World Superbike: Jonathan Rea Tops FP2 As Rain Intensifies At Magny-Cours

World Superbike: Jonathan Rea Tops FP2 As Rain Intensifies At Magny-Cours

© 2019, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. By David Swarts.

Race Lap Record: 1:37.152, Jonathan Rea, 2018

All-Time Lap Record: 1:35.696, Tom Sykes, 2-18

 

FIM Superbike World Championship

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France

September 27, 2019

Free Practice Two Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires):

  1. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:54.548
  2. Tom Sykes, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:54.777
  3. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:55.679
  4. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 1:56.808
  5. Loris Baz, France (Yam YZF-R1), 1:57.053
  6. Leon Camier, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 1:57.957
  7. Markus Reiterberger, Germany (BMW S1000RR), 1:58.658
  8. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:58.776
  9. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc Panigale V4 R), 1:59.782
  10. Alessandro Delbianco, Italy (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 2:00.279
  11. Sylvain Barrier, France (Duc Panigale V4 R), 2:01.408
  12. Jordi Torres, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), 2:02.000
  13. Marco Melandri, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), 2:03.843
  14. Sandro Cortese, Germany (Yam YZF-R1), 2:09.008, crash
  15. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), 2:21.062
  16. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale V4 R), no time recorded
  17. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Duc Panigale V4 R), no time recorded
  18. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), no time recorded
  19. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Duc Panigale V4 R), no time recorded
  20. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), no time recorded

 

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:

#FRAWorldSBK– Day 1

Van den Mark top overall as the FP1 benchmark remains unbeaten

The Dutchman leads the way in rainy Magny Cours ahead of Haslam and Melandri

The inclement weather continued to wreak havoc with the WorldSBK class as the second session at the Pirelli French Round began in torrential rain. As a result, the lap times were significantly slower as the riders searched for grip. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) left it late to finish fastest in the morning session but the Dutchman deemed the conditions too wet for any meaningful running and chose to sit FP2 out.

In van der Mark’s absence, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) proved the man to beat during FP2 but it wasn’t without a scare. Rounding the Estoril corner, the world champion suffered a huge moment as the rear of his Kawasaki stepped out. The Ulsterman maintained control and went on to top the session ahead of former team-mate Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), current team-mate Leon Haslam and surprise package Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) in fourth, although all riders were slower than they had gone in FP1.

Overall, van der Mark closes Free Practice Friday as the fastest man as he looks to chase down his team-mate Alex Lowes in the battle for third in the standings. Van der Mark has finished on the podium at Magny-Cours in each of the last three years and will fancy his chances of doing so again, whatever the weather. Lowes ended the day in eighth overall, and much like his team-mate, took a safety-first approach during the afternoon downpour.

Leading the Kawasaki challenge overall was Leon Haslam after a consistent day for the 36-year-old. Haslam was just two tenths shy of the outright fastest time before backing up his team-mate in the afternoon, showing that both Kawasaki riders will be competitive if the heavens open tomorrow. Rea’s day underlined the exceptional pace the Ulsterman clearly possesses, although a crash during FP1, followed by his near-highside in FP2, prove that nothing is certain in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship.

Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) earned the honour of top Independent rider with third spot, although four figured inside the top six as the heavy rain presented an opportunity for less fancied names. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) held onto fourth with home favourite Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) demonstrating his wet-weather credentials, finishing fifth in both sessions. Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) is another rider to watch if the weather takes a turn for the worse, with the Italian an impressive sixth today on the leading Honda.

With Rea and Lowes completing the combined top eight, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) ends Friday as the fastest Ducati rider, narrowly ahead of Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven). Ducati’s championship hopes still rest on the shoulders of Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and the Spaniard wound up in 13th, one spot ahead of team-mate Chaz Davies with neither venturing out this afternoon.

Moriwaki Althea Honda Team are boosted this weekend by the return of Leon Camier and the Briton showed promising pace in both sessions, ending up 11th overall. By contrast, Sandro Cortese found the going tough with 19th in FP1, followed by a heavy fall at the Adelaide hairpin later in the day which left him with a left shoulder contusion, plus a left elbow contusion and abrasion. The German rider has been declared fit to continue though.

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Haslam Second Quickest At A Damp Magny Cours

KRT rider Leon Haslam was second in the timesheets after two weather affected free practice sessions at Magny Cours, while his team-mate Jonathan Rea was seventh overall. In the fully wet FP2 session this afternoon Rea was the fastest rider and Haslam third, but both had set their best times lap times of the day in the slightly drier FP1.

In two tricky free practice sessions at Magny Cours both Haslam and Rea worked on finding their best possible wet weather set-ups and each made great progress on a track surface that started out damp and became fully wet in the afternoon.

The 4.411km long circuit at Magny Cours presents several tricky sections, particularly in the wet, but in his first race at Magny Cours since 2015 Haslam remembered both his racing lines and which parts of the track would be most challenging in the rain. His overall second place, earned in the less wet FP1 session, was followed up by being third quickest in the wetter afternoon practice session.

After experiencing an early and slow speed fall in FP1, Rea and his crew quickly got back to work in evaluating different set-up ideas and then started fine-tuning their full wet-set-up in the afternoon session.

Weather conditions are expected to improve in time for the resumption of track action on Saturday morning, and reach their warmest on Sunday. Tomorrow the KRT riders face a short FP3 session, Tissot-Superpole qualifying and then a 21-lap Race One.

Leon Haslam, stated: “It was slippery out there but it was OK in the end. This morning you just pushed as hard as you needed to. It was one of those sessions where if someone went fast, you went out and pushed a little bit harder. I think everyone was in the same boat. It was also just trying to gather information in case it is a wet race tomorrow. This morning was not fully wet in the end but this afternoon obviously was, so it was quite important for me to understand what the bike felt like in proper rain conditions. We also got to try the new rain tyre, which is very different. I feel we have had a positive day of collecting data and finishing inside the top three in each session.”

Jonathan Rea, stated: “Overall I am happy with the day because normally with the forecast to be clear tomorrow, and Sunday being even hotter, it is hard to be fully focused on building a set-up. We changed some things with the engine brake settings and we just needed to confirm them in the wet. This morning I was not so happy and this afternoon we worked to confirm something a bit better in the set-up. The bike is behaving a little bit different to how it has in the past in the wet, especially in how I am loading the front. If we should face any more wet weather over the weekend we need to work on stopping the bike in the last part of braking. But I was happy to be fast in full wet conditions. This morning there was a dry line coming up near the end so a lot of people went fast right at the end. It was a positive day.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) placed 12th overall and was eighth fastest in the full wet this afternoon. He hopes for improved weather conditions on Saturday to keep up his consistent run of podium finishes.

Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) used his well-proven wet weather capabilities to take the fourth fastest lap of all on day one. Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) set some laps in each session to build confidence on day one but was 16th overall.

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Van der Mark Finishes on Top at a Dismal Magny-Cours

Free practice

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK rider, Michael van der Mark, finished what was a damp and dismal opening day in France at the top of the timesheet, despite completing just 10 laps of the Magny-Cours circuit in FP1 and then sitting out a fully wet FP2. The same approach was adopted by teammate Alex Lowes, who ended the day eighth fastest.

The opening free practice this morning started on a fully wet track, although the rain had eased shortly before pit lane opened. With 15 minutes of the session remaining dry patches had started to appear around the 4.411km track, but not a continuous dry line. Van der Mark made the most of the slightly improved conditions to set the fastest time on his first run and then improving further on his second and final run.

With continuous rain and a fully wet track for this afternoon’s 50-minute free practice, van der Mark and Lowes knew that nobody was going to improve on their times from the morning and, with grip at the Magny-Cours track notoriously unpredictable, the two Pata Yamaha riders opted to err on the side of caution and sit out the session.

GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK rider, Marco Melandri, was third fastest today, again with his time in the mixed conditions of this morning’s free practice. The veteran Italian did participate in the second session but limited himself to just five laps to get a feel for the track in the wet.

Sandro Cortese, making his debut aboard a Superbike here in Magny-Cours was hoping for dry weather in which to learn the track, but he was left disappointed. The reigning Supersport World Champion was caught out by the unpredictability of the Magny-Cours circuit in the wet this afternoon, losing the front on the brakes into Turn 8 and sliding off the bike. Cortese landed heavily on the shoulder injured in his Donington Park qualifying crash but was passed fit to continue after a precautionary check-up in the circuit medical centre.

Ten Kate Yamaha Supported WorldSBK rider, Loris Baz, was also one of the few to venture onto the circuit this afternoon, with the Frenchman completing nine laps in front of those spectators who’d braved the weather, before returning to the pit box. Baz ended the day fifth fastest overall with his time from this morning’s opening free practice.

Michael van der Mark
Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – P1 – 1’51.852
“It’s been a bit of a strange day. This morning the track was wet at the start but already starting to dry up a little, so we waited quite a long time before going out. At the end it wasn’t dry, it wasn’t wet, and the track conditions were less than perfect, but I had a good feeling with the bike straight away. I didn’t really push for a time, but ended up quickest, so it was a good start to the day. This afternoon it started to rain a lot before the session, and it continued throughout. We waited to see if the conditions would improve, but they didn’t so we decided to sit out the session as I have a good feeling with the bike already and, anyway, the forecast is for dry conditions from tomorrow onwards.”

Alex Lowes
Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – P8 – 1’52.945
“Magny-Cours is one of those places where it’s sometimes a bit hit and miss with the weather, so the conditions today weren’t unexpected. It was good to get out on the track again this morning, even if the mixed conditions meant we weren’t able to learn much. But the feeling with the bike was good, which is one of the reasons why we opted to sit out the second session this afternoon, the other being that the weather looks set to improve ahead of FP3. Despite the limited track time today, we’ll be ready for qualifying and the first race tomorrow.”

Marco Melandri
GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P3 – 1’52.647
“Very difficult weather here today at Magny-Cours, a track that is already very tricky in the wet because the grip is so unpredictable. This morning it was starting to dry a bit towards the end of the session and the track wasn’t so bad. This afternoon, with the onset of the rain, it was difficult to see and the bike was aquaplaning a lot, even in places where there didn’t look to be a lot of water. Luckily it looks like we’re going to have better weather tomorrow and Sunday and I hope we’ll get three dry races. It’s never easy here but this afternoon I wasn’t fast, but I felt better on the bike and this morning the feeling was even a bit better. But while I’m still not completely confident when it’s fully wet, the feeling is definitely better than it was in Misano.”

Sandro Cortese
GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P19 – 1’56.616
“It’s not been the best of days. The weather hasn’t really helped because it’s my first time here on the Superbike and I was hoping for dry conditions in which to learn the track today. A big crash this afternoon in the second session meant the day pretty much finished as badly as it started, but the forecast is for better weather tomorrow and I hope to improve everything ahead of qualifying and the first race.”

Loris Baz
Ten Kate Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P5 – 1’52.820
“The rain seems to be following me around at the moment! The grip here at Magny-Cours has always been limited in the wet, but it seems to get worse every year. We did a pretty good job this morning. Maybe as the track dried towards the end a slick may have been an option, but it would have also been a risk, which we preferred not to take as it will be dry from tomorrow onwards. This afternoon I didn’t do so many laps but we tried a few things in the fully wet conditions that could stand us in good stead if the weather forecast proves to be wrong, which is a distinct possibility here. It was good to finish the opening day in the top five, but we have a lot to do if we’re going to prepare the bike for dry qualifying tomorrow morning in the final 20-minute practice session, which we hope will be run in good conditions.”

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing:

Rinaldi ninth in wet Free Practice at Magny Cours

Magny Cours 27th September 2019. MOTUL FIM WorldSBK French round is underway at the circuit of Nevers Magny-Cours. The Barni Racing Team and his rider Michael Rinaldi worked hard during the two free practices, rounding out day one of action in solid ninth position with the Ducati Panigale V4 R.

The opening session took place on a damp track with most of sections still wet after overnight rain. Rinaldi completed 20 laps, more than any other rider, proving to be comfortable in this very difficult conditions. The Italian set a best time of 1’53.006 to close among the top 10.

Heavy rain characterized the afternoon’s second session, preventing all the riders from improving on their earlier times. The Italian still ninth in the day’s combined standings lapsed 1’59.782 in full wet conditions.

Marco Barnabo, Team Principal:

I am satisfied about the work we have done. The morning session was positive because we did so many laps and the rider found a good feeling with the track. When the others did the best time we were one track with an exhausted tyre. We worked very well also in the afternoon trying both the “classic” wet tyre and the new version that Pirelli brought here. The information gathered were very important.

Michael Rinaldi
P9 (1’53.006)

Today’s conditions were very tricky but it allowed us to collect useful data in mixed conditions. However it seems that tomorrow and Sunday rain is not forecasted, if so the real weekend has yet to begin. Under the rain it was important not to make stupid mistakes and I did it. We also realized that in case of rain we are not in a bad way.

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Moriwaki Althea Honda Team:

Camier eleventh and Kiyonari fifteenth on a wet day 1 at Magny Cours.

Leon Camier recorded the eleventh fastest time during the opening day of the Pirelli French WorldSBK round on what was a wet Magny Cours track.

The Brit placed eleventh in the day’s combined classification, which was based on results from the morning session, held on a damp track. During the afternoon session, which played out in heavy rain, Leon set a strong fifth fastest time.

A similar path was followed by teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari, fifteenth in the morning’s first free practice session (and so fifteenth also in the combined standings) and the author of a good fourth-place finish at the end of the afternoon stint.

Leon Camier
11TH 1’53.509 (COMBINED)

“This morning we rode on a drying track, this afternoon on a wet track, with conditions changing dramatically between the two sessions. In the rain the bike is quite friendly to ride, everything is nice and easy to use so we were able to be quite consistent in FP2. All in all, it was an “ok” day. I tried not to risk too much and worked to regain my feeling with the bike after four and a half months with no riding. My shoulder felt good and didn’t bother me at all, but only by riding in the dry will we see how it really is, because this track is quite physical with a lot of brusque changes of direction.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari
15TH 1’54.141 (COMBINED)

“It’s the first time I’ve ridden in the wet at this track and my feeling in these conditions was fairly good, despite the surface being quite slippery. This morning we spent the session working on improving our bike’s wet setting and we actually made some promising progress, so that in the afternoon we were able to be quite fast on what was an even wetter track”.

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

World Superbike at Magny-Cours: rain hampers the opening day of free practice at the French circuit. Álvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finish 13th and 14th respectively

Poor weather conditions disturbed the first two free practice sessions at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, making the surface very slippery and considerably reducing the running time for the riders out on track.

Due to the rain, both Aruba.it Racing – Ducati riders, Álvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies, completed very few laps during the opening free practice session this morning. Unfortunately, the Spanish rider crashed unexpectedly at Turn 1 on his first lap but, after a lengthy stop in the pits to repair the bike, he did in any case manage to conclude the session. In the afternoon, during FP2, the rain came down even more, making the track conditions even worse and, in view of the fact that the weather is expected to improve tomorrow, both of our riders opted to sit out the session in the garage.

Tomorrow the third and final free practice session will be held at 09:00 CET, followed two hours later at 11:00 by Superpole qualifying for the starting-grid line-up for Race 1, which gets underway at 14:00.

Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati #19) – 1’54.091 (13th)

“For sure it wasn’t the best day to make my debut on this track! This morning, on the wet track surface, I crashed after losing the rear at Turn 1 on the opening lap, but luckily I suffered no physical consequences. I quite like the Magny-Cours track and it doesn’t seem as difficult as Imola or Portimão. I could also see that in case of rain it doesn’t have much grip but it’s the same for everyone. In the second session the heavy rain made the situation even more difficult and because of my shoulder, which is still not at 100%, I preferred not to take any more risks and stayed in the box. Let’s hope that the weather improves for tomorrow and gives me a chance to increase my confidence with the track for the race.”

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1’54.133 (14th)

“I can consider myself relatively satisfied after the first FP1 session, even though I just did a few laps to get some confidence in the wet track conditions. In view of the better weather conditions expected tomorrow and Sunday, I preferred not to take too many risks today so I can hit the track better when it’s dry. I think we have a base now with the Panigale V4 R which is working OK but we are trying to optimize and improve that base at every circuit.”

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:

Heavy rain on the opening day at Magny – Cours for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

27.09.19

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours

Rain loomed on the opening day of Round 11 in Magny – Cours, which inevitably resulted in a wet FP1. Both Markus and Tom spent majority of the session adjusting the set-up of their BMW S 1000 RR’s which left both riders out of the top 15 due to missing crucial dry spells of the session.

In typical French fashion the weather did not improve and in FP2 we endured heavier rain. Despite the weather, the BMW duo of Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger used the FP1 session to it advantage as the changes made from the earlier session reaped its benefits in FP2 as both riders found themselves into the top 7 – although no times were improved due to the weather conditions.

Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger will again battle it out tomorrow as they head into FP3, Qualifying and the first race of the weekend where they will be pushing for podium positions – whatever the conditions.

Shaun Muir, Team Principal:

The first session was really a lottery, Tom was posting top 3 / 4 times when he was out on track but with the unpredictable weather it meant both Markus and Tom missed a dry spell in the session which resulted in the final position.

Second session both riders did really well, Tom got into a good rhythm and posted some competitive times which landed him in P2. Markus equally tried a different rear shock setting which helped his confidence a lot, he stayed out through the session and chipped away at his time and ended FP2 in P7 which was a much more telling time for the day.

Overall we are pretty happy, we can head into tomorrow with a lot of confidence in Tom and Markus and hope for some better weather.

Tom Sykes:

I’m happy with how todays gone, we made a few changes at the end of FP1 which meant we sat out the remaining few minutes, resulting in us falling down the pecking order. This afternoon in the wet conditions we carried on working and found a good set-up for the BMW S 1000 RR, in the cold and greasy track conditions I felt comfortable with the feedback of the chassis and in the end found some good pace. The boys have worked hard in last few weeks and I’m certainly happy with the modifications we have made, so overall satisfied with the progress made here on day 1 at Magny – Cours.

Markus Reiterberger:

The first session we had a few issues which meant we couldn’t set a fast time, however in the second session we made some changes and I felt comfortable on the bike despite the rain being a lot heavier than this morning. We finished P7 in FP2 and for a while we were running at the front, all be it with only a few riders on track but still we could gauge how fast we were with these guys. Tomorrow we still need to find some pace as 4 seconds to the top is too much, but at least we found the right direction to work in for tomorrow.

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