This second of three days of testing in Jerez of a WSBK which is preparing for its 2022 season was done without the dominator of the first day, in this case Jonathan Rea. In fact, Kawasaki decided to rest this Thursday, so Alex Lowes was not there either. A boon for the BMW emblem which has been highlighted. At Honda, on the other hand, it's all grimacing.
It will be recalled that for this three-day exercise, three protagonists are in the running: Kawasaki, BMW et Honda who organized this test placed behind closed doors. The day before, Jonathan Rhea, who will find his number 65 which he had abandoned for six years for number 1, had set the best time. An experience that he did not repeat this Thursday, since the ZX10Rs remained in the box. The Akashi brand has decided to keep the available testing days, opting to only race on Wednesday and Friday. We will therefore see the two Ninja drivers in action tomorrow, Friday, for what will be the last lap of the 2021 vintage.
On the Andalusian track, the activity came down to a duel between BMW et Honda. Scott Redding first achieved a 1'40.154 with his M1000RR, a best time which lasted until the end of the afternoon. At 16:30 p.m., the Englishman had slightly improved his time to 1'40.078 min, or 0,235 sec ahead of the Honda newcomer, Xavier Vierge.
WSBK: big fall for Lecuona from which we await news
Shortly after 16:30 a.m., Redding was the first to go below the 1'40" mark with a time of 1'39"909, only 0,348 seconds behind the solid performance of Sale the day before in 1'39"561. It will be recalled that for comparison, the best lap in a race at the Jerez Circuit in 2019 was achieved by Alvaro Bautista in 1'39.004 min during the sprint race with a Ducati Panigale V4R and a soft SCX rear tire.
With 15 minutes to go, Redding's teammate, Van der Mark, took the lead with a time of 1'39.788. No one could come close to the Dutchman's time. lecuona, who already had a reputation as a crash rider in the world championship MotoGP, completed 23 laps in the morning before making a mistake and having to give up the rest of the day. According to unconfirmed reports from Jerez, he had to be taken to hospital, but there was no information on the seriousness of his injuries. The Andalusian circuit is rented by the Honda team from Wednesday to Friday, with testing taking place behind closed doors.
WSBK Tests Jerez J2: times
1. Michael van der Mark (NL), 1:39,788 min
2. Scott Redding (GB), BMW, 1:39,909
3. Xavier Virginie (E), Honda, 1:40,313
4. Iker Lecuona (E), Honda, 1:40,430
5. Eugene Laverty (IRL), BMW, 1:40,483
6. Loris Baz (F), BMW, 1:40,797
