The first morning of FIM Supersport World Championship testing at the Supported Test was disrupted by cold conditions and a Red Flag, with Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph) topping the times by half-a-second. With Triumph returning to the Championship in 2022, their return started by being top of the timesheets with the Street Triple RS at the final test before racing begins.

Soomer posted his best time of 1’57.386s, the only rider to lap in the 1’57s bracket but some way off the lap record times posted at the circuit. With track and air conditions cooler than expected at the race weekend, only a handful of riders ventured out onto the track in the morning. Leonardo Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) claimed second spot as he gears up for his first campaign with the 2021 title winners, with Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) in third place although the Dutchman’s session ended early when he stopped in Sector 1; although the Red Flag was deployed when Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team) suffered from a technical issue and the track was checked for oil. He did not set a lap time in the session.

Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) was the highest placed Ducati rider in fourth place, almost 1.5s down on Soomer’s time, with Kyle Smith (VFT Racing) in fifth place. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) rounded out the top six but was some way of Smith’s team, posting a best lap of 2’01.853s in unrepresentative conditions, some 4.5s off the pace of Soomer. Caricasulo led fellow Ducati rider Maximilian Kofler (CM Racing) in the standings, coming home in seventh place although his time, like Caricasulo, was under 2’00s and an unrepresentative time due to the cooler conditions.

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