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Cremona Weekend Delivers Manufacturers’ Championship To Kawasaki
The seventh and penultimate round of the inaugural FIM Sportbike World Championship (WorldSPB) took place in Italy from September 25-27, with Kawasaki taking the Manufacturers’ Title after the first race on Saturday.
Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) rode his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 to victory in Race 1, and moved even closer to championship leader David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) after finishing second in Race 2 on Sunday.
The points gap between them entering this round was 30, but it shrank considerably after two typically hard-fought battles in this exciting new championship.
A warm and dry weekend of fine Italian weather welcomed the entire WorldSBK paddock to the 2.34-mile-long circuit in the Lombardy Region of Northern Italy.
The action for the 34 riders began with Free Practice 1 on Friday morning, before the Superpole Qualifying session determined grid positions for the first of two races at Cremona.
In Superpole, Championship leader Salvador secured second place, behind Yamaha rider Carter Thompson, while fourth place went to Artigas.
In general, it was a strong opening day result for Kawasaki, with Alvaro Fuertes (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki) seventh fastest, Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) eighth on the Race 1 grid, and Jose Osuna (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki) 10th. Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) was 11th.
The first race, run over 12 laps, was held in almost ideal conditions, with air temperatures of 73°F and asphalt temperatures reaching 84°F.
From the green light, Artigas and Salvador were in the hunt for the podium places, and they fought it out with two Triumph riders and one Yamaha rider for the ultimate prize of a race win.
In the final lap, Artigas played the most effective hand of racecraft and high-speed commitment, taking the race win by just 0.108 seconds from Harrison Dessoy (Triumph).
Salvador was a close third, just 0.272 seconds from a win. Sixth position went to the ever-improving force that is Fuertes, making it three Kawasaki machines inside the Top 6 places. All of the Top 6 riders were grouped within 0.502 seconds as they flashed across the finish line.
Three more Kawasaki riders, Osuna, Julian Correa (Pons Motosport Italika Racing), and Torres, secured points in Race 1, with Osuna ninth, Correa 10th, and Torres 11th. Juan Risueno (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) missed scoring a point as he ended Race One in 17th position. Veneman was the only Kawasaki rider to find misfortune, as a technical issue dropped him out of contention with three laps to go.
Such is the competitiveness of this new class, largely designed for younger riders to develop into the WorldSBK/WorldSSP riders in the future, that the final points scorer in 15th place was just 5.118 seconds from the race winner, Artigas.
The most important single consequence of Race 1 for all the Kawasaki teams and riders in the paddock was that Kawasaki won the Manufacturers’ Championship with three races to spare. Kawasaki had an unassailable lead of 79 points - 282 to Triumph’s 203 - meaning that the celebrations could start on Saturday night at Cremona, but with one more race and lots of hard work to undertake in Cremona, they were delayed until Sunday.
The second race leading grid positions in this class are filled by the fastest nine single-lap scorers during Race 1, and hence the starting order for Sunday’s Race was Artigas on pole, Fuertes second, Salvador fifth, Veneman seventh, and Torres ninth.
Race 2 on Sunday, which started once again at 1:00 p.m., was to be another unlucky one for Veneman, who suffered a suspected right elbow dislocation and right wrist injury after he and a rival crashed at Turn 3. Loris was undergoing scans in hospital to give a more definite diagnosis as this text was being completed.
At the front of the second race there was an eventual and quite unusual occurrence when, after a lot of early passes and battles, Thompson took a lead that would grow to over five seconds at the flag. This left Kawasaki riders Artigas, Fuertes, Salvador, Risueno, and Osuna chasing hard throughout for the final two podium positions in Italy.
A fight between the lead Ninja ZX-6R 636 riders and Suzuki rider Ferre Fleerackers had helped Thompson break clear, making the main battle to entertain the many fans was for the podium places and thus the next biggest points scores.
Artigas would take an important second place, by 0.129 seconds from Fleerackers, but a season best of fourth position for Fuertes, despite being penalized to drop one position at a late stage, and a fifth place for Salvador helped to tighten up the championship fight right at the top.
Risueno was a fine sixth and Osuna eighth, meaning the last lap battle from second place to eighth ended with just over a 1.2-second gap between all seven riders.
Torres completed the Top 10 and was the last of six Kawasaki points scorers in Race 2. Correa was down in 30th position but still recorded as a finisher, despite having a crash.
In the Riders’ Championship, the gap between leader Salvador and Artigas is now only 12 points - 224 to 212. Thompson is third with 158, just one point ahead of Torres. Despite scoring no points and being injured in Italy, Veneman is 10th overall.
With one round to go, and the Manufacturers’ Title already ‘in the bag’, Kawasaki has 302 points to Triumph’s 212.
In the Teams’ Championship, with one round to go, the current advantage of 85 points for the Team Prodina Kawasaki XCI squad over the MTM Kawasaki squad means that neither has quite won that title yet, but one of them will be guaranteed to be crowned champions at the final round in Jerez. All other teams are now too far behind, no matter the results in Spain.
The final round of this exciting new championship series will take place during the last weekend of the overall WorldSBK campaign, from October 16-18, at the true modern classic venue of the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto.
“In Race 1, I felt really good and that I could push it. I led most of the race, and we worked very well with the team. It was a really positive weekend, and we cut more than half of the points advantage before we entered this round. This is really good, and we will try to keep that same line in Jerez for the final round. Here at Cremona we did a test but not so many laps, three sessions, but we started this weekend with the same bike as Magny-Cours - at the previous round. We touched almost nothing, and we will try to keep in the same line at Jerez. We know that the bike works.”
- Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki)
“In the end, we took another podium in Race 1, although I'm not completely satisfied because there are still some small things we need to work on. We’re not far away, but today I had some difficulties in some areas of the circuit. We have to analyze these aspects well because we are working in the right direction, and I believe that, by fixing these small details, we can be even more competitive and stay further ahead. It was a tough Sunday for us. We lacked a bit of acceleration compared to the other bikes in the lead group and couldn't make the step forward we had expected since yesterday. We ultimately finished in fifth place. It’s a shame because we could have scored a few more championship points, and it certainly wasn't the race I had anticipated. Now we need to carefully analyze what happened and keep working so we can be more competitive at the next race. I’d like to thank the team and all the sponsors for their support.”
- David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI)
“We closed Saturday with a bit of a strange feeling. We couldn't find the ideal setting to allow me to ride with the right feel. In the race, I tried to push, but with three laps to go, I had several difficult moments due to the lack of grip, and I preferred not to take too many risks. Now we will work to try to improve and return to give more than 100%. I think in general it was a difficult weekend here in Cremona. Every time we went on track, we tried to give more than 100%, but we really struggled to find the right feel for the bike. We worked hard with the whole team to try and improve, and I gave it my all in today's race, as always. Unfortunately, we didn't get the results we were hoping for. Now we have Jerez ahead of us, where we’ll try to finish the season on a high note.”
- Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI)
“I am very happy with the weekend here in Cremona. The results were so good, and on Saturday, I finally finished in sixth position. We had some things to improve in the settings, and on Sunday, I finished in fourth position, and was leading sometimes. I am very happy with the weekend in general.”
- Alvaro Fuertes (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki)
“We did a good job and were solidly in the Top 10. We are happy because I gave everything in each race, and we wrestled inside the top group, fighting a lot. This was a very good experience for the final round in Jerez, which is our home round. We are dreaming about Jerez, and I want to have my best results there.”
- Jose Osuna (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki)
