WorldSBK/WSSP Spain: Performance rediscovered after difficult testing

In the World Supersport Championship, the Aragon circuit was not the easiest for Valentin Debise and his Yamaha R6. Less dominant than at Magny Cours, the French rider also had to contend with 950cc / 765cc and 800cc machines with faster acceleration and top speed on the very fast Aragon circuit. However, Ten Kate rider Stéfano Manzi showed that a 600cc Yamaha could take advantage of a very agile chassis to fight at the top of the field. P12 on Friday evening, Valentin seemed to be in trouble before qualifying, which saw him finish 14th. He then finished race 1 in 10th position. Never giving up, the 16 laps of the race saw him improve his times. His team was then able to fine-tune a few settings, giving him the confidence he needed to complete Race 2 with lap times on a par with the Yamaha rider on the podium. There was optimism and smiles on all faces at the end of a race that leaves us hoping for the best for the next round, which takes place at the Portimao circuit (Portugal) next weekend.

In Superbike, Lorenzo Baldassarri achieved his best qualifying of the year with a 15th place on the grid ahead of Dominique Aegerter (Yamaha GRT). Although Race 1 failed to confirm his progress with a 17th place finish, the sprint race put a smile on the GMT94’s face. Lorenzo Baldassarri got off to a flying start, moving up to 8th position, and put in a series of laps at a very good pace. Unfortunately, contact with Axel Bassani, who was a little too optimistic when overtaking, forced the GMT94 rider to drop back several places to finish in 20th position. The Transalpine rider then battled with Scott Redding for 14th place in Race 2. He missed out on the points after 2 difficult final laps due to a deterioration in the grip of his tyres, which he had been working hard on.