Tight top ten in opening World Superbike practice session

2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship

Round One – Phillip Island

World Superbike FP1

The track temperature has risen to 36-degrees by the time World Superbike competitors exited pit-lane at 1130 this morning at Phillip Island.

At the halfway point of the 45-minute session Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) led Iker Lecuona (Honda), Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) and Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) fourth to make it four different motorcycle models in that top four.

Remy Gardner survived an off track excursion with around 16-minutes remaining in the session while ranking eighth quickest.  Michael van der Mark then went down at turn six at the same juncture.

Andrea Locatelli promoted himself to P2 with ten-minutes remaining in the session and red sector were now being lit up everywhere after riders slotted in softer rubber. Many riders were bettering Bautista through the first few splits but then lost too much in the final sector to displace the Spaniard from atop the time-sheets.

A big late improver was Michael van der Mark, leaping from P13 up to P5 with just over five-minutes remaining in the session. Rinaldi then followed suit and pushed the Dutchman back to P6.

Iker Lecuona then piloted the Fireblade to a new fastest first sector only to then get untidy under brakes for turn four which ruined that attempt. The Honda man gathered it up though to get his head down next time around and go quickest through sector one again, was still under at sector two but then unfortunately ended up under his own Honda after crashing at turn ten.  You certainly couldn’t accuse him of not trying hard enough…

The chequered flag then came out with Bautista still on top thanks to that early 1m31.032 but things are tight at the top, with the top ten covered by around half-a-second.

World Superbike riders will hit the track again this afternoon at 1600 for another 45-minute Free Practice session.

World Superbike FP1 Times

Phillip Island WorldSBK/ASBK Race Schedule