Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1160219
IN THE WIND P46 not going to be a Pata Yamaha rider in 2020, but he has other possibilities, including one with another Yamaha team. "This morning's lap was [with] a softer tire, but I was still quite fast on the race tire, a mid 1:41 on the race tire," said Lowes. "This afternoon we did a longer run but got a red flag in the middle, so we did not put the laps together continuously. The last run was 10 laps—the tires were quite used at the start, and I managed to keep in the 1:42s. I think, in those conditions, that was quite good. I was just searching for a little bit of turning on the throttle really, for the race, in the longer corners. Apart from that, I am quite happy with the test, no mistakes—good." Rea was a second after 100 laps of one of his favorite circuits. He and also made a final run-out in the last minutes of the final session with what appeared to be MotoGP-style black aerodynamic "wings" fitted to the side of his bike. Nobody in Kawasaki colors would comment on the subject, with the motorcycle rushed back into the pit box after a few laps. Despite a bout of food poison- ing for a time on Sunday, day one fastest rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was third quickest, with Yamaha rid- ers Michael Van Der Mark and Loris Baz rounding out the top five. Gordon Ritchie Who Is Going Where In WorldSBK? O ther than a few rider exits and a very few new con- firmed signings, there is still a lot of silly season left in WorldSBK, even as the entire field tested at the endlessly undulating Porti- mao in Portugal. The confirmed signing of Eugene Laverty to the SMR- operated BMW Motorrad team for 2020 will result in something of a dream team of Laverty and existing rider Tom Sykes—if each can repeat their race-winning capabilities from their recent WorldSBK careers, of course. Aruba.it Ducati has got Chaz Davies already on a two-year contract, but Alvaro Bautista is not going to ride for them in 2020, he confirmed at Porti- mao. He is down to ride the new Honda WorldSBK machine, which should debut quite soon as a road bike. Scott Redding has already been spoken of as the preferred option for Ducati Corse—by Ducati Corse—to replace Alvaro in WorldSBK, and that is a goer. Bautista apparently has the potential to go back to MotoGP on a KTM. It is understood, however, that he had not actually signed a contract with anybody, at least not by the Portimao tests. Honda and WorldSBK appear to be his options. Bau- tista is rumored to partner with Takuma Takahashi at Honda. Leon Haslam is probable to be retained in the KRT set- up, although now that Toprak Razgatlioglu is all but publicly confirmed to join Michael van der Mark in the official Pata Ya- maha squad, some say he may be placed in the Puccetti set-up, but with increased support. Lowes being taken out of the official Yamaha set-up elicits controversy, as he is still third place overall in the champion- ship, with only hyper-points scorers Rea and Bautista ahead of him. Yamaha would like to keep him inside the overall effort, as a replacement for the retiring Marco Melandri, but such is the fluidity of the rider market in 2019 that other opportunities may present themselves. Lowes has known about his exit for some time and has now been offered a Yamaha WorldSBK ride of some kind but not his current one. The GRT Yamaha team could be Lowes and Federico Caricasulo-shaped in 2020 if the Italian team decides to go with