Following his excellent debut last month, Lorenzo Baldassarri is keen to build on his performance at the spectacular Algarve circuit.

A month on from its Australian debut, the FIM Superbike World Championship returns in full force, heading to Portimão for the Pirelli Portuguese Round. On the spectacular Portuguese circuit, Lorenzo Baldassarri is looking to build on his excellent start with another weekend at the top of the standings. Working in his favour is the strong rapport the rider has built in a very short time with the GoEleven team, making the most of the new Ducati Panigale V4R, which he only got to know a few days before the start of the championship.

These are positive factors, but they are not enough to guarantee a result for Lorenzo, who will have to be wary of attacks from his fiercest rivals, some of whom are still chasing their first win. Here too, the favourites and local heroes will add to the competitive atmosphere, where the high level of competition acts as a stimulus for both team and rider. Finding their race rhythm right from the first practice sessions on Friday and going strong from the outset will make all the difference to how the round unfolds. The aim is not to drop points and to continue improving steadily, consolidating a position amongst the top riders and teams in the class.

«After a month’s break, I can’t wait to get back on track at Portimão, one of the most beautiful circuits on the calendar and the most technical of them all. It will be interesting to see if we can maintain the pace we set in Australia, to get off to a good start in the European races, with the aim of consolidating our position in the top ten. I’d like to work on consistency and improve race by race, in small steps, until I earn the title of top Superbike rider.»

Lorenzo Baldassarri

As the rider himself mentioned, the Circuito do Algarve is one of the most technical circuits in the world for motorbikes, characterised by all manner of undulations, bends and counter-slopes, where, despite the twisty layout, considerable speeds are still achieved. Spanning 4.592 metres with 15 corners, to be covered in a clockwise direction, where riders crest the hill and squeeze through at full speed, some of the finest races in the history of this championship have been contested here, and Lorenzo aims to be among the key players in this first European round, which promises to be electrifying.

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. The schedule is as follows.