Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) – according to his own statements, the Spaniard has not yet reached 100 percent from his motocross training accident the week before, which probably also applies to Alex Lowes. But just like the Englishman, the fast man from Talavera de la Reina works known for being ready when the lights go out. He also proved this at the 2020 season opener in Australia.

Live blog for WorldSBK’s first major test in Barcelona – Rea fastest as expected

On the first day we reported on what was going on, on the track and were already worried whether Jonas Folger had injured himself when he was out for several hours from just before noon. But the Bavarian came back in the afternoon after a long compulsory break and set the seventh best time. After it has been certain since March 30, 2021, that Sandro Cortese ended his career and became a Yamaha PR man, the hopes in Germany are on the private BMW driver. For Jonathan Rea’s challengers, however, it is more worrying if you listened carefully to what he uttered on the first day. Apparently he was warming up on Wednesday rather than really pushing it. But the Northern Irishman drove the fastest lap with the new Kawasaki ZX-10RR and announced that he would attack on Thursday afternoon. Just like the Kawasaki star, Yamaha ace Garrett Gerloff in Catalonia looks to us like relatedness in person. The Texan is full of self-confidence and should definitely be kept an eye on for the World Cup opener in Aragon on May 22nd. For a summary of the first day of the test see here: http://www.motoracers.eu/test-day-1-conclusion-spain/?lang=en. More detailed, of course, in yesterday’s report “SBK Test Day 1”.

Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action MGM BMW M-1000RR) – the German had a crash on the first day, about which opinions differed widely. Our English colleagues called it heavy and this was indicated by the long time it was down afterwards. In the evening the claim came that it was only a “slight slip”, but the truth about it is probably somewhere in the middle, as is so often the case.

Lunch conclusion on the second of 2 days of testing in Barcelona

So far only GMT Yamaha ace Garrett Gerloff and world champion Jonathan Rea have ridden times below 1’41 on the new Kawasaki. It was noticeable this time that with Sam Lowes the second KRT works driver is also among the fastest. Even if the times of these tests are of limited relevance, everything seems to be going according to plan with the Greens. Like the day before, BMW drivers Folger and Sykes are again in the top ten. Before the German praised his manufacturers early on, he hopefully knocked on wood. We still remember far too well how often the blue-whites had failed for technical reasons in the last two years. We are currently noticing how much Toprak is holding back on the Pata Yamaha. It may have something to do with his serious fall on this route last year, when the Turk had the most violent crash of the season on Sunday morning.

Tito Rabat (Barni Ducati Panigale V4R) – the son of a jeweler from Barcelona didn’t show his cards on the first day and stoically drove his long runs. Esteve, as he is called according to his passport, is an absolute “round animal” and needs many kilometers to feel absolutely comfortable. Many say that the Moto2 world champion from 2014 was never as successful in MotoGP as he was able to do. He can test a lot more in WorldSBK than with the prototypes, so you shouldn’t underestimate him too soon.

Day 2 – after 5 of 8 hours:
1. Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha), 1’40.790
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), +0.012
3. Tom Sykes (BMW), +0.211
4. Scott Redding (Ducati),  +0.386
5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki), +0.405
6. Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha), +0.468
7. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducaati), +0.523
8. Chaz Davies (Ducati), +0.527
9. Jonas Folger (BMW), +0.680
10. Leon Haslam (Honda), +1.090
11. Michael van der Mark (Yamaha),  +1.155
12. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), +1.508
13. Axel Bassani (Ducati), +1.704
14. Alvaro Bautista (Honda), +1.754
15. Tito Rabat (Ducati), +1.876
16. Kohta Nozane (Yamaha), +2.052
17. Isaac Viñales (Kawasaki), +2.111
18: Christophe Ponsson (Yamaha), +2.731
19. Leandro Mercado (Honda), +3.903
20. Samuele Cavalieri (Kawasaki), +4.696
Missing Riders:
No. 44 Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
No. 50 Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse BMW)
No. 84 Loris Cresson (Pedercini Kawasaki Racing)

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) – the successor to “Magic Michael” van der Mark at Toprak’s side and reigning WorldSSP world champion. The northern Italian appeared in the top 6 of the ranking for the first time on the second day. You can definitely count on him when it comes to podium places in the race, even if he still has a lot to learn as a rookie, as he himself said on the record.

Only a few drivers on the track at lunchtime
After 3 hours and 15 minutes of 8 hours on the 2nd day of testing, there are currently only 7 drivers on the track. The remaining two thirds are in the box or have a small lunch. It is obvious that most of them do not have a French meal with them, as is usual with a good glass of red wine. Except for Tom Sykes, none of the drivers will have one of his popular Bumble-Bee Sausages with them (we prefer not to describe the sausages in more detail, as we are currently still ad-free). A typical Spanish siesta, which usually lasts from around noon to around 3 p.m., is out of the question today. This also applies to the team members of the various teams. Here there is a concentrated working atmosphere in high activity. The aim is to gain important knowledge about the balance of the bikes, testing new parts and much more within 2 days.

The Circuito de Cataluña as we often saw it flying over from the Cessna, with Granollers in the background, the birthplace of the two “asparagus brothers” Pol and Aleix Espargaró from MotoGP. This is also the headquarters of the Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) and not far from there is also HRC Honda (for MotoGP and WorldSBK).

Stand at 2 p.m. – everyone in the boxes and hardly any changes in the last hour
All bikes are currently in the pits and after 5 of 8 hours almost nothing changed compared to our ranking list. Samuele Cavalieri with the red lantern on P20 was able to reduce his gap of almost 5 seconds to the best time by a good 6 tenths. In the afternoon there will still be a few drivers who will probably put on a soft tire in the last half of the day in order to approach the limit. After Jonathan Rea spoke of a wake-up phase after Wednesday, he too might want to do a few quick laps. Anyone can imagine what this means for someone who burned the fastest time into the asphalt the day before. In the end, however, the hunt for a good time over a single lap will not be the most important thing for the driver and team. As Leon Haslam pointed out to us yesterday after Day 1, what counts for him is the performance over the distance. Only for this, as is well known, points are awarded in the race, which is why we can understand the attitude of the veteran.

From the front: Tom Sykes (BMW), Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) and Chaz Davies (Ducati) – together with Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) and the unfortunately absent BMW privateer Eugene Laverty, we photographed the experienced WorldSBK at the 2019 autograph session. For the Welshman in the background it is the first season since his second WSBK year 2013 (at BMW) in which he no longer drives for a works team. But as he emphasized, the GoEleven Team’s Panigale V4R is absolutely on a par with the Factory Bikes..

Status at 3 p.m. – Rabat gets company & 3 hours until the end of the test
The only driver on the track a quarter of an hour before that was Tito Rabat (Barni Ducati Racing). In the 3rd sector, however, he got stuck with his Panigale V4R, but was returned to his box shortly afterwards to report on his interruption. The Catalan drove the most laps at the Ducati test in Misano on both days and his lunch break on the second day of the test was one of the shortest of all drivers. Meanwhile he was back on the track and with Cavalieri, van der Mark, Rinaldi and Lowes he got some company on the track again. In the meantime, there was a lot of discussion in the various teams in the pits and during the lunch break and now it is important to make the most of the last 3 hours. Compared to the status we mentioned after 3 hours, hardly anything has changed in the meantime. But there will definitely be some changes shortly and of course we will report on them here immediately afterwards.

Alvaro Bautista in the HRC Honda box – the Spaniard from Talavera de la Reina gave up after just a few laps, after his chest pain after a motocross accident the previous week was too bad according to his own statement. With Leon Haslam, however, Honda is well assured that this should not have too serious an impact on their further development. This is also a small problem for Alvaro because he still has a long time to relax, which, according to him, is clearly limited with two small children in the house.

Status at 4 p.m. – after 6 of 8 hours no time improvements at the top compared to the morning
1. Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha), 1’40.790
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), +0.012
3. Tom Sykes (BMW), +0.211
4. Scott Redding (Ducati),  +0.386
5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki), +0.405
6. Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha), +0.468
7. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducaati), +0.523
8. Chaz Davies (Ducati), +0.527
9. Jonas Folger (BMW), +0.680
10. Leon Haslam (Honda), +0.823
11. Michael van der Mark (Yamaha),  +1.155
12. Tito Rabat (Ducati), +1.319
13. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), +1.508
14. Axel Bassani (Ducati), +1.704
15. Alvaro Bautista (Honda), +1.754 (test finished)
16. Kohta Nozane (Yamaha), +2.044
17. Isaac Viñales (Kawasaki), +2.111
18: Christophe Ponsson (Yamaha), +2.731
19. Leandro Mercado (Honda), +3.807
20. Samuele Cavalieri (Kawasaki), +4.360

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) – already considered by many as a possible title favorite last year. But the Turk had already failed to convince on some routes in 2019, which Aragon in particular belongs to. In the previous year, many were amazed at his supposedly “poor performance”, although he was much better there than in 2019 on the Kawasaki. Barcelona may not be one of his favorites after his violent crash last year, which is perhaps the reason why he is not pushing too hard here at the moment.

The last hour is approaching – is there still a hunt for the best time?
Even until shortly before the last hour of the two-day test at the Barcelona Circuit, there were almost no changes in terms of the times driven. Almost all drivers concentrated on consistency and so-called long lap stints. But it wouldn’t be surprising if at least some of the drivers had a soft tire fitted in order to get closer to the limit in the end. The best sector times got Redding in the first and third and Sykes in the second and fourth until just under an hour before the end. A bit faster and therefore obviously more balanced than the two, Gerloff was the fastest of the day and Rea was on P2.

Jonathan Rea chasing times – the new best lap time is set!
Hardly asked about it, the reigning world champion answered our question on the track. With 1’40.519, the Northern Irishman drove 55 minutes before the end on the new Kawasaki ZX-10RR a good quarter of a second faster than Garrett Gerloff in his previous best time. Three minutes after the six-time world champion Scott Redding tried, but after a best first sector his attempt failed and he was stuck on his fourth-best time. Incidentally, the best section times of sectors 2 and 4, which Tom Sykes had previously, were now driven by the Kawasaki driver on his record lap. There are still three quarters of an hour on the clock and only two drivers, Rea and Gerloff, stayed below the 1’41 threshold. The next driver to improve significantly is Michael Ruben Rinaldi. With 1’40.877, the successor to Chaz Davies catapulted himself into 3rd place in the Aruba.it Ducati factory team, ahead of Sykes and Redding. However, when trying to top his own time shortly afterwards, the Italian failed. But just 0.358 seconds behind Rea is still impressive.

Red flags in the last half hour
With Michael Ruben Rinaldi in the first sector and Michael Van der Mark in the third, two drivers were left behind. Therefore there was an interruption with red flags for 5 minutes and now the last 20 minutes are beginning. Nothing at the top has changed in the meantime. With a personal best of 1’41.628, the Japanese Superbike champion made it to P11 in 2020. Kohta Nozane feels noticeably more comfortable on the Yamaha R1 in the Superbike specification and on the new track near Barcelona. A handful of drivers have been back on track in the last 15 minutes before the clock runs out, including Rea, Sykes, Folger and Redding.

Gerloff with a new best time – but Rea on top shortly later!
The American is now just ahead of Rea 11 minutes before the end of the second and final day of testing, with a time 0.022 seconds faster than the Northern Irish. Unsurprisingly, the record world champion didn’t let this sit down for long and undercut the Texan’s time by another 0.233 seconds. For a short time Folger was even third, but Ducati ace Scotty snatched this position from him at the very last minute going second in front of Gerloff.

Day 2 – final standing:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), 1’40.264
2. Scott Redding (Ducati),  +0.179
3. Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha), +0.233
4. Jonas Folger (BMW), +0.435
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati), +0.492
6. Tom Sykes (BMW), +0.650
7. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki), +0.931
8. Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha), +0.994
9. Chaz Davies (Ducati), +1.053
10. Leon Haslam (Honda), +1.086
11. Kohta Nozane (Yamaha), +1.364
12. Axel Bassani (Ducati), +1.492
13. Tito Rabat (Ducati), +1.678
14. Michael van der Mark (Yamaha),  +1.681
15. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), +2.034
16. Isaac Viñales (Kawasaki), +2.106
17: Christophe Ponsson (Yamaha), +2.159
18. Alvaro Bautista (Honda), +2.280 (test finished after 6 laps)
19. Leandro Mercado (Honda), +3.550
20. Samuele Cavalieri (Kawasaki), +4.886

>>A review of the Barcelona Test will follow on our website later, in a separate report..

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