#CzechWorldSBK Friday Debriefs

Under threatening skies at Autodrom Most, Friday’s opening day of WorldSBK action delivered mixed conditions, crashes and late-session drama as Garrett Gerloff ended the day fastest for the Kawasaki WorldSBK Team ahead of Nicolò Bulega and Sam Lowes.

With spots of rain arriving during the afternoon session, conditions around the 4.2km Czech circuit remained difficult throughout FP2. Gerloff adapted best to the changing track surface, bouncing back from an early FP1 crash to set a 1’30.791 and lead the way at the end of Friday running.

Completing 35 laps over the day, the American steadily improved session by session as Kawasaki found a setup that allowed him to push with confidence in the cooler afternoon conditions. Gerloff said, “I honestly didn’t expect to end the day in P1, especially after this morning when I didn’t feel very comfortable. The team made some really good changes for FP2, and straight away I felt much better with the bike. The track conditions also suited me more in the afternoon, so I had more confidence and grip, and everything came together much better. When I crossed the line with the lap time, I thought it was done on the qualifying tyre, but when I came back to the box, they told me it was actually with the race tyre, so that was a nice surprise.”

Championship leader Bulega endured a far more eventful afternoon aboard the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati machine. After initially topping the session, the Italian ran wide at Turn 6 before later crashing at Turn 1, bringing an early end to his day after completing just six laps in FP2.

Despite the limited running, Bulega remained optimistic about his pace heading into Saturday: “This morning, the feeling was not fantastic. I started FP2 quite well, and I was improving, so overall, I was happy with the feeling, but unfortunately, I had a small crash while pushing to find the limit in some areas. In Turns 6 and 7, I still struggle a bit to stop the bike properly. The crash was small, but there was quite a lot of damage to the bike. I could only do six or seven laps in the afternoon. It means we didn’t complete a lot of work, but I still think we still collected good data for tomorrow.”

Third fastest overall, ELF Marc VDS Racing Team rider Sam Lowes continued his strong run of form despite technical problems disrupting his FP1 session. The British rider recovered well in the afternoon, completing a lengthy 18-lap run while finishing less than two tenths behind Gerloff’s benchmark time. Lowes said, “It’s been a good day overall. We had a couple of small issues in FP1, but the afternoon session was positive. I completed an 18-lap run, with a couple of slower laps in there, but generally the pace was decent. Obviously, it’s difficult to compare too much with Nicolo because he had the crash, but he still looked very fast, especially on the short runs. We did a good job today, and I still feel there are areas where I can improve my riding tomorrow. I think we’re definitely in the fight for the podium and the top five, which is where we’ve been consistently.”

WorldSBK’s Superpole is at 11:15 LT, and Race 1 is at 15:30 here in Most.

Full Combined Friday Practice Times Order

1. G. Gerloff
2. N. Bulega
3. S. Lowes
4. I. Lecuona
5. A. Lowes
6. D. Petrucci
7. A. Bassani
8. Y. Montella
9. L. Baldassarri
10. M. van der Mark
11. X. Vierge
12. A. Surra
13. Á. Bautista
14. A. Locatelli
15. S. Manzi
16. R. Gardner
17. T. Mackenzie
18. B. Sofuoğlu
19. T. Bridewell
20. M. Rinaldi
21. S. Chantra
22. Y. Kunii