WIND
IN THE
P56
and is now looking forward to
the points-scoring fight that will
come in a few days' time.
Despite still hobbling due to
his injured knee from Phillip
Island, Andrea Locatelli (Pata
Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK
Team) was sixth.
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS
Ducati) placed himself seventh,
with Michael van der Mark
(ROKit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team) eighth and was the
second-best BMW rider.
Double Aussie race winner
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing
Team) was ninth, even though
he crashed more than once. He
used his available time to work
on his tire saving more than
most, and was not quite ready to
use his Q tire to the max at the
very end.
Tenth overall was Michael Ru
-
ben Rinaldi (MotoCorsa Ducati),
making it five Ducatis in the top
10 places.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Rac-
ing – Ducati) placed 11th and
also had a small off, finishing his
final day earlier than most.
Remy Gardner (GRT Yamaha)
and Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Ac
-
tion BMW) were 12th and 13th
respectively, with Dominique
Aegerter (GRT Yamaha) 14th
and Ducati Corse test team rider
Michele Pirro 15th.
Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Rac
-
ing Team) finished 16th overall,
and Scott Redding (Bonovo Ac-
tion BMW) came in 17th.
After Iker Lecuona tried to ride
but pulled out to save his injured
left shoulder, the top Honda rider
was Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda).
He finished behind Tito Rabat
(Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), the
18th-placed Kawasaki privateer
rider (albeit on a full KRT bike).
Next up for all WorldSBK
hopefuls will be round two of the
championship itself, to be held
at Catalunya between March
22-24.
Gordon Ritchie
(Top) Alex Lowes chose
to run long stints to work
on tire-saving tactics
rather than slot in a time
on the Q tire. (Bottom)
Garrett Gerloff finished
the test 13th on the BMW.
