The first day of free practice for the Pirelli Estoril Round – the last event of the 2020 WorldSBK season – ended with Scott Redding who notched out the quickest time in both FP1 and FP2. After a difficult FP1, Chaz Davies managed to improve convincingly in the afternoon.
Scott Redding was dominant in FP1 thanks to an impressive series of fastest laps, setting his best time on lap 20 with the used tyre. After working on the set up of his Ducati Panigale V4 R, in the last run of the FP2, the British rider pushed hard lowering the morning’s lap time by over three tenths.
Chaz Davies was not able to be incisive in FP1 finishing 10th with a rather wide gap from his teammate. In the afternoon, however, the Welsh rider managed to increase his feeling with the bike R by improving his Chrono by almost a second to close in seventh.
FP1 Results
P1 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’37.181
P2 – G. Gerloff (Yamaha) 1’37,619 +0,438
P3 – L. Baz (Yamaha) 1’37,680 +0,499
P4 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1,37,731 +0,550
P5 – M. Van Der Mark (Yamaha) 1’37,829 +0,648
P10 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’38.563 +1.382
FP2 & Combined Results
P1 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’36.886
P2 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’36.975 +0.089
P3 – L. Baz (Yamaha) 1’37,084 +0,198
P4 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’37,443 +0,557
P5 – L. Lowes (Kawasaki) 1’37,563 +0,677
P7 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’37.626 +0.740
P1 – Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I am satisfied with what we have done today. In the afternoon we tried some solutions but they didn’t work as we hoped so we went back to the morning set up. The new circuit? It’s a normal situation this season. I could say that this weekend the other riders will also try this kind of experience that has been a constant for me throughout most of the season. My target for tomorrow? A good qualifying will be crucial for all races”.
P7 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“All in all, things didn’t go wrong today. I raced here 15 years ago in the 250cc Championship but it is clear that the conditions with the Superbike are completely different. That’s why in Fp1 I tried to get familiar with the circuit to understand where it will be possible to attack and where it will be necessary to manage the tyres. In the FP2 the situation has improved but we will still have to work on the setup and electronics to take the step forward that we need to be competitive tomorrow”.
