Gardner fastest on Friday ahead of Locatelli as Cremona test concludes
Australian star Remy Gardner led the Day 2 times, on a red-flagged Friday at Cremona with Locatelli and Rinaldi also impressing
Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the fastest man on a Friday test which saw several red flags at Cremona. The Australian rocketed to the top of the combined times in the afternoon session, ultimately proving to be only one of two riders to break into the 1’28s, alongside fellow Yamaha rider Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha). Ducati riders Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing), Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and rider Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) made up the rest of the top five.
YAMAHA SHOW SPEED AT CREMONA: Gardner P1, Locatelli P2; Rea continues to adapt
Yamaha enjoyed a very successful Friday at Cremona, with three of their four riders occupying spots in the top eight. Gardner was a lowly 15th place in the morning test session but rebounded back in a big way to clock a time of 1’28.860s, claiming top spot. His teammate, Dominique Aegerter, rounded out the top eight with a strong time of 1’29.506s.
On the other side of the Japanese manufacturer, Locatelli enjoyed a very consistent Friday. In the morning session, Locatelli secured sixth place with a time of 1’30.076s. He ended the afternoon session on Friday with a vastly improved time of 1’28.919s, enough to secure second place behind Gardner. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) suffered a technical issue in the morning session which forced him off track but managed to secure seventh place. In the afternoon session, Rea continued his search for consistency in the afternoon, ultimately managing a best time of 1’30.027s.
DUCATI SETS THE PACE: Rinaldi fastest for Bologna bullets, Bulega and Bautista not far behind
Rinaldi had been one of the top performers throughout the entirety of the past two days at Cremona. Friday saw the #21 finish fourth overall in the morning session, setting a time of 1’29.663s. He then smashed his own time in the afternoon session, clocking a time of 1’29.047s to claim third overall. Elsewhere within the Bologna manufacturer, Lowes set the pace during Friday morning, topping out the session (after 63 laps) of 1’29.137s. Lowes did not reappear for the afternoon session of testing, with the Marc VDS Ducati squad opting to leave with what they have already. Like the other Ducati members, the priority of the Lowes camp was track familiarity and track time as opposed to testing of new parts.
Ducati continues to enjoy testing success at Cremona, with Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista being consistently strong on Friday, their only day of testing at Cremona. Both Bulega and Bautista set very impressive times, coming in at 1’29.501s and 1’29.518s. Throughout the two-day test, the emphasis has been centered around both riders getting to grips with the track, as well as having as much track time as possible.
REDDING AND GERLOFF EVENLY MATCHED: lots of data for BMW at Cremona
Bonovo Action BMW’s Scott Redding and Garrett Gerloff have been BMW’s sole riders at Cremona, given the absence of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark. Both Redding and Gerloff have been very similar in terms of pace, with the riders clocking in times of 1’30.389s and 1’30.459s respectively in the morning. In the afternoon, both Redding and Gerloff improved on their times, clocking 1’29.215s and 1’29.325s respectively. Redding suffered a mechanical issue early in Friday’s session, with Redding potentially testing a couple of items today but focusing on the setup of his M 1000 RR.
RABAT IMPRESSES AT CREMONA: busiest rider, consistently towards the top
Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Tito Rabat has been one of the standout performers during the Cremona test, repeatedly coming in towards the top of the timesheets during testing. Rabat clocked a time of 1’29.663s on Friday morning, enough for a top five place. He has also been one of the most active riders on track, completing 121 laps on Day 1, whilst completing 112 on Day 2; a total of 233 laps across both days. Rabat ended the day with an improved time of 1’29.543s. Rabat and Puccetti Kawasaki were working on new configurations and setup from the Japanese manufacturer, and they were the only Kawasaki representatives on track.
HONDA LOOK FOR GAINS: Lecuona and Vierge make subtle improvements
Honda entered Friday’s Cremona test seeking to test different swingarms, as well as to gain familiarity with the track. In the morning session, Iker Lecouna (Team HRC) clocked a time of 1’30.229s, enough for eighth place. In the afternoon session, his time improved to 1’29.787s. It was a similar story for teammate Xavi Vierge, who clocked a time of 1’30.293s in the morning but managed to improve his time in the afternoon to 1’30.135s.
On the other side of the Honda setup, PETRONAS MIE Racing’s Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin had a good day. Mackenzie enjoyed a strong start in the morning session, clocking a time of 1’30.646s, but he could not improve that time in the afternoon, recording a best time of 1’31.165s. Norrodin, on the other hand, managed the opposite, improving from a 1’32.846s in the morning to a time of 1’31.591s in the afternoon.
HUERTAS LEADS WORLDSSP FIELD AT CREMONA
For the second day in a row, Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was the fastest of the WorldSSP riders on display during the Cremona test. The Aruba.it rider showed some good pace over the course of Friday’s test. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed second with Khairul Idham Bin Pawi (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) in third. His teammate, Kaito Toba, was fourth with Ivan Goi (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) rounding out the field WorldSSP field.
The top six from Friday at Cremona, find the full results from Friday’s test at Cremona here:
1 Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’28.860s, 112 laps
2. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha), +0.059s, 72 laps
3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing), +0.187s, 70 laps
4. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing), +0.277s, 63 laps
5. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW), +0.355s, 73 laps
6. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), +0.363s, 94 laps
