Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) set the early benchmarks in the grand opening of the Circuito San Juan Villicum, ending Free Practice 3 and Friday on top of the timesheets, as Round 12 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship kicked off in Argentina for the very first time. Runner-up on Friday was Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with an impressive Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claiming the third fastest time.
In a repeat of the final minutes of FP2, it was the young Turkish rookie who pushed the WorldSBK champion the hardest in the opening stages of the final session of the day, with the pair exchanging fastest laps several times inside the first 20 minutes. A couple of brilliant sub-1’41 laps from Rea finally gave him the edge by half a second, until Melandri closed the leading gap to under two tenths with a third of the session remaining.
The real fun began with six minutes on the clock: the Ducati rider blasted into P1 with a lap of 1’40.142, nearly half a second faster than Rea at the time, but that lead didn’t last long – the champion clocked an amazing 1’39.914 lap four minutes later, pushing him back into first. A late surge from Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) put the Yamaha rider ahead inside the first two splits, but there would be no more changes at the top, Rea’s rhythm inside the final two sectors impossible to match.
Lowes ends Friday in a promising fourth position, in stark contrast to his teammate Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) who was edged out of the top ten in the final moments of FP3 and will have to fight through tomorrow’s Superpole 1.
Fifth on the day and just over fourth tenths of a second behind Rea was Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), the Italian again displaying good form in Free Practice. Sixth position on Friday went to Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), the Brit’s Fireblade coming good in FP3 after spending most of the day in the lower third of the timesheets.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) managed to scratch his way into the top ten with his final lap of the day, taking seventh position after a day of ups and downs. Homeboy Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) also claimed a ticket for tomorrow’s Superpole 2 after the checkered flag, finishing his first day in front of his local crowd in eighth.
Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) was ninth on the day, with Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) – who could claim the independent riders championship this weekend – in tenth, a second behind the fastest time in FP3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who held the fastest time overall at different points of the day, dropped to a disappointing 14th by the end of Friday, setting up an incredibly tight
Superpole 1 tomorrow alongside van der Mark.
#ARGWorldSBK at Circuito San Juan Villicum: Friday
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1:39.914
2. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.228
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.316
WorldSSP: Mahias and Cluzel split by 0.083s in Argentina
Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) was the best rider on day one at the brand-new Circuito San Juan Villicum, with faster and faster times tumbling as the FIM Supersport World Championship riders discovered the Argentinian track. Mahias edged out countryman Jules Cluzel (NRT) from the top spot, after the latter – celebrating his 30th birthday today – topped the timesheets in FP1. Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) was third, with championship leader Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) eighth.
Free Practice 1 was the first time the 23 World Supersport riders present had tested the stunning Argentinian track, and the hot conditions were matched by even more heated action on track. The main protagonist here was Cortese, but perhaps not for the right reasons: first he had a possible oil issue signaled to him by Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros WorldSSP Team); then there was a confrontation with main rival Jules Cluzel (NRT) a few laps later; and finally Cortese was forced out of FP1 because of a technical issue, which also brought about the first red flags at San Juan. A bleak reconnaissance session for the German, who temporarily sat a lowly 21st.
Things didn’t improve easily for the former Moto3™ champion in FP2. He did eventually find his way into sixth with ten minutes on the clock, but still riding nearly two seconds slower than Cluzel and the GRT riders, comfortably the fastest three on track in the afternoon.
By the time the checkered flag came down and the curtains were pulled on a fascinating first day of World Supersport action in Argentina, it was Mahias ahead with a best time of 1’44.680, 83 thousandths of a second faster than Cluzel. Caricasulo leaves Friday in a promising third position, 0.155 seconds behind his teammate.
Fourth on the day was Thomas Gradinger (NRT), who arrives in Argentina having achieved his best result in WorldSSP less than two weeks ago at Magny-Cours. Fifth position finally went to Krummenacher, completing an all-Yamaha top five.
Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) was sixth fastest on the opening day of the Motul Argentinian Round, with Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) seventh, and Cortese finally in eighth place – a performance which guarantees him a spot in tomorrow’s Superpole 2, yet still playing catch-up to his main championship rivals.
Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) and Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) rounded off the top ten in ninth and tenth, respectively.
#ARGWorldSBK WorldSSP at
Circuito San Juan Villicum: Friday
1. Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) 1:44.680
2. Jules Cluzel (NRT) +0.083
3. Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) +0.155
WorldSBK