[WSBK] Australian J1 tests: Bautista and the Ducati V4 already faster than the lap record

It only took one test session for Alvaro Bautista to demonstrate his qualities in Superbike, as well as those of his brand new Ducati Panigale V4 R, and to go 1'30.743 under the official lap record set in the race last year in 1'30.848 by Marco Melandri who was then riding a twin-cylinder Ducati. Reigning World Champion Johnny Rea lost time due to a small crash in turn 10, but was still in third place behind Alex Lowes at midday.

The first test session of the year started at a good pace with Alvaro Bautista who imposed his Ducati at the end of the first hour in 1'31.5, 0.2 ahead of Johnny Rea and 0.5 on alex lowes, whose teammate Michael van der Mark fell without seriousness. Chaz Davies could not imitate his teammate Bautista due to a technical problem.

On the Kawasaki side, Toprak Razgatlioglu occupied fifth position at the end of this first hour, while Jonathan Rhea second was positive: “ I find myself there, because during the last tests in Portimao, we came from Jerez with its new asphalt. It was then difficult to understand the work we had done during the winter. But coming here, we had a pretty neutral platform to work with and a lot of data. We confirmed the chassis elements that we tested in Europe and electronically we worked a little better. We started to work on our racing performance. I was really happy with how I felt ».

Marco Melandri, winner of both rounds here last year – and the oldest driver present this year at 37 years old – was not more impressed by the British Champion during the previous winter tests: “ Johnny is certainly still the fastest, but with less of a lead than he had last season » said the man from Ravenna. “ During the winter tests, he made the difference because he immediately gave his all on the bike. He knows it perfectly, while others have to test and evaluate their motorcycle. The tests only focus on the quality of the work, the lap times mean nothing at all. But in racing, the settings are relatively close to each other. This is an aspect to consider ».

According to Alvaro Bautista, who are " After so many years in MotoGP, I now have a new challenge to take on and I am very motivated. At Ducati, I found a good family. They believe in me and I'm delighted to be here. I hope to have a lot of fun and I will do my best. I was surprised after riding a Superbike. It requires a different style compared to a MotoGP, but the times are similar. You can also be fast on a Superbike. We'll see what happens this year ».

At the level of Chaz Davies, the main question was his health, after his multiple fractures to the right clavicle, as well as others to the third lumbar vertebra suffered in Misano in 2017, to the right thumb, to the right knee in Jerez, plus a chest trauma when he was hit (on the ground) by Rea in Misano.

At the end of the first of the two sessions, Bautista dominated ahead of Lowes, Rea and Melandri. There were no major surprises.

Ranking of the first session:

Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding SpA, was motivated, who declared “ Today is the start of a new adventure. With the Panigale R we have achieved 28 victories and 107 podiums, but now we are moving forward with a new bike with a new engine that has already brought us a lot of success in MotoGP. We are excited to continue the development of our Superbike, as it also pushes us to design extraordinary products for the market. »

Eric de Seynes, President, Chief Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Europe, was not left out and took up the challenge: “ Winning in competition, and particularly in a World Championship, is never easy. This level of motorcycle competition must be respected, and that is why you must put all the assets on your side. Even though we are a manufacturer, we have financial budgets that are reasonable, and not unlimited. I am also extremely vigilant to ensure that they remain so, because it is the best way to preserve them and ensure that our commitment to competition remains in the long term. I love racing and I believe deeply in its values. I don't know a better territory to demonstrate the performance of the motorcycles we sell to our customers, but above all to surpass ourselves, share and develop our unique human values around motorcycle passion and the search for performance. ».

To Markus Schramm, the boss of BMW Motorrad, “ I am proud of the fact that we decided to quickly return to the World Championship. We didn't commit for two years and here we are again, we want to stay for a very long time. The first step will be the development of our RR into the race configuration. In the second stage we will focus on prestigious results and the third we will fight for the title. We have this objective, I say it very clearly. But we are not naive, we do not think we can win right away, we are patient and aware that it will not be possible overnight ».

Shortly before these two days of testing, the Moriwaki Althea Honda team was presented with pilots Leon Camier et Ryuichi Kiyonari, on CBR1000RR SP2. The team's management structure is based on three people: Honda's Motorcycle Department Manager of Motor Sports Division, Soichi Yamana, the team director Midori Moriwaki and the team manager Genesio Bevilacqua (Althea). For Leon Camier, “ Everyone wants to win, without a doubt. But we need to be realistic with our expectations at the start. The team has all the expertise, there's no reason why we can't be strong. Let's keep our fingers crossed, it's better sooner than later. From the middle of the year until the end we should be ready ».

In the second and final session of this first day, the positions did not change during the first of two hours, and three manufacturers remained in the first three places with Ducati and Bautista preceding Yamaha and Lowes, then Kawasaki and Rea. Tom Sykes with the BMW was then eighth, less than a second (0.997) behind the Spanish leader. The best Honda was a little further away with Leon Camier eleventh at 1.7.

Leon Haslam was the first in this session to make significant progress, moving up to fourth position, 0.6 behind Bautista. Apart from Bautista, the other Ducati were less well placed with Chaz Davies thirteenth (more than 2 seconds behind), Eugene Laverty fifteenth and Michael Ruben Rinaldi seventeenth.

With an hour to go, Haslam was the only one in the top twelve to have improved compared to the first session. The fairly strong wind prevented any effective taxiing and very few pilots were turning. At Ducati, we focused on improving rider positions and general ergonomics, rather than lap times. Others were getting back into the rhythm after the winter break on this very special circuit that is Phillip Island.

Five minutes from the end, Tom Sykes went on the attack and snatched fourth place with his new BMW from Leon Haslam who had his old Kawasaki. Sykes in 1'31.300 was 0.5 behind Bautista. Most of the drivers returned to the track one last time to attempt a fast lap, but Bautista maintained the advantage ahead of Lowes, Rea, Sykes, Haslam and Melandri.

Results of the first day of Superbike testing: