The Free practice for the Pirelli Indonesia Round, the final event of the 2021 WorldSBK season, ended with Scott Redding and Michael Ruben Rinaldi in fifth and eleventh place respectively.
On the fascinating Mandalika International Street Circuit, located just a few metres from the ocean on the island of Lombok (Indonesia), the two Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team riders worked hard to get familiar with the new track and gather useful information ahead of the weekend’s races.
- FP1
P4 – After familiarizing himself with the circuit, Scott Redding gained confidence lap after lap. The British rider was one of the few riders to finish FP1 without changing tyres, setting his best time in the final minutes.
P9 – Michael Rinaldi pushed hard from the first laps and the feeling was good. In the second part of the session – on new tyres – he was unable to improve his best time.
- FP1 Results
P1 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’34.985
P2 – S. Lowes (Kawasaki) +1.544
P3 – G. Gerloff (Yamaha) +1.600
P4 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.835
P5 – I. Vinales (Kawasaki) +2.094
P9 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.195
- FP2
P5 – Solid session for Scott Redding who stayed on track for a long time with a convincing pace on the first long run (13 laps).
P11 – Michael Rinaldi made tangible progress but his final position was affected by a T4 in which his pace was less solid.
- FP2 & Combined Standings
P1 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’34.230
P2 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) + 0.174
P3 – G. Gerloff (Yamaha) + 0.225
P4 – A. Bautista (Honda) + 0.230
P5 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.349
P11 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.727
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I’m satisfied with what we did today. My first impressions of the circuit were really positive even though it was a little dirty this morning. But that’s normal for a new track. We worked a lot on race pace and tyre choice without focusing on the time attack. So I have to say that the sensations are definitely good”.
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It’s a really nice track and the feelings after this first day of testing are quite positive. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be very consistent but I have to admit that I didn’t want to take any particular risk in these first two sessions. There are two or three points on the circuit where I can do better and I’m sure that after fixing these details we’ll be ready for a good race tomorrow.”
