WorldSBK: In perfect conditions at the Circuito Estoril Nicolo Bulega topped the times with a time of 1’35.778.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider ended the day ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alex Lowes with three different manufacturers inside the top three positions.
Bulega completed 40 laps and led the way by two tenths of a second as he completed shorter stints than his rival. The Italian’s pace was consistent but the race simulation from Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was ominous. The World Championship leader completed a 16 lap run of fast times that showed his strength and consistency ahead of the opening race of the weekend.
The bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team duo of Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani enjoyed a strong start to the weekend. With both riders inside the top five in both Free Practice sessions it showed the promise of the bimota KB998 Rimini around the 4.182km Estoril circuit.
Armed with a fresh tyre at the end of the day’s running Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) set the fifth fastest time. The Englishman finished the day one tenth of a second faster than Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) after an encouraging day for the six times World Champion who spent both sessions comfortably inside the top ten positions.
Iker Lecuona returned to action for the first time since the Hungarian Round. The Honda HRC had been sidelined by a fracture to his right arm and completed 21 laps to set the 18th fastest time of the day. The Spaniard suffered a Turn 2 crash midway through the afternoon session.
Having suffered a hand injury training ahead of this round Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) tried to ride in Free Practice 1. The Italian completed 16 laps but withdrew from action ahead of the afternoon session. Just 31 points separate Petrucci, Andrea Locatelli and Alvaro Bautista in the battle for third in the championship.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“Today was a good day. Normally, Estoril is not a difficult track but it’s also not our best. It was important to start the weekend like this. We improved some things in FP2 from FP1 so I’m happy with the work we did today. I think we also understand how we can improve for tomorrow. For the moment I think it’s quite close between me and Toprak and we are a bit faster than the others. It’s just Friday so we’ll see how we work during the weekend.”
P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
“I was focused on my race simulation today. In the first run, I had a used tyre, it was a 20-lap tyre, and I did a 1’36.6. After that, I changed the tyre and kept working on race pace. For 17 laps, I was staying in the 1’36.0 and 1’36.2 range, which is a good pace. On the last lap, I pushed and saw a 1’36.0 before coming back to the box. We are working for the race, but we need to improve. I’m not happy with the engine braking in some corners but I believe my crew will improve the bike tomorrow. I’m focused on winning the race, not finishing second.”
P3 – Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team)
“I’m happy with the day’s work. It’s our first time here with the bimota and I really enjoyed it. The track was fun to ride today, especially the middle part where the bike worked well and I was having fun. There are still some areas to improve and some parts of the track where I’m not very fast but Axel is really quick. Hopefully, we can use that to piece it together a bit better for tomorrow.”
Combined Results after FP2
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’35.778s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.232s
3. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.570s
4. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.623s
5. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) +0.647s
6. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.761s
For more info checkout our dedicated WorldSBK (World Superbike) News page superbike-news.co.uk/category/world-superbikes/
Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com
©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldSBK.com
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