Dominique Aegerter continued his fine form this weekend, topping the timesheets as Supersport action commenced in Estoril. The Swiss rider led a Yamaha top-five lockout ahead of Baldassarri and GMT 94’s Jules Cluzel and Andy Verdoia; while Assen star Glenn van Straalen rounded out the top five.
World Supersport action got underway in Portugal under gorgeous blue skies, and it was Aegerter who fired the early warning shot, sitting comfortably atop of the timesheets in the early stages. However, the Swiss rider’s early dominance was brought to an end with 12 minutes remaining as Evan Bro’s rider Lorenzo Baldassarri leapt to the top of the timesheets. The Italian’s 1'40.361 was good enough to keep him 0.072 seconds clear of Aegerter.
FP2 was a much cloudier and windier affair, with track conditions optimal for the Supersport machines. Fast out of the blocks, Aegerter stormed to the top of the timesheets, immediately bettering Baldassarri’s morning time. Putting in a consistent run of low 1:40s – the 31-year-old broke into the 1:39’s midway through the session, setting a 1:39.806 to end the session fastest, 0.555 seconds clear of Baldassarri on combined times.
GMT 94’s Jules Cluzel and Andy Verdoia enjoyed strong outings in Estoril. Cluzel had a strong start to his weekend in seventh and further improved his time in the slightly warmer practice two session. The Frenchman ended the day on a 1:40.501, pipping team-mate Verdoia by 0.036 seconds.
Glenn van Straalen enjoyed a strong afternoon session. The Dutch rider improved on his 1'41.670 set in the opening session to conclude day one in fifth with a 1'40.607. Meanwhile, Unai Orradre had his strongest day in the World Supersport championship this season. The bLUcRU graduate flew to eighth place in the opening practice session before making a slight improvement in his lap time to end the day 13th fastest.
Saturday sees the riders back on track for Superpole at 10:25 local time before the lights go out for the opening race of the weekend at 15:15.
