Toprak tops opening day of WorldSBK Test in Jerez

news7g01/26/2023

5 4 minutes read

Toprak tops opening day of WorldSBK Test in Jerez

Jerez World SBK Exam Time Day One

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) topped the opening day of the WorldSBK Test in Jerez overnight against defending champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). Razgatlioglu is focusing on the rear of his Yamaha YZF R1 machine to improve grip and acceleration while he also has a new swingarm on the 2023 machine.

Teammate Andrea Locatelli, entering his third season with the team, has the same focus as his teammate as he wants to start 2023 strong. Locatelli is 12th in the standings with a best time of 1’40,227 seconds, after 79 laps.

Defending champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crashed in Round 1 in the afternoon while riding his No. 1 branded 2023 bike. He was able to drive his Panigale V4 R back into the pit after the collision. Bautista completed 88 laps, as he was one of the first riders to hit the track, with a best time of 1’38,851 seconds.

Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who is focused on feeling good with his bike, was almost four-tenths behind his teammate and was the third fastest.

Six-time champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) started his test in the afternoon, deciding not to hit the track in colder conditions in the morning, but immediately showed his speed. Rea took fourth place overall, completing 42 laps, with a best time of 1’39.302 seconds.

Teammate Alex Lowes, who has a number of performance components, chassis and suspension including a modified rear shock absorber to try, is three tenths behind and one place behind Rea with 37 laps. Kawasaki has also introduced a new system on their ZX-10RR that will prevent riders from mistaking a neutral number, which has happened a few times throughout 2022. Alex also joined the race. Twin brother Sam, who is listed on the timesheet as on a Superstock bike and is four seconds behind Alex.

HRC team duo Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona tested the new bibs on Day One at Jerez as they kicked off their second season with Honda factory skins. From the point of view of some engineers from Japan, the pair are seventh and eighth respectively. Honda, which is testing new components including new brake calipers from supplier Nissin on their CBR1000RR-R, hit a time of 1’39,879 seconds from the Vierge with the Lecuona just 0.004 seconds behind.

the interesting way Stefan Bradl is also on his way to putting the latest version of the RC213V MotoGP machine through its paces. Bradl is not on the time list so there is probably no transponder.

Stefan Bradl was on the track at Jerez yesterday to test drive the RC213V MotoGP machine.

At BMW, both Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and teammate Michael van der Mark tuned the new brakes after the German manufacturer switched to Nissin from Brembo. Van der Mark’s plan was to complete as many laps as possible on his first day back riding since the Australian Round, he did 65 laps, while Redding completed 67. Redding was the faster one. out of two drivers when he scored 1′ 39,998, while van der Mark was seven tenths behind.

Three rookies are taking the Jerez test as they adapt to their new surroundings, team, and bike. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) took sixth place at the end of the day with a time of 1’39,790, just over a second behind Razgatlioglu. Petrucci is a rookie in WorldSBK, but hardly a Superbike rookie after competing on a Ducati in MotoAmerica.

Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was ninth fastest on his first day in dry conditions with the Yamaha R1, finishing in 1’39,934, as he studied the linkage, swingarm and electronic components, with teammate Remy Gardner at the back in 14th place and six tenths back from Aegerter.

Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha), learning about Championships and cycling with his team, was the lowest ranked rookie with 19th place when he first entered the Yamaha R1. He completed 67 rounds on Day One.

With a 2023 BMW M 1000 RR at his disposal, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) finished the day in 11th place with a best time of 1’40.065 seconds after completing 54 laps. Gerloff leads both teammate Loris Baz and factory driver van der Mark in the standings.

Returning Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) came in at 16th at the end of the day, though he didn’t test anything new against the December test. Sykes also had a minor mechanical issue with approx. 90 minutes remained of the session when he was about to leave the hole but was able to hit the track with the same bike, about 10 minutes later.

In WorldSSP, Ducati came out on top on Day One as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba WorldSSP Racing Team) came out on top for the number of times in a three-way battle. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who has four bikes to test ride at Jerez including a 2022 bike and 2023 specs, is second while Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) is third.

Rookie Andrea Mantovani (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) took fourth place, ahead of Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) and WorldSSP rookie John McPhee (Vince64 of Puccetti Racing). Yuta Okaya (Prodina Kawasaki Racing WorldSSP) and Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) also took part in the test, although neither of them recorded lap times during the test.