Andrea Locatelli turned the field on its head on day one of Phillip Island weekend to kick off the World Superbike Championship. Locatelli pilot his Yamaha R1 to set a lap record breaking time of 1’29.197s. The record was previously held by Tom Sykes. The majority of FP1 was plagued with rainfall so lap times remained tame after Locatelli set the early pace. Windy conditions garaged most of the riders deeming it an unnecessary risk to run during FP1.
2023 Champion Alvaro Bautista struggled after the track began to dry and he did not break into the top 5. Teammate Nicolo Bulega who had blistering pace in preseason testing also fell behind finishing just ahead of his teammate but in 7th place. FP2 is up next.
Full FP1 Results are Below