Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) claimed pole position for the FIM Supersport World Championship at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve as he smashed the lap record, along with several riders, during the Pirelli Portuguese Round. Aegerter’s margin to second place was just over two tenths of a second as he claimed his tenth pole position in WorldSSP ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing).

LAP RECORD BROKEN: almost one second quicker

Aegerter set a 1’43.065s on his way to pole position as he went under the record lap record by almost a second, beating the record set by Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) in 2021, along with the top seven riders in Superpole. Caricasulo will start from second as he took his 30^th front row start in WorldSSP; the fourth consecutive Superpole session he has scored a front row result in. French rider Cluzel will line up from third place as he took his first row start this season and his first since the 2021 Argentinean Round, 0.414s down on Aegerter, while it was also his 57^th front row start.

TIGHTLY PACKED FIELD: little to separate the competitors

Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) took his best Superpole result of the season with fourth place, with the Italian rider previously fighting his way through the field for podium results. It was also Triumph’s first top-four start since Donington Park in 2017. He will start ahead of Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in fifth place after the Finn, who topped both Friday practice sessions ahead of Manzi, posted a 1’43.553s; only 0.019s behind Manzi but ensuring four manufacturers went under the lap record. Dutch rider Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) will line up from sixth place after a strong showing, with van Straalen topping the timesheets during the 20-minute session.

ROUNDING OUT THE TOP TEN: drama throughout the field

Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) will start from eighth place, with his session disrupted by a Turn 8 crash in the second half of the session. Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph) was ninth to ensure Triumph secured a double top ten result in Superpole for the first time since 2017 at Donington Park. Soomer’s session was disrupted by a Turn 13 crash when on a lap that would’ve put him provisionally at the top, but the Estonian was able to rejoin the session to take a top ten start. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) took tenth place in Superpole; he had posted a time of 1’43.207s, which would have put him second, but it was set under yellow flags and the time was deleted. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) had originally qualified in seventh spot but had his time deleted due to yellow flags and will start from 12^th.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from WorldSSP Superpole

Italian rider Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) did not set a lap time in the 20-minute session, completing out laps but returning to the box each time and not setting a flying lap time. He will start last for both Race 1 and Race 2 at Portimao.

The top six following WorldSSP Superpole, full results here:

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) 1’43.065s

2. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) +0.204s

3. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.414s

4. Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) +0.469s

5. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.488s

6. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) +0.688s

Don’t miss WorldSSP Race 1 at 15:15 Local Time (GMT+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!