In a near duplicate of yesterday’s finish, Race 2 saw Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) barely ahead of Ducati’s Chaz Davies at the checkered flag, allowing Rea to take a double win at Phillip Island (meaning he now has 40 WSB victories in his career).
Following the new grid shake-up for Race 2 (the Race 1 podium moves to the third row with Rea on the outside), Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes was unable to reach the front runners to repeat his podium finish in Race 1. You can read an explanation of the Race 2 grid positions here.
With Sykes languishing, a gaggle of Ducatis, together with Yamaha’s Alex Lowes, battled Rea at the front. Ultimately, Ducati’s Marco Melandri took the final podium position. Take a look at the full Race 2 results: Phillip Island Results – Race 2.
Rea leaves Phillip Island with a perfect 50 points to lead the championship after Round 1. For additional details and points, take a look at the official WSB site.
See more of MD’s great photography:
The only one the new grid lineup hurt was Lowes. Melandri will be competitive all year. The fastest Honda was 15th? Ouch.
Was some great racing. Not sure I like the grid changes. It’s easy to get excited about it short term, but I don’t agree with the premise. Yes, it gives the also-ran competitors a better chance at winning, but what have they done to earn that better chance? Did they qualify better? No. Did they race better? No.
It really boils down to manufacturing an advantage for somebody that has done nothing to earn it, at the expense of somebody that has. Why not just flip the whole field for Race2?
Re: ” Why not just flip the whole field for Race2?”
That’s an interesting idea. This is done in Slalom and Giant Slalom ski racing. race 1 = ski in ranked order, race 2 = ski in reverse order from race 1, then lowest combined time wins. While road racing doesn’t have the course deterioration that ski racing does, or the combined time, I could see this being a little more fair/interesting than simply flipping the grid from qualifying.
Not crazy about the arbitrary grid change for race two. Completely aside from handing a rider an advantage that wasn’t earned, my main issue is with safety. The racers who have earned themselves some clear track ahead, now have to dice through slower riders which are potentially not accustomed to racing the leaders. Motorcycle racing is dangerous enough, I worry about adding more risk.
That said, I’d be interested in the candid opinion of the riders (which, I would imagine, we won’t hear unless Crutchlow joins the series 😉 The fast guys are, realistically, going to finish where they were already going to finish, and if they don’t mind the dicing, then let ’em at it, I guess.
For those enamoured with holeshot-to-chequered flag wins, there’s plenty of footage from 2016. Giving a leg-up to the likes of Lowes and Camier is positive and by giving them more time to run with the top four, the competition should close up. WSB races were a big turn off last year, except for when Rea tried to close down Chaz in that very last race.
The bigger issue is having more exciting circuits like PI. But that’s not something easily rectified.
The sport is there for the spectators and TV viewers, not the racers. Otherwise, they can all get a real job and buy their bikes like the rest of us.
re: “they can all get a real job and buy their bikes like the rest of us”
i hear/tell DHL is hiring.
there’s always a chance one could luck out and be the guy delivering last minute packages TO the track on any given race weekend. it happens.
“Giving” a leg up to anyone is charity, not racing
Wonder how that would go over in the Olympics? Let’s make the top 3 qualifiers, line up and start behind the 3 slowest qualifiers so the slow guys have a chance at winning too?
What a novel idea.
The only way to make racing closer is to make the bikes slow enough that every rider in the field is a better rider than the motorcycle they are sitting on.(See Moto2 and Moto3) even then the most aggressive guys, the guys that want it the most, are going to win.
re: “The only way to make racing closer is to make the bikes slow”
just got a text from Honda, it’s in Kanji, but translated to English it effectively says, “they LOVE your idea…!!!” (thumbs-up emoticon)
The changed worked good and rewarded good passing, but didn’t change the results too much…. good.
However,good racing doesn’t need help to be exciting and wsbk provides some of the best. Ask NASCAR… all these stupid rules and still bad racing… no longer a fan.
Is NASCAR involved in WSB for 2017? It sure looks like it!
The Supersport race–which was only 10 laps due to a red flag–was awesome. As was the other shortened race I’ve watched recently. So that got me thinking today: Maybe the way to crank up the excitement is to make Race # 2 shorter, in addition to the grid modification. Maybe 60-65% as long, or something like that, with proportionally fewer points. Then all the bikes can run harder for the whole race, and there’s less time for the Usual Suspects to make it back up to the front.
re: “Maybe the way to crank up the excitement is to make Race # 2 shorter”
behold ladies and gentlemen…
the intellect of the AFM/CMRA/CCS club racer comes shining through.
So not knowing anything about club racing, it’s unclear to me whether I’m being agreed with, insulted, or something else…
Considering the source, feel free to disregard…
re: “So not knowing anything about club racing, it’s unclear to me whether I’m being agreed with”
it’s an agreement. club races by definition run events in only the 5 to 10 lap range but no worries, you wouldn’t be the first human being on the planet to ever be UNCLEAR about something. take Scott for example…?
Oh, we’re clear.
Club races are short. So tire life is not an issue and patience not a virtue. One needs to fight for the front immediately and defend turf relentlessly.
second verse, same as the first (Herman’s Hermits)
see, there was nothing to worry about. the grid reset for Race 2 makes no difference to the Law of NATCORK.
So, increased risk during the first lap, for zero appreciable gain. Proving it’s a stupid rule.
Let’s see how everyone feels when one of the championship contenders gets taken out while trying to come through the field during a Race 2 opening lap…
Risk is part of the sport and the excitement of the top guys having to fight their way to the front instead of being given a head start may help save the series from the boredom of last year. That second race was a cracker.
Risk is an inherent part of the sport. There’s absolutely no need to manufacture more of it.
Race one, in which grid positions were earned, was just as exciting to watch as Race 2, with its artificially structured grid.
Meh
True, stupid artificial rule. The 1st lap is already dangerous and that increases the risks.
re: “Risk is an inherent part of the sport”
SPONSORSHIP is an inherent part of the sport.
re: “There’s absolutely no need to manufacture more of it.”
the unrelenting “fan-sumer” demand for “free lunch” dictates there is EVERY need to manufacture more of it, and manufacture it they have.
I liked this front row change in race 2. There was no guarantee Rea was going to win in both races. It gives his competitors a better chance of winning and I’m sure they like that as does the spectators like me. Last year the results got somewhat boring. Let’s see how that works out this year.
Pretty soon they will all get participation trophies and they won’t count laps so there are no winners or losers.
There are always winners and losers. I prefer variety in winners.
sounds like some guys need to ride faster then
re: “for zero appreciable gain”
Tenkate would beg differ that bagging Redbull sponsorship this year (after a season of running UNSPONSORED) is zero appreciable gain.
re: “trying to come through the field during a Race 2 opening lap”
full stop, there’s no Law in the Universe that obligates ANY rider, ANY where to that strategy. particularly when you consider this is road racing, afaik drag racing is the only event that lasts for “one lap”…? no, in this arena of combat the rider makes a CHOICE.
solution…? a rider must now engage the lump sitting 3 feet above their a$$ and choose from any number of available strategies. the “Supercross holeshot” mentality is but one (but it is not the only one).
of course a rider is certainly welcome to CONTINUE that approach if they feel a particular round’s track configuration affords them the opportunity (see entry for sea level Phil’s Isle). now if we still raced say, Kyalami…? odds are very good we would observe the championship contenders SHIFTING GEARS WITH THEIR BRAINS long before they ever shifted them with their motorbikes.
“thinking” it’s not just breakfast any more.