The first day of practice making up the twelfth and final WorldSBK round was initially conditioned by complicated track conditions. With the surface half wet following overnight rain, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat preferred not to take any risks and so the work to adapt to the factory KRT Ninja, made available to Manuel Puccetti’s team, could only begin in the afternoon.
The Spanish rider worked hard with his technical staff during FP2 to adapt his new bike to his riding style, but also begin to exploit all the features of the factory bike.
With a time of 1’42”982, Rabat rounded out the second session in twentieth place, and will be back out tomorrow for the Superpole, following by the first WorldSBK race of this Andalusian weekend.
Circuito Angel Nieto – Jerez – Spain
Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 2) Gardner (Yamaha) – 3) Bautista (Ducati) – 4) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 5) Aegerter (Yamaha) …… 20) Rabat (Kawasaki)
Tito Rabat
“Unfortunately, we could only complete one practice session today. I made a cautious start because I saw some crashes and realised that the track still wasn’t in the ideal condition. I gradually started to build confidence with the track and work on my new bike, and the feeling was immediately good. We have another practice tomorrow morning and I hope the track allows us to complete the work we have planned. The bike has great potential, but we still have a lot to do; we’ll try to do our best, as always, in both Superpole and the race. Thanks to my team for doing such a good job again today.”
