Iker Lecuona opened the Italian round in style, topping first practice at the Cremona circuit with a 2:08.278 to lead an Aruba.it Racing Ducati front-runner as the WorldSBK field hit the track.
His teammate Nicolo Bulega wasn’t far behind, going second quickest at 2:08.397 to make it a strong opening session for the factory Ducati squad. Lorenzo Baldassarri backed up his recent form with third at 2:08.582, with Sam Lowes rounding out the top four at 2:08.752.
Yari Montella and Alberto Surra completed the top six inside the 2:08s, while Alex Lowes, Garrett Gerloff, Alvaro Bautista and Axel Bassani filled out the rest of the top ten, all within eight tenths of Lecuona’s benchmark lap. Xavi Vierge and Jake Dixon kept the midfield tight in eleventh and twelfth.
It was a much tougher start for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK squad, though. Miguel Oliveira could only manage thirteenth on his opening runs, a session that did little to ease the frustration after a difficult outing at the last round. His teammate Danilo Petrucci fared even worse, ending the session dead last in twenty-second having completed just twelve laps, well off the pace being set at the front. Remy Gardner and Stefano Manzi kept GYTR GRT Yamaha in touch just ahead of the BMW duo, while Thomas Bridewell, Mattia Rato, Andrea Locatelli and Somkiat Chantra rounded out the chasing group behind them.
With BMW still hunting for the answers that eluded them last time out, the early running at Cremona offers little immediate relief, leaving Oliveira and Petrucci needing a big step forward before qualifying if they’re going to avoid another weekend spent playing catch-up.