After a morning in which the pilots were able to ride in good conditions (HERE times), during the break in the Superbike test a heavy downpour hit the Cremona Circuit. The rain ruined the teams’ plans and very few decided to ride in the afternoon session.
The best time of 1’39″413 was set by Michael Ruben Rinaldi on the Ducati Panigale V4 R of the Motocorsa team. The Rimini native completed 20 laps, which were nevertheless useful for understanding how the bike and tires behave on the wet asphalt of the track that will host the round on 20-22 September. In the morning session, in the dry, he finished second behind Sam Lowes.
Superbike, Cremona test: Aruba Ducati and Yamaha will also run on Friday
The other World Superbike rider who lapped was Tito Rabat of the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team, who finished third overall, also behind Tom Bridewell, the reigning BSB champion who moved to the Honda Racing UK team in 2024. The former MotoGP Spaniard was the first to lap in today’s second round at the Cremona Circuit. He covered over 40 laps and in the end he had a gap of 3 ″ 3 seconds from Rinaldi.
About an hour before the end of the day of testing there was also a red flag caused by a technical problem that occurred on the Ducati Panigale V2 of Adrian Huertas, the only World Supersport rider who raced in the wet. Fifth overall, behind Andrew Irwin, also a BSB rider for the Honda Racing UK team.
Alvaro Bautista and Nicolò Bulega of the Aruba Ducati team will also ride on Friday, as will Jonathan Rea and Andrea Locatelli of the Pata Prometeon Yamaha team and Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter of the GYTR GRT Yamaha team. The choice to only run on day 2 was also dictated by the possibility of having a more rubberized track, the rain compromised everything. The weather forecast for tomorrow seems encouraging, fingers crossed in the garage.
