Superbikes | Round Jerez, FP1: sharp from Michael Van der Mark

The production derivatives return to action in Spain on the historic Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, with the first free practice session which saw Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) finish at the top of the timesheets ahead of his teammate Alex Lowes.

Third time for the Ducati rider and host Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati): after the Imola weekend, in which he raced in less than perfect physical conditions, the Spaniard returns to racing on a track he knows well .

The performance of the two Yamahas was a bit of a surprise on this first day, even if the gaps between the top ten were limited to within a second and Van der Mark took the lead of the group only in the final laps: it is undeniable, however, that it was he who Lowes have the pace to aim for victory.

Behind this trio we find the first independent bike, the Yamaha of Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), which precedes Jonathan Rea: the World Champion is the rider who improved the most during the session, returning among the five riders most fast.

Sixth time for Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team), who arrives strengthened by the two days of private tests carried out in Misano, ahead of the two Kawasakis, official and private, of Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing ).

After narrowly missing out on the podium in Imola, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) arrives in Jerez very focused: the result of the first free practices, however, is not exciting if we consider that, after defending the sixth fastest time for a long time, he finished ninth.
His teammate Markus Reiterberger fared even worse as he was only able to lap for eight minutes due to technical problems.

The top ten is closed by Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), ahead of Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati).

Appointment at 15pm with the second, and last for today, free practice session.