Rea snatches top spot from Razgatlioglu in penultimate Aragon WorldSBK session

Rea managed to do so by snatching top spot away from main rival after Toprak Razgatlioglu led most of the FP5.

After topping FP4, Alvaro Bautista was no match for Rea and Razgatlioglu following the pair’s intense duel for top spot. 

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Both riders exchanged top spot on several occasions before a time of 1:49.268s saw the reigning world champion move four tenths clear. 

Rea managed to reduce that margin on his very next lap, however, the gap remained over three tenths. 

Then came a surprise…

Loris Baz shot up the leaderboard to go second quickest after it appeared BMW were once again struggling - +0.115s down on Razgatlioglu. 

An impressive turn of pace from the former Kawasaki and Yamaha rider, who was also the quickest BMW rider on day-one. 

With ten minutes remaining Garrett Gerloff jumped ahead of Rea for third, while GoEleven Ducati rider Philipp Oettl was displaced by Lecuona as the top rookie in ninth, after the German took that honour in FP4. 

But as the seconds wound down, Rea set the first sub 1m 49s lap of the two-day test to go top - a lap time that was enough to put three tenths between him and Razgatlioglu. 

Rea’s effort also means he’s gone under the existing race lap record - set by himself - for the second consecutive day. 

Free Practice 4 

Bautista started off the final day of WorldSBK testing in Aragon fastest from day-one pacesetter Rea. 

Bautista, who was more than six tenths down on expected 2022 title rivals Rea and Razgatlioglu during day-one, posted a solid time of 1:50.097s to go quickest in FP4. 

Rea managed to pit Gerloff to second, with the latter continuing to impress ahead of what’s a big 2022 season. 

An eight-time winner around the MotorLand Aragon Circuit, Rea set a time quicker than the official race lap record on Monday, as did reigning world champion Razgatlioglu. 

The Pata Yamaha rider started day-two with a sixth place finish - eight tenths down on the Aruba.it Ducati rider. 

While Ducati, Kawasaki and Yamaha continue to look strong, Honda, who were very impressive in Catalunya, sat out the session with both its factory riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge. 

Replaced once again by Ukrainian rider Ilya Michalchik, Michael Van Der Mark has officially been ruled out of this weekend’s season-opener. 

Van Der Mark, who suffered a recent mountain bike accident, said: "It has been a difficult decision but unfortunately I will not try to ride at MotorLand Aragón. 

"At this moment we have to be smart and stay calm because this is the only way forward in my recovery. 

"I really miss working with the team and riding my BMW M 1000 RR but right now my goal is to be fit again as soon as possible."

More results to follow from the final day of pre-season WorldSBK testing.