Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) in the gravel – after a perfect start to the season with a win in the first race at Phillip Island (Australia), the 2020 season went anything but as desired for the Yamaha newcomer. Already in Down Under there was a breakdown due to insufficient gasoline in the tank and in Europe several crashes made him difficult.

Different voices after the Aragon test by Ducati & Yamaha

For the Pata Yamaha team, the main trouble started before the journey from Barcelona to Alcaniz. Your figurehead Toprak Razgatlioglu was condemned to the extension of the quarantine imposed on the second day of testing by Barcelona with another positive PCR test for Covid-19. The works team therefore traveled to Motorland Aragon with the Italian Niccolò Canepa as a replacement and newcomer Andrea Locatelli. This was doubly disappointing for the Turks, as Aragon has been one of their problem routes up to now and quarantine in the Catalan metropolis is a dubious pleasure. However, his new teammate was also anything but lucky, as he said after the two days.

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in Motorland Aragon – the US boy is one of the favorites for podium positions after his sensationally strong last third of the 2020 season. In the test drives in Misano and Barcelona he was usually among the fastest.

The Motorland Aragon and its surroundings
The small town in the immediate vicinity of Motorland Aragon is the only larger town in the area within 1 to 1.5 hours by car. There are only a handful of hotels and accommodation there, which makes it very uncomfortable for visitors to MotoGP or WorldSBK races to visit Aragon events. Unless you have a luxury camper with you, as in normal years Jonathan Rea and Michael van der Mark. The teams always have priority at the hotels, and with around 10 degrees Celsius there are certainly no tourists in the area. In addition, there is the pandemic, which is why entry is only allowed for valid reasons.

During a visit to Motorland Aragon with the first bend on the right in the picture and photographed by us in cold April weather opposite the pit area. The route has the huge disadvantage compared to Brno, Barcelona or Jerez, for example, that it is not widely accessible for spectators and that it is in absolute no man’s land. Basically a very questionable event for race visitors who do not like to camp. With only one entrance, absolute traffic chaos is inevitable at events such as MotoGP and WorldSBK.

The voices of the drivers after the two-day test from April 12th to 13th

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) – 125 laps: „I am very pleased with the amount of information we now have. We cleared up a lot of things that allowed us to improve in different temperatures and wind conditions. The wind influences the feeling you have on the entire route, as it completely changes the braking points and the speed at which the bike can turn into the corners. Sometimes it felt terrible when you could barely lay yourself in the corners properly. That is why the experience of these two days is all the more valuable. I know I have a strong bike under me, and I’m absolutely happy with the way we work as a team. “

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) photographed by us in Superpole on his Phillip Island debut in Australia on February 29, 2020 on site at Turn 6 (called Siberia). The day after he was very unlucky when there was a collision with Sandro Cortese in the warm-up and he ended up in the race instead of at the start. From Barcelona, however, the final breakthrough came and since then you have to have it on your bill every weekend.

Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha) – 118 laps: „As I expected, it was very difficult for me to adapt to this track, which was completely new to me. The first morning I started with a very good feeling, but then I screwed it up a little and fell into Turn 2. I also damaged the motorcycle. My team worked hard to fix the problem, but the crash made me feel bad. Overall, I didn’t have a good pace, I expected more. Fortunately, we’ll be testing here again next week, so I have another chance to improve immediately. “

Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) – Like his teammate Garrett Gerloff last year, Federico Caricasulo’s successor in Europe has to get to know all the new routes. For the Japanese Superbike champion of 2020, the coming season is definitely no picnic, he hardly spoke a word of English until recently.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) – 118 laps: “It’s a very strange feeling because on both the first and the second day I crashed in Aragon. Above all, there were a lot of crazy and strange falls. The Yamaha guys and the whole team felt sorry for me because with these interruptions we could not continue to work on the track for some time. First of all, the bike had to be repaired and sometimes alternative things from the original test plan had to be done. In the end, however, I was still able to do a lot and improve a bit. In the end, it wasn’t so bad after all. A very strange test here for me, but now we’ll see for the next test. We can analyze everything and the goal is to stay focused and get back on track shortly with a plan for further improvement. “

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha & Brixx WorldSBK) – Not a dream program for the new Toprak team-mate as the successor to “Magic Michael”, who migrated to BMW this season. The reigning WorldSSP 600 world champion should not be underestimated, however, as he showed appealing lap times on the Yamaha R1 right from the start.

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing Ducati): „I’m absolutely happy with the improvements we’ve made with the bike, especially in the middle of today. I felt comfortable with the racing tire and I have to say that I also had a good feeling with the soft tire that I struggled with here in Aragon last year. I drove a good time with the qualifying tire and I’m very happy about that because I consider this track to be one of the most difficult for me. It’s been a tough two days, but as always, the team did a great job of finding solutions to the problems they encountered. “

Our photo of the Parador, which can still be seen in the background at the top right of the picture, and the mood that prevails at the moment in Alcaniz near the Motorland Aragon. Further tests are planned for the coming week and Kawasaki has also booked 2 days from April 21st to April 22nd, but the weather forecast for this period is currently rather uncertain.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati): „It was two very productive days because we improved the bike and the feel. If I have to be honest I think I have improved my driving style and I am very happy with the work we have done. The race pace is not bad, but we still have to improve on new tires as I couldn’t make the best of it on the first few laps. I can’t wait to be in Navarra for the next test: a new track that I don’t know. We will have to work hard.“

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) – the surprise winner of the previous year had his finest hour in Aragon, which should cost Chaz Davies his place in the works team. When he drove stronger and stronger towards the end of the season, it was already too late and Ducati had already decided in favor of the young Italian.

Chaz Davies (GoEleven Ducati Racing): „On the first day we tried a different balance on the bike and found an interesting direction. The feedback was very positive, we compared the bike with the one I have used here in Aragon for the past two years. The best thing about it was that I feel very comfortable with every tire and basically felt good on the Ducati. This is a good step forward compared to the Barcelona Test a few weeks ago. The second day was very busy. We had a lot of things to test and some modifications, some of which were positive, others less. After the 2 days I think we have a really clear picture of what is working. I feel like I have a bike that I can ride well if we were to race tomorrow. That is definitely positive, today I felt good, which is the most important thing. I’m happy with the way all the guys have worked. From now on we will concentrate on the next test in Navarra.”

Chaz Davies (GoEleven Ducati Racing) – with the Parador as the landmark of Alcaniz in the background on the demanding route in the no man’s land of Aragon. The Welshman is in good spirits about his preparation for the upcoming season, which should start in a good month on this track.

Tito Rabat – the supposed problem child
The jeweler son from Barcelona is an absolute veteran and as a Moto2 world champion from 2014 is the absolute “marathon man” as a WorldSBK rookie. As a rule, he drives the most laps of all and so far he has hardly been on the hunt for best times. If you compare his strategy with that of, for example, Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing) in the previous year, then you cannot see anything wrong. We remember far too well how negative their times in the winter tests and after the first few days in Australia were overrated in many places. On the other hand, before Phillip Island’s first race, Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha, he will drive the US Superbike Championship in 2021) and Tom Sykes (BMW) were completely overrated.

Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Ducati) – currently still struggling with a few problems, but still the most industrious “round eater” of all. He will be absolutely to be expected at the start of the season, if Honda Ace Bautista is to be believed. We would be careful not to doubt the little Spaniard’s assessment.

Bautista thinks Rabat is a podium candidate
Only because of a few quick rounds of chaos, for which the man from Huddersfield is particularly famous, as the so-called “Mister Superpole” and legitimate successor in this special discipline of Troy Corser. In the end, however, almost the whole season went wrong for BMW and the little Spaniard already shone at the start of the season and Lowes returned as world championship leader. Therefore, one shouldn’t overestimate the current little annoyances of Rabat. He sometimes complained about chattering, which can usually be solved by a variety of means. Above all, there is still a lot of time for improvement until the traffic lights go out for the first time in Aragon at 2 p.m. on May 22nd. Alvaro Bautista doesn’t think his compatriot is a podium candidate for nothing.

Tom Sykes before the start in Aragon 2020 – the joker from duty in the WorldSBK paddock had no chance here last year. But with the new BMW M-1000RR, he should have a weapon with which the battle for podium positions is again within reach for the Englishman.

Times combined of the Aragon WorldSBK test from April 12-13, 2021
As usual, the exact configurations are not known to all drivers and with the prevailing temperatures there is also no reliable information about the times driven. Regardless, Jonathan Rea’s best time from the 2020 Superpole remained untouched. Mind you, the Northern Irishman is riding a Kawasaki ZX-10RR, which has been improved in many ways this season. In this respect, it is clear that there is still a lot of room for improvement and that there is enough time for improvements on the first weekend before the first race on May 22nd.
1. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Ducati), 1:48.780
2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati), 1:49.205
3. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), 1:49.439
4. Chaz Davies (Go Eleven Ducati), 1:49.610
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), 1:50.257
6. Tito Rabat (Barni Ducati), 1:50.518
7. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati), 1:51.146
8. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha), 1:51.277
9. Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha), 1:52.269
10. Niccolo Canepa (Yamaha), 1:53.685

Lucas Mahias (Puccetti Kawasaki) photographed by us in Misano in 2019 – the fast Frenchman celebrates his 32nd birthday on April 14th. This season he celebrates his debut in the WorldSBK as the reigning WSSP 600 vice world champion on the new Kawasaki ZX-10RR. After initial tests on the previous year’s model, his first ride on the current bike will follow shortly. It is quite possible that it will be so far on April 21st.

How it goes on – next week further tests in Aragon

Yamaha assured us that Toprak did not show any symptoms of a Covid-19 disease, but of course the mental strain was gnawing at the Turk after around 2 weeks of quarantine. In this respect, the Pata Yamaha works team is hoping that Razgatlioglu will be there again with Kawasaki on the next two days from April 21st to 22nd. Meanwhile, Ducati is planning a detour to Navarra, where Ten Kate recently wanted to test it with the WSSP team. However, at that time the new route in the wine-growing area of the famous Rioja was still closed for this year’s calendar. Because the weather could also play a trick, all current plans are always provisional. This is especially true for the WorldSBK calendar, where the overseas races and events such as Assen, Misano and Donington are currently still considered endangered.

The view from the infield of the route in the direction of the nearby small town of Alcaniz – to the Mediterranean coast and the next larger town it is around an hour and a half by car and to Barcelona around two hours. We took this picture at the WorldSBK event two years ago at the beginning of April 2019 at temperatures similar to those of the drivers with just a little over 10 degrees Celsius this time. At that time it went on to Aragon in the Netherlands, where it even snowed in mid-April.

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