Catalunya WorldSBK FP1 Results: Lecuona fastest as Rea, Bautista renew battle
Iker Lecuona claimed a surprising top spot finish ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi during FP1 at the Catalunya WorldSBK round.
Following their dramatic incident at Magny-Cours, Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea found themselves together on-track with the six-time champion following Bautista.
In order to position himself behind the Ducati rider, Rea made an ambitious move on Scott Redding heading into turn five, with the BMW rider also keen to follow Bautista.
After agreeing to a new deal with Aruba.it Ducati, Rinaldi was the early pacesetter as he led the way from Rea and Bautista.
Then began an exchange between Rea and Bautista as the Kawasaki rider attempted a move at turn ten, before running wide on corner exit which allowed Bautista to get the switchback.
While the majority of the riders headed back into pit lane following their opening stint, Bautista was one of the only riders to keep going as moved ahead of Rea for second spot.
Home favourite Lecuona also showed impressive pace as he jumped ahead of reigning world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu for P4.
| 2022 World Superbike Barcelona, Spain - Free Practice Results (1) | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | 1:41.396s |
| 2 | Michael Rinaldi | ITA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | +0.535s |
| 3 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK | +0.595s |
| 4 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | +0.646s |
| 5 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | +0.717s |
| 6 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK | +0.747s |
| 7 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | +0.962s |
| 8 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | +1.287s |
| 9 | Eugene Laverty | IRL | Bonovo Action BMW | +1.292s |
| 10 | Xavi Vierge | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | +1.348s |
| 11 | Scott Redding | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | +1.487s |
| 12 | Philipp Oettl | GER | GoEleven Ducati | +1.622s |
| 13 | Loris Baz | FRA | Bonovo Action BMW | +1.647s |
| 14 | Kohta Nozane | JPN | GRT Yamaha | +2.077s |
| 15 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Ducati | +2.079s |
| 16 | Oliver Konig | CZE | Orelac Racing Kawasaki | +2.198s |
| 17 | Lucas Mahias | FRA | Puccetti Kawasaki | +2.235s |
| 18 | Christophe Ponsson | FRA | Gil Motor Sport Yamaha | +2.474s |
| 19 | Oscar Gutierrez | SPA | Pedercini Kawasaki | +2.496s |
| 20 | Roberto Tamburini | ITA | Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSBK Team | +3.008s |
| 21 | Leandro Mercado | ARG | MIE Honda Racing | +3.034s |
| 22 | Luca Bernardi | SM | Barni Spark Ducati Team | +3.262s |
| 23 | Michael Van Der Mark | SPA | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | +3.529s |
| 24 | Hafizh Syahrin | MAL | MIE Honda Racing | No Time Set |
Lecuona’s FP1 session then got even better after moving to the top of the leaderboard by over half a second from Rinaldi.
Clearly in qualifying trim, Lecuona was also 1.6 seconds quicker than team-mate Xavi Vierge.
With the three title contenders and Rinaldi opting out of a time attack run, Lecuona held strong at the top of the timinigsheets, his first time topping a Superbike session.
Superbike Catalunya Records
Lap Record - Tom Sykes GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team 1:40.408s
2021 Race Winners
Race 1 - Scott Redding GBR Aruba.it Ducati
Superpole Race - Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team
Race 2 - Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.it Ducati
Michael Van Der Mark ran into early trouble as a mechanical issue on just his second flying lap meant an early return to pit lane and end of session for the Dutch rider.
In other BMW news, Loris Baz will officially be staying at Bonovo Action BMW, adding yet another name to the 2023 WorldSBK rider line-up.
2022 Superbike Catalunya Weekend Schedule
Friday
Free Practice 1 - 09:30-10:15
Free Practice 2 - 14:00-14:45
Saturday
Free Practice 3 - 08:00-08:30
Superpole - 10:10-10:25
Race One 13:00
Sunday
Warm-up - 08:00-08:15
Superpole Race - 10:00
Race Two - 13:00
