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With the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” hosting MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship test action ahead of next month’s round at the same venue, it was a good chance to catch up with key figures from the paddock. From riders discussing their future, finishing strongly after a difficult test and upgrades where some conclusions could be drawn, we’ve gathered the best from Misano in one article for you.

AN UPDATE ON 2025: “After Misano, I start to decide for my future”

Reviewing the test and providing an update on when we might hear about his future, Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) said: “The feeling with the bike is not good, we struggled in many areas. We had an idea after Assen to improve something. But this is a completely different track so, at this moment we struggle. In any case, we don’t give up and we always try to improve. The braking point on entry. Also, the feeling with the tyres is not good. Engine braking, traction, wheelieing, I have problems in many areas. But we’ll try to improve at home. We’ll see the data better. In the slow corners, the feeling with the front is not good, so it is difficult to stop the bike. For us, turning is difficult. But this is normal. I’ll go to Mugello tomorrow, but only for one day. We will see. After Misano, I start to decide for the future. For sure, I have some options, but we will see. I have my targets, but in any case, it’s difficult to decide at this moment.”

ENDING ON A HIGH: “we struggled a bit with chassis setup and electronics… at least we have a great base to start the round!”

After spending a lot of time outside the top ten but eventually finishing P8, Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) said: “We only did one lap with the SCQ. I think I can go a little bit faster in some corners. We improved a lot this afternoon. Big thanks to the team – they helped us to find the right direction. Finally, we can have a better setup to start here in two weeks. We didn’t test everything that Yamaha brought. We struggled a little bit with the chassis setup and electronics. We needed time to find the speed because testing without speed is meaningless. I think the four Yamahas are quite close. At least we have a very great base setup to start the round!”

AIMING HIGH FOR MISANO: “we found something to have more feeling with the front with the SCQ”

Looking ahead to his home round and explaining the gains he found at Misano, Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) said: “My time was with the SCQ tyre but the feeling with the SCX was better, I think it was possible to do 33.8s, 33.7s on it. We found something to have more feeling with the front with the SCQ. The lap was not so good, but the ideal lap was not so bad. We found something. We had a lot of things to try, so we hoped for good weather. Unfortunately, today was s**t weather. It’s part of the game and it’s the same for everybody. We missed a lot of work but it’s okay. We have to focus on the race weekend, my home weekend, so I want to do a good job and try to have a good round for our fans. I want to do a good job for the fans but it’s not easy, the level this year is so high.”

CHASING THE ROSTRUM: “the bike feels more like my bike…”

Discussing the final step to get on the WorldSBK podium, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) said: “Just a bit of tyre management. The Superpole’s not been bad actually but starting on the front two rows is very important. Since the last race at Assen, my position on the bike has changed. I feel more natural on the bike, and the bike feels more like my bike.”

NEW ITEMS REVIEWED: “We were expecting to make a big jump”

Honda brought new items to Misano to test, with Team HRC Team Manager Jose Escamez explaining the conclusions they could draw: “We have found some productive things. Not as much as we expected, because we were expecting to make a big jump. Obviously, there is always a willingness to make the big changes that we really need, but we couldn’t make it as much as we thought. We have found small things and details that will allow us to understand the direction that we need to take moving forward. We couldn’t make many conclusions. We also have other things to test which was also important. But we will keep trying to work in that direction.”

HOME ROUND JOY: “it will be special, being an Italian on an Italian bike…”

Giving an overview of the test and explaining how he’ll feel heading into his first home round in WorldSBK, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) said: “Not bad because today we focused on finding different setups on the bike. I feel more comfortable on the bike. We just need to work on it and improve my feeling. The feeling is not better on the bike, but my position on the bike, yes. I think we can start to work from this position in order to improve my feeling. I think we are in a good way. it will be special, being Italian on an Italian bike. It will be nice.”

TEAMMATE RELATIONSHIP: “we want to improve this package so sometimes you have to ride together.”

Speaking about how he was occasionally riding with teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Michael van der Mark said: “We had some clear things to try. Every time we wanted to try something this morning, it started raining or drizzling. It was a long day. You want to work and improve, try different things, and I didn’t really get the time to. At the end of the day, we had two dry hours but it’s never enough. It’s always useful to ride together, you can always learn and improve. We want to improve this package so sometimes you have to ride together.”

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