Jonathan Rea stood out during the very last moments of the first day of Superbike testing at Montmelo. Ducati has tested a new swingarm. Alex Lowes fell, without seriousness.
About Paolo Gozzi de Motoracing
Jonathan Rhea was the fastest in 1'41″ 531 during the first day of Superbike testing at the Catalunya circuit. All the official teams were present, the tests serving to decide the developments ready for the second part of the championship and also for the round which will take place on this Catalan track on September 23-25. Jonathan Rea, just at the end of the session, overtook the Ducati of Michael Rinaldi and his teammate Alvaro Bautista. A new swingarm has been tested on the Ducati Panigale V4R. Work in progress also in the Yamaha garage, with Toprak Razgatlioglu today not at all worried about the stopwatch. The tests end on Sunday August 21, always from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m. As usual, times should be taken with a grain of salt, because each team follows different work programs.
Jonathan Rhea saved half a day of testing, starting to ride only from the fourth hour (out of eight available): remember that the total number of testing days is limited to ten. In any case, he came very close to the official track record: 1'41″ 493 signed by Toprak Razgatlioglu during the Superpole Race last year. In qualifying the record is set by Tom Sykes with BMW in 1'40″ 408. To continue the development work, particularly on the brakes, Kawasaki Racing Team brought in Florian Marino, who competes in the World Endurance Championship with the ZX-10RR. alex lowes fell in the middle of the afternoon, resolved without physical damage to the pilot.
WSBK Superbike: Florian Marino on the Kawasaki factory bike
Before the resumption of the World Championship, from September 9 to 11 in Magny Cours (France), Aruba Racing.it will resolve the situation Michael Rinaldi. While the renewal ofAlvaro Bautista is already acquired, that of the Rimini pilot awaits. But Rinaldi will stay where it is. At the house of Ducati, they are not convinced that Danilo Petrucci could do better. As we had already anticipated, the 2023 chessboard of the Italian brand will remain unchanged, with the two official drivers remaining in their places and no changes even between the satellite teams. Go Eleven has already confirmed the German Phillip Ottl, while Barni Racing has a biennial with Luca Bernardi. The rising star Axel Bassani will remain with Motocorsa, probably with a direct contract with Ducati and additional technical assistance.
Oscar Gutierrez, 23, rode the Kawasaki Pedercini. The Spaniard will replace Leon Haslam in the remaining rounds of the Superbike World Championship. With the BMW official, the Dutch Michael van der Mark was finally back on the track, for an interesting feedback, in line with his distinguished comrades.
Ranking for Saturday August 20, 2022 :
- Jonathan Réa (Kawasaki) 1’41″ 531
- Michaël Rinaldi (Ducati) 1’41″ 816
- Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) 1’42″ 211
- Iker Lecuona (Honda) 1’42″ 246
- Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) 1’42″ 358
- Xavier Virginie (Honda) 1’42″ 381
- Toprak Razgtalioglu (Yamaha) 1’42″566
- Scott Redding (BMW) 1’42″ 713
- Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) 1’42″ 852
- Eugène Laverty (BMW) 1’42″ 938
- Loris Baz (BMW) 1’43″ 032
- Michael van der Mark (BMW) 1’43″ 145
- Oscar Gutierrez (Kawasaki) 1’44″ 732
- Mercado (Honda) 1’44″ 975
- König (Kawasaki) 1’45″ 171.
