Misano WorldSBK/SSP/300/WCR/R3 Friday Times – Quotes – Notes – Images

WorldSBK 2024 – Round Four
Misano – Friday

WorldSBK Rider Quotes

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P1

“My target is to have three wins here but it’s not possible to say before the race. I’m focused day by day; tomorrow we have Superpole, and I’m focused on this and try to do my best, set a new record if possible. After, I’m just focused on the race because I need to win again. We worked really hard. Every weekend, we improve the bike and I’m happy about this. It looks like Ducati’s very strong, but they’re always strong at this circuit and in hot conditions. It looks like we’re fighting for the win.  Everything is okay. It was a small crash at the final corner, not really fast. I’m sliding. I’m very happy that I crashed before the race! I understand things and for tomorrow, I can be stronger. We have a very good package for the race weekend. Everything’s going well. I understand somethings, the bike limit. I made a small mistake and tried to turn the bike on the dirty line. After, I’m happy I crashed, but for me, it’s a bit of a stupid crash. I went wide and why did I try to come back to the track? In general, we have a good package. Especially this morning, we did a very good race simulation, and my feeling is that everything is good. The grip with the new tyres is not bad.”

Nicolò Bulega – P2

“I am satisfied with this Friday also because, compared to FP1, the feeling with the bike has grown a lot in the afternoon. For this reason, I want to thank the team that put me in a position to improve, especially in the braking areas“.

Alvaro Bautista – P3

“We did intense work today, also trying the new Pirelli tyres; however, we did not find particular benefits. We returned to the track in the afternoon with our certainties, and the sensations were very good. We need to continue on this path tomorrow.”

Remy Gardner – P4

“The grip today was a bit lower compared to the test we had at the end of May, but at the end we were able to pull out some good laps; our Friday was a good one. Of course it’ll be important to have a good qualifying to start in a good position, here in Misano starting grid position is important to build a solid race, which is our goal. Overall I’m satisfied with the job done, the team made a good work and we’ll be pushing hard to make further improvements tomorrow and I cannot wait to see all the people coming to Misano to support us!”

Andrea Iannone – P5

“I have to say that in the tests I struggled more, thanks to the data collected in those days and then analyzed, we managed to fix some details that allowed us to improve today. However, let’s not forget that it is only the fourth race after 5 years, it’s important to keep my concentration high but also to be able to wait the right moment. I’m very happy to have been welcomed by so many fans here who are ready to support me, I’m grateful for all this support because it helps to make me feel good. The goal for the next few hours is always to fight , push and do well!”

Alex Lowes – P6

“I think we had a solid first day. It looks like the temperature is going to get high this weekend, which goes against us a little bit. We are really trying to maximise the package we have to fight for the strongest results in all the races. Quite honestly, I enjoyed myself at Misano on track today so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Iker Lecuona – P7

“I must be happy with this seventh place after all the problems, injuries, and the work I did at home to recover my shoulder and knee over these last months. Even if I’m not yet 100% with my shoulder, I have at least come here in better physical shape compared to recent rounds, and despite hotter and trickier conditions compared to the test, I’ve felt okay. We’ve focused on the bike setup for the race, targeting a few areas that weren’t working perfectly during the test, and I have to say that with used tyres, I was able to complete my best lap on my own, which is good. We made a step forward with the suspension, though we still have room for improvement, and with the electronics, where the engineers in Japan have taken a good step to help me better use and conserve the tyres. I’ve also used the new exhaust I tried at the test, which improved my feeling a bit. All in all, it was probably the first time this year I could ride the bike in a more relaxed way, giving it 100% without being forced to over-ride to achieve the lap times. I want to thank my crew chief and data engineer for their efforts, and everyone on my team because they worked very well and very quickly, following the plan we had made for today scrupulously. I’m pleased with myself too. We are not too close but not too far away either. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow in hotter conditions; I prefer to not have any expectations and see how it goes.”

Axel Bassani – P8

“The first free practice was good, especially the first track exit. We did a 1’34.2, not pushing so much. But then we struggled a bit with grip. In FP2 I hoped to go faster but we had some issues with the bike. We tried a long run but I think we missed something, especially in the first seven or eight laps. Now we will look at the data to understand today and find some feeling with like I had in the recent test in Misano.”

Sam Lowes – P9

“It wasn’t the easiest start for us, but we have been able to understand a few things that I’m sure will help make us more competitive tomorrow. The track conditions were quite different to when we tested here recently and that made it challenging to be consistent. Even though I wasn’t feeling comfortable on the bike we were still able to lap inside the top 10. I’ll have a sit down with my crew tonight to work out where we can find some improvements but I’m sure we can put all the pieces of the puzzle together and be ready for a good battle on Saturday and Sunday.”

Dominique Aegerter – P10

“The day overall was a decent one, we tried also the new tyres we have for this weekend and the general feeling was good. Testing here two weeks ago gave us the opportunity to start with a good base setup and weather conditions were great to race. We’re aware that there’s still some margin to improve, we’ll work very hard to improve our performance tomorrow and it’ll be important to make a good qualifying to have a good race, we’re confident that we can make a good job here in Italy!”

Andrea Locatelli – P13

“It was a bit of a troubling day because honestly we expected a much better feeling, especially since we did very well during the test. For sure, the condition of the track is changing quite a lot, so we need to understand what we can do for tomorrow and what we can improve. We are not so far, you see the gap is quite close, but we have something to understand. On the lap-time rhythm we are good, so I think for the race we can do well but it’s important for me to take a good feeling. When I want to push more on the bike we are struggling a bit on the braking point, so if we can make a step in this area, we can improve a lot – then tomorrow, we can enjoy!”

Jonathan Rea – P14

“It’s been a difficult day, in part because we arrived here with some different specification tyres from Pirelli so we had to factor that into our planning today. I felt okay on the bike, just the conditions are different to the test so we are struggling for grip and the bike is behaving a little bit differently. Just working to understand step-by-step with the crew, and also with Fabien and Nico on track watching, to try and help me with what I can do to improve. I feel like I’m riding close to the limit but it’s clearly not, we still have room for some margin because Remy was really fast today. It’s a mixed bag because I’m okay in Sector 1 and 2 but we need to improve in the second part of the lap – something to focus on for tomorrow.”

Danilo Petrucci – P15

“I was very determined to be here and I am happy to have managed to do both sessions, but if I was feeling relatively good this morning, this afternoon I was in a lot of pain. From a bone perspective, everything is fine, but there is significant inflammation, and as the sessions progress, the situation certainly doesn’t improve. It’s increasingly difficult to ride, especially under braking. It feels like I’m always on high alert. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning, but I’ll definitely try to do the Superpole, and then we’ll assess my condition. I want to attempt the race, but we won’t take unnecessary risks; the important thing is not to worsen the situation. I want to be in good shape for Donington.”

Michele Pirro – P16

“First, I am happy to return to Superbike after a few years. I’ve been trying to find the feeling; I’ve lapped a lot on this track, but practically only with the Desmosedici GP. I hope tomorrow I can take one more step forward”.

Xavi Vierge – P17

“It has been a difficult first day for us here. The feeling with the bike has not been so good, and I struggled a lot. But we all worked very hard during the day, and FP2 went better. We improved the pace but haven’t yet achieved everything we had in our plan. If we are able to make another step to better carry the speed through the corners and make the bike turn better, we will be able to significantly improve our performance. At the moment, we are a bit on the limit in that area. We will see tomorrow.”

Tarran Mackenzie – P21

“FP2 went a lot better than the morning’s session after we went back to a setting we’d used during the recent test. Testing here was strange and saw us making a series of changes following a few problems, which meant we weren’t riding the same bike the whole time. So, for this afternoon, we went back to basics and changed a couple of little things that made the difference, allowing me to set my best lap time and move closer to those in front. We end the day in a positive way and hopefully we can go back out tomorrow and continue to improve as we prepare for Race 1.”

Adam Norrodin – P24

“I’m working with a new crew chief this weekend and we tried something different in FP1 but it didn’t work. We then made quite a big change for FP2 which helped me to improve the feeling but for some reason the lap times are not coming. Honestly, I know that there are still things I need to improve personally speaking, so that’s my target for tomorrow, while in terms of the bike, we’re still missing something on corner exit. We’ll continue to work on this, but it all takes time of course. Let’s see if we can take another step already tomorrow.”

WorldSBK Friday Report

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had shown incredible pace in testing here recently and he ended Friday on top of the timesheets despite losing time through a technical issue in FP1 and a crash in FP2.

In the morning session, Toprak had an issue with his quick-shifter, while a crash at Turn 16 with around half the session gone cost him time in FP2. However, his FP1 time – a 1’33.448s – was enough to claim top spot overall on Friday.

The fastest rider for Ducati was Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who, as so often is the case, was fast out of the blocks. He was the first rider into the 1’33s in FP2 and his fastest time was a 1’33.552s, claiming P1 in FP2 and P2 overall, just a tenth behind Razgatlioglu. When pushing hard on his next lap, the #11 ventured into the gravel at Turn 13.

Team-mate Alvaro Bautista claimed third place overall, setting a 1’33.913s for his best time of the day in FP2. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) was fifth overall, and the third Ducati, after setting a 1’34.192s in FP2, claiming a top-four in that session.

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) has made a huge step for 2024 and that’s continued at Misano, claiming third in FP2 with a 1’34.063s which puts him fourth overall and around half-a-second away from Toprak’s outright pace.

WorldSBK Friday Combined Practice Times

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP

The FIM Supersport World Championship has seen a dramatic first day back in action, whilst the pacesetters at the top of the standings continue to display their prowess and pace. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was awarded pole position following the end of the Superpole session, whilst Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) finished the afternoon session the same way he did in the morning; fast. His time of 1’36.843s was enough to secure P2 in Race 1 tomorrow. He thought that he had done enough to secure pole, but found that he had exceeded track limits at turn 13, and was thus demoted. His crash saw the Spaniard collide into the back of Oli Bayliss’ (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) Panigale V2, before suffering a highside at Turn 4. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) rounded out the front row by securing P3.

Elsewhere, the second row took an interesting shape. France’s Valentin Debise (Evan Bros WorldSSP Yamaha Team) continued his impressive form to secure P4, whilst Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) secured a spot in the top five. Locking out the second row was Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Team), with the Turk completing an impressive Superpole lap that, whilst initially seeing him stuck in P18, ultimately saw him jump to P6 for tomorrow’s race.

Rounding out the top ten was an interesting variety of riders on the grid. Italy’s Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) secured an impressive P7 on the grid, whilst Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) showed impressive consistency to secure P8. P9 and P10 were rounded out by Spaniard Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) and Italy native Luca Ottaviani (Extreme Racing Service), who is wildcarding this weekend.

Tom Edwards was 20th at the end of day one while countryman Luke Power was 32nd.

WorldSSP Superpole

WorldSSP Championship Points

WorldSSP300

A manic Tissot Superpole session for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship saw thrills, spills and everything in between. Ultimately, the Friday afternoon session saw Daniel Mogeda (Team #109 Retro Traffic Kawasaki) qualify on top. The Championship leader continues to assert his dominance over the rest of the grid by qualifying on pole for Race 1.

This pole position, which just so happened to be Mogeda’s first ever pole position in the class, was matched only by the impressive form of Indonesia’s Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse). Qualifying in P2 saw Mahendra match his best ever Superpole result (after Assen). Mogeda and Mahendra were joined on the front row by Spaniard Marc Garcia (KOVE Racing Team), who was promoted to the front row after review at the end of the session.

Just behind Garcia, the second row was very close. Spaniard Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) spearheads the second row, setting a time of 1’49.597s. Just behind him was fellow Spanish rider Julio Garcia Gonzalez (KOVE Racing Team), and they were joined in completing the second row by Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama.

The remainder of the top ten for Saturday’s race was also determined during the Superpole race. David Salvador (MS Racing) secured P7, whilst Italian Elia Bartolini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team) secured eighth. P9 and P10 were completed by Czech Republic rider Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) and reigning Champion Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) respectively.

Outside of the race order being set for Saturday, Friday’s Superpole session was eventful for different reasons. Two-time race winner at Misano, Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki) suffered a crash that ensured he will start from towards the back end of the grid, whilst Emiliano Ercolani (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP 300 Team) suffered a wicked highside that left him stranded in the middle of the track.

WorldSSP300 Superpole

WorldSSP 300 Championship Points

World WCR

The first pole in the history of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship was claimed by Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) as the Spaniard beat her rivals in a hotly-contested Tissot Superpole session. Herrera will lead away the Race 1 grid on Saturday at Misano after fending off her rivals during the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round.

As in this morning’s Free Practice session, the times kept improving as the session progressed. Herrera was able to set a 1’49.390s to claim the first ever WorldWCR pole but it was fine margins, with just 0.051s between the #6 and Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) in second. Sanchez, who topped the FP session, set a 1’49.441s, to claim second ahead of Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) in third. Just 0.124s separated the top three in a closely fought Superpole session. However, towards the end of the session, it was announced that Sanchez was under investigation for slow riding.

Italian star Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) will line up from fourth after fighting for pole position, finishing less than two tenths away from Herrera’s pole-setting time. South Africa’s Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) claimed fifth ahead of Chile’s Isis Carreno (AD78 FIM Latinoamerica by Team GP3), who will line up for Race 1 from sixth on the grid.

Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) set a 1’50.437s as she claimed seventh place, finishing ahead of Ornella Ongaro (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) in eighth after the French rider set a 1’51.153s. Germany’s Lucy Michel (TSL-Racing) was ninth with Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) completing the top ten. Chun Mei Liu (WT Racing Team Taiwan) narrowly missed out on a top-ten spot, finishing just a tenth behind Ruiz.

Australian entrant Tayla Relph finished the opening day in 16th place but is confident of more when the lights go out on Saturday.

Maria Herrera – P1

“I’m really pleased to be on pole. I couldn’t actually see my pit board, so I didn’t know until we were finished that I was in front! I’m still adapting to the bike and have only had today’s sessions because we had no opportunity to test, so I’m really happy, both for me and the team who supports me on this new adventure. It’s been hard work to arrange everything but we’re here! I was nervous because we hadn’t had time to try the bike before coming here and I knew the field would be competitive. I know my potential, but the limited track time means that we’re still learning. I think tomorrow’s race will be a hard battle, but we will work hard and do our best to win.”

Sara Sanchez – P2

“I made a good start today and set the fastest time in free practice. We then made some refinements before Superpole and were able to place second in that qualifying phase. I think we did a really good job, but we want to do more to improve ahead of tomorrow. I’m proud to be here and on the front row of the grid at this first championship round and think I have a chance to win tomorrow’s race. A big thank you to my team, sponsors and family.”

Ana Carrasco – P3

“I’m happy with this first day, and a front row start is important. I knew this round would be a tough one as many riders know the Misano track and know how to be fast here. Conditions were hotter this afternoon, but the biggest problem for me today was the wind, actually. We have good pace I think, but the slipstream is also important here. I think we’re in for a hard-fought race, and probably a last lap battle between four or five riders, so I’ll do my best to be in a good position. I’m working well with the team and have good confidence. There’s not so much we can modify on the bike, but my team are doing all they can to help. As for this inaugural round of the WorldWCR, it’s great to have so many countries represented and so many riders on the grid.”

World WCR Superpole

FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup

Shoma Yamane took a debut pole at Round 3 of the FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup at the Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, also becoming the first Japanese rider to achieve the feat in the class.

The Superbike World Championship’s youngest riders were eager to return to the track on Friday morning after a break of almost two months since Round 2 in Assen. Spain’s Marc Vich was the quickest in Free Practice, ahead of Yamane and home favourite Alessandro di Persio. Poland’s Dawid Nowak was unable to set a lap time after crashing at the final corner on his out lap. The rider was declared fit.

In Superpole it was all change as the times dropped and the riders settled into the hot Italian track. Wildcard Gianmaria Ibidi impressed with his excellent pace and the rider from Rimini shot to the top of the timesheets, but Yamane overhauled him in the final seconds of the session with a 1’53.515. After struggling in the morning, Spain’s Gonzalo Sanchez found his pace in Superpole and took the final place on the front row. The quick trio of Mario Salles, Eduardo Burr and Cameron Swain make up the second row.

The FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup has now seen fifteen different riders in a row take pole, and Yamane is the third new polesitter of the season.

Shoma Yamane – Pole Position

“Today I feel very happy, I finally have a pole position. In free practice I had speed but my feeling wasn’t perfect and I did not set the fastest time. In qualifying I found something extra and it’s great to take the first pole for myself and for Japan. The race tomorrow is very important and I will give all to achieve a victory.”

FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup Superpole

FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup Points

Misano WorldSBK Schedule (AEST)

2024 WorldSBK Calendar