The first Tissot Superpole session in the 2022 FIM Supersport World Championship was a dramatic affair with rookie Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) claiming his maiden pole position on his debut at the Pirelli Aragon Round despite crashing at Turn 9. Baldassarri’s lap time was more than three tenths clear of his rivals as he laid down the gauntlet ahead of WorldSSP’s first race of the season.

STARTING FROM THE FRONT ROW: a rookie, a Champion and a contender

Baldassarri’s best time was a 1’52.706s and he was the only rider to lap in the 1’52s bracket as he lapped more than three tenths clear of reigning Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in second place. It meant Baldassarri became just the third rider to claim a debut pole position in WorldSSP after Ruben Xaus at Kyalami in 1999 and Andrea Locatelli at Aragon in 2020.

Despite his stunning pace, Baldassarri’s session ended prematurely when he had a Turn 9 crash. Aegerter posted a best time of 1’53.050s as he goes in search of a winning start to his title defence, with Turkish star Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in third. Prior to a Red Flag being deployed with five minutes to go, Oncu had been three tenths up after two sectors as he showed strong pace at the season-opening Round.

MIXED UP ON ROW TWO: Ducati fourth as riders impress

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was the highest-placed Ducati rider as the Panigale V2 made its WorldSSP debut. Bulega was half-a-second away from Baldassarri’s incredible pace and he will line up alongside Dutch rider Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) in fifth place; the best Superpole result of his career in WorldSSP. Swiss rider Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) will start Race 1 and Race 2 from sixth place after a strong showing as he finished as the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider.

LOOKING FOR PROGRESS: kicking off Race 1 and Race 2 from row three

Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) will start both races from seventh place as he looks to fight for podiums and wins once again, lining up ahead of former teammate Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) in eighth place. The 2021 Aragon polesitter could only manage a 1’53.841s in Superpole, while just 0.002s separated Brenner in sixth and Cluzel in eighth. Rookie Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounded out the top nine as he lapped 0.027s slower than Cluzel.

TO NOTE

MV Agusta’s new bike for 2022, the MV Agusta F3 800 RR, will line-up from tenth on the grid in the hands of Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) with the Finnish rider missing out on a spot in the top nine by less than a tenth of a second. Another new bike for 2022, the Triumph Street Triple RS, claimed 12^th in the hands of Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph) and 13^th with teammate Stefano Manzi; holding off the challenge from 2021 WorldSSP300 Champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) in 14^th.

The Red Flags were shown when Federico Fuligni (D34G Racing) had a crash going through the corkscrew section of the Aragon circuit with his Panigale V2 in the middle of the track. Fuligni was able to return his bike to the pitlane and the session resumed with exactly five minutes left on the clock.

The top six following WorldSSP Superpole, full results here:

1. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) 1’52.706s

2. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.344s

3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.422s

4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.530s

5. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) +0.820s

6. Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) +1.133s

Watch WorldSSP Race 1 from MotorLand Aragon at 15:15 Local Time (GMT+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!