Yamaha 1-2 on opening day of WorldSBK practice at Jerez

2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 12 – Jerez
Friday Practice

After losing most of FP1 due to the damp and cold conditions, FP2 at Jerez allowed riders to get down to business.

In the blue corner and looking to sign off his Yamaha chapter on a high and delay Bautista’s seemingly inevitable title celebrations for as long as possible, Toprak Razgatlioglu was in good form from the start, chasing Bautista in the standings, time-sheets and on track for a lot of it. The Turkish star was a double winner in 2021 at Jerez and he’ll need perfection this year – combined with a Bautista disaster – if he’s to fight for the title. He left it late to fly to the top of the standings. Team-mate Andrea Locatelli was inside the top seven for most of the session, finishing in P9 at the end of the day.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P1

“Friday was difficult because FP1, nobody was riding because the track conditions were strange. In FP2 everybody was riding but I was feeling less grip – not just my problem, all riders feeling the same. I felt just spinning, no grip/no turning, but we have already some positive way. Just I need a little more grip for good pace. I did a good lap time, but I need good pace as well and tomorrow I think we are improving to fight again. I did some laps following Alvaro, just to understand where his bike is strong – I am just trying to see which corners I can catch him in the race. I see and I understand, just I need a good set-up with my R1 – and it looks like tomorrow we can improve. I am still fighting for the win – first I need a good qualifying and after a good race, I hope I am fighting again like Portimão. When I fight like this I enjoy riding the bike a lot, we will see! I’m hungry to win.”

Ducati’s day started pretty well as Alvaro Bautista got under the 1’41 mark almost instantly before a small crash at Turn 6 halted his progress with less than half an hour on the clock. However, after returning unharmed to the pits, he was back out with just over 20 minutes of the session still to go, eventually finishing third. Team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi has always been competitive at Jerez and was right in contention throughout the session and inside the top four, as he gears up for his final round in the factory Ducati team. Rinaldi took fourth as Friday action finished.

Alvaro Bautista – P3

“We can say it was a good half-day’s work. Obviously with the track so damp we decided not to come out of the box for FP1. In the afternoon, however, the conditions were better and despite a small crash without any consequences, the feeling was good. I had fun and that’s the goal for tomorrow as well“.

There was a raft of Independent stars up inside the leading positions, with Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) riding well in P2, putting together one of the longest runs of the day on his first exit.

Remy Gardner – P2

“It was a strange day, unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy any track time in the morning due to conditions. Then, in the afternoon, we were able to test three rear compounds, which are the 800, X and the Q, the qualifying one. To be honest I’m feeling better with the 800, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Finally, my lap time with the Q wasn’t too bad, but I left some time on the table, making a mistake in the last corner as well. We’re then confident that we can have a good Saturday, but we’re aware we still need to keep working hard.”

Behind him, team-mate Dominique Aegerter was P5 and made a great save in the closing minutes of the session at Turn 6, whilst a job-hunting Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) took sixth. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was seventh despite a hefty crash at Turn 8 on his outlap of the session. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) started Jerez inside the top ten with eighth.

In tenth place, Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the fastest of the factory BMWs as he looks to finish his tenure with Shaun Muir’s outfit on a high. He won at the track in 2020, claiming his first wins of his WorldSBK career. On the other side of the box, team-mate Michael van der Mark was one of just four riders to go out in FP1, finishing second in the end but P12 overall.

The next-best factory team were Team HRC, who with their rider line-up completed for 2024 and 2025 with no changes, took to the track which should play into their hands after plenty of testing over the last seasons. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and team-mate Xavi Vierge likewise have plenty of experience at Jerez and Lecuona was 11th, although Vierge struggled and was down in P18.

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It was a day of struggles for Kawasaki, with Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) swansong round for the team now upon him. The three-time Jerez race winner languished outside of the top ten on day one, finishing in 13th, one place ahead of his 2024 replacement Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing).

Jonathan Rea – P13

“It was a disappointing day because this morning it was too wet for anything meaningful but not enough for full wet-weather testing, so we spent the first session in the pit box. In the afternoon I had no feeling from the bike straight away, no rear traction. We came in thinking we had a problem with the tyre, so we changed that, but we still had the same problem. The bike was not accelerating like normal, which is really strange. The guys are going to have a look now to understand it. I am not sure if it is the grip level of the circuit because the bike is the same as before, the set-up is the same, the electronics are the same – so there is work to do.”

Things didn’t go much better on the other side of the box either, with Alex Lowes crashing at Turn 1 and finishing the session in 16th.

With regards to 2024, Rea will test for Yamaha in the post-round test and will have Andrew Pitt as his Crew Chief for the next chapter of his career, while at KRT, Pere Riba confirmed he’ll stay with the green team, although was coy on what exactly his role will be and with which rider.

15th place went the way of Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) despite a tumble at Turn 6, whilst Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was 17th and with his future seemingly still in doubt.

Malaysian Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) was 19th ahead of Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), with Manuel Puccetti’s outfit with a factory ZX-10RR at their disposal this weekend.

WorldSBK Friday Combined Practice Times

World Superbike Championship Points

WorldSSP

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) took full advantage of improved conditions at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto as he topped both Free Practice 2 and the combined classification as he went more than six tenths clear of his FIM Supersport World Championship rivals. With conditions vastly improved, all riders were able to go faster in the afternoon at the Prometeon Spanish Round, as a trio of Italian riders rounded out the top three.

With the track now considerably drier compared to this morning’s FP1 session, where only six riders posted a time, the laps were much faster and immediately into the 1’50s barrier, with Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) lapping in the 1’48s straight away. The Spaniard improved his time to a 1’46.351s but his lead at the top ended when 2023 Champion Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) posted a 1’40.070s to briefly claim top spot with just under 30 minutes remaining in FP2.

The pair were swiftly joined by Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) as the quickest riders, with the #62 moving to P1 with a 1’45.736s at around the halfway mark of the session, before Bulega usurped him by just 0.006s as the times edged closer to the 1’44s bracket; the #11’s time with 20 minutes remaining was 1’45.183s. On his next lap, the Champion went even faster to lap in the 1’44s for the first time with a 1’44.953s, extending his lead over Manzi to 0.236s. As the time ticked down, a flurry of red sectors were posted across the board with track conditions getting ever better.

The majority of the quickest times came in the final 10 minutes with Bulega eventually claiming first place with a 1’43.171s. He was one of only two riders to lap in the 1’43s bracket as he finished six tenths clear of Montella. The #55 was the only other rider to be in the 1’43s, with Manzi in third a further two tenths back from his compatriot, with the top three separated by just over eight tenths at the end of Friday’s action.

Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) left it late to move into the top four, but he was able to claim fourth with a 1’44.110s to ensure three manufacturers were inside the first four positions. Like the German, Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) improved his time to a 1’44.123s in the final few moments to take fifth, finishing ahead of Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). The Turkish star is still working his way back to full fitness from injury but was able to secure a top six position on Friday.

The one-time race winner was ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) in seventh, with the #64 having a massive moment at the final corner in the first part of FP2. Dutch rider Melvin van der Voort (Team SWPN) was an impressive eighth on his WorldSSP debut, lapping two tenths slower than ‘Carica’ ahead. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was ninth ahead of home hero Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) with the Spaniard rounding out the top ten on Friday.

Despite topping the wet FP1, Miquel Pons (Zeus Motorsport) finished 26th in the dry FP2. Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) was one rider who opted not to go out in FP1 and his track time in FP2 was curtailed when he crashed at Turn 1 in the first few minutes, at the start of his first flying lap. The Czech star did not set a lap time.

Oli Bayliss made his return to competition after shoulder surgery and ended day one 28th on the time-sheets.

WorldSSP Friday Combined Practice Times

World Supersport Championship Points