2019 Jerez WorldSBK Test Times: Lowes Edges Rea As WorldSBK Returns To Action

The winter break is officially over for the WorldSBK teams, as almost the entire paddock assembled in Jerez for the first test of 2019. The WorldSBK and WorldSSP riders took to a freshly resurfaced Jerez to get 2019 underway.

Alex Lowes ended the day as fastest, the Pata Yamaha rider taking over at the top of the timesheets in the final couple of hours to finish just eight hundredths of a second faster than reigning world champion Jonathan Rea. Rea was four tenths faster than KRT teammate Leon Haslam, who was in turn a tenth quicker than Toprak Razgatlioglu on the Puccetti Kawasaki. 

A trio of Yamahas finished behind the Kawasaki threesome, Michael van der Mark just a fraction quicker than Marco Melandri of the GRT Yamaha squad, who was in turn faster than Sandro Cortese. Stefan Bradl was eighth fastest on the Honda RC213V MotoGP bike, there in his capacity as HRC test rider. Chaz Davies was the fastest Ducati rider in ninth, just under a second slower than Lowes and half a second quicker than his teammate Alvaro Bautista.

The SMR-run BMW squad of Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger were also at the test, but were running without transponders, as it was their first time out on the bike. The Moriwaki Althea Honda team of Leon Camier and Ryuichi Kyonari were not present.

Federico Caricasulo dominated the first day of the WorldSSP test, the Yamaha rider nearly nine tenths quicker than Raffaele De Rosa on the MV Agusta.

Times at the end of the first day of the test: