The penultimate round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship 2023 is underway at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. With good conditions and a rising track temperature, the championship-dominating trio were at the top of the standings for most of the session, but with unpredictability guaranteed this weekend, it was Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) who stole the show in FP1 with his final laps putting him at the top of the standings.

With a fantastic penultimate lap on new tires, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was committed to taking the lead from P4 with more than three-tenths of a second advantage over his opponents. Gerloff wasn’t finished yet, as he highlighted his and his BMW’s arguments with a margin of four tenths. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was second on Friday morning at a track where he has won twice before – both times for Ducati. The Spaniard, who has a 47-point lead over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), was in great rhythm on one lap and the longer laps, fending off Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who took third. 

With 13 wins at Portimão, Rea is in contention this weekend. Toprak Razgatlioglu was fourth at the end of the session without any late improvements and made it four different constructors in the top four, while Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was again strong in P5.

After a tricky Saturday and Sunday in Aragon, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was back in the top six with sixth position, ahead of Iker Lecuona (Team HRC), with the Spaniard the best Honda and thus making it five constructors in the top seven on a track that offers great balance. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was eighth, one place ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) – who has a penalty and will start from the back of the grid for ignoring the black flag after his technical problem in Race 2. Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) was tenth, while returning Kawasaki rider Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was 14th, two places ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), who struggled again on Friday.

The top six after FP1 of WorldSBK at Portimão were:

1. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’40.763

2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.433s

3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.631s

4. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.656s

5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.717s

6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.732s

O conteúdo Garrett Gerloff takes impressive first place in WSBK FP1 at Portimão – Bautista leads trio of titans behind aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Garrett Gerloff surprised everyone and will start from pole position in the first two races of the World Superbike Championship at Magny-Cours. This weekend’s round marks the return of the championship after the summer break.

The American rider from Bonovo Action BMW was the first to complete a flying lap but was soon overtaken by several riders. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) took the lead and held it for about seven minutes.

With ten minutes gone, Gerloff clocked a lap time of 1m35.453s, which proved unbeatable. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), the championship leader, came close to securing pole position but fell short by 59 thousandths of a second.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) completes the front row of the grid. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), Rea, and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) will line up on the second row, occupying fourth to sixth positions, respectively.

Results:

O conteúdo Garrett Gerloff achieved sensational pole position in the WSBK at Magny-Cours aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.