2023 Jerez WorldSBK Test Times Day Two
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) set the fastest lap time on the second and final day of the Jerez WorldSBK Test overnight using Pirelli’s SCQ tyre. The 2021 Champion posted a 1’38.269s, fractions slower than Jonathan Rea’s 1m38.247 qualifying lap record set in 2019. Toprak’s day was not without incident though as the Turk crashed at turn 13 in the morning session. Razgatlioglu was working on improving acceleration out of the corners, and completed 61 laps while team-mate Andrea Locatelli was seventh with a best time of 1’39.280s.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“A very big crash this morning but I am very lucky, just a little pain in my left leg but now the feeling is coming better. We improved my R1, with good acceleration and good grip – I was trying today for 1’37 for the record, but I did not see! We used a Q tyre today and I see best lap, 1’38.2. In general, good testing for me – in Portimão we need to try some more set-up because we are happy but also we are not stopping. Just we try to keep making everything better – thanks to my team, every day they are working and now we start to see how the level of the bike is and I am very happy.”
Andrea Locatelli
“These two days of testing were positive, because we returned on track in dry conditions – last time here in Jerez was raining for three days! We were able to take some confidence again with the R1 in the dry and it was positive to understand where we start with some new parts for 2023. Today, we improved a lot compared to yesterday and this is a good point to start again in Portimão. I was also able to push a bit more and to try a little bit to close the gap to the front guys, but to be honest we didn’t use a lot of soft tyres – or the Q tyre – to try and improve the lap time. We mainly try to work around the bike and search for good grip which is more important for the races. In the end, two positive days, no crash or mistakes and I had a good feeling on the bike, so now we can continue working next week.”
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) put his ZX-10RR into second place on Day 2, less than a tenth behind Razgatlioglu, after he set a 1’38.352s in the final hour of the test to finish only 0.083s off the pace. Both Rea and KRT team-mate Alex Lowes were working to make final checks and balances on the ZX-10RR, with Lowes in fifth place and around nine tenths down on Rea.
Jonathan Rea
“It has been a productive couple of days. We didn’t do so many laps because of the cold track conditions in the morning, so we just started a little bit later. But the laps we did do were very productive. I really got on well with my new electronics guy, Sander. We also have Christophe arriving with a lot of experience. So the first day was more about understanding and communication, how they adapted the set-up to my requests and how I make my comments to them. It is only the first step but they had some really good ideas. We improved quite a lot in one area. From the chassis side, we had some items to test from Showa, things we had to reconfirm from last year. We were able to get our workload done. We also tried out some some development front tyre options from Pirelli. The track itself was in good shape on both days but it was a bit windy at the end of the final day. I am quite encouraged by this test but we still have a lot of work to do before Phillip Island.”
Pere Riba – Crew Chief for Jonathan Rea
“The test was good. Priority number one for me was to work with our new guys. Sander our electronics guy working with Jonathan, and also Christophe, who also is with us this year. They have to get used to, and understand, our systems, strategies and everything. We have this test in Jerez, then Portimao and then we go to Australia. So we have to understand the base for our electronics side and the engine side. Apart from that, we also made a test with Pirelli, trying out two front tyres. We had some engine items that we collected information about and we will compare them again in Portimao, at a different track design. We also had a small item to check with Showa.”
Alex Lowes
“We had a good second day of testing here in Jerez. We have got some new parts on the bike and I did a longer race simulation that I was happy with. We were consistent, just missing a little bit of performance on fresh tyres – but I did not really go for a time attack and try to push hard. We did a lot of laps today and I felt good physically. We had more of our test items to try and improve again in Portimao next week. I focused on the harder tyres and did a long run on the hardest front and rear options, to try and take some grip away, because the track is so grippy in the winter. It felt quite good, so I am very optimistic for the next test.”
Marcel Duinker – Crew Chief for Alex Lowes
“The test was good for us; very productive. It has been quite a while since the last test at the beginning of December but at this test we had one main priority. That is what we worked on over both days and we found the correct set-up. We are more comfortable with it and in general this was our main limitation for some time. We finished the test with very good results. We were not chasing lap times although many people put in Q tyres in to go as fast as possible. We were not looking at that. We made a long run to check our consistency with our set-up and we confirmed our bike specification. We have another test in Portimao, which is a completely different track, and there we will re-confirm the items we have developed from the beginning of December. Everybody was positive about this test.”
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team took third and fourth with Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi respectively, with Rinaldi almost two-tenths down on his team-mate on the second day after Bautista set a 1’38.449s; the 2022 top three separated by just 0.180s. It was a strong debut outing for Ducati’s new model, featuring revised exhausts and winglets, with two riders occupying two positions inside the top four and a clear top speed advantage over the competition.
Alvaro Bautista
“Two very interesting days of testing. We tried the new Panigale V4R for the first time and I have to say that the sensations were very positive. We worked a lot on the tyre solutions even though obviously the very low temperature of these two days doesn’t allow us to have very clear ideas. In any case, I am very satisfied with our work“.
Michael Rinaldi
“We have worked on both the bike and the tyres. We go to Portiamo with a good charge knowing that we have faced two very productive days. Our lap times were in line with the front guys even if with the qualifying tyre I wasn’t able to improve much. On the race pace, on the other hand, the feeling was really good, that’s why I am happy”.
After a strong showing on Day 1, three WorldSBK rookies finished the test inside the top ten on Day 2. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was sixth fastest after posting a 1’39.193s using the SCQ tyre to make him the second-fastest Yamaha rider on Day 2, with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) once again inside the top ten, taking eighth place after setting a 1’39.311s.
Danilo Petrucci
“It was important to break the ice in the best way, and we did it. It is a pleasure to work with a strong team that immediately put a competitive bike at my disposal. I knew Barni very well and I knew how his team works. In thiese two days I had the confirmation of that. Since yesterday the feeling was immediately good and our race pace is already at a good level. Today I wasn’t able to lower the time as I would have liked: the problem is that I still can’t exploit the new tyre, I have to understand how to use the bike in that situation. We tried to explore different ways, but I still don’t have the bike in my hands 100%. That’s why the Portimao test will be very useful for us. I’d like to make a step forward, but we have to make a path of growth and for the first test I’m very happy”.
Remy Gardner
“I’m quite happy with the progress we made throughout the two days, we’re working well. I’m trying to understand the tyres, the bike, and I’m feeling good with everything. I’m enjoying a lot the time spent here in Jerez and I’m already looking forward to Portimao, where I’m confident we can find some more improvements and be faster.”
Aegerter’s GRT Yamaha team-mate, Remy Gardner, took tenth spot but was only three-tenths slower than Aegerter at the end of Day 2; showing how tight the WorldSBK field is in 2023.
Team HRC had one rider inside the top ten with Iker Lecuona in ninth place, completing 68 laps on his way to a position inside the top ten as he set a 1’39.337s, while team-mate Vierge was in 12th place and more than six tenths down on his team-mate.
Iker Lecuona
“I’m much happier today than I was yesterday, when we were struggling with the braking basically all day. So today we focused in on this area and made a big improvement that allowed me to enjoy riding the bike again. That was the first positive, but we were actually able to take steps with regard to various aspects of the bike’s setup, except one, in that we still have more to do in terms of turning. Having said that, I’m happy with the work we were able to carry out over what have been two very good days of testing, and I’m also pleased with the pace I was able to maintain on used tyres. I also tried a new soft spec today but almost crashed at turn 8. I think I made one of my best ever saves, touching with my elbow and knee but keeping it upright. Although I didn’t profit from the qualifying tyre, I was consistent and fast with the “0” spec, with which I worked almost all day, and we’re happy with that.”
Xavi Vierge
“It’s been very positive to finally be back on track, especially because we only saw rain during our last tests here in December. It’s true that it has been very cold, but from midday on we were able to enjoy solid track time. We had a lot of work to do and have tried many things, basically going through all the items that we didn’t have a chance to check properly during the final rounds and testing sessions of 2022. We’ve made some steps forward and now have a direction for our next test in Portimão. We’re doing all we can to achieve our targets as quickly as possible and having so many Japanese engineers here has been extra motivation for us to do our very best”.
Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was the lead BMW rider on Day 2 as he took 11th place with a 1’39.517s. Factory BMW riders Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Michael van der Mark were 12th and 16th respectively, while Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was 15th; Gerloff had a crash in the morning after losing the front of his machine at Turn 6.
The returning Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was classified in 17th place with a 1’40.750s on his ZX-10RR, with his day ending a few minutes early after he had a crash towards the end of Day 2.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha), making his and the team’s WorldSBK debut, was 18th fastest as he adjusted to new surroundings, while Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 19th; the team have switched brake suppliers from Brembo to Nissin for 2023.
There will be one more European-based winter test for most riders, at the very different venue of the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portugal, between 31 January and 1 February. After that there will be two final days of official winter testing at Phillip Island in Australia, and the first points scoring round of the season will take place at the same venue on the last weekend of February.
2023 Jerez WorldSBK Test Times Day Two
- Toprak Razgatlioglu – Yamaha 1m38.269
- Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki 1m38.352
- Alvaro Bautista – Ducati 1m38.449
- Michael Rinaldi – Ducati 1m38.646
- Alex Lowes – Kawasaki 1m39.175
- Dominique Aegerter – Yamaha 1m39.193
- Andrea Locatelli – Yamaha 1m39.280
- Danilo Petrucci – Ducati 1m39.311
- Iker Lecuona – Honda 1m39.337
- Remy Gardner – Yamaha 1m39.464
- Loris Baz – BMW 1m39.517
- Scott Redding – BMW 1m39.710
- Xavi Vierge – Honda 1m39.860
- Phillip Oettl – Ducati 1m40.023
- Garrett Gerloff – BMW 1m40.101
- Michael Van der Mark – BMW 1m40.221
- Tom Sykes – Kawasaki 1m40.750
- Lorenzo Baldassarri – Yamaha 1m40.975
- Florian Marino – Kawasaki 1m41.553
- Oliver Konig – Kawasaki 1m41.595
- Roman Ramos – Kawasaki 1m42.087
2023 Jerez WorldSSP Test
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba WorldSSP Racing Team) was the lead rider in the WorldSSP field on his Panigale V2, completing 69 laps with a best time of 1’41.685s.
Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), with four bikes to try as well as comparing suspension suppliers, was second and two tenths back while Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) was third and only three-tenths down on Bulega.
Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was fourth while three rookies completed the classification: Andrea Mantovani (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was fifth, 1.4s down on Bulega, with John McPhee (Vince64 by Puccetti Racing) sixth and Yuta Okaya (Prodina Kawasaki Racing WorldSSP) seventh; Okaya’s best time was recorded as a 1’46.225s, but he was running without a transponder for a lot of the day.
2023 Jerez WorldSSP Test Times Day Two
- Niccolo Bulega – Ducati 1m41.685
- Can Oncu – Kawasaki 1m41.858
- Federico Caricasulo – Ducati 1m42.012
- Adrian Huertas – Kawasaki 1m42.923
- Andrea Mantovani – Yamaha 1m43.149
- John McPhee – Kawasaki 1m43.665
- Yuta Okaya – Kawasaki 1m46.225
