Italiano
TOP 6 SECURED IN ESTORIL’S SUNDAY!
It was a solid day for Lorenzo Baldassarri at the Estoril track; he improved his feeling with the bike and narrowed the gap to the podium. While his starting position forced him to fight his way up through the field, the pace and speed were certainly there. He secured a good haul of points, ending the weekend on a positive note that bodes well for the “last dance” at Jerez de la Frontera.
In the Warm Up, Balda arrived in good shape and ready for the final day of racing in Portugal. He showed marked improvements in the second sector—even setting the absolute fastest time in the final part of the track—and secured third place, feeling confident heading into the Superpole Race.
Warm Up:
P 1 I. Lecuona 1.34.973
P 2 N. Bulega + 0.010
P 3 L. Baldassarri + 0.446
In the Superpole Race, Balda held his starting position and tried to chase down the group in front of him, but the gap fluctuated constantly throughout the race. He would gain two-tenths of a second in some sections of the track and lose two in others, never quite managing to set an attack. A couple of errors in the first sector caused him to lose touch with Jake Dixon; although he was significantly faster in the final laps, he was unable to overtake him. He secured a point and held onto a third-row starting spot—while not the best possible race, it remains a solid result.
Superpole Race:
P 1 N. Bulega 15’52.751
P 2 I. Lecuona + 0.734
P 3 A. Surra + 6.465
…
P 9 L. Baldassarri + 12.960
In Race 2, Balda lost a couple of places on the opening lap but aggressively fought his way back to ninth. He made a great move on Jake Dixon at Turn 4, moving up to eighth. His pace was strong; he quickly closed the gap to Vierge, though the Yamaha rider defended well. Oliveira joined it, resulting in a three-way battle for the next three laps. Eventually, the BMW rider ran wide under braking for Turn 1, opening the door for Lorenzo; on that same lap, Lorenzo dived past Vierge to take seventh place. Alex Lowes was keeping pace behind him and overtook Balda, but shortly after, he lost the front end at Turn 4 and crashed out. Benefiting from a mistake by Bautista, Balda secured sixth place and maintained a consistent pace in the high 1:36s all the way to the finish. In the final four laps, he was significantly faster than the podium contenders—closing a two-second gap to Bassani—but the race ended before he could attack. It was another solid sixth-place finish, hard-fought and well-earned.
Race 2:
P 1 N. Bulega 33’28.170
P 2 I. Lecuona + 4.888
P 3 A. Surra + 16.073
…
P 6 L. Baldassarri + 22.894
21 points got over the Portuguese weekend is a remarkable result for a round where Team Go Eleven struggled to find the necessary competitiveness right from the opening practice sessions. They managed to save the weekend with two top-six finishes, however, taking the championship battle to Jerez. The Lowes twins—both holding a close points gap—are in the fight for fourth place against Balda; the latter, however, must fend off a surging Bassani, who is right on his tail. It promises to be a fierce, heated mix!
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Rider):
“All in all, it was a positive weekend for us—perhaps one of the toughest of the season in terms of how the bike felt. I felt physically very good, but we struggled to find competitive pace; still, we managed the situation well and brought home important points, which also helped me close the gap to fifth place in the standings. I’m happy—we didn’t make any mistakes, and now there’s just one round left at Jerez! I want to go there fired up and motivated, aiming for a great result to carry it with me through the winter!”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“We managed to save the Estoril weekend; it wasn’t easy, and the track’s low grip likely caused Balda some trouble. However, we made progress from Saturday onwards, and he was definitely more competitive in Race 2 today. Starting further back doesn’t help—his pace was good enough for the top five, but he needed to start higher up the grid. Still, I’m satisfied; bringing home two sixth-place finishes while facing some difficulties shows we’re having an excellent season. Now we head to Jerez to realistically fight for fifth place in the championship—we need to focus on that goal!”
SATURDAY PICS: CLICK HERE
