With the 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season having wrapped up just days prior, several members of the 2027 grid and their teams’ test riders took to the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia in pursuit of an offseason step ahead of next year’s campaign. On a sunny Thursday at the track, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), followed by Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Honda HRC’s Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC), were the fastest of the three 2027 grid riders over the eight-hour event.
SAM LOWES PICKS UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
The sole Ducati Panigale V4 R rider on Day 1, Sam Lowes carried the banner high for the Italian manufacturer as after bagging a trio of podiums in the 2026 season finale here October 16th-18th, he set the session’s fastest time of 1’38.790s in the afternoon. He rode the third-most laps of the day with 79 laps split between 12 stints of around six laps each.
OLIVEIRA STARTING HIS WORK FOR 2027 STRONG
Oliveira closed the 2026 campaign on a positive note after a Round 4 injury broke his rookie-season momentum, and the first day of the offseason kept that positivity rolling. The Portuguese rider was second-fastest on the day; his 1’39.317s fastest time came early in the afternoon, just over half a second off the #14. He rode the second-most laps of the event, with 80 laps split across 14 stints, including shorter 3-4 lap stints later in the afternoon. Their team’s WorldSBK race-winning test driver, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team), rode the most laps of the day among all riders with 84, the fastest of them earning him sixth on the timesheets with a 1’40.580s time.
HONDA ON TRACK IN FORCE IN DAY 1
The fastest time of the session for the three-rider Honda HRC cohort was set by their six-time World Champion test rider Jonathan Rea (Honda HRC Test Team), who took the third fastest time of the session thanks to a 1’39.717; nine tenths off from the #14, but four tenths even behind the #88. The Japanese manufacturer’s top time among their full-time riders belonged to Chantra, who rode a lap less than Rea for 66 despite using only a half-day of testing. The Thai rider emerged on track around 14:00 local time, and was methodical in his work, mostly riding longer stints of around 12 laps. He honed in across the afternoon and set his personal best 1’40.210s time on his last final lap of the day. Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) also only took to the track for a half day; the session was his first time working with new crew chief Antonio Jimenez. The Spaniard is a veteran of the MotoGP paddock, working there as a mechanic since 1989, and as a crew chief since 2002. He has operated as a crew chief in that paddock for riders such as Marco Melandri, Alvaro Bautista, Carlos Checa and Aleix Espargaro. Dixon rode a comparatively fewer 49 laps in shorter 5-6 lap stints, the fastest of which was a 1’40.140s, just two hundredths off from the #35.
MAHENDRA OUTPACES ALCOBA IN FIRST DAY AS TEAMMATES
The AS BLU CRU Racing Team was the only WorldSSP team to take to the track on opening day, but Aldi Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) was the fastest of the two, setting a 1’43.189s time as the fastest of his 71 laps. Jeremy Alcoba (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) looks to be settling in quickly with his new defending-Champion squad as he was was not far behind. 55 laps on his new Yamaha R9 produced a fastest time of 1’43.823s, just over six tenths behind the #52.
The top six from Day 1’s testing action:
- Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 1’38.790s
- Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.527s
- Jonathan Rea (Honda HRC Test Team) +0.927s
- Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) +1.330s
- Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) +1.350s
- Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team) +1.790s
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