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WorldSBK rookie Dominique Aegerter performed brilliantly on Friday as best Yamaha rider in the combined timesheet of the day.

After a remarkably cold Thursday, the weather improved by the start of free practice on Friday morning although, in still fresh conditions, Dominique Aegerter started round three of the season in tenth place. But then, temperatures increased to a comfortable level, so that FP2 in the afternoon was the first real gauge of what might happen this weekend at Assen’s legendary Assen TT Circuit in the north of the Netherlands.

Aegerter showed himself to be in impressive form during these 45 minutes. Again, and again his lap times were fast enough for a place among the top three and with an even stronger final spurt the 32-year-old Yamaha rider finally ended up in fourth place.

For Superbike class, Saturday starts early in the morning with free practice three as the final preparation for Superpole at 11:10am local time, which will decide the starting grid for the first main race and the Superpole race on Sunday morning. The first main race of the weekend will start at 14:00. ServusTV is live on air from 12:15pm already.

#77 Dominique AEGERTER (GYTR GTR Yamaha WorldSBK Team, Yamaha YZF R1)
FP1: P10 - 1´35.558 / FP2: P4 - 1´34.600

"I think we started the weekend well after the long break. Fortunately, we had a test in Barcelona, and I was also able to do some practice laps last weekend at Mugello. That certainly was a help and kept me in race trim. Fourth place after the first free practice sessions is obviously very pleasing. But I am most pleased with our strong rhythm. During both sessions we worked with all three tyre options, which should be a good preparation for the remaining days. So, we should be ready to see what tomorrow brings. Still, I hope we can continue like this for the rest of the weekend."

"Of course, it is an advantage to start the weekend strong, but we still have a lot of work to do and a lot to learn, because we are in a constant learning process. This primarily concerns the electronics, but also power delivery. Also, it is difficult for me to say at the moment which tyre will be the best choice, because at this track the performance of the different options is very similar. Also, the weather conditions these days are quite windy, and it is not particularly hot either. So, we also have to look a bit at the others to see which tyre they are using for the race tomorrow."

"It is difficult to talk about realistic goals for tomorrow. Okay, it was a good start and a fast lap, and the pace is also satisfactory. But the race over 21 laps will be a different story. Normally, the races are my strength, not just a fast lap though, we still will work hard today to find a good set-up and then I hope to finish in the top-10 tomorrow, or maybe even in the top-5, why not."

#NLDWorldSBK - WSBK Combined Free Practice Times (FP1/FP2):
1 Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Aruba.it Racing - Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4R / 1´34.316 (FP2)
2 Alex LOWES / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR / 1´34.547 +0.231 (FP2)
3 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR / 1´34.573 +0.257 (FP2)
4 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1 / 1´34.600 +0.284 (FP2)

#NLDWorldSBK - WSBK Time Schedule for Saturday April 22nd (CET):
09:00 - 09:30 FP3
11:10 - 11:25 Superpole 
14:00 Race 1 (21 Laps - 95.382 km)