<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In the Warm Up, Balda arrived in good shape\u00a0and ready for the final day of racing in Portugal. He showed marked improvements in the second sector\u2014even setting the absolute fastest time in the final part of the track\u2014and secured third place, feeling confident heading into the Superpole Race.<\/p>\n
Warm Up: In the Superpole Race, Balda held his starting position and tried to chase down the\u00a0group 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\u2014while not the best possible race, it remains a solid result.<\/p>\n Superpole Race: 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\u2014closing a two-second gap to Bassani\u2014but the race ended before he could\u00a0attack. It was another solid sixth-place finish, hard-fought and well-earned.<\/p>\n Race 2: 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\u2014both holding a close points gap\u2014are 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!<\/p>\n
\nP 1\u00a0 \u00a0I. Lecuona\u00a0 \u00a01.34.973
\nP 2\u00a0 \u00a0N. Bulega\u00a0 \u00a0+ 0.010
\nP 3\u00a0 \u00a0L. Baldassarri\u00a0 + 0.446<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nP 1\u00a0 \u00a0N. Bulega\u00a0 \u00a015’52.751
\nP 2\u00a0 \u00a0 I. Lecuona\u00a0 \u00a0 + 0.734
\nP 3\u00a0 \u00a0A. Surra\u00a0 \u00a0 + 6.465
\n…
\nP 9\u00a0 \u00a0L. Baldassarri\u00a0 \u00a0+ 12.960<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nP 1\u00a0 \u00a0N. Bulega \u00a0 33’28.170
\nP 2\u00a0 \u00a0I. Lecuona\u00a0 \u00a0+ 4.888
\nP 3\u00a0 \u00a0A. Surra\u00a0 \u00a0+ 16.073
\n…
\nP 6\u00a0 \u00a0L. Baldassarri\u00a0 \u00a0 + 22.894<\/strong><\/p>\n