“Winter is coming”, went one of the most famous phrases from “Game of Thrones”, and it could be the perfect introduction for Friday’s free practice for the Jerez round. The Superbike World Championship concludes the 2023 season on the Andalusian track, which today welcomed the series derivatives with cold temperatures and asphalt wet from the rain that fell during the night.
Everyone stopped in the pits to avoid taking risks in the treacherous conditions, but in the afternoon the drivers took part in the second round, which saw Toprak Razgatlioglu dominate. The fight for the Superbike throne has begun and the Yamaha rider set the best time in 1’40”312, immediately giving the big favorite and championship leader Alvaro Bautista a hard time.
The reigning world champion himself, who only needs two points to reconfirm the title, closed Friday with the third fastest time, just over 3 tenths off the top. However, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team rider suffered a fall at the end, fortunately without consequences.
Remy Gardner was inserted between the two title contenders, author of a flash in the second free practice session in Jerez. The Australian moved into second place, two and a half tenths behind Toprak, thus scoring a Yamaha double. The GRT team driver is also the best of the independents, but the team led by Filippo Conti can be satisfied with Friday, which sees Dominique Aegerter in fifth position in the combined standings.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s weekend also started off on the right foot, as he took the fourth time in the last round with the official team, right behind his teammate. Almost four tenths separate the Italian from the top. Remaining at Ducati, Philipp Oettl can also smile thanks to the sixth place obtained on Friday in Jerez. The German, also on his last outing with the Goeleven team before handing over the saddle to Andrea Iannone, is half a second away from the leader.
Garrett Gerloff is the first of the BMW representatives and wins the seventh time with the Bonovo team’s M1000RR. Behind him was Danilo Petrucci, eighth on the Ducati of the independent Barni team. Andrea Locatelli was more behind and with the official Yamaha he did not go beyond the ninth time and suffered a gap from his teammate of over nine tenths. Scott Redding closes the top 10 with the factory team BMW, while his neighbor Michael van der Mark is 12th. The Dutchman was one of the few to test the track conditions in the morning session, which saw almost all the drivers stuck in the pits for the entire session.
Iker Lecuona, fresh from his renewal with HRC for the next two seasons, touches the top ten. The Spaniard is 11th on his home track, while his teammate Xavi Vierge, also enjoying his renewal, is only 18th. Great effort for Jonathan Rea, who at the end of Friday’s free practice was actually 13th ahead of his Kawasaki replacement Axel Bassani, 14th. So do the other Italians: Lorenzo Baldassarri is 15th, while Gabriele Ruiu doesn’t go beyond the 22nd time and is the protagonist of a highside that forces the red flag.
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