SBK | GP Cremona: It was a thrilling weekend for Lorenzo Baldassarri at the tenth round of the Superbike World Championship. Although he was not to blame for his crash in the Superpole Race, the GoEleven rider’s run of form continued at his second home round

The tenth round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship ended on a high note for Lorenzo Baldassarri, who once again demonstrated at the Cremona Circuit that he can compete at the very top of the class. It was certainly not an easy round, given the high temperatures on the track, in the paddock and in the stands as the title was decided, but Lorenzo managed to cope with the emotional and competitive pressure, despite his crash in the Superpole Race.

Having narrowly missed out on the podium in Race 1 with a fourth-place finish – set at a blistering pace and matching the times of the top two – the day got off to a promising start. However, Sunday morning’s sprint race did not go to plan, when Gerloff on his Kawasaki cut in unnaturally onto the clean line of “Balda”, who had just slipped past him on the inside and was completing the first lap. It was nothing serious and neither rider sustained any physical injury, and both lined up as normal at the start of the second race.

The second race proved more challenging, partly due to the repair of the damaged bike parts and a difficult start, leaving him with many positions to make up. It was therefore nothing new to see the rider fighting his way through the pack with determination and climbing back up to a final seventh place. A result which, had there been one and a half laps more, would have seen Baldassarri closing in on the leaders in the final stages of the race.

«It was a great weekend, with lots of people there, and I was really pleased, especially as we had a brilliant race on Saturday. On Sunday, however, I was hampered by the crash in the Superpole Race, and I’m gutted because we had the podium within our grasp. We made a small adjustment that gave me a bit more confidence on the front end, and we could have achieved something significant. In the first three laps of Race 2, I struggled with rear-end issues and couldn’t open the throttle. Lots of riders overtook me until I managed to ride the way I wanted to and stage a good comeback. We didn’t get as much out of it as we could have, but it was a good weekend and, together with the team, we did a great job.» (Lorenzo Baldassarri)

Lorenzo Baldassarri leaves Cremona with a haul of twenty-two points and remains sixth in the overall standings. With two rounds still to go, his points tally could increase and reshape his position, which is likely to see him finish in the top five of the championship. The next event is therefore scheduled for the weekend of 9–11 October, with the eleventh round of the WorldSBK taking place at Estoril in Portugal. 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.