Race two from Qatar (the finale of the 2016 FIM World Superbike season), is set to commence at Losail Circuit in Doha, Qatar.
Twenty five down, one to go. Race one yesterday may have been won by Jonathan Rea. But there is still lots up for grabs as we set off in race two on Sunday night. With Jonathan Rea clinching the title, all eyes will be on the head to head battle for second, between Chaz Davies for Ducati, and Rea's Kawasaki team mate, Tom Sykes. Losail is one of only a handful of tracks that, at one stage or another has hosted the first, and the last rounds of the World Superbike season. The other two venues to hold that distinction are Jerez in Spain and Phillip Island in Australia. This track is as flat as a pancake, and the second longest in length on the 2016 calendar, after the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
Can Nicky Hayden win tonight's race and grab away fourth from Michael van der Mark? We saw Yamaha back on the podium in Saturday's race. Jonathan Rea is on nine wins with Chaz Davies on ten won this year. Race two, is... next!
It is half past 8PM local time, and we are set to race for the final time in 2016, under the lights, here in Qatar. There is enough electricity in the floodlights here at Losail, to power 3,000 homes. This is the 26th and last race of the season. Let us have a look at current weather conditions before the race begins. We will check them again, just as the riders are on their formation lap to head to the starting grid. Currently the air temperature is 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit), and the track temperature is a shade above that at 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit). Track temperatures are continuing to drop as we get into the evening hours.
As you get closer to 10PM, the track develops a slimy surface. So, hopefully, we can get this race in, in a 45 minute window and finish by oh, a quarter to ten. Jonathan Rea has become just the fourth rider in WSBK history to win back to back championships. Only Fred Merkel, Doug Polen, and Carl Fogarty, have done it before him. Can Chaz Davies become the first rider since Troy Bayliss (a decade ago in 2006), to win three successive doubles? Saeed Al Sulaiti has one more opportunity to score at least a point in his home race in Qatar.
After crashing yesterday and sitting out race one, Poland's Pawel Szkopek will be starting the finale. Jonathan Rea is indeed the 2016 FIM World Superbike Champion. Rea goes out tonight, on a relatively different motorcycle than he had in last night's competition. Kawasaki is developing parts for 2017. Rea wants to tie Chaz Davies for number of race wins this year. Nine for Rea, and ten for Davies is what the tally reads so far. Everyone is getting towards the end of their engine allocation for the year. Davies can toggle between any engine except for one of the seven he's got. So, he has six engines available even in the finale, not that you'd change engines on the motorcycle during the race, because that would be:
A. silly
B. against the rules
Davies flew in the evening warmup session. Unless something really dramatic happens, don't look for Chaz Davies to be beaten in the race in a fair fight. He's got the best bike on the grid tonight. But, as they say, to finish first, first you must finish. Davies may win the race. If Tom Sykes finishes third or worse, Chaz Davies retains second in the points standings. If Sykes is second, even if Davies goes on to win this race, Sykes will be runner up in points behind team mate, and champ, Jonathan Rea. So, pretty simple points equations going into the finale, as compared to the permutations from race one last night.
Sylvain Guintoli finally brought Yamaha to the podium, after they came back to race in World Superbike this year. We do not know where he will land next year. Two years ago in 2014, Guintoli rode for Aprilia, did the double victory, and won the championship in Qatar. Yamaha has a new exhaust system on the YZF R1. That could be one reason for their major performance improvement this weekend. Guintoli had injuries earlier in the year. But, the Yamaha is surely improving. Progress is being made on that bike, as they passed both the Honda's and Kawasaki's on the one kilometer straightaway on this track.
Pedercini riders Saeed Al Sulaiti and Leon Haslam have done well. Anthony West, was the rider to give Pedercini their best WSBK 2016 finish, coming home fifth in Malaysia. Tom Sykes has a different engine allocation altogether. Four of them have been ruled out. But, he can toggle between his last three motors (5, 6, and 7), for this race. There are no team orders at Kawasaki apparently. But, spare a thought for poor old Davide Giugliano. He is unfit to race tonight because of damage to his right shoulder. So, his 2016 WSBK season, and perhaps, his career as a World Superbike rider, have potentially come to a disappointing end. His Ducati Panigale sits forlornly in it's garage. Only Chaz Davies will represent Aruba Ducati in this race.
We look at Jordi Torres' BMW S1000RR and in the test session at Jerez de la Frontera after the most recent race there, in Spain, Torres was experimenting with new forks on his BMW S1000RR. There are thinner bottoms on these forks, and new fork clamps which attach the fork to the front wheel of the motorcycle. Honda is another team running new forks on their Fireblade motorcycle for Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden. Alex Lowes was in a good fight with Jordi Torres in the Saturday race, but could not find a way by the BMW rider. Kawasaki says there are no official team orders and the riders are to decide how they want to race. The two crew chiefs for Kawasaki have their own idea.
Tom Sykes' crew chief, Marcel Twinke says there's been no team orders all year. Jonathan Rea's crew chief Per Arriba said that if they were in a racing situation, Rea would let Sykes go by. These boys are professionals, and obviously, their chief mechanics each believe that. Kawasaki has won everything and Rea has to give something back to Kawasaki. Sportsmanship is the big deal here. This is in essence, the first race of the 2017 season theoretically. Nicky Hayden is on his eighth motor, so, he will start from pit lane, even though he's qualified second on the grid. He was fifth in yesterday's race. The bikes are on their sighting lap. The whole field will fly by, and the marshals will hold Hayden for an extra five seconds.
The Honda mechanics tried to salvage the bike, but they had to change the motor. Last year, Xavi Fores was supposed to start the second race in Qatar for Aruba Ducati, and got sick, so he couldn't. Rea is the pole man. The pit lane closes 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Jonathan Rea will use this race as a test for next year. Rea is using the single throttlebody on his bike. That's a new rule for next year having a single one instead of a split throttlebody on the fuel injection system. Chaz Davies wins the overall Pirelli Best Lap Award. Tom Sykes has the Tissot Super Pole award.
Alex Lowes rolls off sixth. Xavi Fores is seventh. Eighth is Lorenzo Savadori. Michael van der Mark is ninth. Jordi Torres rounds out the top ten. Twelfth is his team mate, Raffaele De Rosa. 11th is Leon Camier. Camier has been an impressive rider this whole season. Josh Brookes rolls off 13th. MV Agusta has improved greatly since their first season in WSBK in 2014 when Claudio Corti was their main rider. 14th on the grid is Alex De Angelis on the Aprilia. Markus Reiterberger on the third BMW starts 16th. Leon Haslam is 15th. We should see more of the same competitiveness in WSBK next year. Honda should be even stronger with Stefan Bradl coming to the team from MotoGP. Yamaha should be on another level next year, too. Kawasaki and Ducati will remain competitive.
BMW might have a say next year once again, too. Aprilia may have two teams next year with SMR and maybe, Ioda. Eugene Laverty will race for Aprilia in 2017. Karel Abraham makes his final WSBK start in 17th as he moves back to MotoGP with Aspar next year. The tire selection from Pirelli is set. Most guys using the SC0 rear and either the SC1 or SC2 compound front tire. The front tire, will be slightly harder if it's an SC2. Jonathan Rea and Nicky Hayden will both use the SC2. Roman Ramos starts 18th on the grid. Chaz Davies is using the SC1 front. So will Tom Sykes. Saeed Al Sulaiti starts 19th. Luca Scassa rolls of 20th. VFT Racing have had a difficult year.
Fabio Menghi, their original rider only ran at Misano after he was hurt initially injuring his back at Phillip Island during testing. The Alfa 4C safety car takes off. Five minutes to go before we start. Pawel Szkopek is 22nd. Dominic Schmitter starts 23rd. Peter Sebestyen is caboose on the field. Jonathan Rea leads the field from pole. We're ready for the WSBK finale. We are on the warmup lap. Given what we've seen from Chaz Davies, and that Ducati has more straight line speed, the Kawasaki's are going to struggle against Chaz Davies. Can Tom Sykes take the fight to Chaz Davies? We have 17 laps ahead of us. Can Jonathan Rea fight with Chaz Davies when the tires begin to drop off?
We have had very little change in the weather. The ambient temperature is the same and the ground temperature has dropped to 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit). The wind speed is at 3 kilometers an hour which is about 1.5 miles an hour. Nicky Hayden lines up at the end of pit lane and the marshal has the flag to wave him off to start after he takes his penalty. Race 26 of 26. The last go for WSBK in 2016. It's time... now! The race is underway! Another great start and the riders are already going side by side!
Both Lorenzo Savadori and Alex Lowes run off the road! Michael van der Mark also runs wide. Drama at the first turn, but things are clean and green at the sharp end. Tom Sykes is right behind Sylvain Guintoli. So, it is confirmed that Lowes and Savadori both ran wide in turn one. Nicky Hayden joins the race from pit lane. Leon Haslam has had an amazing start! He's gone from 15th on the grid up to seventh already! Chaz Davies passes Jonathan Rea. Xavi Fores has moved from seventh up to fifth. Oh dear! Jonathan Rea, the two-time world champion, is off the road!
There's dust, or smoke, or something, at turn one. Rea is now sinking like a stone! The second place battle is Yamaha vs. Kawasaki. It's Sylvain Guintoli vs. Tom Sykes. Rea has rejoined the race down in 13th spot. Davies has pulled out to an 8/10ths of a second lead. Xavi Fores has made his way to fourth spot. Leon Haslam has moved to fifth! Raffaele De Rosa is ahead of him in fifth on the top BMW. We saw De Rosa win the European Superstock 1000 championship here on 2 Wheelin'. He's a wheel man and can definitely ride a motorcycle. De Rosa ran in place of Markus Reiterberger at Laguna Seca, and this outing for him in Qatar is a gift for winning the Stock 1000 crown.
Tom Sykes is up to second. Can he reel in Davies? Sykes tries to pass Guintoli and almost has it, but runs a bit too deep into the corner. Davies sets fastest lap of the race so far at 1:57.534. If Guintoli can beat Sykes, that's the best thing to happen to Chaz Davies so he can secure second in the championship. Xavi Fores is looking for his second podium of the year. He is the 2014 champion in the IDM, the German Superbike championship. The job for Jonathan Rea now, is to fight his way up through the field to get back into a competitive place. Davies, meanwhile, resets fastest lap, taking it to 1:57.476. Rea is in the middle of a BMW sandwich at the moment, between Josh Brookes and Markus Reiterberger.
Raffaele De Rosa is the top BMW for Althea in fourth, racing Leon Haslam. Alex De Angelis runs seventh on the Aprilia. Jordi Torres is eight on another of the Althea BMW's. In the meantime, Michael van der Mark is catching Leon Camier. We come to the corner where Camier wrecked the MV in race one. Chaz Davies has a 1.7 second lead over Tom Sykes. As the championship stands at the moment in the battle for second, Sykes is ahead of Davies by just two points. 447-445. Rea is champ on 486 markers. Davies is more keen to finish the race with another win, than to finish second in the championship. De Rosa tries Haslam again in the braking zone. No dice.
Davies lowers fastest lap again, to 1:57.413. One other contrast between Rea and Sykes is that Sykes carries a larger battery in the back of the bike to power it up, whereas Rea carries a smaller one, to have less inertia and less moving parts, whereas more inertia is what Sykes likes to ride with. The battery is stored just behind the seat. Davies backs the bike into the left hand turn. Oh dear. We see some contact between De Rosa and Haslam. The two of them were side by side through turn five. Haslam has easily lost two or three spots after that kerfuffle. He has dropped down to eighth place.
He is behind De Angelis and Torres. Torres moves by De Angelis on the inside.
Someone loses their motorcycle into turn 14. Josh Brookes ditches the BMW. Jonathan Rea has to be careful to avoid a dust up with Michael van der Mark as well. Michael van der Mark and Jonathan Rea have made a pass on Leon Camier. Rea makes the pass on van der Mark in the Dutchman's final ride for Honda. Rea also looks to pass Leon Haslam on a similar Kawasaki ZX10R. The Double R version of that bike will be racing next year. Look for the Kawsaki ZX10RR in 2017. A battle forms between two of the BMW's. Jordi Torres is closing on Raffaele De Rosa. How ironic. Torres needs to pass De Rosa, who is using Torres' spare S1000RR in this race.
Markus Reiterberger is down in 13th. But, Torres, I guarantee you, following his spare bike, with De Rosa in the seat, is saying, "dude! Give me back my other bike! I've had enough of this!" Torres shoots past De Rosa and gets some revenge. Alex De Angelis on the Aprilia will try getting by Leon Haslam. De Angelis has run into the Pedercini Kawasaki earlier this year and no doubt has memories. That was at Donington Park in England, back in May, with Anthony West on the motorcycle as opposed to it's current rider, Leon Haslam, son of former 500cc Grand Prix racer "Rocket" Ron Haslam.
We know that both the Aprilia RSV4 and the BMW S1000RR are fantastically quick down the straightaways compared to some of the other bikes in this field. Saeed Al Sulaiti, game over! His bike is on fire! The Qatari rider did not want to go out of his home race and he is fuming, kicking the gravel. Al Sulatiti was just about in the points when his engine absolutely and comprehensively went ka-blammo. He's OK. But he's lit up every ounce of oil in the crankcase. There's oil down on the road and the marshals wisely decide to red flag this race.
We're halfway home and this race takes another twist. Chaz Davies has a three second lead and it will disappear. We will go back to the end of the last full lap. But this race will maintain what it is. We could perhaps run to 2/3rds distance, to lap 11. The pit crews can make changes. Jonathan Rea jumps off the bike and he is perturbed that it isn't running well. There will be a quick start procedure, and we will have a ten lap sprint to the finish of this one according to the marshals from Dorna and the FIM. Rea will get his bike fixed and get new tires. Saeed Al Sulaiti was hoping to get a single point for 15th place, but that will not happen.
The sprockets on the change can be changed. But the gear ratios are stock and set. Fuel goes into the Ducati for Chaz Davies. Michael Laverty is the track spotter for Davies who is a former MotoGP rider and current British Superbike Championship rider. Rea admitted that he went off the track in Laguna Seca in error. Track crews are still cleaning up the oil from Al Sulaiti's blown motor. Red flags are difficult for the riders to refocus for a shortened race. We are yet to be given a time frame for when this race will restart.
We will restart this race in ten minutes, and run for a duration of ten laps. Last minute preparations are going on with changing allowable parts on the bikes. Don't forget that now, Nicky Hayden will start on the grid, and he started this race originally, from the pit lane. The differences in corner speed and where the Kawasaki and the Ducati have the speed in the corners, as well as riding styles between riders such as Tom Sykes, Chaz Davies, and Jonathan Rea, has been a major talking point for this whole season, and in Qatar for the finale it is no exception. Tom Sykes has continued to have recurring rear brake issues this weekend in Qatar, as he has throughout the season.
Sykes has had to use bottles of water to cool the brake so it wouldn't seize up and would release. We have five minutes before pit lane opens, and the pit will be open for one minute and one minute only. We watch Ioda Aprilia and their mechanics at work. The whole team basically moved across from MotoGP into World Superbike. Leon Haslam has been running well on his one round deal with Pedercini. The only riders with anything to lose as we get close to a finish in Qatar this evening are Chaz Davies and Tom Sykes. They want second in the championship, or, another win. We've got a ten lap sprint, coming up.
Anything can happen now. We are out on the next sighting lap to form up on the grid. It is a ten lap shootout. It is going to be very unpredictable. What can Nicky Hayden do? He's up to 15th. Roman Ramos is 16th. Leon Camier is without a motorcycle. He may not restart this race. Ah. Camier has the bike, and is back on track. Camier may have to start at the back of the grid. We have another race start. It is now 20 minutes to 10PM local time. Tough luck for Leon Camier. He will start this race from the back of the grid.
Here we go. A ten lap sprint for all the marbles. Davies, Sykes, and Guintoli on the front row. Red lights on. Red lights, out! Away we go! Chaz Davies makes a great start. Sykes goes inside and Rea and Leon Haslam both are making their moves right now. Rea is struggling off the line. Leon Haslam has moved his way up to third place. Rea gets sat up big time! Davies has the lead over Sykes and Haslam. Ducati, Kawasaki, Kawasaki. Leon Camier has made his way to 15th. Alex De Angelis on the Aprilia, it could be game over for him. Rea is now running sixth. Rea is now in hot pursuit of Sylvain Guintoli.
Raffaele De Rosa runs behind these two on the BMW. It can now be confirmed. Alex De Angelis. Out of race. Rea passes Sylvain Guintoli for fifth. No jump starts. Use the pace well through the race. This is a real opportunity for Pedercini to finish on the podium. Xavi Fores runs wide and allows both Kawasaki's to move through. Haslam passes Rea. Pedercini Kawasaki vs. factory Kawasaki. Rea re-passes Haslam into the next corner. Pedercini has never finished on the podium. They had a fourth place, 16 years ago, at Phillip Island when team owner Lucio Pedercini was a rider himself, back in the year 2000.
Chaz Davies has Tom Sykes within striking distance. Davies is going to get a tough run for his money here. Jonathan Rea sets fastest lap of the race at 1:56.979. A new lap record. Chaz Davies is starting to open a gap. New fast lap as Jonathan Rea brings it down to 1:56.974. Five thousandths of a second faster! Sylvain Guintoli runs wide fending off the attack by Leon Haslam. Sykes is holding off Jonathan Rea and not letting him loose to go after Chaz Davies. The points gap between Sykes and Davies for second and third is down to two. 447-445. Davies now leads by 1.2 seconds with just six laps left in the 2016 season.
Guintoli has passed Haslam. Behind them it's Raffaele De Rosa and Xavi Fores. Jordi Torres makes a move on Michael van der Mark. Nicky Hayden completes the top ten. Rea dives inside Sykes into turn ten. Rea makes the pass and makes it stick. Can Jonathan Rea take the fight to Chaz Davies and go for the win? As it stands now, Chaz Davies will be second in the championship two points ahead of Tom Sykes in third. Rea will go after Davies for the win. Rea is clsoing up. He's just a second behind Davies now. Raffaele De Rosa is still trying to get around Leon Haslam. Sylvain Guintoli won't be on the podium, but he'll still have a good finish.
Nicky Hayden is having a good run in ninth place, just ahead of his Ten Kate Honda team mate, Michael van der Mark, who of course is headed for Yamaha in 2017. Jonathan Rea has yet to win at only two tracks on the current WSBK calendar. Here in Qatar, and, at Jerez de la Frontera, in Spain. Rea has bridged the gap to Davies, running three tenths faster than the Ducati. Davies and Rea are battling. Who finishes runner up if Rea passes Davies? Davies needs to win to finish second in points. Rea sets a new fastest lap at 1:56.999. Check that. It's Davies' personal best lap. Jordi Torres passes Raffaele De Rosa for sixth.
Davies and Rea continue their battle into the final lap. It is now the last lap of the 2016 season. Rea has given up lots of ground to Chaz Davies. Rea is going to let Sykes through on the last lap. Karel Abraham has just crashed out of his last WSBK race before returning to MotoGP in 2017. Davies will take his 11th race win of 2016! Davies will finish second in the championship more or less. Tom Sykes is not making an effort to make any moves. It looks like Kawasaki will stage a photo finish for second. Rea allows Sykes through, as Chaz Davies wins 11 races this year!
World Superbike Race 2: #7 Chaz Davies GBR. Ducati 1199 Panigale R
A fabulous race to end the 2016 season. Sykes finishes second in the championship. Leon Haslam has had a great race tonight on the Pedercini bike, finishing fifth. What a great race! ...And so, the 2016 FIM World Superbike season, comes to an end. This is Chaz Davies' seventh double. He is level with Raymond Roche, the Frenchman, who was the first ever world champ for Ducati in 1990. Have Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea made up for now? Maybe. But, we'll be back soon, in February of 2017, to start it all again at Phillip Island in Australia.
Jonathan Rea has set fastest lap in this race. Chaz Davies wins the Pirelli Best Lap award with ten successive fastest race laps. Maybe Rea and Sykes have made up for the time being. Eleven race wins for Chaz Davies from 26 races. Nine for Jonathan Rea, and five for Tom Sykes. Plus, one, for Nicky Hayden in Malaysia. Chaz Davies has pulled off three doubles in a row, in ten years. Wow! Drama on the podium with the flowers and trophies. No Prosecco on the podium here in Qatar. Jonathan Rea becomes the tenth British rider to win a championship. He is the first back-to-back champion since the turn of the new millennium, and only the the fourth championship winning rider to defend a title.
What a year it has been. Keep your engines running. 2017 is coming, soon. But, your 2016, back-to-back champion is Jonathan Rea. Chaz Davies won 11 races. Kawasaki has won the manufacturer's championship for a second straight year. That's it. What a way to end a fabulous year of racing. We had everything you could have wished for in a fabulous finale. We'll keep you updated through the off season, and we will be racing again in 2017 at Phillip Island in Australia at the end of February. Thanks for joining us for World Superbike, here on 2 Wheelin'. We'll see you, next year. So long, everyone.
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