Alvaro Bautista rode his Ducati Panigale V4 R to maximum points after six 2019 Motul FIM WorldSBK races, after winning all three at the Buriram Circuit in Thailand.
Defending champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) overtook Bautista into Turn 1. Bautista made up for the disadvantage on Lap 3 in Turn 3, but Rea cut back inside, and the pair collided. Bautista managed to control his bike, but it allowed Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) to slip past.
The Spaniard repassed Lowes on Lap 4 and went after Rea. Bautista caught Rea and passed him with 12 laps to go, and made it stick. He romped away from his challenger to finish 8.2 seconds ahead.
Rea took the holeshot this time but was passed by Bautista. The latter ran wide into Turn 3 was re-overtaken by Rea. But the Ducati rider fought back and retook the lead in Turn 4 and started pulling away.
Meanwhile, Alex Lowes started pressuring Rea. However, Rea made a massive effort to lose Lowes and slashed Bautista’s lead down under half-a-second. His determination also netted him the fastest lap.
Unfortunately, the red flag was shown just as the race was starting to heat up. Again, it was Turn 3 which provided the drama. Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Racing) and Thitipong Warokon (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) collided in the hairpin. Warokon was sent to the medical centre and the hospital afterwards.
Bautista was pronounced the winner, followed by Rea with Lowes just behind.
Bautista didn’t want to hang around and scrap it out this time. So, he took off from the start and led all the way to the finish, leaving Rea to fight it out with Alex Lowes.
Bautista romped home to finish 10 seconds ahead of Rea and Lowes. His accomplishments equaled Neil Hodgson’s record of winning the first six races of the season in 2013.
Lowes’ teammate van der Mark held off Haslam’s intentions for a finishing order identical to Race 1 and Superpole.
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It’s not only the season for wishing prosperity, it’s also when international race teams launch their teams for the 2019 season. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike team launched their 2019 Ducati Panigale V4 R for WorldSBK 2019.
The team’s riders Chaz Davies and newcomer Alvaro Bautista will ride the new bikes in an effort to recapture the WorldSBK crown for Ducati. The Italian manufacturer had a stranglehold of the WorldSBK throughout the Nineties and it was through that championship that Ducati became a household name, before they ventured into MotoGP. However, they have not won a superbike title for the last seven years.
“We’ll be working with only one aim in mind: to win,” said Gigi Dall’Igna about Ducati Corse’s WorldSBK program.
The Ducati Panigale V4 R is also an important milestone for Ducati as it is their first V-Four-powered road bike. Indeed, the manufacturer created the Panigale V4 as their basis to win the WorldSBK title, and thereby breaking their long tradition of producing V-Twin superbikes. WorldSBK and World Supersport championships are production-based.
Make no mistake, the Ducati Panigale V4 R is a potent missile right out of the crate. On the other hand, the team and manufacturer are pragmatic in their approach. “The project is still at an early stage and development has started auspiciously well, but we still have to perfect several details and we have a clearly defined development program,” added Dall’Igna.
Team rider Chaz Davies will spend his fifth year with the red bikes and is a regular hard charger. He’s not afraid to swap paint, rubber and leather with four-time and current WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki.
Alvaro Bautista could prove to be the dark horse of the factory with his extensive experience and knowledge garnered in MotoGP. He may well score a few wins this season.
All pictures: Ducati and Asphalt & Rubber
The 217-bhp Ducati Panigale V4 R not fast enough? How about this Ducati Panigale V4 RS19, then?
2019 Ducati Panigale V4 R Debuts at World Ducati Première 2019
Launched at EICMA 2018, the Panigale V4 RS19 isn’t for sale to public. That’s because it’s the racing machine which Ducati factory riders Alvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies will ride in the World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) in 2019. Ducati has been trying very hard to retake the superbike honours since their domination in the 90’s.
The most important thing for race bikes is power. The homologation model Panigale V4 R produced 217 bhp in stock form but it’s raised to 231 bhp with the race exhaust and tuning of the ECU. Judging from this, the Panigale V4 RS19 should make at least that same amount or perhaps even around 250 bhp! That V-Four engine was developed as a direct lineage from the Desmosedici in MotoGP, anyway.
Secondly, weight is always an enemy when racing. We can expect the bike to tip the scales at the 168 kg weight limit set by the FIM. Ducati was proud to show off the bike wrapped in carbon fibre.
The Panigale V4 R has winglets on the fairings, paving the way for them on the Panigale V4 RS19. WorldSBK is production-based racing, so certain features of the race bike must be produced on road-going machines.
The Panigale V4 RS19’s fuel tank has also been moved backward and seems larger to make room for the airbox. Ducati didn’t release more details of the bike, of course.
Looks like Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki will have some real competition next year.
Reigning Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) champion, Johnathan Rea and Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) have clinched their fourth straight championship title.
The 2018 championship was sealed at the Magny-Cours circuit in France this weekend when Rea won Race 1 (there are two races per round). It was Rea’s 8th consecutive and 13th total victory of the year.
Judging from the results, Rea and Kawasaki made the least mistakes for the rest to capitalize on. The Northern Irish rider finished only twice off the podium and retired once so far. Besides the 13 wins, he finished second on three occasions and once in third.
In terms of statistics, Rea had won 63% of the races and was on the podium for 86% after 23 races this season. He now has the chance of setting a new record for the most wins in a season.
Rea is only the second racer to win four WSBK titles after Carl Fogarty, but he is the first to achieve the milestone back-to-back.
Pundits are quick to point out that Rea’s amazing achievement is due to other teams lacking full factory support and that his competitors’ bikes are pretty old to some extent. If this is true, we shall see how the new Ducati Panigale V4 does next year in the hands of Chaz Davies and Alvaro Bautista. Honda is also rumored to be coming up with a new V4-powered CBR1000RR.
In the meantime however, the man of the moment is Jonathan Rea, who is the current King of Superbikes. Long live the King!
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