The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship descends on the Cremona Circuit, a new venue for the series, for Round 9 of the 2024 season. The Acerbis Italian Round takes place this weekend with everything to play for, especially with points leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ruled out. Ahead of the action getting underway, plenty of riders gave their views on the weekend ahead as well as the title fight…
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “Normally I agree with team orders… both riders have a chance to win the title!”
Discussing his fitness and potential team orders at Ducati, Bautista said: “It’s very soon to be normal because it’s almost 10 days since I crash at Magny-Cours. I worked really hard at home, doing a lot of therapy and I did the maximum I can do. I feel good to have a ‘normal’ life, but riding a bike is a different story. I had the check this morning and the doctor said okay for FP1, then I have to see my condition. This weekend, especially for Nicolo, is very important because if he can have a good weekend, he can take the Championship lead. Normally, I agree with team orders in the case where one rider doesn’t have a chance to win the title. At the moment, both riders have a chance to win the title. I don’t want to help him or him to help me because we are fighting for the same thing and both riders have the chance to win it. In my mind, there is not the chance to fight for the Championship. First of all, I want to check my physical condition riding the bike and I’ll try to go from less to more this weekend.”
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “For the Championship, I’d like to recover a lot of points…”
On his home round and needing to take advantage of Razgatlioglu’s absence, Bulega said: “I’m very happy especially coming from Magny-Cours, where Sunday was very good for us. I come here with strong positivity, and I want to continue to go fast and have a good feeling with my bike. This isn’t my home round, we already did that at Misano, but it’s like my second home round because I live not too far from here. Even if I’m not at 100%, I can ride well because I already won at Magny-Cours. I’ll try to ride around this problem. First of all, I’m really sorry that Toprak is still suffering from his crash at Magny-Cours. I hope he comes back soon because it’s another story if he comes here. For the Championship, obviously now I’d like to recover a lot of points because it’s important for us. I don’t expect anything, I try to stay focused on my job, trying to do what I’ve done all season; always alone.”
Sven Blusch (Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport): “We can’t really say at the moment if Toprak will be back at Aragon… as long as the pneumothorax is there, Toprak is still not allowed to race”
Blusch provided an update on Razgatlioglu’s fitness and the title fight, saying: “It’s been crazy weeks for sure. Yesterday when we got the final answer that he’s unfit, it was difficult for the whole team for Toprak. But to be honest, today we are already thinking about Aragon on his recovery. He is doing better and better but unfortunately, it’s the pneumothorax which is still there, and it takes time. We can’t really say at the moment if Toprak will be back at Aragon. It’s a topic where the doctors can judge it better. For us, we are hoping that he’s there and we are pushing 100%. But time will tell. The title fight will be a challenge in the end. We were in a good situation coming to Magny-Cours. Everything changed now, but in the end, the last race is still way up in the air, and we have to wait for it. We hope Toprak is back in Aragon and nothing is lost. Markus Reiterberger, our Bavarian rocket I would say, is back on the bike and he knows the track from tests. This helps us and we will try to have him up to speed as soon as possible and also doing test work for Toprak to prepare the Championship in the best possible way with him.”
Speaking in a media scrum, Blusch added: “As long as the pneumothorax is there, Toprak is still not allowed to race. Obviously, I think we all know that riders, if they have pain, they go through it and they don’t have any problems to push. On that point, I would say it’s really tricky because he doesn’t have a lot of pain. In his mind, he’s ready to race. All the doctors agreed on that point that it’s too dangerous to ride. This is the biggest problem at the moment on our side. We’re really hoping for Aragon but it’s too early to say anything at the moment.”
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “The track is really enjoyable… I want to make the final step of my path; it will be a dream to win a race in Italy”
On his home round, Petrucci said: “It’s a big question mark when we have been here with testing, I was doing all day with the production bike because my shoulder was completely off. But, at the end, I’ve been here, one month ago, again with the production bike, and the track is really enjoyable. I think people will have fun. It’s such a, let’s say, short and narrow track. A win is the target. Let’s say in this previous round, we didn’t have the full potential to win a race, so we still miss a couple of tenths, especially at Magny-Cours. I was trying to catch Nicolo, but when I was closing the gap to him, he was doing, again, some fast laps. It will be tough, but this is the target after three podiums. I want to make the final step of my path. I don’t know if it will be the situation here, but it will be a dream to win a race here in Italy. To consolidate yourself in the top five, it’s already a great target for us because I completely skipped one round. And as I told you, I was at 50%. It would be nice to finish in the top five.”
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “We should be able to fight for the podium; if we can take points off Toprak’s rivals, it’ll be a really good weekend”
Reminiscing about his victory in France and how he plans to help teammate Razgatlioglu this weekend, van der Mark said: “Magny-Cours was a nice weekend for me, finally being back on the podium and winning; it was fantastic. There were a lot of emotions because there was a mixed feeling in the team, with Toprak crashing and being unfit. I’m feeling good and very strong. I think we’re able to fight for the podium again this weekend. We’ve seen in the last couple of rounds, I’m getting stronger and stronger. I’m fighting for the podium. We should be able to fight for the podium and if we can take some points off Toprak’s rivals, it’ll be a really good weekend.”
Xavi Vierge (Team HRC): “It looks like we found a path to follow that allows us to perform better and use the power in a proper way…”
Discussing Honda’s steps in recent rounds and tests, Vierge said: “I’m really looking forward to racing here. We’re lucky that we had a few days of testing here, so some jobs are already done; I hope this gives us a small advantage. The last two races have been positive so we’ll try to keep the ball rolling, keep the same progression and see if we can have good races. At Portimao and Most, things were already better. We had a good test at Estoril, and it looks like we found a new path to follow that allows us to perform better and to use the power in a proper way. We saw it at Magny-Cours with three strong races, we were close to the podium positions. At Aragon, we tried to adapt our bike to the new surface and then we focused on bike setup and some adjustments to the suspension that gave us a bit more confidence; it’s super important especially for a track like Cremona. I’m super happy that Bridewell’s joining us. He’s performing well in his championship. I hope he enjoys it, and we’ll try to share data and the goal is to improve for everyone. Between Magny-Cours and here, after the Aragon test, I got married. I’m super happy… and now a honeymoon in Cremona!”
Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK): “We don’t have any expectations… it would be a dream to ride in WorldSBK”
Returning for his first race in the World Superbike Championship since 2019, Bridewell said: “I’m always excited. For me it’s exciting because last time was a very last-minute call up to replace Eugene, who was injured. So, this time we’ve had time to prepare in every discipline really with my fitness, with everything. To be honest I am looking forward to the challenge ahead. We did the test here some months ago now and it was positive. The hard bit for us was the weather. Honestly, one day was really wet and we maybe got about half a day of dry, strong time. I felt great on the bike. Honestly, the pace was okay, but we were still just learning. I was adjusting to the World Superbike spec of electronics and things. Our expectation this weekend, honestly, we don’t have any. For me, it’s just to enjoy the weekend. For Honda, for us as a team, all the information will be available. In some areas, maybe I’m doing things differently, but it’s just about working, keeping calm, keeping focused and working through the programme and normally that stands in good shape. It would be a dream to ride in WorldSBK but honestly my focus is to continue with Honda and honestly with that I need to see what options are available. I love British Superbike; I enjoy racing there but maybe we can look at adding some races to my already busy calendar and I’d be happy with that.”
