Gordon Ritchie | August 18, 2017
WorldSBK: Sykes Fastest Despite Friday Fall
The return from the WorldSBK championship’s summer break did not last long without major drama arriving on the scene after fastest man Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) uncharacteristically crashed out in FP2, and shortly after Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) suffered a major oil leak on his machine. Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) fell on the slippery track surface shortly after, with a belated red flag ending the session to allow the oil to be cleaned up. Bradl injured his elbow in his fall but did not suffer a fracture.
Before the track action could get underway again a major rainstorm wiped out any chance of a quick return to hostilities. Even long after the rain had gone away the lack of drainage in key places – and the bumpy, rippled track surface – meant that standing water in some corners and drying surfaces in other places led to a long delay before the second hour of WorldSBK free practice was completed.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was second fastest and like his team-mate Sykes, he did not venture out on track in the damp final half hour.
The best Friday dry conditions saw Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) third quickest and Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) fourth.
An early technical scare in the morning session made it a nervous re-start to the year for Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) but he got up to fifth before the oil and rain problems intervened.
Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) placed sixth, with one of rider Markus Reiterberger (Van Zon Remeha BMW) back in the WorldSBK paddock after being dropped from his Althea BMW team earlier in the year. His partial IDM-spec bike got him up to seventh, one place ahead of Leon Camier’s MV Agusta Reparto Corse F4.
Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) and Lowes completed the top ten riders who will automatically get into Superpole 2 on Saturday, whatever happens in FP3 on Saturday morning.
WorldSSP: Cluzel Quickest After Long Summer Break
The last competitive outing for the riders in the WorldSSP championship was in Italy, at Misano in mid-June, but as they re-convened at Lausitz in Germany today a French rider in a British team took his Japanese motorcycle to the top spot.
Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) was the fastest rider in the combined times on Friday, ahead of Sheridan Morais (Kallio Race System Yamaha) on his private Yamaha and championship leader Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) on the official R6.
Five-time champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was fourth, and top Kawasaki rider.
Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) scored fifth in the Friday rankings, with British runner Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing Triumph) sixth on his three-cylinder Daytona 675.
After rain had affected the earlier WorldSBK FP2 session so badly the track dried enough in the afternoon for some WorldSSP riders to make their best Friday time late in the day.
Niki Tuuli (Kallio Race System Yamaha) and Gino Rea (Team GO ELEVEN Kawasaki) were both at their personal best in the afternoon, in seventh and eighth places respectively.
Ninth place was secured by Hikari Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and the top ten rounded out by Kyle Smith (GEMAR Balloons – Team Lorini Honda). American rider Patrick Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was 11th – and top MV rider on show.
Anthony West (EAB West Racing Yamaha) was 14th.