Race Sunday in Portimao went very different for Dominique Aegerter. With self-confidence boosted, the Swiss rider also wanted to score points in the short race in the late morning, however, which he managed to do in the second main race of the weekend later.
After his improved performance on Saturday, Dominique Aegerter's expectations for the ten-lap Superpole Race and the second long race at the demanding Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in the south of Portugal were set accordingly. Aegerter started this morning’s Superpole Race from P8 on the third row, where he had to react with lightning speed when the starting lights went out because the Italian Danilo Petrucci, who started from the front row, did not get off the line. After ten laps, Aegerter saw the chequered flag in twelfth place.
The second race weekend of the still young season was concluded in the afternoon with the fourth race of the season over the long distance. This race had to be red-flagged due to a crash by Jason O'Halloran, as parts of the Airfence in turn one had to be replaced at the scene of the accident. After the eleven-lap restart, Aegerter found himself in a group of seven riders battling for sixth place. The Yamaha rider finished ninth which means his second top ten this weekend.
The championship continues in two weeks' time with the meeting at the legendary TT Circuit of Assen in the Netherlands.
#77 Dominique AEGERTER (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK, Yamaha YZF R1)
Grid position 8 / Superpole Race: P14 / Grid position 12 / Race 2: P9
«Our goal for Superpole Race was to finish in the top nine. But it started with a scary moment. I was lucky that I did not hit Petrucci because he had a problem at the start. That dropped me back a few positions and I could not make up much ground over the short distance. By the second race we had made some changes to the bike which helped to improve the feeling, speed and grip a little bit. It was an entertaining race with a battle with many riders and we were rewarded with important points for the championship. Now we will build on this weekend's experience when we head to Assen in two weeks' time, where we hope to take another step forward. The progress that Andrea Locatelli has already made is clearly to see, as he achieved good top five finishes this weekend. Congratulations to him. Finally, I hope Remy is doing well after his crash. We had a great fight until then. I feel sorry for him.»
#PortugueseWorldSBK – WSBK Superpole:
1 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU / TUR / ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M1000RR / 1´39.081
2 Nicolo BULEGA / ITA / Aruba.it Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4R / 1´39.326 +0.245
3 Danilo PETRUCCI / ITA / Barni Spark Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4R / 1´39.482 +0.402
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8 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1 / 1´39.849 +0.768
#PortugueseWorldSBK – WSBK Superpole Race (10 Laps):
1 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU / TUR / ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M1000RR / 16´40.209
2 Nicolo BULEGA / ITA / Aruba.it Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4R / +0.055
3 Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Aruba.it Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4R / +4.407
…
14 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1 / +15.490
#PortugueseWorldSBK – WSBK Race 2 (11 Laps):
1 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU / TUR / ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW M1000RR / 18´22.895
2 Nicolo BULEGA / ITA / Auruba.it Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4R / +0.195
3 Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Aruba.it Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4R / +3.512
…
9 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1 / +12.640
WorldSBK Standing:
1 Nicolo BULEGA / ITA / Ducati / 111
2 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU / TUR / BMW / 82
3 Danilo PETRUCCI / ITA / Ducati / 60
…
12 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Yamaha / 23