Defending World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea has set the fastest time in this morning's world superbike pre-season test at a sweltering Phillip Island, Australia.
Rea, second fastest on day one behind Kawasaki teammate
Tom Sykes, went one better this morning with a best lap of 1min31.249secs.
The Northern Irishman was followed by Italy's
Davide Giugliano (Ducati, 1:31.400), Honda's
Michael van der Mark (1:31.458) and 2014 world champion
Sylvain Guintoli (1:31.473), who's really starting to find some form on the Yamaha.
Less than a second covered the top 10 riders, which may be a sign of how close the racing may get at this weekend's season-opening round back at Phillip Island. American hotshot
Nicky Hayden was sixth on his Honda (1:31.585), from Sykes (1:31.885), world No. 2
Chaz Davies (Ducati, 1:31.938),
Xavi Fores (Ducati, 1:31.958) and
Jordi Torres (BMW Motorrad, 1:32.109), who went down during the two-hour session.
Aussie riders Josh Brookes (BMW Motorrad, 1:32.903), Mike Jones (Ducati, 1:33.420) and Josh Hook (Kawasaki, 1:33.850) were 15th, 17th and 19th respectively.
The last hitout for the WorldSBK fraternity will be held from 1:30-3:30pm this afternoon, when ambient and track temperatures are expected to be extreme.
FFI on this weekend‰Ûªs (Feb 26-28) opening round of the 2016 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, Yamaha Finance round, at Phillip Island GP circuit go to
www.worldsbk.com.au
Tickets on sale via
www.ticketek.com.au till Wednesday Feb 24 at 4pm; then at gate.
Main Photo: Jonathan Rea in action
World Superbike - Results Tuesday 1st
Phillip Island DWO Official Test, 22-23 February 2016
No. Rider Nat Team Bike Gap Rel. Laps Avg, Speed, Time Max
1 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'31.249 38 175,366 318,6
2 34 D. GIUGLIANO ITA Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'31.400 0.151 0.151 26 175,077 315,8
3 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP 1'31.458 0.209 0.058 35 174,966 315,8
4 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.473 0.224 0.015 26 174,937 310,3
5 69 N. HAYDEN USA Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP 1'31.585 0.336 0.112 29 174,723 315,8
6 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'31.885 0.636 0.300 30 174,152 314,0
7 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'31.938 0.689 0.053 34 174,052 314,0
8 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.958 0.709 0.020 30 174,014 308,6
9 12 X. FORES ESP Barni Racing Team Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'32.109 0.860 0.151 3 173,729 306,8
10 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S1000 RR 1'32.202 0.953 0.093 4 173,554 315,8
11 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S1000 RR 1'32.272 1.023 0.070 23 173,422 316,7
12 40 R. RAMOS ESP Team GoEleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.478 1.229 0.206 28 173,036 305,9
13 32 L. SAVADORI ITA IodaRacing Team Aprilia RSV4 1000 RR/RF 1'32.587 1.338 0.109 25 172,832 314,9
14 2 L. CAMIER GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta 1000 F4 1'32.702 1.453 0.115 25 172,618 307,7
15 25 J. BROOKES AUS Milwaukee BMW BMW S1000 RR 1'32.903 1.654 0.201 34 172,244 309,5
16 20 S. BARRIER FRA Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.314 2.065 0.411 24 171,486 308,6
17 46 M. JONES AUS Desmo Sport Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'33.420 2.171 0.106 12 171,291 300,8
18 61 F. MENGHI ITA VFT Racing Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'33.622 2.373 0.202 26 170,921 309,5
19 16 J. HOOK AUS Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.850 2.601 0.228 27 170,506 295,9
20 15 A. DE ANGELIS RSM IodaRacing Team Aprilia RSV4 1000 RR/RF 1'33.882 2.633 0.032 23 170,448 316,7
21 17 K. ABRAHAM CZE Milwaukee BMW BMW S1000 RR 1'34.062 2.813 0.180 27 170,122 315,8
22 11 S. AL SULAITI QAT Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'34.942 3.693 0.880 25 168,545 302,5
23 9 D. SCHMITTER SUI Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.038 3.789 0.096 30 168,375 300,8
24 56 P. SEBESTYEN HUN Team Toth Yamaha YZF R1 1'35.541 4.292 0.503 28 167,488 297,5
25 10 I. TOTH HUN Team Toth Yamaha YZF R1 1'36.150 4.901 0.609 28 166,427 298,3
