PORTIMÃO: BALDASSARRI DIGS DEEP, FINISHES SIXTH IN RACE 2 AND CONSOLIDATES HIS POSITION IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER A TOUGH WEEKEND

Following an excellent qualifying session, in which Lorenzo Baldassarri secured a place on the third row with the eighth-fastest time, Race 1 got off to a difficult start. Twelfth at the first corner, the GoEleven rider battled to regain his position and join the fierce battle for the top ten, when a sudden sharp pain in his right arm hampered him, causing him to slow down considerably.

Clearly ahead of some of his rivals, Lorenzo gritted his teeth and adopted a wait-and-see approach until, with a couple of effective attacks, he broke the deadlock in the middle of the race and moved well back into the points. Never giving up, though in pain, his performance culminated in eleventh place, which, given his condition, must be considered a positive result, especially as it could have ended in a crash and subsequent retirement. As the rider himself explained, it is a situation that needs to be resolved, or at least managed, to get through the Superpole race and Race 2. There is, however, optimism and satisfaction with the fine race and the points scored, which are always important for the rest of the championship.

«Unfortunately, I got off to a bad start, but whilst I felt fine in the early laps, around the fifth lap I started to feel pain in my arms. I really struggled; I wasn’t feeling right, either physically or mentally, and all I could think about was getting the job done. My right arm, which is the throttle arm, seized up, so we’ll have to see how we can sort this out for Sunday’s race. On the bright side, I’m still happy because we had a good race, gained experience and picked up some good points.»

Lorenzo Baldassarri

SUNDAY COMEBACK: SUPERPOLE RACE AND RACE 2

After a difficult Saturday, with Race 1 hampered by pain in his arm that prevented Lorenzo Baldassarri from racing at full strength, Sunday at Portimão brought a change of fortunes. The Superpole Race served as a test to shake off the lingering effects of the GoEleven rider’s physical difficulties, and he finished in tenth place.

Bolstered by the positive result in the sprint race, Lorenzo turned his performance around, attacking in a focused and intelligent manner. After spending the first part of the race on the defensive, where he was very skilful in gauging his rivals, in the second half of the race he capitalised on his patient approach, making up significant ground. This was particularly due to the competitiveness of his rivals, whom he outmanoeuvred with masterful manoeuvres and overtakes pushed to the limit.

STANDINGS AND OUTLOOK

A master of the breakaway, “Balda” led his Ducati Panigale V4R to the front of the chasing pack, finishing in sixth place to earn ten precious points and consolidate his seventh place in the overall standings. A position that, at this stage of the championship, sees him in contention for the top spots, well within his reach.

«I’m really happy because we’ve pulled it off! It was one of the toughest weekends of my career due to the problem I’ve been struggling with since free practice; I was worried I might have to retire, and I was really concerned because I was running out of strength. Starting from the back, I ran into a bit of traffic and my arm seized up again, but luckily I managed to get back into a smooth rhythm and set a good pace. I’d like to thank the team for doing a great job. We finished with an important sixth place and we need to stay focused and keep improving; I can’t wait to get to Assen, which is a track I really like.»

Lorenzo Baldassarri

The schedule for this second round moved forward relentlessly, and the weekend concluded with positive signs for Baldassarri despite the difficulties encountered. The points scored remain important for the continuation of the championship.

NEXT ROUND

See you in Assen for the third round of the season, scheduled for 17–19 April. For all the latest news and updates, please follow the social media channels 7balda (Instagram), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Facebook) and lorenzobaldassarri.com, as well as the official website worldsbk.com. To ensure you don’t miss out on the excitement of the races, you can watch them live and on demand on worldsbk.com, Sky Sport, NOWtv and TV8 on channel 8 of DTT.