WorldSBK: Bautista ahead of Rea on day two at Portimao

Alvaro Bautista finishes first in the second day of testing, with Ducati at the top for the second day in a row.

Bautista finishes the day at the top of the time sheets, setting a lap time of 1:39.035. He would break the record of 1:39.610 set by Jonathan Rea, in last year’s Superpole. The Spaniard’s day did not go as planned, with a crash at turn 7 in the morning session. Bautista would return to track later and have a great day on the Ducati.

His teammate and the fastest rider on day one, Michael Ruben Rinaldi would finish the second day in third place. He would test multiple bikes throughout the day, with his fastest on the second motorcycle.

Jonathan Rea would also be under the lap record, setting a lap time which was just 0.009 off Bautista. The six-time world champion would set 68 laps across the day, slowly improving throughout the day.

Alex Lowes would end the day in 14^th place, suffering a crash on yesterday’s day of testing. Lowes would continue with the test, trying to improve on Kawasaki’s electronics and his 2022 season.

Toprak Razgatlioglu would end the day in fourth place, returning to number 54 for the 2023 season. He would set a lap time of 1:39.441, four-tenths off championship rival Bautista, and would also break the lap record. Meanwhile, teammate Locatelli would finish in fifth place, behind his teammate with Yamaha showing signs of improvement.

Iker Lecuona would end the day as the top Honda, finishing the test in sixth place. He would suffer a crash in the final sector of the track, destroying his factory Honda Fireblade. He would return to the track and would finish the day with a lap time of 1:39.803, being very consistent on both of his bikes.

Tough day for BMW

The ROKiT BMW Motorrad team would have a tough day with Scott Redding pushing the bike to the pits after a technical issue on the straight. Michael van der Mark would end the day in 12^th position, trying to develop the 2023 bike. The team would test brand-new electronics and use brake covers throughout the day.

The top BMW of the day would be Loris Baz who would compete in his second year with Bonovo Action BMW. The Frenchman would set a lap time of 1:40.652, finishing the day in 11^th place, ahead of the factory team.

The top rookie and independent rider of the day was Remy Gardner who continues to become comfortable with the Yamaha. He would finish the day in seventh place, setting a time of 1:40.202.

Bradley Ray would spend his second full day in the WorldSBK class at Portimao and would end the day in 18^th. Ray will spend his first days of testing adjusting to the motorcycle and learning the new electronics.

WorldSSP

Ducati would top the timesheets in the Supersport class, with Nicolo Bulega taking the top spot. He would also break the current Supersport lap record, with a 1:42.636. Federico Caricasulo would finish behind the Aruba Racing rider.

Yari Montella would make it a Ducati front three lock-out after setting a lap time of 1:43.386. Montella is making the switch from Kawasaki and is tenths away from Bulega after testing.

Stefan Manzi would finish as the top Yamaha for the day, and sixth overall in the Supersport class. Manzi would set a lap time of 1:43.771 on his switch to Ten Kate Yamaha from the three-cylinder Triumph.

Tarran Mackenzie and his teammate Adam Norrodin would take to track today on the MIE – MS Racing Honda bike. They would not set any times today, due to no transponder but circulating all day.