WSBK, Barcelona Tests J2: At midday, Rea regains an advantage of 0.1 over Redding

This test session was planned by Provec over two days, the manager of the Kawasaki Racing Team, resident of neighboring Poligono Industrial (1 km) from the circuit, ensuring a second day as a precaution in the event of bad weather. Luck favors the bold and the two days benefited from very favorable weather conditions, both in terms of temperature and rainfall.

Le best time to beat (see here the first day) was the 1'41.727 set by Scott Redding. This Thursday morning we were warming up Federico Caricasulo's R1:

We were also preparing at BMW:

As a basis for comparison, here is each driver's best time on day one:

1. Scott Redding Ducati: 1'41.727

2. Jonathan Rea Kawasaki: 1'41.910

3. Loris Baz Yamaha: 1'41.980

4. Alex Lowes Kawasaki: 1'42.318

5. Álvaro Bautista Honda: 1’42.320

6. Tom Sykes BMW: 1'42.455

7. Sandro Cortese Kawasaki: 1'42.573

8.Chaz Davies-Ducati-1'42.641

9. Toprak Razgatlioglu Yamaha: 1'42.771

10. Eugene Laverty BMW: 1'42.832

11. Leon Haslam Honda: 1'42.996

12. Leandro Mercado Ducati: 1'42.997

13. Garrett Gerloff Yamaha: 1'43.119

14. Michael van der Mark Yamaha: 1'42.975

15. Federico Caricasulo Yamaha: 1'43.535

16. Maximilian Scheib Kawasaki: 1'43.568

17. Sylvain Barrier Ducati: 1'44.430

Some numerical benchmarks:

Track length: 4,627 km. Width: 12 m. Straight line: 1 m.

Best time of the first day: 1'41.727 by Scott Redding on Ducati

MotoGP test record: 1'38.680 by Jorge Lorenzo on Ducati in 2018

MotoGP race record: 1'40.021 by Jorge Lorenzo on Ducati in 2018

The weather forecast predicted dry weather of 21° to 29° during these two days of closed-door testing. The green light was on at 9am.

Before the start, Scott Redding was breaking in his knee sliders:

According to Johnny Rea, “I can feel the bike really well. The bike runs very well and this is the biggest problem we have had in the past, especially in Jerez. When the temperature rises, it is difficult to turn in these long turns. I used the rear tire a lot because I was turning with the rear all the time. But it seems like we've taken a big step in that direction because the bike runs really well. I felt that things were going completely normally. »

Xavi Fores, Puccetti Racing driver, was not spinning, was green with rage, and did not hide it: “It's not easy being at home watching the Barcelona test on my phone... It's hard after 4 months of staying at home waiting for our moment to jump on the bike. It's bullshit! » he tweeted not very diplomatically. There will be atmosphere in this team.

During the first hour of Thursday, Scott Redding was the fastest in 1'40.606, 0.025 ahead of Johnny Rea and 0.888 ahead of Eugene Laverty whose BMW had gained almost a second and a half compared to the day before. His teammate Tom Sykes followed him, ahead of Alex Lowes. The two official Hondas of Álvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam were not running.

First hour results:

During the second hour of driving, many drivers drove intensely in order to take advantage of the track before its temperature got too high. Johnny Rea took first place again in 1'40.450, now 0.156 ahead of Redding. Rea's time was impressive when compared to the MotoGP lap record of 1'40.021, set by Jorge Lorenzo on Ducati in 2018.

After 1h30 of testing, Alex Lowes progressed and took 1'41.137 in fourth position, between the two S 1000 RRs of Sykes and Laverty. Maximilian Scheib was no longer riding for the moment, the victim of a fall, just like Sylvain Barrier who had fallen shortly before, without seriousness.

The Yamahas were conscientiously lining up the laps, more concerned with improving the settings than, for the moment, with the times on a single lap.

Here, still at Yamaha, a lap of the Barcelona circuit with Toprak Razgatlioglu:

Second hour results:

During the third hour of the morning, the times stabilized in the lead, with Johnny Rea still in the lead with a time of 1'40.450. The good news was that Sylvain Barrier had returned to the track after his morning fall. On the other hand, the Hondas of Bautista and Haslam were still absent.

The times were little improved at this time of the day because the temperature increased significantly compared to the morning. The drivers had also used soft tires at the start of the day to achieve their fastest times. They then worked mainly on long-term tests, often with used tires.

Toprak Razgatlioglu was the first Yamaha rider to significantly pick up the pace. It went down to 1'41.399. This placed him in fifth position, when the session was interrupted at the red flag due to a fall by Corentin Perolari.

Third hour results:

This fourth hour of the second day began with all the motorcycles in the pits, waiting for access to the track to be authorized again.

We talked a lot at Honda with the engineers stuck in Japan. The situation didn't seem very clear, and all sorts of rumors were starting to circulate. It was not certain, although possible, that the CBR1000RRs would return to the track before the end of the day.

Alvaro Bautista

During this fourth hour, the situation was calm in terms of performances due to the midday heat. Toprak Razgatlioglu improved to 1'41.218, retaining fifth position. His teammate Michael van der Mark fell at 12:20 p.m. The Dutchman came out of the Yamaha stand about a quarter of an hour later.

Van der Mark and Loris Baz in Turns 7 and eight:

Just before midday, Toprak Razgatlioglu fell. The session was prematurely interrupted at the red flag.

Mid-day results:

On the Supersport side, Jules Cluzel was at the start of the session in 1'45.560, Corentin Perolari in 1'45.780 and Steven Odendaal in 1'46.071. For comparison, Jules rode on the first day in 1'46.168, Odendaal in 1'46.763 and Perolari in 1'46.998.

During the third hour, the two GMT 94 Yamaha riders kept their best times, while the South African improved to 1'45.867. Then Cluzel improved to 1'45.252 and Odendaal to 1'45.867, Perolari remaining stable for the moment.

At 11:40 a.m., Corentin crashed and the session was interrupted with a red flag.

Results of the second day in Supersport:

Note: Augusto Fernández does not ride a Supersport, but an R6 to train for Moto2.

Some numerical benchmarks:

Track length: 4,627 km. Width: 12 m. Straight line: 1 m.

Moto2 test record: 1'43.474 by Fabio Quartararo on Speed ​​Up in 2018

Moto2 race record: 1'43.871 by Alex Marquez on Kalex EG 0,0 Marc VDS in 2019

Photos © Aruba-Ducati, Kawasaki, Worldsbk.com / Dorna, Gee Bee Images