WorldSBK hits Misano this weekend | Preview/Schedule

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Four – Misano

Leading the Championship into Ducati’s home event, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is sitting pretty with a 17-point lead over his nearest rival, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).

After four wins so far in 2022 and never once finishing off the podium, Bautista also won here for Ducati back in 2019 and took a top six for Honda in 2021. He took his first MotoGP podium at the circuit in 2012 after a last corner showdown with Andrea Dovizioso, whilst he also has podiums and wins from his 250cc days too.

Bautista’s Ducati Team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi always goes well at Misano and will be in the fight for victory, with the home-hero taking two wins last year as well as a second. Could the titanic trio about to become a fighting foursome?

Jonathan Rea is within striking distance of Bautista’s points lead, although Misano wasn’t the kindest to the Ulsterman in 2021. Three third places in 2021 and the start of front-end woes will hope to be a distant memory, as Rea aims for the top step at the track at which he won his first WorldSBK race at in 2009 and has gone on to win eight races at. After winning two last lap fights at Estoril, Rea’s keen to continue fighting hard and taking victories in Italy.

Jonathan Rea

“Misano is always a race I look forward to, for many reasons. It was the scene of my first WorldSBK race win back in 2009, which was very special. It is also more to do with the area around the track. It is an incredibly nice area and I always find some time to go to the beach; more recently with my family and the kids too. They enjoy that. Misano has a cool vibe to race weekend. Also the Italian fans bring something really special to WorldSBK. Now we can look forward to carrying on with our recent momentum. We had a very positive Estoril weekend so the idea is to start with a good vibe, a good feeling, and keep working, step-by step. Misano is possibly one of the real summer races, so it should be quite hot. I am looking to see where we stack up on day one and work from there.”

For team-mate Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Estoril was a solid round as he took a seventh, a sixth and a fourth, the fourth being his joint-best result of 2022.

Alex Lowes

“We made some really good steps forward over the weekend at Estoril. The strongest day was the final day, so we left there feeling quite positive and optimistic about having a good setting on the bike. We were not too far away from the first three, finishing fourth in the last race in Portugal and the way I did the race was really good. My target is to get back on the podium at a racetrack that I really enjoy. Also, my twin brother Sam’s wife is Italian, so it is a second home race for him. I am looking forward to having the family out there this week. I cannot wait to get out there on track. It is important on Friday for us to see if the setting changes we made over the weekend in Estoril work again at Misano; then we are looking good for this next run of European races. That is what we need to work on during FP1 and FP2. Apart from that it is aiming for the podium, enjoying it all and seeing where we end up.”

Reigning World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) looked set for victory at Estoril but was beaten in two last lap fights: the first by the power of Bautista and Ducati in Race 1 and then by his own front-end save on the final lap of the Superpole Race. Still, the opening three rounds of the season all came at tracks where Toprak didn’t win at last year, whilst Misano was where it all began last year with victory in Race 2. Toprak’s always shone at the Italian venue, having been in a battle for victory in Race 2 back in 2019 with Rea, whilst he clinched the STK600 title at the track in 2015 and chases a first win of 2022 this weekend.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“We made some good steps in Estoril, first at the race and also in the test – thanks to the team for making this test, it was good for me and the bike! Now, after training at home for two weeks, I am happy to go to Misano, it is a track I enjoy a lot. Before, the Estoril test was very positive because we improve a lot the rear grip which was a problem in the last round. The team and Yamaha is working to improve the R1, and in the last races I can ride more like myself and it was very close and I enjoyed the races! We take good points for the championship, but now I hope we are fighting for the win again in Misano.”

Toprak’s team-mate Andrea Locatelli is fourth in the standings with eight top five finishes and a podium. He only took three ninth places at Misano last year, whereas this season, he’ll have his sight on the podium.

Andrea Locatelli

“It’s always nice to have a home race in Italy, to see a lot of fans and our friends of the team. I think we can do very well in Misano this weekend! The test in Estoril was a good opportunity for me to ride the bike more, to do many laps to improve the set-up and also the fast lap time. It gave us a lot of data to analyse and the guys have been working to continue to find improvements. I feel very positive about the next races, we arrive ready and the objective is to push to start in a good way on Friday and carry this way of working into the weekend to close the gap to the front group and ultimately to battle for the podium.”

It’s been an encouraging start to the season for Honda as Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and team-mate Xavi Vierge battle hard on the edge of the podium places, now consolidating their top five running. Since Estoril, they’ve both been in Japan testing for the Suzuka 8 Hour in August with Leon Camier in attendance, but now their mind will be focussed on WorldSBK. In contrast to Estoril, both riders have plenty of experience at Misano; Lecuona’s best MotoGP finish was 14th in 2020 and unfortunately, he’s not finished another race at the circuit since. For Vierge, he’s had four top ten finishes in Moto2 at the track, with a best of fourth coming in 2020. Lecuona is one of just two riders to finish in the top ten in every race this year – the other is Bautista, whilst Vierge comes to Misano off the back of a career-best fifth in Race 1 at Estoril. Can Honda conquer in Italy?

Iker Lecuona

“We head to Misano after a great week in Japan where we enjoyed meeting Honda Super GT Drivers during the Suzuka round of the series, before having the chance to get in the saddle and experience that amazing track for ourselves. We were also able to visit the HRC headquarters in Saitama and meet all our colleagues working behind the scenes, something that gave us a real boost and positive vibes. Each time we head out on track, we work to improve the bike, the base, my feeling, the feedback, and each weekend we’ve got gradually closer to the front, improved our pace and are fighting more consistently. So the target remains the same as ever, we’ll work step by step again this time around and see what we can do. This is our first visit to Misano with the CBR, but I like the track and am looking forward to getting back to work.”

Xavi Vierge

“I know the Misano track very well and really like racing there. I love the layout and have some good memories from previous years of competition, so I can’t wait to get there and discover it all over again with the Superbike and see where we can arrive this time. We are working very well as a team and we felt just what it’s like to be part of the Honda family last week, as we visited the HRC factory in Japan. I really enjoyed our days there, which included a visit to a Super GT round where we met the Honda teams racing in the series and of course the pleasure of exploring the iconic Suzuka track during the subsequent test. Now that we’re back in Europe, I hope we can work well in Misano right from Friday and obtain some good results.”

There seemed to be a breakthrough at Estoril for BMW, with Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) having a consistent ride to seventh in the opening race before a set-up change on Sunday cost the Brit of what would’ve been a very strong weekend. Nonetheless, he’s took points in the last four races and heads to the circuit where he tested at with BMW in preseason. Redding is definitely seeing some hard work pay off and hopes that continues for Misano, a track where he took a hat-trick of fourth place finishes in 2021 for Ducati. However, he’s historically been good at Misano, having taken a career-first MotoGP podium there in 2015, as well as a seventh in 2017.

Scott Redding

“With the Misano round, a different part of the season begins as we start to come into the hotter races and we need to understand how the bike is working in these conditions. So it will be a little bit different working programme for us in Misano for us to understand the conditions and for me to understand the bike in hot conditions also. Misano is a great circuit with many fans that come to the races which are very passionate. I can’t wait to race in Misano.”

On the other side of the BMW garage, with Michael van der Mark out through injury, Ukrainian super-sub Illia Mykhalchyk will be back, having scored a top ten at Aragon.

Ilya Mikhalchik

“I am really looking forward to Misano. My first appearance in Aragón went very well. I hope that I can achieve good results also in Misano and that I can help to improve the bike for the team. I know Misano from the past, when I was riding there in the 600 cc and the Superstock 1000 classes. I don’t know yet how it will be there on a Superbike but for sure we will do our best and I hope that we will also be competitive there.”

The battle of the Independents is fierce with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) leading; he had a stellar Misano in 2021 when three top seven finishes with a best of sixth really put him in the spotlight. Five points further back is Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), who had a tricky Estoril which yielded just one top ten finish, whilst Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is next up, although his Misano presence is to be confirmed after his Estoril FP3 crash which ruled him out with injury.

Garrett Gerloff

“My knee feels fine and I’m good to go! I’m looking forward to Misano and I cannot wait to be back out on the race track. In the pre-season test here, we enjoyed some positive running, proving to be very fast, so we’re eager to put in a good performance this weekend.”

Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) were both also declared unfit after crashes at Estoril, with Mahias still out and replaced by Tito Rabat this weekend. Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) is 15th overall and the next Independent, chasing a top ten.

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP600

Getting his title defence off to a flying start, Dominique Aegerter is clear at the front of the World Supersport Championship tree by some 44 points, and he will hope that the gap is extended to beyond a magic 50 come the close of the Misano weekend.

Aegerter, who as well as leading the WorldSSP standings is also the leader in the MotoE World Cup, aims to make it another double and therefore make it an out-and-out record for the longest winning streak for Ten Kate Racing by a single rider. However, he’s going to have to fend off Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), with the Italian second in the standings as he and his team go into their home race. ‘Iron Balda’ won at Misano in the 2016 Moto2 Grand Prix, whilst third in the Championship is Ducati star Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team). He, like Baldassarri, is going for home glory, but can he give Ducati a first win in WorldSSP since their return on home soil?

Fourth place in the Championship belongs to Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team), with the Dutchman being a real revelation so far in 2022. Misano has never been a happy hunting ground for him but he’s a different rider now, so expect a first top ten at the circuit to come this year, perhaps even a podium challenge.

Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) occupies fifth place as the Turkish star continues his quest for a first race win in the class. He took eighth and a retirement last year at Misano but will hope to give the Puccetti outfit a home round to remember. His teammate, Yari Montella, also comes home for the first time in WorldSSP and having finished the last five races well, a first podium at home will be a perfect follow-up to his career-best fourth at Estoril last time out.

With Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) out through injury after the amputation of three toes following his Estoril Warm-Up crash, the next best is Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph), who is top Triumph. The Estonian has scored points in all but one appearance at Misano, with a best of seventh in 2019 for Honda.

Whilst he’s scheduled for a 75th career start in WorldSSP, Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) is chasing a return to winning ways at home. On the podium in three of the last five WorldSSP races at Misano, including a win in 2018, Caricasulo is getting stronger each round with the Ducati machinery.

Completing the top ten in the Championship standings is rookie Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki), as he arrives to Misano off the back of a career-best seventh in Race 2 at Estoril, whilst Kyle Smith (VFT Racing) is next up, having taken a podium last time out with second.

Oli Bayliss (BARNI Spark Racing Team) took a career-best sixth last time out and now lies 14th in the championship chase.

Oli Bayliss

“I am very happy to race at Misano, I will experience a slightly different feeling because it will be the first track I have already tested at and I won’t be totally lost in the first session. The team has always worked hard to provide me with a good bike and we will do our best for this round too, at the end of the weekend we will draw the conclusions. This is the home race for the team and Ducati, but I also consider it a bit ‘my’ race. Since I moved to Europe I settled in Emilia Romagna, so it will be like being at home.”

Countryman Ben Currie managed to clinch a point in his return from massive pre-season injuries and will be stronger as he arrives at Misano.

WorldSSP Championship Points

WorldSSP300

After three incredible rounds to start the 2022 season, WorldSSP300 heads to Italy and the iconic Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” for round four of the season

After the history-making Estoril Round, there’s a new order in the top three. Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) still leads the Championship and his best result at Misano came in his title-winning year, 2017, when he finished sixth on a Yamaha. Will the Spaniard be able to beat that result this year? Garcia moved into first place at Estoril, one of two big changes in the top 3, the other coming from Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) after his epic 31st to 1st comeback in Race 2, with the Frenchman overhauling Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) in the standings. Di Sora scored a podium at Misano last year while it will be Diaz’s first race at the Italian venue in WorldSSP300.

The riders just behind the lead trio are separated by just nine points with Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) and teammate Yuta Okaya fourth and fifth, with Italian rider Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) sixth. Steeman’s best result at Misano is fifth, scored in 2019 when on a KTM, while Okaya took fourth with MTM Kawasaki in Race 1 last year. Gennai is the highest-placed Italian in the standings and, after taking two podiums so far this season, will be searching for his first victory in WorldSSP300; his best result at Misano is sixth from Race 1 in 2021.

WorldSSP300 has proven to be as competitive and unpredictable as ever in 2022 and the four riders rounding out the top ten will be aiming to move up the order after the Emilia-Romagna Round. Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) is seventh in the standings as the sole KTM rider in the field and it will be his first time at Misano. He will be hoping he can beat KTM’s result of fifth which they have scored twice. Lehmann is just ahead of Hugo De Cancellis (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) in the standings and the Frenchman will be hoping to claim a podium finish as he did at Misano in 2021.

Harry Khouri will be the sole Aussie on the grid however young countryman Archie McDonald will contest the R3 bLU cRU European Cup support races at Misano this weekend.

WorldSSP300 Championship Points

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Four – Misano – AEST Schedule

Time	Class	Event
Friday
1745	WorldSSP300	FP1
1830	WorldSBK	FP1
1925	WorldSSP	FP1
2215	WorldSSP300	FP2
2300	WorldSBK	FP2
000( Sat)	WorldSSP	FP2
Saturday
1700	WorldSBK	FP3
1745	WorldSSP300	Superpole
1825	WorldSSP	Superpole
1910	WorldSBK	Superpole
2040	WorldSSP300	Race 1
2200	WorldSBK	Race 1
2315	WorldSSP	Race 1
Sunday
1700	WorldSBK	WUP
1725	WorldSSP	WUP
1750	WorldSSP300	WUP
1900	WorldSBK	Superpole Race
2030	WorldSSP	Race 2
2200	WorldSSP300	Race 2
2315	WorldSBK	Race 2

2022 WorldSBK Calendar