Chaz Davies (GoEleven Ducati) with in the background in the center of the picture above the Parador of Alcaniz, the landmark of the small, somewhat sleepy town in the middle of nowhere, about an hour and a half drive from the Mediterranean coast and two from Barcelona.

Third and last WSBK test in Motorland Aragon

Aragon has never opened the season in WorldSBK, but far too often for our taste the European opener. We are also talking about in the interests of the drivers and teams, because some of them almost got frostbite on the track near the small town of Alcaniz when they were working on the track and in the pits. If you orient yourself a bit about the earlier years of the Superbike World Championship in our richly illustrated history, you will see a lot of such problems in inept planning. FIM and Dorna, as well as their predecessor organization as rights holders of the WSBK, often had an unfortunate hand when it came to season planning. But this time it fits with the calendar, apart from the overseas races that hardly anyone believes in anymore. Especially in Aragon this time the temperatures are likely to be very pleasant for once when it starts here on the penultimate weekend in May.

A freezing Chaz Davies photographed by us at the factory Ducati in Aragon at the beginning of April 2019 – this time it was more pleasant in Motorland, and he was already on Monday with the BMW teams and the KTM test team with Mika Kallio and Dani Pedrosa on the racetrack.

Ideal timing for Kawasaki
The Greens factory team based in Granollers near Barcelona had often had a lot of bad luck with the winter tests this year. Except for Barcelona at the official Dorna test, it had been cold and rainy far too often. But this time the timing is absolutely perfect for the first time in self-organized tests this year. The times driven this week are likely to be of secondary importance. First and foremost, the drivers and teams are now concerned with finding the optimal setup under conditions similar to those at the season opener with the first race on May 22nd. There are of course a few small things to adjust and a few new parts to sort out, as far as their suitability is concerned. Of course, Alex Lowes is also in a good mood after his twin brother Sam was back on the Moto2 podium at Jerez de la Frontera.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR) on his new model of the Kawasaki Ninja on the Motorland Aragon during its first test in April. Two and a half weeks before the first race of the season on this track, the reigning six-time world champion has a final test here with his team from May 4th to 5th .

Yamaha and HRC Honda are also there

While on Tuesday and Wednesday, in addition to the BMW teams, the Kawasaki works team with Rea and Lowes will be there, and Yamaha with Razgatlioglu and Locatelli) will join them. The two HRC Honda Asses Bautista and Haslam will then use the last test opportunity on Thursday and Friday. Thereafter, a blocking period applies until the first WSBK race weekend of the year, during which tests are no longer permitted. The pole record of Aragon was set by Jonathan Rea last year and the time was 1: 48.860 min. On Monday, Dani Pedrosa was allegedly seven tenths slower on the MotoGP KTM and Davies was a good second off this mark than he allegedly was on qualifiers. Anyone who knows the long straight before the finish double curve in Aragon will be amazed at this comparison, because the MotoGP is worlds faster than the WorldSBK Kawasaki from 2019 (estimated at least 20 to 30 kph).

Dani Pedrosa on the MotoGP KTM – rumors are deliberately spread over and over again that he should allegedly make a Grand Prix comeback with a wildcard. But you can safely call this bull-shit, and you should know that the little Catalan wanted this to be included in the contract (that he does not have to go into races). Anyone who watched his last MotoGP season at Repsol Honda like we did back then understands his reasons for it.

The temporary calendar of the WorldSBK

Of course, there are huge question marks behind the last two dates. On the one hand because of the pandemic and on the other hand because the route in Indonesia was not even finished asphalt in April. In addition, construction had not even started where the pit system was located. As a precaution, another new date has been included with Most in the Czech Republic, for which there is even a 5-year contract from 2021. Pleasant news, especially for fans from neighboring countries such as Germany, after the disappearance of Oschersleben. Below is the current status with MotoGP and WorldSBK, the overlaps of the MGP in red letters.

Autodrom Most – new for August in the calendar and a definitely worthy route for WorldSBK. A modern and beautifully located course with a small town nearby (top right at the edge of the picture) and around an hour and a half by car south of Dresden near Germany.

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