It was in Australia on the last day of testing, before the first race of the Superbike World Championship which will take place this weekend at Phillip Island, that reigning World Champion Johnny Rea won. The Northern Irishman was ahead of Marco Melandri and his Ducati as well as the other Kawasaki of Tom Sykes.
Like the day before, Rea fell without seriousness: “ On Monday I was very lucky in my fall at viaage 11, my mechanics had to work until midnight to repair the bike. Today I fell again – but this time only a harmless slip. I feel good on the bike and I have every reason to be confident for the weekend ahead. Monday, I wanted to push a little, today I drove naturally. My trainer, Fabien Foret, helped me a lot »
Eugene Laverty placed his Aprilia in fourth position, which was not really a surprise as the RSV4 RF has often been at ease at Phillip Island. He was ahead of the semi-official Panigale of Xavi Fores, as well as the two official Yamahas of Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes.
Behind Leon Camier and his Honda eighth, Loris Baz and his BMW ranked ninth. Credited with a time of 1'31.542, established during the third and penultimate session, the Frenchman covered no less than 138 laps and gained almost eight tenths over the two days. He conceded only 0,944 seconds to Jonathan Rea, the fastest in the combined standings. Loris Baz and the Althea BMW Racing team will return to the iconic Phillip Island circuit on Friday to take part in the first event of the year.
According to Loris Baz, who are " This test went pretty well. Monday afternoon, it was very windy and it was not easy to ride in these conditions. On Tuesday morning, however, we managed to make progress on new tires; something I had difficulty with until now. I also completed a 14-lap run which was positive. In the afternoon, it was my first time riding the BMW in such high temperatures. So I had to adapt to the behavior of the Pirellis as well as that of the bike. My simulation wasn't as quick as I expected, but overall, I'm pleased with the outcome of these two days. I feel ready for the opening event, but we are not yet ready to fight for the podium. Still, I think we could make the top five, which would be great. »
On Monday and Tuesday, the temperatures remained constant and never exceeded 27 degrees Celsius for the air and 38 degrees Celsius for the track, but the tests were especially affected on Monday by winds which reached 45 km/h for some runners. .
The start of the first WSBK race will take place on Saturday at 5 a.m. French time and the second on Sunday also at 5 a.m.
Combined results from both days of Superbike testing:
Photos © worldsbk.com, Kawasaki, Ducati, Pirelli, Yamaha
Thanks to Tom Morcellino
