The first of two days of testing got underway at the Circuito de Navarra ahead of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship making its debut at the Spanish venue with the Navarra Round in August, with teams and riders up and down the paddock aiming to understand the circuit given it’s the first time the majority of riders have visited the venue.

Turkish star Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) was the early pacesetter on the 3.933km on the track with Razgatlioglu aiming to spend the two-day test learning the track with the Pata Yamaha outfit hoping to work out the gearing on their YZF R1 machines. Razgatlioglu’s early time was a 1’37.427ss, while unofficial times for Ducati when they tested in May were in the 1’37s bracket. Teammate Andrea Locatelli was also on track at Navarra as he looks to prepare for the Navarra Round in August, with Locatelli showing strong pace in the early stages of the test with the Italian rookie going sixth.

The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team were on track with Michael van der Mark and Tom Sykes, and joined by Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action), with the German manufacturer focussing on the chassis, swingarm and triple clamps of their M 1000 RR machine. BMW will also be looking to work on the electronic settings of their bike based on feedback from van der Mark and Folger, who have slightly different feelings from Sykes. British rider Sykes finished in second place in the morning, with van der Mark seventh and Folger tenth.

GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team were represented by Garrett Gerloff and Japanese rookie Kohta Nozane, with the team spending day one of the two-day test learning the circuit and preparing the setup although not testing anything new on the bike. Gerloff finished the first morning in third place, around nine tenths away from Razgatlioglu, while Nozane was 11^th after a Turn 13 crash that brought out a Red Flag; Nozane taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash.

Team HRC are hoping to take a step forward with testing with new components to test including on the electronic side of the CBR1000 RR-R, although Honda will likely only be testing on Monday due to restrictions with private testing in WorldSBK with teams and riders limited to ten days. Honda will have new items on their bike even with riders Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam needing to learn the track; Bautista going fourth in the first half of the first day with Haslam half-a-tenth away from his teammate in fifth place.

Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK duo Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes will be using the two days to complete a single day of testing, having started the opening day later than anyone else, with the main aim of both riders to learn the track and gather data before potentially trying new settings with electronics and small items if the team feels like they are at that point. Both Rea and Lowes took to the track later than everyone else, with the KRT duo finishing in eighth and ninth respectively and separated by only a tenth.

In the FIM Supersport World Championship, Ten Kate Racing Yamaha duo Dominique Aegerter and Galang Hendra Pratama. Pratama brings experience from the Spanish championship to this circuit while it is new for Championship leader Aegerter and will be hoping to perfect gearing and engine setup before trying new parts later on in the test.

Don’t miss any of the action from WorldSBK in 2021 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!