Jordi Torres produced a frantic last ten-minute burst of speed at Losail to take top spot after World Superbikes first practice in Qatar ahead of champion Jonathan Rea.
Rea had looked in charge for most of the session, getting himself to the front of the timesheets early on along with the Aprilias of Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres as the Pata Honda duo of Michael Van Der Mark and Sylvain Guintoli joined the top six.
As the session approached the halfway marker, Jonathan Rea was the first man to go under the 2-minute barrier with his 1’59.945 easing him into proceedings nicely as he chases Colin Edward’s all-time points record this Sunday night in the World Superbike finale.
However, his Kawasaki team-mate usurped him at the top not long after as Tom Sykes posted a 1’59.524 and indeed the duo were the only riders under 2-minutes at that point, with Van Der Mark, Guintoli and Alex Lowes chasing hard.
Many of the riders then pitted but with 15 minutes left the majority of the grid were back on track, and Rea regained his place at the top of the leaderboard with a 1’59.249, but it was to be Torres who would leave first practice the happiest after a sensational end to the session.
The former Grand Prix rider went out after some hot laps in the dying stages in the desert, and with three minutes left on the clock he surprised everyone with a stunning 1’59.311 to sit right on Rea’s tail. His next lap was to prove even better though, as the Spaniard sliced through the 3.443mile circuit to take top spot with a fantastic 1’59.002, which he backed up moments later with another 1’59.001.
Not content with his excellent work so far, Torres was to have the last laugh on himself as he took his RSV4 around the desert track one more time as the clock approached zero, and with a 1’58.744 set himself up for a terrific weekend ahead as the World Superbikes season comes to a close.
Elsewhere the Ducatis of Chaz Davies and Xavi Fores struggled somewhat, in fifth and 13th respectively, as the Suzuki duo of Alex Lowes and Randy DePuniet enjoyed decent starts in the top ten. The Pata Honda duo of Michael Van Der Mark and Sylvain Guintoli had mixed fortunes in the end, with the Netherlands rider finishing fourth and the Frenchman finishing in tenth.
