The 2024 World Superbike season is underway after the first day of testing at Jerez, where a WorldSBK Rookie stole the show as he topped the time sheets.

Ducati:

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati stole the show at Jerez once again on the opening day of the 2024 WorldSBK Jerez Test. However, this time it was not with Alvaro Bautista. Nicolo Bulega found himself on top of the time sheets by one second at the end of Day One. The Italian rookie completed 71 laps on the opening day of testing.

With one Aruba.it Racing – Ducati on top you have to look all the way down to tenth place to find the reigning WorldSBK Champion. Bautista is riding for the first time since picking up an injury at Jerez in November. The Spaniard was 1.5 seconds behind his new team-mate.

Out of the three satellite Ducati riders it was the WorldSBK rookie, Andrea Iannone, who finished the highest. ‘The Maniac’ finished in seventh place after completing 67 laps on his new Panigal V4R. Danilo Pertrucci started his second year in WorldSBK with a ninth place finish on Day One as he tried  a lower seat to help improve the centre of gravity. The final Independent Ducati rider was Sam Lowes in 15th place as he continues his adjustment from Moto2 to WorldSBK.

Kawasaki:

In the green corner it was Alex Lowes that spearheaded Kawasaki’s efforts in the opening day of testing. The British rider has now found himself as the number one rider in the Kawasaki camp and is living up to the standards as he finished the opening day in second place. However, Lowes only completed 31 laps but tested new parts including: front and rear suspension items, electronics, seat positions and fuel tank.

Axel Bassani is still struggling to get to grips with the his new machine as the Italian lingered down in 14th place and completed 77 laps. The sole Kawasaki satellite rider, Tito Rabat, was on-board a factory spec Kawasaki to try and give to the team more data but he only finished in 17th place overall.

BMW:

BMW meant business at the Jerez test as they have shown up with six riders for this first test of 2024. Not only have the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Bonovo Action BMW Team shown up the BMW test squad are in attendance as well.

Toprak Razgatlioglu claimed third place, going quicker than he did in Race 1 or Race 2 with Yamaha back in October. The Turkish rider was in search of a good setup on his M 1000 RR, while also looking for improvements with the electronic setup. Michael van der Mark found himself one place behind his new team-mate in fourth place.

Next door at the Bonovo Action BMW squad, Garrett Gerloff finished eighth place as he tested new parts. The American completed 73 laps, while teammate Scott Redding was in 13^th. The British rider, who also had new parts completed 56 laps.

BMW’s test team, Bradley Smith and Sylvain Guintoli, finished at the back end of the field but added a combined 111 laps to the German manufacturer’s total for the day.

Yamaha:

Despite having Jonathan Rea now in blue it was once again Remy Gardner who finished on top for Yamaha on the opening day at Jerez. The Australian finished in fifth place and completed 83 laps. However, the six-time WorldSBK Champion, Jonathan Rea, was only 0.003 seconds behind Gardner and completed 72 laps on his first outing with Yamaha this year.

Andrea Locatelli, just missed out on a spot in the top ten as he finished 11th place and worked with his new crew chief Tom O’Kane for the first time, completing a total of 72 laps. Philipp Oettl finished 12th on his first appearance on the Yamaha following his switch from Team GoEleven. GRT Yamaha’s Dominique Aegerter didn’t complete any laps on day one. A suspected viral infection ruled him out of action, and he will be re-assessed tomorrow.

Honda:

Finally, Honda have a lot of work to do after Day One at Jerez. The Japanese manufacturer only had the Team HRC riders present at the Spanish circuit. Iker Lecuona finished 16th overall and completed 52 laps. Meanwhile, Vierge was two places back from his teammate in 18th. The Spanish duo were continuing to adjust to the new CBR1000RR-R machine as they look to refine it.

Photo Credits: WorldSBK.com

Full results from Day One of the Jerez Test: