The two-day test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which is set to host a WorldSBK round for the first time on 18-20 September, saw Phillip Island race-winner Razgatlıoğlu complete 154 laps with a best time of 1:41.217 on his Yamaha R1 with team-mate van der Mark posting1:41.679 from his 178 laps, as Yamaha’s engineers focused on new development parts and collecting valuable data.
In the mid-summer Barcelona heat, testing got underway on Wednesday, with Razgatlıoğlu quickly getting back up to speed with the sixth-fastest time in the morning just ahead of van der Mark in seventh.
During the afternoon, both riders continued to refamiliarise themselves with their R1’s after a four-month layoff and to test different parts as Razgatlıoğlu improved his time to finish the day in ninth as the grip levels dropped. Van der Mark’s best effort was enough for 11th in the afternoon, to conclude his first full day on the race-ready Yamaha R1 since the Australian opener.
In the cooler conditions of day two’s morning, the Pata Yamaha riders made a big step in pace and then both set their fastest times of the test in the final hour before the lunch break. Turkish racer Razgatlıoğlu was fifth with a time of 1'41.217, despite a crash without injury at the exit of Turn 7, as Dutch star van der Mark went seventh quickest with a time of 1'41.679.
In the afternoon, both Razgatlıoğlu and van der Mark continued to rack up their mammoth lap counts, with the former going second quickest on his final tour of testing, and both were confident in the development work done by the Pata Yamaha squad.
The team is now ready for the WorldSBK season restart, scheduled for Spain and the Circuito de Jerez in three weeks’ time, as both van der Mark and Razgatlıoğlu look to continue their championship challenge.
Elsewhere, the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team, and the Ten Kate Racing WorldSBK Supported Team were also back in action, with all three riders showing promising early pace. Ten Kate Yamaha’s Loris Baz was third fastest on the opening day, with GRT Yamaha's 2020 debutants Garrett Gerloff and Federico Caricasulo continuing to improve with the eighth and 11th fastest times on the final afternoon session.
