After a first taste of 2022, Superbike begins to get serious with two days of collective testing in Portimao. The three top teams thus had a first direct confrontation on the Portuguese track, which gave a first indication of what the values on the field may be. Needless to say, dominating the timesheet is Jonathan Rea, who started this pre-season with every intention of claiming the title.
The battle, however, already promises to be very heated, on this first day the first three riders are enclosed in only 132 thousandths. The Kawasaki rider puts his wheels in front of those of Toprak Razgatlioglu, who remains one tenth with the Yamaha, while the third in the time standings is Alvaro Bautista. Upon returning to the saddle of the Ducati, the Spaniard places himself behind the two favorites, showing himself to be threatening right from the start.
The Cannibal makes fun of the reigning Champion, but Ducati is there
Jonathan Rea is relentless this winter: the Northern Irishman, in fact, after having shown a great state of form already in Jerez, has reconfirmed his potential on this first day of collective tests in Portimao, stopping the clock at 1’40 ”621. Once again, the Kawasaki rider shows his Cannibal side, taking the lead ahead of the reigning World Champion. Toprak Razgatlioglu is the man to beat in this 2022, but he starts the tests as a follower, even if he pays only 101 thousandths and is aware of the fact that the stopwatch is not important in these moments.
The first two positions were almost obvious, while there was a lot of anticipation towards Alvaro Bautista, on his first official outing with Ducati. Back in Borgo Panigale after two seasons in Honda, the Spaniard got on the V4 and took the third time trial of the day, just 132 thousandths behind Rea. The rider from Talavera de la Reina seems to have started off on the right foot in this second Ducati phase and, with a new swingarm and revised ergonomics on his bike, he is not far from the top two.
The first three make a difference on the others
Behind Bautista we find his teammate. Michael Ruben Rinaldi represents the confirmation and continuity of the Ducati project, but at the end of the first day of testing in Portimao he pays six tenths from the top. The rider from Romagna precedes Andrea Locatelli, who on the other Yamaha of the official team closes with a fifth time trial. Eight are the tenths that separate the rider from Bergamo from the leader of the day, the same gap as Alex Lowes. The Briton is sixth and lags behind his teammate, even if time hunting is not the main focus of the tests. The Kawasaki rider in particular is looking for confirmation after the injury that affected him in the 2021 season finale.
The two rookies also start 2022 on the right foot: on the track we also saw Philipp Oettl and Luca Bernardi, engaged with the GoEleven team and with Barni respectively. The German, who takes the place of the retired Chaz Davies, rode with the Panigale V4R, finishing the first day in seventh position. Oettl is the first rider to go beyond the second behind the top and precedes Bernardi, who has officially returned to the track after his back injury. The rider Barni is ninth and pays a gap of 3 and a half seconds. Between the two is Christophe Ponsson, ninth with the Yamaha 2.5 seconds behind Rea.
Supersport will also be on the track with Ducati V2s
Not only Superbike in Portimao: Supersport also took to the track, with the debut in a collective test of Nicolò Bulega, Oli Bayliss, engaged this year in the middle class with Ducati. The two rode the Panigale V2, which will debut with them in 2022 in the renewed Supersport. The Italian ended the first day in tenth position in the general classification of the times. It went a little worse for the Australian, who was forced to stop early due to a fall just before the break. Bayliss was taken to the hospital for tests, given the swelling of his left ankle, and examinations are being investigated to avoid fractures.
Times Day 1 test Portimao
Position |
Pilot |
Team |
Weather |
Turns |
1. |
Jonathan Rea |
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK |
1,402621 |
71 |
2. |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK |
1’40 “722 |
69 |
3. |
Alvaro Bautista |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
1’40 “753 |
82 |
4. |
Michael Ruben Rinaldi |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
1’41 “261 |
81 |
5. |
Andrea Locatelli |
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK |
1’41 “440 |
73 |
6. |
Alex Lowes |
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK |
1’41 “477 |
80 |
7. |
Philipp Oettl |
GoEleven team |
1’41 “707 |
67 |
8. |
Christophe Ponsson |
Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha |
1’43 “167 |
57 |
9. |
Luca Bernardi |
Barni Spark Racing Team |
1’44 “053 |
61 |
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