The 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is getting closer, but before racing resumes there’s the small matter of the final test day of the off-season at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit ahead of the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round. The WorldSBK field will get eight hours of testing today split into two sessions: Free Practice 1 from 09:10-13:10 Local Time (UTC+10) and Free Practice 2 from 13:40-17:30. After yesterday’s rapid pace in WorldSSP, what sort of lap times will we see in WorldSBK?
09:54 – we’ve got a red flag on track. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) has had a technical problem at Turn 1. Earlier in the day, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a crash but his bike is back in the pits
09:49 – For information, some reference lap times. Last year’s pole time, by Razgatlioglu, was a 1’29.400s. The race lap record is a 1’30.075s, from the 2019 Tissot Superpole Race courtesy of Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha), while the all-time record belongs to Tom Sykes from 2020 when he set a 1’29.230s in the Tissot Superpole session. The fastest time from last year’s test was a 1’30.272s by double Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
09:41 – Razgatlioglu continues out in front, he’s the first rider to dip into the 1’29s with a 1’29.904s – that’s only half-a-second away from his pole time last year on the Yamaha…
09:35 – Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) gone out on track and is currently P1! ‘El Turco”s posted a 1’30.234s to demote Iannone to second. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) is fourth, six tenths off his BMW stablemate
09:29 – The fastest time so far belongs to Iannone, with ‘The Maniac’ setting a 1’30.426s, three tenths clear of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). His teammate, Axel Bassani, is also lapping the circuit
09:19 – Shortly after Oettl took to the track, Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven), Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) joined him. This test is Aegerter’s first test day of 2024, having missed outings at Jerez and Portimao through illness
09:10 – GREEN FLAG! Philipp Oetll (GMT94 Yamaha) is the first rider to head out on track
Rise and shine, #WorldSBK fans!
It’s a lovely morning at Phillip Island and Day 2 of test is about to start
Let’s start the day on right foot and do some preparation stretching with coach @19Bautista pic.twitter.com/SBlRwCP3tw
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) February 19, 2024
09:05 – before the test starts, recap some content from earlier. Catch up on all the WorldSSP action here with the end-of-day report, and don’t forget to check out how to follow the Official Test here
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Source: WorldSBK.com