Jonathan Rea dominates day one at Jerez

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Ten Jerez

Light rain just before the start of the first session saw riders take their time to build up to speed at Jerez overnight as practice got underway ahead of round ten of the FIM Superbike World Championship before they then really got down to business in FP2.

Jonathan Rea worked on several areas of race preparation with his technical crew and when pushed set a fast lap time of 1’39.670, ending the opening day four-tenths ahead of second placed Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Jonathan Rea – P1

“We started with a new set-up idea that we had from these last few races in the heat, trying to take some of the grip off the rear of the bike, to create more balance. We worked with that idea and near the end of FP1 we went back to what we used to have. That confirmed that the new idea was working. In the afternoon we tried to do a longer run to understand my rhythm, to understand the tyre drop, and how the bike behaved. It was very consistent, especially in the last sector where normally you face a big drop in the fast right corners. The sector was very stable but the area where I am struggling the most is sector one. That is the main point of focus so we will check and see again tomorrow. What we did is not revolutionary, but it is a step.”

Michael Ruben Rinaldi worked on fine tuning the set-up on the Aruba Ducati in FP1 before finishing FP2 on a soft tyre to end the day P2.

Michael Rinaldi – P2

“It was a positive day in which we worked well. Let’s say that the feeling with the bike is 95% and we’ll try to find the remaining 5% tomorrow morning to be faster and more comfortable. Finishing second on Friday always gives us some confidence. I think that fighting for the podium is within our reach but only if we continue to work with great intensity“.

Having topped FP1 in the morning, Toprak Razgatlioglu left it late to feature at the front in FP2. The Turkish rider was outside the top five for most the session before popping up the order, consolidating his third place on the combined times.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P3

“Not a bad start but also different feeling in rear grip to normal, and two new tyres that we also tried. We need for every tyre a good set-up, so we try the new ones also. Not such a bad morning session, and after we also try a set-up for the race in FP2. We are not fully happy because we are third, but tomorrow I think we are feeling much better because now we will try to work to improve. I try also good lap time in the last lap, but not coming because too much spinning, not enough grip with the hard tyre to make a 1’39. Most important is we are working for the race. We will see tomorrow, we will try for more!”

Leon Haslam made a strong start for Honda, placing fifth in FP1 and then went quicker in FP2 to end the day fourth on combined times.

Leon Haslam – P4

“We had a good FP1. I felt we were quite consistent and kept the same tyre throughout the session. Then in the afternoon we tried a few experimental things but this kind of ruined the natural flow of our race preparation work. We also tried the new Pirelli front tyre but only did three or four laps on it; we’d need to use it over a longer distance to better understand its performance. We did better at the start of the afternoon practice, using the same set-up as we did in FP1, and I was third quickest in that session, but we’ll have to see what the weather brings tomorrow. If track temperatures go up over the weekend as we expect them to, we’ll need to work hard to try and retain the front grip and turning. We have a few things to resolve but fourth overall today is a good start.”

Scott Redding put the most laps (21) during the FP1 session without changing his rear tyre and again concentrated on race pace in the afternoon.

Scott Redding – P5

“All in all I can’t be unhappy with what we did today. The main problem is that I thought I was fast but I wasn’t fast in terms of the lap time. It’s not long before we find the right feeling and I’m sure we can take another step forward tomorrow in FP3.”

Alvaro Bautista suffered a very fast crash at turn 11 towards the end of FP2, which prevented him from further improving on his lap time, but fortunately he was unhurt in the fall and will be more than ready to recommence the work on Saturday.

Alvaro Bautista – P6

“For sure we started with very good feedback from the bike. This morning, I tried a different rear compound specification that Pirelli has brought, but I didn’t feel very comfortable. In the afternoon I used the rear tyre that we raced with at Barcelona and I definitely felt much better. We also tried the new front specification and I’m happy because through some corners I found that I could brake harder and keep a better line. I felt strong and could lap quite consistently. But we don’t have so many of those tyres so for the final run we went with a used front and fit a new rear. During my fastest lap, I felt the rear pushing in the final sector and I lost the front through quite a fast corner. Luckily I’m absolutely fine, but I missed out on the chance to further improve my lap time. Anyway, a very good start to the weekend, and having two Hondas in the top six is great. We need to see how the weather is tomorrow because we expect higher temperatures and we want to understand how the new tyre specifications behave in hotter conditions.”

In the approach to this weekend at the 4.423 km long Jerez circuit Alex Lowes’ hand injury meant he was unsure if he would be able to ride at all. He was passed fit and despite the pain from his fractured hand, he made strong progress in FP1 and FP2 to finish just one place outside the top six in a field of 24 riders. His best lap time of 1’40.352 was just 0.681 seconds from his team-mate Rea.

Alex Lowes – P7

“The pain in my hand is about the same as I thought it would be but the control of the bike and the pace on the bike is a lot better than I expected. The target of today was to see if it was worth the pain to maybe get an OK result and be competitive, and I feel I was competitive. So that is one box ticked. I will make some recovery tonight and hopefully, if I can ride in these kind of positions, then we can be happy with the weekend. In these cooler conditions the bike is working really well and I think that helped me quite a lot today. Up until Tuesday I thought I might be sitting watching the Ryder Cup golf this weekend but I was good enough to keep trying.”

Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli finished the opening day of practice eighth.

Andrea Locatelli – P8

“It’s not the best Friday for us today. The condition is not so bad here in Jerez, but the feeling with the bike is a little bit strange, especially in the entry of fast corners and the braking. We tried to work around this point on the set-up but the feeling is not coming, but now we have a little bit more time to understand and to check the data to try and improve for tomorrow. But, in the end, it’s not so bad – we had a really good rhythm in the long run and I want to try and close the gap, because we can go a little bit faster and this is our objective every time. We have some ideas and now I will work a little bit with the guys to understand what is the best direction to take for tomorrow.”

For BMW, their weekend got underway with Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) flying the flag in tenth place overall. The Dutchman set 39 laps across the day and was 1.102s behind the top time of Jonathan Rea. New team-mate for this weekend, Eugene Laverty, had a solid session in 14th place as he gets back used to racing action, setting an identical lap time as Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura). Expect Laverty to come on stronger as he gets back used to WorldSBK racing.

Michael van der Mark – P10

“This morning, we were quite happy with the bike and tried something a lot different which felt okay. For the afternoon we tried to find some front end feeling which I struggled a little bit with this morning. The first outing was on a used front tyre which I felt comfortable with, and our lap time was quite fast. After that I had to try some different tyre options which Pirelli brought, so it was mainly speaking to them and giving good feedback. Unfortunately, I couldn’t improve on my lap time, but I think the feeling I had this morning and at the start of FP2 was not that bad, so I hope we can have really good pace tomorrow.”

Eugene Laverty – P13

“Today started out quite difficult after so long away, I think I was down in 20th position. This afternoon we made some big strides forward despite my fastest lap being taken away from me following Bautista’s crash. That lap was the same as Mickey’s and that’s the goal, to be near him as he is the reference on the same bike. The bike’s working well. We just need a bit more feedback from the front tyre as I’m struggling to get a good sensation there. But it’s the second session on the bike, and I think we can be happy with our work.”

Leading the Independents in ninth place was Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in 11th, the Italian suffering a technical issue in the closing stages.

Loris Baz (Team GoEleven) was next up in 12th place on his return to WorldSBK, whilst Isaac Viñales was 13th, the Spaniard growing stronger in recent rounds. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was 15th.

The best of the rest saw Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) in 16th, ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport Yamaha), who crashed at Turn 1 in the middle of the session but was OK. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 18th, ahead of wildcard Marvin Fritz (IXS-YART Yamaha) who crashed at Turn 13 but was OK and Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team).

Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished the day in 21st after the Japanese rookie crashed at Turn 5. Andrea Mantovani (Vince64) was next up, ahead of Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and team-mate Lachlan Epis.

2021 Jerez WSBK Friday Combined Times

WorldSSP600

Philipp Oettl topped the timesheets at Jerez overnight ahead of championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).

Young Aussie Billy van Eerde started his second WorldSSP weekend 28th on the timesheets, three-seconds from the pace of the championship contenders.

2021 Jerez WSSP600 Friday Combined Times

WorldSSP300

The Friday action was electric in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto as Turkish star Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) topped both FP1 and FP2.

Young Aussie Harry Khouri was 28th on day one and is just under two-seconds away from front running pace as he gets up to speed.

2021 Jerez SSP300  Friday Combined Times

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