Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR) is in very good shape after six laps in the world championship – much better than world championship leader at least than his last year’s challenger Scott Redding and there are still stretches on which the second-placed Toprak Razgatlioglu showed weaknesses in earlier races (© Kawasaki Racing Team).

Rea fastest in Navarra on Friday – no time improvements in FP2

While in FP1 in the morning Jonathan Rea on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR was the measure of all things, the Northern Irishman contented himself with the seventh-best time in the afternoon. But his fastest lap in the first free practice session was not achieved by his competitors either. Because the temperatures were significantly higher than in the morning, the new Mister Superpole is considered the favourite for elimination on the starting grid. His time of 1’37.629 from FP1 was clearly missed by Toprak Razgatlioglu as the fastest of the afternoon, but of course the Turkish along with Scott Redding, US boy Gerloff and the two Italians Rinaldi and Locatelli are among the hottest candidates for the Superpole. The following are the times from FP2, with Jonathan Rea’s best time of the day being missed by a little over half a second by the Yamaha rider. Garrett Gerloff was one of the few who crashed in FP2, but this did not prevent the Texan from setting the fifth-fastest time afterwards.

P, No, Rider, Bike, Time(,Gap), LL, km/h
1, 54, RAZGATLIOGLU Toprak, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’38.134, , 20, 290
2, 45, REDDING Scott, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’38.353, 0.219, 21, 286
3, 21, RINALDI Michael Ruben, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’38.470, 0.336, 17, 291
4, 55, LOCATELLI Andrea, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’38.520, 0.386, 21, 289
5, 31, GERLOFF Garrett, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’38.571, 0.437, 12, 281
6, 7, DAVIES Chaz, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’38.636, 0.502, 15, 289
7, 1, REA Jonathan, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’38.662, 0.528, 17, 291
8, 22, LOWES Alex, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’38.671, 0.537, 18, 288
9, 66, SYKES Tom, BMW M 1000 RR, 1’38.719, 0.585, 17, 285
10, 47, BASSANI Axel, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’38.823, 0.689, 20, 286
11, 60, VAN DER MARK Michael, BMW M 1000 RR, 1’38.839, 0.705, 19, 285
12, 19, BAUTISTA Alvaro, Honda CBR1000 RR-R, 1’39.046, 0.912, 19, 288
13, 53, RABAT Tito, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’39.189, 1.055, 23, 278
14, 91, HASLAM Leon, Honda CBR1000 RR-R, 1’39.207, 1.073, 16, 293
15, 44, MAHIAS Lucas, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’39.487, 1.353, 16, 281
16, 3, NOZANE Kohta, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’39.826, 1.692, 22, 279
17, 94, FOLGER Jonas, BMW M 1000 RR, 1’39.847, 1.713, 17, 283
18, 23, PONSSON Christophe, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’40.492, 2.358, 20, 283
19, 36, MERCADO Leandro, Honda CBR1000 RR-R, 1’40.699, 2.565, 19, 277
20, 6, URAMOTO Naomichi, Suzuki GSX-R1000R, 1’41.139, 3.005, 17, 273
21, 84, CRESSON Loris, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’41.653, 3.519, 16, 278
22, 14, URIBE Jayson, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’42.256, 4.122, 18, 279

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Ducati) brought a lot of excitement to the WSBK transfer carousel when his move to BMW for the next season was announced on Thursday. Since then, speculation about his successor has been in full swing.

Jonathan Rea and his clarification on the situation in the World Championship
What many journalists have apparently long forgotten, the record world champion clearly recalled. In the interview before the Navarra weekend, Kawasaki Hope emphasized that two years ago, after the first five laps, he was in a much worse position. While he is currently still just ahead of the interim ranking, he was over 40 points after round 6 in Jerez in 2019. Which means nothing else than that he is currently in a very good position to defend his title, despite a few mistakes and problems. He has already won six out of 18 races this season, which is more than twice as many as Redding, who won only three times in 2021. This at least proves that Rea’s chances this year are nowhere near as bad, as is often shown on relevant portals.

Alvaro Bautista in front of the HRC Honda Box – the fast Spaniard had an excellent start in the first free practice and was placed in front of all BMW drivers with P7.

The challenger’s different path and luck with the weather
Toprak’s mark is currently five, but he has had, and this is the real surprise of the year, a more consistent season than the defending champions. According to his own statement, his strategy is to win every race if possible, while the reigning world champion also looks at the overall standings at every run. It will be particularly interesting to see whose approach is more likely to lead to the goal. It is undisputed that the Turk has often had almost unbelievable luck with the weather so far this season, for example in Donington, where he immediately looked without a change in the wet, but it remained mostly dry in the races. His biggest weakness is particularly noticeable when you look closely at his performance last year on the next route in the calendar. While Razgatlioglu had won two races on the Circuit de Nevers in Magny-Cours in 2019, his best result last year was a sixth place. Rea, on the other hand, only missed the maximum points due to tire problems in the last race, where he finished fourth instead of celebrating three wins.

Lucas Mahias in the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Box – the fast Frenchman returned to the paddock after a hand injury in Assen after a forced break in Most for the premiere in Navarra (© Kawasaki Racing Team).

The situation before the Superpole and the 1st race and the absentee

A whole range of other riders also made a strong impression and might well be able to have a say at the very front. Unfortunately, Isaac Viñales are absent due to a positive Covid-19 test and for the third time in a row Eugene Laverty because his team did not even move. Despite his arrival in Catalonia in the spring, we had already made it clear that RC Squadra Corse was not World Cup-worthy when he was absent from the Barcelona Test. Unfortunately, we were right and the WSBK’s notorious unlucky fellow is the biggest victim along with the team employees.

Garrett Gerloff and his Yamaha crashed on Turn 4 in the second free practice session, which went off lightly for the US boy.

FP2 of WorldSSP 600

World Championship leader Dominique Aegerter only missed Manuel Gonzalez’s best time from FP1 in the afternoon by a little 16 thousandths, making the Swiss the second-fastest time of the day. While Philipp Öttl was not at the forefront a few months ago despite a private test at the Circuito de Navarra, Odendaal and De Rosa also seemed to have some problems. On the other hand, Jules Cluzel and Randy Krummenacher were there right from the start.

P, No, Rider, Bike, Time(,Gap), km/h
1, 77, AEGERTER Dominique, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’41.197, , 260
2, 16, CLUZEL Jules, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’41.781, 0.584, 258
3, 94, CARICASULO Federico, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’41.792, 0.595, 254
4, 21, KRUMMENACHER Randy, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’41.795, 0.598, 255
5, 4, ODENDAAL Steven, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’41.844, 0.647, 258
6, 81, GONZALEZ Manuel, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’41.872, 0.675, 254
7, 29, BERNARDI Luca, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.101, 0.904, 256
8, 95, TAKALA Vertti, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.319, 1.122, 258
9, 9, JESPERSEN Simon, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.434, 1.237, 265
10, 5, OETTL Philipp, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1’42.507, 1.310, 255
11, 66, TUULI Niki, MV Agusta F3 675, 1’42.556, 1.359, 255
12, 3, DE ROSA Raffaele, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1’42.637, 1.440, 258
13, 61, ONCU Can Alexander, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1’42.785, 1.588, 254
14, 25, BRENNER Marcel, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.933, 1.736, 257
15, 72, GOMEZ Borja, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.938, 1.741, 256
16, 17, GUTIERREZ IGLESIAS Oscar, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.956, 1.759, 255
17, 55, HENDRA PRATAMA Galang, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.031, 1.834, 255
18, 71, BERGMAN Christoffer, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.058, 1.861, 257
19, 78, OKUBO Hikari, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1’43.096, 1.899, 253
20, 31, VALLE Daniel, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.109, 1.912, 260
21, 56, SEBESTYEN Peter, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.243, 2.046, 254
22, 22, FULIGNI Federico, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.300, 2.103, 252
23, 34, MANFREDI Kevin, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.548, 2.351, 254
24, 96, SANCHIS MARTINEZ David, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.594, 2.397, 254
25, 6, HERRERA Maria, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.726, 2.529, 251
26, 24, TACCINI Leonardo, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1’43.901, 2.704, 248
27, 84, FABRIZIO Michel, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1’43.975, 2.778, 251
28, 2, MONTELLA Luigi, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.063, 2.866, 256
29, 42, FROSSARD Stephane, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.081, 2.884, 255
30, 69, MONTERO HUERTA Eduardo, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.591, 3.394, 243

Stand in the WorldSBK world championships after Most

WorldSBK Navarra schedule

>WSBK Navarra Preview see separate report on this page.

Unless otherwise mentioned, applies to all images (© WorldSBK).