The first day’s action at the Pirelli Riviera Di Rimini Round concluded with the World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) in familiar territory at the top of the combined practice timesheets. The Northern Irishman set down a 1’34.901 marker in the afternoon FP2 session, putting him just 0.03s ahead of the day’s second fastest rider Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), with Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) third best.
Rea recovered from some technical problems earlier in the day to lap faster than his rivals and put himself in a good position at the seventh round of the 2017 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship.
Sykes had been the quickest rider in FP1, followed by Rea and Melandri in the morning top three, but the Yorkshireman ended day with an uncharacteristic crash at the end of FP2.
Melandri finished his day a quarter of a second behind pace setter Rea and just under a tenth of a second ahead of Friday’s fourth best rider – his teammate Chaz Davies.
Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) made it four Britons in the top five, with Spaniards Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) and Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) in sixth and seventh respectively.
The top ten also featured Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), with Lowes suffering two crashes in FP1.
Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) in 11th and Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 12th were two of the riders to miss out on automatic Tissot Superpole 2 classification so they will participate in SP1 on Saturday.
The WorldSBK riders will return to the track for FP3 on Saturday morning at 8.45am at local time, with SP1 at 10.30am, SP2 at 10.55am and Race 1 at 1pm.
#RiminiWorldSBK Fastest on Friday:
1. Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team 1.34.901
2. Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team +0.030
3. Marco Melandri Aruba.it Racing - Ducati +0.250
For full results from Day 1, click here
WorldSSP: Strong Sofuoglu ahead of rivals
World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was Friday’s sharpest rider in the WorldSSP class as he went round the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in 1’39.102, in the afternoon FP2 session. Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) and PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) were also in the top three.
Sofuoglu’s best time put him +0.156s ahead of Briton Rea and +0.205s in front of third placed American Jacobsen. But it was not all plain sailing for Turkish rider Sofuoglu who lost some time in the morning session due to an engine problem and then crashed at Turn 8 in the final ten minutes of the FP2 session.
Behind the top three, Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) were also in a tightly packed top five split by just 0.274s.
A fraction adrift of Caricasulo, meanwhile, was his compatriot Christian Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing) in sixth. Then in seventh place on the Triumph was Profile Racing rider Luke Stapleford.
Axel Bassani (3570 Puccetti Racing FMI), championship leader Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) and Anthony West (West Racing)
completed the list of ten riders going straight into Tissot Superpole 2 on Saturday. In the morning FP1 run Caricasulo, Mahias and Cluzel were the top three riders on track.
At the #RiminiWorldSBK round on Saturday the WorldSSP action commences at 9.20am local time with FP3, with SP1 at 2pm and SP2 at 2.25pm.
#RiminiWorldSSP Fastest on Friday
1. Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki Racing Team 1.39.02
2. Gino Rea Team Kawasaki Go Eleven +0.156
3. PJ Jacobsen MV Agusta Reparto Corse +0.205
DORNA