Danilo Petrucci has admitted he needed to ‘wake up’ following the opening lap of the Superpole Race in Phillip Island, after being caught out by the aggressive nature of racing in WorldSBK.
Remy Gardner apologies to teammate Dominique Aegerter after a mistake under braking at turn four cost the two WorldSBK rookies a potential double top five for GRT Yamaha.
Former MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci has joked that his decision to join the World Superbike championship was motivated by the chance to watch the thrilling racing more closely.
Remy Gardner could be one of several rookies to ruffle the feathers of established WorldSBK riders during this weekend’s season-opener at Phillip Island, following an impressive two day test.
Toprak Razgatlioglu bounces back from an FP1 fall to top the opening day of official WorldSBK testing at Phillip Island, while Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea also crashed in FP2.
WorldSBK race winner Michael Van Der Mark is not convinced that the likes of Danilo Petrucci and Remy Gardner are normal ‘rookies’ given their success and experience in other championships.
Despite finishing his third WorldSBK test earlier this week, two-time WorldSSP champion Dominique Aegerter remains surprised by the braking prowess of his Yamaha R1 which is ‘something I need to get used to’, says the Swiss rider.
WorldSBK rookie Danilo Petrucci admits he’s ‘still looking for the correct riding style’ after finishing 2.4s down on world champion Alvaro Bautista in Portimao.
Alvaro Bautista finished the Portimao WorldSBK test fastest despite a turn seven crash, while Jonathan Rea, Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Toprak Razgatlioglu also went underneath the existing lap record.
On a day where the Portimao WorldSBK lap record came close to being broken, Remy Gardner signalled his intent by finishing as the fastest rookie by over five tenths.
One of two WorldSBK rookies making their first appearance of 2023 - the other being MIE Honda rider Eric Granado - Bradley Ray made a solid start aboard the Motoxracing Yamaha as he finished 2.7s down on Michael Ruben Rinaldi.
After finishing second in the opening session of the day, Michael Ruben Rinaldi went one better in the afternoon to end day-one of the Portimao WorldSBK test quickest.
GRT Yamaha have officially taken the covers off their 2023 WorldSBK machine as Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner get set for their second pre-season test of the year.
Back-to-back top ten finishes during the two-day WorldSBK test at Jerez has left Danilo Petrucci feeling strong about his performance ahead of Portimao, although ‘I still don’t have the bike 100% in my hands’, says the Italian.