WorldSBK champion Rea sets Phillip Island test benchmark
Australians make progress during second day on official testing.
Basking in the summer sun at the stunning Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Motul Superbike World Championship riders were able to take advantage of the four hours they have out on track, following a disrupted day on Monday.
Heading out in the early session on Tuesday morning, cooler track temperatures greeted riders and it was the Kawasaki Racing Team who were the first to lead the way of the two hour session.
Whilst the fastest man from day one, Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team), crept back up to the top in the opening half hour of the session, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) ended the session on top, with a lap time of 1m30.545s.
Rea was 0.258s ahead of the rest of the field as the reigning champion led the majority of the session. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was one position behind Rea, following a steady opening day, just one position ahead of his team-mate, Davies who ended in third position.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was able to put in 38 laps of the circuit and began to iron out issues from yesterday, despite suffering a crash in the closing four minutes of the session and he was able to head back to the box unharmed.
Pata Yamaha team-mates Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark had a varied opening session. Lowes was able to put in strong race simulations aboard his YZF-R1, finishing in eighth overall and a lap time of 1m31.692s, as van der Mark struggled to make it into the top 10 and crashed towards the end of the session this morning. This afternoon he made steady progress.
The Australian summer weather was able to stick around for the afternoon session and riders continued to take advantage of the track time following a difficult opening day of the test, however some were unable to improve on their times of this morning.
Rea finished on the top spot overall on day two, spending day two unbeatable aboard the ZX-10RR. However he faced stiff competition from Melandri, as the Italian put in an impressive 105 laps throughout the two days, and his best overall lap time was a 1m30.575s.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) completed the test in third spot, his lap time a 1m30.893s as he was just six laps shy of completing 100 in the final official test of the pre-season.
Sykes was able to take the fourth spot overall in the test with a final lap time of 1m31.044s, making him just under half a second shy of the top spot. Monday’s fastest man Fores ended in the top five, setting his fastest lap-time in the morning session on day two.
Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) continues his strong and steady progress throughout the testing, as he ties up his short winter testing with a top six finish and an overall lap time of 1m31.293s. Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) was another rider to have a strong day, taking a top seven finish with a lap time of 1m31.449s.
Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team continue to learn and understand how their new Honda Fireblade SP2 works, and the pair ended the test in the bottom half of the timing sheets and were almost 1.5s behind Rea. Nicky Hayden finished day two in 14th position, while Stefan Bradl in 19th with a lap time of 1m32.796s.
Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) was able to take a top nine position in Phillip Island, his lap time of 1m31.673s putting in 88 laps around the circuit, as German team-mate Markus Reiterberger struggled on the final day, but was still able to salvage a 15th position finish.
It was a frustrating second day of his wildcard adventure for Josh Brookes (ER Motorsports Yamaha), ending up 17th despite reported engine problems earlier in the day. He was 1.851s from Rea in a total of just 69 laps across two days.
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit also hosted the final day of the World Supersport winter testing, with just three days to go until 2017 kicks off on track.
Combined times coming through for both days means it gave riders a good indication of their pace, and riders were able to make the most of the improved track conditions they dealt with on Monday.
PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) has started his new project aboard the Italian machine with a strong two days, ending on the top of the timing sheets. The American set a lap-time of 1m33.688s in the Tuesday morning session, which he was unable to improve on his time this afternoon.
Roberto Rolfo (Team Factory Vamag) didn’t go out in the second session of the day following a crash this morning, which left him with a left shoulder dislocation. Despite this set back, his time was fast enough to keep him in second position with a time of 1m34.188s.
Frenchman Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) took third spot overall as he prepares for a new season in which he will be fighting for the title. His lap-time of 1m34.272s was also set in the morning practice and he narrowly missed out on second position by 0.084s. Japanese team-mate Hikari Okubo was inside the top 10.
It was an GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team lock out for fourth and fifth, with Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricasulo taking the spots respectively. Just 0.019s split the duo, as Mahias’ lap time was a 1m34.461s.
Kenan Sofuolgu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) continues to understand the limitations his injury sustained over the weekend could cause him and the Turkish rider was able to put in 38 laps overall through the two days as he set a lap time of 1m34.865
Of the Australians in the field, series regular Aiden Wagner (Team Lorini Honda) was 14th, one position ahead of wildcard Anthony West (West Racing Yamaha) in 15th and Lachlan Epis (Response RE Racing Kawasaki) 21st – all within two seconds of Jacobsen.