Reigning WorldSBK champion cut Chaz Davies’ advantage over the Laguna Seca WorldSBK pack to one one-hundredth second in today’s second practice in a one-lap dash at the end of the session this afternoon.
A Corkscrew crash for American wildcard Jake Gagne with just three minutes left brought out the red flags and when pitlane opened, there was just time for a single-lap time attack of which Rea took avantage, slicing his laptimes to a 1’23.436.
Marco Melandri and Davies had been the only two riders to to break the 1’24s barrier until Rea’s final effort. Davies did it this morning with a 1’23.426 - which remains the fastest time of the day - while Melandri stuck in a 1’23.997 and then a 1’23.778 on Pirelli’s soft rear to bag second on the sheets before Rea had a better suggestion.
Melandri’s charge to the top was cut short when Gagne lobbed the Red Bull Honda, necessitating the second red flag of the session, the first coming in the opening five minutes when Stefan Bradl went down, also at the Corkscrew.
Rea did his customary second practice race run, an 18-lapper with all but three laps in the 1’24s but both Davies and Melandri look to have similar pace.
Milwaukee Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty didn’t improve in the afternoon session, when track temperatures soared to a boiling 52°, and a crash at turn three didn’t help matters but a series of laps in the 1’24s indicate the Toome rider is in the mix this weekend.
Tom Sykes did find some added pace on the second factory Kawasaki, chopping off a tenth and moving to fifth on the combined sheets but his pace is a little inconsistent with short bursts of 1’24s interspersed with slower times.
Barni Ducati’s Xavi Fores was a big mover, taking seven-tenths off his time over the lunch hour while Leon Camier was way faster in the cooler morning temperatures, his 1’24.283 easily keeping him in the top ten.
Alex Lowes also stayed in the top ten, finishing eighth despite a late crash at turn three. The Pata Yamaha man found three-tenths in the second session but it wasn’t good news for team-mate Michael Van Der Mark. The Dutchman dropped his pace from a 1’25.280 to a 1’24.755 but it was only enough for 13th, so he misses an automatic Q2 place.
Jordi Torres was 1.2s faster in the afternoon even with a spill at turn four, and that carried him to ninth place with Alex De Angelis bagging an automatic Q2 spot with a 1’24.626, enough for tenth. Tati Mercado and Raffaele De Rosa, who crashed at turn five. Bradl and Ramos complete the top 15.
