We began at Motorland Aragon in Spain, back in April. Now, we are about to witness the sixth of eight races of the season, for the FIM Superstock 1000 European Cup in Germany, at the Lausitzring. Three races remain, and there is a title to be won, as we are in Germany's Lusatian lake land region. After three months off, Superstock 1000, is back! We have the following post time weather conditions, ladies and gentlemen. It is 12 degrees Celsius (53 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature. It is 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit), for the track temperature. Somewhat chilly, on a fall day in the lakes region of Germany, as we get set for this contest with the stock bikes and their riders. We have seen great action in World Superbike. Let's see if Superstock 1000 lives up to the same level of excitement.
This area of Germany is a haven for wind turbines and used to be a mining region. But, the mines have all been flooded more recently. Flooding mines allows you to make a man made lake. There are opportunities for sightseeing and also water sports, in this part of the country. Because of time constraints in the program, the original distance of this race, will be reduced. We originally had 14 laps scheduled. This race is now going to be an eleven lap shootout. So, stand by for drama. A first time pole man for this race is Toprak Razgatlioglu on the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX10R.
Razgatlioglu is the protege of perhaps five-time world champion Supersport rider, Kenan Sofuoglu. Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated the Superstock 600 class last year, nearly winning every race. Starting second will be the Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia RSV4 RF in the hands of Italian Roberto Tamburini. Tamburini was second in the Cup standings last year, riding a BMW S1000RR and of course, he's switched to Aprilia in 2016. Tamburini took the place of reigning STK1000 champ Lorenzo Savadori, who now races in World Superbike of course. Hopefully for Tamburini, he doesn't repeat the dreadful start he had from pole at Imola in Italy earlier in the year.
Marco Faccani rolls off third. Faccani is the 2014 Superstock 600 champion. Faccani is starting where he finished, in his best career finish, in third. This was at Misano, back in June, and you saw that race report here on 2 Wheelin', oh, in mid July. That just shows how long it has been since these boys have had a chance to race. It is not raining right now like in some of the earlier races. But, that being said, the track is still wet. Raffaele De Rosa, had the fastest time in qualifying, but will start his BMW S1000RR in fourth, for the Althea BMW Racing Team. De Rosa leads the cup standings by five points over Leandro Mercado at the present time.
De Rosa has been handed a penalty on his racing license and had points stripped away from his license for being deemed responsible for that crash at Misano. De Rosa is one row behind where he would have been. Michael Ruben Rinaldi is next, on the first of the aruba.it Ducati Junior Team bikes. Rinaldi is fourth in the Cup standings, but has had two podiums this year already. Starting sixth will be the Pedercini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX10R #11, ridden by Jeremy Guarnoni of France. Guarnoni raced to victory at his home race at Magny Cours, at the end of last year, aboard a Yamaha YZF R1.
Guarnoni has the same manager as riders such as Jules Cluzel in World Supersport, Fabio Quartararo in Moto3, and Loris Baz, in MotoGP. Next up, is the sister aruba.it Junior Team Ducati, and a chap we need to look out for. It is Leandro Mercado, rolling off in seventh place. Mercado is second in points right now. He's five points behind Raffaele De Rosa. Mercado was given a warning by the race stewards after his incident last time out Misano, because in his anger at De Rosa for taking him out, he tried to stop De Rosa from restarting his motorcycle and rejoining the race. Talk about tempers flaring! Ricardo Russo is FINALLY back in action after breaking his leg in a crash at Assen after starting on pole, in the rain, similar to conditions we have here at the Lausitzring.
Sadly, his Pata Yamaha Stock Team team mate, Florian Marino is not back on the grid, after also suffering injuries at the Assen round. Marino will likely race at his home round in France at Magny Cours. Folks, that race, is coming up this coming weekend. So, we will bring it to you as soon as possible, here, on 2 Wheelin'. Stay tuned. Kawasaki, Aprilia, Ducati, and BMW, are four makes in the top four. Ninth on the grid is Alessandro Andreozzi. Andreozzi has WSBK experience having raced as a wildcard in 2014 at Laguna Seca. Andreozzi is racing a different bike today. He is now on the SK Racing Team by Barni Ducati Panigale R.
Andreozzi was in a real pickle at Assen, because he crashed two times in that race if you remember. Assen, was the race for STK1000 that was a demolition derby more than anything else. Completing the top ten, it is Andrea Mantovani of Italy, riding the Guandalini Racing Yamaha YZF R1. The amazing thing about Mantovani is, he's gone unnoticed, but sits fifth in the championship points standings for STK1000. Kudos! He is one of two riders in the top seven in the cup to not have had a podium finish this season. The other, being Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Mantovani has finished and scored points in all five STK1000 races so far this year. Row four is completed by two more Italians. Federico Sandi on the #15 Berclaz by MotoX Racing Yamaha YZF R1, and Luca Salvadori, another wildcard, on the #123 Team Motozoo by MotoX Racing Yamaha YZF R1. So, a satellite bike, to Sandi on the Berclaz racer, if you will. Faccani, Tamburini, and Razgatlioglu, are the top three. We are set to race here in Germany.
Luca Vitali of Italy, riding the #70 Team 2R Racing BMW S1000RR, should have started from 18th. But, he has incurred an engine penalty, and will start from pit lane. He will be released five seconds after the green light in the lane, comes on. He exceeded the allocation of engines he could use for the season. He broke through three engines (the allocated number), and used a fourth, in Friday's Free Practice 1. We have another wildcard rider here. It is Bobby Fong from the United States, and he raced very well in the MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and is making an appearance in this race, at the Lausitzring.
Vitali is last on the grid but starting from the pit lane. We have a smaller field than usual for this STK1000 race. 32 bikes and riders will take the start. The weather conditions as we get set for a start have changed just slightly with the air temperature going up two degrees to 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit). 31 riders, minus Mr. Vitali who starts in the pit lane, will need to get through this first corner. How well will that work? It's 7-10 fewer bikes than we have seen in other STK1000 races this year. Luca Vitale was the rider involved in the same crash as Florian Marino at Assen. Vitale ran over Marino in that incident.
One rider, has been coasting on track with his hand in the air. Let's hope whoever it is, won't have to call it game over before the race begins. We look at STK1000 points. It's a narrow spread between the top four in the Cup. Raffaele De Rosa leads on 82 points, only five ahead of Leandro Mercado on 77. Kevin Calia is 16 points behind De Rosa, on 66 markers, and in fourth, it is Michael Ruben Rinaldi on 53 points, 29 points out of the lead. Oh dear. Someone has crashed on the way into turn 12 on the warmup lap. Rob Hartog on the #47 Team Hartog-Jenik Against Cancer Kawasaki ZX10R, has fallen down. Hartog should have started on row seven behind Bobby Fong and Bryan Staring, making his return to STK1000.
Staring is Bobby Fong's team mate for this race. It will be a challenging opening corner for everyone. We play the game of "how many riders get through the first corner?" again. Will they get through cleanly, or will some riders fall down, like dominoes? Vitale is in the lane for his penalty as we get set for a start. STK1000 in Deutschland, is ready. Red lights on. Red lights out! Away we go! Toprak Razgatlioglu and Roberto Tamburini get the hole shots here. Rinaldi is up the inside and Leandro Mercado is also pushing ahead right away. Leandro Mercado is up to second and Raffaele De Rosa passes for third!
Marco Facani is trying to get around Raffaele De Rosa. This is Leandro Mercado's team mate, and Mercado of course, is De Rosa's closest rival for the championship. Toprak Razgatlioglu runs wide, and Leandro Mercado says, "muchos gracias" and heads to the lead. Michael Ruben Rinaldi could make it a 1-2 for the Aruba Ducati junior team. Razgatlioglu runs wide struggling for grip, making it a 1-2 for Aruba Ducati. Someone has crashed. Marshals and flags appear. Marco Faccani is giving Raffaele De Rosa a real fit. Ricardo Russo is also moving up fast on his return to the series after being out due to injury.
Oh dear! One Aruba Ducati, has gone down! Poor old Michael Ruben Rinaldi has crashed out of second place! Leandro Mercado leads this race. We still need to see who else crashed. Someone else is down in turn nine. Mercado leads practically by a country mile. He's got 4.2 seconds over his closest pursuer. Most of these boys have to keep their motorcycles upright, whereas the Ducati riders can lean a bit onto the side of the tire. Ricardo Russo is chasing Raffaele De Rosa. But De Rosa has to catch up to Leandro Mercado, because Mercado is checking out. Marco Faccani passes Ricardo Russo for third.
Faccani is catching De Rosa as we speak, as Eric Vionnet of Switzerland has crashed out. Game over for Vionnet and the #51 Motos Vionnet BMW S1000RR. Leandro Mercado is leading this race, ladies and gentlemen, by nearly ten seconds! He's in another zip code right now, as we are working lap two. Faccani is holding off De Rosa, and meanwhile, Bryan Staring is passing Riccardo Russo! A great run for Staring on the #67 Agro-on-Benjan Kawasaki ZX10R.
Like Russo, this is Staring's return to competition. Staring snapped his right leg in half, just before the race at Imola, in a horrid motocross accident. Staring started 19th and is up to fourth! He used to race in MotoGP, so, he knows his way around a racing motorcycle. Mercado has a comfortable lead and sets fastest lap of the race so far at 2:00.701. Three wide for Staring, De Rosa, and Russo! Staring says, "see ya!" and sweeps around the BMW and the Yamaha! Staring's race is in pure contrast to Toprak Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu looks like a moving chicane. He's not riding with as much confidence as usual.
Why is Toprak a moving chicane? He cannot get used to these conditions. Razgatlioglu cannot find the traction on his Kawasaki. He's being pursued by Sebastien Suchet on the #3 bike, which is another Berclaz Racing by MotoX Racing Yamaha YZF R1. Someone cut the chicane at turn one, and had to go up on the banking of the oval to rejoin the raceway at turn five. Bryan Staring, if you recall, was a former MotoGP racer with Gresini Honda, in the Claiming Rules Teams bikes section, team mates, with Alvaro Bautista. The Benjan team Staring rides for is Dutch. They are based just outside Rotterdam, Holland. Ricardo Russo now runs fourth.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi is back up and running, but he languishes way down in 29th spot. Rinaldi had a bad tumble out of second place on the opening lap, as we watch in replay. Rinaldi has damaged the fairing on the Ducati and has lost one of the foot pegs as well. Rinaldi has had many accidents and this is the difference in performance between he, and his leading team mate, Leandro Mercado, who has run very consistently all year. Raffaele De Rosa has fallen to fifth and this would give Mercado a nine point lead in the cup championship table. Raffaele De Rosa needs to regroup here.
Dorna has just announced that the FIM CEV European Superbike championship will be discontinued for 2017. So, that opens doors for teams in that series, to cross over in the STK1000 class for next year. This is a good step, to expand the depth of the field for this division. This will deepen the field and bring more good riders to the series. Revised points as they run. Leandro Mercado would take the Cup lead by nine points, from Raffaele De Rosa, and lead 102 points to 93 points, This nine point gap would be the battle for the title. Third place Kevin Calia would be 30 markers back on 72 points and in fourth, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, would be 49 points in-arrears.
Mercado has 15.6 seconds in hand over his rivals! Recall, that the Saturday World Superbike race, won by Chaz Davies, also looked like this, when yours truly blogged about it this past Friday. Marco Facani is second. Bryan Staring is next. His future may see him returning to race motorcycles in his native Australia, next year. Luca Salvadori has also moved ahead of Roberto Tamburini. Tamburini started at the front, but is going backwards. Rounding out the top ten places are Jeremy Guarnoni, Sebastien Suchet, and Kevin Calia. Fabio Massei on the #43 Team Trasimeno Yamaha YZF R1 is next, in eleventh. Toprak Razgatlioglu has fallen down to 12th. Luca Vitali, has shot through the field after starting from pit lane with his five second penalty.
Vitali is up to 13th. Completing the top fifteen, it is Toni Finsterbusch of Germany on the #9 BCC Racing Team Kawasaki ZX10R, and also, Bobby Fong, from MotoAmerica, again, running on the #50 bike which is a sister Agro-On-Benjan Kawasaki to the one ridden by Bryan Staring. Fong hails from Stockton, California. Fong has made up five places from where he started, moving from 20th to 15th. Jeremy Guarnoni moves past Roberto "Tambu" Tamburini, who we have seen a lot of today. Toprak Razgatlioglu tumbles down the order. He has had a bad race.
Razgatlioglu became the first Turkish rider in eleven years to start from pole in STK1000. The last Turkish born rider to do so was Kenan Sofuoglu, in 2005. Game over for Toprak Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu crashed in the chicane at turn 12. Our leader, Leandro Mercado approaches that section of the speedway right now. More drama! Marco Faccani tumbles in the gravel after ditching his Ducati Panigale R in a big way! A common problem for motorcycle racers, happened to Faccani. The front end of the bike folded, and washed away, and he was down and out. Thud! Game over. We saw the same problem in World Superbike for riders like Jonathan Rea, Tom Sykes, and Nicky Hayden.
The front end folds away, and there's nothing a rider can do except hold on. Bryan Staring is up to second. He is not racing Leandro Mercado. He's racing the chaps behind him, like Russo, De Rosa, and Salvadori. Staring is eyeing racing in Australia. But, he may not need to go back "down under" if he gets a good finish today. Someone could give him a ride in STK1000 again. Marco Faccani, in his wreck, did exactly what you should do if you tumble off a motorcycle, tucking into a recovery position, and he did lose his helmet visor, but walk away without a scratch.
Same story at the front. Leandro Mercado, the Argentinian has left the competition for dead here in Germany. Another wreck. It's another of the Pedercini Kawasaki bikes, that has crashed. #93, in the hands of Italian Roberto Mercandelli. Game over for Roberto. Behind Staring and Russo it is Luca Salvadori, and he is followed by a bunch of riders. But, a major development in the cup standings is that Raffaele De Rosa, the BMW rider, has fallen way down the order. De Rosa is sixth. But he has his hands full with riders like Sebastien Suchet, Kevin Calia, Roberto Tamburini, Fabio Massei and others.
De Rosa would only muster a tenth place. Someone else has gone off the road, or has crashed out. Sebastien Suchet has moved around De Rosa and now, Kevin Calia wants to make a move. Leandro Mercado, the man is just on a Sunday cruise. De Rosa has fallen like a stone. Does De Rosa have a bad tire combination? Does he have the wrong setup on his BMW? Mercado has to be snickering, saying, "tisk tisk, Raffaele", for taking him out at Misano, three months ago. Mercado comes up to lap his team mate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi. Kevin Calia has passed De Rosa. Raffaele De Rosa has fallen down to eighth place. Eric Vionnet moves out of the way of Bryan Staring and Ricardo Russo as they continue their battle.
Vionnet is down in 27th after an earlier off course excursion. Raffaele De Rosa came into this race eight points up on his rivals. But, after this one, he will be a dozen points behind, dropping to second. But, it could get worse for the BMW rider, because Roberto Tamburini, his countryman, wants by him. Fabio Massei and Luca Vitali, also Italians, are gaining on De Rosa. Oh deary me. De Rosa's race may be going pear shaped. After starting in the pit lane, Luca Vitali has moved up to tenth! Points as they run, show De Rosa, now second, 13 points behind Mercado, 102-89. Roberto Tamburini wanted to move on De Rosa, and at the last second, Raffaele slams the door in his face.
Now, Luca Vitale passes Roberto Tamburini. Oh man! Can this get any closer in mid pack in STK1000? I don't know. Luca Vitali is ninth, and now is right behind De Rosa. Vitali and De Rosa nearly touch. Roberto Tamburini and Fabio Massei, their fellow Italians, have a grandstand seat for all this. De Rosa is now 12 points behind Mercado. Kevin Calia is sixth in the race, third in the cup, 26 points behind Mercado, on 76 markers. Vitali wants to go inside, but the track is slick, and these blokes to quote WSBK commenator Greg Haines, are "walking on eggshells". Mercado sets one fast lap after another.
De Rosa seems to have lost confidence in his tires and in his motorcycle. Mercado, meanwhile resets fastest lap at 1:58.386. Mercado has a 25 second lead. Jeremy Guarnoni has taken fourth from Luca Salvadori. Check that. Guarnoni did not make the pass. Ugh! Michael Ruben Rinaldi has crashed, again. Talk about your pear shaped race. De Rosa has seen it, and so has Rinaldi. Leandro Mercado is told by his team to slow down. Do you think he'll heed that advice? I doubt it. The second you ease off, you can start making mistakes. It is the last lap of Superstock 1000 here at the Lausitzring in Germany.
The question now is, will Ricardo Russo be able to pass Bryan Staring for second place? Another fast lap for Mercado. 1:58.272. Jeremy Guarnoni has passed Luca Salvadori. Raffaele De Rosa is stuck in ninth, again, trailing Sebastien Suchet. Roberto Tamburini rounds out the top ten. To complete the top fifteen, we have Fabio Massei, Wayne Tessels, Alessandro Andreozzi, Tony Finsterbusch, and a shout out to Michael Mazzina in 15th, who is subbing for Florian Marino. He has just gone into the points paying positions. We continue down the order to find Bobby Fong, Marc Moser, Luca Oppedisano, Federico Sanchioni, Andrea Tucci, Julian Puffe, Bryan Leu, Francesco Cavalli, and Federico D'Annunzio.
Most of these riders just mentioned, failed to finish. The action isn't done, on this final lap. Tamburini passes De Rosa. Raffaele De Rosa is down to ninth spot. Leandro Mercado dominates this race, like you can't imagine! He wins, here in Germany, at the Lausitzring!
Superstock 1000 Race: #36 Leandro Mercado ARG. Ducati Panigale R
Mercado is 25 seconds ahead of second place. Bryan Staring, was considering hanging up his helmet and going back to Australia, when he came to this race. But now, he finishes second! Ricardo Russo completes the podium, coming home third. Sebastien Suchet has passed both Luca Vitali and Roberto Tamburini, and will finish seventh. Raffaele De Rosa completes the top ten. Bobby Fong just misses out on a point! Wow. Mercado has won this race in a big way. Nice guys, finish first, sometimes. He wins his sixth STK1000 race and his third of the season, scoring his fourth podium.
How awesome for Bryan Staring to finish second! A great race for Superstock 1000 in Germany! Only two more races left in the cup. The next one, is actually, this weekend in France at Magny Cours at the Circuit de Nevers. It is the penultimate race of the Superstock 1000 season. Incidentally, Mercado was 21.7 seconds ahead of everyone else. Leandro Mercado is leading the points, and Raffaele De Rosa, will surely be playing catch up, going into this weekend's action in France.
Stay tuned, for the race from France, coming soon, here on 2 Wheelin'. So long, for now.
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