WorldSBK test in Portimao: Lowes best time ahead of Rea, Baz fifth !
The World Superbike will be back to school in two weeks in Portimao, but the teams have already taken out their toolkits on the Portuguese circuit for two days of official testing.. Studious, Yamaha and Kawasaki settled in the first seven rows. Balance sheet.
Last weekend, while the MotoGP riders competed in Silverstone for their twelfth Grand Prix of the season (out of 18), those in the World Superbike Championship were coming out of their long hibernation summer and preparing for their tenth test (out of 13) in Portimao.
It is precisely on the sublime circuit of the southern tip of Portugal that all the teams registered for the 2019 World Superbike met, in order to participate in the second official test (after that of Phillip Island in the pre-season). Two days of racing to get back into the rhythm, test new parts … and put pressure on your opponents ?
- MNC special file :
- WorldSBK 2019 :
What about the rankings established during such tests? The official Yamaha team manager has his answer: "These are only tests, the times and the places are not important", chirps Paul Denning, imitating the riders, before remarking that "the guys are head in the handlebars and immediately share the times on Twitter! " You were attacking ?
Best time at the end of the two hot days, Alex Lowes was certainly not far from attacking 100%: the n ° 22 Yamaha only turned half a second from the official track record (pole 2018 Eugene Laverty on Aprilia RSV4) and especially rode a second and a half faster than in qualifying last year !
A third of a second slower than his English teammate, Michael van der Mark (on both podiums last year in Portimao) sets the fourth fastest time in this test, confirming the excellent behavior of the Iwata Superbike on the hilly Portuguese route.
Like the M1s at Silverstone (as a reminder, Vinales, Rossi and Morbidelli entered the Top 5 in the race while Quartararo could aim for victory), the R1s were in great shape at Portimao: a third Yamaha machine – private – figure in fifth position. And not just any !
It is indeed the n ° 76 of the Ten Kate team, driven by Loris Baz! Our international pilot was doubly impressive … In addition to being very fast (1 ‘41.718), he was extremely enduring, officially completing 146 laps, significantly more than his little comrades (see the results sheet below).
"And there you have it, test over!" The tireless "cheetah of the Haut-Savoyard" reported Sunday evening, listing "154 laps and blisters everywhere. Yes, everywhere, ah ah! "The guy was so motivated that he did not stop to follow the grandiose final of the GP at Silverstone: his signaller announced the result to him in the middle of a race simulation. !
The Kawasaki were also extremely quick in Portimao: three ZX-10RRs are in the Top 6 of this test. At the head of the squadron, the "Number One" yielded only two tenths of a second to the n ° 22 of the Blues … and stuck seven tenths of a second to its enemy n ° 19 !
In the morning in the cool as in the afternoon under a heavy sun, Jonathan Rea seemed very satisfied with his mount (read the statements at the bottom of the article). Author of the double in Portugal in 2018, the Northern Irish Ninja approaches the 2019 edition with confidence and firmly decided to increase his lead in the championship.
Sixth in the test and six tenths of a second slower than his great friend Alex Lowes, Leon Haslam leaves completely satisfied: according to the No. 91 of the KRT, he is the only driver to have remained on SC0 racing tires, while his opponents put on soft tires, SCX or prototypes.
Home stretch for WorldSBK 2019 !
Riding the unique Kawasaki Puccetti, Toprak Razgatlioglu is on the third step of the "podium" of this pre-re-entry test. A position he occupied in the last three events thanks to his 26 points scored at Misano, 32 at Donington Park and 38 at Laguna Seca.
Winner – without riding – of the 8 Hours of Suzuka in the company of the two Kawa factory riders, Kenan Sofuoglu’s colt deserves to join the official team … but would eventually go to Yamaha: in the GRT team to replace Marco Melandri , or as an official in place of Alex Lowes ?
Like Razgatlioglu too weak (flu) to ride Sunday afternoon, Bautista only participated in the first three sessions. His shoulder injury – following his fall in the United States – even prevented him from improving his time on the second morning: third Saturday, he finally left Portimao in 9th place..
Rumors about Alvaro are also rife: too greedy vis-à-vis Ducati for his potential 2020 salary, the Spanish driver – and future dad, we must assume! – would have already signed with Honda (current red lantern). Scott Redding, leading British Superbike Championship on Panigale V4R, would be on pole to recover his handlebars…
Officially announced on the factory BMW next year, Eugene Laverty leads the Ducati rider with the 8th fastest time. "I absolutely loved being able to ride my bike with two working cuffs this weekend !</> ", rejoices the n ° 50 of the private team Go Eleven. He considers himself ready for the races in two weeks..
Chaz Davies only appears in 11th place in the standings at the controls of the second factory Ducati but declares himself "rather confident" at the end of this last test of the season. Compared to the unofficial test of Portimao last January, his machine would have progressed well … More than that of the others? Mystery and Pirelli Balls !
Same reassuring tone from the side of Tom Sykes who ranks only 12th in this test but has set himself the podium as his goal in two weeks. Like the Turkish n ° 54, the English n ° 66 had a fruitful second third of the season and intends to make an even more prolific third.
Finally, note the presence of Sylvain Barrier at this pre-re-entry test. The two-time Superstock 1000 champion rode in the middle of world-class Superbikes – and Supersport – at the controls of his Panigale V4R from British Superbike: without traction control! Small players abstain…
Pilot statements
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki n ° 1), 2nd:
“The test went really well and to be honest I needed it. I was a little slow to wake up yesterday. I had a great summer vacation, but I didn’t just I had to get used to driving again. In Suzuka’s momentum with the Endurance bike, I had the feeling of being very fast coming here, on a circuit where I am very strong. I didn’t really have the I feel like I can do a lot better than yesterday. But this morning we posted a better time and also found more consistency. Compared to yesterday also, I was much better in the heat of the afternoon. I feel really satisfied ".
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki n ° 54), 3rd:
"The tests were very positive. I am very happy because during the tests carried out here in Portimao at the start of the season, we did not find the settings allowing us to achieve such fast lap times. Yesterday, I had everything I needed. I found a good feeling with my Ninja and finished first. This morning I got even better, but unfortunately I started to feel the flu symptoms and had to stop. I thank my technicians for their work and can’t wait to come back to Portugal for race weekend ".
Loris Baz (Yamaha n ° 76), 5th:
“We had a good test here in Portimao. We got to try new parts for the first time on a dry track. I think we improved the overall tuning and my feel with the bike. I always liked it. ride here and I can’t wait to come back for race weekend in two weeks. It will be the first race after busy months. I am very confident and hope we can get closer and closer to the podium".
Leon Haslam (Kawasaki n ° 91), 6th:
"We had a lot of things to assess and we finished – on race tires – second behind Johnny (Jonathan Rea, Editor’s note). I was the only one not using a qualifying tire, an ‘SCX’ or a prototype. We So it was only a few tenths Johnny. We took a big step here and we were 0.7 seconds faster than in the pre-season testing, in warmer conditions. I feel like that all of our parts were screened and it was a very positive test. I’m sixth on the timesheet, but that’s only because the others used a qualifying tire. ".
Alvaro Bautista (Ducati n ° 19), 9th:
"These two days of testing have been very positive even though we couldn‘t do a lot of laps the second. My shoulder is not yet in perfect condition unfortunately, and I felt a bit of pain. We preferred to stop early so as not to make things worse and be in better condition in a few weeks. Anyway, we did a lot of laps yesterday and all in all, I’m happy because I found a good feeling with my Panigale . It was the first test since the last round at Laguna Seca, we still have a few days to fully recover ".
Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7), 11th:
“It was a good two days and it was great to get back in the water, to check on the progress we’ve made since the test last January. Driving here six months later, I felt like the bike was responding pretty well. We mainly worked on the chassis, and things went well: the bike was running well. I’m leaving here pretty confident and can’t wait for the last part of the season to start. ".
Tom Sykes (BMW n ° 66), 12th:
“The first day wasn’t easy with two falls but it does happen. All the guys worked really hard and it looks like I gave them a bit of work to do. But they did a great job and the second day was very successful, we gathered a lot of information. I am very satisfied with the tuning of the BMW S1000RR in these hot conditions. If we look at the clock, the situation is not as good on paper as it is. ‘it actually isn’t because everyone put on different tires. In the end, we got what we needed through testing, and even with the small issues we’re ready to race in a few. weeks. I would clearly aim for the podium again ".
Editor’s note: no comments from the riders of the official Yamaha Pata team.
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