The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid finished their first of two testing days as the 2025 season approaches its midway point. Italy’s Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” hosted the event, split between a pair of Free Practice sessions on Tuesday, allowing the field to get used to the track ahead of the upcoming Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished fastest of the day, followed by Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC). The day featured an early pair of red flags, including a crash for Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) from which he walked away uninjured, as well as a return from injury for Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven).

Current Riders’ Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) didn’t take to the track to test on Day 1, however, his Ducati factory teammate Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) tied Razgatlioglu for the second-most laps run with 88 laps completed. His 1’33.361s time landed the #19 fourth on the timesheet. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) looked fast on the day, and while his bike suffered a red-flag-inducing tech issue in FP1, he returned to lay down a 1’33.451s lap for fifth place. Rookie Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) finished the fastest of the two Barni Spark riders, pipping ‘Petrux’ for P6 via his 1’33.487s lap. Hot off his trio of P3’s at Most, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) looks to in his setup for the race weekend. The #9 finished the day in P7 with a time of 1’33.541s. Andrea Iannone was able to make his return to the track at the Misano Test’s Day 1 after fracturing his 3rd and 4th toes on his right foot from his FP1 crash at Most. Sporting a larger-sized boot on his right foot, the ‘Maniac’ finished in P16, his 1’34.153s fastest lap coming in the afternoon’s British Rookie Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) finished Day 1 11th fastest thanks to his 1’34.091s lap.

Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu are focused on addressing their new M 1000 RR’s rear grip issues, which, however, didn’t stop the defending Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) from laying down the fastest lap of the day. His 1’32.559s lap made him the only rider to break into the 1’32 range, and his lap was faster than the circuit’s standing Race lap record he set last year of 1’32.687s Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) suffered a red-flag inducing crash as he and his bike were sent tumbling in the T16 ‘Misano’ corner. He was uninjured and able to continue, returning to set his fastest lap of 1’33.839s for 13th place and run the most laps of any rider. Sylvain Guintoli and Markus Reiterberger were also on track as test riders for the German manufacturer, recording a total of 114 laps.

Winding back the clock, Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the fastest rider in blue on the day, returning to form after his injury before Phillip Island. The #65 finished in P8 with his 1’33.635s time behind Petrucci. In P10, two places behind Rea and just a thousandth of a second behind Gerloff in P9, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) stays hot after a strong performance to close out Most with his time of 1’33.783s. Subsequently, another two places back was Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) in P12, registering his fastest lap in FP2 of 1’33.822s. In P14 was Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), his 1’34.095s lap placing him between van der Mark and Iannone. The last Yamaha on the timesheet was Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha Test Team), riding as a test rider after his stint earlier this season, when he filled in for Rea during his injury, and recorded 81 laps.

Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) set the bar high for the Japanese manufacturer, his 1’33.195s lap placing him third-fastest and just a tenth of a second from Bassani in P2. Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) was the sole rider on the day for his team, finishing 18th fastest with his time of 1’35.265, ahead of test riders Tommy Bridewell and Ivo Lopes, who finished in P20 and P26 respectively, and fastest times of 1’36.191s and 1’37.757s

Bimota’s Italian-British rider pair earned a top 8 finish at Most; coming into the Misano test with that feather in their caps, Day 1 saw Axel Bassani finish the quicker of the pair, his 1’33.178s lap earing him P2 and Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) finish P8 via his 1’33.779s lap.

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) looks to be bit by bit getting up to speed atop his Kawasaki ZX-10RR. After his season-high P10 in Most’s Race 2, he finished P9 behind Alex Lowes with a fastest lap of 1’33.782s. In 2024, Gerloff improved greatly from the first to the second half of the season, with the added complication of a new bike and a new team. Perhaps the American is in for a similar turnaround now into 2025.