Loris Baz is definitely unlucky in this WSBK season which marked his reunion with BMW. The Frenchman was not spared by fate, between mechanical breakdowns and clashes, including the one with Alex Lowes, the physical consequences of which are still felt. We can even wonder, on the evening of this first day of the Imola meeting if the tricolor is simply not cursed since, during FP2, and 24 hours before a crucial decision for its future, it was hit by his own teammate Garrett Gerloff. The latter, hampered around the edges, nevertheless finished his session well in third place, while Loris was content with twelfth place.
It’s Garrett gerloff all sheepishly taking stock of his first day in Imola. And for good reason: what had just happened with his teammate Loris Baz during FP2 brought back bad memories of an accident with Razgatlioglu while he was still at Yamaha …But what happened? At the start of the 45-minute session, gerloff had a scare before Rivazza 1 when he was slightly off line under braking, which rushed him into the corner faster than he should have arrived. Unfortunately he met his teammate Baz on his way and the pair violently joined the gravel trap. Both were nevertheless able to resume the session after their M1000RR machines were repaired, Baz finishing 12e, but the American was third.
Gerloff: “ I'm sorry for Loris Baz and the whole team »
Explaining the accident, gerloff said : " I'm sorry for Loris Baz and the whole team. I'm definitely embarrassed that this is happening, but I'm glad everyone is okay. Loris' wrist hurts a little. It was just an unfortunate thing. I hate being in this position but it's not my first time ". Then he adds: “ I'm happy to be in the top three of the day. I used an SCQ tire at the end, which obviously helps a bit. I feel like we're still missing a bit of racing pace with the racing tires. We have work to do but I'm happy to have a good team around me and they will work as hard as possible to improve the bike for tomorrow Saturday ».
It will be recalled that there were three red flags in this FP2, meaning teams and drivers didn't evaluate long runs as much as they would have liked. The first was released after the fall of Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing) at turn 22, before the six-time world champion Jonathan Rhea (Kawasaki Racing Team World SBK) falls into the same corner later to bring out the second. The last red flag was after a fall Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), also in the last corner…
Results of FP2 Superbikes at Imola:
.FP1-FP2 Superbike results at Imola:
Classification credit: WorldSBK.com