A priori, we will not be surprised to see a Ducati in pole position at the end of the first day of the World SBK Supersport on the Czech Most circuit, and yet…
And yet, in the face of certain evidence, the technical commissioners of the International Motorcycling Federation imposed a power reduction on the Panigale V2, a few hours before the start of hostilities in the Czech Republic. Changing the BoP (Balance of Performance) is a possibility that can occur every two races, depending on various factors such as, among others, lap times, order of finish and maximum speed. The Ducati hat-trick at Misano served as a trigger, although no changes had been made for this 5th round of the championship. But, surprise, the BoP was therefore modified for the 6th round, somewhat restricting the acceleration of the Ducati between 100 and 150 km/h thanks to less opening of the butterflies in this area of the Mectronik box.
The effect was noticeable and, during FP1, the Yamahas of Valentine Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Stefano manzi (Pata Prometeon Ten Kate Racing) returning to point their muzzle behind a Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) revenge after his British misadventure. The championship leader Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) followed this hat-trick, barely ahead of the two MV Agustas of Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta Reparto Corsica) and Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME Air Racing), at the end of a session interrupted twice by minor falls of Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) and Thomas Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph).
With 6 drivers and 3 marks within half a second, the suspense rose a notch before qualifying...
In the afternoon, however, things began to feel like déjà vu again, with the usual duel between Adrian Huertas et Yari Montella, the latter finally taking the best by beating the circuit record established last year by Nicholas Bulega. Did the Ducatis simply need the morning session to reconfigure their maps? Still, this time, only 4 riders are in the same second, the Yamahas of Stefano manzi et Valentine Debise conceding a little more gap than in the morning.
The race will therefore be carefully observed by the Technical Stewards, as well as its data, because a new modification of the BoP could theoretically take place after this round in the Czech Republic. But the work, as fine as it is difficult, seems to boil down to this simple but for the moment unanswered question: “Are Adrian Huertas and Yari Montella faster than the other drivers? »
After all, nothing excludes it…
Supersport Most J1
