Jerez WorldSBK Test Times Day One
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) topped the opening day of WorldSBK Testing at Jerez overnight ahead of reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).  Razgatlioglu was focusing on the rear of his Yamaha YZF R1 machine to improve grip and acceleration while he also had a new swing-arm on the 2023 machine.
Team-mate Andrea Locatelli, entering his third season with the team, had the same focus as his team-mate as he looks to start 2023 strongly. Locatelli was 12th in the classification with a best time of 1’40.227s, after 79 laps.
Reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a crash at Turn 1 in the afternoon session while running his 2023 bike branded with the #1. He was able to ride his Panigale V4 R back to the pits following the crash. Bautista completed 88 laps, as he was one of the first riders to hit the track, with a best time of 1’38.851s.
Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who was focusing on getting a good feeling with his bike, was almost four-tenths down on his team-mate and third quickest.
Six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) started his test in the afternoon, opting to not go out on track in the colder conditions in the morning, but immediately showed his pace. Rea took fourth place overall, completing 42 laps, with a best time of 1’39.302s.
Team-mate Alex Lowes, who had some performance, chassis and suspension components including a modified rear shock to try, was three-tenths and one place behind Rea with 37 laps to his name. Kawasaki also introduced a new system on their ZX-10RR which will prevent riders hitting a false neutral, something which occurred on a couple of occasions throughout 2022. Alex was also joined on track by his twin brother Sam who was listed on timing charts as being on a Superstock bike, and four-seconds slower than Alex.
Team HRC duo Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona had a new fairing to test on Day 1 at Jerez as they embark on their second season with the factory Honda outfit. In view of several engineers from Japan, the pair took seventh and eighth respectively. Honda, testing new components including new brake callipers from supplier Nissin on their CBR1000RR-R, had times of 1’39.879s from Vierge with Lecuona only 0.004s behind.
Interestingly Stefan Bradl was also on track putting the latest iteration of the RC213V MotoGP machine through its paces. Bradl was not listed on timing so presumably had no transponder.
Over at BMW both Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and team-mate Michael van der Mark adjusted to new brakes after the German manufacturer switched to Nissin from Brembo. Van der Mark’s plan was to complete as many laps as possible on his first day riding the back since the Australian Round, which he did with 65 laps, while Redding completed 67. Redding was the faster of the two riders as he posted a 1’39.998s, while van der Mark was seven-tenths slower.
Three rookies were taking part in the Jerez test as they got adjusted to new surroundings, teams and bikes. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) took sixth spot at the end of the day with a 1’39.790s, just over a second slower than Razgatlioglu. Petrucci is a rookie in WorldSBK, but is hardly a rookie to Superbike racing after competing on a Ducati in MotoAmerica.
Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was ninth fastest on his first day in dry conditions with the Yamaha R1, lapping in 1’39.934, as he worked on linkage, swing-arm and electronic components, with team-mate Remy Gardner close behind in 14th place and six-tenths back from Aegerter.
Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha), learning the Championship and bike along with his team, was the lowest-placed rookie with 19th place as he took to the Yamaha R1 for the first time. He completed 67 laps during Day 1.
With the 2023 BMW M 1000 RR at his disposal, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) finished the day in 11th place with a best time of 1’40.065s after completing 54 laps. Gerloff was ahead of both team-mate Loris Baz and factory team rider van der Mark in the classification.
The returning Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was in 16th place at the end of the day, although he wasn’t testing anything new compared to the December test. Sykes also had a small mechanical issue with around 90 minutes remaining in the session as he went to leave the pits but was able to head out on track, with the same bike, around 10 minutes later.
In WorldSSP, it was Ducati who came out on top on Day 1 as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba WorldSSP Racing Team) topped the times in a three-way battle. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who has four bikes to test at Jerez including the 2022 bike and the 2023 specification, was second while Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) was third.
Rookie Andrea Mantovani (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) took fourth place, ahead of Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) and WorldSSP rookie John McPhee (Vince64 by Puccetti Racing). Yuta Okaya (Prodina Kawasaki Racing WorldSSP) and Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) were also at the test, although neither were recording lap times during the test.
Jerez WorldSBK Test Times Day One
- Toprak Ragatlioglu 1m38.597
- Alvaro Bautista 1m38.851
- Michael Rinaldi 1m39.240
- Jonathan Rea 1m39.302
- Alex Lowes 1m39.684
- Danilo Petrucci 1m39.790
- Xavi Vierge 1m39.879
- Iker Lecuona 1m39.883
- Dominique Aegerter 1m39.934
- Scott Redding 1m39.998
- Garrett Gerloff 1m40.065
- Andrea Locatelli 1m40.227
- Peter Oettl 1m40.234
- Remy Gardner 1m40.551
- Michael Van der Mark 1m40.769
- Tom Sykes 1m40.882
- Loris Baz 1m41.040
- Oliver Konig 1m41.630
- Lorenzo Baldassarri 1m41.726
- Roman Ramos 1m43.139
- Florian Marino 1m43.214
Jerez WorldSSP Test Times Day One
- Niccolo Bulega 1m42.454
- Can Oncu 1m42.466
- Federico Caricasulo 1m42.538
- Andrea Mantovani 1m43.066
- Adrian Huertas 1m43.455
- John McPhee 1m46.116