MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

In the last Friday morning of the year, Nicolo bulega kept his slim chances of the title alive with a quickest time two tenths better than Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Iannone with Jonathan Rea fourth quickest in a tight session where the top fourteen riders were covered by just over eight tenths of a second. 

Fresh from their British Superbike title battle last weekend, Kyle Ryde and Tommy Bridewell qualified in twenty second and twenty third place.

Results:

Race two is Toprak Razgatlioglu's chance to take the title, and a 25ºC day removed the weather from the equation.

A 20ºC morning's racing would be missing Remy Gardner as he fractured his wrist in yesterday's race, likely ending his season. The championship could be decided today, but the chances of this happening are very unlikely. The sky was blue, the track was dry and ten laps of Estoril were on the cards.

Twenty one laps of an inclement Estoril circuit, the track had some damp patches but the start was a dry 21ºC. Toprak Razgatlioglu cannot secure the 2024 title today, but he can make it possible for tomorrow.

Saturday morning was windy and the Superpole was declared a wet session for fifteen minutes of qualifying with the bikes' red lights on. A championship could be decided this weekend and the weather will almost certainly play its part. Without falling rain, the track should dry out over the session.

The rain continued to disrupt the day's qualifying, but in a brief dry spell, Toprak Razgatlioglu was able to improve on his morning's time by fifteen seconds and head Danilo Petrucci and Alex Lowes once again.

Results:

In a wet morning's session, Toprak Razgatlioglu set the quickest time ahead of Danilo Petrucci and Alex Lowes with Tarron Mackenzie making a rare dip in to the top four. 

Results:

World Superbike race two had the blue-clad Tambores de Alcaniz drumming on the grid as the riders lined up for eighteen laps around MotorLand Aragon. Both Lowes brothers are missing this race. The weekend's attendance was 27,605 and Sunday's race was at 25ºC with very little wind.

Sam Lowes was declared unfit for the final day of the World Superbike weekend after his crash in yesterday's race. His crash that brought out the red flags was not caused by fluid on his rear tyre, as initially thought, as it was caused by his picking up Jonathan Rea's front wing with his rear tyre after contact at the start of the race. The ten lap sprint race was colder than yesterday's race, at just 16ºC.

Eighteen laps of MotorLand Aragon with the return of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea. Dominique Aegerter is still absent after a cycling injury, and continues to be replaced by the German Marvin Fritz who will copy BMW's engine replacement tactic from Cremona, unwrapping a fresh engine for Aegerter's return. A pink-clad drumming band in the grandstand added to the noise of the engines in 22ºC weather.