Relive a frantic 2016 Phillip Island Round for FREE this weekend
The 2016 season saw plenty of swapping and changes, but the wheel-to-wheel racing continued on ‘The Island’ from previous seasons!
Keeping in line with weekends gone by, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship will be showcasing a classic WorldSBK weekend in full for fans to enjoy. This weekend, it is the turn of the barnstorming Phillip Island season-opening event from 2016, where last lap duels between Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) left fans wanting more.
The classic Australian venue has hosted countless classics and 2016 was no different. After a hard-fought battle in Race 1 it was eventually all down to Jonathan Rea and arch-rival Chaz Davies on the final lap. Making his move at Turn 10, Davies looked like he had it done but running wide, Rea was able to sweep back ahead in order to draw first blood in the 2016 season.
However, it wasn’t just the battle for the lead that got the packed Australian crowd on their feet. Michael van der Mark’s Pata Honda was right in contention too, although he was in a fight of his own with Davies’ teammate Davide Giugliano. The Dutchman and the Italian weren’t able to make a big enough impact to change the outcome but nonetheless put on a phenomenal show, with three different manufacturers taking to the Phillip Island podium.
In the World Supersport Championship, it was a dream debut for Randy Krummenacher in crazy circumstances. The Puccetti Kawasaki rider was nicely placed in second but with two-and-a-half laps to go, race leader and Puccetti teammate Kenan Sofuoglu made an uncharacteristic error and crashed out at Turn 6. That left Krummenacher with empty to track to become the first Swiss rider in World Supersport history to take victory. With late race rain also coming into play, it was Federico Caricasulo who took second ahead of Anthony West in third, whilst Christian Gamarino took an unlikely fourth.
Race 2 in WorldSBK proved to be another firecracker, as Rea and Davies once again went head-to-head. After a race long fight it was again down to the final lap, but Davies, whilst attempting to pass at Turn 4, crashed out, giving Jonathan Rea the double Down Under. Michael van der Mark snatched second whilst his new teammate for 2016, Nicky Hayden, was denied a podium by a phenomenal last lap, last corner pass by Davide Giugliano. Once again, it was three different manufacturers on the podium and for the fourth straight race at Phillip Island.
This would be a taster of what was to come in the coming rounds, with Race 2 at Buriram also being a cracking encounter. You can enjoy that race in FULL for FREE on our YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe for more wheel-to-wheel content!
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Make sure to enjoy all of the 2020 action when racing resumes with the WorldSBK VideoPass!
