WorldSBK Phillip Island Test: Razgatlioglu tops Day 1, Bayliss Third In WorldSSP!

Despite being a Test day, there was drama everywhere as five red flags, with several of these due to geese near the track, while there was also drama for the ‘titanic trio’. Both Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista went down at Turn 4 in FP2, while Toprak Razgatlioglu had an FP1 crash at Turn 10.

Toprak Razgatlioglu was fastest on the opening day of testing ahead of Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Despite his FP1 crash, 2021 Champion Razgatlioglu was able to bounce back in FP2 to top the timesheets in the two-hour session with a 1’30.674s and that time was also good enough to top the times in the combined classification on Day 1.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi was the lead Ducati rider in second ahead of teammate and 2022 WorldSBK Champion Alvaro Bautista, with only 0.035s separating them.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was second and 0.099s slower than Razgatlioglu but he was able to finish ahead of teammate Bautista with the reigning Champion in third place and 0.134s down on Razgatlioglu. Six-time Champion Rea took fourth spot after setting a 1’30.889s with Rea the first rider to lap in the 1’30s bracket.

Remy Gardner was the fastest Rookie in seventh place, finishing 0.926s behind Razgatlioglu.

Several riders with Independent teams shone brightly in Australia on Day 1 of the test, with four finishing inside the top ten behind Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in fifth place. Locatelli had topped FP1 with a 1’31.008s and was unable to beat that in FP2 with his time good enough for fifth place. German rider Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) took sixth spot and was the top Independent rider on his Ducati, lapping 0.921s slower than Razgatlioglu, while home hero Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was seventh and only 0.005s behind Oettl.

Six-time Champion Rea took fourth spot after setting a 1’30.889s.

New BMW recruit Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was the fastest BMW rider on Day 1 after he posted a 1’31.671s with the American improving his time by a second between FP1 and FP2, while rookie Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was ninth after posting a best time of 1’31.728s. Factory BMW rider Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) rounded out the top ten after lapping around a tenth slower than Aegerter.

Philipp Oettl concluded Day 1 in fifth as the fastest Independent rider.

Team HRC’s Iker Lecuona was the highest-placed Honda rider on Day 1 with 11th spot on his first visit to Phillip Island in WorldSBK after he missed the 2022 season-ending round through injury. His time, a 1’31.904s, was more than a tenth quicker than rookie Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) in 12th spot with the Italian almost 1.5s down on Razgatlioglu’s pace setting time. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took 13th spot with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) rounding out the top 15.

Both Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista went down at Turn 4 in FP2, while Toprak Razgatlioglu had an FP1 crash at Turn 10.

Frenchman Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) took 16th spot on his M 1000 RR machine, 1.619s down on Razgatlioglu’s time but only 0.015s away from a spot in the top ten. 2013 Champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 17th with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) 18th and Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) 19th. Rookie Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) took 20th on his first visit to Phillip Island on the Yamaha YZF R1 machine while MIE Racing Honda Team duo Hafizh Syahrin and Eric Granado were 21st and 22nd respectively. Granado had a crash at Turn 12 with around 40 minutes left in the session but was declared fit following a check-up at the medical centre.

WorldSBK Phillip Island Day One Test Top Three (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 1’30.674s
2 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.099s
3 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0-134s

WorldSSP
It was a disrupted first day of testing for the FIM Supersport World Championship during the Official Test at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit as Italian rider Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was the fastest rider on the day after the two sessions as he posted a 1’35.527s to top the times after the fifth red flag of the day.

Bulega sets the pace on the opening day of the Official Test at Phillip Island.

Both Bulega and Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) improved after the red flag with the pair briefly swapping places before Bulega cemented his place at the top, with Manzi finishing 0.216s behind. Local hero Bayliss, ahead of his second WorldSSP campaign on the Ducati Panigale V2, took third spot as he goes in search of his first WorldSSP podium after the Australian rider switched teams for the 2023 campaign.

Oli Bayliss was third on the opening day of the Official Test ahead of his home round this weekend.

Bayliss’ time of a 1’34.103s prevented an Italian 1-2-3 after Day 1 of action in Australia with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) in fourth place and just over a tenth behind the Australian. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the lead Kawasaki rider with fifth place, more than seven tenths down on Bulega’s pace, while Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), returning to the venue where he won his first WorldSSP race, was sixth after setting his best time of 1’34.345s in FP1, while Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was seventh.

WorldSSP Phillip Island Test Day One Top Three (Full Results Here)

1 Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’33.527s
2 Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) +0.216s
3 Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.576

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