Spanish star Alvaro Bautista has continued to lead the timesheets in WorldSBK testing at Phillip Island as the pre-season winds down ahead of round one this weekend (February 22-24).
Aboard his blisteringly fast Ducati Panigale V4 R, which was the quickest down Gardner Straight this morning with a top speed of 317km/h, Panigale lowered the best lap of the two-day test session down to 1min30.303secs.
With most of the field lowering their best times from day one, 2018 Phillip Island double winner Marco Melandri (Yamaha, 1:30.760) was second, just ahead of world champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki 1:30.761) and Tom Sykes (1:30.777) on his new BMW.
Michael van der Mark (Yamaha, 1:30.911) and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki, 1:30.947) also went below the 1:31 mark, followed by 2018 world supersport champion Sandro Cortese (Yamaha, 1:31.077) and Alex Lowes (Yamaha, 1:31.272).
World No.2 Chaz Davies (Ducati) was 12th fastest as he continues to get up to speed after an injury-interrupted pre-season, while Aussie wildcard Troy Herfoss (Herfoss) circulated nearly two seconds faster than day one but still remains 19th on the timesheets.
The final two-hour shakedown for the world’s best production racers will commence at 1:40pm this afternoon
WorldSBK Phillip Island Pre-Season Test – Tuesday Morning Session
1. Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) – 1m30.303
2. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) – 1m30.760
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1m30.761
4. Tom Sykes (BMW) – 1m30.777
5. Michael van der Mark (Yamaha) – 1m30.911
19. Australian wild card Troy Herfoss (Honda) – 1m33.130
See you Trackside at the Island for a Triple-Treat
A three-day General Admission is $120* secured in advance, or $230* when you add camping to your purchase.
If you feel like splashing out, step up to a Bar SBK ticket at $265* (with camping $375*) and enjoy undercover facilities at Doohan Corner, Siberia and Lukey Heights.
World superbikes is FREE** for kids 15 and under, and so is your bike.
As an extra bonus at WorldSBK, all three-day ticket holders are gifted FREE paddock access.
