Rea heads the Catalunya test when Toprak rushes to the hospital

Check out Catalunya WorldSBK

Most of WorldSBK’s top athletes recently interrupted their European summer break to spend two days of testing in Catalunya in preparation for the second half of the 2022 season.

Unfortunately, Toprak Razgatlioglu had to go through a high side start in the fifth leg on Monday morning. The Turkish world champion suffered a deep wound to his elbow and was treated at the hospital.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“It was a good test for me and for Loka as well, as we rode after a long summer break. We’re always ready to race but we also try out some new setups for the Catalunya Wheel, a very positive day for me. I am very happy for Loka, for his very good lap time, he is also very strong at this track and I hope in race weekend we will be on the podium together. On the second day of today, I had a big crash but I’m fine. We tried the new tire, just some laps, and maybe we can use it in the race at the weekend – we’ll see. Thanks to Pata Yamaha with the Brixx team for this test. Now, in a week, we’re going to Cadwell Park with McAMS, I’m so happy for this! “

The action on the track begins Saturday, August 20, with the second and final day on Sunday. Due to the limit on the number of days of approved testing in a season, each driver chose when to go laps and when to sit. outside.

In hot conditions, the 4,657km track near Team Kawasaki’s headquarters gave both riders and their team the chance to evaluate the kind of setup options they weren’t able to try during the race weekend, due to limited time during practice and qualifying.

Jonathan Rea began his own test schedule in Barcelona on Saturday afternoon, setting up his best first day lap in the heat. He set up his best lap of the weekend in the slightly cooler conditions of Sunday morning, with 1’40,913.

Jonathan Rea

“It was a really solid two-day test. We started the afternoon with the sweltering heat of the first day, and I immediately picked up on the track temperature, which peaked forty and then 50°C. catch up like that on the first day. Step by step, we worked through the test plan. We had some ideas during the season that we could just try at a test, without the stress of a race weekend. So it’s best to check these out at a quiz. One of the things we thought about was changing my position on the bike, to see what effect that would have. We drew some positive results from that. Also, the electronic side of the bike is an area where we never stop working. We understand how to make that go forward. Aside from that, it was a great two-day experiment in hot weather. I was able to be quite fast and steady in these hotter conditions. We know it’s an area where we still need to improve, but the first signs are positive. We focused on the race starting on day two, in the afternoon, trying to understand the best setup from an electronic and mechanical point of view. And also my style at the start. I really enjoyed my bike for the past two days and it was great to be on WorldSBK summer vacation again, after being in Suzuka on another bike. So glad to come back here to understand about Pirelli tires and WorldSBK Ninja ZX-10RR specs. “

Lowes tested his Ninja ZX-10RR for an entire day on Saturday, but only Saturday, evaluating setup options designed for hot racetrack conditions. His place was taken on the track on Sunday by Florian Marino.

Lowes set his best lap time of 1’42,358 on a busy opening day, doing just over 90 laps.

Marcel Duinker – Captain of Alex Lowes

“We know this track hasn’t been very friendly to our setup over the past few years, so we’re happy to host this test here at this time of year. We knew it was going to be very hot so we took this opportunity to improve our bike in this hot and slippery trail condition. We had a clear goal for this test. We wanted to improve some very important parts of our chassis package, mainly through setup. We were quick and consistent so ended this test happily because we reached our goal. “

With the first win at the Suzuka 8 Hour in 2022 still a new anniversary for Iker Lecuona and the option to renew the HRC contract made for Xavi Vierge, the two HRC riders used this midsummer test session. to prepare for the second half of the season, while also adapting their bike setup to accommodate Spain’s quick layout ahead of their home round which will run the same circuit on the 23-25 ​​weekend. September.

Lecuona and Fores focused on different aspects of their bike setup, including the electronics and mapping setups, and compared a multitude of components including several links, Pirelli tires and , on the Iker side, a new bar-mounted rear brake system.

Iker Lecuona

“Overall, I am very satisfied with these two test days. On the morning of the first day, we struggled with setting the rear brake and it took me a while to adjust to the tires and find my place on the bike, the setup was quite different. compared to Suzuka 8 hours. one. It took a few hours to get all of this sorted out but we were able to get everything fixed by early afternoon and be productive. I’m starting to feel good and comfortable again on my bike and I’ve also tried a handbrake that I like. I couldn’t get it all out in a day or two but the more I use it, the more I get used to it and I think we’ll continue to work on this to improve it even further. We tried several different setups, found good speeds on used tires, and we also went for a quick lap with a qualified tire and was very quick. So overall we left here very happy. “

Xavi Vierge

“After being forced to miss a lot of tests, I’m really happy with how the two days have passed. We have some work to do after missing the Donington and Misano tests, so we made a lot of changes to the bike to understand the direction and we can make good progress , especially today. We found the way and I finally regained my comfort on the bike and was able to find strong racing speeds. Unfortunately we couldn’t try a soft tire, that’s what we planned for the last minutes of practice but then a storm forced us into the pit. Like I said, it was a very productive test that I hope will be useful in the second part of the season. Of course, I’m also pleased with the outlook for next year – you can be sure that the team and I will continue to aim for the top spot we want.. “

For the Aruba.it – ​​Ducati racing team, it was a fruitful test in which Michael Rinaldi and Alvaro Bautista had a chance to try new components and work ahead of the Catalunya Round scheduled for the 23rd. until September 25.

Alvaro Bautista

“I am satisfied with the work we did in these two days. It’s important to get back on the bike after three weeks of stopping. We have tried many solutions, some of which may be useful for the rest of the season. Today we just clapped in the morning also because, after yesterday’s hard work, it is important that I am not too stressed. And if I have to be honest, the best news is that I don’t feel any pain today. See you in Magny Cours. “

Michael Rinaldi

“We ended these two days of testing with the knowledge that we had done the work very intensively and efficiently. We have tried the new solutions with positive results although only new data tells us if we can use them this season. I’m very pleased with how things turned out yesterday: it felt instantly great. But I am also very happy with today’s lesson. We didn’t focus on timing attack while on race speed we were tough. We come to France with great confidence. “

For BMW, the work continues and, like all teams, it is about finding rear-grip solutions in low-traction track conditions.

On the agenda for Redding in the morning was to reconfirm a rear shock he tried on Saturday, while he also had different combinations to try in relation to the rear of the car. machine. Working hard on electronics in the afternoon, Redding felt some steps forward had been made.

As for van der Mark, he confirmed he was using the new swingarm but like Redding confirmed on Saturday, it is difficult to deduce any valid readings with race conditions like they are inherent. Continuing its success with the electronics sector in general, Redding ranked 9th, behind BMW Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), while van der Mark ranked 11th.

The WorldSBK Championship returns to racing action at Magny Cours in France, September 9-11. Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya will host round 8 of the WorldSBK championship, just two weeks after Magny Cours. WorldSBK will then head to Portimao, Argentina and Indonesia ahead of the season finale at Phillip Island on the weekend of November 18-20.

Check out Catalunya WorldSBK

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1m40,913
2. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +0.194
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.374 seconds
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) + 0.601 seconds
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.708 seconds
6. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) + 0.818 seconds

WorldSBK Calendar 2022