Practice Report

Bradl and Hayden get things started at MotorLand Aragón

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team

Spanish Round

MotorLand Aragón, Spain

WorldSBK 2017, Round 3

The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team has completed the opening day of WorldSBK action at the MotorLand Aragón circuit, with team standard bearers Stefan Bradl and Nicky Hayden eleventh and twelfth, respectively, in the combined times of the first two free practice sessions at the Spanish venue. Both riders will therefore be out on track for Superpole 1 tomorrow to battle for the two remaining slots for the second qualifying session.

The day started positively for Bradl, who was ninth at the end of the first free practice session, just ahead of his team mate and 0.6secs off the quickest time of the morning.

The afternoon’s track conditions proved to be less favourable for most riders, with some late drops of rain turning into a heavy shower by the end of the session. Despite being unable to improve his FP1 lap-time, Bradl was a mere 0.003secs from a top-10 finish, which would have guaranteed the German direct access to Superpole 2. Nicky Hayden kept working on the setup of his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine but could finish no higher than twelfth.

The third-round Superpole 1 session will get underway tomorrow at 10:30 local time (GMT +2).

WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
Stefan Bradl

Stefan Bradl 6

11th / 1'51.177

We started off well this morning: we were closer to the front guys and I had a good feeling with the bike, which is the kind of progress I was expecting. Unfortunately, in the afternoon we were unable to improve further, which is obviously the disappointing side for today. The weather did not help, but also the choice of concentrating on the softer tyre option didn’t pay off. And then finishing 0.003secs away from the top-10 was frustrating as well! But it is what it is: we have an idea for direction for tomorrow, especially with the tyre choice, but overall I can say we’ve made a step forward. We’ll have to go through Superpole 1 and hopefully we’ll make it to the second session for the first time this year.

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team
Nicky Hayden

Nicky Hayden 69

12th / 1'51.507

It has not been an easy day for us. We came here with some ideas on how to improve and we actually have made a big step with engine braking, which is now much more consistent. I definitely felt more comfortable with that. We also tried to use last year’s gearing and electronics of the old bike we found in testing last November as a reference with our current machine, but they didn’t really work with this package and that kind of threw us off a bit. I’m not happy with my pace and the lack of improvement in the afternoon was a bummer, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow!

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team
Pieter Breddels

Pieter Breddels

Stefan had a great last lap in FP1 this morning with the fresh SC1 tyre on and his 1min 51.1secs lap was competitive and a good base from which to improve further. Plus, he felt comfortable with the bike. In the afternoon we tried the SC0 but the feeling was not quite there: the cooler conditions and the wind didn’t help, but also when we decided to go back to the morning tyre choice it started raining. It is a bit of a shame, but we still have some things to try tomorrow morning before Superpole 1. Nicky had a more difficult time in finding the right feeling with the bike at this track and could not improve during FP2 either. We tried some radical changes to the setup, including shortening the wheelbase, but that didn’t really work. We will come up with a plan for tomorrow after looking through the data.

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team
Spanish Round

MotorLand Aragón, Spain

WorldSBK 2017, Round 3

Cloudy / Dry / 21
Friday 31 Mar 2017, 13:42 UTC
  • Air Temp: 21°C
  • Humidity: 42%
  • Ground Temp: 35°C
# Rider Num Nationality Nat. Team Constructor Constr. Time/Gap
1 Jonathan Rea 65 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1'50.062
2 Marco Melandri 33 ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati +0.099
3 Tom Sykes 66 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki +0.243
4 Chaz Davies 7 GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati +0.321
5 Alex Lowes 22 GBR Pata Yamaha Yamaha +0.579
6 Xavi Fores 12 SPA BARNI Racing Team Ducati +0.666
7 Jordi Torres 81 SPA Althea BMW Racing Team BMW +0.736
8 Michael van der Mark 60 NDL Pata Yamaha Yamaha +0.894
9 Eugene Laverty 50 GBR Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia +0.992
10 Leandro Mercado 36 ARG IodaRacing Team Aprilia +1.112
11 Stefan Bradl 6 GER Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda +1.115
12 Nicky Hayden 69 USA Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda +1.445
13 Markus Reiterberger 21 GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW +1.691
14 Román Ramos 40 SPA Team Go Eleven Kawasaki +1.704
15 Alex De Angelis 15 RSM Pedercini Racing SC-Project Kawasaki +2.018
16 Riccardo Russo 84 ITA Guandalini Racing Yamaha +2.034
17 Randy Krummenacher 15 SWI Puccetti Racing Kawasaki +2.064
18 Leon Camier 2 GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta +2.221
19 Julian Simon SPA Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia +3.264
20 Ayrton Badovini 86 ITA Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki +3.285
21 Ondrej Jezek 37 CZE Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki +3.667
Rider Standings
Sunday, 12 Mar 2017 - Open world standings grid
# Rider Num Nationality Nat. Points Pts. Team Constructor Constr.
1 Jonathan REA 65 GBR 100 Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki
2 Chaz DAVIES 7 GBR 70 Aruba.it Racing Ducati
3 Tom SYKES 66 GBR 62 Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki
4 Alex LOWES 22 GBR 49 Pata Yamaha Yamaha
5 Marco MELANDRI 33 ITA 45 Aruba.it Racing Ducati
6 Xavi FORES 12 SPA 34 BARNI Racing Team Ducati
7 Jordi TORRES 81 SPA 29 Althea BMW Racing Team BMW
8 Michael VAN DER MARK 60 NDL 27 Pata Yamaha Yamaha
9 Leon CAMIER 2 GBR 27 MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta
10 Nicky HAYDEN 69 USA 21 Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda
11 Eugene LAVERTY 50 GBR 15 Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia
12 Markus REITERBERGER 21 GER 15 Althea BMW Racing Team BMW
13 Román RAMOS 40 SPA 13 Team Go Eleven Kawasaki
14 Alex DE ANGELIS 15 RSM 12 Pedercini Racing SC-Project Kawasaki
15 Lorenzo SAVADORI 32 ITA 10 Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia
16 Randy KRUMMENACHER 15 SWI 10 Puccetti Racing Kawasaki
17 Stefan BRADL 6 GER 8 Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda
18 Riccardo RUSSO 84 ITA 4 Guandalini Racing Yamaha
19 Joshua BROOKES 25 AUS 4 ERMotorsport-EliteRoads.com.au Yamaha
20 Ondrej JEZEK 37 CZE 3 Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki
21 Ayrton BADOVINI 86 ITA 2 Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use
WorldSBK, Round 03, Motorland Aragon, Spain
Images are copyright but free for editorial use