Friday saw the curtain brought down on the first MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Cremona, Italy. Yamaha were among the big names missing from the opening day of testing, but they certainly made up for it by the end of the day on Friday. One rider who got valuable track time under his belt was ex-World Champion Jonathan Rea. Despite finishing P12 in the combined standings, Rea took a lot from the test, and saw it as a key opportunity to build further momentum for the remainder of the season.

Speaking about only having one day to test at Cremona, Rea said: “It’s nice to get back on the bike. It was important to test out this track before we race here in September. We tried to start finding the limits with the R1 and get more comfortable. Some of the settings worked a lot better compared to what I’ve been using from the start of the season.” Following on from this, Rea further elaborated on next steps, saying: “I think the next step is to get me even more comfortable on the bike, in order to get a little closer to that feeling of being on the limit. It’s frustrating, but it’s also positive because I know that there’s margin to improve.”

Ulster native Rea was also very transparent about his need to get more time onboard the Yamaha R1. Rea said: “Yeah, I need laps. It’s so positive that the other Yamahas are fast…but it’s not my bike. I love the bike, and I love riding the bike, but I still need to put my stamp on it. I want to use all the benefits of the Yamaha R1, but also use all of the benefits of my riding style, so we’re just trying to find that match right now. The team are working really well and are trying to push it along further.”

The Yamaha rider offered a further fascinating insight into the technical aspects of riding his new Yamaha R1. The #65 rider outlined that: “It’s hard to explain. It’s as if you have to ride the bike hard, but then you almost have to massage the bike around the track. But you can see from Remy and Locatelli that the bike has so much potential.”

Lastly, the ex-World Champion had a special message of thanks for the hundreds of fans who commuted to Cremona for testing. The Yamaha man said: “Yeah, it’s really nice. Even in difficult moments, especially in this day and age of social media, it’s the fans who give me the energy to keep pushing. Thanks to everyone and hopefully we see a great turnout here in a few months’ time.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Friday brought the curtain down on two days of testing for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Cremona, Italy. One rider who featured heavily on Friday was Nicolo Bulega, with the Factory Ducati rider putting together a time of 1’29.223s during the afternoon of Friday’s session. Whilst this was ultimately enough to secure sixth place in the combined standings, Bulega was far from buoyant.

When asked how he felt testing went, the #11 rider said: “I feel not so bad, but also not so good. I didn’t have my 100% feeling. I was missing something in the front. We have to work on it to try and improve this part of the bike. I want to stay focused on the next test, and then I hope to have a better bike/setup for the next time we test here in Cremona.” Interestingly, Bulega attended a track day at Cremona the week before on a stock bike. When asked if there was much difference between the stock bike and the Superbike, the Italian said: “Yes, because this bike is a bit faster. With this bike, the circuit seems a bit smaller. We have to adapt, because this is maybe the smallest circuit that I ride on with this bike.”

Switching gears, Bulega discussed the upcoming Misano test. Following Assen, where he struggled (and coincidentally, it was the first track with no prior testing), Nicolo was more positive about the prospect of being able to test at Misano, saying: “Next week, we have a very important test. It will also be my home race. We are very lucky to have this test before the race…I will do my job as always, to try to improve the feeling of the bike and to have fun.”

Lastly, Bulega discussed having fans present during the Cremona testing, especially the positive impact that they had over the course of testing at Cremona. The #11 rider said: “Today was like a Sunday race with a lot of people. It’s always nice to have fans. In Italy, we have a lot of support, so it’s nice!”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Friday saw the conclusion of Cremona, Italy hosting two days of testing for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Yamaha were noticeable absentees from the first day of testing, but they certainly left an impression by the end. Among the most noteworthy performances was that of Italian Andrea Locatelli, who finished second only to GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team rider Remy Gardner.

Friday morning saw the 27-year-old finish sixth in the standings, putting out a time of 1’30.528s. However, the afternoon session saw Locatelli lift off, improving his time by over 1.5s to 1’28.919s, a result which saw him leapfrog the field and finish second in Friday’s combined standings.

Discussing what proved to be a successful day of testing, the #55 rider said: “I have a really good feeling! I enjoy quite a lot the first sector and the last sector…I think here in Cremona they make amazing work. It’s not a big track, so it will not be easy to overtake during the race, but let’s see.”

The Bergamo native was also asked if the track suited the natural strengths of the R1, given both his and Gardner’s impressive outings at Cremona. Discussing this, Locatelli said: “Yeah, we try to make an improvement every time. It was something positive and interesting to learn the track. I think we did well…this is the most important thing.” The Yamaha rider also discussed the upcoming Misano round, revealing his dreams and ambitions of succeeding at that track. The #55 said: “When we are there, we will try to make another step, to understand the bike and the track. It is also my dream to do well at Misano…we’ll arrive competitive and strong!”

Speaking about the presence of so many fans across both days of testing, Locatelli was more than impressed. He remarked that: “We see the people are really passionate on the bike. I think that what the track and city are doing…creating the possibility that people can come, take a picture with us and see the track…is something very positive.”

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Friday saw the second and final day of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s test at Cremona, Italy. Among several standout performances was that of Bonovo Action BMW’s Garrett Gerloff, who finished the combined standings on Friday in a highly respectable seventh place.

Friday morning saw Gerloff push for a best time of 1’30.459s, a result that left him in twelfth place heading into the break. In the afternoon, however, Gerloff found over a second of extra pace, pushing his time to an impressive 1’29.325s. This leapfrogged Gerloff five places in the combined standings, ultimately finishing in seventh place by the end of Friday’s test, racking up 59 completed laps in the process.

Discussing what the team can take forward from the test, Gerloff said: “I really like the track; it’s got a cool flow to it. I didn’t feel bad at all. We’re just doing circles a little bit. It’s been confusing why something that should work doesn’t, and why something that probably shouldn’t work does. I don’t know what, this year, has been going on. We’re making progress. It’s just we expect to be higher than we are. We’re doing our best to regain everything we need to get back to where we should be. We went back to a setup that we used at the beginning of the year that worked really well at Jerez but didn’t work at all at Portimao or in Australia; that was pretty terrifying, I thought it was me! We went back to it and at this track it feels good. We used it all day today. We’ve been scratching our heads a bit, but I feel good here so that’s a positive.”

After showing strong pace, Gerloff was asked if this track suited the natural strengths of the M 1000 RR. Teammate Scott Redding also displayed progression and improvement over the course of the two day test, improving from 1’30.389 to 1’29.215 by the end of the afternoon.

 Discussing this, Gerloff stated: “I don’t know, it really depends on how the next few rounds go and what we learn from that and what we show up with here. We might show up with the same setup or something completely different. As far as it goes about whether it’s a BMW track, I think it could be. At least for Toprak for sure, he can ride anything! It’s a stop and go track, at least in the beginning and the first sector, so I think that’ll suit him pretty well. I don’t feel bad, we just need to keep making improvements because I know we can be faster than we are.”

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Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the fastest man on a Friday test which saw several red flags at Cremona. The Australian rocketed to the top of the combined times in the afternoon session, ultimately proving to be only one of two riders to break into the 1’28s, alongside fellow Yamaha rider Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha). Ducati riders Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing), Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and rider Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) made up the rest of the top five.

YAMAHA SHOW SPEED AT CREMONA: Gardner P1, Locatelli P2; Rea continues to adapt

Yamaha enjoyed a very successful Friday at Cremona, with three of their four riders occupying spots in the top eight. Gardner was a lowly 15^th place in the morning test session but rebounded back in a big way to clock a time of 1’28.860s, claiming top spot. His teammate, Dominique Aegerter, rounded out the top eight with a strong time of 1’29.506s.

On the other side of the Japanese manufacturer, Locatelli enjoyed a very consistent Friday. In the morning session, Locatelli secured sixth place with a time of 1’30.076s. He ended the afternoon session on Friday with a vastly improved time of 1’28.919s, enough to secure second place behind Gardner. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) suffered a technical issue in the morning session which forced him off track but managed to secure seventh place. In the afternoon session, Rea continued his search for consistency in the afternoon, ultimately managing a best time of 1’30.027s.

DUCATI SETS THE PACE: Rinaldi fastest for Bologna bullets, Bulega and Bautista not far behind

Rinaldi had been one of the top performers throughout the entirety of the past two days at Cremona. Friday saw the #21 finish fourth overall in the morning session, setting a time of 1’29.663s. He then smashed his own time in the afternoon session, clocking a time of 1’29.047s to claim third overall. Elsewhere within the Bologna manufacturer, Lowes set the pace during Friday morning, topping out the session (after 63 laps) of 1’29.137s. Lowes did not reappear for the afternoon session of testing, with the Marc VDS Ducati squad opting to leave with what they have already. Like the other Ducati members, the priority of the Lowes camp was track familiarity and track time as opposed to testing of new parts.

Ducati continues to enjoy testing success at Cremona, with Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista being consistently strong on Friday, their only day of testing at Cremona. Both Bulega and Bautista set very impressive times, coming in at 1’29.501s and 1’29.518s. Throughout the two-day test, the emphasis has been centered around both riders getting to grips with the track, as well as having as much track time as possible.

REDDING AND GERLOFF EVENLY MATCHED: lots of data for BMW at Cremona

Bonovo Action BMW’s Scott Redding and Garrett Gerloff have been BMW’s sole riders at Cremona, given the absence of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark. Both Redding and Gerloff have been very similar in terms of pace, with the riders clocking in times of 1’30.389s and 1’30.459s respectively in the morning. In the afternoon, both Redding and Gerloff improved on their times, clocking 1’29.215s and 1’29.325s respectively. Redding suffered a mechanical issue early in Friday’s session, with Redding potentially testing a couple of items today but focusing on the setup of his M 1000 RR.

RABAT IMPRESSES AT CREMONA: busiest rider, consistently towards the top

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Tito Rabat has been one of the standout performers during the Cremona test, repeatedly coming in towards the top of the timesheets during testing. Rabat clocked a time of 1’29.663s on Friday morning, enough for a top five place. He has also been one of the most active riders on track, completing 121 laps on Day 1, whilst completing 112 on Day 2; a total of 233 laps across both days. Rabat ended the day with an improved time of 1’29.543s. Rabat and Puccetti Kawasaki were working on new configurations and setup from the Japanese manufacturer, and they were the only Kawasaki representatives on track.

HONDA LOOK FOR GAINS: Lecuona and Vierge make subtle improvements

Honda entered Friday’s Cremona test seeking to test different swingarms, as well as to gain familiarity with the track. In the morning session, Iker Lecouna (Team HRC) clocked a time of 1’30.229s, enough for eighth place. In the afternoon session, his time improved to 1’29.787s. It was a similar story for teammate Xavi Vierge, who clocked a time of 1’30.293s in the morning but managed to improve his time in the afternoon to 1’30.135s.

On the other side of the Honda setup, PETRONAS MIE Racing’s Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin had a good day. Mackenzie enjoyed a strong start in the morning session, clocking a time of 1’30.646s, but he could not improve that time in the afternoon, recording a best time of 1’31.165s. Norrodin, on the other hand, managed the opposite, improving from a 1’32.846s in the morning to a time of 1’31.591s in the afternoon.

HUERTAS LEADS WORLDSSP FIELD AT CREMONA

For the second day in a row, Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was the fastest of the WorldSSP riders on display during the Cremona test. The Aruba.it rider showed some good pace over the course of Friday’s test. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed second with Khairul Idham Bin Pawi (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) in third. His teammate, Kaito Toba, was fourth with Ivan Goi (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) rounding out the field WorldSSP field.

The top six from Friday at Cremona, find the full results from Friday’s test at Cremona here:

1 Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’28.860s, 112 laps

2. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha), +0.059s, 72 laps

3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing), +0.187s, 70 laps

4. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing), +0.277s, 63 laps

5. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW), +0.355s, 73 laps

6. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), +0.363s, 94 laps

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Source: WorldSBK.com