2023 World Superbike - Round 12 - Jerez

World Superbike rolls into Jerez after the local Argentinian authorities pulled the plug on the SBK round at Circuito San Juan Villicum. I'm not gonna complain. Jerez is one of my favorites.

SBK FP2 Results:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu - TUR - Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK - 1:40.312s
2. Remy Gardner - AUS - GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team - +0.244s
3. Alvaro Bautista - SPA - Aruba.It Racing Ducati - +0.320s
4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi - ITA - Aruba.It Racing Ducati - +0.398s
5. Dominique Aegerter - SWI - GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team - +0.511s
6. Philipp Oettl - GER - GoEleven Ducati - +0.546s
7. Garrett Gerloff - USA - Bonovo Action BMW - +0.946s
8. Danilo Petrucci - ITA - Barni Spark Racing Team - +0.966s
9. Andrea Locatelli - ITA - Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK - +0.982s
10. Scott Redding - GBR - ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team - +1.195s
11. Iker Lecuona - SPA - Team HRC WorldSBK - +1.319s
12. Michael Van Der Mark - NED - ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team - +1.374s
13. Jonathan Rea - GBR - Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK - +1.412s
14. Axel Bassani - ITA - Motocorsa Ducati - +1.634s
15. Lorenzo Baldassarri - ITA - GMT94 Yamaha - +1.836s
16. Alex Lowes - GBR - Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK - +1.938s
17. Loris Baz - FRA - Bonovo Action BMW - +2.202s
18. Xavi Vierge - SPA - Team HRC WorldSBK - +2.203s
19. Hafizh Syahrin - MAL - PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing - +2.553s
20. Tito Rabat - SPA - Puccetti Kawasaki - +2.670s
21. Florian Alt - GER - Team HRC - +3.289s
22. Gabriele Ruiu - ITA - Bmax Racing BWM - +3.592s
23. Leandro Mercado - ARG - PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing - +3.839s
24. Oliver Konig - CZE - Orelac Racing Kawasaki - +3.944s

Remy Gardner said that he made a mistake in the last corner on his fastens lap, thinks there is still half a second in there.

I really want Johnny to get one final podium for Kawasaki.

Man, it’s an absolute pleasure watching Toprak do his thing.

You could not get better comparative racing then Toprak and Bautista, can't wait for next year to see him do the same thing on the BMW.

Havey said:

You could not get better comparative racing then Toprak and Bautista, can't wait for next year to see him do the same thing on the BMW.

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Although I don't really rate Bautista, I do agree with you. There were multiple times in that last race where it though, have this been anyone else they would've crashed 10 times.

JFM01 said:

I really want Johnny to get one final podium for Kawasaki.

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Can't fault him for not trying. The first three laps of race 2 reminded me of the good old times.

This was an even better race than Portimao. I was holding my breath for 20 laps, Toprak is an absolute bad ass rider and the guy who invented the track limits rule should not be allowed within 100 km of a race track for the rest of his life.

Toprak won this race, I don't give a .... about what the result says.

JFM01 said:

This was an even better race than Portimao. I was holding my breath for 20 laps, Toprak is an absolute bad ass rider and the guy who invented the track limits rule should not be allowed within 100 km of a race track for the rest of his life.

Toprak won this race, I don't give a .... about what the result says.

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You need to draw the line somewhere unfortunately. But yea, for me he won that race too. I don't care what anyone says, he is the best rider in WSBK by some distance.

Good weekend of racing, though the only close race was SBK Race 2. Still not sure how they worked out that Toprak finished 2nd, but I haven't looked. It's just another weird technicality that distracts from a masterful display of riding. Bulega is too strong for World Supersport, and I'm glad he's graduating, though I hope they can get the balance sorted in WSSP. It seems like Ducati might be using the same fuel strategies to gain a substantial advantage.

Remy fastest in testing today. Hopefully Yamaha will take him seriously and give him the support he needs. Jerez is familiar to him, meaning he probably knows the setup for that track. He needs a team around him who can set the bike up for the other tracks.

I guess we can't really take stock in the times because we have no idea if they are running the 2024 ballast rules (assuming those rules are already final and known to the teams) or if they are just doing whatever. Alvaro looked uncomfortable, and suffered a high side. Makes me think he is playing around with ballast.

Looking forward to 2024.

Bautista is testing with 7kg added, says it is harder in, the faster corners.
Remy is loving it. !!!