Rea and rain lead the last European pre season test
Adverse weather conditions see limited activity on track at Jerez
Rain was the driving force behind the final test in Europe for the MOTUL FIM Superbike Championship, which began to fall in the early hours of the morning and continued throughout the day.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) didn’t spend a lot of time out on track in Andalucía for the second day of the test, and only put in 11 laps aboard his ZX-10RR. Despite this lack of track time he still finished the day on top, with a lap time of 1.52.976 – a feat he has achieved in every test so far held at Jerez in 2017. Team-mate Tom Sykes spent a lot more time on track despite the damp conditions, putting in over 40 laps across the day. The Yorkshireman’s best lap time was a 1.53.349, which put him 0.373s behind Rea.
Unpredictable conditions also halted Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project) to continue with his off season plan, although it was the San Marinese’s first experience of his new bike in the rain. Completing just 26 laps aboard his Kawasaki ZX-10R and was able to make the most of understanding dry set up of his machine – his best lap was 1.55.632.
Leandro Mercado (IODARacing) was also able to get his first chance out on a wet track with his new team, rolling out of pit lane aboard his Aprilia RSV4RF on rain tyres for just 21 laps. Finishing the day in fourth position with a lap time of 1.57.916, the Argentinean spent the day understanding the feeling aboard the rain tyres and gaining important track time.
Another rider preparing for his WorldSBK debut, Riccardo Russo (Guandalini Racing) continued with his pre-season programme, completing 35 laps of the circuit; the Italian put in a lot of laps compared to the rest of the field. Ending the day with a 1.58.564, it was Russo’s first time out on a wet track which will be good experience for the 24 year old.
The TripleM Racing duo, Illia Mykhalchyk and Marc Moser were the only STK1000 drivers to continue at the Jerez circuit today, as the pair put in 60 laps between them.
The World Superbike teams will now return back to base, to begin preparation as they send their machines out to Australia for the last test and the first Round of 2017, scheduled for February 26 and 27.
