The twelfth and final WorldSBK round began today at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain.
As it did at the latest Estoril round, the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team is fielding two riders this weekend, Bradley Ray joined by wildcard Luca Bernardi.
In cool, sunny conditions, the riders headed out on track for free practice this morning, working hard with the team to adapt their YZF-R1 to the Andalusian track. Ray finished twentieth with a time of 1’41”615, while Bernardi, who still needs to adapt to his new bike, placed twenty-seventh with a best of 1’43”778.
Bradley improved in the afternoon’s second practice to place nineteenth in the combined standings with a reference of 1’40”915. Luca also improved on his best of FP1 (1’42”607), confirming twenty-seventh position.
The two Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK riders will be back on track tomorrow for Superpole and Race 1.
Carusi Sandro - Team Principal
“We’ve finished day one of practice with better results for both riders. While Bradley has confirmed the progress we’ve seen in recent races, Luca is starting to improve and move closer to the front. This leaves me confident for qualifying and tomorrow’s first race.”
Bradley Ray - Rider
“Not an easy Friday today. I’m not so far from pole position but I don’t feel comfortable on the bike right now. We need to make a plan and work on the bike this evening to find the right direction to follow tomorrow.”
Bernardi Luca - Rider
“An intense day, in which I’ve worked hard with the team and in the afternoon we started to see the results of that work. I improved on my FP1 time and my feeling with the bike is getting better. For tomorrow I hope to make another important step to be able to complete solid races.”
