WorldSBK Phillip Island Test Results: Rea fastest on crash-strewn day

Jonathan Rea resumed his customary place atop the timesheets as official WorldSBK pre-season testing concluded ahead of the opening round of the 2020 season at Phillip Island, with all five manufacturers cracking the top six positions.

On an eventful day blighted by tricky weather conditions and a number of crashes for some high-profile riders – including the five-time WorldSBK Champion – Rea was nonetheless in fine form in the afternoon to set a session-leading 1m 30.448secs on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR.

He edged out Loris Baz, who continued to demonstrate fine form on the privateer Ten Kate Yamaha, while BMW’s Tom Sykes was third quickest despite spending the day working on longer runs.

Day one pace setter Toprak Razgatlioglu was also focused primarily on improving his feel on the Yamaha R1 over a race distance but still found time to pump in a quick one for fourth, while Leon Haslam yet again placed the new Honda CBR100RR-R into the upper echelons ahead of its race debut this weekend in fifth.

Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark were sixth and seventh despite suffering tumbles from their respective Ducati and Yamaha machines, ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi and the rider he replaced at GOELEVEN Ducati, Eugene Laverty.

A more productive day for Alvaro Bautista saw him creep into the top ten overall in tenth, but the Spaniard crashed in the morning and was only 17th best in the afternoon.

Other riders struggling included Chaz Davies down in 11th place, while Alex Lowes was another to lose time with a tumble in 12th position.

The opening round of the season will kick off this weekend with free practice on Friday 28 February, Superpole and Race 1 on Saturday February 29 and the Superpole Race and Race 2 on Sunday March 1.

2020 Official WorldSBK Testing – Phillip Island, Australia [Day 2/2]