Ryuichi Kiyonari discovers the spectacular Laguna Seca track
In perfectly sunny conditions on this opening day of the WorldSBK US Round, Ryuichi Kiyonari headed out to ride the 3610 metres of the legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca track for the first time ever.
The Japanese rider enjoyed the challenging Californian track and spent the two free practice sessions getting to grips with the layout and beginning the bike set-up work together with his crew.
Kiyonari positioned fifteenth in FP1 but dropped to 18th overall by the end of day. Tomorrow’s final free practice will start at 9am ahead of the Tissot Superpole at 11am and Race 1 at 2pm.
Ryuichi Kiyonari 23
“This track is amazing. Fast, challenging, with some up-and-downs and cambered corners. It has a very unique character. Some turns are fairly easy to learn, others just take your breath away and take more time to adapt to. The team has done a good job with the set-up and the suspension setting of the bike, preparing it for this track, and my feeling this morning was generally pretty good. In the afternoon we did not make a big enough step forward though. We need to keep working and in particular we need to try and find more grip, because the asphalt here is quite slippery”.
Free Practice
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davies Chaz | 7 | GBR | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1'23.387 |
| 2 | Rea Jonathan | 1 | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 0.032 |
| 3 | Bautista Alvaro | 19 | SPA | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 0.263 |
| 4 | Sykes Tom | 66 | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 0.410 |
| 5 | Haslam Leon | 91 | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 0.465 |
| 6 | Baz Loris | 19 | FRA | Ten Kate Racing - Yamaha | Yamaha | 0.538 |
| 7 | Razgatlioglu Toprak | 54 | TUR | Turkish Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki | 0.556 |
| 8 | Lowes Alex | 22 | GBR | Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 0.825 |
| 9 | van der Mark Michael | 60 | NDL | Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 0.860 |
| 10 | Torres Jordi | 81 | SPA | Team Pedercini Racing | Kawasaki | 0.952 |
| 11 | Cortese Sandro | 11 | GER | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK | Yamaha | 1.018 |
| 12 | Melandri Marco | 33 | ITA | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK | Yamaha | 1.177 |
| 13 | Mercado Leandro | 36 | ARG | Orelac Racing VerdNatura | Kawasaki | 1.344 |
| 14 | Laverty Eugene | 50 | IRE | Team Goeleven | Ducati | 1.552 |
| 15 | Beach J.D. | 95 | USA | Attack Performance Estenson Yamaha | Yamaha | 1.586 |
| 16 | Reiterberger Markus | 28 | GER | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1.613 |
| 17 | Rinaldi Michael Ruben | 21 | ITA | BARNI Racing Team | Ducati | 2.114 |
| 18 | Kiyonari Ryuichi | 23 | JPN | Moriwaki Althea Honda Team | Honda | 2.471 |
| 19 | Delbianco Alessandro | 52 | ITA | Althea Mie Racing Team | Honda | 2.596 |
Location Information
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Operated by SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula) 1021 Monterey-Salinas Hwy – Salinas, CA 93908 USA Raceway Laguna Seca
| POLE POSITION | RIGHT |
| LENGTH | 3.610 Km |
| CORNERS | 11 |
| RIGHT CORNERS | 4 |
| LEFT CORNERS | 7 |
Records
| Pole Record | 1'21.811 (161,05 Km/h) T.Sykes (Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2014) |
| Race Record | 1'22.700 (159,32 Km/h) J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 2019) |
| All Time Record | 1'21.811 (161,05 Km/h) T.Sykes (Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2014) |
| 2019 Race 1 Winner | J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR) |
| 2019 Superpole Race Winner | J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR) |
| 2019 Race 2 Winner | C. Davies (Ducati Panigale V4 R) |
