Comprehensive round up from Misano WorldSBK Test

Misano WorldSBK Test

World Superbike riders were on track this week for a two-day test at the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’ between 30-31 May.  There had been a long break in the race calendar before this test, which made these two days of track action particularly valuable for those riders and teams that did not take part in the recent Cremona Test.

Despite occasional threats of early summer rains, the weather stayed fine throughout day one. The forecasted wet weather conditions remained at bay until late morning on the second day, when occasional light rains brought about a mandatory early break for lunch at 1200.  Heavy rains in the early afternoon, and then some short periods of very light rain for some time after that, compromised the plans of many riders and teams.

Toprak Razgatlioglu was the fastest rider on both days, stamping his authority and buoying the BMW staff. He was 1.3 seconds quicker than his team-mate Michael van der Mark. The Turk is really starting to gel with the ROKiT BMW M 1000 RR.

Nicolo Bulega set his best time on Thursday to finish the test second on combined times.

Nicolò Bulega – P2

“The first day was positive because compared to the Cremona test we were able to find a good feeling right away. I still don’t feel 100 per cent and that means we still have to work. Unfortunately, today, we were not able to continue our work with continuity, but there remains great confidence ahead of what, for me, represents a real Home GP.”

73 productive laps on the first day helped Jonathan Rea feel more and more “at home” on his Yamaha R1 WorldSBK before using Friday to tick off a few more items on the “to-do list” and finish the day strongly with a Superpole qualifying simulation that catapulted him to the top of the time-sheets an hour before the end of the test but the Northern Irishman was bested by Toprak late in the day.  On combined times across the two days, Rea ranked third.

Jonathan Rea – P3

“I enjoyed the R1 this test. We arrived with some different set-up ideas than my “base bike” over the first races, and I was able to ride in a more familiar style, just trying to get the Yamaha R1 to compliment me and for me to adapt subtly to the bike. With testing days restricted, we had to make the best use of track time and we had a great Day 1 – I was able to complete a lot of laps with no issues, I felt quite competitive with my pace both on race tyres and also the soft tyre. Then, Day 2 was a little bit more complicated because the weather came in really early – and I was only able to utilise half a day, so we had to be very clever timing-wise. I was able to tick some boxes still and get more familiar with the bike, and start fine-tuning towards the race weekend. There is still lots of work to do, but I am happy to start the Misano race weekend soon and excited about the prospects. we still need to look at our race pace on Friday. It’s been nice to feel good on the bike and especially on the soft tyre, I was really able to get the R1 around fast. It felt like a real Superpole session at the end; everyone was going full gas with SCQ tyres, and we managed to finish right there in the front row positions. It is possibly the best I have felt with the Yamaha R1 and my team, but there’s still a lot of margin to find, so I have a positive outlook.”

Like his factory Ducati team-mate, Alvaro Bautista also set his best time on Thursday.

Alvaro Bautista – P4

“I am quite satisfied with what we did on the first day of testing. We tried some electronics solutions focusing on engine delivery. Up to this point, we had dedicated ourselves almost exclusively to the set up, and having had the opportunity to work on this aspect was important not only ahead of the Misano round but also for the rest of the season.”

A small crash during his best qualifying simulation held Andrea Locatelli back, but the Italian still finished fifth on combined times.

Andrea Locatelli – P5

“In general, it was two positive days of testing, because we improved some important points, also the lap times with the SC0 tyre this morning and the SCX during the day were very good. With the qualifying tyre, we found a good solution to have a good feeling and a good lap time, even if I had a small crash at Turn 14 on my best lap. We know it is really important to start the race near the front, but on the rhythm for the race simulation we are not in a bad position. I think we increased the performance, we improved a lot in respect to last year and the confidence is quite high. I feel positive, so I think we can enjoy the race weekend – the confidence after the Cremona test, and this test is good. Just some days to reset and rest a little bit, and to check the data, prepare for the race weekend – and then we go again on track and we are pushing at the maximum.”

Sam Lowes had been quick on Thursday, with a 1m33.346, good enough for fifth quickest, but a bout of illness crept up on the Briton overnight, preventing him from making any progress on Friday.

Sam Lowes – P6

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t complete too many laps today. I was feeling a bit ill and didn’t get much sleep last night, so I was only able to do a few laps. The short time we had on track was still valuable because we tried a couple of things that helped me in the fast changes of direction here. But then the rain came and stopped us from going out for a few hours. We considered waiting for the track to dry, but given how I’m not at my physical best, we decided to call it a day. Overall, this test has been positive, and I feel, once again, we have made very good progress. My race pace was very strong, and that puts me in a positive frame of mind for when we return for the race.”

Remy Gardner pulled out a 1’33.411 on a used qualifying tyre, which saw him sixth at the end of the day and seventh across the two days.

Remy Gardner – P7

“It was a productive test for sure, I’m happy with the job done. Unfortunately, on the final day, we couldn’t express our full potential with the qualifying tyre; as soon as we headed out, drops of rain started to fall again on the track. Anyway, we were still able to improve our lap time on the same tyre, but of course, it wasn’t the same, but to be able to make our fastest time on that one, it’s surely a good sign. We have also a good base to start the weekend, so I’m looking forward to it, I’m confident we could have a good one here in Misano.“

Alex Lowes mainly concentrated on electronics and chassis options at this test. His best lap time of 1’33.458 was set on day two, and placed him eighth overall on combined times over the two days, despite not getting a clear chance to make a single fast lap at full pace on a Q tyre.

Alex Lowes – P8

“The second day was good even though in the morning it started to rain and we got a bit unlucky. We tried quite a big change on the bike, on the chassis, but then it rained. And then this afternoon it started to spit with rain every time we tried to go out. When the track was dry enough, with about an hour and half to go until the end, we tried the different chassis set-up. We were happy with that. We did two runs on that set-up and then returned to the base bike, with some back-to-back testing on that and more work on the electronics. It was quite good, honestly. The first time I tried the Q tyre was today, with this new chassis set-up, and I was able to do a 1’33.4 lap time, so I was quite happy with that. We are improving all the time.”

Andrea Iannone and Team Go Eleven took to the track for the first time together at Misano with the aim of finding the right set-up with which to start the official weekend. Iannone, together with the technicians, carried out various comparisons on the geometry of the V4-R, then finding an important solution in the last hour available. On the final day they did not get on top of some difficulties with the electronics and slow corners.

Andrea Iannone – P9

“The feeling with the bike is not good, we struggled in many areas. We had an idea after Assen to improve something. But this is a completely different track so, at this moment we struggle. In any case, we don’t give up and we always try to improve. The braking point on entry. Also, the feeling with the tyres is not good. Engine braking, traction, wheelieing, I have problems in many areas. But we’ll try to improve at home. We’ll see the data better. In the slow corners, the feeling with the front is not good, so it is difficult to stop the bike. For us, turning is difficult. But this is normal. I’ll go to Mugello tomorrow, but only for one day. We will see. After Misano, I start to decide for the future. For sure, I have some options, but we will see. I have my targets, but in any case, it’s difficult to decide at this moment.”

Dominique Aegerter – P10

“The second day was a good one, thanks to the hard work we made with the team we were able to overcome the problems we had in the first day. We have a good base setup for the race. that’s the most important thing, even though we have margin to improve, and that’s positive too. We mainly focused on working for the race weekend, going for a single time attack just at the end of the final day. Overall we made useful laps and we’re ready for the next round.”

Honda brought new items to Misano to test, with Team HRC Team Manager Jose Escamez explaining the conclusions they could draw.

Jose Escamez – Team HRC Team Manager

“We have found some productive things. Not as much as we expected, because we were expecting to make a big jump. Obviously, there is always a willingness to make the big changes that we really need, but we couldn’t make it as much as we thought. We have found small things and details that will allow us to understand the direction that we need to take moving forward. We couldn’t make many conclusions. We also have other things to test which was also important. But we will keep trying to work in that direction.”

Iker Lecuona – P13

“We have worked very hard on the base setup and have also tried many things on the electronics. I have to be honest, we improved a little, but not yet enough. We are still a bit behind compared to other riders and are still struggling with turning and in terms of drive. That said, it was not a bad test. We collected a lot of data and new information on the bike in light of the changes we made over the last couple of days, and in Cremona too. Unfortunately, I was unable to fully exploit our time in the rain this afternoon due to a small electronics issue. It’s a pity, as it would have been useful after my crash at Assen. But overall, it’s been an interesting test. In two weeks, we will be back here racing at Misano, so the team and Japan have all the data. Now, it’s over to them to analyse all this data and continue the work”.

Xavi Vierge – P17

“Two more days of important testing here at Misano. We tried many different things and although it’s clear that we’re not yet achieving the kind of performances we’re aiming for, everyone is making a huge effort. Now it will be crucial to analyse all the data collected both here and at Cremona. It was a pity about the mixed conditions today, as yesterday we focused on one part of the job, while today we had planned to do something else. But all in all, we were able to complete a lot of work. The last hour and a half were the most productive. Over the next couple of weeks, the team will try to prepare the best possible setup, and then over the race weekend, we will focus on achieving maximum performance.”

Axel Bassani’s best lap time of 1’33.929 saw him 15th on the combined timesheets over the two days of testing, with his main advances coming in terms of front end confidence on both race tyres and Q tyres.

Marcel Duinker – Crew Chief for Axel Bassani

“We had two main areas where we wanted to improve in this test. One area we worked on yesterday with a very positive result and another one we did on the final day. The rain removed a couple of hours of our track time on the final day, but I can only be very satisfied with the results of our tests. On race tyres Axel was really fast and really happy with the bike. After the first three rounds of the season we understood very well where we really needed to improve. One was in the Superpole performance, because in the first three rounds we were not extracting the correct performance from the Q tyre. In the last hour many people used a Q tyre but we had just a little crash because the exhaust grounded on a rumple strip during cornering. Because of this we still had a couple of items to try to improve the performance on the Q tyre, but it was not possible as we just had 15 minutes left. Overall, I am a very happy man after this test.”

After multiple surgeries following a severe motocross training injury, Danilo Petrucci returned to the saddle of the Ducati Panigale V4 R. On Thursday, Petrux rode in both the morning (1’34.508 – 19 laps) and the afternoon (1’34.824 – 10 laps) sessions. The Terni rider did not hide his pain in his right bicep and shoulder but still decided to test his condition on the second day. Hitting the track around 1000, Danilo completed seven laps, improving his time to 1’33.963, securing the fifth fastest time of the morning before a thunderstorm temporarily halted the tests. In the afternoon, Petrucci stayed in the garage to avoid further straining his injured shoulder, finishing with the fifteenth overall time.

Danilo Petrucci – P16

“It was a real emotion for me to get back on the bike and work with my team again. They showed me great support during this period, and it was nice to spend two days together. I want to thank them for their hard work. I expected to struggle and not be able to push, but despite the pain, I managed to ride and be fast. I still remember how to ride (laughs), but the shoulder situation is still complicated. It gets inflamed, and I’ll need a lot more therapy, but I believe I’ll be ready for the Misano race!”

Tarran Mackenzie – P19

“It’s perhaps not been as straight forward as we might have liked. Yesterday was trying – I struggled a lot and didn’t have the best feeling but ended the day in a slightly better position. Then this morning, we made a little more progress. I never really pushed for a lap time; I would have liked to, but we didn’t get chance as it rained just before lunch and then for the best part of the afternoon. We tried something new with the spare bike, which I think can be positive in terms of the chassis, but we really needed a bit more time. Hopefully for the race weekend we can start where we’ve finished off here and be in a better position for the races.“

Adam Norrodin – P20

“The test’s been quite tough, but we’ve tried a number of things on the bike. There were positives and negatives, but for now we can’t quite put it all together for a lap time. We’ve collected a lot of information, despite the rain interrupting our work on day two. We only really got a couple of good hours on Friday afternoon, which was a pity as we could have done a lot more had it stayed dry. It’s been useful preparation time anyway, and now we’ll continue to work to see what we can do to find more feeling so that we can be stronger in the next races.“

After the testing work is now complete the next track outing for most will be at round four of the championship, which will take place at Misano between 14-16 June.

Misano WorldSBK Test Times
Combined Times – Thursday/Friday

1. Razgatlioglu – BMW 1m32.535
2. Bulega – Ducati 1m32.731 (Day 1)
3. Rea- Yamaha 1m33.113
4. Bautista – Ducati 1m33.151 (Day 1)
5. Locatelli – Yamaha 1m33.319
6. S Lowes – Ducati 1m33.346 (Day 1)
7. Gardner – Yamaha 1m33.411
8. A Lowes – Kawasaki 1m33.458
9. Iannone – Ducati 1m33.653 (Day 1)
10. Aegerter – Yamaha 1m33.715
11. Van Der Mark – BMW 1m33.816
12. Rabat – Kawasaki 1m33.856
13. Lecuona – Honda 1m33.866
14. Pirro – Ducati 1m33.876
15. Bassani – Kawasaki 1m33.929
16. Petrucci – Ducati 1m33.963
17. Vierge – Honda 1m34.419
18. Oettl – Yamaha 1m35.193
19. Mackenzie – Honda 1m35.595
20. Norrodin – Honda 1m36.228 (Day 1)

Misano WorldSSP Test Times
Combined Times – Thursday/Friday

1. Huertas – Ducati 1m37.028
2. Montella – Ducati 1m37.222 (Day 1)
3. Manzi – Yamaha 1m37.229
4. Sofuoglu – MV 1m37.415
5. Debise – Yamaha 1m37.600 (Day 1)
6. Schroetter – MV 1m37.662
7. Van Straalen – Yamaha 1m38.474
8. Mahias – Yamaha 1m38.483 (Day 1)
9. Bayliss – Ducati 1m39.140
10. Fuligni – Ducati 1m39.222 (Day 1)
11. Edwards – Ducati 1m39.467

WorldSBK Championship Points

2024 WorldSBK Calendar