The now BMW driver Loris Baz did not have an exciting day in Catalonia for the first tests of the WSBK off-season bringing together the five manufacturers competing in this championship. Theoretically he will have this Saturday to get better impressions, if the rain does not interfere, but he will undoubtedly still be a little crumpled from a fall which got the better of an S1000RR apparently late in its development, and here is the reason…
The troops BMW missed their first confrontation with their opponents in Catalonia, an event marked by a first day of joint tests with the other manufacturers engaged in WSBK This year. A frustration that Loris Baz first illustrated by a fairly violent fall. The Frenchman had been the fastest of the quartet of the Bavarian brand in the first hours, but then damaged his M1000RR so badly in what he described as a crash. avoidable“. His Bonovo team had to build him a new machine. Which was done in two hours, but the engine would not start.
« It's better that something like this happens now during testing than in Aragon“, judged the team owner Jürgen Roder, who was at Montmelo on Friday and who had new PVM rims for the team in his luggage. “ First of all, I'm glad Loris didn't get hurt. The fact that the bike is junk is part of the game ". In the second BMW SMR team, Mikhalchik, which replaced Michael van der Mark injured, could not shine. The three-time German champion must first get used to the world championship machine. As Scott Redding, who has not yet fully mastered the transition from the Ducati V4R to the Bavarian in-line four-cylinder…
The hopes of BMW therefore relied on the Northern Irish Eugene Laverty of the Bonovo team which ranked tenth. “ It's just a small victory“, said the 2013 world vice-champion, who finished in the top 10, 1,118 seconds behind the fastest Alvaro Bautista on the official Ducati.
BMW is dependent on its suppliers who are late
Unlike his colleagues, Laverty wasn't busy testing new parts. “ I rode last year's bike with the new engine“, he told Speedweek. « It’s working well and I’m very happy with the team. The changes they made in Misano on the second day brought some progress. It's the same thing here. I focus on myself. Because I'm not as big as the other three, I need other things ».
Then he specifies: “ The fact that not all BMW drivers have all the new parts available in Barcelona is due to delays with suppliers. The parts will come, but they are late" , said Laverty with anger. “ And we are close to the start of the season. I wish I had them for this test. This is not the case, so we need to focus on what we have and improve it. This is also one of the reasons why I took a lot of care with the operation of electronics in Misano and here. The track is so slippery that power delivery and traction control must adapt ". Testing continues this Saturday.
WSBK Tests Catalonia J1: times
1. Alvaro Bautista (E), Ducati, 1:40.824
2. Jonathan Rea (GB), Kawasaki, 1:41.062
3. Garrett Gerloff (USA), Yamaha, 1:41.229
4. Michael Rinaldi (I), Ducati, 1:41.360
5. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR), Yamaha, 1:41.523
6. Alex Lowes (GB), Kawasaki, 1:41.664
7. Lucas Mahias (F), Kawasaki, 1:41.688
8. Xavi Virgin (E), Honda, 1:41.719
9 Andrea Locatelli (I), Yamaha, 1:41.865
10 Eugene Laverty (IRL), BMW, 1:41.942
11 Scott Redding (GB), BMW, 1:42.013
12 Iker Lecuona (E), Honda, 1:42.125
13. Philipp Öttl (D), Ducati, 1:42.176
14. Kohta Nozane (J), Yamaha, 1:42.428
15. Loris Baz (F), BMW, 1:42.429
16 Luca Bernardi (I), Ducati, 1:43.251
17 Ilya Mikhalchik (UA), BMW, 1:43.625
18 Oliver König (CZ), Kawasaki, 1:44.226
19 Loris Cresson (B), Kawasaki, 1:45.263
20 Hafizh Syahrin (MAL), Honda, 1:45.539
21 Tati Mercado (RA), Honda, did not race
