WSBK, Supersport in Aragón 1: Friday in Cluzel, Mahias, Perolari and Verdoïa.

Following the fifth round of the Supersport World Championship, Andrea Locatelli already has five victories on his R6 from the Bardahl Evan Bros team. WorldSSP Team, as well as 125 points. It precedes Jules cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) with 90 points ahead Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) with 62, and Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) with 57, then a little further Andy Verdoïa (Yamaha bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) nineteenth with 4.

Already, current Championship leader Andrea Locatelli is outside the fray. He already sees himself next year in the Superbike World Championship, and this year leaves Cluzel, Mahias and Perolari to fight for second place in the Supersport World Championship. “I embraced the Yamaha project and I would like to continue with them in SBK” explained Andrea clearly in Aragón. “I came to the World Championship with them, they believed in me and that gives me a certain pride. Being able to move into SBK is a stimulus. I would feel like I have reached the top of the series derivative motorcycle category because there are all the most important brands in the world. In the coming weeks we will surely know something official for 2021.”

“As of today, Yamaha has a team made up of 50% because Michael van der Mark is going to leave and we will see how they decide to move. We are talking about Baz, Folger, Gerloff, Caricasulo, we are all Yamaha riders and the company will choose. »

In the morning during FP1 (26° for the air, 36° for the ground), Andrea Locatelli dominated in 1'54.588 ahead of Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) at 0.561, his teammate Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) at 0.641 and the best Frenchman Jules Cluzel at 0.643. Mahias was 8th at 1.6, Perolari 10th at 1.9 and Verdoïa significantly further.

In FP2 (30° for the air, 46° for the track) Locatelli improved to 1'54.308, 0.679 ahead of Cluzel. Mahias was sixth at 1.8, Perolari ninth at 2.0 and Verdoïa twenty-third at 4.8.

According to Rémi Guyot (GMT94 Yamaha), “Four races take place over two weekends in a row. 100 points are therefore to be distributed on the longest route of the season. As since the start of the year, Jules Cluzel aims to get on the podium in each race, and Corentin Perolari to get as close as possible. Our Val-de-Marnaise team is currently leading the World Championship in the team rankings, and hopes to increase its lead. »

“The team carried out two days of testing on this circuit in July, which allowed us to attack the tests with confidence. Cool weather is forecast for this Saturday and Sunday, which could change the configuration of all the machines and create some surprises. »

This Saturday, temperatures were supposed to drop, and the wind would pick up from FP3. The suspensions represent the point on which the GMT94 team tries to work as much as possible.

Jules cluzel : “The new suspension settings that the team came up with this Friday morning were really interesting. I had to adapt, and this Saturday we can refine again, but I think we are on the right track. This weekend, 2nd place is once again within my reach, and I will give everything to hang on to the leader as best I can. »

Corentin Perolari : “My adaptation to the suspensions took longer for me, however at the end of FP2 I had the click and I think it is possible to make a jump in the ranking from FP3. This weekend is very interesting because we found an improvement to get closer to the podium. »

According to Lucas Mahias, “I really want to make up for my recent crash in Portimão and I can't wait to get back on track. I like the Aragón circuit where I won the Supersport race there in 2017.

“This will be the second time I compete with the Kawasaki ZX-6R at this circuit. Last year it was still early and I wasn't completely confident with my bike. »

“This year will be different, starting with the weather, which will inevitably be hot. I hope to quickly find a good setting so that I can give it my all in the race. »

Results of the first day of free practice: