IN
THE
WIND
P28
pace and five-time championship
status.
Redding, with familiar prob-
lems of grip in the long corners,
found it impossible to close in
on Rea, after some early fights
and position swaps with Michael
Ruben Rinaldi.
Rinaldi would eventually drop
back on an X rear tire that was
not up to 20 laps of the abrasive
track surface, to finish seventh.
Behind Redding, who fin-
ished in second place, was
Chaz Davies, his Aruba.it Ducati
teammate, overcoming not only a
lowly start off the fourth row but
also ten early laps with no com-
petitive pace, to finish strongly.
The Sunday sprint was a dra-
matic affair at times, although the
most dramatic high highside at
T4 for sudden new leader Alvaro
Bautista probably robbed us all of
a third-rider fight for the win, as
VDM won his first of 2020, Rea
was second and behind, the in-
dependent riders were on strong
form, with Loris Baz third on his
Ten Kate Yamaha for his second
podium finish of 2020.
Gerloff was fifth with more to
come later that same day.
Another sensation, in a bad
way for a change, was Scott Red-
ding, only in eighth place after
not using the super-soft X tire that
most others did.
Davies' win was his 31st, and his
first since Laguna Seca last year.
There was no dream Catalunya
first win for an HRC Honda and
Bautista. Bautista retired with a
mechanical in race two.
In the title fight, Rea has 290
points, Redding 239, Davies 188
and VDM 178.
WorldSSP: Locatelli The
New Champion
Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Evan
Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) has
now won every race in the sea-
son with the exception of one—
the first one in Catalunya—and is
the new world champion in the
most impressive way possible.
The first race was halted due to
rain while everyone pitted for rain
tires, everyone except one rider,
Andy Verdoia (bLU cRU WorldSSP
by MS Racing) who stayed out on
slicks. When the red flag even-
tually came out, the 17-year-old
happened to be in the right place
at the right time and was credited
with the win. Locatelli won the
next day's race in the dry.
"It's a dream!" said the new
champ Locatelli on Sunday. "Until
then you know it's alive but it's an
incredible day. We work every-
where, every time very well and
this is our objective."
In the points Locatelli now
has 263, Mahias 159, Cluzel an
unchanged 146, and Ottl 124.
Gordon Ritchie
SUPERBIKE
Race One
1. Jonathan Rea (Kaw)
2. Scott Redding (Duc)
3. Chaz Davies (Duc)
4. Michael van der Mark (Yam)
5. Alvaro Bautista (Hon)
Superpole
1. Michael van der Mark (Yam)
2. Jonathan Rea (Kaw)
3. Loris Baz (Yam)
4. Chaz Davies (Duc)
5. Garrett Gerloff (Yam)
Race Two
1. Chaz Davies (Duc)
2. Michael van der Mark (Yam)
3. Garrett Gerloff (Yam)
4. Jonathan Rea (Kaw)
5. Tom Sykes (BMW)
Andrea Locatelli
locked up the
WorldSSP title.
