WSB: Michael Ruben Rinaldi tops FP2 but Loris Baz ends day one quickest overall

Michael Ruben Rinaldi sprung a surprise in this afternoon’s FP2 session at Jerez, but it’s Loris Baz who ends Friday on top overall.

Just like we saw in MotoGP at Jerez, the higher afternoon temperatures caused slower lap-times in the second free practice session. In fact, Rinaldi was the only rider inside the top 11 to go quicker in the afternoon session.

The Team Goeleven Ducati rider posted two consecutive quick lap-times in the closing stages of FP2, his fastest being a 1:40.552. Scott Redding and Alvaro Bautista completed the top three in the afternoon session. 

In terms of actual positions on the timesheets, the afternoon session was also positive for BMW’s Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty. They finished ninth and 10th respectively. Laverty also crashed in FP2, hitting the deck at turn one.

Federico Caricasulo and Maximilian Scheib also impressed in seventh and 10th respectively. Chaz Davies was another faller this afternoon, losing control at turn two before remounting and returning to the pits. 

On the combined timesheet though it’s Baz who is quickest on the Ten Kate Yamaha. Jonathan Rea and Rinaldi. Bautista, Redding and Davis complete the top six, with Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark in seventh and eighth. Leon Haslam and Alex Lowes complete the top 10 in the overall standings. 

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WSB: Loris Baz tops opening free practice session at Jerez

First published: 31 July 2020 by Josh Close

Loris Baz was quickest in the first free practice session at Jerez with the World Superbike Championship returning after a five-month hiatus. 

The Ten Kate Yamaha rider topped the session with a 1:40.249, set on his 10th flying lap. Sadly, Baz was unable to go any quicker due to a mechanical problem with his Yamaha R1.

Reigning champion Jonathan Rea finished second after leading the session in the early stages. Alvaro Bautista completed the top three for Team HRC after completing 23 laps on the all-new Honda Fireblade. 

Scott Redding was fourth on the Ducati, making it four different manufacturers in the top four. His Aruba.it Racing Ducati teammate Chaz Davis was fifth. 

Toprak Razgatlioglu was sixth on the factory Yamaha machine, ahead of his teammate Michael van der Mark. Leon Haslam and championship leader Alex Lowes finished in eighth and ninth respectively, with Garrett Gerloff completing the top 10. 

Marco Melandri was 12th on his return to WSB, after briefly making an appearance inside the top 10. The Italian has replaced the injured Leon Camier at the Barni Racing Ducati team. 

It was a quiet morning for the BMW Motorrad team, with Tom Sykes finishing 14th and Eugene Laverty down in 16th spot. They’ll be hoping to find some improvements in this afternoon’s practice session. 

Michael Ruben Rinaldi was the only faller in FP1. The Team Goeleven Ducati rider appeared to leap from his bike at turn six, hinting that there may have been an issue with the brakes.