A veritable “home away from home”, many teams including the championship’s two Barcelona-based outfits use the 4.657km Grand Prix circuit for testing since its inclusion in the WorldSBK calendar four years ago – the most recent test taking place last month.
Despite the combined test mileage, Locatelli has the edge on his teammate in terms of kilometres covered here due to his early career in Moto2 and Moto3, not to mention an emphatic FIM Supersport World Championship title celebration in 2020. For Razgatlıoğlu, three podiums from seven race starts are a silver lining in what has been a bit of an “unlucky” track for the Turk so far.
In typical “GP” circuit style, Barcelona’s long corners require a set-up that allows the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK to turn well – in particular for Turns 3, 4, 9, 13 and to allow a good run off Turn 14 onto the main straight. Razgatlıoğlu’s Crew Chief Phil Marron says they must prioritise electronics settings to control and minimise wheel spin in the same long corners to look after the rear tyre – on the predominantly stressed right-hand side. For the well-recognised “Toprak Style” of riding, the #54 crew also need efficient stopping power in the hard-braking zones of Turns 1 and 10.
First exits this week will start on Friday morning with Free Practice 1 at 10:30 local time (CEST) and the second, 45-minute Free Practice 2 at 15:00 before the race weekend kicks off in earnest on Saturday.
