Top four top Portimao on record WorldSBK pace

Aruba.it Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista topped off European winter testing on top of the WorldSBK times as Wednesday’s action concluded at Portimao.

Bautista was back in charge almost as soon as the final day got up to speed on the Algarve. The reigning champion’s 1’39.035 record breaking effort - set on his 13th lap and before the Spaniard suffered a turn seven crash - sat over half a second faster than his teammate’s best of the previous afternoon. Both Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea and said teammate Michael Rinaldi had improved to match the leading Ducati with just a tenth separating the trio by lunch, with all three running under lap record pace.

Toprak Razgatlioglu was best of the rest in fourth, equally under the record after a handful of laps and aiming for the top three before Rinaldi denied him. The Pata Yamaha rider recording a 1’39.4 effort with fellow R1 rider Andrea Locatelli less than three tenths back.

It was a position the pair would hold till the close of play as the riders behind bickered for the remaining top ten honours. Honda’s Iker Lecuona suffered his own final sector spill before recovering to initially head teammate Xavi Vierge and second KRT man Alex Lowes before GRT Yamaha’s Remy Gardner improved to claim seventh with a 1’40.202 - four tenths up on the previous day. Tom Sykes found his mojo on his return to Kawasaki, placing the Puccetti ZX-10R in ninth, narrowly ahead of factory rider Lowes who opted not to push for a time attack as he worked through the comprehensive testing plan.

Loris Baz claimed fastest BMW honours on the Bonovo machine ahead of Michael van der Mark’s factory effort while Scott Redding faced technical issues in the morning run on his Rokit sponsored M1000RR, bringing out the red