WorldSBK: Championship heads to Argentina next weekend – Roadracing World Magazine

WorldSBK heads to Argentina for the first overseas round of 2022

What to look for in San Juan

Championship P1 – 448 points

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati – Racing)

Bautista’s best result at the Argentine circuit is a race win in 2019, when he was riding for Ducati.

In 2021, his best result was tenth in Race 2.

After the Pirelli Portuguese Round, he leads the championship standings by 56 points over Razgatlioglu.

“The next race is in Argentina; To be honest, three years ago with Ducati I won my first time there. But then I had problems in other races, so… we’ll see. It’s a challenging track because the conditions vary a lot from day to day. We have to be ready for any conditions and adapt as best we can and just try to enjoy what we’re doing and do our best!”

Championship P2 – 392 points

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha of Brixx WorldSBK)

Razgatlioglu is the winner of the San Juan Vilicum race. In 2021, he won Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race.

He was on the podium in seven of the eight races held in San Juan.

He extended the gap to Rea to 26 points and took second place in the standings.

“Now I’m looking at Argentina. I know it’s not an easy track for anyone because Ducati is very strong again. I also remember that Alvaro was very strong in Argentina in 2019, but this year is different. We will fight for victory. Now I’m focused on Argentina and we’ll try to do our best.”

Championship P3 – 366 points

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

Rea has four races under his belt at San Juan, with his last win coming in Race 2 of 2019. He is the most successful driver here, having won four of the first five races.

In 2021, he won three places on the podium, but did not win for the first time.

The six-time WorldSBK champion is on an 18-race winning streak, his longest since 2012-2013.

“Argentina is a cool tour to go to, all the flights to be honest. Different cultures, different tracks… Argentina especially because there are not many tracks, so the track is always quite green. So we have to understand what kind of conditions we will face when we go there. Step by step during the weekend I will work with the team, trying to get a good package and be able to fight. I expect a tough weekend, there is a very long straight. I will try to make myself as small as possible there, but there are many other places on the track where I am sure we can use our strengths on the ZX-10RR.”

Championship P4 – 232 points

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati Racing)

Third place in the first race of 2021 is Rinaldi’s best finish in San Juan.

After missing out on the podium in Portimao, he will be looking for his first win of the season in Argentina.

“I really like the track. I want to go there. It’s a pretty fun track. Also, it’s nice to go outside of Europe because it will be our first overseas team this season. Of course I need to get on the podium and score points, but I think it’s race by race, not about fourth place in the standings.”

Championship P5 – 196 points

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha of Brixx WorldSBK)

Locatelli’s best result in San Juan is sixth in the 2021 Tissot Superpole Race.

In 2021, it was his first visit to the track.

“It’s a completely new track for me because I only drove there last year for the first time. In the end, it was a difficult weekend for us in Argentina, but now we come with more confidence after Barcelona and Partimao, because maybe the result in the race is not so good, but we were faster and stronger. So this is a good point to arrive in Argentina. I’m motivated and I’ll try to push on and figure out the track again as soon as possible. I will push to have a good rhythm and fight to finish in a good position. This is my goal; it won’t be easy. We will try it and focus on work and preparation for next week.”

Championship P6 – 189 points

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

Lowes finished in the top five at the Argentine circuit. In 2021, his best result was fourth place in the first race.

“It’s obviously relatively new to the calendar in the last few years, a great addition for me. I think the track is great, I love the layout. Obviously not too used to it, so it’s always a bit slippery on Friday and you have to be careful. I had a bit of an injury last year, but I had a good first race, I finished fourth even with the injury, so I’m very optimistic that I can continue my good form and fight for the podium. But like I said, it’s an event, a race and a track that I really like and I honestly can’t wait to get out there!”

To follow:

HRC riders Iker Lecuona and Javi Viergue will race at the San Juan Vilicum circuit for the first time.

BMW’s best result in San Juan in 2021 was Michael van der Mark’s (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) fifth place in the Tissot Superpole Race, while he finished sixth in Races 1 and 2. This will be Scott Reding’s first Argentinian round of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team.

Argentinian rider Marco Salorso (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) will compete for the Italian team at the Motul Argentinean Round. In 2021, he already took part in the Argentine round of WorldSBK, finishing 18th as the best result; he will aim for scoring position in his home round.

More at worldsbk.com

Championship standings (after race 2 – 9 rounds)

1. Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Ducati (448 points)

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkey) Yamaha (392 points)

3. Jonathan Rea (Great Britain) Kawasaki (366 points)