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The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is four rounds down and whilst there’s just under a month off until the next round at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, the track has already hosted testing action. There was plenty to get our teeth into has the chequered flag waved at the end of day two, from strong race pace, podium potential and whether or not one team’s factory riders not participating is as bad as it sounds. Let’s dive deep into the times and see what’s what.

BAUTISTA’S STUNNING PACE: has he already checked in for another triple?

Alvaro’s opening day pace was something to behold; besides his storming one lap at the end of the day that put him on a 1’33.0, the reigning World Champion put in a 15-lap run, of which 14 laps were all in the 1’34s. He went out and improved it again in the next run, with 11 laps in the 1’34s and then in the 1’33s. That was followed up by two more runs, one of nine laps and the other of ten, all in the same region, before a time attack came with a four-lap run delivering a 1’33.035, the fastest lap of the test. The follow runs at the end of the day mirrored the ones he set at the start, proving that Bautista’s metronomic consistency is as dangerous to his rivals as the pace itself. In comparison to last year, Bautista seems to have found even more performance; in Race 1, from Lap 5 to the penultimate lap, he was in the 1’34s, whilst in Race 2, from Lap 3 until the end, he was always in the 1’34s. Could we see the fastest race ever this year?

Despite rain on day two, Bautista’s pace was once again strong. Before the rain shower, the Spaniard put together a run in the low 1’34s and high 1’33s, stronger than his rivals on day two. He got back out at the end of the day and went faster, setting five laps in the mid-to-high 1’33s and in back-to-back fashion. Although not able to replicate his storming pace compared to day one, it was nonetheless impressive for the #19 given the tricky conditions.

RAZGATLIOGLU ON THE CHARGE: we’ll have a fight at the front

However, his main rival over race pace looks to be Toprak Razgatlioglu, with the 2021 World Champion looking good to take the fight to Bautista, the rider who snatched the title from him in 2022. On the opening day, after two five-lap runs in the low-to-mid 1’34s, Razgatlioglu tailored a 14-lap run, with lap times ranging from high 1’33s to mid 1’34s. He went out to complete a time attack at the end but was half a second away from Bautista’s ultimate pace. For his first win of 2022, Razgatlioglu’s pace in the Superpole Race at Misano last year was in the high 1’33s, although perhaps it'll be lower this year.

On the second day, Razgatlioglu only did a handful of laps on his #54 Yamaha, but he did have a good run out with new items on the YME test bike. A few laps in the low-to-mid 1’34s served him well in far from ideal conditions, but his pace on day one was enough to rival Bautista over a race simulation. It caught the attention of Bautista himself, with him hailing Razgatlioglu’s pace as “amazing”, so perhaps, after two triples at Assen and in Barcelona, will he be caught at Misano.

HISTORY SAYS: in the last two years, it’s 2-2

In 2022, Alvaro Bautista looked invincible in the long races, but one rider managed to stop him in the Superpole Race: Toprak Razgatlioglu. He stretched away and set a frightening pace in the 1’33s, achieving a first victory of the season. He put up a strong fight in Race 2, with Bautista passing on the run to Curvone, only for Razgatlioglu to respond on the exit of the turn. It took Bautista three attempts to tame Toprak. In 2021, with Bautista was at Honda, Razgatlioglu was beaten in Race 1 and the Superpole Race by an inspired Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), but a block pass at Turn 14 by Razgatlioglu saw him stride to victory – again, a first of the year. In the last two years, it’s two apiece for Razgatlioglu and Bautista; it’s the fight to make it three in the racing weekend.

OTHERS TO WATCH OUT FOR: a home-hero surprise?

Rinaldi’s pace during the Misano test was impressive, and whilst not quite as fast as his teammate, he has the potential for a podium, with him setting 1’34s rather comfortably. Don’t forget, Italians at home always find extra performance from their home crowd. As for Rinaldi’s arch-rival, perhaps nemesis, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), his testing pace wasn’t the most convincing, with 1’35s and 1’34s dominating his chronological analysis, although, in his own words, he’s never giving it 100% during tests and always pulls out the stops come the weekend. Andrea Locatelli’s (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) pace looks good, although he’s missing something if he wants to get on terms with teammate Razgatlioglu and reigning World Champion Bautista. As for the Kawasaki’s pace, it’s unknown, with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and teammate Alex Lowes sitting the Misano Test out, something Bautista said could be a disadvantage in terms of round preparation.

THEIR OWN WORDS: Bautista and Razgatlioglu speak about each other’s pace

Top after the test, Bautista is confident ahead of the round: “Day two was more complicated as we had some rain in the morning. We did a couple of exits before that in the dry and the feeling was a bit different to day one, maybe after the rain overnight. The track was a bit more slippery. We worked on the setup and then in the wet, we did a couple of tests on the electronics side and we found something very positive that helps us to have a better performance in the wet, so I’m quite happy. The conditions we found at the test will be very different compared to the race weekend. It’ll be more difficult as my teammate is like a specialist at this track, but also Toprak is very, very strong with an amazing pace; he showed on day one that he’s ready to win the races. Jonathan is a question mark because he missed the test, so for sure, the other guys will arrive more prepared.”

Giving his thoughts, Razgatlioglu said: “I’m really happy; on day one, we did a really good test, especially in the race simulation, it was unbelievable. On day two, I tested the test bike and we tried new parts to improve the bike, but everything is new, so we tried a new setup and the weather wasn’t nice. In the wet conditions, we were also quite fast. We tried many parts and were still strong. Jonny and Alvaro are very strong here, also Michael Ruben Rinaldi. I hope that we are fighting for the win as it looks like the potential is very high. Last year, I got my first win the Superpole Race but this year I am focused on Race 1 and Race 2, as I need a ‘real win’ this year. Bautista is really strong here, but we did a good job on day one. We’ll keep fighting but it’s a good track for him. After Assen and Barcelona, finally I am riding my 100%.”

IN CONCLUSION: it’s only testing, but…

It’s important to have balance; off the back of Bautista’s thoughts on KRT sitting it out, there is some truth to it. However, conditions during testing are expected to be wildly different to those the riders will face during the round, when the track temperature is set to come up into the 50s. Alex Lowes stated in his media debrief in Barcelona on Sunday that he and the team need to test when the track temperature is up, not when it’s cool, as the ZX-10RR is working fine in cooler conditions, therefore the Misano test wouldn’t have been beneficial for the weather expected in the round.

Is there an argument to say that some testing is better than no testing? Perhaps. However, with factors such as limits on testing days, rest days following an intense round and the fact that testing is one thing and racing is another, there’s also an argument for not testing. Rea and Lowes are strong in the wet, their package is strong in cooler conditions and Misano is a familiar circuit where both have achieved good results before. However, we can only go off what we see, and what we saw is that Alvaro Bautista looks to be the favourite again, but perhaps it’ll be tougher than previous rounds with Razgatlioglu in the mix over the course of race distance too. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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