Just 0.035s split WorldSBK title rivals Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu in the opening free practice session at Most on Friday morning. The Kawasaki man bettered his long-term opponent with his penultimate lap of FP1 - a 1’31.893 - to relieve Razgatlioglu of the lead after a dominant second half.
GRT Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff completed the trio just under half a second adrift with championship leader Alvaro Bautista running sixth.
The momentum was firmly in the hands of the reigning champion as the action fired up in the Czech Republic following a clean sweep at Donington Park for the Pata Yamaha rider.
Razgatlioglu having claimed his debut victory of the season at Misano and seemingly not looked back. Perfect conditions greeted the Superbike class as the first 45 minutes at the 4.2km Autodrom Most kicked off with ambient temperatures in the mid-20’s, the treat of rain expected across the rest of the weekend.