The first day of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya came to an end and it was Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who topped the timesheets. Bautista was the only rider to lap in the 1’40s bracket and his time of a 1’40.824s was almost six tenths faster than the race lap record set in 2021.

THREE MANUFACTURERS IN THE TOP SIX…

Bautista completed 82 laps on his way to top spot as he continued testing a swingarm on his Ducati Panigale V4 R machine, with the plan for Bautista’s side of the garage aiming to improve the entire package based on the Spanish rider’s feedback. He lapped the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit four tenths faster than his nearest rivals using Pirelli’s SCX tyre although did suffer a crash at Turn 10, laying down a marker with the 2022 season just a couple of weeks away. Bautista’s Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi claimed fourth place on a strong day for the factory Ducati squad; the Italian completed 65 laps with a best time of 1’41.360s.

The second manufacturer in the top were Kawasaki with both Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and teammate Alex Lowes. Six-time World Champion Rea was trying out the fins on the fuel tank that his teammate has used previously, while potentially starting to work on the finetuning of his ZX-10RR. He claimed second spot with a best lap of 1’41.062s, with 104 laps to his name. For Lowes, the morning was spent trying to get back up speed after not riding for seven weeks with a few items to try in the afternoon. Lowes was six tenths off his teammate racked up 100 laps; the KRT duo both hitting a century of laps for the day.

After topping the times in the morning, Garrett Gerloff’s (GRT GYTR Yamaha WorldSBK Team) day ended with the American in third place, four tenths back from Bautista, despite a crash at Turn 10 in the afternoon. Gerloff, and his GRT Yamaha squad, were hoping to work on refining the setup of his Yamaha YZF-R1 machine with a long run in the mix; the American completed 78 laps. His teammate, Kohta Nozane, was 14^th place after losing out some running due to an electrical problem earlier in the day. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) made it two Yamahas in the top five with fourth place with the Turkish rider looking to continue making a step with the electronics. Running the #1 for the first time, the reigning World Champion also had a new exhaust fitted to his bike as well as new material under his seat. Teammate Andrea Locatelli was ninth, although his day came to an early end around 30 minutes before the chequered flag when he had a highside crash at Turn 4.

EIGHT RIDERS WITHIN ONE SECOND OF BAUTISTA

The field was condensed on day one in Catalunya, with Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claiming seventh spot despite only joining the action in the afternoon and having a crash at Turn 5 when he tucked the front. Despite this, he posted a best lap time of 1’41.688s and completed 53 laps.

Looking to focus on long runs and electronics throughout day one, Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was eighth after posting a best lap time of 1’41.719s and completing 90 laps, with Vierge the last rider within a second of Bautista’s time. Teammate Iker Lecuona just missed out on a place in the top ten with 12^th, as he posted a best time of 1’42.125s.

Two BMW riders finished 10^th and 11^th in the standings at the end of day one with Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) claiming 10^th place as he looked to confirm some settings on the electronics on the traction control strategy. BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s Scott Redding was 11^th for his first test at the Catalunya circuit on BMW machinery, suffering from technical issues in the early part of the day. The British rider was able to put in 66 laps on day one of the test as he posted a best time of 1’42.013ss, finished around 1.5s clear of teammate Ilya Mikhalchik.

A MIXED-UP ORDER DOWN THE GRID…

Redding was just 0.010s clear of rookie Phillip Oettl (Team GoEleven) in 13^th place with the German rider continuing to evaluate a new exhaust after the team switched suppliers over the winter to Spark. Oettl’s best time was a 1’42.176s and he finished ahead of Kohta Nozane (GRT GRYT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 14^th place after the Japanese rider suffered from an electrical issue earlier on in the day. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was in 15^th place on his M 1000 RR on a day of troubles: he first suffered from some technical issues in the morning before a crash at the left hander of Turn 7 ended his day’s running early. He posted a best time of 1’42.429s and completed 45 laps.

ROUNDING OUT THE WorldSBK FIELD

Rookie Luca Bernardi (Barni Spark Racing Team) was 16^th on his first timing visiting the Catalan venue as a WorldSBK rider, posting a time of 1’43.251s and completing 51 laps on his Panigale V4 R. However, the Sammarinese rider’s day ended early after he had two crashes during the day.

Czech rider Oliver König (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had his second test of the week, following his maiden WorldSBK outing at a wet Estoril, with the rookie hoping to continue adapting to WorldSBK machinery after jumping straight from WorldSSP300. Belgian rider Loris Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) had a disrupted first day of 2022 testing following a highside crash at Turn 2 in the afternoon, ending his day early. Rookie Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) rounded out the WorldSBK field as he continues his adjustment to WorldSBK, while teammate Leandro Mercado did no laps on day one due to technical issues.

BULEGA LEADS THE WAY IN WorldSSP

Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team’s Nicolo Bulega topped the three WorldSSP riders on track in Barcelona, with all three having their own issues throughout the day. Bulega’s afternoon was interrupted when he stopped on track, but he was able to re-join with more than an hour left. Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team) was plagued by technical issues in the afternoon, and his morning running was interrupted after a collision with Rea at Turn 10. Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was also on track during the day but suffered from two crashes that interrupted his testing programme.

Top 10 WorldSBK times from day one in Barcelona:

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’40.824s, 82 laps

2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’41.062s, 104 laps

3. Garrett Gerloff (GRT GYTR Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’41.229s, 85 laps

4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’41.360s, 80 laps

5. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 1’41.523s, 82 laps

6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’41.664s, 100 laps

7. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 1’41.688s, 53 laps

8. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) 1’41.719s, 90 laps

9. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 1’41.865s, 75 laps

10. Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’41.942S, 78 laps

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