THE 2022 WorldSBK season will begin at MotorLand Aragon on 10 April, and Yamaha headed there this week to get an early sighter, and gather some early data before that season opener in just over a months’ time.
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK say they worked on electronic strategies, and evaluated new engine and chassis components at a circuit which they admit “hasn’t previously played to the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK’s strengths.”
Indeed, Yamaha’s best result in MotorLand last season was third place, with one each for Toprak Razgatlioglu and GRT Yamaha WorldSBK’s Garrett Gerloff.
Unsurprisingly, Razgatlioglu was the fastest of the five riders present, setting a 1’49.746 with an SC0 race tyre. When considering that Razgatlioglu’s fastest lap in Aragon race one last year was a 1’50.522, and his Superpole time was a 1’49.704, it would appear that progress has been made.
On the other side of the Pata Yamaha garage, Andrea Locatelli was third-fastest of the five Yamahas present with a 1’50.021, while Garrett Gerloff split the factory pair with a 1’49.820. Between Razgatlioglu (110 laps), Gerloff (106 laps), and Locatelli (115 laps), Yamaha’s top three WorldSBK riders clocked 331 laps across two days of Aragon testing, while Kohta Nozane completed 90 laps with a fastest time of a 1’51.238 for GRT Yamaha, and Gil-Motorsport Yamaha’s Christophe Ponsson completed 84 laps, with a fastest time of a 1’52.341. The full list of times and lap counts from the test can be viewed here.
After the test, Razgatlioglu was positive, saying, “This is maybe not my best track, but today we were very fast and consistent, so for this I am happy.” He added, “Yamaha and the team are working a lot, we made a big improvement to ‘21… a 1‘49 with SC0 tyre is not so bad!”
His teammate, Locatelli, said “[On Thursday] we worked a lot on the setup of the bike and now the feeling is really good.” The Italian added, “Now we look forward to [the next test, in Barcelona], my level is improving and so is the R1.”
The upcoming Barcelona test will take place on 25-26 March 2022, and will see the Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK team reveal their official livery for the new season.
