2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Four – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
The sun shone strongly at Catalunya on Friday as action got underway in the fourth round of the 2023 WorldSBK Championship. With track temperatures approaching 50 degrees it was Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who was once again in a league of his own.
It was somewhat unsurprising to see the Ducatis so strong on a hot Friday afternoon as the Ducati works so well in low grip conditions. Alvaro Bautista still remains the rider to beat over the long distance however, with a strong race pace in the morning and in the afternoon, with a run of 14 laps achieved in the 1m42s in FP1. In the afternoon, Bautista did a 16-lap run, all of which were in the low-to-mid 1m42s before going out and setting a 1m41.486 to set the outright best time of the day, which will certainly make his rivals sit up and look.
Alvaro Bautista
“We worked a lot on the race pace and the results were very positive. We are still missing some information to have a clear choice of tyres for Race 1. The feeling, however, is positive and I am very confident ahead of tomorrow and Sunday’s races.”
Fastest in the first session in the morning, Michael Ruben Rinaldi had come out the blocks fighting from the start and that translated into the afternoon too, as he was once again one of the riders to beat.
Michael Rinaldi
“It was a positive day for me and for the team. We found the feeling we lost at Assen. We have always been aware of our potential and I had a lot of fun riding today and trying different tyre solutions, especially on the front. Tomorrow we will have to take another step forward to fight for the win.”
Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) afternoon wasn’t as strong as his morning session, with Rea outside of the top ten in 11th place for a lot of the session before ultimately finishing third, he’ll be fighting for the podium or the top five if race pace from the afternoon is anything to go by.
Jonathan Rea
“We used something on the bike today to change the front geometry. It was a strange day for me because I had mixed feelings this morning. The temperature was lower and I was relatively fast but I didn’t have a really good feeling. It seemed like I was competitive, even with some laps in the tyres, as I had a similar drop to our main rivals. We pursued that new set-up into the afternoon but I didn’t feel good on the bike. The feeling to get to the apex at the end of the braking stage meant I had no confidence. The heat just amplified that problem. It was a bit frustrating today but we had to try something, so tomorrow we will try to improve on the base that we had at the test.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) was fourth on the combined times but was inside the top five throughout FP2, as he enjoyed the heavy braking areas of Turn 1 and Turn 10. The Turk hasn’t won in Barcelona but will hope that he can turn that around this weekend.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“First I say that this morning we did not start really strong, but now I am feeling my bike is much better. Maybe also I am not really strong on this track, but I try my best – this track has many long corners, you know – not like my stop-go style! But I try to change my riding a little bit, just try to keep more speed in the corner, more flowing. I did a race simulation in FP2, it was not bad! We did good lap times for 17 laps and it looks better than last year, but we will see in the race – the race is always more difficult! I am just fighting for the podium, we will try to follow Bautista as close as possible – first is important qualifying, I need pole position again!”
Toprak’s Pata Yamaha team-mate Andrea Locatelli’s afternoon saw him strong inside the top nine but he lost the front in a typical Turn 5 tumble, but it was a costly error, as a new SC0 tyre needed to be tested and time is always of the essence.
Andrea Locatelli
“A bit difficult today, especially in FP2 – the temperature on track was higher but the feeling on the bike was not so bad, more or less similar to FP1, but when I tried to do the long run I crashed in Turn 5, so unfortunately we lost a little bit of the opportunity to work a lot to understand the tyre for the race. But anyway, we just need to know what we want to do for tomorrow – which is to find a little bit more feeling, especially in the front and to try to stop the bike a bit better. We will see what we can do in FP3, and then we will wait to see what is possible in Race 1. For sure, it will not be easy with the track temperature, but we will try to be ready and fight for the podium!”
It was a strong opening day for Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and Honda, as they always shine in Barcelona – whether it is testing or not. Lecuona’s pace was in the 1m42s, and a solid effort will hope to be rewarded throughout the remainder of the weekend. Xavi Vierge crashed in FP1 at Turn 1 which put his schedule back a little but he still ranked eighth on combined times.
Iker Lecuona
“I’m happy to be back here with my team and bike. We arrived having already done a lot of setup work during the recent test we had. To be honest, after spending the last weekend in MotoGP I was expecting to need a bit more time to regain that WorldSBK feeling and so I was surprised to feel comfortable and fast after just four or five laps. It was a very good session and we just weren’t able to find the feeling with a different tyre spec, basically because it’s the first time we’re trying it after having missed the chance to use it during testing due to my crash. In the afternoon I spoke with my crew chief and basically changed the plan entirely, because I thought we should focus on working on race distance. It was something I had been thinking all day and we’re very happy with the outcome of the afternoon’s session because there was much less of a drop compared to last year, despite the fact that the temperature was higher and that I always lapped alone. So I’m very happy and we will now analyse the data and see if there is any fine tuning we can do to further reduce the tyre drop. I want to thank the team for their hard work and tomorrow we go again!”
Xavi Vierge
“It has been a good day for us, and I had good feeling right from the start despite a small crash in FP1. It was insignificant, in fact it was good to find the limit early, if anything. Thanks to the team because they repaired the bike in time for FP2 and that session also went well. We completed two long runs to try and understand our pace in such hot conditions and the feeling was not so bad. As ever, we need to improve a bit with the new tyres, but the race pace is there so I’m happy with how day one has gone. Now we’ll see if we can make another little step forward tomorrow. As always, our first target for Saturday is to do as well as we can in qualifying.”
Alex Lowes worked on his race pace from the start and like his team-mate Rea he set his best single lap time in the morning session, when the track temperature only rose to 35°C.
Alex Lowes
“We worked on our race distance set-up today, on used tyres, but clearly in these hot conditions we are struggling. We need to have a good chat with the guys in the team and try to make a plan of how we can improve for Saturday. Both our front and rear tyres are not lasting the distance and we are using the hardest solutions. So we have to think about some things for the first race tomorrow.”
The GYTR GRT Yamaha pairing of Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner primarily focused on long-distance runs using the same tyres for the opening session.
Dominique Aegerter
“It hasn’t been a bad Friday. Our main focus was on longer runs to be as ready as possible for the long races. We know the last laps here will be crucial because we’ve seen it in the past, and honestly our race pace was solid. I hope we can make one more step forward and have a good qualifying session, as starting near the front would help us manage the races better.”
Remy Gardner
“It wasn’t the easiest day to be honest; we had a small issue in the early stages of FP2, and then when I went out again it was tough to manage the tyres. Anyway, we just focused on race pace today, and we’ll keep working on analysing the data we have as we know consumption will play a key role here.”
Some big news broke at Catalunya for Danilo Petrucci with the Italian getting the call from Ducati MotoGP for him to replace Enea Bastianini in the French GP on the factory Ducati at Le Mans, next weekend. On track with Barni Racing on Friday though Danilo focused on set-up tests to improve the performance with new tyres, and in FP2 he also tested the new lower seat made specifically for him.
Danilo Petrucci
“Here in Barcelona the circuit does not offer optimal grip and with the team we are working to find the set-up that would allow me to express myself at my best. We are doing everything possible to solve the problem that has plagued me since the start of the season, which is the fact that I can’t take advantage of the new tyres, but today’s sensations are positive. I feel that we are getting closer and closer, but despite the great work of the team, we are still not at the top of our performance“.
Garrett Gerloff was the fastest BMW runner on Friday just ahead of Scott Redding, the pair 10th and 11th respectively.
WorldSBKCombined Friday Practice Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4R | 1m41.486 |
2 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4R | +0.147 |
3 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.166 |
4 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.233 |
5 | I. Lecuona | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +0.582 |
6 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.593 |
7 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.598 |
8 | X. Vierge | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +0.609 |
9 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.743 |
10 | G. Gerloff | BMW M1000 RR | +0.749 |
11 | S. Redding | BMW M1000 RR | +0.981 |
12 | R. Gardner | Yamaha YZF R1 | +1.163 |
13 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.169 |
14 | D. Petrucci | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.267 |
15 | L. Baz | BMW M1000 RR | +1.578 |
16 | P. Oettl | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.872 |
17 | E. Granado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1.937 |
18 | O. Konig | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1.952 |
19 | H. Syahrin | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +2.090 |
20 | B. Ray | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.233 |
21 | L. Baldassarri | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.416 |
22 | I. Vinales | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +2.747 |
23 | I. Lopes | BMW M1000 RR | +2.828 |
24 | T. Sykes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +3.000 |
25 | G. Ruiu | BMW M1000 RR | +5.225 |
World Superbike Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Alvaro Bautista | 174 |
2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 118 |
3 | Andrea Locatelli | 104 |
4 | Axel Bassani | 77 |
5 | Jonathan Rea | 73 |
6 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 54 |
7 | Danilo Petrucci | 51 |
8 | Dominique Aegerter | 50 |
9 | Xavi Vierge | 49 |
10 | Alex Lowes | 44 |
11 | Remy Gardner | 37 |
12 | Scott Redding | 34 |
13 | Iker Lecuona | 33 |
14 | Philipp Oettl | 30 |
15 | Garrett Gerloff | 23 |
16 | Michael Van Der Mark | 19 |
17 | Loris Baz | 6 |
18 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | 6 |
19 | Hafizh Syahrin | 4 |
20 | Tom Sykes | 1 |
WorldSSP
Race lap record pace was on display in the FIM Supersport World Championship as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) topped the time-sheets on Friday at Catalunya. Bulega’s best time was more than seven-tenths clear of the rest of the field as he went under the existing race lap record, set in 2022, by four tenths of a second in Friday’s Free Practice 2 session.
Bulega was the only rider to lap in the 1’44s bracket on his way to finishing first, with Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) in second place.
In third place was Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who was one of just four riders who did not improve their time in the afternoon.
Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) took fourth spot in the combined classification despite a top-three finish in FP2, lapping 0.854s slower than pacesetter Bulega. Caricasulo was ahead of compatriot Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in fifth place after he set a best time of 1’45.646s in FP2 while Australian rider Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing) burst into the top six in the combined classification. His best time was a 1’45.749s to claim sixth spot overall on Friday as he returns from injury.
Oli Bayliss
“Sixth in the overall combined times with a 1m45.749s for today, which the team and I are happy with. We struggled a lot in the first practice session; however, we got it together for the second session in the afternoon. We made some good lap times in the end, which is a credit to the D34G Racing team as they supplied me with a great motorcycle. I’m still struggling a lot in a few laps with my foot… But we’re going to give 100 per cent for the rest of the weekend.”
Countrymen Tom Edwards and Luke Power finished the opening day 25th and 30th respectively. Power also had a tumble as he got to grips with the circuit for the first time.
WorldSSP Combined Friday Practice Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | N Bulega | Ducati Panigale V2 | 1m44.740 |
2 | N Tuuli | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | +0.747 |
3 | L BSofuoglu | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +0.842 |
4 | F Caricasulo | Ducati Panigale V2 | +0.854 |
5 | S Manzi | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.906 |
6 | O Bayliss | Ducati Panigale V2 | +1.009 |
7 | M. Schroetter | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +1.063 |
8 | M. Kofler | Ducati Panigale V2 | +1.080 |
9 | Y Montella | Ducati Panigale V2 | +1.089 |
10 | J Navarro | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.246 |
11 | G Van Straalen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.261 |
12 | R De Rosa | Ducati Panigale V2 | +1.294 |
13 | T Booth-Amos | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.430 |
14 | L Mahias | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.484 |
15 | A Huertas | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.634 |
16 | J Mcphee | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.670 |
17 | V Debise | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.776 |
18 | N Spinelli | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.063 |
19 | A Mantovani | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.156 |
20 | A Sarmoon | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.171 |
21 | A Wongthananon | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.242 |
22 | A Fernandez Gonzalezesp | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.260 |
23 | A Diaz | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.305 |
24 | Y Okaya | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +2.560 |
25 | T Edwards | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.575 |
26 | A Norrodin | Honda CBR600RR | +3.091 |
27 | H Truelove | Triumph Street Triple RS 765 | +3.094 |
28 | F Fuligni | Ducati Panigale V2 | +3.105 |
29 | T Mackenzie | Honda CBR600RR | +3.294 |
30 | L Power | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +3.654 |
31 | B Sahin | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.057 |
32 | M. Abe | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.868 |
World Supersport Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Nicolo Bulega | 127 |
2 | Stefano Manzi | 90 |
3 | Marcel Schroetter | 79 |
4 | Federico Caricasulo | 77 |
5 | Can Oncu | 63 |
6 | Niki Tuuli | 61 |
7 | Valentin Debise | 44 |
8 | Jorge Navarro | 44 |
9 | Glenn Van Straalen | 40 |
10 | Raffaele De Rosa | 33 |
11 | John Mcphee | 31 |
12 | Nicholas Spinelli | 29 |
13 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | 23 |
14 | Oliver Bayliss | 18 |
15 | Tarran Mackenzie | 15 |
16 | Anupab Sarmoon | 14 |
17 | Adrian Huertas | 10 |
18 | Adam Norrodin | 9 |
19 | Yari Montella | 8 |
20 | Tom Booth-Amos | 6 |
21 | Andrea Mantovani | 6 |
22 | Harry Truelove | 5 |
23 | Apiwath Wongthananon | 4 |
24 | Simone Corsi | 3 |
25 | Tom Edwards | 1 |
WorldSSP300
The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship started its Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round in a typically unpredictable way on Friday with the order changing consistently throughout both sessions, but it was Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) who claimed top spot on home soil. The Spanish rider was almost four tenths clear of his competitors at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as most riders on the grid found time between Free Practice 1 and 2.
Perez Gonzalez was one of several riders who led during the second 30-minute practice session but his time of 1’55.948s, set in FP2, was the fastest of the day to finish almost four tenths clear at the top of the timesheets. He was the only rider in the 1’55s bracket but he was still half-a-second away from the Tissot Superpole lap record and eight tenths away from the race lap record. Italian rider Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) took second spot after lapping 0.394s slower than Perez Gonzalez, while 2020 Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) jumped up the order to third spot and just over four tenths down on Perez Gonzalez.
Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) was fourth after posting a 1’56.422s although the Frenchman was the fastest rider in Free Practice 1 as he showed strong pace throughout Friday, finishing ahead of double Assen winner Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) in fifth place. Alessandro Zanca (Team#109 Kawasaki) is another who has shown strong pace throughout the weekend so far with the Italian rider taking sixth place in the combined classification.
WorldSSP300 Combined Friday Practice Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | J Perez Gonzalez | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | 1m55.948 |
2 | M. Vannucci | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.394 |
3 | J Buis | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +0.429 |
4 | S Di Sora | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +0.474 |
5 | P Svoboda | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +0.593 |
6 | A Zanca | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +0.648 |
7 | M. Gennai | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.688 |
8 | H Maier | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.707 |
9 | E Valentim | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.730 |
10 | M. Martella | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +0.820 |
11 | D Geiger | KTM RC 390 R | +0.852 |
12 | G Mastroluca | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.857 |
13 | U Calatayud | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.906 |
14 | J Uriostegui | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +0.914 |
15 | G Hendra Pratama | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.999 |
16 | D Mogeda | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +1.003 |
17 | Y Saiz Marquez | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +1.013 |
18 | L Veneman | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +1.014 |
19 | J Garcia | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +1.031 |
20 | J Osuna Saez | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +1.163 |
21 | R Bijman | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1.175 |
22 | M. Gaggi | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1.344 |
23 | L Lehmann | KTM RC 390 R | +1.351 |
24 | F Seabright | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +1.362 |
25 | T Alberto | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +1.445 |
26 | K Sabatucci | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +1.649 |
27 | R Tragni | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1.732 |
28 | D Bergamini | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1.766 |
29 | I Peristeras | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +2.060 |
30 | I Bolano Hernandez | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +2.632 |
31 | C Rouge | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +2.954 |
32 | S Zhou | Kove 321RR | +3.897 |
World Supersport 300 Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Petr Svoboda | 25 |
2 | Samuel Di Sora | 20 |
3 | Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez | 16 |
4 | Dirk Geiger | 13 |
5 | Humberto Maier | 11 |
6 | Marco Gaggi | 10 |
7 | Devis Bergamini | 9 |
8 | Jeffrey Buis | 8 |
9 | Loris Veneman | 7 |
10 | Fenton Seabright | 6 |
11 | Mirko Gennai | 5 |
12 | Enzo Valentim | 4 |
13 | Julio Garcia | 3 |
14 | Alessandro Zanca | 2 |
15 | Kevin Sabatucci | 1 |
WorldSBK Catalunya Schedule
(AEST)
Time | Class | Event |
Saturday | ||
1700 | WorldSBK | FP3 |
1745 | WorldSSP300 | Superpole |
1825 | WorldSSP | Superpole |
1910 | WorldSBK | Superpole |
1945 | R3 bLU cRU Cup | R1 |
2040 | WorldSSP300 | R1 |
2200 | WorldSBK | R1 |
2315 | WorldSSP | R1 |
0015 (Sun) | R3 bLU cRU Cup | R2 |
Sunday | ||
1700 | WorldSBK | WUP |
1725 | WorldSSP | WUP |
1750 | WorldSSP300 | WUP |
1900 | WorldSBK | SPRace |
2030 | WorldSSP | R2 |
2200 | WorldSBK | R2 |
2315 | WorldSSP300 | R2 |
2023 FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar | ||||
Date | Circuit | WSBK | WSSP600 | WSSP300 |
5-7 May | Catalunya | X | X | X |
2-4 Jun | Misano | X | X | X |
30 Jun-02 Jul | Donington Park | X | X | |
14-16 Jul | Imola | X | X | X |
28-30 Jul | Autodrom Most | X | X | X |
8-10 Sep | Magny-Cours | X | X | X |
22-24 Sep | Aragón | X | X | X |
29-Sep-01 Oct | Algarve | X | X | X |
13-15 Oct | San Juan Villicum | X | X |