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Bautista leads Redding on second morning of Misano test as rain disrupts running

Friday, 12 May 2023 11:07 GMT

    • Rain came down just over an hour into the session which interrupted running in the first four-hour session of the day

    The second day of action in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was interrupted by rain at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” which fell just over an hour into the session, which was topped by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) by almost a second ahead of Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) with their best times being set in the opening stages of the four-hour morning session.

    Bautista’s best time was a 1’33.850s to take spot in the morning session, completing one 12-lap stint before the rain with his best time coming on his eighth lap of the day. Despite the rain, Bautista was the busiest rider in the morning session with 38 laps to his name. Redding was 0.946s behind reigning Champion Bautista after a short stint in the opening stages to set a best time of 1’34.796s, matching his time from Day 1. Bautista’s teammate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, claimed third spot in the morning and was one of the first riders to venture out onto the wet track while Bautista ventured out later on in the wet. Rinaldi’s best time in the first session was a 1’34.843s as he set 35 laps, with the Ducati riders once again the busiest in the morning.

    Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) put three Ducatis in the top four before the rain fell as he set a 1’35.430s, ahead of French rider Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in fifth. Baz was another of the first riders to head out in wet conditions on full tyres but he posted a 1’35.512s in dry conditions ahead of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) who rounded out the top six after setting a 1’35.558s before the rain fell in Italy.

    As the track dried towards the one-hour break, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), using the fifth bike in the Yamaha garage, moved into seventh place and he demoted Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) into eighth. Baldassarri was quick in the dry morning session but he briefly brought out the red flags with a Turn 1 crash. He posted a 1’36.052s as his best time finish ahead of Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in ninth, as just 0.011s separated Baldassarri and Lecuona, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in tenth.

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