Throughout his six-year stint at Honda in World Superbike, several insiders claimed that Jonathan Rea actually had what it takes to be a regular top contender and simply lacked a competitive ride. Judging by the Ulsterman's performance in the first dry-weather test of 2015 in Jerez (Spain), the prediction was rather correct. Rea topped the time sheets with a scorching 1:41.327, which is under the lap record—though the colder tarmac at this test arguably makes the track faster than when the race is held, in mid September.
“We're still far from our full potential,” Rea argued. “The tests have never been my strongest suit, but I finally was able to concentrate on tire wear and did a race simulation. These couple of days, however, is not as much about making a statement and rather an opportunity to further understand my new bike.” To this end, the new Kawasaki rider described the ZX-10R as “more user-friendly than the Honda, especially when it comes to the electronics, which are rather different.”
Despite Rea's lap time, the competition is rather fierce. Only two tenths of a second separate the first five riders in the time sheets, with Alex Lowes, Tom Sykes, Davide Giugliano, and Chaz Davies quickly in tow. Suzuki’s Lowes, in his second year in the top class after winning the British Superbike crown, has shown a calmer approach thus far.
“He's taking it more step by step, rather than just going for the fastest lap every time he gets on track” observed Suzuki's team manager Paul Denning, adding: “The 2015 engine also received a positive feedback from the rider. We didn't lose any power, while we improved the delivery (in the) midrange. Now we only have to wait for the new electronics system (the regulation only calls for a €8000 Euros/approximately $8900 US price cap), which won't be ready until the Aragon round in April.”
If championship runner up Tom Sykes' competitiveness was hardly in doubt, the same cannot be said for the factory Ducatis ridden by Giugliano and Davies. The Panigale has often suffered a lack of top speed compared with its four-cylinder counterparts, but the new rulebook calling for standard pistons and connecting rods arguably reduced the power gap. For example, in Jerez the Ducati was only two kilometers per hour slower than the fastest Kawasaki in the back straight.
“We're closer, but the other guys are far from slow,” Giugliano observed. “I only know that our bike hasn't changed much since last year. I'm focusing on long-distance consistency, and today I did 26 laps with the same rear tire and only a four-tenths of a second gap in between my best and worst time, which leaves me satisfied.”
World champion Sylvain Guintoli, on the other hand, was forced to cut his program short after crashing out in turn 1 and leaving the track with a swollen right ankle and a neck sprain. The Frenchma
The factory Aprilia squad did not equip Leon Haslam's bike with a transponder, but the Brit unofficially posted a 1:42.0 that would put him in eighth position after suffering a mechanical failure in the morning. His teammate Jordi Torres, who comes from Moto2, closed the day in tenth, within a second of Rea's lap time.
Aprilia also deployed test riders Michael Laverty and Max Biaggi to run cross-checks on electronics (using a 2014 specification of the RSV4), using both the proprietary APX2 and Magneti Marelli systems. “It feels like being a rookie again,” Biaggi commented with a smile on his face. “Today was my first real day as a test rider, and I still have to readapt to the bike. I've been retired for almost three years, but with each lap it feels like going back in time.”
Biaggi ruled out the possibility of a return, but left a small window open for a wild-card appearance “though not in the next six months”. Much of the final decision rests on his competitiveness. His unofficial lap time in the first day was a 1:42.9, a rather respectable—to use a euphemism—lap time for a 43-year-old.
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