Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) set the fastest MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship time on Friday at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve as he set a 1’40.681s on a dramatic day of action during the Pirelli Portuguese Round. ‘Petrux’ was just 0.023s clear of his rivals as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished in second despite a crash and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed third after a late FP2 technical issue.
PETRUCCI ON TOP, BAUTISTA CRASHES: a mixed day for Ducati
Petrucci was quick all Friday, taking fourth in Free Practice 1 and topping Free Practice 2 with a 1’40.681s to claim top spot, 0.023s ahead of reigning Champion in second; Bautista’s afternoon running was disrupted by a Turn 11 crash with just a few minutes remaining. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) bounced back from very limited running in FP1 to take fourth overall. Ducati opted to change the #11’s engine after his FP1 issues. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) had a strong day as he claimed tenth, while Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) and wildcard Hafizh Syahrin (JDT Racing Team) the final two of the Ducati riders in 15th and 21st respectively.
FASTEST IN FP2
How would you describe @petrux9‘s Friday in one word? #PortugueseWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/CHNYe2EGke
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) August 9, 2024
RAZGATLIOGLU WITH TWO TECH ISSUES AS HE CLAIMS P3: an up and down day at the rollercoaster
Razgatlioglu had looked like he would top both FP1 and FP2 but a technical issue with around 10 minutes to go cost him valuable track time, and Petrucci and Bautista were able to demote the #54 into third place. However, he did have the pace to claim P1 in FP1. His fastest time came in Free Practice 1 with a 1’40.777s, although his FP2 effort was just 0.006s slower as he set a 1’40.783s; ‘El Turco’ was one of two riders not to improve in the later session. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) lost some running in FP1 after a Turn 13 crash, but he claimed seventh overall on Friday, with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) claiming eighth overall and second in FP2; the #31 had a tech issue in FP2. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) was the only BMW rider outside of the top ten.
VIERGE PIPS LECUONA BY 0.007s: little to separate the HRC duo
Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) were closely matched on Friday, with Vierge leading his teammate by just 0.007s. The #97 posted a 1’41.112s to claim 11th place with the #7 directly behind. At the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda team, Ivo Lopes was the lead rider on his return to WorldSBK action, and on his first day in MIE Honda colours, with Adam Norrodin four tenths back as he rounded out the field.
AEGERTER P5, REA P6: two Yamahas in the top six
Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) had a strong showing on Friday as he claimed top Yamaha honours in fifth place, finishing a tenth ahead of six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in sixth. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed at Turn 5 during FP2 which cost him some track time, but he did return to the track and finished in 17th place, leading Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) by two tenths. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was 19th with Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) in 20th.
LOWES ON TOP FOR THE GREEN TEAM: the #22 inside the top ten
As has been the case for the majority of this season, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) led Kawasaki’s charge, finishing third in FP2 with a 1’41.073s, giving him ninth overall. Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was quick out of the blocks in the evening Free Practice 2 outing to run in 14th in the combined classification. In terms of Independent riders, Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was inside the top 20 as he finished in 16th after posting a 1’41.424s.
The kind of slow motion shots we love #PortugueseWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/9kNZBYyXrx
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) August 9, 2024
The top six from Friday’s WorldSBK action, full results here:
1. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’40.681s
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.023s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.102s
4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.130s
5. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.140s
6. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +0.255s
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Source: WorldSBK.com