The first day of WorldSSP300 Championship action came to a close after two Free Practice sessions with Unai Orradre topping the combined sessions as he looks to start the season in the perfect fashion at the Aragon Round at MotorLand Aragon.
Orradre remained top of the combined standings on day one of WorldSSP300 after posting the best time of 2’06.814s, over half-a-second clear of Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) in second place as they both prepare for their second campaign in the class.
In third place was reigning Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) with the Dutchman returning to the Championship as he looks to defend his crown; returning to the venue he secured his first win at in his title-winning campaign.
South African rider Dorren Loureiro’s (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) WorldSSP300 comeback continued with a strong fourth place in the combined standings, half-a-second down on his teammate who competed in WorldSSP300 in 2020. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) was fifth for the day, just 0.009s behind Loureiro and 0.011s clear of Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) on his first competitive outing for his new team.
Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) finished in seventh place with just over a tenth separating Loureiro in fourth and Kawakami in seventh. Turkish star Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) was in eighth place with Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) and Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) rounding out the top ten.
2020 race winner Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) was tenth overall for the day despite topping the afternoon Free Practice 2, with times faster in the morning session for the majority of the 44-strong field.
It meant he fended off the challenge from Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing); with the Spaniard coming off his Kawasaki Ninja 400 at Turn 2 in Free Practice 1 but was able to return to the track in the afternoon. Wildcard Joel Giral Romero (Viñales Racing Team) was in 13th placed and the highest-placed rider from the Viñales Racing Team for Friday.
Ana Carrasco’s (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) return to WorldSSP300 continued with 14 place in her first Round action since an injury sustained in testing last year, with Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) completing the top 15.
Alejandro Carrion (Kawasaki GP Project) and teammate Alejandro Diez both had crashes in the afternoon session in WorldSSP300 in separate incidents that occurred close to each other during the session, with Carrion coming off his bike at the tight Turn 5 left-hander early on in the session.
Ruben Bijman (Machado CAME SBK) had a huge moment coming out of the right-hander of Turn 13 in the sequence of four corners leading onto the back straight; the Dutchman able to return to his machine.
Filippo Maria Palazzi (ProGP Racing) crashed at Turn 8 in the afternoon Free Practice 2 session while Dean Berta Viñales (Viñales Racing Team) had a technical issue during the second session.
WorldSSP300 at MotorLand Aragon - Friday
1. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) 2’06.814s
2. Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) +0.573s
3. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) +0.972s
4. Dorren Loureiro (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) +1.077s
5. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) +1.086s
6. Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) +1.097s
