2023 Misano WorldSBK Test results - Thursday: Bautista breaks lap record

The Aruba.it Ducati rider completed his third WorldSBK hat-trick of the season last weekend in Catalunya, which means 11 from a possible 12 wins have gone to Bautista.

And while the opening day of testing was only into the first session, Bautista picked up just where he left off by setting a new unofficial lap record.

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Bautista’s fastest time was a 1:33.035s, which is around three tenths clear of the official lap record set by Bautista during last season’s Superpole. 

At the end of session one (midday), Bautista was more than six tenths clear of Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Another two tenths further back was Michael Ruben Rinaldi, with the Italian facing a deficit of +0.896s.

Those were and remain the only two riders to get within a second of Bautista as Garrett Gerloff and Scott Redding rounded out the top five.

Xavi Vierge then bumped Gerloff down to fifth during the afternoon, but he too could not get within a second of Bautista.