WSBK
Published on February 25, 2023 • 01:20 PM by Marc Sériau

WSBK Superbike Phillip Island FP3: Iker Lecuona causes a surprise!

The first day of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship confirmed the leadership of the reigning world champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who was the fastest during the first two sessions on the Phillip Island circuit.

Behind the official Ducati who seems calm, and this is a good surprise, we find contenders who are not part of the trio of Titans, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in the morning,  Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati),  Philipp Ottl (Team GoEleven), Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) and Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in the afternoon.

But then they passed Toprak Razgatlioğlu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and Jonathan Rhea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)? 

At the end of the southern summer, the two drivers seem to have been victims of the increase in temperatures between the morning and the afternoon, and of not having been able to adapt their mount to the 51° reached by the Australian track.

Toprak Razgatlioğlu : " In the afternoon it was incredibly hot. The asphalt was 51, 52 degrees. We tried a racing simulation. Looks like it wasn't exactly fast but it wasn't bad either. We tried new settings for the race. Tomorrow the weather is expected to be cooler, which will help with grip. »

Jonathan Rhea : " As soon as the temperature rose and I did my first ride in FP2, I didn't feel good at all with the bike. »

Unfortunately for them, FP3 is taking place today a little earlier than FP1, and with temperatures expected to be cooler than yesterday, it will hardly be possible to resolve the problem before Superspole.
But conversely, this will take place earlier than FP2 and should therefore be less disruptive to the two drivers concerned.

 

 

The sky is overcast this morning. Temperatures are 24° in the air and 26° on the ground, while the wind blowing at 16 km/h is stronger than yesterday.

 

 

At the appointed time, the 22 drivers set off on the 4,4 km track for this 30-minute session, Alvaro Bautista in front Loris Baz, Alex Bassani and Jonathan Rea.

 

 

As soon as the exit lap, a downpour appeared and all the drivers, who had started on slicks, returned to the box. Alone Dominique Aegerter took a ride in these conditions before he too came to his senses. The reference is thus set at 1'38.394, the only time which is displayed on the live timing.

 

 

Minutes pass and the situation remains unchanged, without engine noise on the windy island...

 

 

Halfway through the session, Philipp Ottl takes to the track, apparently on slick tires. All the other drivers look at him, and his first partials lit in red immediately prompt Toprak Razgatlioğlu, Dominique Aegerter et Remy gardner to get back on their motorcycle.

Philipp Ottl  registered 1'31.211 then Toprak Razgatlioğlu 1'30.447, the best time of the weekend so far!

 

 

There are 7 minutes left when Jonathan Rhea replies in 1'30.220 but in stride Iker Lecuona registered 1'29.764.

 

 

Alvaro Bautista is then 15th but the Ducati rider makes his effort and jumps up to 4th provisional position. On the next pass, the Ducati official progressed another two places but had to bow to the Honda rider who has been giving everything, and even more, since the start of the weekend.

 

 

WorldSBK Superbike FP3 results at Phillip Island:

Classification credit: WorldSBK.com