Isaac Vinales and Motoxracing were a surprise addition to the 2022 WorldSBK grid, after the team had n꧅ever competed in the premier classﷺ before. 

And while a new team joining the top flight of world championship racing is nothing new, Mo🐠toxracing and Vinales have not been present at any of the five pre-season tests so ꦡfar. 

Again, that’s not a total shock as most tests that have already takenꦦ place were privately-run events by full factory teams, meaning those who are considered towards the bottom end of the financial spectrum have been missing. 

However, a b💎ig worry for Vinales and Motoxracing is the fact he’s missing from today’s opening day of WorldSBK testing at Barcelona, one of two crucial pre-season tests before the 2022 season gets underway at MotorLand Aragon on April 8-10. 

In fact, Hafizh Syahrin and Leandro Mercado (MIE Honda Racin🧜g), Loris Cresson (Pedercini Kawasaki) and Oliver Konig (Orelac Verdnatura) are all making their first pre-season appearances, again highlighting the importance of the two-day Barcelona t🍨est. 

It instead turns out that Vinales i💟s seeking op♌tions elsewhere. 

🍒What those ‘options’ look like is still unclear, however, if Vinales and Motoxracing do not take part in the 2022 season - considered very unlikely due to financial reasons - then the cousin of MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales will not be competing in WorldSBK, that much is known. 

In terms of on-track action at the two-day Barcelona WorldSBK test, GR𓄧T Yamaha rider🐠 Garrett Gerloff has looked in tremendous form yet again. 

The American topped the morning session by just over a tenth from current world champion Toprak Razgat𓆏lioglu, while Aruba.it Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista was third quickest. A full report will follow at the end of today’s running.