Opening races affected by rain in Australian WSBK

The weather at Phillip Island was rainy on Saturday, affecting sessions and races

For Valentin Debise, the Superpole was tricky as the track only started to dry at the end of the session. The Frenchman only managed to do a few laps to set the 11th fastest time (1’34.156). The GMT94 rider could have qualified P5 with a great time (1’33.7) but the chequered flag was raised two thousandths before he passed.

Unfortunately in Race 1, the rain showed up again after a few laps, causing a red flag following a collective crash. A few minutes before the restart, the rain finally stopped. Valentin Debise started from 17th and the GMT94 chose to put slick tyres on the Yamaha YZF-R6. A gamble that failed as after five laps, the rain started to pour once again. But the French rider didn’t give up and decided to push until the end. He succeeded to stay on his wheels and eventually took a good 13th place.

Lorenzo Baldassarri had a very instructive day on Saturday. In qualifying, he finished P15 on slicks with a 1’30.470, just 1 second off the polesitter Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (Yamaha Crescent). This performance proved that the GMT94 rider is improving in every session. Race 1 could have been a great opportunity to score his first points, but the rain came back again. Despite a good start, Lorenzo Baldassarri had to fight to understand how to ride a Superbike on rain tyres. However, he made no mistakes to reach the finish line. Balda’s face looked disappointed as he was hoping to take home his first point. The whole team is convinced that this is just a matter of time.