SBK Journal v19.01

v19.01 FEATURING

WORLDSBK ROUND 01 THE CHALLENGE TO REA IS ON.

BAUTISTA HASLAM MELANDRI A VIEW FROM ABOVE and more.

SBK Journal | version 19.01 Welcome to the first issue of SBK Journal, offering a unique insight into the world of Superbike racing. Every issue will tell the story of the weekend’s races through the lenses of the Slipstream Media team, working from trackside and pit lane with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the riders and teams.

In this first issue we look at the opening round of the 2019 FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island in Australia. The weekend was greeted with great anticipation but no one saw WSBK newcomer Alvaro Bautista’s steam train coming. The Ducati rider’s demolition of the field in all three races was something no one had predicted.

Also in this issue Graeme Brown had the opportunity to shoot the Australian action from a completely different perspective, taking to the air during the Tissot Superpole race. Jamie Morris was always looking for that different angle to present the action whilst Vaclav Duska Jnr (Junior) had a roaming brief to shoot behind the scenes.

We hope you like it and will follow our story through out the 2019 season. Our next issue will be out after WorldSBK round two in Thailand. Feel free to share, of course, via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

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Jonathan Rea took the first pole position of the season as he started his campaign for title number five in a row.

The last time Alvaro Bautista raced at Phillip Island he almost put the Ducati GP bike on the podium. On his WorldSBK debut he went all the way with a hat-trick of wins.

2018 FIM Supersport World Champion Sandro Cortese looked comfortable on his WorldSBK debut with the GRT Yamaha YZF-R1

There was a special guest on the grid for the pre-event media activities in Phillip Island. Olive the Golden Python came to say hello to some very nervous riders.

The calm before the storm: Jamie Morris captured the quiet, tense moments just before Michael van der Mark took to the track for Superpole Qualifying.

D U C AT I

TRANSFORMED

Alvaro Bautista and Ducati went to Phillip Island as a little bit of an unknown quantity, at least to those on the outside.

In winter testing they had still seemed to be a little off the pace of the Kawasakis. When it mattered though they put down a marker that made everyone in the paddock stand up and take note.

Throughout the two day test and both Free Practice sessions, Bautista had kept his name at the top of the time sheets. It was only during Superpole qualifying that he had to give best to Jonathan Rea. Rea hmiself felt he had the pace to match Bautista but he wasn’t confident to push hard on the Pirelli tyre for 22 laps.

The Spaniard on the other hand was supremely confident and demolished the field in all three races. In Saturday’s race one he finished just shy of 15 seconds ahead. He was pushed a little harder by Rea in the new 10 lap Superpole race on Sunday morning, but won by just over a second. Race two a few hours later was, however, a repeat of Saturday and the winning margin was a fraction over 12 seconds.

There is a saying that one issues experienced by some the Phillip Island circuit as a gauge for the rest of business.

swallow doesn’t make a summer. The tyre of the grid and the unique nature of mean that this probably can’t be seen the season but Bautista certainly means

Resurgence

Leon Haslam made his full time return to WorldSBK on the 2019 Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10RR at Phillip Island. Having won the 2018 British Superbike Championship Haslam comes into the series on a high. With a full winter testing programme under his belt on the new machine he hit the ground running in Australia.

In previous years Kawasaki have struggled to have both riders at the sharp end at Phillip Island. This year Haslam was right there with four time champion Jonathan Rea. In race one a small mistake in Honda corner took a podium place away from him and in race two he was running in second for much of the race until JR slipped past him in the closing stages. A third place in the Superpole race gave him a pretty satisfying start to his campaign.

2019 could be a proper resurgence for Haslam in WorldSBK. He had ridden for Puccetti Kawasaki as a wildcard in recent years but not since 2010, when bad luck dogged him towards the end of the season, has he been on credible WorldSBK championship winning machinery.

Coming Up On The Barrier

Marco Melandri was another rider who came to round one as an unknown quantity on the privateer GRT Yamaha YZF-R1.

The Italian has won both races at Phillip Island last year on the Ducati but had been jettisoned by the Borgo Panigale marque for 2019. He found a home at Yamaha, albeit in the satellite GRT squad, but on more or less the same machinery as the factory Pata Yamaha team.

He quietly and meticulously went about his business during the test days and free practice. In race one on Saturday he got bogged down in the start and dropped down to eighth place in the opening laps.

However, quietly and meticulously he picked his way back to the front and won the battle for the final podium spot with Alex Lowes on the factory R1.

In the Superpole race and race two he was always jousting with the factory boys, Lowes and Michael van der Mark, and team-mate Sandro Cortese. It will be an intriguing battle to see who comes out as the top Yamaha rider at the end of the season.

The Fighter

Alex Lowes continues to fight hard to put the Yamaha on the podium. Phillip Island was no exception. Fast all through testing, the race weekend didn’t possibly live up to expectations.

The YZF-R1 is on the cusp of some great results. Lowes was quoted before the race weekend that he felt they could be podium contenders at every race. On this showing he wasn’t wrong but there is still that little step to make to become champioship contenders.

One thing is for sure, Lowes will fight all the way to be there.

A VIEW FROM ABOVE

HAVING A GANDER AT THE FIELD

The Phillip Island geese didn’t fail to steal the limelight on the WorldSBK weekend as normal.

They are actually Cape Barren Geese and whilst they are all over Phillip Island they are apparently one of the rarest species of geese in the world. That, you would think would give them some sense of self preservation.

Throughout the two-day test on Monday and Tuesday at the Island sessions were regulalry red flagged because they had casually wandered on to the track.

Come race weekend they were always just there. One step in the wrong direction would have brought out the red flags but they seemed content to have a ringside seat and didn’t cause too many problems.

GRID PASS

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SBK Journal is Published by Slipstream Media Ltd, PO Box 26532, Glasgow, G74 9FB No part of this publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Slipstream Media Ltd. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the facts and the data contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted by Slipstream Media Ltd or any of the contributors for error or ommissions, or their consequences. ŠSlipstream Media Ltd Photography Graeme Brown Jamie Morris Vaclav Duska Jnr All Images Šgeebeeimages Design and Layout: Graeme Brown Jamie Morris v19.01 | 03.19

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Coming Next......

WorldSBK Round 2 - Buriram, Thailand.

2019 British Superbike Championship Season Preview.

and much more.