The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad sealed a second successive one-two in practice in Saturday’s Free Practice 3 session at Misano with Nicolo Bulega leading WorldSBK reigning champion Alvaro Bautista.
Bulega’s 1:33.114s effort was just 0.11s ahead of team-mate Bautista with GYTR GRT Yamaha’s Remy Gardner continuing his form with an impressive third courtesy of a 1:33.332s laptime.
Free Practice 3 was the final time the field could prepare ahead of Saturday’s all-important Superpole session.
A short 20 minutes was all the time World Superbike riders had to find that extra bit of pace around the Misano circuit.
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati test rider Michele Pirro had another tricky session with a light fall as the wildcard rider failed to match his full-time teammates.
One Ducati rider who wasn’t struggling was Andrea Iannone, once again inside the top five for the third session in a row.
The enigmatic Italian went fourth fastest on the GoEleven Ducati, setting a time of 1:33.343s.
ROKiT BMW Motorrad’s Toprak Razgatlioglu rounded out the top five with a 1:33.369s effort, 0.255s behind Bulega.
It was an altogether positive session for the GRT squad, leading the line for Yamaha as Dominique Aegerter joined Gardner inside the top-10.
With rumours suggesting he could be replaced next season, the Swiss rider went sixth fastest in FP3 thanks to a 1:33.571s laptime in what would undoubtedly be a confidence boost for the YZF R1 competitor.
Garrett Gerloff also had a much-improved session.
The American was off the pace aboard his Bonovo Action BMW on Friday, but on Saturday morning he went seventh fastest aboard his M 1000 RR with a 1:33.619s tour of the Misano circuit.
Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes was up next on his ZX-10RR, courtesy of a 1:33.886s effort and Michael van der Mark made it three BMWs inside the top-10 with the ninth quickest time (1:34.015s).
Sam Lowes secured another top-10 spot, setting a best time of 1:34.036s on the Marc VDS Ducati, 0.922s back from the top spot.
WorldSBK at Misano continues with Superpole at 11:00 local time.
FP3 – Full Results
- 1 – N. BULEGA – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati – 1:33.114
- 2 – A. BAUTISTA – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati – 1:33.125
- 3 – R. GARDNER – GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team – 1:33.332
- 4 – A. IANNONE – Team GoEleven Ducati – 1:33.343
- 5 – T. RAZGATLIOGLU – ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team – 1:33.369
- 6 – D. AEGERTER – GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team – 1:33.571
- 7 – G. GERLOFF – Bonovo Action BMW – 1:33.619
- 8 – A. LOWES – Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK – 1:33.886
- 9 – M. VAN DER MARK – ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team – 1:34.015
- 10 – S. LOWES – ELF Marc VDS Racing Team – 1:34.036
- 11 – I. LECUONA – Team HRC – 1:34.054
- 12 – A. BASSANI – Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK – 1:34.061
- 13 – D. PETRUCCI – Barni Spark Racing Team – 1:34.086
- 14 – X. VIERGE – Team HRC – 1:34.122
- 15 – M. RINALDI – Team Motocorsa Racing – 1:34.137
- 16 – A. LOCATELLI – Pata Prometeon Yamaha – 1:34.267
- 17 – J. REA – Pata Prometeon Yamaha – 1:34.310
- 18 – T. RABAT – Kawasaki Puccetti Racing – 1:34.484
- 19 – M. PIRRO – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati – 1:34.568
- 20 – P. OETTL – GMT94 Yamaha – 1:34.675
- 21 – S. REDDING – Bonovo Action BMW – 1:34.943
- 22 – T. MACKENZIE – PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda – 1:35.174
- 23 – B. RAY – Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team – 1:35.267
- 24 – A. NORRODIN – PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda – 1:36.896
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