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Baldassarri leaves it late for WorldSSP top spot on the final morning of Aragon testing

Tuesday, 5 April 2022 11:27 GMT

The rookie had been trailing by just 0.043s before moving up to top spot by almost exactly two tenths

The final morning of the Dorna-Supported Test came to a conclusion in the FIM Supersport World Championship with rookie Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) topping the timesheets. Temperatures were at almost freezing levels for Free Practice 4, the first morning action with very few riders heading out on track, with the best times of the morning coming in the Free Practice 5 session.

Baldassarri was matching reigning Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) closely throughout the 45-minute session before leapfrogging the Swiss rider by posting a 1’53.756s on his Yamaha YZF-R6 machine, going 0.233s faster than Aegerter. Baldassarri and Aegerter were the only riders in the field to lap in the 1’53s bracket, while Italian Baldassarri improved his lap time compared to his best on Day 1. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed third spot on his ZX-6R after a strong start to the final day for the Turkish star, just over a tenth away from Aegerter in second place.

MV Agusta were represented in the top four with Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) on the new-for-2022 MV Agusta F3 800 RR with the team hoping to test their new fairing throughout the second day of action. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was fifth despite his Ducati Panigale V2 coming to a stop on track at Turn 2 in FP2, with the Italian six tenths away from Baldassarri. Another rookie featured in the top six as Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) showed strong pace ahead of his debut WorldSSP season after posting a 1’54.613s.

2021 WorldSSP300 Champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) claimed seventh place as he adjusts to a new Championship for this season, with a best lap time of 1’54.733s that was under a second off the pace of Baldassarri. Dutch rider Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) continued to show his strong pace in testing with eighth spot, ahead of Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) in ninth. Cluzel was one of a handful of riders to head out first thing in the morning but had a crash at Turn 2 which disrupted his session. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) rounded out the top ten on his Panigale V2 with a best time of 1’54.966s.

The top ten following WorldSSP morning action, full results here:

1. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) 1’53.756s

2. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.233s

3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.371s

4. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.388s

5. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.642s

6. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.857s

7. Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) +0.977s

8. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) +1.019s

9. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +1.084s

10. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) +1.210s

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