – Apdo de Correos 35 11592 Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) – Spain circuitodejerez.com

POLE POSITION RIGHT
LENGTH 4.423 Km
CORNERS 13
RIGHT CORNERS 8
LEFT CORNERS 5

Records

Pole Record 1'38.247 (162,07 Km/h) J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 2019)
Race Record 1'39.004 (160,83 Km/h) A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R, 2019)
All Time Record 1'38.247 (162,07 Km/h) J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 2019)
2023 Race 1 Winner A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2023 Superpole Race Winner A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2023 Race 2 Winner A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R)