WSB: Alvaro Bautista tops two-day Phillip Island Test

Alvaro Bautista heads into the opening round of the 2023 World Superbike Championship with good momentum after topping the two-day Phillip Island Test.

The Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider posted the best lap-time of the test, a 1:30.272, during day two’s FP1 session. Bautista spent the afternoon session working a race simulation ahead of round one at the Australian circuit this weekend.

“I’m happy because the feeling with the bike was immediately good,” Bautista said. “We worked a lot on the set-up and on the tires that we will use this weekend. We are ready to start the new season. I think this has been the best pre-season in my career. The sensations are definitely positive, and I can’t wait to get back on track on Friday for the first free practice.”

Andrea Locatelli finished second overall after a positive couple of days. The Italian topped FP1 on day one, before finishing second and fourth on Tuesday’s sessions (February 21). Locatelli ends the test as the fastest Yamaha rider.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi ensured that both factory Ducati riders were inside the top three, setting his fastest lap-time of the test during the morning session on day two. Rinaldi did suffer a small crash at turn 10, but re-joined the circuit without any issues.

2021 World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu ended his pre-season programme fourth overall. The Pata Yamaha Prometeon rider focused on race simulation and improving rear grip on his R1, ending day two’s sessions as the third fastest Yamaha rider.

“We tried many parts and different set-ups on the two days, looking for the best rear grip and race set up,” Toprak said. “In the end, I’m not so happy today as we did not find the best solution, so maybe we go back to yesterday’s setting, you know, my best lap time.

“Now my team are working for the weekend. I’m just focused on setup, not a fast lap. I’m focusing on this and trying new parts rather than pushing a lot. It can be easy to try too many parts and setups and become lost, but now we’re coming back again and it’s time to race!”

Jonathan Rea completed the top five in the overall standings. The Kawasaki rider suffered a second crash of the test at turn four with just under 30 minutes remaining of the FP2 session. Rea was busy comparing 2022 and 2023 spec bikes in the afternoon session.

“There are positives and negatives with both, but I preferred to stick with the 2023 bike,” Rea explained. “Unfortunately, doing a race simulation, on about lap 14, I got caught out in turn four. The wind was very gusty, and it is coming in strongly from the sea, and I was pushing at my limit – clearly.

“I had very positive sensations during that long run, and I was able to stay in the 1’31 laps times. That pace is where I need to be to fight for the podium. After that we tried the SC0 rear tyre because Pirelli asked me to do a longer run to evaluate how it would perform in the Superpole race. Our tyre performance was good and from an electronics point of view I am really happy with the steps we have made inside the team. I am more satisfied with the bike than yesterday.

“Clearly there is potential with the new bike, and we have to keep working to extract that potential. We have made a step compared to last year, I feel. For race weekend, I feel we can fight for the podium.” 

Dominique Aegerter was the surprise package on the final day of testing. The WorldSBK rookie finished second during FP2 with a lap-time of 1:30.739 (+0.335s) to finish ahead of Razgatlioglu in the combined day two timesheets. The Swiss rider ended the test sixth overall.

Philipp Oettl finished seventh on the day and on the overall timesheets to cap-off an encouraging couple of days for the Team GoEleven Ducati racer. Iker Lecuona was the fastest Honda rider in eighth, recovering from a bike issue during the morning session.

Remy Gardner enjoyed a fantastic day ahead of his WorldSBK debut and home round. The Aussie briefly topped FP2 after 30 minutes and spent the majority of that session in second. In the end, Gardner ended the test ninth overall with a 1:31.073. By doing so, Gardner ensured that four Yamaha riders finished inside the top 10.

Axel Bassani completed the top 10 for Motocorsa Ducati, just ahead of Barni Spark Racing Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci. It was a difficult day for both riders, who crashed together at turn four during FP2. Both were taken to the medical centre for a check-up.

BMW’s woes continued as they look to get to grips with the new M1000RR. Michael van der Mark was the highest-placed BMW rider in 12^th, ahead of Garrett Gerloff (13^th) and Scott Redding (14^th). Alex Lowes struggled down in 15^th on the second factory Kawasaki.

In the Supersport class, Nicolo Bulega continued to dominate for Ducati. Bulega topped all four sessions across the two days, posting a best lap-time of 1:32.781. That time was 0.446s quicker that Stefano Manzi in second. Manzi was the only Yamaha rider inside the top eight.

Can Oncu completed the top three overall for Kawasaki, finishing ahead of a quartet of Ducati V2 riders: Federico Caricasulo, Yarl Montella, Raffaele de Rosa and Oli Bayliss. The latter was consistent throughout day two, with just 0.049s splitting his FP1 and FP2 times.

With regards to the British riders, John McPhee finished 18^th overall for Vince64 by Puccetti Racing. Harry Truelove was 20^th for Dynavolt Triumph, with Tarran Mackenzie down in 22^nd onboard his Honda CBR600RR.

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Toprak Razgatlioglu topped the opening day of the official World Superbike Championship pre-season test at Phillip Island.

The 2021 World Champion bounced back from a crash at turn 10 during the opening session of the day to top the timesheets with a 1:30.674. That lap-time put him 0.099s clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who continues to impress ahead of the new season.

Reigning champion Alvaro Bautista was third on a day in-which there were five red flags, most of which were caused by geese near the track. Like Razgatlioglu, Bautista also crashed on the opening day, as did Jonathan Rea on his way to fourth overall (+0.215s).

Andrea Locatelli completed the top five after topping the FP1 session on his Pata Yamaha Prometeon R1. Philipp Oettl was the fastest independent rider in sixth spot (Team GoEleven Ducati), ahead of 2021 Moto2 World Champion Remy Gardner.

Garrett Gerloff was the quickest BMW rider ahead of his debut with the German manufacturer this weekend. The American improved his lap-time by a second in the second session to finish eighth ahead of Dominique Aegerter.

Factory BMW rider Michael van der Mark completed the top 10, whilst Iker Lecuona led Team HRC’s charge in 11^th. It’s the Spaniard’s first visit to Phillip Island after he missed last season’s finale through injury.

MotoGP race winner Danilo Petrucci was 12^th onboard the Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati. The Italian finished ahead of Scott Redding (13^th), Axel Bassani (14^th) and Alex Lowes (15^th).

Loris Baz was 16^th on the second Bonovo Action BMW and despite there being a sizeable gap to Razgatlioglu’s lap-time (+1.619), the Frenchman was just 0.015s shy of a spot inside the top 10. 2013 World Champion Tom Sykes and Xavi Vierge were 17^th and 18^th respectively.

In the World Supersport Championship, Nicolo Bulega topped both sessions to end the day 0.216s clear. The Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider posted a best lap-time of 1:33.527.

Stefano Manzi was second onboard the Dynavolt Triumph machine, whilst Oli Bayliss completed the top three ahead of his home round. Riding the Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati, Bayliss recorded a best lap-time of 1:34.103 to finish 0.576s behind Bulega.

Federico Caricasulo was fourth, whilst Can Oncu was the quickest Kawasaki rider in fifth. Elsewhere, Harry Truelove was the fastest of the three British riders – who locked out the final three places on the timesheets.

Truelove recorded a 1:38.864 onboard his Dynavolt Triumph machine, whilst Tarran Mackenzie ended his day in 21^st with a 1:38.939. The 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship title winner didn’t post a lap-time in FP2. John McPhee completed the timesheets with a 1:43.047 after completing just nine laps all day.