Friday round up from Misano WorldSBK/SSP/300

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Four – Misano

Ducati’s home round got off to a great start with Alvaro Bautista leading their charge. Bautista, who won at Misano back in 2019 for Ducati, went top with just over ten minutes of the session to go before times further improved going into the final few minutes.

Alvaro Bautista

“We started with some difficulties because of the weather conditions that did not help us this morning. In the afternoon, with the higher temperatures, I managed to regain that good feeling that I had had during the tests. We worked on the tire selection ahead of tomorrow’s race. I think this will be a really important choice that will determine Race-1 results. However, the feelings are very positive.”

On the other side of the garage, home-hero Michael Ruben Rinaldi was also on a mission, inside the top five all day before finishing fourth on the combined times.

Michael Rinaldi

“It was a positive day. We started with the setup we used in Portugal and managed to improve my feeling with the bike. The long-run made in FP2 gave me positive indications and we also had the chance to try the new tire introduced by Pirelli. We are still missing some details to be at the top but the gap from the podium positions is really small. I believe that if we continue to work in this direction, tomorrow we could have fun and entertain our fans.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu was consistently faster than his rivals in the opening half of the lap but was losing time to Bautista in the final sector. Nevertheless, the reigning World Champion was strong and completed the session inside the top three, finishing second overall.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“Today we started well and also this afternoon we try the new Pirelli tyres – also not bad, because there are two new tyres, and we finished in second position for FP2. First exit we tried one new option, and last 15 minutes of FP2 we tried the other one. Now we check which one is better for the race, or maybe original X tyre is better, but we will see. I like this Misano track, I’m very close to Bautista for fast lap time – but cancel lap because I touch a little the green on corner 11. But anyway, we are fast and we will improve the set-up for the race. It looks OK, now we are nearly ready for the race – it looks like we are fighting again with Bautista and Johnny but we will see. I feel I am very close to the win, but the race is always a different story and I will do my best. Tomorrow we need a good start and a good position in qualifying, I will try again for pole position and after we will see in the race.”

Team-mate Andrea Locatelli had a mighty FP1 as he took second behind Razgatlioglu but didn’t improve on his morning time in the afternoon when the temperatures came up, finishing in tenth overall, the only rider to not improve in the second session.

Andrea Locatelli

“I’m happy about FP1 because we started immediately with the good lap time and also the feeling with the bike was good. The same this afternoon, but the problem was we tried one new rear tyre option and the feeling was strange during the long run, compared to the normal tyre we use. It was not so easy to push on the bike. For sure it was a positive day overall, I can do a fast lap but in the classification we are a little bit in the back but I think for tomorrow we can start in the front group. I’d like to start on the first row, but if it’s not possible we will try on the second because it’s important to have a good start position for the race. Here in Misano, I think we can have a good result – I’m thinking positive, for sure tomorrow is another day, there were no mistakes and now we have a lot of data and something to work with for tonight to prepare the bike for tomorrow.”

The Kawasaki effort was strong with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on fine form throughout the FP2 session in the afternoon, with him getting down to a 1’34.134s straight away. Rea has great form at Misano, having taken eight wins at the circuit – including his first of his career – and worked hard throughout the session.

Jonathan Rea

“I felt good with the bike out there and I was able to understand two race tyre options in FP2. The temperature was a little bit better than this morning but still we expect tomorrow to be hotter, as the sun should be out all day. For day one I feel OK with the bike. In some areas we need to improve. I expect tonight we can make some good changes. The track is very bumpy, especially in T1, T2 and T3, and the last two corners. Apart from that, it is OK.”

KRT team-mate Alex Lowes was up inside the top five for the majority of the session as he continues his progress. Come the end of the day, Rea was third and Lowes was seventh.

Alex Lowes

“It was a good opening day at Misano. We worked through some electronics and I have a direction from chassis set-up. We didn’t change much from the previous round at Estoril, so we will make some small tweaks for FP3 on Saturday. Overall, I’m happy and looking for a few tenths in the laptimes. It’s always lovely to ride this track and it is very nice to see so many fans here on a Friday as well.”

There was a good Independent charge within the top six, as Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) managed fifth on his return to action in WorldSBK. Having had a collarbone fracture at Estoril, Oettl looks like he’s on for another strong round this weekend, where he’ll look to crack the top six.

Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) clinched sixth on the combined running with 44 laps across the day, more than anyone else managed. An 18-lap run in FP2 will have gathered plenty of data for the first of two race days for the American.

Garrett Gerloff

“Overall, the day went quite well. The leg is fine and P6 is not bad; the pace is good even though we can improve in some areas. The tests we made here helped a lot as well. The goals are the same as they’ve been all year, to have a good qualifying and try to stay close to the top group in the race. I tried the new tyre that Pirelli brought here and I do like it honestly, it gives me more stability.”

Another positive opening day was on the cards for Honda, with riders Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and team-mate Xavi Vierge fresh from a test at Suzuka between Estoril and Misano. Lecuona was up inside the top six in FP1 but could only manage eighth in FP2, placing him… on the combined times, with him not improving in his final laps of the day due to having lap times deleted. Vierge likewise couldn’t replicate his FP1 showing after finishing seventh, as he managed tenth in FP2. He was eleventh overall.

Iker Lecuona

“It was not such a bad day although we expected a little more after the morning session. I felt better on the bike this morning, quite good right away in fact. We are still dealing with some vibration coming from the rear, something we are working hard to solve but we have not yet fixed. This afternoon I started the session on a used tyre, and felt quite comfortable, to the point that I was able to improve on my lap time. I was very happy with my feeling but then during my second run, which was a long run with a new Pirelli rear tyre that we wanted to try, I didn’t feel as good as I had earlier, and the lap times didn’t come. We need to work on this aspect of the set-up, and our first target for tomorrow is to solve this vibration so that I can feel more comfortable on the brakes.”

Xavi Vierge – P11

“Today was positive, because I felt good on the bike right from the first run. We had some new tyres from Pirelli to try and I quite liked the one we tested this morning, so we started with that one again in FP2 and I again felt quite good even though the tyre was used. But when we put in another one, the feeling was not there, which was strange as I was expecting to take a step forward. On the positive side though, we got some pretty clear answers today and now know the direction to follow tomorrow. Our pace is consistent, so now we need to fix a few details so that we can make another step.”

BMW’s day wasn’t the brightest as it started with an electronics issue for Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) before the Brit eventually got out to be on the fringes of the top ten, before finishing ninth on the combined times. A stronger afternoon sees Redding head into Saturday just over eight-tenths away from Bautista at the head of the field, whilst his teammate Illia Mykhalchyk was 23rd on his return to the paddock, as he gets up to speed with the Misano circuit.

WorldSBK Friday Combined Practice Times

WorldSSP600

It was a strong day for Italian riders on the WorldSSP grid with five of them finishing inside the top six. Bulega posted a best time of 1’37.620s in the closing stages of FP2 to top Friday’s timesheets ahead of Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) in second place; Manzi showing strong pace in both FP1 and FP2 as he showed his and the bike’s potential at Misano. Bulega’s day was disrupted in FP1 as he was unable to set lap times, only two out laps in the morning, but was able to get 22 laps under his belt in FP2 and top the timesheets. The only non-Italian rider to make it into the top six was reigning Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) as he finished in third place, four tenths down on Bulega, with the Swiss rider topping FP2 until the closing stages of the 45-minute session.

Three more Italian riders feature in fourth, fifth and sixth with the trio separated by only three tenths of a second. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) claimed fourth spot with a 1’38.230s ahead of Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) in fifth and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in sixth. Baldassarri’s session was cut short when he had a technical issue at Turn 7 in the closing stages of the session, but he was still able to finish in sixth place.

Turkish star Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was seventh in the standings despite an FP2 crash at Turn 13 in the latter stages of the session, as he posted a 1’32.618s for seventh spot to finish just a tenth clear of Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) in eighth. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was ninth but he, like team-mate Oncu, had a crash in FP2 when he came down at Turn 3. French rider Andy Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha) rounded out the top ten with a 1’38.917s but he was another who had a disrupted afternoon when he crashed at Turn 14.

Ben Currie (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti) was another faller in the afternoon session, crashing at Turn 14, and finished the day in 30th place in the combined classification.

Countryman Oli Bayliss carded P18 for the opening day of practice.

Oli Bayliss – P18

“Today was positive and we’re working well, although we still need to improve a few things of course. Our race pace is good, but I have to work on the flying lap in Superpole, as we saw in Portugal just how important it is to start up front.”

WorldSSP600 Friday Combined Practice Times

WorldSSP300

Dutch rider Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) doubled up by topping both of Friday’s FIM Supersport 300 World Championship practice sessions ahead of the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round. After going fastest in the morning 30-minute Free Practice 1 session at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, Steeman made it two from two by topping Free Practice 2 by more than three tenths.

Steeman, like every rider on the grid, improved their lap time in the afternoon and posted a 1’49.098s in FP2 to top both that session and the combined classification, with a 0.349s margin of Italian rider Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) in second place. Vannucci impressed last year in the Yamaha R3 Cup with a podium and pole position in a wildcard appearance and has started his first visit to Misano in WorldSSP300 strongly. Alex Millan (SMW Racing) also had a strong start to the weekend as he claimed third place after posting a 1’49.615s.

Two Italian riders finished in fourth and fifth place with wildcard Alfonso Coppola (VM Racing Team), returning to the Championship, in fourth place and Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) in fifth. Championship leader Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) rounded out the top six as he posted a 1’49.813s, moving up the order compared to FP1.

Spanish rider Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) claimed seventh spot, just 0.020s away from Garcia but fending off the challenge from Italian wildcard Mattia Martella (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) in eighth and Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) in ninth, with the trio separated by less than a tenth of a second. German rider Dirk Geiger (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) rounded out the top ten.

It was a mixed day for Australian rider Harry Khouri (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki). After a strong start to Friday, Khouri had a crash at Turn 3 in the closing stages of FP2 and he was left finishing 25th in the combined classification.

WorldSSP300 Friday Combined Practice Times

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Four – Misano – AEST Schedule

2022 WorldSBK Calendar