Phillip Island WorldSBK & WorldSSP Test Wrap | Race News

Caricasulo’s first Official Test with his new Motozoo ME AIR Racing team couldn’t have gone much better as he set a 1’31.943s to post the first ever 1’31s lap of the legendary Phillip Island circuit, going two tenths quicker than Andrea Locatelli’s pole lap record of 1’31.176s from 2020, although he did have a crash at Turn 4 in FP1 which impacted his testing programme. However, in the final 30 minutes of the session, Montella overhauled his time by 0.062s to claim top spot in both FP1 and FP2, unofficially smashing the lap record. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) claimed third with a 1’32.183s, matching Locatelli’s pole lap record but finishing three tenths down on Montella.

Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) comes into 2024 having replaced last year’s Champion, Nicolo Bulega, and started his Ducati career with P4 at the Official Test. The #99’s day was disrupted by a crash at Turn 9 in the final hour of FP2, with his bike brought back to the pits, but his 1’32.290s was enough to secure fourth. Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) claimed fifth place with Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in sixth despite losing time in FP1 thanks to a technical problem. He was 0.453s slower than Montella.

2017 Champion Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) is returning to WorldSSP on a full-time basis, and he showed his speed with P7 on Day 1 on his Yamaha YZF-R6 as he lapped half-a-second down on Montella. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was eighth as he looks to build on his stunning 2023 rookie campaign, with two Triumph riders just behind him and rounding out the top ten. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph), who’s switched to the Street Triple RS 765 for this season, was ninth ahead of Jorge Navarro (WRP-RT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph) in tenth as the team get ready for their WorldSSP debut. Despite his strong day, the #9’s FP1 session was impacted by a Turn 10 tumble.

Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) narrowly missed out on a spot in the top ten as he finished the day in P11, only 0.017s clear of home hero Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing) in 12^th with the Australian planning on completing a long run in FP2. Rookie Niccolo Antonelli (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) was 13^th ahead of the returning Lorenzo Baldassarri (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), looking to mount a title challenge in 2024, in 14^th. Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) completed the top 15^th.

There were several red flags throughout the day, mostly due to birds on track, which caused some disruption. However, Piotr Biesiekirski (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) brought out the red flags when he crashed at Turn 2 with just over an hour to go, with the Polish rider taken to the medical centre. At the end of the session, he was transported to hospital by helicopter; he is conscious but suffered a head injury and concussion. Marcel Brenner (VIAMO Racing by MTM) also crashed, this time at Turn 6, which disrupted his day although, as it came in the final hour, his lost running was kept to a minimum. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) had a technical problem during FP2 when his bike came to a halt at Turn 11.

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The Aussie Riders
WorldSSP 12 32 Oli BAYLISS AUS D34G Racing WorldSSP Team Ducati Panigale V2 1’32.884
WorldSSP 17 21 Tom TOPARIS AUS Stop & Seal Racing Yamaha YZF R6 1’33.259 
WorldSBK 8 87 Remy GARDNER AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1’29.399

The top six from the Official Test for WorldSSP, full results here:
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’31.881s
⁠Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +0.062s
Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.302s
Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.409s
Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) +0.444s
Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.453s