WorldSBK Results | Aragon Race 2 | Redding hits jackpot on slick risk this time

After paying for running wet tyres on a drying track in the Superpole Race, Scott Redding's slick tyre gamble on a damp circuit leads to a dominant Ducati success

Scott Redding - ducati WorldSBK 2021

Scott Redding produced a tactically redemptive performance to secure his and Ducati’s first win of the 2021 WorldSBK Championship in Aragon following a bold but inspired slick tyre selection on a damp track.

With intermittent rain keeping the lengthy circuit somewhat varied in terms of grip, almost the entire field played it safe with intermediate rubber with the exception of Redding and Chaz Davies.

Though Davies demonstrated exactly why he was in the minority with his slid off at Turn 4 on the opening lap, Redding held his nerve and waited for the circuit to come to him, holding station in sixth initially before picking his rivals off to put his ideally-shod Dicato into the lead by six.

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Proceeding to multiply his advantage for the remainder of the race, Redding crossed the line  almost ten seconds clear of the chasing pack. The result is particularly fitting given Redding was the minority at the other end of the scale choosing wet tyres in a drying Superpole Race, leaving him eighth.

With Redding regaining some points back on anticipated title rival Jonathan Rea, the Ulsterman will nonetheless be thankful the difference wasn’t chunkier when he was fortunate not to be taken down by am ambitious overtake attempt at Turn 14 by an impatient Garrett Gerloff.

On the limit of perhaps considered ‘racing’ and ‘reckless’, the late lunge brought Gerloff down and sent Rea taking the ‘Playstation’ shortcut across the complex, slipping back to fourth.

Bizarrely in all of this kerfuffle, Toprak Razgatlioglu was the big winner going from fifth to first in just two corners as incidents unfolded ahead.

However, this wasn’t to be Yamaha’s strongest race, with the fight for the remaining podium positions a tussle between Kawasaki and, for the first time in a while, BMW.

As has often been the case at other venues, the BMW M 1000 RR shares the trait of working better in cooler conditions with Michael van der Mark pushing on in the slippery conditions to briefly lead before Redding steamed through.

The Dutchman gamely succeeded in resisting the Kawasakis of Alex Lowes and Jonathan Rea, his more daring efforts under braking keeping him in front until five laps to go when Rea slipped through and was promptly followed by Lowes, who completed a podium brace for Kawasaki in all three races.

Also getting the better of van der Mark was Tom Sykes, who - perhaps against reputation - showed impressive late pace to defeat his new team-mate in what remains BMW’s best result in WorldSBK since 2019.

Razgatlioglu faded after his early rally at the front of the field, ahead of Gerloff, who staged an impressive fight back from the tangle with Rea that left him on the deck and earned him a long lap penalty too.

Jonas Folger made impressive gains in the final race of the day aboard the MGM Bonovo BMW, claiming eighth, ahead of Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli and Lucas Mahias.

A torrid end to the weekend for Honda, Alvaro Bautista could only manage 11th, while Leon Haslam failed to finish after a crash.

2021 WorldSBK Aragon - Race 2 Results

WorldSBK Aragon | Race 2 090-Results | Round 1 / 13
PosRiderNat.WorldSBK TeamSuperbikeTiming
1Scott ReddingESPAruba Racing DucatiDucati Panigale V4 R19 Laps
2Jonathan ReaGBRKawasaki Racing TeamKawasakI ZX-10RR+9.856
3Alex LowesGBRKawasaki Racing TeamKawasakI ZX-10RR+10.434
4Tom SykesGBRBMW Motorrad WorldSBKBMW M1000RR+12.094
5Michael van der MarkNEDBMW Motorrad WorldSBKBMW M1000RR+16.234
6Toprak RazgatliogluTURPata Yamaha by BRIXXYamaha YZF-R1+20.191
7Garrett GerloffESPGRT Yamaha WorldSBKYamaha YZF-R1+20.427
8Jonas FolgerGERBonovo MGM ActionBMW M1000RR+20.587
9Andrea LocatelliITAPata Yamaha by BRIXXYamaha YZF-R1+25.026
10Lucas MahiasESPKawasaki Puccetti RacingKawasakI ZX-10RR+28.855
11Alvaro BautistaESPTeam HRC HondaHonda CBR1000RR-R+35.644
12Kohta NozaneESPGRT Yamaha WorldSBKYamaha YZF-R1+38.275
13Isaac VinalesESPOrelac Racing VerdNatura KawasakI ZX-10RR+41.585
14Axel BassaniESPMotocorsa RacingDucati Panigale V4 R"+44.922
15Christophe PonssonESPAlstare YamahaYamaha YZF-R1+46.022
16Michael Ruben RinaldiESPAruba Racing DucatiDucati Panigale V4 R+1m >
17Eugene LavertyIRLRC Squadra CorseBMW M1000RR+1m >
18Leandro MercadoESPMIE RacingHonda CBR1000RR-R+1m >
19Chaz DaviesGBRTeam GoElevenDucati Panigale V4 R+1 Lap
20Loris CressonESPTPR Team Pedercini RacingKawasakI ZX-10RR+2 Laps
21Samuele CavalieriESPTPR Team Pedercini RacingKawasakI ZX-10RR+3 Laps
DNFTito RabatESPBarni Racing TeamDucati Panigale V4 RCrash
DNFLeon HaslamESPTeam HRC HondaHonda CBR1000RR-RCrash