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#Repost @worldsbk (@get_repost) ・・・ ✨Sparkling @mahiaslucas at Losail ✨#QatarWorldSBK #Motorsport #racing https://www.instagram.com/p/BsB__CjnxG-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tx9nyfu0tr5g

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Rea inches closer to points record with fantastic Race 1 win

Seventeen down, one to go. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has won the first race of the Pirelli Qatar Round and matched Doug Polen’s record for the most race victories in a single season, with 17 additional laps still to go tomorrow at the Losail International Circuit. He also moves to within just 12 points of the highest points tally in one WorldSBK season. The 2018 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Champion was absolutely untouchable out on the Qatari circuit, getting the holeshot at the lights and never relinquishing the race lead. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) completed a KRT one-two, with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) getting the better of Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) for third position after a race-long battle.

A dream start for the Northern Irishman pushed him into first place before even arriving to turn 1, while Laverty and Lowes jostled behind to see who could follow the Kawasaki bikes. The Aprilia’s incredible top speed on the kilometre-long straight was Laverty’s best weapon all throughout the race, using the slipstream to move into third after lap one.

With Rea managing a comfortable two-second gap over his teammate and both riders a step above the rest in terms of consistency, all eyes were set on the Yamaha and Aprilia battle behind. Lowes moved ahead in lap 6 but was again beaten on the front straight three laps later. It all came down to an epic last lap battle where they rubbed shoulders all the way through, including a brave final pass from the Englishman at turn 12. Laverty tried to return the favour on the final turn but nearly lost the front end, handing Lowes the final podium position. There is a silver lining for the Aprilia rider however: he starts from P1 on tomorrow’s grid.

Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) followed the front quartet with a confident race all the way to the final lap, but late issues pushed him down to thirteenth to the benefit of Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The Italian takes fifth position and will start his last race for the Borgo Panigale squad from the front row of the grid.

The last two laps at Losail saw one of the wildest battles of the season, as Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Loris Baz (GULF Althea BMW Racing Team) raced side-by-side for that final front row spot. The Frenchman was triumphant in this war, taking sixth position with the Yamaha in seventh, while Davies nearly lost eighth position on the final straight to Jake Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), ninth.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) closed the top ten, with Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) in a disappointing eleventh after starting from the second row.

The final race of the 2018 WorldSBK season is upon us! Tune in tomorrow at 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT) to find out who can claim the last win of the season,

P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) “It was a really fun race especially in the beginning as I was able to feel really good with the ZX-10RR. In the last five laps I started running into some problems with my front tyre and it was a case of nursing it home, so there’s definitely work to do for tomorrow to finish in the same position. I’m so happy to have 17 wins in a season and so fortunate to be in this situation with the Kawasaki Racing Team, and the bond I have with the team and the bike – it’s incredible. Thanks to everybody who has come out to watch tonight, it’s probably the biggest crowd we’ve had here, so thank you.”

P2 – Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) “Yeah, it’s not bad but it would’ve been better for a win! I enjoyed the race but got caught up at the beginning, but overall enjoyed it from start to finish and had a big smile. I came under some pressure from behind and I was just trying to maintain the gap to Jonathan, and then towards the end of the race he was just managing the front tyre a little bit better than me, and was able to get it in and out of the corner a little bit more effectively, whereas I was relying more on corner speed so we need to look at that for tomorrow. But, second position is not too bad and we know how fast Jonathan is here and it would be nice to try and go one better tomorrow. I think it’ll be a different race from the third row, but we’ll give it the berries and try to make the last one count; it’s so nice to be here under the floodlights, I really enjoy this event so we’ll try again then.”

P3 – .Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) “To be honest I enjoyed the whole race, I was pushing quite hard and I think Eugene had some problems with the front tyre, which gave me a small door to try and get through on the last lap. I really enjoyed battling with him and fair play to him, hopefully tomorrow we can try to improve the rear grip a bit and get onto the podium. It’s great to be back here after a difficult middle part of the year.”

#QatarWorldSBK at Losail International Circuit: Race 1 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) +1.424 3. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) +3.705

World Championship Standings after Race 1, Round 13 1. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (545 points) 2. Chaz Davies (GBR) Ducati (356 points) 3. Michael van der Mark (NED) Yamaha (333 points)

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Lucas Mahias edges out title contenders with sixth pole of 2018

Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) has taken the final Tissot Superpole of 2018 with a record lap of 2’00.461 around Losail International Circuit, as the FIM Supersport World Championship battle heads into its final day. The Frenchman was unmatchable around the Qatar circuit and will head into Saturday alongside the two title contenders, as Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) and Jules Cluzel (NRT) complete the front row in second and third.

Separated by just five points in the standings, both men headed out onto the Losail tarmac knowing that whoever wins the race tomorrow will also take the title. The competitiveness was apparent right from the get-go, with Cortese’s first lap only four thousandths of a second faster the Cluzel’s. However, both men were quickly surpassed by the 2017 Champion, who has introduced himself into the championship equation.

That didn’t change in the final minutes of qualifying, with a confident Mahias claiming pole despite Cortese’s best efforts, with the German finishing 0.149 seconds behind. Cluzel finished third and a whole four tenths behind his championship rival,and knowing that even a reversal of their positions in tomorrow’s race would not be enough to claim the title if his countryman remains ahead.

Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) was fourth fastest at the end of Superpole 2, in his best qualifying performance this season, particularly since making the change to Yamaha machinery. He is joined on the second row by Corentin Perolari (GMT94 YAMAHA) in fifth and Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) in sixth position.

Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) will start from seventh after a disappointing qualifying session – the first time since Donington Park that he finds himself confined to the third row of the grid. Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) was eighth fastest and the first non-Yamaha rider, with Thomas Gradinger (NRT) in ninth place. Hector Barbera (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) completes the top ten after making it into Superpole 2 for the first time.

It’s set to be an all-out dogfight on Saturday! Can Cortese or Cluzel claim victory and with it the title in Qatar?

Pole Position – Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) “For sure I’m really happy as I’m improved on last year’s record. It’s good for me to start from pole for tomorrow’s race and I have very good rhythm with the bike, and I’m enjoying the bike and I like this track and riding at night – for me it’s perfect. I don’t push a lot and with my style it’s good for this track as it’s fast, so I’m really happy and confident for tomorrow.”

#QatarWorldSBK WorldSSP at Losail International Circuit: Tissot-Superpole 1. Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) 2:00.461 2. Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) +0.149 3. Jules Cluzel (NRT) +0.574

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QatarWorldSBK Day 1: Laverty steals the spotlight in Qatar FP3

Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) completed a brilliant first day at Losail International Circuit, taking first position in the combined Free Practice timesheets. The final round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship gets underway in Qatar with the Irish rider showing his full potential, having managed to beat both Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the final minutes of FP3.

Both KRT riders had finished outside the top two in the second session and returned to the track determined to recover their advantage under the Qatari floodlights. First it was Sykes who moved into the lead inside the opening ten minutes; Rea followed fifteen minutes later, inching ahead by just 30 thousandths of a second.

Sykes would tighten the gap further in the dying stages of FP3 to just eight thousandths of a second. But it was Laverty who managed to steal the top spot one minute before the chequered flag came down, setting a fastest lap of 1’57.323, nearly two tenths of a second faster than the two ZX-10RRs. After also topping FP1 and getting pipped to P1 by just 0.025 seconds in FP2, the Irishman seems set to leave his mark on the final round of 2018.

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) completed the front quartet, although he was unable to improve upon his best FP2 time. Topping the second session earlier in the evening, the Englishman seems set to end his season on a high at Losail.

Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) was fifth fastest on Thursday, moving inside the top spots at the end of the third practice. He moves into tomorrow’s Superpole 2 ahead of Loris Baz (GULF Althea BMW Racing Team), sixth fastest in Qatar.

In the final round of the Panigale R before its four-cylinder brother arrives next season, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was only able to finish seventh fastest, with teammate Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in ninth and Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) twelfth in the other red machine, with the independent riders champion forced to battle his way through Superpole 1 on Friday.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) seemed destined for that first qualifying shootout after crashing in FP1 and struggling through FP2 and most of FP3; however the Dutchman found some late form in the closing session and recorded the eighth fastest time for the day.

Closing the top ten for Free Practice was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), the Turkish rider extending his good momentum into the Pirelli Qatar Round as the top independent rider on Thursday. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) however fell just short of the Superpole 2 positions in eleventh, as did both Red Bull Honda World Superbike riders (Jake Gagne 13th, Leon Camier 14th).

That’s a wrap for today, but there’s plenty more coming tomorrow! Tune in for the final Superpole sessions of the year at 16:30 local time (13:30 GMT).

#QatarWorldSBK at Losail International Circuit: Friday 1. Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) 1:57.323 2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.183 3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.191

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Lucas Mahias in command after Losail WorldSSP Free Practice

Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) continued to show phenomenal Free Practice form at the Losail International Circuit, recording the fastest time on Thursday at the Pirelli Qatar Round. FIM Supersport World Championship leader Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) followed close behind in second position, with both riders head and shoulders above the rest of the field in Free Practice.

The biggest news of the day arrived shortly after the green lights turned on for FP1, yet it happened off track: Mahias has been officially reinstated as the winner of the Nolan Portuguese Round following an appeal to the CAS. This decision comes with one huge knock-on effect: the gap between Jules Cluzel (NRT) and Cortese has been reduced to five points, turning Saturday’s race into a winner-takes-all affair.

But if Free Practice is anything to go by, these new developments have done nothing but embolden Cortese ahead of the final showdown. The German was the only rider capable of following the 2017 Champion’s pace through FP1, with Cluzel lagging nearly a full second behind in fifth position.

Even as the margins tightened throughout the second session Mahias and Cortese remained one step above the chasing pack for most of the second 50-minute practice. Only Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) managed to briefly topple the pair with three minutes on the clock; however, his slipstream-aided lap was quickly countered by Thursday’s two frontrunners, with the Swiss rider having to settle for third.

Cluzel finished FP2 in fourth position, nearly half a second behind his championship rival. Corentin Perolari (GMT94 YAMAHA) moved up to fifth position in the closing stages of the session, followed by Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) in sixth, in a return to form by the Italian.

Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) ended his day in seventh position, remaining ahead of Hector Barbera (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in eighth. The British duo of Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) close the top ten.

#QatarWorldSBK WorldSSP at Losail International Circuit: Friday 1. Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) 2:00.876 2. Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) +0.113 3. Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evans Bros. WorldSSP Team) +0.518

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Jonathan Rea signs off fantastic season with Losail victory

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The final race of the 2017 season at the Acerbis Qatar Round on Saturday night brought another win for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) as he crossed the line just under two seconds ahead of Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) in third. The victory gives Rea the record of most points in a single WorldSBK season (556 points), beating the previous record set by Colin Edwards in 2002, as the Northern Irishman ends the year with 16 victories and 24 podiums in 2017.

Davies made an incredible start as he shot from eighth on the grid to first within the first two corners, but Rea soon took control of the race on lap four and he did not look back from there.

With 14 laps to go Welshman Davies survived a big wobble – with perhaps the biggest save of the season – holding his nerve to continue on the pace and ultimately wrap up second place in the race and second place in the final championship standings.

Lowes got the better of his Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team colleague Michael van der Mark in the second half of the race and finally finished 1.658s ahead of the Dutchman.

Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) ended the season on a high in fifth place, whilst Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was 5.688s behind the Spaniard in sixth place. Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) beat Sylvain Guintoli (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) to seventh by less than half a second, overcoming the Frenchman on the last lap.

Leon Camier completed his last race with MV Agusta Reparto Corse in ninth place just ahead of Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven).

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A huge crash for Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) at Turn 5 in the early running meant his last race with BMW ended in the gravel, the Spanish rider seen bravely walking away after the massive highside. On the third lap Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) crashed out of third place at turn 14, ending his hopes of challenging Davies for the championship runner-up spot.

Davide Giugliano (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) was declared unfit due to gastroenteritis and therefore the unwell Italian missed out on the last race of the year.

The WorldSBK riders will be back in action at the first round of the 2018 season at Phillip Island in Australia next February.

P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) “It’s incredible, I don’t really have emotions or words, just a lot of thanks to the people who have put me in this position. Most of all I want to thank my rivals, I’ve really enjoyed this season and I’m excited about the prospect of 2018, these seasons don’t come along every day, so I just want to savor it for now.” P2 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) “I had the biggest save and the one I needed to do the most, I put my chest though the screen and as soon as I realized I could save it I managed to hold onto second spot. We sealed P2 which was our objective so I’m really happy, it was a tough race but I’m so happy with the results”

P3 – Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) “To be honest yesterday I was really disappointed, I knew I had the pace to challenge for the podium. I am happy with today, it wasn’t easy and I was a long way back but I stayed calm; I did a good job and I’m so happy for the whole team.” #QatarWorldSBK at Qatar: Race 2 1. Jonathan Rea Kawasaki 2. Chaz Davies Ducati +1.961 3. Alex Lowes Yamaha +4.185

Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 13 1. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (556 points) 2. Chaz Davies (GBR) Ducati (403 points) 3. Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki (373 points)

Jonathan Rea takes record breaking third consecutive WorldSBK title

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Runaway Jonathan Rea wins penultimate race of the season

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Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) produced a masterclass in the Qatari desert on Friday night at the Losail International Circuit, getting away brilliantly from pole to dominate the penultimate race of season and eventually cross the finish line a clear 4.944s distance ahead of second placed Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The Race 1 podium at the Acerbis Qatar Round was completed by Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

Having set a new outright circuit record lap in Tissot Superpole 2 earlier in the evening, Rea pushed his Kawasaki ZX-10RR to the limits over the course of the 17-lap contest around the 5.380km Qatari track. He was untouchable at the front as he cruised away for his 15th win of a remarkable season.

Davies did his best to chase Rea down but would eventually finish a lonely second despite his best efforts – still a good result in his bid to secure the runner-up spot in the 2017 championship. His teammate Melandri crossed the finish line a further five seconds behind him.

Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) produced an excellent ride to fourth, missing out on the podium by under two seconds, whilst his colleague Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) was just behind him – completing the top five.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team), Sylvain Guintoli (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) rounded out the top ten.

In a drama-filled race there was cruel luck for Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) who pulled off track with a technical issue when challenging for a strong podium finish with seven laps to go. Shortly afterwards Raffaele de Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team) went down at turn 9 when riding in the top ten and then Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) crashed at the last corner of the lap when also in podium contention. Lowes picked up the Yamaha YZF R1 to go in search of valuable championship points but would crash again in the final stages.

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Earlier in the race Michael van der Mark crashed at speed at turn 9 meaning it was a difficult day all round for the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team.

Race 2 at the Acerbis Qatar Round will take place at 9pm local time (GMT +3) on Saturday under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit.

P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) “Its nice to do it here, I love this event and the night race and I love the circuit. I just wanted to put my head down on lap one, I am really happy with the way the team have worked this weekend, I want to thank each member of the team who have worked so hard with the bike. I am living the dream right now.”

P2 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) First part of the weekend is complete, it was a tough race and I think a lot of people were struggling. I didn’t know what to expect, I knew we would be ok but didn’t know if we would be ok to finish on the podium. From lap one the entry grip was really bad but 17 laps later I’m really happy to get that 20 points and hopefully we can make some steps forward.”

P3 – Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) “It was a very difficult weekend and luckily for the race the team made a better set up for the race and I was feeling a lot better. I was lucky and my pace was much better and in the last five laps I started to think I was pushing too much on the front tyre so I decided to slow down and third is the best we could have done.”

#QatarWorldSBK at Qatar: Race 1 1. Jonathan Rea Kawasaki 2. Chaz Davies Ducati +4.944 3. Marco Melandri Ducati +10.405

Championship Standings after Race 1, Round 13 1. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (531 points) 2. Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki (383 points) 3. Chaz Davies (GBR) Ducati (373 points)

Alex Lowes Extends Yamaha WorldSBK Contract for 2018 Season

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Champion Jonathan Rea in front after Thursday sessions

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At the conclusion of the first day of WorldSBK action at the Acerbis Qatar Round Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) sat at the top of the combined FP1 and FP2 timesheets with a 1’57.666 lap of the spectacular floodlit Losail International Circuit.

The Northern Irishman’s best time on Thursday came in the earlier of the opening two practice sessions at the final round of the season as he sped around the desert track on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR and finished FP1 a 0.689s margin ahead of his closest rival and teammate Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

Rea was unable to improve in FP2 and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) closed the gap at the top of the combined timesheets to 0.259s as the fastest man in that session and the second quickest overall on Thursday. FP2 was interrupted briefly after a technical problem at turn 10 for the day’s third best overall performer Sykes – which led to a red flag – but the riders were soon back in action after the track conditions were confirmed as safe for them to continue riding.

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Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fourth quickest and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) also featured in the top five. At this season-concluding round in Qatar Sykes and Davies will battle it out for the runners-up position in this year’s championship behind title winner Rea.

Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team), Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team), Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Laverty’s Aprilia teammate Lorenzo Savadori completed the top ten. Savadori crashed twice in FP2, first at turn 16 and then again at turn 14.

The riders will be back on track for FP3 in Qatar at 4.20pm local time (GMT +3) on Friday. SP1 is at 6.30pm, with SP2 at 6.55pm and Race 1 at 9pm.

#QatarWorldSBK Fastest on Thursday: 1. Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team 1.57.666 2. Alex Lowes Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team +0.259 3. Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team +0.299

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