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Two tests took place in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after the Indonesian Round at Mandalika, with teams and riders heading to MotorLand Aragon for two days of testing followed by two more at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Aragon test feature a handful of riders, but the majority of the paddock descended on Barcelona to continue their testing programme ahead of the Dutch Round starting the European portion of the 2023 campaign. With both tests in the books, now is a chance to look at what we learnt from the two tests.

BAUTISTA’S BALISTIC PACE: on lap record pace from the off…

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fast straight away in the Barcelona test as he got close to the all-time lap record. On Day 1, his best time was a 1’40.500s to lap just a tenth away from Tom Sykes’ lap record time set in Superpole for the 2021 Catalunya Round when racing for BMW. On Day 2, he bettered that with a 1’40.459s to be within half-a-tenth of Sykes’ lap record. A crash at Turn 11 on Day 2 did not dent Bautista’s progress in terms of lap time with the reigning Champion only completing half-a-day’s running on Day 2. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi was also quick, taking third on Day 1 and fourth on Day 2. His best time of the test was a 1’40.818s which is faster than he had gone previously in any session during the Catalunya Rounds between 2020 and 2022; previously, his fastest time was a 1’41.275s recorded in the 2021 Superpole session.

HAVE HONDA MADE A STEP? Matching Bautista’s pace in Catalunya

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) stunned in the 2021 Catalunya Round when he took his maiden pole position in WorldSBK, but he was unable to convert this into a podium or win. For 2023, Honda have brought upgrades – first seen at the Aragon test – such as new chassis bracing and an exhaust plus work on electronics. They were testing these items again at the Catalunya test to confirm they worked, and the outright lap time suggests they did. Lecuona finished second on Day 2 with a best time of 1’40.521s despite a Turn 14 crash in the morning which ended his day. This time was just a tenth away from the all-time lap record and it was two tenths faster than his pole time from last year. Honda’s pace was backed up on Day 1 with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in fifth place after setting a 1’41.350s. There’s optimism coming from the Honda camp heading to the venue where Lecuona scored his first WorldSBK podium with the upgrades focusing on race pace and potentially sacrificing some one-lap pace, although at the Catalunya test the one-lap pace was still strong.

KAWASAKI’S GEOMETRY SETTINGS FOCUS: Rea and Lowes complete one day each

Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK opted to test only on one of the two days with Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes both taking part on Day 2. With “not many new items” to test during, a lot of focus for Rea and Lowes was on the geometry settings of their bike. The one-lap pace was decent for Kawasaki, with both Rea and Lowes in the top five on Day 2, but some of their long-run pace was on display too. Lowes’ longest stint was nine laps but all but a few of his lap time were in the 1’41s or 1’42s bracket. Rea’s longest stint was shorter than Lowes’ but, again, the majority of his laps were in the 1’41s or 1’42s bracket as Kawasaki looked for improvements on their ZX-10RR.

UPGRADES FOR BMW: looking to make progress

BMW brought plenty of upgrades to the Barcelona test as they look to make a step forward. Three different swingarms, including a carbon one, were on show at the factory ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team duo for Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark. Both Redding and van der Mark were testing the items that the German manufacturer brought and their lap times, including with Independent rider Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), were good enough to be consistently in the top ten. Could the upgrades bring more success for BMW as Assen approaches?

LOCATELLI’S UPGRADES NOW WITH RAZGATLIOGLU: electronic changes for the 2021 Champion

As with every manufacturer, there were changes to the Yamaha too. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) got his hands on some electronic changes, which he was raving about on Day 1, which had been used by teammate Andrea Locatelli previously. There was also work on the swingarm to improve rear grip as well as focusing on a good setup for Razgatlioglu, while Locatelli continued to work on electronics as he looked to be faster towards the end of his long runs. Razgatlioglu did a series of short runs on Day 2 but Locatelli completed a 14-lap run on the second day, with his lap times ranging from 1’42.511s on his first lap to 1’46.317s at the end. 

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