The WorldSBK field was put through their paces in near perfect conditions on the opening day of testing at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Under blue skies and with a light breeze cooling the temperatures slightly the four hours of running for Superbike and Supersport classes offered a stark contrast to the winter testing undertaken in Europe.
Pre-season title favourite Nicolo Bulega dominated the opening day of testing, leading both sessions for the Aruba.It Racing – Ducati squad. The Italian completed 72 laps. His pace was impressive with over 30 laps under 1m30s. The 90 second barrier was broken by only three other riders with Axel Bassani the closest challenger. The bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team rider ended the day just 0.291s adrift.
It was an action-packed day for Sam Lowes. The ELF Marc VDS Racing Team rider suffered a technical issue in the morning before crashing in the afternoon. The Brit responded strongly, setting his fastest time late in the day during a six-lap stint.
After limited dry running over the winter, Xavi Vierge impressed as the fastest Yamaha rider, placing the Pata Maxus Yamaha ninth overall. A morning crash failed to derail Stefano Manzi, the reigning Supersport World Champion, who was just two tenths of a second slower than Vierge as he continues to adapt to the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team machine.
Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) led the rookie contingent. The former Moto2 rider finished tenth at the close of play, ahead of Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Manzi.
There were eight crashes during Superbike running, including an early-afternoon fall for Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) at Turn 5. The double world champion, an eight-time winner at Phillip Island, ended the day eighth fastest, almost a second shy of Bulega’s benchmark, but will expect to make gains heading into the next session.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati)
“It was important to start like this. We have a new bike and during the winter we weren’t able to test properly because of the weather. This meant that today was really our first proper day on track. It was important to ride as much as possible and I completed a lot of laps, so I’m happy. We did a good job and we’ve started the weekend well. Last year the winter testing conditions were better and we arrived in Phillip Island with two or three full test days already completed. This time we’re not starting from zero but we have a new bike to understand. It was very hot today so that means we’re a few tenths slower than we expected. I’m quite happy with the setup but we can improve in some areas. Tomorrow we’ll try to take another step forward and see if we can be competitive for the race weekend.”
Day 1 results:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’29.345s
2. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.291s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.562s
4. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.576s
5. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) +0.670s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.914s
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