Reigning WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea has topped the opening free practice at Imola this morning, setting a 1’47.023 to lead fierce rival Chaz Davies by a little over two-tenths with Tom Sykes in third on the exact same lap time.
Rea put in four runs over the hour-long session and in his usual style, came out for the final exit to try and cement top spot. The works Kawasaki man was already in charge with a 1’47.044 set with 17 minutes left to go but upped his game despite getting baulked by Roman Ramos at the end of his penultimate lap. Rea put in nine 1’47s laps, one more than Ducati’s Davies.
The Welshman took a little while to get going but shot into second on the half hour. The Panigale was initially struggling in the third sector but some setup tweaks found gains. Davies slowly improved his time and eventually nicked second from Sykes by virtue of having a better second-quickest lap.
Sykes is able to lap at the same pace as the leading two with six in the 1’47s but the lap record is still a little under half a second faster so expect times to drop significantly this afternoon.
Melandri is three-tenths off the pace in fourth and there is a substantial gap of half a second to Xavi Fores in fifth place. The Barni Ducati man had several laps cancelled for running over chicanes but recovered to set a 1’47.994 then promptly crashed unhurt at Tamburello.
Leon Camier’s fastest lap was cut short on the run down to Rivazza as his MV Agusta developed a problem. The former BSB champion was on schedule to bag third with nine minutes left but ended up rolling into pitlane. He did re-appear to set the sixth-best time to end 1.242s slower than Rea.
Michael Van Der Mark in seventh on the Pata Yamaha with Jordi Torres - who is still struggling with excessive wheelie - in eighth. Eugene Laverty is the best of the Aprilias in ninth place while Nicky Hayden finished in the gravel trap at Tamburello after setting the tenth best time.
Alex Lowes is struggling on the other Pata-backed R1, 1.5s off the pace in 11th. Tati Mercado took 12th with Ramos took 13th and Stefan Bradl, who has never ridden at Imola before, in 14th. Randy Krummenacher is 15th while the Milwaukee Aprilia squad have some work to do with Lorenzo Savadori, who finished in 17th and 1.7s slower than team-mate Laverty.
