Recapping the opening day of WorldSBK/SSP/WCR Practice at Cremona

WorldSBK 2025

Round Four – Cremona – Friday

Nicolo Bulega – P1

“I have a strong mentality from Assen because I was very fast there. I wanted to bring that positive feeling here to Cremona. I don’t really like this track because my riding style doesn’t suit  it very well. I will always try to do my best and work well with the mechanics for the best result. Toprak is always very strong and I think this type of track suits his riding style really well. He’ll be fast. I also expect other riders to be competitive. Today, I felt quite good. My tyre consumption was good and my pace was strong. We need to keep improving because everyone will take a step forward tomorrow so we have to improve as well. We’ll see what happens.”

Toprak Razgatlıoglu – P2

“We’re still working on the bike because we need a really good setup for the race. Today, we focused especially on improving rear grip. I didn’t originally plan a race simulation but with the hot conditions it became clear we needed more grip at the rear. We found something because in the last run I was able to set a good lap time. I felt more grip, which is positive, but we still need more. The others are very strong. Bulega was doing 1’29s quite easily. It’s looking a bit better for us because we’ve made some progress and hopefully we can find a bit more tomorrow. After missing this round last year I’m really enjoying riding this track.”

Danilo Petrucci – P3

“It’s a very important race and there are a lot of expectations after winning here last year. This is our home race, so let’s see how we feel tomorrow. I’m quite happy today despite a small crash this morning. There was no warning for the crash but the weather is very different compared to last year. It’s really hot now and there have been a lot of crashes already. It’ll be difficult to stay out of trouble because it’s very difficult to find rear traction. I’m quite calm and I’m not thinking about winning or anything like that. I just want to go into Superpole and try to be on the first or second row. Then we’ll play my cards in the race. There’s a lot of pressure on me but I’m surprising myself. I don’t want to make any mistakes tomorrow and if I can finish inside the top five, or get on the podium, that would be a great result.”

Iker Lecuona – P4

“It was a positive Friday. I pushed a bit more than the last two rounds, where I took things much easier on day one. But this Friday felt a bit different because last year we had a really good performance here, so I put more pressure on myself to be a bit more on the pace right away. So far, I feel really good on the bike. Even this morning, when we had some things to adjust on the bike, I was able to set a competitive lap time. By the afternoon, the team had done a great job to fix those issues. In FP2, conditions were trickier – it was much hotter, and we had some issues with rear grip. We’ve always struggled with that in hot conditions and today was no different. But we finished inside the top six also in the afternoon, which is a good result. We now know this track well, and it’s one of the stronger ones for us during the season. The most important thing for the race will be to try to avoid mistakes – I’ve seen many riders making errors today, myself included, especially in the braking zones. It’s easy to run a bit wide, or even crash. We just need to remain consistent. The goal right now is to keep improving and to try and be as strong as possible in qualifying. Then, of course, a top five finish would be great, and I’ll be aiming for that, but let’s wait and see how the race develops. It’s 23 laps, so the longest race in terms of laps and in hot conditions. It will be tough, but I feel very good physically and mentally.”

Axel Bassani – P5

“Like Assen, this is one of the circuits that we have not tested at before. At the moment things are going positively and it is always good to start well on a race weekend. Our race pace is also good and I am happier to do that than to set only some fast laps. I did not do a real fast one because during the last lap, when I tried to improve my time, I crashed. But, it is OK, because I did a 1’29.6 on lap 11 or 12, so I am happy with the feeling I have with the bike now.”

Andrea Locatelli – P7

“In the end, it was a good day for me and for sure, we need to improve a bit more – especially on the rhythm to be more at the front during the race. We are still losing a lot in Sector 3, this is the main problem and we are looking to understand what we need to do for tomorrow to improve this area because in the other parts of the track we are very competitive. Today the track was quite difficult and the temperature was high, but in general I am happy: the feeling is good, so looking forward for tomorrow where we will try to make another step. It would be nice to be fighting for the podium because we are in Italy! A lot of fans are coming to watch and we will do our best!”

Alvaro Bautista – P8

“It’s clear that you can’t be happy after three crashes. However, the conviction remains that we found a positive feeling this afternoon. We’ll analyse what happened, but it’s clear that the crashes in FP2 were due to problems that I’m sure the team will be able to solve”.

Alex Lowes – P9

“That was a hot one today and I think the track temperature got into the 50°C range this afternoon. That was a new experience for us on the bimota KB998 Rimini. We did a long run this afternoon and we tried something on the set-up of the bike. I missed a bit of feeling, especially entering the corners. But we have a lot of data now after this first day on the bike in these conditions. With all this information we will be able to make more forward steps tomorrow. Physically, I was feeling good and I think that puts us in a positive position for Saturday.”

Xavi Vierge – P10

“A positive day from the start, and the feeling with the bike has been quite good. The conditions were very hot, especially for FP2, and we tried different things with the setup. The beginning of FP1 was very good, and I felt confident, so we decided to make a further change for the afternoon session. But I soon realized that I didn’t feel as comfortable. We changed the shock in an attempt to improve drive, but it had the opposite effect, and I started to experience a lot of spin, both with used and new tyres. Even so, we wanted to complete laps with new tyres to understand whether we were heading in the right direction or not. In the end, we saw that it wasn’t the best choice. That aside, our race pace is quite good. We are all very close, so now we need to focus on the qualifying lap, as we know it’s one of our weaker points. Even a tenth of a second can make a huge difference in qualifying, and also starting from a good position on the grid will make a big difference, especially here in Cremona”.

Andrea Iannone – P11

“Today was quite a complex day. In the morning the track was very dirty and, off the line, there was no grip at all – so much so that I even had a slight crash. We worked hard on different areas of the bike and, in the end, I managed to improve my time without changing tyres. At the moment we are all close in terms of gaps. Now we will analyse all the data well and tomorrow we will give our all to get a good result.”

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Remy Gardner – P12

“It was a very hot Friday here in Italy. We spent the day evaluating different race options. The morning went well—we found a good rhythm early on and managed some strong laps. In the afternoon, we tried a few new things, and now we’ll review the data to make a step forward. We’re not far from the front, and I’m confident we can push harder in Superpole and Race 1.”

Yari Montella – P14

“It was a challenging day. We struggled with the front end, dealing with issues we hadn’t experienced before. It’s something I felt in several areas of the track, and we’ll need to work to understand how to reduce it. Overall, I feel calm. Tonight, we’ll go over the data with the goal of finding an effective solution to improve for tomorrow’s qualifying and race.”

Dominique Aegerter – P17

“It wasn’t an easy Friday for us. I had to get used to the track again after missing last year’s round. It’s been a full year since I last rode here, so it took some time to adapt. We made good progress from FP1 to FP2, but we still have work to do to reach our targets. I’m confident we can make further improvements overnight to be more competitive in qualifying and Race 1.”

Garrett Gerloff – P18

“It was a bit warm on Friday at Cremona and that means there was not a ton of grip on the track surface. We are working as a team to try and find solutions to our problems. Little-by-little we are working through it and we just need a better day tomorrow.”

Tarran Mackenzie – P20

“Today was quite positive, especially in FP2. I felt ok in FP1 too, but there were a couple of things I wasn’t so happy with. This afternoon we tried something with the electronics, which was definitely a good step on the older tyre; I set my best lap on maybe lap seventeen. So I’m happy with that, but when we went to put a new tyre in, I had a few moments and a few things weren’t working quite as I thought they would. I’m pleased with how the feeling was towards the end of the run, and we’ll try to take that positive into the weekend. If we can work to improve the front feeling, then I think we can be there.”

Jonathan Rea – P21

“It’s been a difficult day but firstly, my foot feels fine riding – I had a couple of areas where my foot was in the wrong position and when I ride with my big toe on the foot peg it feels quite painful but generally it’s fine. Of course, it’s been a long time off the bike and physically, I didn’t feel amazing. However, I expected that to an extent and need some race fitness back. The R1 is quite different to when I last rode it and we worked through FP1 and FP2 with the same tyre set ups to find the rhythm and still I didn’t feel fully comfortable. We made some changes but nothing has really ticked the box yet to let me stop the bike in the way I really want to, so that’s the focus for tonight to give me more confidence to reach the apex. We’ll try to make a step tomorrow but – even if it’s really tough – it’s great to be back with the team and re-starting the journey to being fully competitive.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi – P24

“The track is great – I can say that I’m really enjoying Cremona Circuit! It’s difficult and short with many corners, but I feel quite comfortable, despite this being my first time here. I still have things to learn and need more mileage, but maybe in the hot conditions the riding comes a little easier, or at least I can enjoy it more. I’ve spoken to the team, and we have ideas as to what we need to adjust on the bike so that I can improve further. If we can find the right setup, I think I can do more, so tomorrow we’ll a few adjustments and I’ll try my best to achieve a good result.”

Friday WorldSBK Report

In near perfect conditions at the Cremona Circuit Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) topped the times on his Ducati. The Italian rider enjoyed a strong start to the weekend to lead the way from championship rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

Bulega completed 39 laps at the 3.768km long circuit. The Ducati rider topped the times in both Free Practice sessions with a fastest time of 1’29.158.

Having missed last year’s Italian round at Cremona, Razgatlioglu spent the morning understanding the circuit. The Turkish rider notched up 35 laps today and ended the day just 0.3s slower than Bulega.

With high track temperatures, 40C in FP1 and almost 50C in FP2, the track surface was slick and played a role in numerous crashes. Danilo Petrucci ended the day third fastest but suffered a crash in Free Practice 1.

He wasn’t alone with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) suffering three crashes. The Spaniard ended the day eighth fastest but only completed 18 laps.

Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) was the busiest rider on track with 41 laps and finished the day fourth fastest while Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was one place further back.

Remy Gardner was eight-tenths from Bulega’s benchmark to rank 12th at the end of day one.

Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) made his return to WorldSBK. The six-time World Champion has sat on the sidelines through injury for the first three rounds and completed a full programme of 36 laps today, ending the sessions 21st.

WorldSBK Combined Practice Times

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP Superpole

Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME air Racing) claimed his 13th Superpole in the Supersport class. It was his first pole position since Imola 2023 and also the first time in Supersport history that a rider has claimed pole position for four different manufacturers.

Federico Caricasulo – P1

“I felt good on the bike and we made a big step forward from the morning. We were already fast so I’m really happy to make an improvement. I want to thank my team and my crew chief because they did a really great job. I feel confident for tomorrow but I don’t think tomorrow’s race will be easy. There are many riders who can fight for the podium. I hope to be part of that fight because setting a fast lap time is one thing and race pace is another thing. We’ve improved our race pace but the Yamahas, the other MV’s are all strong. I think anyone from the top six or seven riders can be on the podium.”

Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) and Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) completed the front row. The Yamaha duo circulated together at the end of the session to set their fast times.

Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) was one of numerous crashers during the session. The title contender will start from the third row of the grid.

Oli Bayliss qualified 14th while countryman Luke Power will start from 23rd on the grid.

WorldSSP Superpole Times

WorldSSP Championship Points

Having shone in practice, experienced rider Roberta Ponziani qualified just over one tenth of a second from her Klint Forward Racing team-mate and will line up alongside Maria, in second position, on Saturday’s race grid. Local hero Ponziani is understandably hungry for results at her home track, keen to replicate the podium she achieved here in 2024.

Pons Italika Racing FIMLA rider Astrid Madrigal was also richly rewarded for her efforts in qualifying. A strong fourth in practice, the Mexican went one better in Superpole, falling just two tenths of a second short of pole to secure a strong third place. This is Madrigal’s best qualifying performance to date.

Regular frontrunners Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) and Sara Sanchez (Terra&Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) placed a solid fourth and fifth, despite the latter suffering an innocuous crash in the final stages. They will be joined on row two of the grid by New Zealander Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motorsports), a 2025 WorldWCR rookie.

Britain’s Chloe Jones (GR Motosport), Australian Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing), and Spain’s Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) make up the third row, this ‘chasing group’ demonstrating consistently strong pace so far this season.

The entire WorldWCR has at least some experience of this tight Italian track, having exploited a two-day test in early April, though temperatures are significantly higher now than they were one month ago.

Local rider Denise Dal Zotto (Affinity Sports Academy Rokit Rookies) joins the ranks this weekend, competing as a wildcard in front of her home crowd. The Italian qualified seventeenth.

The morning’s free practice ran in cooler conditions, with Herrera topping the timesheets, less than two tenths ahead of closest rivals Neila and local hero Ponziani.

Team Trasimeno’s Jessica Howden and Sonia Lloyd both suffered a crash during qualifying. Though fortunately unhurt, the incidents inevitably impacted on their results today.

Maria Herrera – P1

“I’m really happy to have secured pole position like this, because I felt good right from the start. I tried to push from the very first lap because I knew the temperatures were high today. I used the slipstream and made a first fast lap, which was then cancelled with the yellow flag, so I tried to do it again and was able to set pole. I know this circuit and had the same feeling today that I had in April’s test, so the test was definitely useful. I think it will be hard to fight with Roberta in the races. Astrid can be there with us too, and Beatriz, so my strategy will be to push hard right away and try to build a gap.”

Roberta Ponziani – P2

“I’m happy, as qualifying went well and we’re separated from pole by almost nothing, similar to last year. It’s a pity it’s not pole position, but a front row start is important. We found a good solution already during testing, which meant there wasn’t so much to change today, technically speaking. The team’s working well and I’m happy. This track isn’t actually near my hometown, but it feels like home; we’re here in Italy and last year I reached the podium, something I’d like to do again this weekend of course. This is our goal; we’ll see what we can do.”

Astrid Madrigal – P3

“Wow, I’m really super happy. I believed I could fight, and, in the end, I ran a really good qualifying, very smart. I was able to stick with Maria and Roberta and think I have the rhythm to be able to fight tomorrow. A podium is possible tomorrow, I think, but I know I have strong competition. Finishing top five would already be a good achievement for me. And if I’m fighting with them, it’s a goal that I have to achieve this weekend.”

WorldWCR Superpole Times

WorldWCR Championship Points

2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar