Rain For Final Day In Jerez

The expected poor weather at Jerez arrived for a time at the start of the last day and conditions proved changeable for the most part, with only a few riders able to get anywhere near a normal lap time when the sun occasionally shone.

That left fastest man of the tests Davide Giugliano (Ducati World SBK) thanks to his brilliant 1’40.166 lap, which he set on a dry track Tuesday.

“The chassis of the bike is very good and at this moment I have no problems at a track like this,” said Giugliano. “We’ve carried out many electronic and suspension tests that have allowed me to achieve solid results on a track that wasn’t in the best condition as far as grip was concerned. Now we have to see how things are at Aragon. But my bike is very good in the corners and this is the strong point. My race pace was also good here and we can keep our lap times. I used the new front tyre from Pirelli and I like it but I would like to have more time on it. For my style the front tyre is fundamental.”

Next best overall was Loris Baz (KRT) with a 1’40.283 and reigning champion Tom Sykes (KRT) only just behind, on a transponder-less 1’40.3, with both their times set on day two.

Some of the riders were reticent to ride in anything but fully wet or fully dry conditions on the final day, which meant that Baz did the first two dry days only, calling a halt before the really heavy rains arrived with an hour and a half to go.

Some riders took advantage of the wet periods on track to try specific set-up strategies. Final day faller in the largely dry conditions of the mid-afternoon, Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), recovered to complete testing on his new underslung rear swingarm.

Sykes lapping hard and consistently towards the end of the test – when the wettest conditions of the three days showed up – using all the available track time to the full.

Championship leader Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing) in particular was lapping strongly on a soaked track, and was fastest rider on day three in the least damp conditions, although well off the best day two times with a 1’42.118.
Guintoli and all his peers now head to Aragon for the second round of the championship on April 13th.
 
COMBINED TEST TIMES OVER THREE DAYS
 
1 Davide Giugliano (Ducati World SBK Team) 1’40.166
2 Loris Baz (KRT) 1’40.283
3 Tom Sykes (KRT) 1’40.3 (no transponder)
4 Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda) 1’40.731 
5 Chaz Davies (Ducati World SBK Team) 1’40.745
6 Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing) 1’41.192
7 Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing) 1’41.201
8 Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) 1’41.377
9 Max Neukirchner (Ducati 3C – IDM) 1’41.449
10 Leon Haslam (Pata Honda) 1’41.453
11 Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) 1’41.821 (Day One)
12 Xavier Fores (Ducati 3C – IDM) 1’42.083
13 David Salom (KRT Evo) 1’43.642 (Day One)
14 Michele Magnoni (Pata Honda) 1’45.858