Gardner dominates, Yamaha’s strong showing, and impressive rides by Bulega & Iannone

On the second day of testing at Jerez, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship riders faced challenging conditions in the morning but took full advantage of a drier track by midday, allowing for around six hours of crucial testing at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto.

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) continued to dominate the field, setting an impressive lap time of 1’38.448s, leading the pack by 0.278s. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was second with a remarkable 1’38.726s lap time, coming within two tenths of the all-time lap record, while teammate Alvaro Bautista was in seventh place with a best time of 1’39.962s.

Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) adapted well to his new Yamaha R1, finishing third. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) secured a fourth-place finish, clocking a 1’39.211s lap time while teammate Axel Bassani adapted to his new bike, completing over 120 laps during the test. Meanwhile, Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) surprised with fifth place and a lap time of 1’39.335s after completing 70 laps.

Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) emerged as the fastest BMW rider, taking tenth place, ahead of his teammate Garrett Gerloff. Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team), Honda’s sole representative at Jerez, completed 39 laps as he continued to adapt to the CBR1000RR-R machine after racing in WorldSSP throughout 2023.

Remy Gardner | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
“It’s been a positive test. The pace has been really good over the two days, with the race tyre and obviously today, at the end, we put in two SCQs and did a really great lap time. There was a little bit more I could’ve done. I made a few mistakes on that lap but quite happy with the two days went. It wasn’t a perfect lap, but it wasn’t bad. More than the lap, I’m happy with the improvements we’ve made over the two days with what Yamaha have brought.

Jonny surprised me with how fast he got on with the bike. That shows the experience he has. I’m really excited to see what Jonny can bring to the table and help develop the bike, and also for me to learn off Jonny. With so much experience, you can always learn something. Really great to have Jonny with Yamaha.”

Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“Today, we were focused on the 2024 regulations especially with the weight. We tried many solutions with the weight. Putting some weight on some areas of the bike, also trying inside the engine, and did many tests to understand how the bike’s working. It’s not easy because when the bike’s working well, if you add 7kg, the bike feels different especially in the fast corners. We made some distribution to have more data and we got that data for this winter to try to work and try to see what could be the base for starting 2024.”

The order from day two at Jerez:
1. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’38.448, 61 laps
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’38.726s, 52 laps
3. Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 1’39.179s, 68 laps
4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’39.211s, 68 laps
5. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) 1’39.335s, 69 laps
6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Motocorsa Racing) 1’39.807s, 69 laps
7. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’39.962s, 58 laps
8. Brad Ray (GMT94 Yamaha) 1’40.007s, 59 laps
9. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’40.103s, 67 laps
10. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’40.291s, 47 laps
11. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’40.334s, 66 laps
12. Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’41.346s, 54 laps
13. Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) 1’42.110s, 38 laps