WSBK Aragon 2013: Baz battles to double top six

Loris Baz says he can be pleased with a pair of strong top six results in the second round of the 2013 World Superbike Championship after two battling performances at Motorland Aragon.

Qualifying on the second row of the grid, Baz became embroiled in the fight for fourth position for much of the opening race, dicing with Jonathan Rea and Davide Giugliano before losing ground in the closing stages to cross the line in what would become fifth place after Giugliano's retirement ahead on the final lap.

Made to work somewhat harder in race two, Baz was forced to start from the pit-lane with Jules Cluzel after erroneously switching off his engine during the aborted start. Forging their way up the order together, Baz would beat his countryman to finish sixth, a result he thinks was his maximum regardless.

"Race one was good but I missed the start a little and I think if I made a better start I could have been with some of the guys up front. I had to fight to pass other riders and we knew that race distance was going to be hard.

"We did a big step in setting a fast lap time in testing and I think we can fight for the top four or five places that way, but we maybe still need to find some more for full race distance. But I was happy finishing fifth in the first race, although I would have been P6 without another rider stopping.

"Race one showed the hard work we have done is paying off. Race two I went on the grid then they delayed the race so I stopped my engine because normally that is what we do in that situation. They said I could not do that, so I had to start from pitlane with Jules Cluzel.

"I am not sure if I could have got higher than P6 in the final result if I started like normal but at least I would have been able to see how long I could have run with some other guys. We had two good points scoring finishes in dry conditions so I am happy."