More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Baldassarri wins red-flagged Race 1 to close the Championship gap to Aegerter to five points
Shortened to 12 laps but no shortage of drama as Baldassarri closed the gap in the Championship
Race 1 highlights – WorldSSP
P1 – Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)
Baldassarri won Race 1 to take his fourth WorldSSP win, his third one in a row.
He reduced the gap to just five points to Aegerter in the Championship standings.
“After the two wins in Most, it was important to win here today. It was a new track for us. We made a good improvement since this morning! I’m happy. The team did a great job. Now we need to stay focus and make some small improvements for tomorrow.”
P2 – Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team)
Van Straalen took second place to claim his second podium of 2022.
The Dutchman challenged Baldassarri at Turn 5 on several occasions but was unable to make a move stick
“It’s really good to come back after the summer break with a podium finish. I think we had a good pace in the race so that gives us confidence for the rest of the weekend. After Assen, it’s good to take another podium. We were quite fast during the whole season, but the podium didn’t work out … but now it did!”
P3 – Dominique Aegerter (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)
Aegerter finished in third place after battling from the second row
He remains the Championship leader but with a shortened advantage to Aegerter.
“Happy to be back on the podium, happy to be back racing here in the WorldSSP paddock. Today’s race was tricky. We had a big fight in the first few laps. I couldn’t overtake as fast as I wanted. Then after 12 laps, the race was red-flagged. I was expecting that we could restart the race so that we could fight until the end. But luckily, we always have a second chance on Sunday so I hope that tomorrow we can fight for a solid result.”
To note:
Fighting at the front of the race in the early stages, Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) dropped down the order to finish in fourth place. He finished less than a second clear of teammate Yari Montella. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) completed Race 1’s top six.
The race was red-flagged after 12 of the scheduled 19 laps following a Turn 5 incident between Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Kyle Smith (VFT Racing), with Sofuoglu taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Sofuoglu will be transported to Nevers Hospital for further assessment, after being diagnosed with a pelvis, right thigh, right elbow and chest injuries.
A technical issue for polesitter Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) meant he retired from the lead of the race.
Wildcard Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) fought back to claim seventh place whilst Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) rounded out the top ten.
WorldSSP resumes on Sunday from 9:25 (Local Time) followed by Race 2 at 12:45.
