WorldSBK Barcelona Testing Results [D2] | Razgatlioglu flexes Yamaha strength

Toprak Razgatlioglu has sent a message to rivals eyeing his WorldSBK crown in 2022 by surging to the top of the timesheets on the second and final day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Fresh from the Pata Yamaha team revealing its colours for its 2022 WorldSBK title defence on Thursday, Razgatlioglu stepped up his pace on Saturday after spending much of Friday focused on putting in mileage on new components.

Making good use of a new exhaust and electronics package, Razgatlioglu was in scintillating form around the Spanish venue, stopping the clock at 1m 40.571secs to take a 0.3s chunk off Alvaro Bautista’s erstwhile lap record from Friday.

With rain limiting track running in the afternoon, Razgatlioglu’s Saturday morning effort was thus good enough to remain at the summit at the flag, with Bautista second on the combined results with his Friday best.

Making the biggest gains between the two days, Iker Lecuona showed a sharp turn of speed on the HRC Honda CBR1000RR-R to punch in the third fastest time of the test. However, there were mixed emotions for the works Honda squad after Lecuona’s team-mate Xavi Vierge suffered a high-side at Turn 12, necessitating a visit to hospital with suspected rib injuries.

Jonathan Rea was 0.030s adrift of Lecuona in fourth place for Kawasaki, ahead of top independent runner Garrett Gerloff on the GRT Yamaha, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi following up in sixth.

Scott Redding made it all five manufacturers inside the top seven as he wound up his pace on the factory BMW M 1000 RR, heading off Alex Lowes and Lucas Mahias on their respective factory KRT and privateer Puccetti Kawasaki ZX-10RRs.

The injured Vierge claimed the final spot inside the top ten, from Philipp Oettl on the Go Eleven Ducati and Andrea Locatelli on the Pata Yamaha, while Bonovo BMW’s Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz sandwiched Kohta Nozane on the second of the GRT Yamahas.

Elsewhere, IDM Superbike Champion Ilya Mikhalchik made strong gains on his second day aboard the factory BMW M 1000 RR he is riding in place of the injured Michael van der Mark, the Ukrainian just 0.3secs shy of stablemate Baz.

All but three teams and riders listed to compete in the 2022 WorldSBK Championship were present in Barcelona, with the only absentees being Motocorsa Ducati’s Axel Bassani, Gil Motor Sport Yamaha’s Christophe Ponsson and newcomer Motoxracing Yamaha’s Isaac Vinales.

2022 WorldSBK Pre-Season Testing | Barcelona | 25 - 26 March [Combined]