News

The 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was in full swing at the Autodrom Most for the Tissot Czech Round last weekend, and there were plenty of fierce quotes. From trying to find the most from man and machine to looking into the future and seeing what was on the horizon for 2022, there was plenty going on in the Czech Republic. All of the biggest, boldest headlines from the weekend just gone have dropped.

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “We are talking to different teams…”

Speaking of his future and looking to 2022, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) confirmed he is talking to a variety of teams: “We are talking, of course. We are talking to different teams. Like I said, teams see this appreciation and my dedication and my hard work and fight to succeed in a difficult situation, so there’s been a lot of interest from other manufacturers. We need to see what the best option is for me because I still want to win races, so I need to have a package that is capable of doing that.” You can get all the latest from the 2022 rider market news here.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “I don’t feel the limit when I’m crashing”

Championship leader Jonathan Rea took a historic 200^th podium in the Superpole Race, but said he wasn’t in the best condition following his Race 1 crashes: “I didn’t feel so good on Sunday morning with my back, and I had some headaches. I feel tired now, as my shoulder is sore, and I had less strength in my right shoulder.”

Talking about the bike, he continued: “With the bumps, our bike isn’t as good. Our chassis wants late brakes and hard accelerations, whereas this circuit has bumps and fast corners. It’s like Donington Park, where I crashed there too. I don’t feel the limit when I’m crashing; we looked at the data and we saw that I’m getting a lot of chatter when I’m crashing. No doubt, when we feel good with the bike like at Assen, I feel good. Hopefully it is a Most situation and we can move on. We’re only halfway through the Championship and the twists and turns that have happened already… wow, they could happen in the second half of the season as well. There are many stories to be told, but at least I’m at the top with a small gap to Toprak.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK): “Two wins and a second, it’s a very good weekend”

Having took two race wins, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) hailed an incredible bike, whilst explaining why he wasn’t able to be in the fight for Race 2: “In the Superpole Race, my bike was incredible but in Race 2, it was different. We made a change in the suspension set-up, and I had some chatter, but I don’t know exactly why. Also, the front was very heavy, and the bike wasn’t turning. Turns 5, 6 and 7, normally I enjoy it but in Race 2, I was only fighting to stay behind Redding in second. But I am happy, two wins and a second, it’s a very good weekend. Navarra is similar to here, so I look forward to it.”

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “Yamaha are the danger ones over the season!”

KRT star Alex Lowes reviewed his rivals in WorldSBK this season, and was full of praise for his old team, Yamaha: “I know the Yamaha really well. From 2016 when we started that project, the bike has gone like this [upward motion]. Now, the bike is also fast, and I think it is the easiest bike to ride, and since now we can race with the SCX tyre, the Yamahas are doing so well. I think Yamaha are the danger ones over the season. When I left Yamaha, the effort and the parts they were bringing… It’s so tight in WorldSBK right now and it is easy to be like Chaz, who has had a podium this year but then is fighting for points. It never used to be like that – you could be riding a factory bike and riding well but then finishing 11^th. The Championship is changing for the better, and if you’re not quite on the pace, you could be battling for between fifth and 12^th, where the battle is so close. Honda are working hard, BMW are working hard, so it is easy to be in that group and with the restrictions I have, I’m being dropped into that group.”

“I released the clutch, and nothing happened” – Redding and Rinaldi on Ducati’s clutch issues

A story that did surface from Most was that Ducati’s starting procedure seems to be the reason both Redding and Rinaldi have struggled at various points. This weekend, it was Redding who struggled, saying: “I seem to struggle more than the others but it’s never consistent. We changed something with the clutch in the last race and I thought it’d be good. The bike was good, but I had a delay. I released the clutch, and nothing happened. That’s why I dropped back. Luckily, here it’s long to the first corner where I can kind of get a little bit back into a dominant position where I’m not being swamped, I’m coming back. That was it. We need to fix it because it’s costly. If I could’ve got the holeshot, it would’ve made my weekend a lot easier.”

On the contrary, Rinaldi stated he had found a solution for this issue: “Fortunately, I had this kind of problem, but we have worked on that and I think I am able to start pretty well. I know Scott has this issue and I know this already, as I had it before. I have found a way to overcome this problem, and that is good. I understand that he is struggling, and why. Unfortunately, we don’t always have the same feeling with the clutch and like this, you can’t always do the same thing and it gives you no confidence. 90% of the time, my method works but for sure, the problem is true. I will share the tips with him if he shares me the tips of how to win at Most!”

Watch the remainder of the 2021 season unfold with the comprehensive WorldSBK VideoPass!