"Iannone just hit me from behind, his bike was completely lifted on the rear… I want to apologise to all the riders and teams involved"
There were spicy quotes galore after WorldSBK’s visit to Hungary, covering topics from the Race 1 pile-up, Superpole Race mistakes and silly season
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s newest venue provided plenty of drama during the Hungarian Round at the Balaton Park Circuit. WorldSBK’s 1000th race was celebrated with a mixed conditions thriller, while Race 1 and Race 2 both featured plenty of passing and intrigue. Riders gathered for media debriefs, and we’ve gathered the best quotes in one place…
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “It was a chaotic weekend… Iannone just hit me from behind!”
Reviewing his Sunday, Petrucci said: “It was a chaotic weekend. In the Superpole Race, I tried to make a gamble, but this track has a lot of grip and traction, and even if there were some wet patches, with the slick tyres, they were faster. I led the race for two corners, and then I struggled. In Race 2, I tried to recover. I caught Sam quite fast. Nicolo and I have quite a similar setup, and we struggled quite a bit compared to Sam and Alvaro; they’re riding in the opposite way. Maybe this track isn’t easy for me and Nicolo. I have a different swingarm compared to the other Ducatis, and I didn’t have a lot of traction. I suffered from the vibration under braking and then on the throttle. Maybe for the next round, we’ll go back to the standard swingarm. Honestly, I’m thinking about whether Toprak winning and van der Mark being 15th is more or less like when Marc Marquez was winning on the Honda; it’s quite similar. I don’t know if the BMW is like the Honda in MotoGP, or if Toprak is like Marquez.”
When asked whether ‘the next rider who jumps on the BMW is in trouble’, Petrucci burst out laughing and said: “I don’t know!”
On Saturday, ‘Petrux’ spoke about the Race 1 crash and said: “I didn’t see any of it, because Iannone just hit me from behind. I think everyone saw how he got a double Long Lap penalty, his bike was completely lifted on the rear, and he crashed into me. To me, that a rider who causes a six-rider crash, sending two of them to the hospital, and a big pain in my shoulder should be allowed to restart the race with the rest of the grid is unacceptable. It’s like in a video game ,you can just crash and restart. I haven’t spoken to Iannone, for me, for right now it’s better that he stays away from me. I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want him to say sorry and ask for forgiveness because it’s not the first time we crash together, he apologises, then goes to the journalists and says that maybe I crossed the line. Luckily, there are stewards, but I honestly don’t understand his behaviour. It is not a matter of the track, to me, there are just some unsafe riders.”
Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven): “I want to apologise to all the riders and teams involved”
In the team’s post-Saturday press release, Iannone said: “Unfortunately, we were unlucky in Superpole today, where the red flag came out when we were in line with pole or at least the front row. P8 isn’t a bad starting position, but here at Balaton, the first two corners are very tight. At the change of direction between Turns 1 and 2, I found myself in the middle, I tried to brake, the bike started sliding and I couldn’t stop. I want to apologise to all the riders and teams involved.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “The BMW has improved; we’ve improved the electronics and some grip and turning”
An extended 26-point lead at the top of the standings for Razgatlioglu after his hat-trick. He said: “In Race 1, we used the standard SC0, and I felt that in the last six or seven laps, it dropped. For Race 2, I used a different tyre, and I felt it was more consistent. The Superpole Race was a very special race, winning the 1000th one after I won race 800 and 900. There are many slow corners, which is good for me. I just braked hard, made the chicanes and had good acceleration. In Race 2, I saw the clouds coming and they were dark, so I tried to finish the race quicker! I’m always very strong at Donington. Here, it was a new track for everyone, and many slow corners are good for my style. The BMW has improved but it’s the same chassis and everything. We’ve only improved the electronics and some grip and turning, but small steps. The big difference is I’m not thinking about last year anymore.”
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati): “It dried much quicker than I saw on the sighting laps. I made a mistake”
Two P2s in the long races but no points in the Superpole Race for Bulega, who said: “When I did the two sighting laps, I saw Turns 5, 14 and 1 were quite wet. There was no wind. We stayed on the grid, and the wind came a bit, and the track temperature went up. It dried much quicker than I saw on the sighting laps. I made a mistake. These conditions are very difficult for me because I cannot ride how I want. In Race 2, I was very focused on recovering from the mistake. Aragon and Jerez, I can be fast. Last year, I won at Magny-Cours, but Toprak wasn’t there. This year, I think I can be fast and improve. The next rounds are always, on paper, better than this.”
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team): “We’re going in the right direction, we’re not far away”
A double rostrum for Sam Lowes on Sunday, with the Brit saying: “It would’ve been nice to finish Race 1, but it was a really good Sunday. We’re going in the right direction. I think some guys, like Petrucci, had inter tyres. Toprak made a small mistake, so it looked like the difference was more than it was. The track was pretty dry, especially on the line. I went for a completely dry bike, which was the right call. After my mistake in Race 1, I could’ve maybe pushed a bit more in the middle, but, in the end, I didn’t have the same speed as Toprak. I just tried to relax and, when he passed me, make a nice race. Missing the second part of Race 1 didn’t help in Race 2. There are a few areas where Bulega is stronger than I am. He’s doing a few little things better, and he’s riding the bike a bit smoother. We’re not far away.”
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati): “They never said to me they don’t want me… the door is not closed”
Speaking about his Race 2 crash and his future, Bautista said: “I’m okay. It’s a big shame because we did well in the Superpole Race in conditions that weren’t easy. In Race 2, I had a good start, but I felt like a passenger in the early laps, so all I could do was defend my position. Sam and Nicolo passed me and made some mistakes, so I could recover the gap. Before the crash, a few corners before, I started to ride the bike a bit better, but then I crashed. It seems like, when we’re closing the gap to third in the Championship, we have some accident or incident that increases the gap! The problem is, it’s August, so nobody works, and it’s hard to speak to people! Simone, my manager, is working. I hope to have something much earlier than September. I’m confident, and maybe in a few days or not too long, we’ll have something. We signed a contract for ’25 and ’26, with the possibility to not continue from both sides. Ducati decided we couldn’t keep the same conditions for these two years. They never said to me that they don’t want me, and, at the moment, Ducati said, ‘Wait, because we don’t have a decision about the riders yet’. The door is not closed. It’s true that I accepted conditions being a two-time World Champion that were maybe too low, but I accepted because I wanted to race.”
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team): “To finish sixth was a good ride, we passed a few people, enjoyed the race”
Speaking after fighting to P6 in Race 2, Alex Lowes said: “My pace in the longer races was good, it was hard for us to pass on this track, and it’s hard for us to pass in general. So, starting back there was tough for us. I think I was P14 after Lap 1. To finish sixth was a good ride; we passed a few people, enjoyed the race, we tried the bike with quite a different setting from Saturday and learned a bit more about the bike. We missed an opportunity in the Superpole Race, we should have been on slick tyres, but we went with intermediate tyres. On slick tyres it would have been my sort of conditions. It was our decision, we didn’t make the right one, and it ruined the race; and that’s it.”
Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing): “The team made some of the bike’s weaker areas a lot stronger this weekend”
Vickers claimed a career-best P7 in the Superpole Race and said: “Every session, barring one we were inside the top 8 all weekend, so wet, dry, whatever; it’s been great to continue that form from Donington. We missed the top 10 in the full-length race, but we managed to get our best result in the Superpole Race and did it in my worst type of conditions; slicks on a damp track is the only conditions I don’t particularly enjoy riding on. The team made some of the bike’s weaker areas a lot stronger this weekend. At Turn 1, I wasn’t able to stop the bike all weekend, but then I was able to hit the apex in every lap bar one after hitting it maybe three times. I had to do the long lap as I wasn’t able to measure out a second exactly, then on the entry to the long lap I hit a bump right on the entry, nearly lost the front then had to release the brake and go onto the gravel or else I would have ended up on my backside.”
Tarran Mackenzie (MGM BONOVO Action): “I felt like a kid at Christmas on Friday and Saturday!”
Mackenzie made his MGM BONOVO Action debut in Hungary and scored his best WorldSBK result. He stated on Sunday: “It was a lot to deal with! I felt like I had every condition thrown at me, with slick tyres on a wet track, hot conditions on Saturday, different conditions in the last race, wet conditions in Warm Ups, new bike, new track, new team, new personnel. I qualified in 21st, which I know didn’t look amazing, but I knew I had more potential in the race. The bike is so different, but in a good way. Normally, I’m a slow burner with these things, but I felt like I took a step mid race. You can see that my lap times I started going from mid-1’41s to high-1’40s. It wasn’t a win, but the feeling of sitting on the grid, nervous and not just flat, wanting to get up and ride on a Superpole day, I felt like a kid at Christmas on Friday and Saturday. I said before the weekend that I wanted to reignite the fire and find my old self again, and that’s something I’ve done. Even if this is just one race, it’s been worth it, so the fact that I get four more is even better. The deal between me and the team is until the end of the season.”
Photo credits: ALEX PHOTO
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