Toprak Razgatlioglu sets the fastest time in the opening practice session of the World Superbike Championship at Portimao – Garrett Gerloff first in pursuit – Nicolo Bulega loses the entire FT1
BMW factory rider Toprak Razgatlioglu set the fastest time in the first free practice session (FP1) at the Superbike World Championship in Portimao (Portugal). Razgatlioglu thus continued his strong form from previous events. BMW brand colleague Garrett Gerloff surprised everyone with the second-fastest time on Friday afternoon
In midsummer conditions, the 23 riders started practice on time at 14:15 (CEST). This year, the Superbike World Championship will take place much earlier in Portimao. In the afternoon, the riders found 34°C air temperature. The main races are scheduled for 19:00 (CEST).
With wildcard starter Hafizh Syahrin (JDT Racing), there is another Ducati rider in the field this weekend. Ivo Lopes will take over the Honda Fireblade from MIE regular rider Tarran Mackenzie in Portimao. The Marc VDS team, on the other hand, will be absent in Portimao. Sam Lowes is out due to injury after his crash in Most. The Briton will not be replaced
Technical defect costs Nicolo Bulega the entire FT1
For Ducati factory rider Nicolo Bulega, the FT1 did not start according to plan. After a few minutes, the Italian rolled out in turn 2. The Panigale V4R was brought back to the Ducati pits. In the course of FP1, the Ducati mechanics were unable to repair the bike. Bulega only rode one timed lap
Technical problems for @nbulega ️PortugueseWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/8earzpXryCW
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) August 9, 2024
Ducati brand colleague Danilo Petrucci had a much better start to the first practice session. The Italian led the standings at the start with a 1:41.307 lap. BMW riders Garrett Gerloff and Toprak Razgatlioglu also made a good start to FP1, only a few thousandths of a second slower than Danilo Petrucci in the lead.
After a quarter of an hour, world champion Alvaro Bautista took the lead with a 1:41.299 lap. However, Bautista was unable to hold on to the lead for long. Gerloff pushed the best time to 1:41.222 minutes after 17 minutes.
Crashes and another defect in the final third of FT1
After just over half an hour of practice, Andrea Iannone (GoEleven-Ducati) ended up in the gravel. Five minutes later, it was Michael van der Mark (BMW) who slid over the front wheel into the gravel in turn 14
@andreaiannone29 crashes out PortugueseWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/rKoC7YcMhT
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) August 9, 2024
The Ducati of guest starter Hafizh Syahrin gave smoke signals in the final minutes. The former MotoGP regular parked his Panigale V4R and ended the FT1 prematurely
Toprak Razgatlioglu takes a clear lead in the FT1 standings
Toprak Razgatlioglu took the lead in the course of FT1 with a 1:40.777 lap and was once again clearly faster than the rest of the field. No other rider was under 1:41 minutes.
If Razgatlioglu wins the first race and the sprint race in Portimao, he will replace Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista (both eleven wins in a row) as the longest series winner. The BMW M1000RR of the series winner was smoking on the final lap. For this reason, the Turkish rider decided to forgo the announced flying display.
After finishing the Free Practice 1 and being the fastest…
Is it time for a bit of motocross @toprak_tr54? PortugueseWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/JW7qIy3FNm
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) August 9, 2024W
Garrett Gerloff held on to second position to make a very promising start to the Portimao weekend. Gerloff’s future has been confirmed ahead of the seventh WSBK weekend of the season. The American will ride a Kawasaki ZX-10RR for the Puccetti team next season
Best non-BMW: Alvaro Bautista fastest Ducati rider
World champion Alvaro Bautista rounded off the top three in the opening practice session, but was already more than half a second behind. Last year, Bautista won all three races in Portimao. A repeat of this success is likely to be difficult
WOW!
Now it’s @19bautista who climbs to the first place PortugueseWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/JWErgDxscP
– WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) August 9, 2024
Danilo Petrucci finished just 0.008 seconds behind Ducati brand colleague Alvaro Bautista in fourth position. Honda factory rider Iker Lecuona moved into the top 5 on the final attempt with fresh tires
No Yamaha in the top 5: Jonathan Rea more than 0.6 seconds behind
Jonathan Rea (Yamaha) was the best Yamaha rider in sixth place. The record-breaking champion was 0.672 seconds behind and three tenths of a second ahead of teammate Andrea Locatelli, who finished P7. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki), Michael van der Mark (BMW) and Remy Gardner (GRT-Yamaha) completed the top 10.
Dominique Aegerter (GRT-Yamaha) finished FT1 in twelfth position. The Swiss rider was 1.097 seconds off the fastest time. Philipp Öttl (GMT94-Yamaha) lined up in P19 and was 2.275 seconds behind
