FRIDAY ANALYSIS: who looks strong and who needs to improve?
Who’s on the pace and who is in a race against time to get in the mix for the two forthcoming race days?
The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season’s opening day of action has concluded and there’s already interesting stories up and down pitlane. From tyre choice discussion, long run sequences and one lap pace, we take a deeper look into the drama and discuss the potential candidates for victory, outside podium contenders and those who need to find a step ahead of Saturday and Sunday action.
THE FIGHT FOR VICTORY: a three-horse race?
After day one at MotorLand Aragon, it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who topped the timesheets and, at the circuit where he won at twice in 2021, may well be the pre-race favourite again. Setting three 1’49s in FP2 and 14 1’50s, Rea is certainly the one demonstrating strong race pace as he and Kawasaki look for another victory at MotorLand Aragon. However, he’s not the only one and he’ll need to fight hard in order to remain out front.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) topped the second session of the day and improved on his final run of the session, when he used the SCQ tyre. Like Rea, he dipped into the 1’49s but only on two occasions, whilst he too set 14 laps in the 1’50 bracket. Interestingly, Bautista’s run on the SCQ tyre at the end of the session saw him complete eight laps, of which the first one was his fastest. Besides the fastest lap time, the others were within six tenths of each other, with a drop towards the end as expected. Can Bautista make the SCQ last in the Superpole Race? For the full races, Bautista’s confident of using the SCX, something he also tried during Friday afternoon.
Reigning World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) debuted the #1 on the Yamaha in competition and was straight inside the top three. Not a circuit that he or Yamaha have historically shone at, Toprak will hope to be in the fight come the races. His time was exactly one tenth slower than Bautista, although the Turk struggled to get down into the low 1’50s consistently – only nine 1’50s were set, of which four were under a 1’50.5. FP3 is still to come, so don’t discount the third contender for Aragon victory just yet.
OUTSIDERS: who could snatch a podium?
As always in WorldSBK, a whole host of riders are going to be looking at bagging a podium, and if their form is anything to go by, Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is the hot favourite to get onto the podium from outside the top three. Consistent pace in FP2 but a little bit adrift, FP3 will give the perfect opportunity for the American to make the gains where necessary. Second in the Sector 1 and Sector 3 split times, Gerloff’s losing time in Sector 4, although this is the long back straight where top speed is crucial, and he’s only 15th on the top speed charts. Can they find a little bit more power to get into contention across all sectors of the circuit?
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was on the podium three times last year at Aragon and after Friday last year, he too was outside the top three. He took fourth on the grid but was able to make gains to second in the race, so if his recent Aragon form is anything to investigate, the Brit may not be revealing his true pace. Comfortably lapping in the 1’50s, can he break into the 1’49s and find the fraction of the pace needed to get in the real fight for the podium?
Completing the top six after day one and looking like he’s made big progress since preseason testing, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was a solid feature on day one. Although not completing as long a run as his rivals around him, Rinaldi set multiple laps in the 1’50s but will need to find more if he’s to run at the front. Back-to-back personal best laps at the end of the session, can the Italian transform that into consistency?
FINDING THEIR FEET: who needs to make a step?
The most notable name that languished down the timesheets was Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), as the British star switches from the Ducati V4 of the past two years to the inline four M 1000 RR BMW. He struggled on the opening day and was placed down in 16th on the timesheets, the only factory team rider to not break into the 1’50s. The adaptation is a continuous process, but even Scott would have hoped for something a little bit better on day one of the 2022 campaign.
It was a mixed first day for the Team HRC pairing of Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge. Both of the rookies come into the round off the back of big crashes in testing, of which one left Vierge with an aggravating rib injury, whilst Lecuona’s was at the end of testing just days ago. Lecuona was tenth on the combined times at the end of day one whilst Vierge was 13th, perhaps not truly indicative of their pace, depending on the tyres used to get there. However, given their own aims to be in the top six, they’ll need to find a step. Vierge improved in the afternoon, whilst Lecuona did a 14-lap race simulation at the end of the day, of which 13 laps were in the 1’51s. Like Redding, it’s a continuing adaptation to WorldSBK for Team HRC’s all-rookie line-up, as well as the team with Showa and Nissin replacing Ohlins and Brembo respectively, so time will tell if they can make gains.
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