SBK Aragon, Practice 3: Bassani’s blistering fightback, but there’s a catch

Axel Bassani and Bimota top the Superbike practice times at Motorland. Has the World Championship changed course and is it no longer a Ducati one-make show? Easy, there’s a but as big as the Aragón region...

The explanation is simple. In the third and final session, just 20 minutes long, some prefer to spend the entire time continuing to prepare for the long races, while others opt to test the potential of the qualifying tire in anticipation of the imminent Superpole. That’s the case for the Veneto rider on the Bimota, who set the fastest lap of the weekend, even though no one has managed to dip below the 1'47" barrier so far. Remember that the absolute Motorland record dates back to last September, when Nicolò Bulega took pole in 1'47"332, then won Race 2 and finished the other two bouts on the tail of a rampant Toprak Razgatlioglu.

The championship leader, on a 19-race winning streak, is right there behind, with what is virtually the best race-pace time—in other words, a springboard for more triumphs. Bulega’s practice went very well, given that the only real threat at the moment—his teammate Iker Lecuona—is, as usual, behind. The final timesheets also highlight the third place of Alberto Surra, to whom the same observations made for Bassani apply. Still, it’s a noteworthy performance: the Motocorsa rookie was even on top for a few minutes of this session. It’s a real shame that in Race 1, today at 14:00, he’ll have to start last for failing to respect a yellow flag during Friday’s Session 1.

While Bimota capitalizes on the chances Ducati occasionally leaves on the table, Yamaha’s severe crisis continues. Last week’s Misano test solved nothing. The YZF-R1 keeps drifting in the middle of the pack, far not only from the front but even from all the Ducati satellite teams. Andrea Locatelli ended practice in twelfth position. "The heat is making everything more difficult," explained the Bergamo rider, referring to the 53°C track temperature recorded Friday afternoon at roughly the same time as the long races will start. "We started well, then things got complicated. We’ll try to give our best, especially in Superpole. These races will be particularly tough; I’m curious to see what happens when the eighteenth lap strikes..."

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