Round eight of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship from the Autodrom Most is underway, although the Acerbis Czech Round was wet for the first 35 minutes of action. The first rider to fit slick tyres to his bike after the wet majority of the session, Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) initially went top and was the first rider to set the trend for slicks with ten minutes to go. However, with the rain now gone and slicks being used by everyone, times tumbled and were heading for something slightly more relative.
Scott Redding moves into P1 then runs long at turn 1 #CZEWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/N2pgtTJjCF
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) July 28, 2023
The last 60 seconds of FP1 were arguably the most action-packed of the season in terms of Free Practice, with Redding improving his outright fastest lap time with his final flying lap being a 1’33.926, pipping Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), as the two rivals from the past two years at Most occupy the top two slots after FP1. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) completed the top three with three different manufacturers at the front. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is as close to home as he gets and the Swiss rider was fourth, whilst his Australian teammate, Remy Gardner, was fifth on his Most debut.
The top half-dozen was rounded out with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in P6, making it four Yamahas inside that top six, whilst Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) was the top Ducati in seventh. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) led the way for Honda in eighth, one place ahead of Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) in ninth. Brazilian rider Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) completed the top ten on his WorldSBK Most debut. There was a crash for Granado’s stand-in teammate Hannes Soomer at the final corner, with a dramatic highside but he was OK. Making his comeback from injury, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a tentative return to action with just four laps set in the tricky conditions; he’ll be reviewed again after FP2.
Top six after WorldSBK FP1 at Most below, full results here:
1. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’33.926s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.644s
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.743s
4. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +1.425s
5. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +2.090s
6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +2.155s
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Source: WorldSBK.com