Dosoli Debrief: Phenomenal Riding not Rewarded in Most

02-08-2023

Dosoli Debrief: Phenomenal Riding not Rewarded in Most

The eighth round of the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship was held at the Autodrom Most, Czechia, and for Yamaha’s riders and teams it provided dizzying highs with sensational victories and nail-biting battles, and disappointing lows with costly crashes and influences beyond their control.

One of the key features of the Czech race weekend was the weather, with extremely heavy downpours punctuating the summer sunshine and making riding conditions very challenging and unpredictable.

Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager, commented:
“The weather conditions strongly influenced the activities of our teams and riders, but I’m happy to see the level of preparation reached by all of them. They were always ready and always took the right decisions for tyre choice. I would like to congratulate the local organisers, who succeeded in increasing the number of spectators by 45%, reaching the important figure of 53.800, despite the variable weather conditions. It was great to see so many fans throughout the event. From a result side it was a very mixed weekend for us; the results achieved by our riders are far behind the level of performance shown during the race, especially in WorldSBK where we could have drastically reduced the gap with the leader, potentially to just 44 points.”

Terrific Toprak Suffers Setback

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu was on course for another superb weekend after the Turkish star set an all-time circuit record (1'30.801) during the Tissot Superpole session, confirming his love for the Czech track. He collected second place and 20 points in Race 1, but for the third round in a row he was able to win the Superpole Race in style. When it came to the final race of the weekend, Razgatlıoğlu displayed his phenomenal skill and unique braking abilities to keep up an almost race-long battle with his title rival, Alvaro Bautista. The Yamaha rider returned to the head of the race time and time again in a spectacular display, but his blistering pace proved problematic when it came to the rear tyre and a catastrophic failure caused him to high side out of the lead. Thanks to his run of great results, his title deficit could have been reduced to 44 points with the Race 2 win, but instead he sits 74 points from the lead.

Loka Prepares to Bounce Back

Andrea Locatelli also had a troubled time in Most; after collecting a decent sixth place in Race 1, a fast crash ruled him out of the Superpole Race. Thankfully uninjured, the Italian was able to recoup and finish Race 2 in seventh. The weekend was a blow for Locatelli’s position in the standings as he slips 24 points behind third place. However, “Loka” has shown tenacity all season and is sure to fight back in the latter part of the season.

Andrea Dosoli:

“Toprak confirmed that he is the fastest man in Most, and only a severe and unexpected issue with his rear tyre prevented him from winning Race 2. Anyway, the fight we all saw before that moment will remain imprinted in the minds of all the spectators - the way he overtook Bautista at Turn 1, from the outside, has gained a clear spot in the ‘Encyclopedia of Motorsport’! All the non-Ducati riders in the Top 7 experienced blistering issues on the rear tyre during the race, probably due to the different way of using the tyres, being that our riders are forced to stress the edge of the tyre in order to recover in the corners what is lost on the straight. Despite the great effort made by Pirelli, bringing dedicated prototype tyres for such a demanding track, the improved level of the competition in combination with the dry practice time lost due to the changeable weather, ended up in a dangerous situation. The good point is that Toprak was not injured, somehow lucky to have crashed in a very slow corner and not, just few meters ahead, on a much quicker corner. The FIM, Dorna and the MSMA should seriously consider how to prevent similar situations in the future.
Andrea struggled more than usual this weekend, the results were not helped by the grid position and the crash in the Superpole Race. The summer break will help him to reset and regroup from Magny-Cours on, and we’re sure he’ll come back fighting.”

Remy Equals Best WorldSBK Result

GYTR GRT’s Remy Gardner quickly picked up the intricacies of Most, getting more comfortable with each session despite the treacherous conditions. The Australian rookie qualified on the front row of the grid in third and, although he could only manage 11th in Race 1, he impressed with sixth in both the Superpole Race and Race 2 – equalling his best WorldSBK finish so far after he achieved sixth in Assen back in April. Gardner’s team-mate Dominique Aegerter continues to suffer discomfort with his arm following the arm pump surgery he underwent before Misano. The Swiss rider found Most to be particularly challenging from this point of view and he managed a best of eighth in Race 2.

“We saw good signs of improvement from Remy during the Most weekend, straight away he had good feeling with the track and the stiffer tyres, despite it being unknown to him. He succeeded in qualifying on the front row and fight with the top boys, keeping a small gap from the winner at the end of the race. He is on the right path to become a top rider soon. Dominique was not able to put in the type of performance we know he’s capable of, also in this case the summer break will be beneficial. As will the support of the team and our engineers who will assist him to get back to the positions he deserves.”

Manzi Loses Ground Despite Great Pace

WorldSSP 600

Stefano Manzi arrived in Czechia fresh from a euphoric double win in Imola, but whilst he had strong pace and determination in spades, luck wasn’t on his side for the second race of the weekend in Most. The Italian took a well-earned second place in Race 1 but felt he could’ve closed the gap to leader if the race hadn’t been shortened due to an early red flag. In Race 2 Manzi proved that over the longer race distance he could run the pace and close down his rival, however, a technical failure ruled him out. Manzi’s team-mate, Jorge Navarro had one of his best showings of the season and was on for the podium fight before a crash in the weather affected Race 2.

“In WorldSSP we have achieved less on paper than what our riders showed on the track, due to crashes and a technical issue. Stefano, after the P2 in Race 1 was in a good position to fight with the championship leader, but he was forced to withdraw from the race due to an unusual issue with the gearbox, which is currently under investigation. Jorge was able to show a great step forward compared to the previous race, his physical condition and the feeling with the bike has really improved, therefore it was a shame that he had a crash on a wet patch while he was fighting for the podium.”

bLU cRU Riders Show Their True Colours

WorldSSP 300

Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Championship rider Aldi Mahendra appeared as a wildcard in Most, and he wowed onlookers by setting the fastest lap of the race in both his outings and winning Race 2, despite having never visited the track before. The WorldSSP300 class was the most affected by the rain, with their second race being delayed by over an hour and both races held in wet conditions, but the Indonesian took it all in his stride and proved that he’s able to fight with the class regulars. Fellow bLU cRU wildcard Kevin Fontainha also managed a highly impressive fourth in Race 2. Marco Gaggi claimed a great second place in Race 1 but crashed out of Race 2. While title contenders Mirko Gennai and Matteo Vannucci failed to score points during the weekend, but both stay within touching distance of the crown, as does Humberto Maier.

“The weather didn’t help our teams and young riders, with negative consequences for our top riders like Gennai, Vannucci and Maier, who all failed to score the results they deserve, largely due to conditions. The absence of the R3 bLU cRU Championship in Most gave the chance for some of our boys to enter the event as replacements or wildcards, it was really nice to have a total of 10 riders from the bLU cRU series on the grid, a really good indicator of the value of the program. My congratulations go to Aldi Mahendra, who has been the quickest rider in both races and succeeded to win Race 2 in tricky wet conditions, all of this in his only second race in WorldSSP and his first time in Czechia. Congratulations also to Gaggi for the well-deserved podium in Race 1 and to the BrCorse team for the support given to both Mahendra and Gaggi.”