After a morning dominated in 1'41.910 by Jonathan Rea (see here), then the lunch break, activities resumed from 14 p.m. to 18 p.m. on the track of the Catalanuya-Barcelona circuit for this first day of testing mixing Superbike and Supersport.
The two Yamahas Toprak Razgatlioglu et Loris Baz were the first to set off in the Catalan torpor but the track immediately showed that it was a little slower due to the rise in temperatures (29° in the air, 46° on the asphalt) .
So, after an hour, Alex Lowes dominated this session in 1'43.240 while he had achieved 1'42.527 in the morning.
Half an hour later, Jonathan Rea took over the direction of operations before Chaz Davies, this time in 1'42.750 against 1'41.910 in the morning.
Around 16 p.m., Scott Redding placed his Panigale less than 3 hundredths behind the Cannibal's Kawasaki, confirming that he would undoubtedly be the Irishman's main opponent this season.
A confirmation which was hardly expected, the Briton who sees himself having analogies with James Hunt taking the head of an attack group also composed ofalex lowes et Loris Baz to undermine in the last hour the post-lunch reference of Jonathan Rhea.
First of all, Scott Redding achieves a 1'42.133, around 2 tenths ahead of a trio made up of Lowes, Baz (best Yamaha rider) and Sale, relegating the rest of the contenders to at least half a second.
But things don't stop there and number 45 sets a 1'41.752 then 1'41.727 which therefore constitutes the best time of the day.
Which tires were used, no one knows, but the message to the attention of Jonathan Rhea is quite clear, and the latter, although having tried to respond at the last minute, was unable to do better than 1'41.911, which is to the nearest thousandth the same time as in the morning!
We will see tomorrow what the Kawasaki rider’s reaction will be…
Note the superb performance of Loris Baz riding his new Yamaha 2020, third and only pilot seeming to be able to take part in the announced clash of the titans.
Afternoon timetable:
