Jerez WorldSBK Test
Day one dominator Nicolo Bulega didn’t take to the track on Wednesday but his time from Tuesday was still quick enough to stay on top of the combined times.
Nicolo Bulega
“I am delighted with how this day went, during which we also found positive solutions in terms of setup. It was essential to finish with a good feeling. During the winter, it will be crucial to work at our best in all aspects, both on track and in training, to be ready for Australia“.
Topping day two though were Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes on the new Bimota KB998. The pair did not ride on Tuesday, strategically saving their allowed test days, and instead, the opening day duties were taken care of by test rider Florian Marino.
Axel Bassani
“We took part in our first day of testing with the new bike at Jerez and we had to discover everything at the beginning. I think the team did a very good and the bike was nice. I felt good on it, so I am happy. We have a lot of work to do but for the moment we are doing a really good job. My best lap was half a second better than my Superpole last week in the Jerez race so this means my feeling with the bike is good and I can push. This is only the start of a new era with bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team, but when you start well, it is always nice.”
Marcel Duinker – Crew Chief for Axel Bassani
“We got a good impression of the bike from the first lap and we made some minor adjustments. We played a bit with the position of the rider and we also got familiar with some adjustments and general balance of the bike. With very minor adjustment we able to give Axel a good feeling. We used two Q tyres and Axel went four tenths faster on the second one than the first. A very positive first day. It was not our target to be that fast on our first day, but it is nice to get such lap times. We will continue testing in a few days time.”
Alex Lowes
“We started to try a few things on the bike to see how the changes affected it and the feeling from the bike. These are all the things that will be different when we start the races. We have to start the learning process all over again. We started quite well so we decided to try quite a lot of things, which took some time and some energy, but it was pretty positive. In the hot part of the day we tried to keep the same pace to try all the different parts. It was not too important to go fast today but it is always nice to show that the bike is quick. The pace was OK but we have a lot of work to do to understand the bike. This is where our focus needs to be.”
Pere Riba – Crew Chief for Alex Lowes
“We finished our test with the bimota bike and it feels positive. On the first day we made all the checks with Florian the test rider, to prepare for the second day of testing with the riders. In terms of lap time I feel very positive already because we have been reaching the same level as we did before. To be already on this level is very positive. On the other hand we need more time to give the rider the best feeling with the bike. We have to study and work a lot during the winter to arrive in the best shape possible in Australia for the first round of the 2025 season. But the starting point is very good, promising, and we are very happy. Alex was fast, Axel was fast so this is the moment to be calm and work hard to take the next steps.”
The next test for the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT) project will be at the Motorland Aragon Circuit in northern Spain, between 29-30 October.
Next quickest on Wednesday was the man on the KRT ZX-10RR machinery raced by Bassani and Lowes this year, Garrett Gerloff. The American experienced his first taste of the Kawasaki and got to know the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing squad he joins for the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship. The team will test again next month.
Manuel Puccetti – Team Principal
“We are very happy about these first two days testing in Jerez. Garrett did a good job, set a lot of laps in two days, and finished very well. His race pace with a race tyre fitted was very fast. We have to work in some areas but in general we are very happy about our approach and working together with Garrett. We tested some updates on the bike today and it worked out very well. We will do more tests in one month and continue our work.”
With Iker Lecuona recovering from foot surgery, Team HRC test duties were undertaken by his team-mate Xavi Vierge, who had three bikes at his disposal to test different set-up solutions, with an emphasis on electronics. Also riding on Tuesday was Tetsuta Nagashima. The work will now continue back at base, with Team HRC not expected to test again until January 2025.
Xavi Vierge
“It’s been a really important two-day test. We mainly focused on electronics and conducted many back-to-back tests on the bike setup. The sessions were very useful, as we had two sunny days with different track conditions. On both mornings, the track was super grippy due to the cooler temperatures, and as the days progressed, it became really hot. This allowed us to work across a range of conditions, focusing particularly on the high temperatures, a situation in which we usually struggle. We’ve concentrated on race pace, and I can say we managed to improve a bit compared to the recent race weekend, which was a positive outcome. It was also great to have the test team and other Honda riders here, as the more information and feedback we gather from different riders with varying riding styles, the better. Now the engineers have a long winter ahead to work on the data we’ve collected. They will have time to calmly compare the data and take the best elements of what we’ve tried to make the right choices for 2025. As for me, the most important thing now is to get some rest. In two days, on Friday, I will fly off for my honeymoon—my real honeymoon—since the one after the wedding was more of a ‘Cremona race’ honeymoon. After that, I’ll be ready to get back to work. I’ll visit the EICMA show in Italy, followed by other commitments we typically have during the winter season.”
Alvaro Bautista rode both days, and also suffered a crash on day one. The Spaniard only completed 39 laps on Wednesday before calling an early mark.
Alvaro Bautista
“It was a very fruitful half-day of testing. We decided yesterday to start with a reset of the set-up, and we found a lot of positive indications that allow me to return home with good sensations“.
Tarran Mackenzie tested different set-ups and various solutions and updates and compare and contrast these with what has been used on his Petronas MIR Racing Honda to date. Having completed in the region of 150 laps over the two days and collected more data, both team and rider deemed the test very useful, with the work now set to continue back at base. That concluded their last on-track activity for 2024.
Tarran Mackenzie
“Today we went back to the base setting we’d been using yesterday morning and did a run this morning that felt better. Then we completed another longer run this afternoon and I had much better pace than I’d had over the race weekend so that was a nice step forward. We tried a few electronics things that helped a bit too, and I think the team can continue to make some improvements to the whole package over the winter. I was already happy yesterday, but we definitely made a step today. So a constructive test, and that’s me done until January next year.”
Fellow Brit Ryan Vickers rode both days with the Motocorsa Ducati squad he will race with in the 2025 WorldSBK season. Tommy Bridewell was also on the track with his Honda UK BSB squad.
BMW Test riders Markus Reiterberger and Sylvain Guintoli rode on Tuesday to put some miles on a new engine spec’ that Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark will test next week at Aragon.
Three World Supersport riders were also on track across the two days. PTR Triumph’s Tom Booth-Amos proving quickest ahead of Philipp Oettl who made his debut with the Aruba WorldSSP squad.
Oli Bayliss was also on track both days on a PTR Triumph. It is unclear if Bayliss is confirmed to line up with PTR Triumph next season.
Several teams will test at Aragon later next week ahead of another test at Jerez in late November. The first test of 2025 is again at Jerez, on January 22-23, followed by Portimao the next week for the final European test before they all wing their way to Phillip Island where they will test on February 17-18 ahead of the season opener at the Victorian venue on the weekend of February 23.
Jerez Test Combined Times
- Nicolo Bulega – Ducati 1m38.142 (Day 1)
- Axel Bassani – Bimota 1m38.478
- Alex Lowes – Bimota 1m38.679
- Garrett Gerloff – Kawasaki 1m39.229
- Xavi Vierge – Honda 1m39.438
- Alvaro Bautista – Ducati 1m39.567 (Day 1)
- Tarran Mackenzie – Honda 1m39.841
- Ryan Vickers – Ducati 1m40.027
- Markus Reiterberger – BMW 1m41.088 (Day 1)
- Tommy Bridewell – Honda 1m41.155
- Tetsuta Nagashima – Honda 1m41.183 (Day 1)
- Florian Marino – Bimota 1m41.360 (Day 1)
- Sylvain Guintoli – BMW 1m41.806 (Day 1)
- WorldSSP – Tom Booth-Amos – Triumph – 1m42.509
- WorldSSP – Philipp Oettl – Ducati – 1m42.523
- WorldSSP – Oli Bayliss – Triumph – 1m43.182
