Jonathan Rea may be the reigning champion but it was Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista who impressed on the first day of the Official Phillip Island WorldSBK Test, with the Spaniard setting a 1:30.743 in the morning’s opening two-hour session.

Bautista proving that his all-new V-four machine is adapting well to the unique stresses and demands of the 4.445km circuit – which has the highest average speed of the 13 venues where WorldSBK will visit in 2019.

Alvaro Bautista - Image by GeeBee

Alvaro Bautista – Image by GeeBee

Bautista’s hot lap eclipsed the current lap record of 1:30.848 as the former MotoGP rider and the 125 GP world champion continues to make a solid transition into the production series.

Meanwhile Rea (1:31.189), chasing an unprecedented fifth WorldSBK title in 2019 on his Kawasaki, was third fastest on day one, behind Yamaha’s Alex Lowes (1:31.146) and in front of Tom Sykes (BMW, 1:31.300), Leon Haslam (Kawasaki, 1:31.349), Marco Melandri (Yamaha, 1:31.445), Michael van der Mark (Yamaha, 1:31.458), Sandro Cortese (Yamaha, 1:31.639), Markus Reiterberger (BMW, 1:31.992) and Turkey’s Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki, 1:32.050).

Jonathan Rea - Image by GeeBee

Jonathan Rea – Image by GeeBee

Sykes, quickly came to grips with the completely revamped BMW S 1000 RR, Haslam and Razgatlioglu were the only three riders to circulate faster this afternoon as a swirling 22-knot wind made setting fast times difficult.

Leon Camier (Honda) finished the day in 11th, while world #2 Chaz Davies (Ducati) was 13th. Australia’s Troy Herfoss (Honda) was 19th on his Honda in a challenging day for the reigning national superbike champion.

Troy Herfoss - Image by GeeBee

Troy Herfoss – Image by GeeBee

In WorldSSP, Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher was fastest on his Yamaha, with Aussie teenage wildcard Tom Toparis (Yamaha) just outside the top 10.

Randy Krummenacher - Image by GeeBee

Randy Krummenacher – Image by GeeBee

Day two of the final pre-season test will again see the WorldSBK and WorldSSP riders out on track in two separate sessions, as they finalise race setup ahead of the season opener.

Tickets for entry and on-circuit camping for this weekend’s (Feb 22-24) opening round of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, Yamaha Finance Australia round, at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit are available from Ticketek now. Buy before midday Wednesday and save.

Tom Toparis - Image by GeeBee

Tom Toparis – Image by GeeBee

Kids 15 and under, accompanied by full-paying adult, are free for entry and camping. Camping opens 9am Thursday to Monday, with 24 hour gate entrance, via gate 2.

Weather predictions for the weekend are fine and a pleasant 25-28 degrees – the perfect recipe for a summer weekend away at Phillip Island. For further information www.worldsbk.com.au.

WorldSBK Test – Best time of day one (Monday 18 Feb)

  1. Alvaro Bautista – Ducati (Spain) 1m30.743 (session 1)
  2. Alex Lowes – Yamaha (GBR) 1m31.146 (session 1)
  3. Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki (GBR) 1m31.189 (session 1)
  4. Tom Sykes – BMW (GBR) 1m31.300 (session 2)
  5. Leon Haslam – Kawasaki (GBR) 1m31.399 (session 2)
  6. Marco Melandri – Yamaha (ITA) 1m31.445 (session 1)
  7. Michael van der Mark – Yamaha (NED) 1m31.458 (session 1)
  8. Sandro Cortese – Yamaha (GER) 1m31.639 (session 1)
  9. Markus Reiterberger – BMW (GER) 1m31.992 (session 1)
  10. Toprak Razgatlioglu – Kawasaki (Turkey) 1m32.050 (session 2)
    …19. Troy Herfoss – Honda (Australia) 1m34.961 (session 1) (Wild Card)

WorldSSP Test – Best time of day one (Monday 18 Feb)

  1. Randy Krummenacher – Yamaha (Switz) 1m33.820 (session 2)
  2. Federico Caricasulo – Yamaha (ITA) 1m33.882 (session 1)
  3. Jules Cluzel – Yamaha (France) 1m34.198 (session 2)
    …14. Tom Toparis – Yamaha (Australia) 1m35.690 (session 2) (Wild Card)
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