Leandro Mercado (IODARacing) made his first steps towards his 2017 campaign in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at MotorLand Aragon, finishing inside the top ten and securing a position in Superpole 2.

The Argentinean rider makes his return to the WorldSBK class, but broken ribs and a punctured lung held him back over the winter, forcing him to sit out of the opening two rounds of the season.

Mercado is understandably satisfied with his pace aboard the RSV4 RF and looks to tomorrow: “I am very happy to begin my season like this and finish in the top ten; it is a good way to start. The feeling is good and every session is going well; I am really happy and the feeling with the team is really good.”

Discussing changes to make tomorrow, Mercado explains: “We have to improve on the rear grip, especially with the exit from the slow corners. It is important for me to have a good feeling as I haven’t had much time on this bike, which I think will happen if we improve the rear grip. I also need to look at braking, if I can stop the bike better then I can make the step forward.”

Looking forward to the all important Saturday, the 25 year old has realistic goals: “I want to be in the top ten as it’s my first race of the year. I will use the qualifying tyres for the first time tomorrow but we will take it how it is, we try at 100% and we will see how the race goes.”

WorldSBK Superpole is underway at 10:30LT (+2 GMT), and you can sign up the Video Pass to follow all on track action from Spain as Mercado makes his race debut.