SBK, Imola: Bautista keen to forget the past, Petrucci and Toprak dream big

From Alvaro Bautista to Alvaro Bautista. The first point of contact between the last time WorldSBK lit up Imola – in 2019 – and the championship's upcoming return to the track is the Spaniard, who comes to Romagna as the championship leader just as he did four years ago. But today’s Bautista is very different to the rider we saw at Imola in 2019, given the macroscopic progress made over the years, particularly in terms of his handling of the Panigale V4R, a new entry back then but now the category's benchmark bike.

As at Donington though, Bautista is up against history, in that Ducati hasn’t won at Imola since 2017. In 2019, Alvaro was unable to fend off a Jonathan Rea who has also proved unbeatable at the 2018 round, but today the Kawasaki rider is still chasing his first win of the season, compared to an Alvaro who was already able to break the spell in the UK, at a track, like Imola, where pace through the changes of direction counts for more than top speed. The Spaniard defines Imola as “not a very safe track so it’s even more important not to make mistakes”, which only adds to the thinking that a win might be more complicated than usual.

Rea is also not Bautista’s only rival. His main competition right now is Toprak Razgatlioglu, the only rider to have beaten the Spaniard so far this season. The challenging braking presented by this ‘old-style’ track are the Turk’s bread and butter - in fact his very first win of 2019 came at Imola, in what would be his last season with Kawasaki before switching to Yamaha, a bike he’ll be riding around the undulating Italian track for the first time in Friday's FP1.

Petrucci, Rinaldi and the hunger for a repeat performance at Imola

But Toprak’s three-year absence from Imola is nothing compared to that of Danilo Petrucci. Fresh from his first SBK podium at Donington, the Italian has not raced at the Santerno circuit since 2011, when he won the Stock1000 race ahead of Davide Giugliano. Petrucci enters the second Italian round in a totally different frame of mind compared to Misano, thanks not only to the podium scored in the UK, but particularly due to the speed he demonstrated throughout the entire weekend, confirmed by his front row Superpole result and top five finishes across all three races.

A speed that Michael Ruben Rinaldi shares, though in this case results and peace of mind are sorely lacking. Aside from a flicker at Misano, the Italian’s 2023 season has fallen short of expectations, which has only heightened doubts about his place on the Aruba team for 2024. That said, Imola might be the ideal track at which to find his way again.

Rinaldi has also won at the Santerno track in the past, finishing first in the 2017 Stock1000 race, and he definitely knows the track better than most on the grid. A little like Axel Bassani, whose recent past in the Italian CIV series, which always races at Imola, could be an extra weapon. The Italian is something of a loose cannon in Superbike and there’s no telling whether or not he might be able to score a surprising result at Imola, like the podium he snatched at Misano.

Locatelli wants the podium, BMW a mystery

Another one to watch is Andrea Locatelli, the highest-placed Italian in the standings right now thanks to a real consistency that sees him place third overall. But he has never ridden a Superbike at Imola, which could be an issue at first, one to overcome with his talent and the excellent handling of the R1, a strength that – just as it is for Kawasaki – could prove important. The same goes for Lorenzo Baldassarri, keen for the kind of results that can boost both morale and his points total, and the GRT team, coming off the back of a rather disappointing Donington round.

As for BMW, its potential remains to be seen, also in light of an incomprehensible performance at Donington Park –difficulties all weekend followed by a fourth place finish for Scott Redding in race 2 – and the fact that the BMW we saw at Imola in 2019 was very different to today’s machine. Together with Ducati, the German manufacturer has made the biggest investment in recent years, highlighted by their hiring of Razgatlioglu for the 2024 season, but this is apparently not enough to guarantee results. A second rider is yet to be confirmed for the Imola round, given the uncertainty surrounding Michael Van Der Mark’s return and the recent injuries sustained by his substitute, Tom Sykes.

The Honda package is another that needs (re)building, as the manufacturer heads to Imola with few certainties and many doubts. The problems with the bike stll appear unclear, as repeatedly reported by the riders. Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge will also need to learn the Imola track quickly, as it is another that they’ve never seen before.