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When the 2021 WorldSBK season opened at MotorLand Aragon one of the biggest question marks hanging over the paddock with the potential of Yamaha. Talent was never a question for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), but consistency was. Aragon had traditionally been a real challenge for the Turkish rider and while the ·54 left Spain with a big points disadvantage to Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) it was clear that they had made a big step forward at the circuit. Now, the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship awaits Razgatlioglu once again, but can he win this year at a track Yamaha haven’t won at in 11?

Toprak’s fastest lap during Superpole was stricken from the record for exceeding track limits so he never showed his full potential over a single lap. A podium in the dry opening race of the season showed his progress while two top six finishes in damp conditions on Sunday really underlined his progress. Phil Marron, Razgatlioglu’s crew chief, began to breakdown the biggest technical challenges that a team and rider face at the 5.077km circuit,

TRACK LAYOUT ANALYSIS: lots of time spent on the side of tyre

MotorLand Aragon is one of the longest laps on the WorldSBK calendar. A fast time during the race is anything underneath 1m50s. Maintaining a consistent pace for 18 laps is a real challenge for riders because Aragon is all about maintaining tyre life. With 16 corners, including numerous long left handers, the stress placed on the Pirelli rubber is extreme.

“One of the most important things that the bike has to do at Aragon is that you need to be able to turn the bike on the gas,” explained Marron. “You need this at quite a few corners but Turns 2 and 3 as you climb the hill it’s very important. The most important corner on the track is the long left at Turn 11. It gets faster and faster through here so you need a bike that can turn when the throttle is open. It’s very fast through here and you're on the edge of the tyre for a long time so being able to use the gas to make the bike turn makes a big difference here. 

“You can't be too greedy with the gas though because you have to look after your tyre life. It's the same at the last corner. The electronics are always very important in WorldSBK, and traction control is very important at Aragon, but the most important thing is controlling your torque. The usable torque for the long corners on the left side of the tyre is very important because it's easy to stress the tyre too much through these corners.”

KEY CORNER: Turn 1

The most important corner at MotorLand Aragon is the opening corner. If you get Turn 1 correct, it sets up a fast lap time. If you get it wrong, the lap is ruined before it’s really begun. The reason for this is the layout of the track. Turn 2 is where a lap time is made at Aragon but if you run wide from Turn 1 a rider compromises the entry into the following corner. The exit of Turn 2 dictates your speed up the hill and all the way to Turn 5. With a field closer matched than ever before, grid position is more critical than ever in WorldSBK. Getting the perfect lap in Superpole starts at Turn 1. 

TYRE WEAR: cool temperatures will make tyre choice an even bigger factor

Controlling the tyre is critical at Aragon. The cooler temperatures of early April will mean that teams will have to be very aware of their tyre allocation from Pirelli and managing their rubber throughout the race weekend. In addition to this, riders need to be careful about the effect of a cooling tyre at Aragon. The layout of the track means that you can spend almost 30sec between right hand corners. This makes Turn 2 a potential car park for crashed machinery with a cool tyre catching out riders over the years.

“In the early morning sessions you have to be very careful about the temperature on the right side of the tyre because it can cool a lot from Turn 15 down the back straight and then through the left handers at the end of the lap before you come back to Turn 2. We've seen a lot of crashes through here where riders lose the front because they have less temperature than they expect. This also means that it’s very important to be able to get the bike stopped into Turn 1, so that you can set yourself up for the ideal line into Turn 2 and minimise the risk.”

With so many long, fast corners placing a huge load on the Pirelli rubber, it’s very easy to wear out a tyre. Choosing the correct tyre will be critical during the races and the cooler temperatures could make this more of a challenge. Typically in WorldSBK in cooler temperatures, teams use a harder tyre, to avoid cold tearing the rubber, but during the ten lap Tissot Superpole Race some teams might try and gamble with the brand new SCQ tyre.

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