Estoril WorldSBK/SSP/WCR Friday Times – Quotes – Notes – Images

WorldSBK 2024 – Round 11
Estoril – Friday

WorldSBK Friday Report

The weather played havoc with the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship field on Friday at Estoril as rain in Free Practice 1 greeted the grid before mixed-conditions in FP2.

The afternoon session started dry before rain started to fall around 20 minutes into it, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) the only rider in the 1’37s bracket as he went top ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P1

“I started very strongly. It’s the first time in a while since I’ve ridden the BMW in wet conditions. We started very strongly, but we did just three or four laps maximum and then I came back to the box. The team were a bit worried because we’re fighting for the world title! The feeling is good because it looks like we’re ready to race in wet conditions. FP2 for me is very good because it’s the first time I’ve ridden the BMW in dry conditions here. The feeling was good, but I needed more laps to adapt more. Generally, the bike is working well but there’s some problems I need to adapt more. The last time I rode here was with Yamaha. In the dry conditions, I had a good feeling and did a good lap time with the SC0 tyre. Then I came back to the box for a new SCX tyre, but it started to rain so I didn’t try it.”

Toprak was the sole BMW rider in the top 10, with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) securing P12 but some 1.8 seconds off Razgatlioglu. His teammate, Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW), was 19th while Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was 20th after he crashed in the early stages of FP2, completing only six timed laps in the dry conditions.

Petrucci was the fastest Ducati rider on Friday at Estoril as he secured second place with a 1’38.065s, seven-tenths away from Razgatlioglu’s time as ‘Petrux’ looks to wrap up the Independent Riders’ title for 2024 this weekend.

Danilo Petrucci – P2

“It was definitely a good Friday because we finished second in both wet and dry conditions, but we still have work to do in both situations. On the dry track, we changed the setup compared to the August test, and on the wet, there’s more to improve because I’ve only ridden this bike in the rain twice and I’m not feeling 100% yet. Tomorrow we’ll see what the weather does, but I have to thank the team for working hard and always putting me in a competitive position.”

Third place belonged to Alex Lowes as the Kawasaki rider lapped in a 1’38.074s, 0.719s down on Toprak and just 0.009s slower than Petrucci in second. Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was one of a handful of riders who improved when light rain fell as he moved into seventh place after he set a 1’38.437s.

Alex Lowes – P3

“I got cleared to ride this morning and my leg is fine, which is good new after the Motorland Aragon injury. I felt OK on track today, even though I crashed in FP1. The conditions this morning meant that it was difficult to understand the limit. There were some strange crashes – and a lot of crashes. I was quite upright when I fell, so the track was not offering up a lot of grip. In the drier part of FP2 I felt OK with the bike, even thought the conditions were still not perfect. We couldn’t use the kerbs in some of the corners, and there was no rubber laid down on the track. When a bit more rain came we had to stop.”

Petrucci was around two-tenths clear of fellow Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in fourth, while Nicolo Bulega, was two places and a tenth down on his team-mate. Bulega lost valuable running in FP1 when he crashed at Turn 6.

Alvaro Bautista – P4

“It was a tricky Friday when we took to the track in all conditions. But this helped us to make some setup comparisons that will be useful over the weekend“.

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Nicolò Bulega – P6

“Of course, I can’t be satisfied with this Friday; also, because riding the Panigale V4R for the first time at this circuit, I needed to gather more information. Tomorrow, we’ll try to gain more experience“.

Honda were represented with two bikes in the top ten, with Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) taking fifth place and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in ninth. Lecuona, like Bassani, improved as the rain started to fall, while it was a disrupted session for Vierge after he crashed at Turn 3 which ended his session, even before the rain started to fall even more. Lecuona’s P4 ensured four different manufacturers were in the top four after Friday’s running.

Iker Lecuona – P5

“Tricky conditions today. There was a lot of rain in the morning and, although it dried up in the afternoon, it was still tricky because the track wasn’t perfect. The rain then returned in the final ten minutes, and we couldn’t complete the session. In FP1, I struggled a lot with grip; I basically had no confidence in the rear tyre, which made it difficult to enter the corners and open the throttle. The front was really good and since Magny-Cours, we’ve done a great job improving front-end feeling, but we still need to work on the rear, also in the wet. I think we’ll have other chances to ride in the rain in the coming days anyway. Things improved in FP2, but I don’t think our top 5 position is entirely realistic. We missed the final ten minutes, which is when everyone really pushes. We also used two sets of tyres, and I’m not sure if others did the same. We changed tyres because the first set had been pre-heated (previously warmed up by another team but not used), and the feeling wasn’t good at all, so we put in another set. Things went better after that, but once again, the front was very good while the rear wasn’t. I had a lot of issues with braking and the rear was locking up a lot, making it hard to turn and causing a lot of wheel spin. Anyway, whatever the case, we’re in the top five again. Now we’ll sit down with the team to see how we can address this issue, and let’s see what the weather brings tomorrow.”

Xavi Vierge – P9

“A challenging first day here in Estoril due to tricky weather conditions that persisted all day. The fully wet FP1 allowed us to ride with a full rain setup. The initial feeling with the bike wasn’t ideal, but by the end of the session, we managed to improve rear grip. In FP2, although the track was dry, it wasn’t entirely perfect, but the feeling was much better from the start. Unfortunately, during my second exit on the same used tyres, I crashed while on a flying lap and couldn’t rejoin the session, especially since the rain then returned in the final minutes. Overall, the feeling wasn’t bad, and the team did a great job. Now, we just need to wait and see what the weather brings tomorrow. It looks like we’ll have mixed conditions again, so we need to be prepared for whatever comes our way.”

It was a difficult day for Yamaha with just Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) putting the Yamaha R1 inside the top ten. Rea was tenth after posting a 1’38.572s, finishing two places and a tenth ahead of team-mate Andrea Locatelli.

Jonathan Rea – P10

“It’s been a strange day weather-wise, because this morning was fully wet – we got a chance to try the bike and understand the track, but it’s always difficult to learn too much on Day 1 in the rain because it’s completely different to the dry rhythm. This afternoon, we had some dry time and I felt quite okay with the bike. We started with the harder rear tyre, just to get up to speed and we had a few “in and outs” to make some changes – then when we were ready to put the package together it started raining. We never got the chance to confirm my R1 set up with our preferred race tyre, but I think the general feeling and feedback from the bike was positive. Tomorrow’s about seeing how the weather is! Right at the very end, I got the chance to do a practice race start and it was my best start ever, so that’s also positive – let’s see how we go tomorrow.”

Andrea Locatelli – P12

“It was tricky conditions today – this morning it was wet, then in FP2 it was dry in the beginning but then it started to rain again. We didn’t complete a lot of laps during this afternoon, so we don’t fully understand the dry setting for this track yet but in the initial feeling was positive. This is a good thing and we will see what we can do with it tomorrow. In the wet, I had good confidence and we were fast – so we wait to see what happens with the weather and we will be ready with everything no matter what. The aim is to try to fight for a good result in the race again like always!”

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was close to ‘Loka’ ahead, with just a tenth separating the Italian and the Australian, while Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was 18th and Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) in 21st.

Remy Gardner – P13

“It was a busy day, but overall I like the track. I tried to learn the layout as soon as possible and we could rode in both dry and wet conditions. Unfortunately we missed some valuable track time in the afternoon as rain returned, but the feeling is not too bad and I’m confident we can progress further more. Let’s see what happens tomorrow, being aware weather will be unstable, so we should be ready to react quickly.”

Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 22nd as he made his comeback from injury. Wildcard Luca Bernardi (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was 24th and last on his return to the Championship.

WorldSBK Friday Combined Practice Times

WorldSBK Standings

WorldSSP

It was a dry start for The FIM Supersport World Championship’s Superpole session at the Circuito Estoril in Portugal on Friday afternoon, however this was to be short lived as a sudden downpour in rain disrupted the World Superport action.

Italian rider Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) took advantage of the dry spell during the early stages of the session, achieving a lap time of 1’41.318, three tenths ahead of Championship leader and close rival Adrián Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team), with Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) completing the front row of the grid ahead of Saturday’s Race 1.

Frenchman Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) continued his impressive form from the mornings Free Practice session, finishing just outside of the top three, with the fourth fastest lap time of the Superpole session.

Dutch rider Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) led Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) to round off the second row, whilst Simone Corsi (Renzi Corse) posted the seventh fastest time ahead of Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) in eighth and Ducati’s Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) in ninth. Italian rider Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) completed the top 10 to line up on Saturday’s Race 1 grid.

Oli Bayliss was the quickest Aussie in 11th place while countrymen Luke Power and Tom Edwards were 22nd and 24th.

WorldSSP Superpole Results

WorldSSP Championship Points

WorldWCR

Current WorldWCR championship leader Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) and rival Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) gave it their all as they battled it out in Friday’s Superpole at Estoril Circuit.

Carrasco ultimately came out on top to secure a very important pole, her second of the season, with the Spaniard making the best possible start to this penultimate round of the season after proving at ease in both the wet practice and dry qualifying.

Title contender Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) and fellow Spaniard Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha), who just snatched third in the final seconds, will join Ana on the front row for Saturday’s Race 1, but was more than 1.5-seconds slower than the top two.

A well-deserved spot on row two goes to Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team), Teyla Ralph (Tayco Motorsport) and Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team), the Australian and the Italian both on a roll after securing their first podium finishes at the recent Cremona round. Relph topped the earlier opening wet practice session.

Astrid Madrigal (ITALIKA Racing FIMLA) and Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) follow close behind, with just half a second separating the third-placed rider from Ruiz in eighth.

Rounding out the top ten are Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) and Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno), both of whom bounced back after crashing in the morning’s wet practice.

Portuguese rider Rafaela Peixoto (RP27) wildcards at her home track this weekend and qualified twenty-third, while Jamie Hanks-Elliott again substitutes for Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing’s Alyssia Whitmore. The British rider crashed in the final stages but nevertheless placed twenty-first.

A very wet morning practice session brought crashes for Ourednickova (DaftMotoracing by Smrz) – who also suffered a fall in qualifying – Howden, Dobbs and Bondi (YART Zelos Black Knights Team), while it was Relph who set the fastest time (2’06.801), closing two seconds clear of Ruiz, with Carrasco placing third.

P1 | Ana Carrasco | Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team | 1’51.706

“I’m really happy because I didn’t know I was on pole until after I finished! I decided to go straight out on slicks at the start of the session as we could see the track was drying fast, and that strategy, although a little risky, paid off in the end. My second pole of the season; I’m very pleased as my team did a great job in difficult conditions today, and it’s important to start on the front row here, also with a view to the championship. The free practice also went well but ran in full wet conditions; I felt good anyway, both this morning and also in the dry Superpole, and I think we can take another step tomorrow. I’d prefer a dry race but feel I’m ready even if it turns out to be wet, so let’s see what we can do.”

P2 | María Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team | 1’52.065

“A strange day as the practice ran in full wet conditions and I didn’t have the best feeling and then Superpole brought mixed conditions. I went straight out on slicks, to avoid having to switch tyres mid-session and was able to finish second in the end, which is a good position for tomorrow’s Race 1. To be honest, I don’t know the track very well and am still trying to understand how to be fast through certain sections. If we have a dry race tomorrow, I think there’ll be four or five of us fighting; if it’s wet, I’ll need to be quicker and more consistent, as I struggled in practice this morning. As for the championship, I plan to take it race by race. The goal, as ever, is to win races.”

P3 | Beatriz Neila Beatriz Neila | Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha | 1’53.613

“This is the first time I’ve qualified on the front row, so I can say I’ve had a great Friday. The qualifying was a little difficult as the track was pretty damp when we began and then quickly dried out. Anyway, I was able to secure third, so I’m very happy with that. I think I have a chance to reach the podium tomorrow and will be doing my best to fight.”

WorldWCR Superpole

WorldWCR Championship Points