Catalunya WorldSBK Test
Most of the WorldSBK top runners recently interrupted their European summer break to spend two days testing at Catalunya in preparation for the latter half of season 2022.
Unfortunately Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered a big high-side exiting turn five on the second morning. The Turkish World Champion suffered a deep wound to his elbow which was treated at hospital.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“It was a good test for me and also for Loka, because we ride the bike after a long summer break. We are always ready to race but also we try some new set-up for the Catalunya Round, a very positive day for me. I am happy for Loka, for his very good lap time, he is also very strong at this track and I hope in the race weekend we are on the podium together. On the second day today, I had a big crash but I am okay. We tried the new tyre, just some laps, and maybe we can use it in the race weekend – we will see. Thanks to the Pata Yamaha with Brixx team for this test. Now, in one week we go to Cadwell Park with McAMS, I am excited for this!”
On-track action started on Saturday 20 August, with the second and final day on Sunday 21. Due to the limits placed on the number of approved testing days over a season, each rider chose when to take to the circuit and when to sit things out.
In generally hot conditions the 4.657km long circuit near Kawasaki Racing Team’s own HQ gave both riders and their pit crews a chance to evaluate the kind of set-up options they cannot try out in race weekends, due to time constraints during practice and qualifying.
Jonathan Rea started his own Barcelona test schedule on Saturday afternoon, setting the best lap of the first day in hot conditions. He was to set the best lap of the weekend in the slightly cooler conditions of Sunday morning, with a 1’40.913.
Jonathan Rea
“It has been a really solid two days of testing. We started in the afternoon in the hot temperatures of day one, and straight away I got the rhythm for the track temperature, which got to the high forties and then 50°C. It was good to take the rhythm like that on day one. Step-by-step we worked through the test plan. We had some ideas during the season that we can only try at a test, without the stress of a race weekend. So it is good to check these things at a test. One of the things we had in mind was changing my position on the bike, to see what influence that would have. We drew some positive results from that. Also, the electronics side of the bike is an area where we never stop working. We understood how to take that forward. Aside from that, it was a great two days to test in hot conditions. I was able to be quite fast and consistent in these hotter conditions. We know it is an area we still need to improve on, but the first signs were positive. We focused on race starts on day two, in the afternoon, trying to understand the best set-up from an electronic and mechanical point of view. And also my style at the starts. I really enjoyed my bike these last two days and it has been nice to fill in the WorldSBK summer break again, after being at Suzuka on a different bike. So it is nice to come back here to understand the Pirelli tyres and the WorldSBK spec Ninja ZX-10RR.”
Lowes tested his Ninja ZX-10RR for a full day on Saturday, but only Saturday, evaluating set-up options designed for the hot track conditions. His place was taken on track on Sunday by Florian Marino.
Lowes set his best lap time of 1’42.358 on the busy opening day, having made just over 90 laps of the circuit.
Marcel Duinker – Crew Chief for Alex Lowes
“We know that this track has been not very friendly with our set-up in the past couple of years, so we were happy to have this test here at this time of year. We knew it was going to be hot so we took this opportunity to improve our bike in these hot and slippery track conditions. We had a clear target for this test. We wanted to improve some very important parts of our chassis package, mainly through the set-up. We were fast and consistent so we ended this test happy because we reached our target.”
With a maiden 2022 Suzuka 8 Hour win still a fresh memory for Iker Lecuona, and an HRC contract extension option exercised for Xavi Vierge, the two HRC riders used this mid-summer test session as preparation for the second half of the season, while adapting their bike set-up to suit the fast Spanish layout ahead of their home round that will run at the same circuit over the weekend of September 23-25.
Lecuona and Fores focused on various aspects of their bike set-up, including the electronics and mapping settings, and compared a multitude of components including some linkages, Pirelli tyres and, on Iker’s side, a new bar mounted rear brake system.
Iker Lecuona
“Generally speaking, I’m very happy with these two test days. On the morning of day one we struggled with the rear brake set-up and it also took me some time to re-adapt to the tyres and find my position on the bike, the set-up of which is quite different from the Suzuka 8h’s one. It took a few hours to sort all these things but we were able to fix everything in the early afternoon and start to work effectively. I began feeling good and comfortable on my bike again and I also tried a handbrake that I liked. I couldn’t fully exploit it on day one but the more I used it, the more I got used to it and I think we will keep working in this area to further improve it. We tried a number of different set-ups, finding good pace on used tyres, and we also went for a fast lap with a qualifying tyre and were quick. So overall we leave here very happy.”
Xavi Vierge
“After having been forced to miss a lot of testing, I’m really happy with how these two days have gone. We had some extra jobs to do after missing the Donington and Misano tests, so we made many changes to the bike to understand the direction and we were able to make good progress, particularly today. We have found the way and I’ve finally got back my good feeling on the bike and was able to find a strong race pace. It was just a pity we couldn’t try a soft tyre, which was something we had planned for the final minutes of the session but then a storm forced us to pit. As I said, it was a very productive test that I hope will prove helpful during the second part of the season. I’m also pleased with a view to next year of course – you can be sure that the team and I will continue to aim for the top where we want to be.”
For the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team it was a fruitful test during which Michael Rinaldi and Alvaro Bautista had the opportunity to try new components and to work in view of the Catalunya Round scheduled for September 23-25.
Alvaro Bautista
“I am satisfied with the work we did in these two days. It was important to get back on the bike after a three-week stop. We tried many solutions some of which could be useful in the rest of the season. Today we lapped only during the morning session also because, after yesterday’s hard work, it was important not to stress my hand too much. And if I have to be honest the best news is that I didn’t feel any pain today. See you in Magny Cours.”
Michael Rinaldi
“We conclude these two days of testing with the knowledge that we have carried out very intensive and productive work. We have tried new solutions with positive results although only the data will tell us if we can use them already this season. I am very satisfied with how things went yesterday: the feeling was immediately excellent. But I am also happy with today’s session. We didn’t focus on the time attack while in terms of race pace we were incisive. We go to France with great confidence.”
For BMW, the work continued and like all teams, it was about working to find rear grip solutions in the low grip track conditions.
On the agenda for Redding in the morning was reconfirming a rear shock that he tried on Saturday, whilst he also had different combinations to try with the regards to the rear of the motorcycle. Working intensely on electronics in the afternoon, Redding felt some steps forward had been made.
For van der Mark, he confirmed that he was using the new swing-arm but like Redding had confirmed on Saturday, it was difficult to deduce any valid readings with the track conditions as they were. Continuing to make gains with the electronics in general, Redding finished ninth, fractionally behind top BMW Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), whilst van der Mark was 11th.
The WorldSBK championship returns to race action at Magny Cours in France, between 9-11 September. The Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya will host round eight of the WorldSBK championship, just two weeks after Magny Cours. WorldSBK then heads to Portimao, Argentina and Indonesia before the season finale at Phillip Island on the weekend of November 18-20.
Catalunya WorldSBK Test
- Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1m40.913
- Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +0.194
- Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.374s
- Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.601s
- Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.708s
- Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.818s
2022 WorldSBK Calendar
| Date | Track | Class |
| July 29-31 | Autodrom Most | SBK/SSP/SSP300 |
| Sept 9-11 | Magny-Cours | SBK/SSP/SSP300 |
| Sept 23-25 | Catalunya | SBK/SSP/SSP300 |
| Oct 7-9 | Algarve | SBK/SSP/SSP300 |
| Oct 21-23 | Circuito San Juan Villicum | SBK/SSP |
| Nov 11-13 | Mandalika | SBK/SSP |
| Nov 18-20 | Phillip Island | SBK/SSP |
