---
title: "Bradl brushes off engine issue to claim best WorldSBK result"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/04/01/bradl-brushes-off-sp2-engine-issue-to-claim-best-worldsbk-result/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "SBK"
published: "2017-04-01T15:38:56Z"
modified: "2017-04-01T15:39:47Z"
---

# Bradl brushes off engine issue to claim best WorldSBK result

Honda’s Stefan Bradl brushed off a mechanical issue in Superpole to take his best result in the World Superbike Championship in Saturday’s first race of the Aragon weekend.

The German rider progressed through to the second part of qualifying with Honda team-mate Nicky Hayden, and was looking good for a top 10 grid slot when his Fireblade suffered an engine failure in the closing minutes.

![Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/04/645074774.jpg)

The resulting small fire left his mechanics with a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, but they managed to turn things around and Bradl took up his 11th spot on the grid for the opening race.

The Honda rider was able to get involved in a scrap over eighth place with Milwaukee Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty, but the switch to an older engine following his earlier issues really hindered him against the quick-in-a-straight-line RSV4.

“It was not an easy Saturday for us,” said Bradl.

“For the first time this year I found myself battling out on track and I did have some fun with Laverty, but I was suffering a bit on the back straight as we had to use an older engine after a problem in Superpole 2.”

Not only was his engine holding him back, Bradl also admitted that he was suffering from a lack of rear grip as well as with some stability issues on the front-end.

However, these proved to be only minor problems, and Bradl took the chequered flag in a WorldSBK career best ninth ahead of Hayden, with Laverty just a couple of tenths up the road.

![Honda Pro Racing](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/04/58dfbee89ec19-1.jpg)

The result will see him shuffled up the order to the back of the second row in sixth for tomorrow’s race, where the German hopes to learn from the more experienced riders starting ahead of him.

“The set-up still needs to be improved and there were several minor issues rather than one big one, but we can still work on them ahead of race two.

“The key areas are rear grip but also we need to find some stability at the front. Starting from sixth place will be interesting for me as it’ll be a little bit closer to the front, with an opportunity to learn some more from the guys ahead.”