News

Not only because of a successful start to the weekend, newly crowned Supersport World Champion Dominique Aegerter immediately took a liking to the new race track at Lombok, including the entire surrounding area.

Dominique Aegerter can take a lot of positives from the season’s finale located at the small Indonesian island of Lombok, which came about at extremely short notice. As is well known, people of the Southeast Asian country are extremely fond of motorcycle racing, which is what pleases the 31-year-old Swiss most, as well as the fact that the circuit’s operating company also got managed to complete a World Championship-capable track with a challenging layout in time for the opening of practice.

Aegerter and his Dutch Ten Kate Yamaha Racing Team started with second place in the free practice one into the last race weekend of the year, where the title win in the team standings should be sealed finally. With improving track conditions, lap times in FP2 became significantly faster. The series’ new champion was able to pull off 2.3 seconds from his fastest lap time in morning and ended up in P2 once again, which was also the final position after the inaugural day of action at the Mandalika International Street Circuit, which was officially opened only a week ago.

Swiss broadcaster SRF will be showing both weekend’s Supersport races on Saturday and Sunday from 06.15 via live stream.

#77 Dominique AEGERTER (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha, Yamaha YZF R6)
FP1: P2 - 1´39.224 / FP2: P2 - 1´36.908

"I think it is something great that we are racing in Indonesia. For me, it is the very first time that I have been to this beautiful country, and I am also thrilled with everything I have seen so far though, I am most impressed by the fans, who gave us a very warm welcome and turned up in large numbers at the track on the first day of practice already. Because of my team mate Galang Hendra Patrama, who is Indonesian, our pit is much more crowded than those of other teams, of course. But it is nice to feel this excitement and I am also happy about the support coming from this people. In the past few days, however, there have been even more workers and helpers at the circuit. I think the very last touches were done just last night."

"This is why I would like to express a big thank you to everyone who has helped and made their contribution so that this event can take place. This includes all the off-track service providers here at this beautiful venue, as well as all the WorldSBK officials, the local authorities and, last but not least, the organizers. It is always something special to come to a new circuit for the first time. But in this case, it is already clear to me that this journey will be unforgettable. I have come to the season’s finale together with my Ten Kate team with the clear idea also to win the team’s championship, after we have already cleared all the other possible awards. That is the top priority for this weekend."

"In this respect, we also got off to a good start to the weekend. We ended up in second place in both practice sessions on Friday, just 0.1 second behind at the end of the day. This fact underlines very clearly that we made good progress during both free sessions. I like the track; the layout is mostly fast and flowing which is nice. But there are also a few hard braking points. In FP1 the surface was still pretty slippery because there was still little rubber abrasion because only the Asia Talent Cup riders has been on track before and these standard Moto3 bikes are not necessarily violent in terms of tyre wear. But I was able to immediately build up a good feeling for the track and its conditions. That was important."

"But even in the afternoon you still had to watch out like hell, because off the racing line there is only sporadic grip available. In addition, the external conditions are brutally exhausting. It is incredibly hot, and the humidity is almost unbearable under the helmet and leather suit. But I feel in good shape, and besides, I know these conditions from Thailand and Malaysia only too well. So far everything is fine. Until Saturday morning we will have a more insight look at the data to see in which areas we still can improve the bike, and how and where I still can improve my riding, so that we succeed in a strong Superpole. Saturday is also the first day of racing. The aim is clearly to score as many points as possible with a view to the team standings. Although it is currently rainy season here, it has always been dry so far. For the next few days, however, the weather is supposed to change a bit. But the conditions are always the same for everyone."

#IDNWorldSBK - WorldSSP Combined Free Practice Times (FP1/FP2):
1 Randy KRUMMENACHER / SWI / CM Racing / Yamaha YZF R6 / 1´36.726 (FP2)
2 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6 / 1´36.908 +0.182 (FP2)
3 Raffaele DE ROSA / ITA / Orleac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-6R / 1´37.088 +0.362 (FP2)

#IDNWorldSBK - WorldSSP Time Schedule for Saturday November 20th (MEZ):
03:25 - 03:45 Superpole
06:30 Race 1 (19 Laps - 81.890 km)