The Pirelli Catalunya Round has been officially launched at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Attendees have already been able to go to the sports facilities to enjoy the Superbikes Barcelona Motorfest, the event in which the FIM Superbike World Championship race is framed.
Friday was dedicated, as usual, to the free practice sessions of the premier class, WorldSBK. Even so, and for the first time, the Circuit experienced a new Friday format recently implemented in which its sister categories (WorldSSP and WorldSSP 300) carried out the session known as Superpole to establish the starting grid for the first races.
Although in the case of WorldSBK things were not quite as serious, the two free practice sessions served to confirm the good pace of the Aruba.it Racing-Ducati team. Not surprisingly, since the Italian team is counting on the support of Nicolò Bulega, the fastest man in last week’s tests, and Álvaro Bautista, the reigning champion.
The best lap time went specifically to Bulega. The Italian is proving to be at a very high level in his jump to WorldSBK after his WorldSSP crown last year. Bulega set a 1:40.907 this afternoon as the benchmark time. His team-mate Bautista tried to snatch that privilege, but the Talavera de la Reina rider was just over two tenths off the pace.
The third fastest time of the day, however, came in the morning session and belonged to Toprak Razgatlioglu (1:41.199). The curious thing is that, if in the afternoon the Ducati monopolised the first two places, in the morning it was the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMWs. The Turkish rider was followed by Michael Van der Mark (1:41.245).
In the combined times, multi-time champion Jonathan Rea was fourth overall. It was also the first time that Rea rode in the colours of Pata Prometheon Yamaha at the Circuit, taking the place vacated by Toprak Razgatlioglu last season. Tomorrow, the premier class riders will face a hectic day, with Free Practice 3, Tissot Superpole and Race 1.
Adrian Huertas takes the lead in WorldSSP
Adrian Huertas gave the Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team another boost of motivation by winning Superpole at the Circuit. The Italian team won in WorldSBK and did exactly the same in WorldSSP. Huertas stopped the clock at 1:44.197, a time considerably better than that of his nearest rival, Can Öncü. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider was 274 hundredths of a second behind. Öncü was among the fastest riders throughout the day, while Huertas was a little off the pace in the free practice session.
Other notable riders in the intermediate category were Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha). They were third and fourth respectively. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) will close the second row of the grid tomorrow.
First WorldSSP 300 Superpole of the year for García González
Julio García González started the WorldSSP 300 season today with his first Superpole of the year. The ProGP Nitiracing rider clocked a 1:55.313 lap time which put him at the top of the timesheets. The curious thing is that Mirko Gennai broke the record with his 1:54.916 in this morning’s practice session, a time that was not seen in the afternoon. Gennai, for his part, had to settle for ninth position.
Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kawasaki) and Matteo Vannucci (Pata Yamaha AG Motorsport Italia) will start in parallel with Julio García González in second and third place respectively. The time difference was minimal, with both riders less than a tenth of a second off the poleman. Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo-PL Performances) and Bruno Ieraci (Team Prodina Kawasaki) rounded off the top five in the smallest World Superbike class.
Gonzalo Sanchez takes Superpole in the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU FIM World Cup
The single-make cup also completed a timed session in the form of Superpole. The position of honour went to Gonzalo Sánchez with a time of 1:59.521. Marc Vich and Alessandro di Persio will complete the front row tomorrow. The competition opens the 2024 season at the Circuit, giving opportunities to young talents to start writing their name in international motorcycling.
A sustainable event
The Pirelli Catalunya Round has been ISO 20121 certified since 2021 for its commitment to sustainability, promoting actions to raise awareness among all stakeholders.
This year, the responsible use of water is a priority for the Circuit given the context of drought and the resulting restrictions. So is the efficient use of energy, with 100% renewable energy. Since 2022, the Circuit has the largest public self-consumption installation in Catalonia, with a total of 1,239 solar panels occupying 2,710 m2. The facility also has 14 charging points for electric vehicles.
As usual, the Circuit offers a committed and 0 km catering offer to reduce CO2 emissions and continues to promote the Zero Waste campaign to reduce plastic waste and the Stop Food Waste campaign to avoid food waste, donating all the surplus not consumed to a social diner. The use of the circular economy is another of the main pillars, giving a second life to materials and objects such as tyres, as well as installing recycling points in the paddock towers for the correct separation of waste.
All of this always trying to raise awareness in the community with areas such as the Educational Crater Forest or the sustainability stand in the Fan Zone (Paddock Area). The Red Cross offers transport service for people with reduced mobility (Gate 1 – Paddock).
Tickets available at www.circuitcat.com
Tickets to attend the Superbikes Barcelona Motorfest – Pirelli Catalunya Round are available at the Circuit website. There are single-day tickets and three-day passes for the three days of the event, with all kinds of activities included. All modalities guarantee access to the paddock and the Fan Zone to experience the authentic atmosphere of the Superbike World Championship.
Access to the Circuit
Attendees can enter the venue from 8:30 am through Gate 1. Ticket Office 1 will also be open for any other business and they can park their vehicles in Car Park B. The grandstands open to follow all the activity on the track are the Main Grandstand (lower part), Grandstands C, G and B. From there, you can to walk to the paddock and Fan Zone.
