Yuki Takahashi returns to Jerez after six years, Kiyonari faces the Spanish track for the first time on the opening day of the Spanish round
On the opening day of round 6 of the WorldSBK season, Yuki Takahashi was back in action at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for the first time in six years, his last appearance at the Spanish track having been in Moto2 in 2013.
The Japanese rider, who is substituting for a recovering Leon Camier, finished fifteenth in the morning and seventeenth at the conclusion of the first two free practice sessions.
Ryuichi Kiyonari, who is facing the Spanish track for the very first time, positioned sixteenth in FP1 and nineteenth at the end of the day.
The two riders hope to improve on both their bike set-up and performance in tomorrow’s final practice ahead of the Tissot Superpole at 11am and Race 1 at 2pm.
Yuki Takahashi 72
“I know the Jerez layout of course, having raced here many times in the past, but last time I rode here was six years ago and in Moto2, not Superbike, which makes quite a big difference. Despite having tested in Misano just a few days ago, we did not have a lot of time available on the bike due to the adverse weather conditions, and I feel I need to gain more experience on it in order to properly work on the setup and adjust it for Jerez. We made some changes to the bike’s balance after the morning session, but those did not work out as we expected and so we retraced our steps. We collected useful data though, so tomorrow we’ll try and take a good step forward”.
Ryuichi Kiyonari 23
“This morning I rode the Jerez track for the first time, and I must say I immediately felt good.
Unfortunately, this afternoon was really disappointing as we were not able to make the improvement we were looking for, and even bettering our lap times by half a second compared to the morning was not enough to prevent us to drop back in the classification. Tomorrow we’ll do our best to improve of course”.
Free Practice Classification
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bautista Alvaro | 19 | SPA | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1'39.428 |
2 | van der Mark Michael | 60 | NDL | Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 0.226 |
3 | Rea Jonathan | 1 | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 0.304 |
4 | Lowes Alex | 22 | GBR | Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 0.411 |
5 | Sykes Tom | 66 | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 0.506 |
6 | Melandri Marco | 33 | ITA | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK | Yamaha | 0.602 |
7 | Cortese Sandro | 11 | GER | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK | Yamaha | 0.629 |
8 | Rinaldi Michael Ruben | 21 | ITA | BARNI Racing Team | Ducati | 0.862 |
9 | Haslam Leon | 91 | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 0.911 |
10 | Razgatlioglu Toprak | 54 | TUR | Turkish Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki | 0.976 |
11 | Davies Chaz | 7 | GBR | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1.209 |
12 | Torres Jordi | 81 | SPA | Team Pedercini Racing | Kawasaki | 1.314 |
13 | Baz Loris | 19 | FRA | Ten Kate Racing - Yamaha | Yamaha | 1.427 |
14 | Mercado Leandro | 36 | ARG | Orelac Racing VerdNatura | Kawasaki | 1.490 |
15 | Reiterberger Markus | 28 | GER | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1.614 |
16 | Delbianco Alessandro | 52 | ITA | Althea Mie Racing Team | Honda | 2.300 |
17 | Takahashi Yuki | 72 | JPN | Moriwaki Althea Honda Team | Honda | 2.497 |
18 | Bridewell Tommy | 46 | GBR | Team Goeleven | Ducati | 2.588 |
19 | Kiyonari Ryuichi | 23 | JPN | Moriwaki Althea Honda Team | Honda | 2.744 |
Location Information
Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto Carretera Jerez-Arcos, km 10 – Apdo de Correos 35 11592 Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) – Spain circuitodejerez.com
POLE POSITION | RIGHT |
LENGTH | 4.423 Km |
CORNERS | 13 |
RIGHT CORNERS | 8 |
LEFT CORNERS | 5 |