The first on-track sessions of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship began at Phillip Island in Australia on Friday February 23, with Alex Lowes leading the field thanks to his best lap of 1'29.042.
Two free practice sessions took place at Phillip Island on the first official day of the new season, with the second starting on a wet track due to rain that fell earlier. Very windy conditions at times did not facilitate the work of the pilots and technical teams, especially as the wind sometimes changed direction.
On a new, very grippy track, the drivers were finally able to continue their pre-race preparation as the conditions dried out. alex lowes was the fastest driver not only on the first day, but also of all time on this 4,445 km circuit, thanks to the extra grip provided by the new surface. His best lap on the official Ninja ZX-10RR allowed him to beat the next rider by 0,059 seconds, Nicolo Bulega.
Like his comrades, alex lowes will take part in an FP3 session on the morning of Saturday February 24, before qualifying for the Tissot Superpole for grid positions, then Race 1 for the first points of the year later the same day.
As a reminder, the 22-lap “long” WorldSBK races have been reduced to 20 laps and will feature mandatory pit stops to change rear tires between the 9th and 11th laps. The results of a recent official test session showed that some drivers would not be able to complete the full race distance without risking tire problems before the end of a full race.
The joint decision was therefore made to introduce mandatory pit stops for tire changes in the first and second races, with all drivers having a 'pit time' of 63 seconds added to their starting time. race to ensure fair competition over the entire distance of the race.
The Tissot Superpole race, on Sunday morning, will take place over the scheduled ten laps.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team rider): “I have done well here in the past with the Kawasaki. The track surface is strange this year, considering the grip we have. I think it helps us tune up our bike. When we have grip, we have seen that we can qualify well and have good races. In testing we did a good job, we worked hard and it's nice to see the hard work paying off. We'll see how things go tomorrow when qualifying and racing start. »
WSBK Philipp Island J1: times
