The two-day private test for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya gives teams and riders a chance to test new components ahead of the season resuming in the Netherlands in April, and Ducati have brought upgrades to the test as they look to continue their strong start to the season. During the first day of testing, Ducati Corse’s Technical Coordinator, Marco Zambenedetti, explained what the Ducati factory team will test in Spain.

The Panigale V4 R has won five of the first six races in the 2023 season but the search for improvements continues for all teams up and down the grid and Ducati are no exception to this as they look to retain the Riders’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ Championships they won in 2022 with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi. For 2023, the Bologna-based manufacturer introduced a new Panigale V4 R model and have started the campaign with five wins, all for Bautista, with the Spanish rider leading the Championship standings.

Despite their strong start to the campaign, Ducati have introduced new components to test in Spain with Zambenedetti outlining what these are and what the benefits will be for the Panigale V4 R. He said: “Here, we bring some new parts. Some of these parts are concentrated in the rear suspension with the target to achieve more grip and better stability. Apart from this, we have some development on the front to achieve faster entry to the corners. We need to test with both riders just to understand which is the direction for the development.”

 Zambenedetti also outlined the programme Ducati will follow during the two-day test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. With the circuit traditionally hard on tyres and brakes, teams will use the test to prepare for the Catalunya Round specifically, but they will also be able to learn new things that could potentially help them throughout the 2023 campaign as they look to secure the best possible results.

Expanding on Ducati’s test, Zambenedetti said: “During this test, we would like to prepare for the round. We will test some new front and rear tyres that Pirelli has brought and that could be something interesting for the Superpole Race. In addition, we are quite happy about how the new bike has started in racing. Of course, we need to continue testing in order to explore more in-depth the new bike configuration to achieve the best. There are some differences and we need to gain the maximum possible. Especially because other competitors are still working. For example, we see on the engine or top speed, we see that BMW and Honda are, for sure, quite fast and sometimes more than us. For this reason, we need to continue to push in all areas with our technical suppliers and internal development staff.”

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The break between the Indonesian and Dutch Rounds in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship calendar is providing teams and riders an opportunity to complete some in-season testing, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosting two days of action on Thursday, 30^th and Friday, 31^st March. The majority of the grid will be present at the test, including all five factory teams, giving them the chance to work on their package ahead of racing resuming at the TT Circuit Assen in April.

A BUSY TEST: the five factories on track together

The Catalunya test will mark the first time the five manufacturers have been on track together since the Indonesian Round as all five teams search for forward steps and more progress. Championship leaders Ducati will have Aruba.it Racing – Ducati duo Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi together in Barcelona, joined by Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli as they look to take a step forward with the Yamaha YZF R1 machine. Razgatlioglu actually took part in a half-a-day track day at the same circuit as Yamaha tested a “new development”. BMW will have their first test between rounds with riders Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and teammate Michael van der Mark.

Two manufacturers who already tested in the gap will be back out on track. Both the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK and Team HRC squads tested recently at MotorLand Aragon and they will return to track action in Spain for two more days of testing in Barcelona. KRT’s Jonathan Rea recently spoke in-depth about the 2023 campaign, which you can read here, and he will be on track with teammate Alex Lowes. Both Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, who took pole position in the 2022 Catalunya Round, will be at the test after they recently tested different chassis bracing and exhaust at Aragon.

INDEPENDENTS ON TRACK: new parts for Petrucci?

Plenty of Independent riders will take to the track too, with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) hoping he will be able to test a new fuel tank to aid his comfort on the bike as he goes in search of a maiden WorldSBK podium. Bradley Ray’s (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) preparations for his maiden campaign continue with the two-day test in Barcelona. From BMW’s Independent team, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) will be the sole rider on track for the Bonovo BMW team as teammate Loris Baz continues his recovery, while Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) and Hafizh Syahrin will be the Independent Honda riders on track.

AN IMPORTANT TEST: looking to continue strong starts to 2023

Lying fourth in the Championship standings after two rounds, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) will look to continue his fine start to the season and the test will be an important part of this at the circuit he took his first WorldSBK podium at. GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK duo Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter, who showed strong pace in their first two WorldSBK rounds, will look to continue their strong form heading to Assen while Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) will also be on track during the test as he looks to make a step forward.

DUCATIS ON TRACK: four WorldSSP riders at the test

The two-day test gives four riders from WorldSSP to complete some testing ahead of the Dutch Round, with all four running the Ducati Panigale V2 machine. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) will make his return from injury at the test after he suffered a broken collarbone in Australia. Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) will be on track as he goes in search of a good feeling at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on his bike, while Orelac Racing VerdNatura duo Raffaele De Rosa and Federico Fuligni will be on track during the test.

REFERENCES: lap records and top speed

WorldSBK outright lap record: 1’40.408s – Tom Sykes, BMW, Superpole, 2021
WorldSBK fastest race lap: 1’41.135 – Alvaro Bautista, Ducati, Superpole Race, 2022
WorldSBK Top Speed record: 331.3km/h – Alvaro Bautista, Honda, 2021

WorldSSP outright lap record: 1’43.983s – Dominique Aegerter, Yamaha, Superpole, 2022
WorldSSP fastest race lap: 1’45.157s – Dominique Aegerter, Yamaha, Race 1, 2022
WorldSSP Top Speed record: 285.7km/h – Oli Bayliss, Ducati & Leonardo Taccini, Yamaha, 2022

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The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is well underway but there’s a strange feeling at the front of the field; missing from battle, six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has endured a torrid start to his ninth season with Kawasaki. Just one podium, sixth in the Championship standings and with a bike that isn’t the force it was in previous seasons, Rea speaks out on just how tough it has been and how he and his team are maximising their package.

TALKING TOUGH: “It’s very hard because we need to improve but I don’t think it’s our reality”

“I expected it to be tough, but not that tough,” begins Rea, after completing the MotorLand Aragon test and in a ‘no pressure’ environment. “It’s very hard because we need to improve but I don’t think it’s our reality. We got it wrong by not maximising our setup in both weekends. Phillip Island was a real curve ball, but I feel like we threw away a race win in the first race, but I had a shifter problem, so I had to manually shift up and down the gearbox all race, which took away a chance to fight for a win. Not that it’d change much about Sunday’s races, as again I had two riders up the inside of me at Turn 4 – Aegerter in the Superpole Race and Bassani in the long race, and that dictated my race. This concerned us as I was looking after my tyre and it was a strange situation, not something we expected.”

“Then, in Indonesia, we just got things wrong setup-wise, I don’t think it’s our true reality, but I know we need to improve. Right now, in WorldSBK, Ducati have a real strong package and their Independent bikes are at the front now and they’re fighting in the mix with the top five or six riders. Andrea Locatelli’s improved and so has my teammate Alex, so those top seven or eight riders are fast and if you don’t get away with Alvaro and Toprak, then you’re in that melee and if you’re struggling to pass already, then you can’t make progress anyway. That’s how it was in the first two rounds.”

HARD FACTS: “Our bike has been very similar for a few years… we need more”

Despite an engine upgrade for 2023, Rea’s battled hard in the opening rounds, albeit in unfamiliar territory, but the bike isn’t getting younger and a step still needs to be made: “We did a lot of laps at Aragon, trying to give as much feedback as I can and leave it up to my team and Kawasaki; they need to improve. Our bike has been very similar now for a few years and we’re working hard with what we have, but we need more.”

COMPANY ASPECT: “We need to think forward, I’m not privy to the future direction of Kawasaki”

Asked whether the bike is now in need of a more radical overhauling to bring him back to a constant race win threat, Rea responded: “I don’t really follow the company direction; Kawasaki is Kawasaki and they’ve been incredibly amazing to me, and I can’t grumble as they do keep improving a bike. It’s a big decision for a production company like Kawasaki to make an adjustment to their homologation. We’ve had a couple of them but they’re very reactionary to what is going on in WorldSBK; we need to think forward now but I’m not privy to the future direction of Kawasaki. We give them a lot of information and data from the track and hopefully we’ll see that start to filter down to the production models soon.”

MORE INDEPENDENT SUPPORT? “You need the exact same spec bike… Yamaha got it right”

Asked as to whether or not a stronger Independent team – such as the structure of Yamaha, Ducati and BMW – would help, Rea explained that it isn’t that easy: “The thing with private teams is that unless they have the exact same equipment… the Puccetti bike now, although it’s green, it doesn’t have many components the same: the fuel tank, chassis, swingarm, engine builders, suspension, exhaust.

“So, to have any benefit from a private team, it needs to start with the exact same spec bike and the rider needs to be very good. Then you have three or four bikes that you can understand. I think that’s where Yamaha got it right with the GRT team; their bikes are very similar specs and for Ducati, their customer bikes are the same apart from one bike. That’s what you need. Kawasaki’s motorcycle department is very small in comparison, and I think they do incredibly well for how they are, but it is certainly new territory trying to catch up but that’s exciting as well.”

Read Part 2 of the interview here and watch the 2023 season unfold in style with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

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The break in the calendar has been useful for Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) as he got his hands on some MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship machinery for the first time in a test at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. Racking up over 100 laps on the Ducati Panigale V4 R, Bulega was able to understand the differences between the Panigale V2 he races in WorldSSP and the Panigale V4 R which is leading the WorldSBK standings in the hands of Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

Bulega is leading the WorldSSP standings after two rounds and four races of the 2023 season, having won both races at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia and finishing fifth and third in Race 1 and Race 2 respectively at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit. The Italian leads compatriot Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) by 18 points after the first two rounds of the season and outlined his WorldSBK ambitions should he take the WorldSSP title this season.

Using the break between the Indonesian and Dutch Rounds, Bulega was able to test the V4 R at the Circuito de Jerez and he racked up more than 100 laps on the WorldSBK-spec machine. It was his first time trying the Ducati WorldSBK machine as he focuses on his WorldSSP campaign but, in an interview, Bulega was able to explain the main differences between the two machines including how he feels the V4 R would need to be trained for differently.

Discussing the differences, Bulega said: “The first day was just to understand the character of the bike because it was very different from my usual V2. The V4, I think, has nearly 100 horsepower more. For sure, the power of the bike was completely different and also the chassis because the V4 is a little bit different from the V2. The weight is also different because the V4 is a little bit heavier than the V2. I understand that I have to train a little bit differently because the V4 needs a different training. It was good.”

Bulega completed more than 100 laps during the test as he got acquainted with the V4 R for the first time in Spain at Jerez, a circuit he has not raced at in WorldSSP but has experience at from his time in Moto3™ and Moto2™. It provided him with a solid starting point given his knowledge of the circuit from his time in the MotoGP™ paddock for his first test on WorldSBK machinery and he used this knowledge throughout the day as he adjusted to the V4 R.

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The break in the calendar in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship allowed one rider from WorldSSP to get on a Ducati Panigale V4 R machine for the first time as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) tested the WorldSBK-spec machine at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. Bulega completed more than 100 laps during his test on the Panigale V4 R machine as he used the test to understand the bike.

Bulega, now in his second WorldSSP season on the Ducati Panigale V2, started the season with two wins at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and backed that up with fifth in Race 1 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit and third in Race 2. Bulega leads the Championship standings by 18 points over compatriot Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in the early stages of the season.

His Race 1 win in Australia ended Ducati’s victory drought which had stretched back to 2005 when Gianluca Nannelli claimed victory at Imola, while it was also Bulega’s first in WorldSSP after coming close in his maiden campaign but just missing out on victory. Following the start of the season, Bulega was able to test the Panigale V4 R machine at Jerez to get his first taste of WorldSBK machinery.

Explaining how the test went, Bulega said: “It was very good. It was my first time with the V4 R and, already from the first day, the feeling was very good. I think I was fast for my first day on that bike, 100 horsepower or so more than my usual bike. It was very difficult to understand but it was also, I think, easy to understand the character of the bike because they did a very good job with this bike. Nothing special because it was my first time. The first day was just to try to understand the character of the bike because it was very different from my usual Panigale V2. I didn’t try anything new. It was a test just for me to understand the bike.”

Bulega made his WorldSSP debut in the 2022 season and impressed as Ducati returned to the Championship, taking nine podiums throughout his maiden campaign and taking fourth in the Championship despite a mid-season dip in form which he recovered as the season drew to a close. Three podiums, including two wins, have started his campaign off in superb style as he looks to become Ducati’s first WorldSSP Champion. From the 2022 grid, Dominique Aegerter and Lorenzo Baldassarri stepped up to WorldSBK with the GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team and GMT94 Yamaha teams respectively, while Andrea Locatelli went straight into the factory Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK squad following his 2020 WorldSSP success.

Reflecting on 2023 so far, and also evaluating a potential move to WorldSBK in the future, Bulega said: “I think, if I continue to be first in WorldSSP, my target is trying to get to WorldSBK because I think this is normal. If you win the first category, then, I think, you have to go to the second one. If you win Moto3™ you go to Moto2™, if you win Moto2™ you go to MotoGP™. I think it’s the same, if you win WorldSSP you have to go to WorldSBK. My target this year is trying to win the Championship and then, if it’s possible, try to go to WorldSBK. I think we started well in the first two rounds so I will try to continue to be fast like in the first two rounds, and then I will think about World Superbike.”

Despite it being early on in the 2023 season, eyes will be on the 2024 rider line-up in both WorldSSP and WorldSBK soon. Bulega outlined where he would like to be in the future, saying: “At the moment, no, but I would like to stay with Aruba because I think they are a very good team, and also Ducati. They took me from Moto2™ at a bad moment in my career because I didn’t finish my career there in a good way, but they believed in me; they gave me a very good team and a very good bike. I would like to stay with them and try to make my first year in WorldSBK.”

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With the break between the Indonesian and Dutch Rounds in the 2023 FIM Supersport World Championship calendar, teams and riders have been busying themselves with testing at circuits around Europe. Two teams headed to the United Kingdom for a test at the iconic Donington Park while several from both WorldSSP and WorldSSP300 have headed to Misano for two days of action ahead of the Dutch Round at the iconic TT Circuit Assen.

Reigning Champions Ten Kate Racing Yamaha ventured to the UK and Donington Park for two days of action over the weekend although the weather did not play ball for riders Stefano Manzi and Jorge Navarro with the pair getting limited running in. They were joined at the test by Dynavolt Triumph, with riders Niki Tuuli and Harry Truelove, but with cold and wet conditions throughout they also did not get to enjoy much running.

At the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” on Monday 27^th and Tuesday 28^th March, several riders from WorldSSP and WorldSSP300 will be on track. Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing) will take to the track on his Ducati Panigale V2 machine alongside teammate Maximilian Kofler who will compete in the WorldSSP Challenge this season, with the Austrian rider once again sticking with Ducati machinery but switching to D34G Racing for his second season.

VFT Racing have one rider on track at Misano with Maiki Abe on the Yamaha YZF R6 machine ahead of his first campaign in WorldSSP. Like Kofler, he will race in the WorldSSP Challenge this season. Motozoo Racing by Puccetti, fresh from their test at MotorLand Aragon last week, are straight back out on track at Misano with riders Tom Booth-Amos and Luke Power. Booth-Amos is preparing for his second WorldSSP campaign while it will be Power’s first on the world stage following success in his native Australia as well as the USA.

From WorldSSP300, three teams and six riders are on track as they prepare for the start of the season at the TT Circuit Assen in April. Kawasaki GP Project, running the Kawasaki Ninja 400, have both Fenton Seabright and Daniel Mogeda on track throughout the test, while ProGP Racing have Ioannis Peristeras and Denis Bergamini for the two-day test on the Yamaha YZF-R3. Also running Yamaha machinery will be Team BRcorse after a successful 2022 campaign, with riders Mirko Gennai and Marco Gaggi at the team in 2023.

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With the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in a pause of action between round two and three, track activity came in the form of a private test at Aragon, attended by Iker Lecuona (Team HRC). The two-day test gave us a first look at a new exhaust for Honda, as well as an updated chassis bracing, something that was stiffer and to add more stability in the acceleration phase. There were new electronics to try for the #7, something he worked extensively on throughout day two.

Talking about day two of the test, Lecuona gave a brief overview: “We put the focus on the new parts and new electronics; we have a lot of new parts on the electronics and things to try. We need to understand if it works well for racing. In the end, we’re quote happy with the results. The pace was fine and we were alone, so not easy to follow anyone with just a few Superbikes on track. We did two-time attacks at the end, the first one is the best one as the second one I made a mistake at Turn 1 on the first lap and then on the second lap, I missed a bit. I’m happy, I think it’s a good time, but I’m happier about the pace.”

Airing his thoughts on the two upgrades, Lecuona wasn’t convinced that there was much change for the exhaust, but hailed the updated bracing: “The exhaust at the end didn’t change a lot. It changed more on the data but honestly, for me on the bike, I don’t feel a lot, just a little change. We worked all day with the new exhaust, so we’ll see again in Barcelona if it works well or not or if we need to change something with the electronics to work properly with the exhaust. Then, with the update chassis bracing, it worked quite well honestly. I worked almost all day with it and I was quite happy; we still have to understand many things and that in a round if we save enough tyre or with the old version. For now, the data is good so we’ll see.”

In the Championship standings, Lecuona isn’t the top Honda at the moment as a podium by teammate Xavi Vierge currently sees the #97 flying high in seventh, one point behind six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). For Lecuona, he’s ninth, but hoping that the Barcelona test next week gives him a boost for the next round at Assen – home to his only WorldSBK podium so far.

“Last year, I got pole at Barcelona and it was something I didn’t expect,” began the Valencian. “We were very fast in one lap but then, during the race, we struggled a lot with tyre performance at the end of the race. It’s important to do the test next week to understand if we have improved at the end of the race or not. It looks like we have at Phillip Island and Mandalika but we will see next week.”

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Whilst the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is already two rounds in, Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) awaits his full-time debut, coming at Assen for round three, as he’ll compete in just the European part of the season. He was present at the Aragon test and although a costly problem left him out of action for the first day and a half, he still managed 43 laps in the final four hours as he got the bike to his liking and in the end, finished just over two seconds away from Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) top time.

Explaining the problem and the setbacks, Ray elaborated: “We had a bit of an issue on day one and had to make do with what we had to correct that for day two, and then at the start of day two, there was an electronics gremlin that halted me going out in the morning. However, despite the tough start, I’m feeling really happy after this afternoon’s session; it was nice to get out and after struggling a little bit at the start, we made a big step with the bike, a big change, and I felt a lot more comfortable straight away and I’m happy that we’re heading in that direction. It’d have been nice to get the two days to understand all the electronics like traction control, engine braking and anti-wheelie, I just need more time to understand how it all works and the fine things you can do with it. It’s mental compared to BSB! The chassis is getting there now so I think I can focus more on the electronics.

“The big change was just the actual geometry of the bike; I felt like I was missing something at the front. The way I ride and the way the Yamaha is, it wasn’t given me that feeling or feedback so we made a big change to know what direction to go. The change was the direction that I needed and I felt good straight away and was smiling all the way round after we made that change so I’m feeling positive. It’s a shame about the first day and a half but I can’t fault the team; they were working all night to get everything ready for today, so hopefully we’ll have some different things for the Barcelona test.”

Ray was the only Yamaha in attendance at MotorLand Aragon with the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK outfit and the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team back in action at the Barcelona test. With the limited track time, Ray was able to set a 1’51.716, just 2.304s away from Rea at the top and a 2.203s from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in P4, all of which set over 100 laps throughout the course of the two days.

Continuing to explain the strategy in the afternoon, Ray said that it was about refining the setup to his liking rather than a long run with a bike that is yet to be absolutely his: “We were just doing small five or six lap runs really, coming in, making changes, going back out, understanding the change. For me at the moment, I don’t need to be doing long race runs because I haven’t got a bike that I’ve got the feedback from. I need to get the bike, the electronics and everything else in the window, so that when I feel comfortable, that’s when I can start working on longer runs. We’re just chipping away at the moment. The team is trying to understand me as a rider and what I need from the electronics and the bike, so it’s a lot to do in basically two days at Portimao and half a day at Aragon. We’re moving in the right direction.”

Speaking about the difference in electronics, the 25-year-old from Kent, England, said he needs to work on the confidence he can have in them and what exactly he can do with them: “From the electronics, I just need to a bit of confidence and understanding it. In BSB, you can change a few things regarding engine braking and throttle maps but you’ve got a couple of maps and that’s it. Here, it’s so much more advanced to what I’m used to and it’s about understanding that if I have a small problem, I can probably fix it with the engine braking. I’m looking forward to Barcelona now as that will be vital for me to get two days there and some good data. Then, we move from there to Assen.”

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