1-2 for Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK in FP1 as Friday Proves Positive at Misano
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Andrea Locatelli locked out the top two spots on the time sheets this morning in Free Practice 1 at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, in a positive day of running at the fourth round of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship today.
Despite massive downpours of rain all day yesterday, FP1 started in almost completely dry conditions and saw both Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK riders immediately comfortable on their R1 WorldSBK race machines as they led the field at the 45-minute mark.
Free Practice 2 provided another chance to find their preferred set-up ahead of Race 1 tomorrow, with the opportunity to do longer race simulation runs as temperatures heated up this afternoon. Two extra tyre choices available in the form of development derivatives of Pirelli’s soft SCX tyre gave all teams in the premier class a little more work to do, as they assess which of the new constructions could provide more grip in each of the races.
Saturday’s WorldSBK schedule follows the regular pattern of Free Practice 3 at 09:00 (CEST) with 30 minutes of track time available to confirm set-up changes ahead of Superpole qualifying at 11:10, before Race 1 on the Adriatic coast at 14:00.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: P2 – 1’34.115
“Today we started well and also this afternoon we try the new Pirelli tyres – also not bad, because there are two new tyres, and we finished in second position for FP2. First exit we tried one new option, and last 15 minutes of FP2 we tried the other one. Now we check which one is better for the race, or maybe original X tyre is better, but we will see. I like this Misano track, I’m very close to Bautista for fast lap time – but cancel lap because I touch a little the green on corner 11. But anyway, we are fast and we will improve the set-up for the race. It looks OK, now we are nearly ready for the race – it looks like we are fighting again with Bautista and Johnny but we will see. I feel I am very close to the win, but the race is always a different story and I will do my best. Tomorrow we need a good start and a good position in qualifying, I will try again for pole position and after we will see in the race.”
Andrea Locatelli: P10 – 1’34.844
“I’m happy about FP1 because we started immediately with the good lap time and also the feeling with the bike was good. The same this afternoon, but the problem was we tried one new rear tyre option and the feeling was strange during the long run, compared to the normal tyre we use. It was not so easy to push on the bike. For sure it was a positive day overall, I can do a fast lap but in the classification we are a little bit in the back but I think for tomorrow we can start in the front group. I’d like to start on the first row, but if it’s not possible we will try on the second because it’s important to have a good start position for the race. Here in Misano, I think we can have a good result – I’m thinking positive, for sure tomorrow is another day, there were no mistakes and now we have a lot of data and something to work with for tonight to prepare the bike for tomorrow.”
Paul Denning, Team Principal – Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK:
“A good first day overall here in Misano. The boys went 1-2 in FP1 which is always a nice thing to see at the end of a session, then we worked on the settings for the long races this afternoon. The track appears to be a bit bumpier than it was last year and there’s a little bit more work to do than usual to define which of the three soft Pirelli SCX tyres will be best for the Superpole Race and full-length feature races. We have some work to do with both riders, but the outright speed is definitely there and I think we can take a step in FP3 to be competitive tomorrow. Misano is a busy event for many teams, but we are pleased to be able to welcome back many of our Italian partners to WorldSBK this weekend to enjoy the racing and see both Toprak and Loka compete for the podium on track.”
