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Barely three weeks after undergoing surgery on his right forearm, Dominique Aegerter finished fourth in this morning’s free practice one before suffering his first crash of the season in the afternoon although, he escaped unhurt.

For WorldSBK rookie Dominique Aegerter it was already the second crash if you add his retirement due to the collision with team mate Remy Gardner in Superpole race at Phillip Island earlier in February at the season’s opener. After the incident about halfway through today's FP2, the 32-year-old Swiss practically was able to bring back his battered Yamaha Superbike to the pits by himself, where his crew did a lightning-fast job. Ten minutes before the end of practice time, Aegerter went out on track again. But all attempts to improve his lap time failed, partly because of the hot conditions. Aegerter nevertheless finished eighth well inside the top ten on Friday, thanks to his personal best time of the day, which he set in FP1 in 1'34.706.

After Superpole on Saturday morning, the first main race of the weekend will start a little later at 14:00. In German-speaking countries, ServusTV is already live on the air from 12:15.

#77 Dominique AEGERTER (GYTR GTR Yamaha WorldSBK Team, Yamaha YZF R1)
FP1: P4 - 1´34.706 / FP2: P17 - 1´35.455

"The first thing I want to say is that I am happy to be back on my race bike. In the morning I was also a bit surprised how FP1 went because I had no idea how everything feels after only three weeks since surgery. But the situation was surprisingly good. Also, the weather conditions at our test were different from today, which required some adjustments. Then in the afternoon I had my first crash with the Yamaha R1. A big thank you to my crew, who repaired the bike in a flash, so I was still able to get out on track for a few laps in the closing stages of the session."

"I think I suffered a bit because of the hotter temperatures in the afternoon. We will now look closely at the data and try to find a solution. Nevertheless, the feeling is very good and so tomorrow I will try to do my best to finish as far towards to the front as I did this morning. I am also looking forward to riding in front of the many Italian and Swiss fans on both race days. It is simply amazing how many of them have already come today. Besides, it is important to give something back to those affected in the Emilia-Romagna region after the difficult times they have been through lately."

#EmiliaRomagnaWorldSBK - WSBK Combined Practice Times (FP1/FP2):
1 Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Aruba.it Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4R / 1´33.825 (FP2)
2 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU / TUR / Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1 / 1´34.154 +0.329 (FP1)
3 Danilo PETRUCCI / ITA / Barni Spark Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4R / 1´34.276 +0.451 (FP2)
8 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1 / 1´34.706 +0.881 (FP1)

#EmiliaRomagnaWorldSBK - WSBK Time Schedule for Saturday June 3rd (CEST):
09:00 - 09:30 FP3
11:10 - 11:25 Superpole 
14:00 Race 1 (21 Laps - 88.746 km)