VOLUME 57 ISSUE 26 JUNE 30, 2020 P25
third place on the final day rank-
ings for the GoEleven Ducati of
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (due to
his 1:33.560) was for real, and a
confidence-inspiring boost for the
small Italian team.
Alex Lowes, despite spend-
ing the bulk of his time working
on learning another new circuit
for him on his 2020 KRT Kawa-
saki, was fourth fastest, with a
1:33.694 best.
Chaz Davies, the other Aruba.
it Racing Ducati official rider, was
fifth quickest, setting a 1:33.854.
Leandro Mercado, the lone
rider for the Motocorsa Ducati
squad, was sixth, posting a
1:34.859. Brixx Racing Ducati
runner Sylvain Barrier recorded a
1:36.752.
Still disturbed by a painful
shoulder despite a long lay-off,
Leo Camier (Barni Racing Ducati)
managed a 1:36.759 and is now
taking more medical advice about
his long-term injury.
Citing that he had really missed
racing a lot more than he had
initially imagined, the fastest man
at Misano—and still reigning BSB
Champion—Scott Redding said,
"We have worked a lot especially
with used tires and we have tried
new solutions that have given
positive feedback. I've been
working out a lot these months
with the goal of losing weight. In
the end, I also managed to set a
good chrono, but this is not im-
portant. It was great to get back
to work with the guys and I can't
wait to get back on track."
Rea was not comfortable with
his bike feel on the super-grippy
new track surface on day one at
Misano. After some seemingly
strange changes to his machine's
characteristics, he made real
progress on Thursday, stating,
"Yesterday everything felt quite
alien to me, especially as the as-
phalt was new and the grip levels
were high. I just had to adapt my
riding style a little bit. Also, we
changed the bike setup, actually
to take a little bit of grip away. I
was still not 100 percent confi-
dent, but I felt better a lot better
after the tire grip had dropped a
bit. After six or seven laps, I felt
more comfortable on the bike.
In the end, with a race tire, I was
still able to be very fast and I felt
confident to push. I really feel
like here, with the grip level being
so high, we have been able to
achieve a little bit more natural
turning from the bike."
Rinaldi was enthused by his
pace, especially on race tires.
"At the end of the two days we
found the best solution, and we
also managed to be very fast,"
said the former Superstock 1000
champion. "Considering that our
time was scored with the race
tire, while most of my opponents
used the qualifying tire, I can be
satisfied with the work done. In
race configuration, we were even
closer to Scott!"
In the WorldSSP class Phil-
lip Island race winner Andrea
Locatelli (Bardahl Evan Bros
Yamaha) was fastest man, with
a 1:37.664 lap, with three MV
Agusta F3 riders—Raffaele De
Rosa, 2019 champion Randy
Krummenacher and Federico
Fuligni—behind him.
For some there will be testing
at the new WorldSBK venue of
Montmelo in Catalunya, July 8-9.
The 2020 season should get
back into full race mode at Jerez,
July 31-August 2.
Gordon Ritchie
Defending WorldSBK champ Jonathan Rea was second quickest
but wasn't happy with Kawasaki's setup.
