Two days of testing for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship got underway at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” as teams tested new components ahead of the 2022 season. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the early pacesetter during the first four-hour track session on Wednesday morning as teams and riders prepare for the 2022 season.

Gerloff posted a 1’34.419s to top the timesheets in the early stages of the test as he continued to show strong pace in the off-season, finishing around half-a-tenth quicker than his nearest rivals. Teammate Kohta Nozane, entering his second campaign in WorldSBK, was in ninth place on the first morning of the test.

Bautista was second and posted a time of 1’34.741s during the first four-hour session on track as Ducati continued to test the swingarm on his Ducati Panigale V4 R machine first tested at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in an off-season test just a couple of weeks ago. Along with teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi, the pair continued to work on some electronic settings and new chassis components. Rinaldi posted a time of 1’34.929 to move into third place, around two tenths slower than his teammate.

Rookie Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) continued to show rapid pace ahead of his maiden WorldSBK season as he claimed fourth on the first morning of the test, posting a 1’35.052s. The team will be working on the ergonomics of their Ducati Panigale V4 R as well as a new fork and exhaust to test.

Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was the fastest rider on the BMW M 1000 RR with a lap time of 1’35.328s. Baz, and teammate Eugene Laverty, have been testing new components provided by BMW with the pair joining a new team for the 2022 season. Baz was fifth fastest on his bike with Laverty around one tenth back from his teammate in sixth place.

The sole factory team rider on track from BMW, Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was seventh on his first public test with the German manufacturer. Continuing to adjust to the M 1000 RR’s inline-four engine, Redding posted a time of 1’35.660s. Redding has a reconfigured fuel tank and subframe assembly on his bike, while BMW are continuing to adjust the electronic settings as well using the 2022 engine.

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), working on Öhlins suspension as well as the clutch of his Kawasaki ZX-10RR machine, was eighth fastest with a time of 1’35.960s. Italian rider Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) will spend the test working on braking on his Panigale V4 R machine and he claimed tenth place on the opening morning of action, posting a 1’36.300s

Luca Bernardi (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) rounded out the WorldSBK field on the first morning of the Misano test, with Bernardi posting a 1’36.626s and Ponsson a 1’36.651s. French rider Ponsson had been running back to back on an old and new chassis, while he may also try a new clutch throughout the test.

In WorldSSP, Italian rookie Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) led the way after a lap late on in the morning session to post a 1’38.126s, faster than any race lap set at the circuit including Sandro Cortese’s 2018 record (1’38.193s). Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was second in the WorldSSP field as he tried new brake bumps and discs on his Kawasaki ZX-6R, as well as suspension updates. He posted a time of 1’38.625s, around half-a-second slower than Bulega. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) put in a late lap of 1’40.453s to usurp fellow rookie Maximilian Kofler (CM Racing), whose best time was a 1’40.594s. Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team), back on track following an ankle fracture sustained in the Portimao test, rounded out the WorldSSP with a 1’41.220s.

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