Gordon Ritchie | November 23, 2016
The MotoGP Ducati, Suzuki, Aprilia and KTM riders, plus Honda’s test team joined some of the top WorldSBK runners at Jerez on Wednesday, for the first day of dry track action.
The WorldSBK field was led by Jonathan Rea (KRT) who put himself into second position overall, with a time just 0.125 seconds slower than Hector Barbera (Avintia Ducati).
Rea was testing new Showa front forks, back-to-back with his existing units, as well as other 2017 tech.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Ducati) was the next best Superbike rider, tenth overall, 0.795 seconds from Barbera as he worked through a new swingarm set-up.
Tom Sykes, making several chassis set-up comparisons and finding some issues that lost him track time, was third best WorldSBK rider, and 13th overall on his KRT four-cylinder bike. He was just under a second from Barbera.
Alex Lowes tried out a new rear swingarm on his Pata Yamaha but had to swap it onto his existing bike after a new machine – with a redesigned tank and seat unit – experienced some technical issues. He was one place behind Sykes in 14th overall at the end of his first day.
In the final day of test action for the new Milwaukee Aprilia squad Lorenzo Savadori was 15th overall, working with his 2016 IodaRacing machine, running different Öhlins suspension. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Ducati Racing) was 16th after one day at Jerez and the official MV Agusta Reparto Corse F4 of Leon Camier. The English rider was attempting to make the transition to a single throttle intake system at this test, which is required by the 2017 rules.
New Milwaukee Aprilia signing Eugene Laverty found some issues on his final day that held his lap time away from his ideal but he still left happy that he should be in a good position in his return to the WorldSBK paddock this season. He was 18th in the overall rankings, after working back-to-back with two machines, one with a braced chassis headstock. He ran two different engine specifications at this test.
Michael van der Mark was again out on his Yamaha after his recent Motorland Aragon test, but in black colors.
Two more days of available track time remain for Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati and MV, plus the MotoGP runners.