Toprak Razgatlioglu was fastest on the opening day of testing ahead of Ducati duo Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi
Despite being a Test day, there was drama everywhere you looked in Australia as five red flags, with several of these due to geese near the track, disrupted running while there was also drama for the ‘titanic trio’. Both Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) went down at Turn 4 in FP2 at around the same time, while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) had an FP1 crash at Turn 10 with just a few minutes remaining.
Despite his FP1 crash, 2021 Champion Razgatlioglu was able to bounce back in FP2 to top the timesheets in the two-hour session with a 1’30.674s and that time was also good enough to top the times in the combined classification on Day 2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was second and 0.099s slower than Razgatlioglu but he was able to finish ahead of teammate Bautista with the reigning Champion in third place and 0.134s down on Razgatlioglu. Six-time Champion Rea took fourth spot after setting a 1’30.889s with Rea the first rider to lap in the 1’30s bracket.
Several riders with Independent teams shone brightly in Australia on Day 1 of the test, with four finishing inside the top ten behind Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in fifth place. Home hero Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was seventh and only 0.005s behind the top six.
WorldSBK Day 1 Results
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 1’30.674s
2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.099s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0-134s
4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.215s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.334s
6. Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) +0.921s
Bulega sets the pace on the opening day of the Official Test at Phillip Island
Nicolo Bulega’s time of 1’33.527s was the fastest on Monday as he topped the times in both Free Practice sessions.
It was a disrupted first day of testing for the FIM Supersport World Championship during the Official Test at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit as Italian rider Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was the fastest rider on the day after the two sessions as he posted a 1’35.527s to top the times after the fifth red flag of the day.
Both Bulega and Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) improved after the red flag with the pair briefly swapping places before Bulega cemented his place at the top, with Manzi finishing 0.216s behind. Local hero Bayliss, ahead of his second WorldSSP campaign on the Ducati Panigale V2, took third spot as he goes in search of his first WorldSSP podium after the Australian rider switched teams for the 2023 campaign.
Bayliss’ time of a 1’34.103s prevented an Italian 1-2-3 after Day 1 of action in Australia with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) in fourth place and just over a tenth behind the Australian. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the lead Kawasaki rider with fifth place, more than seven tenths down on Bulega’s pace, while Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), returning to the venue where he won his first WorldSSP race, was sixth after setting his best time of 1’34.345s in FP1, while Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was seventh.
WorldSSP Day 1 Results
1 Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’33.527s
2. Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) +0.216s
3. Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.576
4. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) +0.715s
5. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.758s
6. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.81
DORNA World SBK