WorldSBK: The second private WorldSBK test at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve continued under difficult conditions on Day 2, with intermittent rain and strong winds once again restricting track time as teams worked through their final European outing before the Official Test at Phillip Island.
Despite the lack of consistent dry running, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) topped the timesheets with a 1’59.144, narrowly ahead of teammate Iker Lecuona, who also dipped into the 1’59s as he continued his adaptation to the Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“Unfortunately, this winter we were very unlucky with the weather. Today was the last day and it was raining again, so we decided to do some laps even in wet conditions. Honestly, though, the conditions were quite extreme: cold, very windy and very wet. I did a few laps just to check that everything was okay before heading to Australia. The bike is new, so it was still important to ride a little, even in the wet, but these conditions are not very useful. When you have a new bike, you really need to do a lot of laps to understand it, and also for the guys in the box to check that everything is working properly. Unfortunately, we couldn’t really try anything this winter, so we’ll go to Australia like this and see how it goes. The Official Test at Phillip Island will be very important. The goal will be to stay on track as much as possible and complete a lot of laps.”
Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) completed a structured programme across two machines, posting a best lap of 2’00.111 to finish the day inside the top three overall.
Further down the order, Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) made the most of the limited opportunities available, setting a 2’00.757 as he continued his learning process ahead of his rookie WorldSBK campaign.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) also returned to the track, adding mileage during a second consecutive day of testing at Portimao and recording a best lap of 2’01.610.
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) also took advantage of the test to log steady mileage aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 R, with a best time of 2’04.442 as he focused on set-up work rather than outright pace.
Meanwhile, Xavi Fores continued his development role with bimota, completing valuable laps on the KB998 Rimini.
With wet weather limiting track time at Portimao, the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team chose to relocate its test to Valencia to benefit from dry conditions.
In WorldSSP, Philipp Oettl was the sole representative on track, using the mixed conditions to continue preparations ahead of the Australian season opener.
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) were both present at Portimao, having completed their running on Wednesday, as Yamaha teams chose not to make use of their testing days in the challenging conditions.
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Day 2 results:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’59.144s
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.039s
3. Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) +0.967s
4. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +1.613s
5. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +2.466s
6. Xavi Fores (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +2.663s
For more info checkout our dedicated WorldSBK (World Superbike) News page superbike-news.co.uk/category/world-superbikes/
Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com
©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldSBK.com
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