We have reached the finale of the 2016 FIM World Superbike season, under the lights, at the Losail circuit in Doha, Qatar. For the second time in three years, we will see this race weekend, be a shootout for the title. The World Superbike Championship first raced here back in 2005. They've raced at night, under the lights, since 2014, when Sylvain Guintoli won the championship for Aprilia. The title fight is of course between Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes, Kawasaki team mates. Rea could easily wrap up the championship in the first race. The track on the Arabian peninsula, is 5.3 kilometers (3.3 miles) long. There is no elevation change. The circuit is as flat as a pancake.
Aprilia has a good record here, having won the last four races here in the Qatari desert. Pause, take a deep breath, and, here we go. This is the 13th and final round of the 2016 FIM World Superbike season. Let's have a look at the weather. As night falls in Qatar the air temperature is 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit), with the track temperature just two degrees warmer at 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). It is 7:15 P.M. local time, and the temperatures are cooling off at the moment. 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of World Superbike, since it began back in 1988. Only three riders have ever been back to back world champions in WSBK. Fred Merkel from the United States, won back-to-back titles in 1988 and '89. His fellow American, Doug Polen, did so in 1991 and '92. Carl Fogarty won in 1998 and '99.
Jonathan Rea could be the first rider to accomplish the feat of back to back world championships, since the turn of the new millennium. Tom Sykes could also be the first rider to win back to back championships for Kawasaki. Another American rider, Scott Russell, won the championship on a Kawasaki, in 1993. Rea currently holds a 48 point lead over Tom Sykes. Rea starts from pole, and the only way he will be beaten is if Tom Sykes somehow manages to win both races, with Jonathan Rea scoring no more than a single point, for a single, 15th place finish. That seems highly unlikely to occur.
Rea wants to be the ninth rider in history to win the final race and win the title. However, as of late there's been no stopping his rival Chaz Davies on the Ducati. Davies is keen to finish the 2016 season with a lot of race wins, to build momentum through the winter, looking ahead to 2017. Davies could very likely win the most races this year, without winning the championship. It could look a lot like 2014, because that year, Tom Sykes and Marco Melandri, won more races than did the eventual world champion, Sylvain Guintoli. Sykes has won 31 times in his career, and five races in 2016. He wants a 20th podium of the season, here in Qatar. 17 laps scheduled for the first race.
Sykes starts fifth on the grid. Michael van der Mark, says farewell to Honda this weekend. It is the last time we will see #60 on a Honda as van der Mark moves to Yamaha for 2017. It's a bittersweet moment as he leaves Ten Kate Honda. We expected to see a lot more from Pata Yamaha this year, but of course, Sylvain Guintoli was injured earlier on in the season. Guintoli fractured his ankle at Imola in Italy and was sidelined for a few races. Alex Lowes also had several injuries with a fractured collarbone, a fractured shoulder, and an ankle injury. The riders are out on their sighting lap at the moment as Jonathan Rea comes out in front of the red Ducati of Davide Giugliano. The question is, will this be the last weekend that we see Davide Giugliano on the grid at a World Superbike race?
Giugliano is one of only 18 riders to start over 100 races in World Superbike, without winning one. Giugliano and Michael van der Mark both celebrated birthdays this past Friday of the race weekend in Qatar. So, Happy Birthday to them both. Will we see a Yamaha on the podium, or will we not? The Yamaha has a straight line speed deficit to the other motorcycles in this field. We do not know where Sylvain Guintoli will land next year. Rumors are swirling that link Guintoli back to Aprilia and have him racing for the Ioda Aprilia squad, next year. Guintoli has been receiving lots of interest from British Superbike, and despite being French, Guintoli does live in England.
The Aprilia's have done well here in the past, but they are surely on the back foot this weekend. Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres gave Aprilia wins here last year. But, their current rider, Lorenzo Savadori, could only muster eighth spot on the starting grid. Alex De Angelis could only manage 15th spot. The permutations are as follows:
If Jonathan Rea finishes this first race on Saturday, scoring at minimum, two points, he is champion no matter what else happens.
If Tom Sykes does not win this race, it's over. Jonathan Rea is guaranteed the championship, no matter what.
If Sykes wins, and Jonathan Rea finishes as low as 14th, Jonathan Rea still earns the championship crown. Sykes has to win, to take the fight into the Sunday race, tomorrow night.
On the sighting lap, we see the bikes throwing flames out the exhaust, both orange, and blue. Anything can happen. Many of the 2017 motorcycles are being prepped for launch. There was an eight hour test session on the Monday after the race at Jerez de la Frontera last time out. Kawasaki will not be able to run split throttle bodies next year. Jonathan Rea earns his second Tissot watch for Super Pole, this year, and the eighth of his career. Rea has thrown down the gauntlet, storming on to pole position, in qualifying.
Will Rea win the title in race one? Rea has only his fourth pole with Kawasaki, ever. He earned them in the opening races of 2015 in Australia and Thailand. Then, he had a long, long, long dry spell only earning poles in France at Magny-Cours, and then, here in Qatar. Nicky Hayden rolls off second. He ran a great lap in qualifying on a qualifying tire. Chaz Davies is another man who has made lightning quick getaways off the line this year. We have a new record to talk about. Jonathan Rea has scored 12 poles this year. That's a new record for the nation's cup, because now, Great Britain has a total of a dozen poles in one season, which has never happened before.
The previous record was 11 for England, tied with the United States. Eleven poles for the U.S.A. in 1991 and 2009. Who were the riders? Doug Polen in '91, and in 2009, it was Ben Spies. Former Moto3 racer Arthur Sissis is here to watch the race tonight. Chaz Davies has won yet another Pirelli Best Lap Award. Chaz Davies could actually win one more race than does Jonathan Rea, this year, should he pull off the victory tonight in one or both races. Kawasaki Industries Deputy Senior Manager Eiko Kirino is here representing KRT in Qatar. It is her first visit to a World Superbike race.
Both of the Yamaha YZF R1's are starting on the second row of the grid, with Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes. Lowes ran faster and outqualified Guintoli last time out at Jerez, for only the first time this season. Tonight, they roll off fourth and sixth respectively. Xavi Fores put his Barni Racing Ducati seventh on the grid. 2014 Evo class champion David Salom comes by to wish Xavi Fores good luck. David Salom has been running and assisting Illia Mykhalchyk in the World Supersport class. Mykhalchyk testing the Team Toth Yamaha YZF R1 World Superbike at Jerez, a few weeks back. Xavi Fores has run very well this weekend in practice.
We are ten minutes away from the start of a 17 lap race. Lorenzo Savadori rolls off eighth. Britain could win it's tenth title. We have seen Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson, James Toseland, and Tom Sykes, as the British riders who have won WSBK championships. Tom Sykes is being assisted by his brother Anthony, and his crew chief Marcel Twinke with choosing what helmet visor to run for this race. Sylvain Guintoli rolls off fourth for Yamaha. Michael van der Mark is ninth. These are his final two races for Honda, as he moves to Yamaha in 2017. van der Mark will be Guintoli's replacement on that team.
Jordi Torres completes the top ten on the Althea BMW S1000RR. He won the first race in Qatar last year, riding for Aprilia. Saeed Al Sulaiti is in his home race here in Qatar. Davide Giugliano rolls off 11th and these might be the last races of his WSBK career. Giugliano has been in a lot of pain as of late. Saeed Al Sulaiti had a day job in the Qatari Special Forces before he began his motorcycle racing career. Leon Camier rolls off in 12th place. Raffaele De Rosa rolls off 13th on the sister BMW S1000RR to Jordi Torres, bike #35. He was covering for the injured Markus Reiterberger at Laguna Seca back in July. But, Althea has entered three BMW S1000RR's here in Qatar
De Rosa hopes to race for Althea full-time next year in a three bike BMW squad in WSBK in 2017. We'll see if that happens. Josh Brookes rolls off in 14th place. Here's the 411 on the tires. Everyone is on the same Pirelli rear tire compound, the SC0 compound. With the front tire, it comes down to rider preference. Most riders on the SC1 front tire with a handful of others on the SC2 front tire, to fit their preference, and their individual riding style. Alex De Angelis rolls off 15th. The Alfa Romeo 4C safety car pulls away, and so, we are five minutes away from the start of race one in Qatar.
In the past, we've seen 13 WSBK titles won in race one of the finale, and 15 in the second race of the weekend. We also welcome back, in 16th place, Leon Haslam. Haslam won the final race of the 2015 season right here in Qatar. Leon Haslam racing for Pedercini Kawasaki this weekend, and the ride is a bit of a gift for finishing second overall in the points for the British Superbike Championship. Haslam has had electrical issues through practice and qualifying with the motorcycle. Markus Reiterberger on the second Althea BMW rolls off 17th. Remember, that team has three bikes in this race.
Back to Leon Haslam for a moment. With the electrical issues on the Pedercini Kawasaki, his opportunity to run in the first free practice was wiped out. Chaz Davies could be the favorite for this first race as we look across the front of the grid. Nicky Hayden is second and he did great on the qualifying tire. Jonathan Rea is on the verge of world championship number two. If Sykes is going to be champion, he needs to win both races, with Rea scoring no more than one 15th place finish for one solitary point.
Karel Abraham is making his final two starts in World Superbike, before returning to MotoGP in 2017. Peter Sebestyen starts caboose on the field. 25 riders and motorcycles will start the two races in the finale of WSBK 2016. Can Jonathan Rea become the first rider to win back-to-back world championships, since Carl Fogarty in 1998 and '99? No rider for Kawasaki has ever won two straight titles. Kawasaki does have three rider's championships. American Scott Russell won the 1993 World Superbike Championship. Tom Sykes did it 20 years later in 2013, and last year in 2015, Jonathan Rea won his first WSBK crown.
Rea has a 48 point lead in the standings over Tom Sykes, 462-414. Jonathan Rea has nothing to lose, but Tom Sykes really has to push like no tomorrow if he wants to win another title. Simple math. If Tom Sykes does not win, Jonathan Rea is the champion. We have another weather update just before the lights go out. 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature. 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature. Jonathan Rea wants to join an illustrious list of riders who have won two championships. Those riders are such legends as Fred Merkel, Doug Polen, Troy Corser, Colin Edwards, James Toseland, and Max Biaggi. Merkel, Polen, and Fogarty have successfully defended their titles.
Only Troy Bayliss and Carl Fogarty have won more titles. Per Arriba, Jonathan Rea's crew chief looks on. A brand new set of starting lights at Losail are going to illuminate to get this race underway. Is Jonathan Rea going to make history? Red lights, on. Red lights, out! Away we go! Brilliant starts for both Jonathan Rea and Nicky Hayden. Everyone gets off the line well, and here comes Chaz Davies, going for the lead already! Nicky Hayden passes Jonathan Rea, and, Tom Sykes is also moving up right from the get go. Tom Sykes needs to fight through to the front and he's working on making a pass on Nicky Hayden.
Rea is looking good for the title at this moment. Chaz Davies out in front, has great race pace. We see that Leon Haslam has also made a great start on the Pedercini Kawasaki. Already, Haslam has made up five places and is up to 11th after starting in 16th. Lorenzo Savadori runs off the road in turn five and rejoins, but gets shuffled down the order. Michael van der Mark has also sunk like a stone and is down to 17th place. Can Tom Sykes get to the front and take the fight to Jonathan Rea? The Kawasaki struggles for top speed down the kilometer long front straight here in Qatar. Ducati was suffering the same troubles, if you recall, earlier in the year.
The two fastest bikes on the straight are not the ZX10R Kawasaki or the 1199 Panigale Ducati. They are the BMW S1000RR and the Aprilia RSV4. Rea is trying to move around Davies for the lead as we head into lap two. Leon Haslam is fighting for eight spot with Jordi Torres right now. Chaz Davies is under pressure from both Jonathan Rea and Nicky Hayden. Can Sylvain Guintoli get through on Tom Sykes? Don't forget, Guintoli won his title here in Qatar, two years ago. Jordi Torres takes a spot away from Alex Lowes. Lorenzo Savadori is fighting through the field after his early problems, getting around Saeed al Sulaiti and Gianluca Vizziello.
Davide Giugliano has dropped like a stone and is 20th in the order. Likewise, Josh Brookes has been off the road and dropped four spots. Sylvain Guintoli is making an inside pass on Tom Sykes, and we have our first fastest lap of race one. Chaz Davies runs a 1:57.371. Meanwhile, Guintoli is on the attack, going inside Tom Sykes and makes a pass for fourth stick, through corner number one. Remember now, Tom Sykes needs to win this race if he's going to take the title from Jonathan Rea. Sykes' title hopes are going even more pear shaped right now. Sykes has fallen 2.5 seconds behind the leaders. Leon Haslam does pass Alex Lowes for eighth.
Michael van der Mark (in his final ride for Honda), has recovered to 11th after being in 19th at the beginning. We'll keep an eye on how the tires are. Karel Abraham, meanwhile, has fallen a few places down the order too. Abraham is back in action in Qatar. He missed the previous races in Jerez after being ill with a high fever. Abraham has run off the road on the second Milwaukee BMW, someplace. Chaz Davies is pushing, and his left foot comes off the foot peg at turn 14. Rea looks to pass down the start/finish straightaway. He thought he'd have a go at Chaz Davies. Close, but no cigar. We are starting lap four of 17.
Rea said the Kawasaki was struggling for top end speed and observed that the Ducati had plenty. Davies' strength is being king of the late brakers, going deep into the corner. Nicky Hayden is trying to catch Jonathan Rea. But, Rea still has a second and a half in hand over the Honda rider. Sylvain Guintoli is opening a gap towards Tom Sykes. Guintoli loves the speedway here in Doha, and has run well here in the past. Alex Lowes passes Leon Haslam for eighth. Alex De Angelis runs tenth. Michael van der Mark is ninth on the sister Ten Kate Honda right now. Let's do a top 15 rundown at the moment.
1. Chaz Davies
2. Jonathan Rea
3. Nicky Hayden
4. Sylvain Guintoli
5. Tom Sykes
6. Xavi Fores
7. Jordi Torres
8. Alex Lowes
9. Leon Haslam
10. Michael van der Mark
11. Alex De Angelis
12. Leon Camier
13. Raffaele De Rosa
14. Roman Ramos
15. Josh Brookes
For some reason, Pawel Szkopek failed to start this race. There was a tech issue for Szkopek after he wrecked the bike in Super Pole. Team Toth couldn't repair it. Game over for Szkopek. Sylvain Guintoli is hot on Nicky Hayden's heels at the moment was we work lap five of 17. Tom Sykes runs fifth, four seconds behind the leader. Something has also gone awry with Alex De Angelis. Both Leon Camier and Raffaele De Rosa have gotten around him. Nicky Hayden is fighting Sylvain Guintoli. Tom Sykes continues to fall behind Guintoli. Alex Lowes is trying to catch Jordi Torres. Tom Sykes is fifth, and as the points stand at this moment, Rea has a 57 point lead on Sykes. Only 25 points remain in race two. So, Rea should secure the championship at the end of this race.
The gap between Guintoli and Sykes is a second and a half. That's insurmountable for Sykes to be able to cleanly pass and then go for the title. Sykes has to keep fighting. Michael van der Mark, in recovery mode, passes Leon Haslam on the Pedercini Kawasaki. Two years ago, Leon Haslam was riding for Honda. Back then, he and Jonathan Rea were team mates at Ten Kate. Behind these two blokes, another good scrap. Leon Camier makes a move on Raffaele De Rosa. Haslam hopes to improve his Kawasaki for the second race. Davies is running a tenth or so faster than is Jonathan Rea.
Chaz Davies leads, but it looks like Tom Sykes is continually losing ground to Sylvain Guintoli on the Yamaha. Ten laps remain. Next lap, will be halfway. Guintoli is going to make his move on Hayden, as we speak, folks! Guintoli does pass Hayden. Don't go to the fridge, folks. This is a good one! Yamaha could score their first podium of the season. The leaders have just lapped Gianluca Vizziello, who is in 24th place. Sylvain Guintoli could be on for his first podium on the Yamaha and his first since Magny-Cours in 2015 when he rode for Honda. The points situation right now sees Rea on 482 points and Sykes, 57 points behind on 425.
Will Jonathan Rea hold on for his second straight World Superbike championship? Tom Sykes is 1.4 seconds behind Nicky Hayden and is seven or so seconds behind the leaders. Rea might very well have the championship in the bag. Eight laps to go. Rea runs 3/10ths of a second behind Davies. There is another good scrap brewing in the midfield. Check that. This is the sharp end. Xavi Fores on the Ducati vs. Jordi Torres on the BMW, and Alex Lowes on the Yamaha. Fores has really stepped up his game. Torres is the best of the three BMW riders in this race. Can Torres make the move on Fores?
Seven laps left as Jonathan Rea closes on Chaz Davies. Rea isn't close enough to make the move. Davies opens his lead a tenth of a second every lap. The Kawasaki and the Ducati make their speed as individual bikes in different ways. But, in comparing lap times, they are on par with each other. The gap from the leaders to Sylvain Guintoli in third is six seconds. Will Chaz Davies win? He's won five of the last six races. Will it be Jonathan Rea? These two are tied on nine wins apiece right now. The gap between Davies and Rea has increased to 8/10ths of a second. The tires begin to fall off in the final third of the race.
Davide Giugliano has gone into the pit lane. His last weekend as a factory Ducati rider, is a sour one. Giugliano will retire from a race for the fifth time this year. He is only the first retirement of this race. Guintoli wants to make a move. The issue is, his Yamaha YZF R1 is better through the corners, but loses steam on the straightaways compared to the other motorcycles. Davies extends his lead to 1.7 seconds. Rea will take the championship and settle for second instead of trying to have a go at Chaz Davies. It has been 11 years since a rider clinched a title by finishing second. Troy Corser was the last one to do it, in 2005, in race one at Imola, riding a Suzuki.
The Aprilia factory riders swap spots. Lorenzo Savadori passes Alex De Angelis. At the end of lap 12, Karel Abraham hits pit lane. So, problems for the Milwaukee BMW rider. Rea is running 10.6 seconds behind Davies. Sykes has not been able to run as consistently at the front as Rea or Davies. There's a huge five bike battle for tenth place. This is Haslam, Camier, De Rosa, Savadori, and De Angelis! Camier took 6/10ths of a second out of Haslam on the previous lap. Haslam is a veteran Superbike racer. But, he does not have the experience and seat time on this particular bike, with the current tires or the current electronics package. Savadori has recovered from being down the order and has now made a pass on De Rosa.
Savadori and De Rosa, are the two latest FIM Superstock 1000 European Cup champions, scrapping with each other. You have heard about De Rosa's efforts, in Stock 1000, from those race reports right here on 2 Wheelin' throughout 2016. Oh no! Sparks fly up the road as Leon Camier crashes out, ditching the MV Agusta! Poor old Leon Camier! He's had a great race weekend here in Qatar so far. But, as the sparks fly, he'll have to play catch up. It's without doubt game over for Camier. This moves Savadori, De Rosa, De Angelis up one place each. Josh Brookes is once again promoted into the points paying positions.
Three laps left in race one. In three laps, Chaz Davies will have won more races than any other rider this season. He will score his tenth victory of 2016. It'll be his first ever win in Qatar. It will be Ducati's first win in Qatar since Troy Bayliss scored the W in 2008. Jonathan Rea will finish second,l three seconds behind Davies, and he'll score a second straight World Superbike title. It's not game over for Leon Camier. He's come back into the race to finish it out. Jonathan Rea will set lots of records. He's the first rider to win two titles for Kawasaki. He will be the tenth British rider to win a World Superbike championship. He'll be the third British rider to win two titles, after Carl Fogarty, and James Toseland.
Rea will also have the first successive championship wins since Carl Fogarty at the end of the 1990s. Sylvain Guintoli and Yamaha will finish on the podium. Nicky Hayden is losing time to Tom Sykes. Sykes is catching Hayden for fourth spot. Guintoli will score Yamaha's first podium in five years. This will be Yamaha's first podium since 2011 when they pulled out of the series for the first time. Marco Melandri scored a podium finish ahead of Eugene Laverty in Portimao, Portugal, that year. Both riders are coming back to WSBK next year. Melandri with Aruba Ducati, and Laverty with Milwaukee Aprilia.
Tom Sykes' chances of winning the championship seem to be fading, as he fights with Nicky Hayden for fourth. Yamaha is on the verge of their first 2016 podium. Sykes' race pace has been held back due to his rear brake sticking. Chaz Davies has been in a class by himself this weekend in Qatar, so far. Davies has won five out of the last six races. Every dry race has been won by him since we came back from the summer break, in Germany, back in September. Hayden will have a good result in fifth. He said that the Q (or, Qualifying), tire, was a tough one to run on.
Hayden will be fifth in the championship. The Rea/Sykes battle has been the team battle we've talked about. Jonathan Rea will defend his World Superbike crown, and joining those names we mentioned earlier, to win two titles. Rea is the best, the most consistent rider in the world. Chaz Davies wins his tenth race of the season!
World Superbike Race 1: #7 Chaz Davies GBR. Ducati 1199 Panigale R
World Superbike Champion: #1 Jonathan Rea GBR. Kawasaki ZX10R
For the first time since the turn of the new millennium, we have a two-time World Superbike champion! Carl Fogarty won the title (his fourth), at the Hockenheimring in Germany, in 1999. Yours truly, has decided, to separate the blog entries for each race. Race two, will take a bit longer. So, stay tuned for coverage of race two, coming up, tomorrow.
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