SBK | GP Most: it was a competitive weekend for Lorenzo Baldassarri, who finished just off the podium and moved up to fourth in the overall standings

Another weekend of progress for Lorenzo Baldassarri, who, at the fifth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship in Most, Czech Republic, has reaped the rewards of the hard work of recent weeks with performances that are increasingly on a par with those of the factory riders. After finishing sixth in Race 1 on Saturday – a result that did not quite reflect the potential shown on the track – he came fourth in the Superpole Race, after a BMW crash, resulting in a red flag, thwarted the GoEleven rider’s lightning-fast start.

At the restart, Lorenzo was very skilful in avoiding costly mistakes, putting in consistent laps right to the end. Having fended off attacks from other riders battling for fourth place, he secured a well-deserved fourth-place finish, which already hinted at the possibility of doing even better.

The second race did not disappoint, and with a masterful start, he immediately joined the leading group, becoming the fourth rider at the front, all of whom were extremely fast and all riding Ducati Panigale V4R. Once again under threat from those coming up from behind, he responded to his rivals with some textbook counter-overtakes. The fierce battle with his compatriot Alberto Surra was particularly thrilling; Surra was powerless to resist, and once Baldassarri had him in his sights, he unleashed the mother of all braking manoeuvres, leaving his opponent in the dust, before setting off in pursuit of third place.

A comeback that, with a couple more laps, could have had a very different outcome, given that the podium was within reach. With these results, Lorenzo climbs the standings and sits fourth, just a handful of points behind the provisional third place.

See you at the Aragón GP, the sixth round of the series, scheduled for 29-31 May. To stay up to date, follow the social media channels 7balda (Instagram) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Facebook), or visit the official website worldsbk.com. To experience all the excitement of the races live and on demand, simply tune in to worldsbk.com, Sky Sport, NOWtv and TV8 on channel 8 of the DTT.