A dramatic second and final day of WorldSBK testing at Jerez in Spain saw many top names crash, sometime spectacularly, but most of them walked away heavily beaten and bruised but relatively unharmed.
The walking wounded included Jonathan Rea (KRT) who was fastest rider of all, even though his crash was one factor in the double champion not adopting a qualifying tyre to set his best time of the tests, a 1’39.809. He used race tyres, and set his best pace later in the day, even after his fast crash at turn three before lunchtime.
On a qualifier, the traditional qualifier and not the new ‘multi-lap’ qualifier version that Pirelli brought to these tests, Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) was second fastest, just 0.111 seconds from Rea. An excellent showing for the young Italian, Pushing on from his own crash, after changing gear just as his bike had started a slide from the rear, Tom Sykes (KRT) was eventually one of the fastest riders on show. Reformatting his riding approach to suit the ever-more-stock rules of the class, he made a recovery from his to third place, and on race tyres, not qualifiers. He was 0.410 seconds from Rea.
The returning Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Ducati) was a strong prodigal, posting his best of 1’40.313 to go fourth fastest, one place up on Chaz Davies, his team-mate.
Being so unprepared for the first test of the new year, in terms of his new machine and his relatively recent leg injury, Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike) still recovered to post sixth fastest time on a qualifying tyre. His bike was partly 2017 spec, and partly 2016 spec, as his team had just got their hands on the latest Fireblade two weeks or so before.
Hayden’s quick lap was enough to hold off the revamped Pata Yamaha of Alex Lowes, on a bike that featured numerous improvements, if not giant individual ones.
Rea, Jerez WSBK tests, January 2017
Ducati privateer Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) was one place ahead of Stefan Bradl’s half-new Honda. Serial podium finisher from 2016 Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) being 11th explains a lot about why people are more excited by the prospects for 2017 in WorldSBK than for many years now.
It was a dramatic introduction to the ranks of his Superbike peers for rookie rider Randy Krummenacher (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) who had a collision with Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) at high enough speed entering the first corner to see Laverty and his bike go under the air-fence for a time, and Krummenacher’s bike land on top of it. The exact reasons for the crash are still under discussion but it appeared Laverty was not at full pace having messed up his previous lap with a rear slide, but Krummenacher was closing at full pace into the braking zone, as both went for the same piece of asphalt. Either way, both riders were lucky to escape relatively damage free. Laverty had found a limit with chatter from his bike, from the front, as his pace increased in the test.
Markus Reiterberger (Althea Racing BMW) was 12th fastest and Laverty 13th.
Jordi Torres (Althea Racing BMW) crashed hard enough in turn three that he had to have support on his right shoulder, and had to stop. He said afterwards he felt his bike drop at the back and then he crashed, while his data trace proved inconclusive to his team. Among several damaged items after his crash was a broken rear suspension link, but that could have been caused by the crash, so heavy was the impact. Torres proved to be 16th, behind the British Superbike JG Speedfit Kawasakis of Leon Haslam and Luke Mossey.
In the Superstock 1000 class Aruba.it Junior Team riders Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Aussie Mike Jones were 17th and 18th overall. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was top Supersport rider on his Kawasaki, 19th overall and one place up on CIA Landlord Insurance Honda rider Jules Cluzel.
With World Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu missing the tests in Jerez after breaking his right wrist in a Supermotard test in Turkey recently, new Puccetti Racing Kawasaki rider Kyle Ryde took over his machine.
Yamaha unveiled their new GRT Racing R6 pairing of Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricasulo but without transponders they were unranked in the timesheets.
Hayden, Jerez WSBK tests, January 2017
Combined times
1 1 SBK Jonathan REA GBR KAWASAKI PROVEC KAWASAKI 41 34 1:39.809 —- —- 275,8
2 32 SBK Lorenzo SAVADORI ITA MILWAUKEE APRILIA APRILIA 70 49 1:39.920 0.111 0.111 269,7
3 66 SBK Tom SYKES GBR KAWASAKI PROVEC KAWASAKI 57 51 1:40.219 0.410 0.299 272,2
4 33 SBK Marco MELANDRI ITA ARUBA.IT DUCATI DUCATI 63 53 1:40.313 0.504 0.094 277,8
5 7 SBK Chaz DAVIES GBR ARUBA.IT DUCATI DUCATI 64 22 1:40.324 0.515 0.011 270,1
6 69 SBK Nicky HAYDEN USA HONDA WORLDSBK TEAM HONDA 67 59 1:40.548 0.739 0.224 268,7
7 22 SBK Alex LOWES GBR PATA YAMAHA WORLDSB YAMAHA 83 82 1:40.600 0.791 0.052 273,1
8 12 SBK Xavi FORES ESP BARNI RACING TEAM DUCATI 56 54 1:40.738 0.929 0.138 267,1
9 6 SBK Stefan BRADL GER HONDA WORLDSBK TEAM HONDA 52 40 1:40.854 1.045 0.116 267,9
10 60 SBK Michael VD MARK NED PATA YAMAHA WORLDSB YAMAHA 78 22 1:41.450 1.641 0.596 269,2
11 88 SBK Randy KRUMMENACHER SWI PUCCETTI RACING TEAM KAWASAKI 47 35 1:41.566 1.758 0.117 269,2
12 21 SBK Markus REITERBERGER GER ALTHEA RACING BMW 67 26 1:41.578 1.769 0.011 270,9
13 50 SBK Eugene LAVERTY IRL MILWAUKEE APRILIA APRILIA 51 49 1:41.886 2.077 0.308 275,6
14 91 SBK Leon HASLAM GBR JG Speedfit Kawasaki KAWASAKI 58 35 1:41.928 2.120 0.043 267,3
15 212 SBK Luke MOSSEY GBR JG Speedfit Kawasaki KAWASAKI 64 18 1:42.349 2.540 0.420 264,4
16 81 SBK Jordi TORRES ESP ALTHEA RACING BMW 7 6 1:42.516 2.708 0.168 270,3
17 112 STK Michael RINALDI ITA ARUBA.IT DUCATI JUNIOR DUCATI 55 46 1:43.343 3.534 0.826 262,0
18 57 STK Mike JONES AUS ARUBA.IT DUCATI JUNIOR DUCATI 58 42 1:43.670 3.861 0.327 262,6
19 63 SSP Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN MAL Orelac Racing VerdNatura KAWASAKI 48 31 1:44.410 4.601 0.740 239,8
20 16 SSP Jules CLUZEL FRA CIA Landlord Insurance Hon HONDA 81 47 1:45.199 5.390 0.789 237,9
21 8 STK Alessandro VALIA ITA DUCATI MOTOR HOLDING DUCATI 37 24 1:45.261 5.452 0.062 262,3
22 70 SSP Robin MULHAUSER SWI CIA Landlord Insurance Hon HONDA 68 43 1:45.410 5.601 0.149 237,5
23 10 SSP Nacho CALERO ESP Orelac Racing VerdNatura KAWASAKI 45 13 1:45.507 5.698 0.097 238,3
24 77 SSP Kyle RYDE GBR PUCCETTI RACING TEAM KAWASAKI 72 42 1:45.625 5.816 0.118 242,5
25 5 STK Marco FACCANI ITA ALTHEA RACING BMW 6 6 1:45.678 5.869 0.053 260,2
26 78 SSP Hikari OKUBO JAP CIA Landlord Insurance Hon HONDA 71 19 1:45.852 6.043 0.174 238,4
27 19 STK Julian PUFFE GER ALTHEA RACING BMW 48 23 1:46.176 6.367 0.324 263,2
ENDS