Pata Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu set the bar high by dominating the opening WorldSBK free practice session in Argentina by half a second.
The Turkish rider’s final lap of the morning’s 45-minute FP1 placed him firmly in control with a 1’38.524, Scott Redding and Jonathan Rea completing the top three after circulating on the bubble of 1’39 pace.
A delayed FP1 got underway half an hour later than scheduled due to circuit conditions after Thursday’s prominent sandstorm. A tentative 21-strong field tiptoeing round the 4.3km layout as the track began to clean.
Namesake’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi and van der Mark took turns at the top in the early stages, the BMW man setting the fastest time after four laps at the base of the Andes, with a 1’41.859. Redding bettered his Aruba.it Ducati teammate as the session continued before the Brit hit the top overall, three-tenths clear.
Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes and title challengers Rea and Razgatlioglu opted to wait in pitlane as the conditions improved, the trio heading out 10 minutes into the opening session.
Honda’s Alvaro Bautista sat third after five laps dispatched, while Axel Bassani headed countryman Rinaldi as the practice unfolded.
The wait proved fruitful for Yamaha’s championship leader as Razgatlioglu hit second with his first hot-lap of the day. The top six all looking to have built their confidence as the timing screens lit up in red, with the Turk claiming the standings thanks to a 1’40.932 next time around.
He would not be master for long, however, as Redding instantly hit back, upping the pace by a further half-second. Rea joining the battle with his first effort, in second, before Bautista bettered and Razgatlioglu outperformed the lot.
The Pata Yamaha returned to the top-spot with the first 1’39 of the weekend, Redding, Bautista, Rea and Rinaldi bickering for the spoils behind as the only riders inside the 1’40 bracket with Leon Haslam best of the rest in sixth. Lowes returned to action narrowly behind his countryman before promoting himself firmly into the mix, in second, moments later. Rea was quick to steal the position from his teammate with his sixth lap, however the KRT pair were almost inseparable, circulating 0.001s adrift of each other as the session continued.
Redding joined the all-Brit fight in the top four at the halfway stage as Razgatlioglu maintained his advantage out front. Chaz Davies enjoying an impressive showing on his return from injury as he positioned the Go Eleven Ducati into seventh before improving next time around to join the home fight, in fourth.
The closing 10 minutes saw the attacks ramp up once again, Bassani and Bautista improving to the mid-point of the top 10, one-second off the overall pace, before Lowes split them for sixth. The KRT rider was on a charge, however, as his momentum increased, setting P1 worthy sectors in the opening half of the lap before losing out in sector three on his way to fifth. A similar story faced Davies, one position ahead with Redding doing likewise in third.
Michael van der Mark improved to sixth with five minutes left on the clock, Razgatlioglu and Rea heading out for their final runs as the late session shootout began. Haslam and Garrett Gerloff outpaced the BMW next time around as the Dutchman dropped to eighth while the front runners began to make their moves.
Razgatlioglu advanced the target with a 1’39.082 before Rea bettered by 0.014s on his 12th attempt, Lowes finding fourth as he too improved, with the American now in the groove as he claimed fifth. Toprak was back in charge as the chequered flag prepared, however, taking the first 1’38 of the day before bettering with his final shot of the session. Redding beat Rea to the runners up spot ahead of Lowes and a late pushing Isaac Viñales, in fifth.
