MotorLand Aragon played host to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, and it was a dramatic affair in Spain as riders battled it out for the top positions. It was a weekend where two riders improved on their previous best result in the Championship, as Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) and Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) continued to impress during the Aragon Round, while it was a tough few days for Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven).
IMPROVING THEIR BEST RESULTS
Both Surra and Bridewell headed into Aragon on the back of strong weekends last time out at Most. Surra, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Sunday, marked the occasion by fighting for the win in the early stages of the Tissot Superpole Race after starting from the front row for the first time (he was third in Superpole, but a back of the grid penalty was applied for Race 1). The #67 narrowly missed out on a podium in the 10-lap race after falling to fifth, although he finished fourth after Baldassarri crashed out late on. P4 is the Italian’s best result in WorldSBK, bettering his previous best of fifth that he set last time out.
For Bridewell, in Czechia, he recorded his best finish of P8 in the Superpole Race. He secured eighth on the Race 1 grid in Saturday’s Superpole session at Aragon but was promoted to seventh after Surra’s penalty. He then got a good start and moved in fifth, where he remained throughout the 18-lap race, as he improved on his best WorldSBK result with P5, and he finished the round with two more top ten finishes, extending his run to P5.
DIFFICULT WEEKEND FOR AN ITALIAN DUO
Both Montella and Baldassarri have been in the podium conversation in recent rounds, but neither were able to stand on the Aragon rostrum. While Montella showed top-five pace in FP3, he could only manage ninth on in Superpole and finished Race 1 in seventh. That was followed up with ninth in the Superpole Race, benefitting from a late ‘Balda’ crash, before the #5 crashed in Race 2 while inside the top ten. For Baldassarri, he was able to take sixth in Superpole and that gave him a platform to at least challenge for the rostrum. Sixth in Race 1, behind Bridewell, was a solid result but on Sunday, his weekend unravelled. A crash from P4 in the Superpole Race ended his hopes of a podium, and he was then caught up in a Turn 1, Lap 1 incident in Race 2 with Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha). A tough weekend for the Italian duo, who will hope to make amends next time out on home soil at Misano.
Follow all the WorldSBK action from Misano using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now half price!