Superbike: Lowes is the fastest in test day 1 at Phillip Island

This morning at Phillip Island, the middle of the night for all Italian fans, the season officially began for the series derivative riders with the first of the two days of FIM testing scheduled on the Australian circuit, preceding the race weekend.

The two sessions were characterized by sun and lots of wind, which did not fail to give the riders a bit of trouble, especially Sylvain Giuntoli who found himself having to ride in less than optimal conditions due to the after-effects of the crash in the Jerez tests.

In the morning the fastest was Jonathan Rea on Kawasaki who stopped the clock at 1'31.663, preceding his teammate Tom Sykes by not even a tenth: behind them the Ducati of Davide Giugliano, with a gap of 0.285 and the Aprilia – Leon Haslam's Red Devils at 0.317.

In the afternoon, the winner was Alex Lowes who, on the Suzuki of the Voltcom Crescent team, closed with a 1'31.332, improving Rea's time by a good three tenths, ahead of the same KRT rider by 0.331, Leon Haslam by 0.360 and Tom Sykes by 0.421.
Crash for Randy de Puniet a few minutes before the end of the session: however, it seems that there will be no consequences for him for the rest of the week.

The appointment is for tomorrow with two more test sessions.

Below is the combined ranking of the two sessions:

1. Alex Lowes GBR Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 31.332s
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 31.863s
3. Leon Haslam GBR Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 1m 31.692s
4. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R1m 31.753s
5. Jordi Torres ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 1m 31.783s
6. Davide Giugliano ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 1m 31.948s
7. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 1m 32.114s
8. Randy de Puniet FRA Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 32.402s
9. Michael van der Mark NED PATA Honda CBR1000RR 1m 32.408s
10. Nico Terol ESP Althea Ducati 1199R 1m 32.425s
11. David Salom ESP Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 32.588s
12. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta F4 RR 1m 32.885s
13. Sylvain Guintoli FRA PATA Honda CBR1000RR 1m 32.891s
14. Niccolo Canepa ITA Team Hero EBR 1190RX 1m 33.124s
15. Matteo Baiocco ITA Althea Ducati 1199R1m 33.477s
16. Sylvain Barrier FRA BMW Italia S1000RR1m 33.497s
17. Tati Mercado ARG Barni Ducati 1199R 1m 33.565s
18. Jed Metcher AUS Race Center Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 34.382s
19. Roman Ramos ESP GO Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 34.577s
20. Matthew Walters AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 34.637s
21. Larry Pegram USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX 1m 35.006s
22. Santiago Barragan ESP GO Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 35.754s
23. Gabor Rizmayer HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR 1m 36.500s
24. Christophe Ponsson ESP GO Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 36.607s
25. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR1m 36.873s