Scott Redding dominates opening day of testing in Portugal

WSBK Portimao Test Day One

After a rain-affected WorldSBK test at Jerez, WorldSBK headed west to Portimao for testing overnight and got to enjoy some Portuguese sunshine.

It was a Yamaha 1-2-3 at lunch time but Scott Redding got down to business in the afternoon to best the Yamaha men by more than half-a-second.

Scott Redding set quick lap times on both of his bikes and had only been to Portimao once before. With long corners coupled with tight hairpins, the track provides the perfect opportunity for this testing.

Team-mate Chaz Davies confessed that he didn’t really learn much at Jerez and started from square one on Sunday in Portugal. Davies steadily improved throughout the day before eventually finishing seventh on the time-sheets.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Chaz Davies

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Chaz Davies

Chaz Davies

Loris Baz was eager to demonstrate his prowess on the Yamaha, as he and his Dutch Ten Kate Racing Yamaha squad prepare for their first full season together. Testing different parts on both the 2019 and 2020 Yamahas, Baz made plenty of strides forward and ended the opening day second only to Redding.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Loris Baz

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Loris Baz

Loris Baz

Other Independent riders accompanying Baz inside the top ten were Sandro Cortese (Barni Racing Team) in eighth and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) in tenth. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Goeleven) was one place further behind.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Garrett Gerloff

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Garrett Gerloff

Garrett Gerloff

Michael van der Mark had tyre degradation work on his mind, the Dutchman’s aims are to get the bike smoother on tyres, he was fourth at the chequered flag.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Michael VanDerMark

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Michael VanDerMark

Michael van der Mark

Pata Yamaha Team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu was one place ahead of van der Mark and also worked on chassis balance, whilst valuing every lap he got aboard the Yamaha YZF R1. The Turkish rider came into Portimao having been second in Spain and was third after day one in Portugal.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Toprak Razgatlioglu

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Toprak Razgatlioglu

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Flying the BMW flag on day one at Portimao was Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), with the Irishman going well at the circuit he took his most recent pole position at. Laverty had plenty to test and was looking at how well the engine was working, given the length of the straight at Portimao. However, the 2013 WorldSBK runner-up suffered an engine failure at Turn 3 in the afternoon, bringing out the red flag.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Tom Sykes

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes

Team-mate Tom Sykes was working on electronics and also his chassis, aiming to improve his race set-up. At the end of the day, Laverty completed the top five whilst Tom Sykes was sixth.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Leon Haslam

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day Leon Haslam

Leon Haslam

Featuring at the top of the time-sheets at Jerez and once again a prominent force in Portugal, the HRC Team continued looking for their base set-up for the CBR1000RR-R. Leon Haslam was fifth at lunch time before continuing his day acquiring laps and data, whilst Alvaro Bautista got to grips with the Portimao circuit aboard the all-new Honda. Come the close of business on Sunday, Haslam was eighth and Bautista 15th, with plenty more to come on day two for the Honda duo.

In 13th place after turning his first wheel of 2020, Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) enjoyed his Portimao experience aboard the ZX-10RR. Experimenting with a new swingarm and chassis, Fores will aim to consolidate his findings on day two. He was one place ahead of Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) whilst Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) was in 16th.

WorldSBK Portimão Test Day One Unofficial Times
  1. Scott Redding – Ducati 1m41.179s
  2. Loris Baz – Yamaha 1m41.752s
  3. Toprak Razgatlioglu – Yamaha 1m41.881s
  4. Michael Van der Mark – Yamaha 1m42.057s
  5. Eugene laverty – BMW1m42.661s
  6. Tom Sykes – BMW 1m42.740s
  7. Chaz Davies – Ducati 1m42.749s
  8. Sandro Cortese – Ducati 1m42.936s
  9. Leon Haslam – Honda 1m42.967s
  10. Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha 1m43.031s
  11. Michael Rinaldi – Ducati 1m43.218s
  12. Leandro Mercado – Ducati 1m43.343s
  13. Xavi Fores – Kawasaki 1m43.490s
  14. Federico Caricasulo – Yamaha 1m43.533s
  15. Alvaro Bautista – Honda 1m43.662s
  16. Sylvain Barrier – Ducati 1m44.016s
  17. Christophe Ponsson – Aprilia 1m44.035s

WorldSSP

After an intriguing test at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, it was Portimao’s turn to play host to the FIM Supersport World Championship teams and riders, as they take part in two more days of frantic testing.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Cluzel

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Cluzel

Jules Cluzel

The rollercoaster circuit in the Algarve saw three-time WorldSSP runner-up Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) on top of the pile, heading fellow countryman Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), whilst South African Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) completed the top three.

Cluzel continued his pre-season with good pace in Portugal, with the Portimao circuit proving to be to his liking. Fellow countryman Lucas Mahias was also finding the Portimao track enjoyable, having taken a phenomenal victory in the World Supersport class back in 2018. Working on suspension settings and refining small details, Mahias was busy on day one.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Lucas Mahias

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Lucas Mahias

Lucas Mahias

Steven Odendaal was also right in contention, with the rookie taking his Dutch squad into the leading positions, whilst explaining that there was little difference between slick and road tyres.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Steven Odendaal

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Steven Odendaal

Steven Odendaa

Italian star Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) was fresh off the back of testing at Almeria and was eager to join the other teams on circuit. He continued his adaption to the World Supersport class and placed fourth come the end of day one.

Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) was up in fifth, also looking to refine small details of his package. Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) enjoyed his first testing action of 2020 and was sixth, with three manufacturers inside the top six.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Corentin Perolari

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Corentin Perolari

Corentin Perolari

Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was back in action after extensive testing at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, taking to Portimao for the first time. The German rider was fractionally ahead of Jaimie van Sikkelerus (MPM Routz Racing Team), who set as many laps as possible ahead of his first full season on Yamaha machinery.

Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) was ninth on his WorldSSP debut, whilst Turkish rookie Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) was tenth and the last of the WorldSSP runners and riders.

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Can Oncu

WorldSBK Test Portimao Day WSS Can Oncu

Can Öncü

WorldSSP Portimão Test Day One Unofficial Times
  1. Jules Cluzel – Yamaha 1m44.933s
  2. Lucas Mahias – Kawasaki 1m45.059s
  3. Steven Odendaal – Yamaha 1m45.428s
  4. Andrea Locatelli – Yamaha 1m45.554s
  5. Corentin Perolari – Yamaha 1m45.570s
  6. Hikaro Okubo – Honda 1m46.846s
  7. Phillip Ottl – Kawasaki 1m47.111s
  8. Jaimie Van Sikkelrus – Yamaha 1m47.168s
  9. Danny Webb – Yamaha 1m47.261s
  10. Can Oncu – Kawasaki 1m47.419s

Source: MCNews.com.au

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