WorldSBK Round 1: Yamaha Finance Australian Round
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria, Australia. 28 Feb – 01 Mar 2020
Scroll down for the latest news from the opening round of the 2020 Superbike World Championship
Is there a better settings for a race than Phillip Island? There’s definitely nowhere better for the opening race of the year. WorldSBK in Australia has been the traditional curtain call for racing for almost two decades and this fast, flowing circuit almost offers guaranteed classics. The rider is more important than the bike in Phillip Island and if you can find the right feeling with your machine you can spring a surprise here-like Eugene Laverty in 2014. Australia might open the season but it doesn’t always give a great indication of what to expect for the year. Riders can only hope that when the roulette wheel spins it comes up with their number.
Phillip Island Facts
Number of laps: 22
Most Wins: Troy Corser (7)
Lap Record: Jonathan Rea 1m29.413 (2019)
Race Record:Alvaro Bautista33m38.114 (2019)
The Southern loop is a long, double apex left hander where it's very easy to run in too hot and lose a lot of time on the exit
Turn 4 is the slowest corner on the track and coming so soon after Stoner Corner, the fastest corner on the entire WorldSBK calendar, this is the prime overtaking hotspot of Phillip Island. Very easy to run into the corner too fast and cause havoc!
The exit of Siberia is key for a fast time at Phillip Island because your exit speed from here dictates your speed all the way until Lukey Heights
Lukey Heights is off camber and blind. You need to have total faith in your bike as you pitch into the left hander because all you can see is the sky! It's very easy to lose rear traction through Turn 9 and have a massive crash
Turn 10 is slow and has a very short downhill braking zone making it very easy to run in hot and run off track
The exit of Turn 10 into Turn 11 is crucial because if you can hook the bike up, with a short double shift on the exit, you can carry your speed all the way to Turn 1. As the race progresses if you can manage your tyre correctly you can make up a lot of time through here
Latest News for Round 1
Updated WorldSBK calendarThe updated 2020 WorldSBK calendar with changes to the Spanish and French Rounds
WorldSBK: Things like that...Round 1 AustraliaOver the winter everyone in the WorldSBK paddock has spoken and written about the optimism of a potentially great season. In Australia this hope was met with a resounding confirmation. Three races with three different winners, all five manufacturers have reasons to be excited for the coming year and we saw three races that went down to the wire. It will be hard for WorldSBK to match the heights of the opening round this year but it certainly gave itself a great starting point
WorldSBK: You win some, you lose someFor Jonathan Rea Phillip Island was a roller-coaster weekend that started in the gravel trap and ended on the rostrum
WorldSBK: The re-education of Scott ReddingPhillip Island is one of the most tactical races of the WorldSBK season. Managing your tyre is key and understanding this is key. Ducati’s Scott Redding acquitted himself well to walk away second in the standings
WorldSBK: The return of the Old BullFor Alex Lowes the opening round of the 2020 cchampionship offered more than a victory; it offered clear illustration of what he’s aiming for in WorldSBK
WorldSBK: Breaking down WorldSBK - Round 1: AustraliaWant to know what each driver did in Round 1 of WorldSBK? Click here to get a breakdown of the top class
WorldSBK: What did we see on Day 1 in Australia?
WorldSBK: Dealing with the pressure
Laverty’s Lowdown: What can we expect in WorldSBK 2020?
WorldSBK: Inline for a change?Alvaro Bautista left more than a perfect situation when he moved to Honda; he left his perfect bike. What made the Ducati so good for him? To understand this RacingLowdown.com took a dive into engine characteristics
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