WorldSBK 2024
Round One – Phillip Island
Rider Recap
Alex Lowes – 50 points
“It has been a long time since our last win but we have been working hard. In the Superpole Race I was really emotional, I think I was crying on the in-lap. On Race Two I felt I would have more chance if it was a longer race. I was a bit disappointed after the pre-race tests on Tuesday because my tyre life looked good. We have been working really hard to make the bike smoother this year and easier to manage. We cannot read too much into this final race. We know this is a special circuit, but you still have to manage the race well and the bike still has to look after the tyre. I think mine was the best tyre at the end of the race. Alvaro’s bike was moving a lot and he could not enter into corners. I sat there behind and tried to look after the tyre as much as possible. I am obviously very happy. It has been a big, important winter, changing many small details. I am fit and strong now, improving my confidence. I did a good job today. I am going to enjoy the moment because we did a really good job this week. To get two wins today was fantastic, and mixing it up there, I was really happy. The guys have done a fantastic job all weekend.”
Nicolò Bulega – 41 points
“The balance of the weekend is very positive. We took a pole position, a win, two fastest laps, and two fifth places which still gave us important points. I am very happy to have started the season like this. It is clear, though, that there is still a lot of work to be done, especially to get a better start. Even in Race 2, I was left behind in the first corners and had to fight with the group to recover positions. However, when I found some space, at that point the race pace became very strong. I think if there had been a few more laps I could have fought for the podium”.
Andrea Locatelli – 29 points
“The feeling was amazing in Race 2, I think in the end this weekend we did a really good job and we never made any mistakes. Unfortunately, we are checking on the data and we don’t know yet what was the reason but the bike was in neutral – so then I was wide and when I tried to put again the gear, I made a mistake and I lost the rear. It is a big shame because everything was working well and it was just the last lap and we were fighting for the race win. Feels a bit like a bad dream, but at the same time I want to say thanks to Yamaha and the team because we were working well during the weekend – we were fast in every condition and every session in front – so this is for sure something good for us and let’s see what we can do in the next race. We will be on track for two days of testing before the Barcelona round, we need to improve a little bit more but the confidence on my R1 is good so let’s see what we can do.”
Andrea Iannone – 29 points
“This morning in the Superpole Race, we were in the right place, I was in the lead, I think we could have finished the race in a completely different way but a technical problem stopped us. I felt very good in the race, I was quite fast and had recovered a lot of positions, then with the red flag and the change of the rear tyre I didn’t find the same feeling as the first start and I struggled with the grip when entering the corners. We still reached fourth place, we return home with a podium in the first race of the year after a long time and with valuable information for the team. We could definitely have achieved more but it’s all experience for the team. I want to thank Ducati for the support, my team and the people who contributed to my return making it possible. Now let’s think about Barcelona!”
Alvaro Bautista – 27 points
“I am very satisfied because the feeling with the bike has grown day by day. That was the main objective after a winter in which we encountered some difficulties, also because of my physical condition. In Race 2 I rediscovered the sensations of last year and this gives me great confidence ahead of the next round. The overtaking of Lowes? I didn’t expect him to pass at that point but in the last three laps, I felt I had a problem with the rear tyre. It’s okay”.
Danilo Petrucci – 24 points
“It’s satisying to finish the weekend with a podium after such a great battle. It was tough because even yesterday, we could have fought for these positions, but we were unlucky in the pit stop. This morning, I didn’t feel as comfortable on the bike, and I was a bit nervous for Race 2. However, in the first 3 laps, I realised that I could catch up with the leading group. The second start after Jonny’s incident was also good. From the middle of the race onwards, I thought I could finish as the top independent and I gave it my all. The last laps were crazy because I passed Iannone and Rinaldi, but then Andrea passed me again, and on the last lap, I thought, ‘let’s try again.’ When I went inside, I saw Locatelli crashed, and I realised I was on the podium. I’m very happy because I haven’t been too lucky here in Australia, but today it works; thanks to the team’s work, we managed to achieve this nice result.”
Dominique Aegerter – 19 points
“Not the easiest Sunday but we still come back home with points and good data. In the sprint race I was fighting with the front group and our race pace was decent overall. Then, in Race 2, I had to restart from 12th after the red flag and to fight in the middle of the pack is never easy, ending up to a ninth position which became later a tenth place because of the penalty. Anyway, I’ll now have some weeks to recover and have some training, I’m confident we can enjoy a good season all together.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – 18 points
“In general, I would say that I am 50 per cent happy and 50 per cent not. The goal was to make it to the podium which we did in the Superpole Race, but in the second main race, I was really ready to fight for the win because we also had improved the bike and I felt really good but then we had the engine problem. This is racing and it has been the first race weekend of the season. At Barcelona, we need to come back very strong. We have learned a lot in the races, we gathered a lot of data and this is important for our work. Next up is Barcelona, a hard circuit like here. We will see how it goes there, and then we go to Assen and more circuits where we normally should be stronger than here. Overall, the start was not bad, especially the Superpole Race. I think that we will get there step by step. We will be testing at Barcelona before the race weekend, and I think that we will focus on race pace because that is very important there. We need to find a good setup for the main races.”
Michael van der Mark – 16 points
“I think overall the weekend wasn’t too bad. I just messed it up in Superpole. Yesterday I had a good race with some good passes and a good result in the end. In this morning’s sprint race we tried something different with the bike which felt good in warm up but when the temperature went up in the Superpole Race I just did not have the same feeling. It was tough, I could not recover any places so I had to start race two from 16th again. In that race, I had a good start, strong first couple of laps, I stayed out of trouble and was riding in eighth when the red flag came out. I re-started from P8 but we had seen that I had some issue with the tyre after five laps before the red flag came. Then we had an 11-lap sprint and I just did not know how to manage the tyre. If I had pushed like in the first part of the race I was not sure if I would be going to make it. So mixed feelings but got some good points at the end. And I think the best thing for us is to see how big the improvement BMW has made. It’s fantastic to see Toprak on the podium this morning. I think that the start of the season gave the whole team a big confidence boost.”
Garrett Gerloff – 15 points
“It was a sinking ship on Tuesday and Friday, but luckily we didn’t completely drown. It wasn’t the best weekend, but it could have been a lot worse for sure. Overall, to have two top-ten in the main races is quite a decent way to start the season. It’s definitely a better way than we started last year where we were barely inside the top 15. I feel good on the bike. The competition is so strong, I can’t believe how fast everybody’s going. That’s definitely not making it easy. But we are figuring ourselves out, making progress. I’m looking forward to my home race coming up in a couple of weeks; testing first and then Barcelona, let’s go.”
Xavi Vierge – 9 points
“We cannot be happy, of course, but this is our reality right now. As a team, we’ve worked well throughout the testing sessions and the race weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, the feeling on the bike isn’t bad; I enjoy riding it. But we’re not as fast as the others. We’re still struggling a lot out of the corners and with turning, which makes battling with other riders incredibly difficult because we constantly have to make up ground in braking. My pace isn’t too bad when I’m riding alone, but when I need to fight with others I struggle, because in a battle it’s hard to maintain the perfect lines. And riding like that puts a lot of stress on the tyres. Every year, the championship level gets higher, and even small details can make a significant difference in terms of performance and results. Having said that, we are aware of the situation and we know we need to keep working and try to find a solution, possibly in the short term.”
Axel Bassani – 9 points
“In the Superpole race it was difficult when you start from behind and there are only ten laps. Race Two was a bit better but it was not easy as there were many riders close together. It was not easy to make your own pace when behind another rider. I tried to manage my race and arrive in P-8 or P9, but in the last lap Aegerter overtook me and put me out. I lost two positions. We need to improve, but the feeling was good with the bike in this race, and I was able to push and be consistent in my lap times. We need to re-start from there. We had short races this weekend, not easy to manage. Let’s see in the European races and over long distance if we can show more our potential. But we will see in Barcelona.”
Remy Gardner – 8 points
“Well, this weekend wasn’t meant to be. We had some good fights in the sprint race and the pace was there, unfortunately we couldn’t finish inside the top three even though we had great speed. I felt we could make another try in Race 2, but I couldn’t avoid Jonathan’s (Rea) bike and I ended up having some damage. The red flag gave us another chance, but I had to restart from the back of the grid. I think this is not good, but rules are rules. Although the guys made a fantastic job on making me able to go out again, the bike was not completely okay but we were still able to score valuable points. It’s a bit a shame that we couldn’t convert our race potential, but we have to take the positives from the weekend; speed was there and we made a great job, head down to Barcelona for the second round of the season.”
Scott Redding – 5 points
“It was a difficult weekend. I think we went the wrong way setting up the bike, I couldn’t improve the lap time like the other guys and go fast. It was a strange week throughout the test here as well with the weather changing a lot, track grip changing a lot and I think we just got caught in the wrong way to go with the bike. We go to Barcelona. Hopefully we can improve, because the bike is showing potential. We’ll restart at Barcelona.”
Jonathan Rea – 0 points
“First and foremost, physically I’m ok, I hit my hip quite hard in the crash but no further injuries from Tuesday. They were two big crashes this week but I’m still in one piece thanks to Alpinestars and Arai. I’m really frustrated because the crash came as a big surprise, it was as I was building my confidence on the bike and feeling quite good. I took some “track profit” when Toprak had engine troubles and found myself in a good place in the race, but as soon as I started to feel really confident I crashed. We just have to rebuild from zero, look into everything and try to improve the feeling for me. You can see with how competitive Loka is that we can get there – I want to go home now to regroup, reset and come back stronger in Barcelona.”
Tarran Mackenzie – 0 points
“Unfortunately, when I went out for the morning’s Superpole race I had a technical problem and so had to come back into the pits already on the warm-up lap. Later in the day, when race 2 started for the first time, I was almost on the back of the group but then the race was red-flagged. In the restarted race, I had slightly better feeling on the bike, but it was only a short race of course. I set my best lap of the weekend anyway, and was a little more consistent, feeling the best I had all weekend actually, so that’s a positive sign as we head to Barcelona.”
Adam Norrodin – 0 points
“My first ever Superbike weekend has been quite a tough one, what with the weather and the pitstops in the races. But I’ve gained some really valuable experience and admit that In didn’t come here with any real expectations, also because we haven’t had much test time as yet. We’re still finding the way, which is only normal, but I hope we can be productive during our two-day test in Barcelona so that we’re better prepared for round 2.”
Team Managers
Denis Sacchetti – GoEleven Team Manager
“We can’t say we’re not happy because it was a positive weekend and we returned to the podium. Andrea surprised everyone, I don’t think anyone expected to see him already so strong and I have to congratulate him! Unfortunately in the Superpole Race we had a technical problem, things that shouldn’t happen, but it happened and we missed an important opportunity! In race two he was going very fast, the feeling was that we could fight for the victory, then on the restart after the red flag, the new tyre didn’t work in the same way as the first one and Andrea gave his all, finishing fourth in the sprint with Petrucci. We’re going home satisfied and even more excited for future races!”
Paul Denning – Pata Prometeon Yamaha Team Principal
“Ultimately, a disappointing end for Andrea after a simply stellar performance across the whole event here at Phillip Island. At the beginning of the 11-lap restart, he didn’t quite have the same feel for the bike that he’d had earlier, but as the bike came to him – he again showed his race-winning potential by grinding his way back to third position with every chance of winning the race given how he’s been passing other riders. The crash Loka had when trying to pass Alex into Turn 4 was so unfortunate and we have to say well done to him and his entire crew for their efforts. Everything that’s happened here, including another brilliant P2 in the Superpole Race indicates that he’s taken a big step in 2024. Whilst today was ultimately disappointing in terms of pure result for Jonathan – the steps taken in pace in the Superpole Race, finishing within five seconds of the winner and then showing his championship-winning aggression even after such a difficult weekend, by climbing from P11 to P5 and closing on the front group just demonstrated his determination to succeed. Obviously, we’re relieved that he got away with the Turn 11 crash and we’ll reset with JR at the Barcelona test and we’ll be looking for much better from here forward.”
Shaun Muir – ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal
“As always with the first round of the World Superbike Championship, there’s generally two days of testing, which this year was delayed somewhat by the freight situation. So we lost one day of valuable time to test some parts that we really wanted to explore before the race weekend. Nevertheless we came out in a good position, one lap pace was strong, whereas our race simulation was not where we really needed it to be. Free Practice 1, 2 and 3 wasn’t bad, both Michael and Toprak got to grips with the track, however the tire situation was clearly going to be an issue for us, so when the pit stop scenario was introduced by the organisers, it made life easier for everybody. Overall Mickey had a solid weekend, he had a bit of an accident in qualifying that put him further down the grid but he fought his way through into the top 10 in both feature races and did a really good job. He’s consolidated his comeback really and he’s going to be looking forward to Europe. It’s bittersweet for Toprak, the level he’s arrived at on the BMW M 1000 RR is certainly where he was hoping to be, but equally the team’s expectations rise with that. Race 1 was very good, we’re happy with P5 and the sprint race was fantastic for his confidence. To put it on the podium and to finish in third position was great for Race 2. Unfortunately, it was quite clear for everyone to see that we had a technical issue which put him out of Race 2, but that’s a bitter part of racing. The team take full responsibility for that, but we’ve got to reflect on the positives and we’ll end up going into Barcelona in a few weeks time with some good momentum, we’ll put the negatives behind us and come out fighting.”
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“It has been a very eventful week. It started with non-existent tyres, then the tyres didn’t last, and on top of that, we had changing weather conditions with rain on Friday. But the fact is, we were always competitive, in every session, especially with Toprak. In the first race, a small mistake occurred that dropped us from fourth to fifth. Mickey gave a strong performance, moving up from 16th to seventh, and he lost only a little to Toprak. Garrett and Scott also made it into the top ten. In the Superpole Race, Toprak rode an excellent race and finished in third place. For the other three, it was unfortunately challenging when starting from so far back in such a competitive field. Toprak’s engine failure in the second main race was very, very frustrating. We now need to analyse what the cause was. Mickey and Garrett were able to secure good results once again with eighth and ninth places, just a few seconds behind the winner. Overall, we were clearly performing better than in past years. Now, we need to wait for the first European races to truly assess where we stand but we haven’t been this strong on Phillip Island in a long time. Therefore, the conclusion is: satisfied.”
WorldSBK Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Alex Lowes | 50 |
| 2 | Nicolo Bulega | 41 |
| 3 | Andrea Locatelli | 29 |
| 4 | Andrea Iannone | 29 |
| 5 | Alvaro Bautista | 27 |
| 6 | Danilo Petrucci | 24 |
| 7 | Dominique Aegerter | 19 |
| 8 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 18 |
| 9 | Michael Van Der Mark | 16 |
| 10 | Garrett Gerloff | 15 |
| 11 | Sam Lowes | 14 |
| 12 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 13 |
| 13 | Xavi Vierge | 9 |
| 14 | Axel Bassani | 9 |
| 15 | Remy Gardner | 8 |
| 16 | Scott Redding | 5 |
| 17 | Philipp Oettl | 2 |
| 18 | Bradley Ray | 1 |
WorldSBK Race Two Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki | 16m27.565 |
| 2 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale | +0.048 |
| 3 | D. Petrucci | Ducati Panigale | +1.178 |
| 4 | A. Iannone | Ducati Panigale | +1.275 |
| 5 | N. Bulega | Ducati Panigale | +2.346 |
| 6 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale | +2.913 |
| 7 | S. Lowes | Ducati Panigale | +3.480 |
| 8 | G. Gerloff | BMW | +4.119 |
| 9 | M Van Der Mark | BMW | +5.159 |
| 10 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha | +5.165 |
| 11 | A. Bassani | Kawasaki | +5.183 |
| 12 | R. Gardner | Yamaha | +7.652 |
| 13 | X. Vierge | Honda | +9.082 |
| 14 | P. Oettl | Yamaha | +10.729 |
| 15 | B. Ray | Yamaha | +11.806 |
| 16 | T Rabat | Kawasaki | +17.416 |
| 17 | S. Redding | BMW | +21.815 |
| 18 | T Mackenzie | Honda | +25.481 |
| 19 | A. Norrodin | Honda | +32.107 |
| Not Classified | |||
| RET | A. Locatelli | Yamaha | 1 Lap |
WorldSBK Superpole Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 15m00.995 |
| 2 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +1.157 |
| 3 | T Razgatlioglu | BMW M 1000 RR | +1.738 |
| 4 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.812 |
| 5 | N. Bulega | Ducati Panigale V4R | +2.838 |
| 6 | R. Gardner | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.853 |
| 7 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R1 | +3.051 |
| 8 | S. Lowes | Ducati Panigale V4R | +3.341 |
| 9 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4R | +5.140 |
| 10 | J. Rea | Yamaha YZF R1 | +5.535 |
| 11 | A. Bassani | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +6.064 |
| 12 | X. Vierge | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +6.958 |
| 13 | G. Gerloff | BMW M 1000 RR | +7.017 |
| 14 | A. Iannone | Ducati Panigale V4R | +7.814 |
| 15 | D Petrucci | Ducati Panigale V4R | +8.580 |
| 16 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW M 1000 RR | +9.158 |
| 17 | S. Redding | BMW M 1000 RR | +11.070 |
| 18 | P. Oettl | Yamaha YZF R1 | +13.228 |
| 19 | T Rabat | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +16.843 |
| 20 | A. Norrodin | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +28.706 |
| 21 | B. Ray | Yamaha YZF R1 | +49.720 |
| Not Classified | |||
| RET | T Mackenzie | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | RET |
WorldSBK Race One Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | N. Bulega | Ducati | 30m55.801 |
| 2 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha | +2.280 |
| 3 | A. Iannone | Ducati | +2.630 |
| 4 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki | +4.728 |
| 5 | T Razgatlioglu | BMW | +5.706 |
| 6 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha | +8.333 |
| 7 | M Van Der Mark | BMW | +8.647 |
| 8 | D. Petrucci | Ducati | +9.965 |
| 9 | G. Gerloff | BMW | +11.699 |
| 10 | X. Vierge | Honda | +12.423 |
| 11 | S. Redding | BMW | +14.413 |
| 12 | A. Bassani | Kawasaki | +16.668 |
| 13 | S. Lowes | Ducati | +18.388 |
| 14 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati | +23.560 |
| 15 | A. Bautista | Ducati | +32.471 |
| 16 | P. Oettl | Yamaha | +35.580 |
| 17 | J. Rea | Yamaha | +37.949 |
| 18 | T Rabat | Kawasaki | +39.427 |
| 19 | T Mackenzie | Honda | +54.890 |
| 20 | A. Norrodin | Honda | +57.202 |
| 21 | B. Ray | Yamaha | +58.642 |
| Not Classified | |||
| RET | 87 R. Gardner | Yamaha | 18 Laps |
2024 WorldSBK Dates
| Date | Circuit | WSBK | WSSP600 | WSP300 | WWSBK |
| 23-25 Feb | Phillip Island | X | X | ||
| 22-24 Mar | Catalunya | X | X | X | |
| 19-21 Apr | Assen | X | X | X | |
| 14-16 Jun | Misano | X | X | X | X |
| 12-14 Jul | Donington | X | X | X | |
| 19-21 Jul | Most | X | X | X | |
| 9-11 Aug | Algarve | X | X | X | X |
| 23-25 Aug | Balaton Park | X | X | X | |
| 6-8 Sep | Magny-Cours | X | X | X | |
| 20-22 Sep | Cremona | X | X | X | |
| 27-29 Sep | Aragón | X | X | X | |
| 18-20 Oct | Jerez | X | X | X | X |
