UPS AND DOWNS: Three first-time 2021 winners, an unwanted record for Davies
Joy and despair up-and-down the grid at Misano as three riders stood on top of the podium for the first time this season, while Davies had his first no-score at a round since 2015
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was an incredibly happy round for some riders as they bounced back into form, secured their first wins of 2021 and more at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” while it also led to some low points in the paddock at the Pirelli Made in Italy Emilia-Romagna Round.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)’s switch to the factory Ducati outfit for the 2021 campaign proved challenging in the first two rounds of the season, but the Italian bounced back in superb style at his home event. He was leading the way on Friday and while he was unable to take pole position in Tissot Superpole, in Race 1 he leapt to the front on the opening lap to claim his first win since the 2020 Teruel Round and backed this up in Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race as he battled his rivals on track.
Turkish star Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) had claimed six podiums in eight races prior to Race 2 at Misano without standing on the top step of the podium, finishing second four times so far in 2021. That changed in Race 2 as he denied Rinaldi a home hat-trick to claim his first victory of the 2021 campaign. Crucially for Razgatlioglu, he finished ahead of Rea in all three races and closed the Championship gap to just 20 points.
In the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship, there was not anyone who would’ve begrudged Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) her first victory of 2021 after taking advantage of a late error from rival Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki). Carrasco’s 2020 campaign was cruelly ended by injury sustained while testing at Estoril, but she took just two rounds and four races to return to winnings ways.
At the other end of the spectrum, it was a weekend to forget for Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) after he recorded three retirements from Misano. Davies crashed out of Race 1 at Turn 4, while his Tissot Superpole Race came to an early when at the complex of corners to start the lap after the British rider made contact with Lucas Mahias’s (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) Kawasaki machine. Although he was declared fit to race for Race 2 following the Superpole Race crash, Davies felt pain in his shoulder and decided to retire after struggling in the right-hand corners. It meant Davies had his first non-score from a single round for the first time since Imola 2015, when two technical issues hampered him, while it was the first time he recorded three consecutive retirements since 2012, when he retired from Races 1 and 2 at Portimao and Race 1 at Magny-Cours the following event.
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