Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea beat lap record – Philipp Öttl makes strong impression at first test with Ducati superbike
The eagerly awaited WSBK test in Portimao saw the expected duel of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) vs. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki). After the opener on Tuesday and the lunch break on Wednesday, everything pointed to Rea deciding the first showdown in his favour. But Razgatlioglu launched a few more attempts on Wednesday evening and set the test best time in the final minutes.
Razgatlioglu lapped the circuit in 1:39.616 minutes, beating his own pole time from last year by more than half a second. In early October 2021, a 1:40.219 lap was enough for pole.
Challenger Rea had already beaten that mark earlier when he set a 1:39.851 lap on Wednesday, the first 1:39 time set on a Superbike at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.
Rea completes third test, Razgatlioglu in action for first time since November
For Rea, the Portimao test was his third opportunity to prepare for the 2022 WSBK season. Kawasaki tested at Jerez in December 2021 and returned to the Grand Prix circuit in southern Spain in January.
At the Portimao test, the ex-champion met the competition from Yamaha and Ducati for the first time. Kawasaki tested detail improvements. Major updates are not seen from any of the manufacturers in 2021, as there are no new homologation models.
Yamaha is working on electronics and ergonomics
At Yamaha, factory riders Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli worked on the electronics and tested new settings worked out by the engineers over the winter. In addition, new ergonomics parts were seen on the factory R1, resulting in a slightly modified seating position.
Although Razgatlioglu has not ridden since the WSBK season finale in Indonesia, the defending champion got off to a surprisingly good start to the new season on day one. Razgatlioglu missed Rea’s Tuesday best time by only a tenth of a second. Team-mate Andrea Locatelli crashed at turn 14 on Tuesday and was unable to match the top times on either day
Alvaro Bautista crashes the Ducati Panigale V4R
The performance of Ducati returnee Alvaro Bautista was eagerly awaited. After the season finale in Indonesia, the Spaniard already tested the Ducati Panigale V4R in Jerez, but at that time without the participation of the competition.
Bautista was not quite able to match the times of Razgatlioglu and Rea at the Portimao test and finished third. He was just over four tenths of a second off the fastest time.
Ducati test new swingarm at Portimao
With that, Bautista was significantly quicker than teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who faces a seminal season. The Italian was over a second slower than Bautista on Wednesday.
Ducati brought some updates to Portimao. The most noticeable change was a new swingarm. In addition, Bautista was seen with a new tank shape, which is supposed to harmonise better with the Spaniard’s size. The test did not go entirely smoothly for Bautista. The Spaniard crashed in turn 8.
Philipp Öttl shines with strong lap times on debut
Ducati brand mate and WSBK rookie Philipp Öttl put in a strong performance on his first test with the Ducati superbike. The German came to within about one second of the leaders on the first day. On the second day, the gap increased somewhat, as Razgatlioglu and Rea set extremely strong lap times with the SCQ tyre.
Also in attendance was ex-MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci. The Italian tested a Ducati Panigale V4R in MotoAmaerica trim. Petrucci will start for the HSBK team in the US championship this year and replaces Loris Baz, who will pilot a factory M1000RR at Bonovo-BMW as Jonas Folger’s successor in 2022. As Petrucci rode on Dunlop tyres, Ducati dispensed with a transponder.
The lap times from Portimao (Wednesday):
1st Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 1:39.616 (66 laps)
2nd Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) – 1:39.851 (87)
3rd Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) – 1’40.055 (68)
4th Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) – 1’40.335 (83)
5th Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) – 1’40.674 (79)
6th Philipp Öttl (GoEleven-Ducati) – 1’41.061 (63)
7th Michael Rinaldi (Ducati) – 1’41.143 (52)
8th Christophe Ponsson (Gil-Yamaha) – 1’42.374 (51)
9th Luca Bernardi (Barni-Ducati) – 1:42.961 (54)
The lap times from Portimao (Tuesday):
1st Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) – 1:40.621 (71 laps)
2nd Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 1:40.722 (69)
3rd Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) – 1’40.753 (82)
4th Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati) – 1’41.261 (81)
5th Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) – 1’41.440 (73)
6th Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) – 1’41.477 (80)
7th Philipp Öttl (GoEleven-Ducati) – 1’41.707 (67)
8th Christophe Ponsson (Gil-Yamaha) – 1’43.167 (57)
9th Luca Bernardi (Barni-Ducati) – 1’44.053 (61)
