News 24 Jan 2020

Champion Rea fastest on final day of Jerez WorldSBK testing

Image: Supplied.

The final day of Jerez testing brought the only sunshine available out to play for a handful of hours before more rain meant that most teams remained in their garages with a couple of hours to go.

With Honda on top of day one, it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Kawasaki who were on top after doing 19 laps across the two days. Behind him, 2019 rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) and Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), making it three manufacturers inside the top three.

There was very little track action across both days for the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK outfit, as they vowed to keep their reigning WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea in the box for the entirety of day one, before he ventured out on day two. With little to try because he already knows the ZX-10RR so comprehensively, new teammate Alex Lowes did more work.

The WorldSBK race winner experimented with launch control settings and wasn’t worried about the lack of dry time, as he was fast in testing in years gone by but then got to the first round and it had been a different story. Heading to Portugal, Rea is on top and Lowes is fourth.

Two-time race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu was in fine form across the test and despite suffering a turn one crash on Wednesday, he bounced back to lead the way for the majority of the second day. However, once Jonathan Rea had gone out, Razgatlioglu was pushed back to second, although just over two tenths behind the Ulsterman. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) joined his teammate at the sharp end and completed the top five, 1.7s behind Rea.

Making it three manufacturers inside the top three, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took his Ducati Panigale V4 R around the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto track.

Having raced at the track more than most of his competitors from his MotoGP paddock days, the 27-year-old British ace had a good run at a circuit he knows well in order to learn the WorldSBK-spec of the V4 R’s intricacies. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a tough test and was 15th at the end of it all, crashing twice on the first day and completing less than 30 laps on day two.

Day one saw the highly awaited first public appearance of the all-new Honda CBR1000RR-R and it ended the day on top of the WorldSBK pile in the hands of Leon Haslam (HRC Team). On Thursday, the bike couldn’t quite replicate the position, but it was a good indicator of what the bike was capable of in drying conditions.

The ‘Pocket Rocket’ finished in sixth come the end of play and hailed the support of HRC, giving him the confidence to achieve great things. For Bautista, the objective is still to find a good base setting and to learn the technicalities of an in-line four-cylinder motorcycle, something he has never ridden before. Bautista ended day two in eighth.

In seventh place was the first of the Independent riders and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). The 26-year-old WorldSBK race winner was right in the mix across the two days of testing, testing with the new 2020 Yamaha YZF R1.

The wet weather running was confirmation that the team have improved the set-up of the bike in general, whilst they also practiced race starts and refined their electronics. Along with Baz in the top ten were other Independent riders were Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven) and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team), the latter of which suffered two crashes.

Outside the top 10 was Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in eleventh, as the BMW squad didn’t try too much during the second day. Combined with teammate Eugene Laverty, the two did 65 laps in total across the second day with a primary focus on Laverty, who hailed the chassis but has engine desires in order to move forward. With two chassis to test, the Shaun Muir Racing team will be busy with more development at Portimao; ‘Norge’ was 18th.

ORELAC Racing Verdnatura were up in 12th place with WorldSBK rookie Maximilian Scheib, who quietly impressed around the WorldSBK paddock at Jerez. The Chilean rider’s main aim was to familiarise his way with the ZX-10RR, whilst placing fourth out of the Independent riders.

Third on day one, it was 13th for Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) on day two, whilst Sandro Cortese (Barni Racing Team) was 14th on his deputising duty. The German rider, who liked the feeling from his Ducati Panigale V4 R, is still without a ride on the 2020 grid. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) was 16th on his Ducati, ahead of Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing).

News 23 Jan 2020

Haslam tops day one of Jerez WorldSBK testing aboard new Honda

Image: Supplied.

Despite four different manufacturers topping the timesheets, the HRC Team – fielding Leon Haslam and Alvaro Bautista – led the way into the second day with Leon Haslam topping the timesheets by a narrow margin.

With four red flags, numerous crashes and rain falling harder, Haslam fended off Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) and American sensation Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) as day one concluded.

Back in action as a full factory effort, Team HRC did just about everything on their first public appearance. Haslam topped the timesheets at various points throughout the day, whilst Bautista crashed at turn six earlier in the morning.

In his second season back in WorldSBK, ‘Pocket Rocket’ Haslam pulled off a memorable story from day one at Jerez, placing Honda on top of the timesheets in wet conditions.

The HRC Team sport a slender 0.031s advantage over Yamaha going into day two, but it is an advantage nonetheless. For Haslam’s teammate Bautista, he was back out on track in the afternoon after a lengthy time in the garage following his small morning crash, coming up to ninth on the timesheets before finishing the afternoon in tenth.

The Yamaha contingency was looking strong at Jerez, a circuit they enjoyed wins and podiums at in 2019. Van der Mark was top at lunch but crashed not long after – the Dutchman being one of many riders to crash at turn one through the course of the day. Toprak Razgatliolgu bounced back from his morning crash and was hovering in the top 10 before finishing eighth, continuing his adaptation to the YZF R1 and the new engine.

Leading the charge from the Independent teams was Gerloff, with the American impressing on his second visit to Jerez and finishing third, setting 35 laps. Teammate Federico Caricasulo joined Gerloff inside the top 10 and was ninth, his best showing in WorldSBK to-date. The Italian made the most the wet track time and just under two tenths behind Razgatlioglu.

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati showed strong pace throughout the opening day of the test, as Scott Redding was a firm fixture inside of the top four, hitting top spot early in the day before settling down and dialling in a good number of laps. Racking up more than 45 in total, Redding was utilising the test well, with new chassis and engine parts seeing him placed nicely in fourth.

After two crashes for Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), the Welshman had an afternoon to get back on track – both literally and metaphorically. However, with the rain coming down harder than ever, he was rooted to 15th in the class.

Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was enjoying his time on track at the Jerez test and was making sure that the YZF R1 Yamaha was working well around the famous Spanish venue. Having been first across various parts of the day, the Frenchman was pushed back to fifth come the end of the day.

A quiet morning for BMW turned into a busier afternoon, with 2013 WorldSBK Champion Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) hitting the top six as the rain eased off. Parts they wanted to test in dry conditions consisted of chassis updates, swingarm configurations and rear shocks.

However, with the wet circuit, there was very little they could try. On the other side of the garage, Eugene Laverty beavered away and improved throughout the day – Sykes and Laverty finished sixth and 13th respectively as the rain came back with a vengeance.

With Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) opting not to go out at all on day one, Alex Lowes was flying the Kawasaki flag at Jerez. The British rider will switch to the Japanese manufacturer in 2020 and is looking to use the Jerez test to his advantage, with this being their last track action until Phillip Island’s test in February. Utilising wet weather track time to the best he could, Lowes wasted no time in going top just after 14:00, before finishing in seventh.

Sandro Cortese (Barni Racing Team) deputised for Leon Camier and finished 16th in the WorldSBK class. One place behind him was Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN), who suffered a turn seven crash which brought out the fourth red flag of the day.

As the top six are covered by just under a second and the top three all covered by less than a tenth, day two of testing at Jerez promises to be an exciting one. Haslam and Honda going into Thursday on top, and with more rain due, more unpredictability awaits.