WSBK Superbike Australia J1: They Said…

The first day saw action in the final round of the FIM Superbike World Championship Jonathan Rea Predominant Alvaro Bautista, Alex Lowes, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Andrea Locatelli And Tetsuda Nagashima After two dry and mostly sunny sessions at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.

After last weekend’s blistering heat in Indonesia, the secret for this Friday is to find a good set up early in the weekend with much cooler but still dry conditions in Australia. With no race at Phillip Island last year due to the global pandemic, teams and drivers relied on previous data and their own memories of this unique and fluid setting to get off to a good start in the FP1 and FP2 sessions.

At the end of this First dayLeading pilots said…

B1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team): “We had a very solid day, especially the start of the day. We had a good assessment of the spring balance and adjustment needs and the bike was running well. But I also felt that we could really improve. For the second session, we made a big geometry change to the bike, going back to mid-season. We’ve improved tire degradation and natural cornering, but now we need to fix the bike’s spring balance. Overall, there are some issues we need to address tomorrow, cornering and throttle linkage in certain areas. Just an adjustment. We analyzed the front and rear tire options and I’m pretty clear on the front end choice. On the back end, I’m still between two options for the race. I did a lot of laps today to understand the tires and give the guys some good information to improve. I think we can be very fast with our one-lap pace for Superpole. »

B2 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “Today we tested the two Pirelli tires in FP1 and FP2 with a good feeling and did a good job. I am happy because the pace of the race is positive. Although the weather conditions may change the situation tomorrow, I think we have a good platform ahead of the weekend races. However, we are ready to compete at all levels. »

B3 – Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team): “Today, in the basic setup, I expected us to be faster. It worked almost everywhere after the Barcelona summer break test. I have sometimes challenged Johnny from the front row. I felt better today. The lap times were quite slow compared to some of the previous times, but I was happy compared to some of the other riders. Phillip Island has a few more bumps than I remember, especially in the last corners and turn 3. The track is a little more used, but it’s not bad. »

B4 – Dobrak Raskadlioglu (Bada Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK): “It wasn’t the right day for me after Mandalayka because at the beginning we weren’t strong, but anyway after two years we come here to Phillip Island and now we’re trying to find a good set up for my bike. I hope tomorrow we’ll find the right settings, And can come back stronger, but we’ll see! I’m not really strong in the wet, but it might help me, I don’t know, because tomorrow I can ride faster in the wet! It’s okay, it’s the last weekend of the season, I’ll do my best. Both Kawasaki riders are very good at this track. Strong. I remember 2020, Alvaro is also very strong. Maybe we will fight them again tomorrow, I will try. »

B5 – Andrea Locatelli (Bada Yamaha with Prix WorldSBK): “It’s been a dream to come back to Australia because I’ve been waiting a long time to race the R1 WorldSBK here and today was really amazing. I am very happy because it is the first day and we are already fast and I feel good on the bike. It’s only the first day, tomorrow won’t be easy, but it’s the last weekend and we have three races, so we’ll try to take advantage and try to get the best result. A big step was taken in FP2 because I had never ridden this bike here and it took me a long run to understand the feel and cues on this track with this bike. The average speed is really high, so I need to understand the fine points and what the bike can handle. It’s not easy to control because there is a lot of backsliding, but today we are working well, we have good data to prepare the bike for tomorrow, as well as the confidence of Mandalika, so I want to push away and try to get another podium. if possible »

B6 – Tetsuda Nagashima (HRC Team): “I felt good today; P6 in FP2 isn’t bad. It was my first time in WorldSBK and my first time in practice with Pirelli tires so I was expecting a bit more trouble. I competed here in MotoGP a few weeks ago and it helped me find a rhythm straight away with the CBR for a bike I know very well. The main thing was in accordance with the tires and the settings of this package. I only did one fast lap so we still have things we can work on. I need to improve my pace as well, because the race is 22 laps, so we need to be consistent. I’m not sure what to expect over the weekend in terms of results, but you can be sure I’ll do my best. The crew has been working hard and so far everything is going well. I already knew some of the guys from my time in Moto2, so the team was like a family and I felt good straight away. I am really enjoying this weekend and this experience at WorldSBK. »

Results of FP2 Superbike at Phillip Island:

Ranking Credit: WorldSBK.com