Two weeks since its WorldSBK season debut at Assen, the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team and its rider Bradley Ray prepare to take on their second event in the production-derived series, which is taking place this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.
The three races held in The Netherlands were positive overall, and the problems the young English rider faced on track, as he lined up against his rivals for the first time, were soon resolved by Sandro Carusi’s technical staff. The aim in Catalunya is to continue to grow and improve.
The Barcelona circuit is located in Montmeló, roughly 20 kilometres north-east of the Catalan city. It was inaugurated in 1992 ahead of the Olympic Games and has always been the stage for the Spanish F1 and MotoGP rounds. The Superbikes made their debut at the Spanish track in 2020. In 1994 some of the run-off areas were extended while in 2004 the La Caixa corner was modified and replaced by a very tight one. 2007 saw the addition of a new chicane between the last two corners while in 2020 the run-off area at turn 10 was extended. The track measures 4.627 kilometres with 14 corners, eight of which right-handers and six left.
The full schedule for the Spanish round is available at this link:
https://www.worldsbk.com/en/event/CAT/2023
“Our debut was problematic but despite the setbacks we had to face, the gap between us and the frontrunners wasn’t big. I’m confident that we can improve further and at least move in on the top ten".
“I’m very happy to race in Catalunya after a positive first round at Assen, where we worked very well on our bike and took a good step forward. We’ve already completed testing at Barcelona and were able to find good race pace. I can’t wait to get back on my bike and set to work with team Motoxracing to improve and continue to reduce the gap to the front.”
