It’s been a positive testing season for Australian Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) as he gears up for his second MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season. Flying the flag for Filippo Conti’s team at the test with teammate Dominique Aegerter still unwell and out of action, the #87 stormed to fourth on the timesheets as he once again impresses.

Setting more laps than anyone else inside the top ten (89 laps to be specific), Gardner worked thoroughly throughout the day with plenty of long runs, whilst also launching a late time attack in the closing stages. Second Yamaha in the order to Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon) ahead of him, 0.207s split the pair, with the Australian +0.355s off Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) top time. Gardner topped the test at Jerez in 2023 immediately after the final round of the season and after a strong Jerez test last week, he’s taken his competitivity to Portugal.

Speaking after the first day in the Algarve, Gardner said: “We had a lot of things to try. It was a decent day and we got up to speed quite fast, we need to find something else for tomorrow but a good start. I managed to do an OK lap time in the end and of course I wanted more but it’s only day one. We tried to look for some grips and were reconfirming parts from Jerez. We tried some more tyres to but nothing new.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll work on our base setup and not work on testing so many things; we’ll treat as more of a race weekend,” resumed Gardner. “The first race is coming and we’ll try to be a bit better with the pace and do a long run as well tomorrow. I think we got off to a good start and both factory guys have really good pace. Hopefully we can find something for day two and find another step.”

2024 IS HERE: WorldSBK’s new era is unmissable; enjoy it all, wherever you are, with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

As the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s curtain starts to lift up off the ground, the stage is set for an almighty battle. BMW are keen to be part of that and with new signing Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) seemingly straight on the pace, teammate Michael van der Mark is in contention too.

‘EL TURCO’ responds to BMW critics: “Everyone speaks about it, says it’s not good but it is”

Day one at Portimao was prosperous for both; Razgatlioglu, who had a couple of days to recover from burning and aching on his backside after a seat position didn’t work out at Jerez, was straight on the pace and didn’t leave the top three pretty much all day. The #54 stated that he was 95% happy with the braking of his M 1000 RR ahead of the test and instead, was searching for an improvement in rear grip, one of the long-lasting complaints of the bike since it was introduced in 2021. Having tested a swingarm at Jerez and not being convinced on it, this test serves as one for purely reconfirming – or disregarding – items, ideas and theories.

Speaking about what he tested, the agenda of the day and what’s to come on day two, Razgatlioglu said: “I can’t say what we tried but the feeling is that the first bike is much better. We’ll just use that and then tomorrow, we’ll try some different setups as well as shocks and suspensions. I like to go to Jerez and Portimao, here is my favourite circuit and I’m riding very well. Every day, we have improved the bike and it’s not bad. Everyone speaks about it, saying it’s not good but it is good. It’s not 100% but we’re still improving and we’re coming. We aren’t far away. If the bike didn’t have potential, I wouldn’t have made the lap time of a 1’40.0. I feel the potential and I’m happy for this, we just need to keep working.”

“I wasn’t happy with it at Jerez but here, I’m a lot happier” – van der Mark on new swingarm

On the other side of the box, Michael van der Mark likewise had plenty to keep him busy. The new swingarm was one of the main items for the 2014 WorldSSP Champion to be working on. Having already echoed the sentiments of BMW’s big bosses in saying that it isn’t one singular thing that improves the bike but instead a collection of parts, van der Mark finished P7 on day one and was right in the top four places for most of the day, with others working on long runs before firing in softer rubber at the end.

Summarising day one, the #60 stated: “We had a good day and our programme was to just to confirm the parts we tried at Jerez. We had two different bikes and did longer runs to do a full comparison. It was quite interesting; this is a different track and the feedback from the parts was different to Jerez, so there’s a lot to think about. We tried a new swingarm; I had it in Jerez as well but this is a different track so we back-to-backed it here. I wasn’t happy with it at Jerez but here, I’m a lot happier with it. If it’s working here, we can play with the setup and make it work.”

2024 IS HERE: WorldSBK’s new era is unmissable; enjoy it all, wherever you are, with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon) switching to Yamaha, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) joining BMW, Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) returning to action or even Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) getting a dream factory ride with KRT. We weren’t short on stories ahead of the season starting and the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has another headline – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). Over 80 laps at Portimao, the #11 was on top again as day one concluded.

MAN ON A MISSION: full gas for ‘Bulegas’

He was one of the fastest at Jerez at the end of 2023, he topped last week’s test at the same circuit (with a new unofficial lap record) and now, he’s hit top spot again. Nicolo Bulega has been fast from the start of his WorldSBK career and once again, outshone reigning World Champion teammate Alvaro Bautista. Bulega worked on getting familiar with the bike at a different circuit and seemingly it went well, with him being the only rider to set a 1’39 – a 1’39.932. Teammate Bautista was three quarters of a second off the pace, albeit further up the order than Jerez (P8 compared to P16), the #1 is seemingly still struggling with his neck injury as well as adapting to the 5-6kg that have been put on his Ducati Panigale V4 R to meet the new weight rules.

BMW SHINE: Razgatlioglu and van der Mark on the pace

P2 belonged to Toprak Razgatlioglu, who confirmed that he had new parts – although what remains to be confirmed. One thing we do know is that BMW on a whole have a new swingarm, updated engine specs, revised aero packages and ever-improving electronics. Speaking at Jerez, the plan was to continue testing the same parts, making sure the findings are consistent from one track to another. The #54 continued to try and find a solution for rear grip and is 95% happy with the braking of the bike. Teammate Michael van der Mark had a solid day one in P7, with the objective of the day refining the base bike as well as trialling different swingarms, with the new one heading out at the end of the day. Elsewhere for BMW, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) also had a new swingarm and setting options to work through. He was 12^th overall, with teammate Scott Redding 15^th.

YAMAHA’S LATE CHARGE: Rea and Locatelli join Gardner to complete the top five

On his penultimate flying lap, Jonathan Rea flew into P3 to slash the gap to Bulega to just 0.148s. Ahead of him on the track, teammate Andrea Locatelli finished P5. Rea’s mission to get more comfortable on the bike continued, with it being the first track at which he tries out the R1 besides Jerez. As for ‘Loka’, he confirmed ahead of testing that he’s now debriefing in English with crew chief Tom O’Kane, instead of Italian with ex-crew chief Andrew Pitt. Team boss Paul Denning confirmed that the team had various small new items but they were all inside. Between the two factory Yamahas, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was fourth and once again having a strong test. His teammate Dominique Aegerter isn’t present as he’s still unwell.

OUTSIDE THE TOP 5: stories galore as Sam Lowes rockets to sixth, Honda improve

Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) was sixth and looking strong as he got down to business at a new circuit. With the idea to get used to Portimao on a Superbike, he also had seat position updates and fuel tank shape, purely for ergonomics. On day two, he may have new fork internals from Ohlins. At Honda, one side of the garage can be happy with work done as Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) finished ninth as the team continue to get acclimatised to the new CBR1000RR-R. One place behind him and the last rider within one second of Bulega’s time, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). He tried a new swingarm, as the hunt for more rear grip and better acceleration continues, although a tech problem slowed his progress. Just behind him, Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was back in action after missing Jerez and started on the 2023-spec Yamaha.

FURTHER DOWN FIELD: Lecuona struggles, Rinaldi, Redding, Petrucci, Iannone and Bassani behind

Less than three tenths covered Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in 13^th to Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in 18^th. Whilst better than at Jerez, the #7 Honda of Lecuona still seemingly needs time to get up to speed and find a solid base for the new bike, whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Motocorsa Racing) was in 14^th on his second day of 2024 testing. Redding was 15^th but expect more from the Brit on day two, whilst Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) is back at a circuit he struggled at during testing in 2023. ‘Petrux’ finished 1.239s adrift of Bulega, despite new seat and swingarm parts, as he seeks a solution for his new-tyre struggles. Spending the day understanding the rollercoaster of Portimao, Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) bedded in, with bike geometry and setting refinement to come. Axel Bassani set his fastest lap on his final flying lap and only used one bike throughout the day, as he spent time working on riding style and position on the bike.

ROUNDING UP: the rest of the order, Huertas tops WorldSSP

Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) continued his track time with the factory-spec ZX-10RR, just 1.571s off Bulega, with Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) behind him – expect Oettl to be faster on day two, repeating the trend from Jerez. BMW’s test team of Sylvain Guintoli and Bradley Smith were tied together in the order, although the 2014 WorldSBK Champion nearly eight tenths quicker than his British counterpart. Florian Marino (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) continued his test-rider duties, whilst the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team of Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin missed most of the action on day one, with just two laps being set my Mackenzie and not on the pace. In WorldSSP, Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was fastest with a 1’43.806, whilst Niccolo Antonelli (Althea Racing Team) and teammate Piotr Biesiekirski were behind.

Top ten at the end of Day 1 at Portimao, full results here (lap times combined below):

1 Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’39.913 – 82 laps

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.094s – 73 laps

3. Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon) +0.148s – 74 laps

4. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.355s – 89 laps

5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon) +0.357s – 78 laps

6. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.550s – 74 laps

7. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.723 – 82 laps

8. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.760 – 86 laps

9. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +0.816s – 89 laps

10. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.866s – 65 laps

2024 IS HERE: WorldSBK’s new era is unmissable; enjoy it all, wherever you are, with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship takes to the track once more as testing duties continue, this time at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, with all teams present for what is a super important two days of action. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) comes into the test as the rider to beat after a stunning Jerez test a few days ago, whilst reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista will seek to either confirm to those that say he was sandbagging at Jerez or maintain that he was genuinely struggling. Get a full look at what happened at Jerez here with highlights, whilst the full report is here. All times below are local (GMT +0). You can follow the Live Timing from the test here.

11:00 – 1 hour down, plenty more to go! Toprak Razgatliolgu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) lead a BMW 1-2 ahead of teammate Michael van der Mark with a 1’40.874, although Gardner just went up to P2. The outright WorldSBK lap record at Portimao is a 1’39.610 set by Rea on a Kawasaki in Tissot Superpole in 2022.

10:45 – After the first 45 minutes, Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon) leads the way ahead of Remy Gardner, with Alvaro Bautista in third. Rea’s teammate Andrea Locatelli is in P4, ahead of Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW). Bulega is currently P7; the top seven are all covered by 0.269s.

10:06 – The first track activity! Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) was the first one out, followed by Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Motocorsa Racing), Brad Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and Remy Gardner (GYTR GT Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

10:00 – GREEN FLAG: the track is officially open as WorldSBK testing continues!

2024 IS HERE: WorldSBK’s new era is unmissable; enjoy it all, wherever you are, with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com