Recapping the two-day WorldSBK Test at Cremona

WorldSBK Cremona Test

Most of the regular WorldSBK riders tested at the Cremona Circuit in the Lombardy region of Italy this week. On the opening day, riders experienced mixed conditions before the sun then came out on Friday, which allowed them to make some real progress.

The 3.768 km circuit, the shortest and tightest track layout of the season, debuts on the WorldSBK calendar on the weekend of September 22.

Remy Gardner led the way for the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team ahead of Pata Prometeon Yamaha rider Andrea Locatelli.

Remy Gardner – P1

“It was a positive test, we managed to learn the track and to gain positive data. In the morning it wasn’t too easy as I still had to find my way through the circuit, but we kept working very well and I felt good on the bike. I was able to set my fastest time immediately when I tried the qualifying tyre, which was also the fastest overall. I think there’s still margin to improve, but we’re satisfied with the job done and I can’t wait to be back testing in a few days as we’ll be having another session in Misano on 30-31 May.”

Andrea Locatelli – P2

“It was the first day for me with the ‘big bike’ on this track and I think we did very well. We were focused to do some laps and try to set-up and understand the R1 here. In only one day, we made a really good lap time and we made a good rhythm on the used tyres so in general I am happy. I have a good feeling and I have good confidence and now we have two more days of testing next week in Misano. I am excited because it was a long time that we didn’t ride! We had a good day, no mistakes, no crash – we did a lot of things and we have good data, and we can arrive in Misano with some more ideas to set-up the bike for Misano race. Cremona looks like a good track and I enjoy quite a lot the first sector and the last sector, because it is where we need to turn a bit more. On the last sector it’s nice to ride, looks like jumping and then to go in the last corner – it’s something different. For sure it’s not a big track so it might not be easy to overtake in the race, but let’s see. We will arrive here in September focused and we will try to get the maximum.”

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) finished third ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team).

Sam Lowes – P4

“It was great to get a first experience of the Cremona track on a WorldSBK machine and this test also gave us the opportunity to work on a few set-up options that will improve our package in the next races. I enjoyed the track a lot more than I was expecting, and I want to thank the team for all their hard work. We are not just resting in this period off, and we had some new parts to try to make me feel comfortable. One key area of working was modifying my position on the bike, and I feel in that area we made some very positive steps. My pace has been strong from the first exit here and we never focused on an outright fast lap, so I feel strong and confident that when we return here later in the season I can be very competitive. Now we’ll rest for a few days before getting back out on track next week in Misano. That is a track I love and I’m excited to try a superbike for the first time there.”

The Factory BMW squad were not in attendance but the Bonovo Action BMW pairing of Scott Redding and Grand Gerloff were on track, with Redding proving the quicker of the two and fifth fastest outright ahead of Nicolo Bulega and team-mate Gerloff.

Grant Gerloff – P7

“I really like the track; it’s got a cool flow to it. I didn’t feel bad at all. We’re just doing circles a little bit. It’s been confusing why something that should work doesn’t, and why something that probably shouldn’t work does. I don’t know what, this year, has been going on. We’re making progress. It’s just we expect to be higher than we are. We’re doing our best to regain everything we need to get back to where we should be. We went back to a setup that we used at the beginning of the year that worked really well at Jerez but didn’t work at all at Portimao or in Australia; that was pretty terrifying, I thought it was me! We went back to it and at this track it feels good. We used it all day today. We’ve been scratching our heads a bit, but I feel good here so that’s a positive.”

Dominique Aegerter finished the test in eighth place ahead of championship leader Alvaro Bautista, while Tito Rabat rounded out the top ten.

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HRC riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge were 11th and 13th quickest, respectively.

Iker Lecuona – P11

“I’m happy. I needed to make laps on the bike after basically missing half of the action since the start of the championship and having to stop proper training for long periods of time. On this track, which has many left corners and many changes of direction, I struggled a bit with my left shoulder, which I injured in Australia, and the knee I hit in Barcelona is still not 100% on the bike either. But all in all, I felt better than I expected here. It’s a very small track, and I can’t say I like it or dislike it really. Let’s say I like some parts a lot, like the straight, and other sections less so. All in all, it’s fun and very physical too. Out of corner three, you cannot see corner four, so you need to learn the right references. That sector’s not easy. Corner thirteen, I think, is one of the best because the camber makes the bike basically turn by itself. During the first half day we started the tests with the setup from the last race in Assen and then made changes step by step that helped me to feel more and more comfortable. On the second day we did much more and made some bigger setup changes, especially on the electronics side but also across all areas of setup. Overall, I can say this was the most productive test of the season so far, winter testing included. I feel there’s chance for real improvement so let’s wait and see if the work we did here—a lot of work, honestly—will come to fruition.”

Xavi Vierge – P13

“Cremona is a unique track; it’s fun, actually. I enjoyed it because it has a bit of everything, including a super long straight and some cambered corners. I think it’s quite nice, and the grip level is good enough. We’ve completed almost a day and a half of testing here, with the first half basically dedicated to understanding the track and seeing how the bike reacts. Our bike is really fast from the half straight to the end and I feel very confident in a couple of strong braking areas. Through other sections, as always, we struggle to fully exploit the bike’s power. Having said that, I think this testing session was one of our best tests so far, not so much for the performance because we didn’t just focus on trying a setup for this track specifically, but on making comparison tests between very different setups that will be very useful for the next step of our bike’s development. I’m very happy with the work we’ve done here.”

Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) suffered a technical issue in the morning session and finished slightly down the order as his “Q” tyre time attack lap was cut short at the end of the day.

Jonathan Rea – P13

“It was nice to get here and get back on my R1, it’s been a while since Assen! Cremona is a new track for WorldSBK and also a new track for me, a new track for almost everybody, really. It was important to come here before September and at least learn the way around, so now I know! It looked like we were going to get another thunderstorm in the afternoon, so we were gambling to try and save that afternoon to use more test days in the season – but after a couple of hours, we decided it was going to miss us, so we went back out and started really trying to find the limits with the Yamaha R1 on this circuit. It was also important to help get me more comfortable and electronically we worked on a lot of different settings compared to what I was using at the start of the season. Step-by-step, building the set-up – always when you arrive at a new track, there are many areas to adjust and give feedback on to the engineers, just to refine the set-up and get more comfortable pushing closer to the limit because we still have margin to improve.”

Tarran Mackenzie was also on track this week and lapped half-a-second quicker than British Superbike rider and old sparring partner Tommy Bridewell, who was also on track to provide further feedback to HRC.

Tarran Mackenzie – P14

“Thursday started in a very positive way, and I was really pleased with our lap times as we got up to speed with the new track, keeping the bike largely as it was at Assen. We only got a half day because of the rain but then were back out again this morning. We made another good step using a bike similar to what we used yesterday, but I found a little more in myself with some more track knowledge and a bit more understanding. I got a bit lost in the middle of the day and had a little crash just before lunch, but that wasn’t a real issue. Then after lunch we tried a new fork, which brought positives and negatives. We found a bit of a direction in the final hour, going back to the fork I’d started with, which seemed to give me better feeling. We ran out of time at the end to do a run on a Q tyre, but other than that I was pleased and happy with my times on a race tyre, and we feel better prepared for September’s race weekend.“

Much of the WorldSBK grid will be back in action next week with a two-day test scheduled at Misano World Circuit from 30-31 May.

WorldSBK Cremona Test Times

1. Remy Gardner 1m28.860
2. Andrea Locatelli 1m28.919
3. Michael Rinaldi 1m29.047
4. Sam Lowes 1m29.137
5. Scott Redding 1m29.215
6. Nicolo Bulega 1m29.223
7. Grant Gerloff 1m29.325
8. Dominique Aegerter 1m29.506
9. Alvaro Bautista 1m29.518
10. Tito Rabat 1m29.543
11. Iker Lecuona 1m29.787
12. Jonathan Rea 1m30.027
13. Xavi Vierge 1m30.135
14. Tarran Mackenzie 1m30.646
15. Tommy Bridewell 1m31.165
16. Adam Norrodin 1m31.591

WorldSBK Championship Points

2024 WorldSBK Calendar