The 2027 WorldSBK offseason is already underway at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto in Andalucia, and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) wasted zero time making his presence known. Following the 2026 season finale just days prior, the sole Ducati Panigale V4 R rider on track Thursday flew to the top of the timesheets with a blistering 1’38.790s lap in the afternoon. Carrying the momentum from his three podiums here in October, Lowes pounded out 79 laps across 12 stints of roughly six laps each, putting in the third-most mileage of the entire day.
Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) kept his positive end-of-season form alive after an earlier rookie-year injury derailed his campaign. The Portuguese rider slotted into second fastest overall, clocking a 1’39.317s early in the afternoon that left him just over half a second adrift of the leading #14 machine. Oliveira logged 80 laps across 14 stints, wrapping up with shorter three-to-four-lap runs. Meanwhile, their team’s race-winning test rider Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team) out-lapped everyone else on the circuit with 84 laps, turning a 1’40.580s that good for sixth on the timing screens.
Honda HRC brought serious firepower to the opening day, topped by none other than their six-time World Champion test rider Jonathan Rea (Honda HRC Test Team) (yes, that Jonathan Rea). Rea muscled his machine to the third fastest time of the session with a 1’39.717s, slotting nine tenths behind the leader and four tenths back from Oliveira.
Among Honda's full-time 2027 roster, Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) led the charge despite only running a half-day. Hitting the tarmac around 14:00 local time, the Thai rider methodically reeled off longer stints of about 12 laps, finishing with 66 laps total. His patience paid off when he hooked up his personal best 1’40.210s on his very final lap of the day. Teammate Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) also restricted his running to a half-day, logging 49 laps in punchier five-to-six-lap bursts. Dixon's quickest effort was a 1’40.140s, landing him just two hundredths off Chantra.
Down in the WorldSSP ranks, the AS BLU CRU Racing Team was the lone representative on track, giving new teammates a chance to spar. Aldi Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) drew first blood by outpacing his garage-mate, setting a 1’43.189s best on his way to 71 total laps. Jeremy Alcoba (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) is settling into the defending-champion squad swiftly, though, reeling off 55 laps aboard his new Yamaha R9 to post a 1’43.823s that sat just over six tenths behind the #52.
