PEAKS AND TROUGHS: Gerloff returns to the top five, Surra shines but a tricky weekend for some
Plenty of big stories from the weekend as a long top five finish drought ended, a rookie battled at the sharp end but there was disappointment for some
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship made a second visit to the Balaton Park Circuit at the weekend and it was another historic trip to Hungary. The Motul Hungarian Round was another thriller as records were smashed but there was also plenty of moments that caught the eye during a weekend full of highs and lows.
GERLOFF BACK IN THE TOP FIVE: 18 months later…
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) last had a top five finish at MotorLand Aragon in 2024, when he was on the BMW. That weekend, he finished fifth twice on Sunday but was on the rostrum in Race 1. This weekend, the Texan returned to the top five in style after turning around a weekend that looked like it would be another tricky one. 14th on Friday and 12th in the Tissot Superpole session, Gerloff finished one place down in Race 1 on his starting position. However, a sensational start in the Tissot Superpole Race promoted Gerloff into the top ten and that put him ninth when Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) served his double Long Lap Penalty, eventually finishing in eighth. That gave him a good platform for Race 2 and he duly delivered, climbing up to P7 by Lap 3, P6 by Lap 6 and P5 around halfway through the race when he managed to get past Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing). A strong end to the weekend for the #31, who will take that form to Most – one of his better circuits last year. On social media, he said about the weekend: “Went from one of my worst weekends in my WorldSBK career to one of my best with Kawasaki. Sometimes it just goes that way!”
SURRA SHOWS HIS POTENTIAL: An impressive weekend for the #67
Surra might have missed out on a top-six finish in Race 2, but the 21-year-old had the best weekend of his fledgling WorldSBK career so far. Fifth on Friday might have been a flash in the pan, but Saturday proved he was going to fight at the sharp end. He claimed P8 in Superpole but an incredible start, where he took the outside line into Turn 1 on Lap 1, meant he was running behind Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) for the first six laps. Inevitably, experience shone through and he dropped down the order to finish in eighth – his best WorldSBK finish, until Sunday. In the Tissot Superpole Race, he again gained positions at the start to move into P6 by Lap 3 and that’s where he finished. He backed that up with seventh in Race 2 as he picked up 21 points in Hungary; more than double the points he scored in the first three rounds. In fact, his Sunday tally alone (13 points) was the same as he scored in the first nine races combined.
BALDASSARRI AND MONTELLA RETURN TO THE ROSTRUM: A P3 apiece for the Italians
Both Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) had been on the rostrum in the season-opening race in Australia but hadn’t stood on it since. That changed in Hungary when ‘Balda’ battled to a third-place finish in the Tissot Superpole Race, finishing ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) in fourth, while Montella fended off a late charge from Baldassarri to claim P3 in Race 2.
WOULD’VE HOPED FOR MORE: Potential heading into the round remains unfulfilled
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) came into Balaton Park as one of the form riders after his three P3s at Assen, and this was a circuit he believed suited his style. However, he didn’t get the Superpole result he wanted, finishing P7 on the timesheets but promoted to sixth on the Race 1 grid after a penalty for Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati). A jump start and a subsequent double Long Lap Penalty ended his hopes of a strong Race 1, and he was then involved in the early crash in the Superpole Race which brought out the red flags. He was able to take to the restart, but gear selection issues meant he dropped to the back of the field. That demoted him to the fourth row for the Race 2 grid, but the #14 put in a battling performance to salvage a P6 finish. A difficult weekend for the British rider, but he ended it on a high.
BIMOTA’S DIFFICULT SUNDAY: No score in Race 2
Bimota would’ve perhaps thought they had a chance of some strong results with Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and teammate Axel Bassani in Hungary, but that didn’t come to fruition. The #22’s eighth on Friday, with Bassani in 10th, suggested they’d be in the mix for a good result, but the pair were 10th and 15th in Superpole respectively, putting them on the back foot. Alex Lowes battled to a P6 finish in Race 1 while Bassani was out of the points, and it was a similar story on Sunday; the British rider was P7 in the Superpole Race with Bassani 15th. Alex Lowes' starting slot improved for Race 2 and he was chasing down Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) for another P7 finish, but a crash at the Turn 9-10 chicane ended his hopes of points in Race 2. For Bassani, a technical problem, which he said was an issue with the front brake, in Race 2 forced him into the box to retire.
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