WSBK Superbike Test Barcelona J1: Update at aperitif time! Yamaha in the lead ahead of Ducati, Toprak on the ground…

Before the first European round of the World Championship Superbike, the pilots World SBK drew up a first hierarchy for us following the southern confrontation. The official two-day test in Catalonia, a week before the race weekend on the same track, is an opportunity to try to catch up for some, and to confirm their level for others.

Back in the northern hemisphere, the 22 drivers in the category presented us with a rather atypical picture, the three usual headliners simply not appearing in the Top 4!

Jonathan Rhea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) even had a nightmare in Australia, scoring no points on his Yamaha debut, falling victim to chatterring and being declared unfit after a crash in Race 2.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) fared much better, despite a technical problem in Race 2.
More consistent, the reigning double world champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is the only one of the trio to enter the top 5, in a modest 5th place, leaving a very unexpected quartet in front of him, made up of alex lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Nicholas Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), the two winners in Australia, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven).

It is with this table in mind, as well as the venue reference in 1'40.264 (Bautista Superpole 2023) that the five manufacturers and all the drivers took to the track in the morning at 10:00 a.m. for two days of official testing, ahead of of the first WorldSBK meeting in Europe, accompanied by test drivers from four of the five manufacturers entered.

On the side of Ducati and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, the presence of Michele Pirro was particularly noticed, as was its all-black Panigale V4 R. The MotoGP test rider from Borgo Panigale came to lend a hand to his Superbike colleagues, as the technical coordinator of Ducati Corse explains, Marco Zambenedetti : “First of all, we are here to prepare for the weekend of the round, because it is always important. Fortunately, Barcelona has good weather and a complex and complete circuit, which gives us the opportunity to tune the bike and test something new. A lot of it isn't visible because it's more about power delivery and engine character with the new fuel control. There is also the test team that will help us improve the bike with Michele Pirro, who, especially in these areas, allows us to get the most out of his experience in MotoGP™. »