The first day of action in the final round of the FIM Superbike World Championship saw Jonathan Rhea dominate in front Alvaro Bautista, alex lowes, Toprak Razgatlioğlu, Andrea Locatelli et Tetsuta nagashima after two dry and mostly sunny sessions at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.
After the extreme heat of the previous round last weekend in Indonesia, the secret this Friday was to find a good setup at the start of the weekend, in much cooler but still dry conditions in Australia. With no racing at Phillip Island last year due to the global pandemic, teams and drivers relied on previous data and their own memories of this unique and free-flowing track to take stock. good starts during the FP1 and FP2 sessions.
At the end of this first day, the lead pilots said…
Jonathan Rhea (Kawasaki Racing Team) – P1: “ We had a really solid day, especially the start of the day. We had a good estimate of the spring balance and tuning needs, and the bike ran pretty well. But I also felt like we could really improve. For the second session we made a big geometry change on the bike, getting back to what we had halfway through the season. We've improved tire degradation and natural cornering, but we just need to fix the bike's spring balance now. Overall there are a few issues we need to sort out for tomorrow, in corner finishing, and also the throttle connection in certain areas. Just adjustments. We analyzed the front and rear tire options, and I'm pretty clear with the front choice. With the rear, I'm still between two options for the race. I did a lot of laps today to understand the tires and give the guys some good information to improve. I think we can be pretty quick with our one-lap pace for Superpole. »
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) – P2: “ We did a good job today testing both Pirelli tires in FP1 and FP2 with a good feeling. I'm happy because the pace of the race is positive. I think we have a good base before the races this weekend, although the weather conditions could change things tomorrow. In any case, we are ready to race in all conditions. »
alex lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) – P3: “ Today I was hoping that on the basic setting we would be fast. It has worked almost everywhere since the summer break test in Barcelona. I was on the front line at times and challenged Johnny closely. Today I felt good. The lap times were quite slow compared to some previous times but I was happy compared to some of the other drivers. There are a few more bumps at Phillip Island than I remember, especially in the final corners and turn 3. The track was just used a little more, but it's not bad. »
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) – P4: “ After Mandalika, it's not a perfect day for me, because we are not strong at the beginning but anyway, after two years we come back here to Phillip Island and now we are trying to find a good setup for my bike. I hope that tomorrow we will find the right settings and that we can come back strongly, but we will see! I'm not really strong in the wet, but maybe it can help me, I don't know, because maybe tomorrow in the wet I'll be able to ride faster! No problem, it's the last weekend of the season and I'm going to do my best. Both Kawasaki riders are very strong on this track. I remember 2020 and Alvaro is also very strong. Maybe we'll fight with them again tomorrow, I'll try. »
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) – P5: “ It's like a dream to be back in Australia, because I've waited a long time to ride the R1 WorldSBK here and today was really amazing. I'm really happy because it's the first day and we're already fast and I have a good feeling on the bike. It's only the first day, it won't be easy tomorrow, but it's the last weekend and we have three races, so we'll try to enjoy and we'll try to get the best possible result. A big step was taken in FP2, because I have never ridden this bike here and I also did the long run to understand the feeling and the references on this track with this bike. The average speed is really high, so I have to understand the good points and what I can handle on the bike. The rear is not easy to control because we have a lot of slippage, but we are working very well today and we have good data to prepare the bike for tomorrow as well as Mandalika's confidence, so I want to push and try to get another podium if possible. »
Tetsuta nagashima (HRC Team) – P6: “ I felt good today; P6 in FP2 is not bad. I expected to have a little more difficulty because it's my first time here in WorldSBK and practically my first time with Pirelli tires. I raced here a few weeks ago in MotoGP of course, and that helped me a bit as I could immediately find the rhythm with the CBR, a bike I know well. The main thing was to adapt to the tires and settings of this package. There are still things we can work on because I only did one fast lap. I have to improve my pace too, because the race is 22 laps, so we have to be consistent. I don't really know what to expect for the rest of the weekend in terms of results, but you can be sure that I will do my best. The team is working hard and everything is going very well so far. I already knew some of the guys from my time in Moto2, so the team is like family and I felt good straight away. I'm really enjoying this weekend and this experience in WorldSBK. »
FP2 Superbike results at Phillip Island:
Classification credit: WorldSBK.com