Ducati factory rider Alvaro Bautista secured the best time in second free practice at the Superbike World Championships in Misano. Bautista was almost half a second faster than his pursuers and lived up to his role as favourite. Bautista was superior to more than just one lap. The Spaniard set a number of fast laps that made him the clear favorite for the races.
In the first practice session on Friday morning, Yamaha rider Toprak Razgatlioglu led the classification with a 1:34.154 lap. After only nine minutes of training, Alvaro Bautista in FT2 with his 1:34.184 lap scratched Razgatlioglu’s FT1 best time. A lap later, Bautista moved up to the top of the combined daily standings with a 1:34.123 lap.
Dominique Aegerter (GRT-Yamaha) landed in the gravel trap after just under ten minutes. The Swiss lost control in Turn 1 but was unhurt. Aegerter helped bring the damaged Yamaha R1 back to the GRT pits. He was able to continue the FT2 after a forced break, but ended up being one of seven drivers who were slower than in the FT1.
Ducati trio at the top of the FT2 classification
The FT2 went better for world champion Alvaro Bautista. The Spaniard was the first driver to scratch the 1:34 mark. The Spaniard improved his own record to 1:34.002 minutes. Before halftime in FT2, Bautista set the first 1:33 time of the weekend.
The championship leader was again significantly faster than his challengers and put in an impressive long run with a series of low 1:34s and high 1:33s. No driver was so consistently quick. Bautista set the clear best time of 1:33.825 minutes.
In the closing stages, Ducati brand colleague Danilo Petrucci moved up to second position. The former MotoGP rider improved significantly compared to the FT1 and was greeted with applause in the Barni pits after his final stint. However, Bautista’s time was already 0.451 seconds short.
Another Ducati rider followed in third place: Michael Rinaldi was 0.458 seconds behind teammate Bautista in his factory Panigale. The best non-Ducati rider was Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) in fourth, 0.652 seconds behind.
Toprak Razgatlioglu slower than in FT1
FT1 leader Toprak Razgatlioglu failed to improve in FT2 and only finished P5. Thanks to his time from the morning, Razgatlioglu is second in the combined standings. The mixed FT2 result didn’t stop Razgatlioglu from entertaining the fans with stoppies on the slowdown lap.
Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli didn’t do well in FT2 either. The local hero only finished FT2 in 14th position. Obviously Yamaha went the wrong way with the set-up.
Thanks to Garrett Gerloff, BMW made it into the top 6. Gerloff was 0.785 seconds behind and was therefore a good two-tenths of a second faster than fellow Audi driver Scott Redding in P9. Tom Sykes was listed in eleventh position, Loris Baz finished in P15.
Jonathan Rea not within striking distance of the top 3
FT2 was disappointing for record world champion Jonathan Rea. The Kawasaki factory rider finished the session in eighth position, 0.888 seconds back. Compared to FT1, Rea could only improve minimally.
Philipp Öttl (GoEleven-Ducati) made a big jump. The German finished FT2 in twelfth position and came within 1.097 seconds of the best time.
The FT3 of the Superbike World Championship in Misano will start on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Superpole will follow at 11:10 a.m. and the first race at 2:00 p.m.