eni FIM Superbike World Championship
Motorland Aragon, Spain
April 12, 2015
Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 18 laps, 33:34.669
2. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -3.190 seconds
3. Leon HASLAM, UK (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -3.712
4. Jordi TORRES, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -14.216
5. Xavier FORES, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -20.524
6. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -25.878
7. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), -25.939
8. Michael VD MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -26.075
9. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -27.253
10. Nico TEROL, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -28.666
11. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -41.038
12. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -41.983
13. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -42.961
14. Alex LOWES, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -43.057, ran off track
15. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4), -43.375
16. Christian PONSSON, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -59.139
17. Santiago BARRAGÁN, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -59.296
18. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (EBR 1190 RX), -76.004
19. Larry PEGRAM, USA (EBR 1190 RX), -93.714
20. Imre TOTH, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), -1 lap
21. Javier ALVIZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -11 laps, DNF, retired
22. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -13 laps, DNF, crash
23. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -14 laps, DNF, crash
24. Gabor RIZMAYER, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), DNS
World Championship Point Standings (After 6 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 140 points
2. Haslam, 114
3. Davies, 83
4. Sykes, 66
5. Torres, 63
6. Guintoli, 48
7. Terol, 41
8. Baiocco, 39
9. Mercado, 38
10. Lowes, 34
11. VD Mark, 28
12. Salom, 25
13. TIE, Fores/Camier, 21
15. Ramos, 16
16. TIE, De Puniet/Troy Bayliss, 15
18. Barrier, 10
19. Barragan, 8
20. Badovini, 7
21. Ponsson, 3
22. TIE, Pegram/Jed Metcher, 2
24. Canepa, 1
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Davies gives Ducati and the Panigale a historic win in race 2
Rea edges Haslam for second place while Sykes and Guintoli crash out of the encounter.
The second 18-lap race at MotorLand Aragon, run in much warmer conditions, was won by Briton Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), after a dominating performance. The Welshman led from turn one to build up a comfortable lead courtesy of a stellar race pace, eventually taking the flag for his fifth career win by 3.1 seconds. Davies last won a WorldSBK race at the Nürburgring in Germany in 2013, but his victory in Spain not only ended Ducati’s 58-race winning drought but also marked the first win for the Panigale R machine in the series.
Race 1 winner Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), suffering from a fever, battled hard throughout the whole race with former team mate Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), who looked much more at home in race 2 than he did in the earlier encounter. Second position would eventually go to Rea, thus extending his championship lead to 26 points, with Haslam taking the final place on the rostrum as the pair were split by just 0.5s at the chequered flag.
Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) took a well-earned fourth position, circulating more or less alone for the latter part of the race, the rookie looking pleased on his return to the pit box. Xavi Fores claimed another solid result on his debut weekend with the Aruba.it Ducati Superbike Team in fifth.
David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) completed the top-6 after overhauling Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati), Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) and Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati) in the final two laps.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was running fourth and looked comfortable before high-siding spectacularly on lap five. Reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) also fell at the fast turn 14 which ends the lap, the Frenchman was able to walk away.
Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) had another race to forget, the young English rider running off track in the early stages before recovering to salvage two points with a 14th place finish at the flag.
Chaz Davies #7 – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team
Race 1 – 2nd Race 2 – 1st
Twitter: @chazdavies
Instagram: @chazdavies7
Facebook: chazdavies7
“We’ve come close before now but today we finally did it! This has been my only goal since coming to Ducati and I’m very pleased to have achieved this result here. It’s extremely important to me, to be able to repay Ducati, Aruba and all of the ducatisti with the first win for the Panigale R. I know that everyone has been working tirelessly to obtain this result. Race 1 was also really enjoyable and I was happy with the podium but just disappointed with the position, as I really wanted the win. All in all, it’s been a fantastic day with results that I hope to repeat very soon.”
Jonathan Rea #65 – Kawasaki Racing Team
Race 1 – 1st Race 2 – 2nd
Twitter: @jonathanrea
Instagram: @jonathan_rea
Facebook: JonathanReaOfficial
“I did not expect to win here because Tom and Chaz are really fast riders and this is their best circuit. I need to just keep working hard like I have been. We had never worked with the SC0 tyre until this weekend but we had to today. We needed to because of the temperature range but I did not know how hard to push at the beginning of race 2. That was when Chaz made a gap to me. Race 1 was also difficult but I think I rode a clever race because the gap at the beginning was almost up to 1.5 seconds. It is clear Kawasaki has made a big step in the winter, so I am happy.”
Jordi Torres #81 – Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
Race 1 – 5th Race 2 – 4th
Twitter: @jorditorres81
Instagram: @jorditorres81
“These were two intense races. With the low temperatures we made a safe choice in terms of tyres and in fact, in the second part of the race we had a good pace. In Race 2 I used a few laps to adapt and that made me lose touch with the leaders. This is another difficulty of Superbike. Things can change a lot between the two races and it isn’t always easy to adapt. In any case we did a good job this weekend. I earned some important points but above all I am continuing to gain experience, learning the secrets of this category. I’ve even changed my riding style a lot and I just need to take that final step, but I am leaving Aragon with a good feeling.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Rea Wins Again As Sykes Podiums In Spain
Jonathan Rea (KRT) scored his fourth win of the season in race one at the Motorland Aragon circuit today, following that up with a second place to extend his previous championship lead. Tom Sykes (KRT) placed third in the first race, having led it for 12 laps, but was unfortunate to fall in the second 18-lap contest.
The first race of the day at Motorland Aragon was conducted on a cool track surface of 18°C with Sykes leading at the front as he prefers to, until he was passed first by his team-mate Rea and then Chaz Davies. He held on to third as Rea had to fight hard for his first win, fending of two attacks from Davies on the last lap to score full points.
The final overtaking attempt from Davies was rebuffed on the final long looping corner, as Rea held on to win by a narrow but definite 0.051 seconds. Sykes had posted the fastest lap of the race on lap two, a new record of 1’50.890 that would last the day, but slipped back to third as his rear tyre lost drive.
In a warmer race two Rea had to chase fast starting Davies for the whole distance and then hold off the attentions of Leon Haslam in the later stages. He took second place behind Davies but still extended his championship lead. Sykes’ fall on lap five prevented him from adding to his points score and he is now fourth in the rankings.
In the championship table after three rounds Rea is only ten points from perfect, with four wins and two second places giving him 140 points. Haslam has 114, Davies 83 and Sykes 66.
Assen is the next venue on the calendar, with the fourth round taking place next week, on Sunday 19 April.
Jonathan Rea: “I did not expect to win here because Tom and Chaz are really fast riders and this is their best circuit. So to finish with a first and second is a bit surreal. I need to just keep working hard like I have been and take stock of things. We have not had a result lower than second so far. We had never worked with the SC0 tyre until this weekend but we had to today. We needed to because of the temperature range but I did not know how hard to push at the beginning of race two. That was when Chaz made a gap to me. Race one was also difficult but I think I rode a clever race because the gap at the beginning was almost up to 1.5 seconds. So to close that down without abusing the tyre, and then keep some for the end, was hard work. It is clear Kawasaki has made a big step in the winter and we are really competitive, so I am happy.”
Tom Sykes: “I was happy enough with race one because we have come a long way since Thailand. I had a good start, a good middle of the race but towards the end we were not able to push the rear tyre as much as we wanted. I scored a podium in race one but in some ways at the moment we are having a bit of a bad run. I cannot beat myself up about it. I am OK after the crash in race two; I just took a big hit on my left side. It was a strange crash, very late on the exit of the corner so it caught me unaware. Not sure if it was all rider error right now or what. In the beginning of race two the lap times felt consistent and I was looking for a way past Leon and that was when there was a small mistake. We have a great circuit coming up next week at Assen and the plan is to make another step in a good direction.”
David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) entered the pits to retire in his first home race of the day but he scored a season best of sixth in race two. He is now 12th in the championship with 25 points. Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) placed 13th and then 12th at his home round in Spain.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
At Motorland Aragón, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team celebrates the first win for the Panigale R with a superb Chaz Davies!
Alcaniz (Spain), Sunday 12 April 2015 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) put together the perfect second race today at Motorland Aragón, scoring the very first win for the Panigale R in the Superbike World Championship. The factory rider was also on the podium in race 1, in second place. Two good races also for Javier Forés who obtained fifth and sixth position on his debut weekend with the Panigale R Superbike.
Race 1 – Dry but cool conditions for the first of the day’s races. Davies, second on the grid, was in second through the opening stages, just a few tenths behind leader Sykes. Towards mid-race a small mistake by the Welshman allowed Sykes and Rea to build a small gap ahead of him but, pushing hard, Davies made up the lost ground over the next few laps to put himself back in a position to fight for the race win in the later stages. On lap fourteen he got past Sykes, doing everything possible to pass Rea too in the last two laps. Unfortunately, and despite his best efforts, Chaz was unable to cross the line first but secured second position, separated by only 0.051 of a second from the race winner.
Forés started strongly from the second row and held fifth position for the first half of the race, positioned between Haslam and Torres. Part of the ‘second group’ together with the two Aprilias, the Spaniard gave it his all, moving up into fourth on lap nine. Due to a drop in tyre grip in the final stages, Forés unfortunately lost a little ground, concluding the race in sixth position, a solid result for his opening race of 2015.
Race 2 – Davies was extremely quick off the line and moved straight into the lead. During the first laps he worked hard to increase the gap between himself and the chasing pack. Chaz recorded the best lap of the race on lap four (1’51.156), after which his advantage over Rea continued to grow. Able to effectively manage tyre wear, Davies’ impressive pace never let up for a moment and he crossed the line in first place, 3.1 seconds ahead of Rea. This is the first win for Davies with the Ducati, as well as the first ever win for the Ducati Panigale R in the Superbike World Championship!
Forés also made a positive start to the second race. On lap five he was lying in fifth place, a position he was able to hold all the way to the line, thus improving on his race 1 performance and scoring good points in the process.
As this third championship round comes to a conclusion, and having accumulated a further 45 points today, Davies positions third with a total of 83 points. Forés lies thirteenth with 21 points. Ducati holds third in the manufacturer’s standings with 95 points.
Quotes after the races:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 2nd, winner
“We’ve come close before now but today we finally did it! This has been my only goal since coming to Ducati and I’m very pleased to have achieved this result here. It’s extremely important to me, to be able to repay Ducati, Aruba and all of the ducatisti with the first win for the Panigale R. I know that everyone has been working tirelessly to obtain this result. Race 1 was also really enjoyable and I was happy with the podium but just disappointed with the position, as I really wanted the win. I didn’t have a lot of opportunity to make passes but tried where I could in the final stages. I made a small mistake in the middle of the race, selecting an incorrect electronic setting on the bike and losing maybe a second to the Kawasakis but fortunately I was able to make it back up and push all the way to the line. All in all, it’s been a fantastic day with results that I hope to repeat very soon.”
Javier Forés (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #112) – 6th, 5th
“Seeing as these were my first races of 2015, and having not ridden a lot prior to this weekend, I can only be pleased about concluding in fifth and sixth place, also considering the high level of the championship. During the weekend we were able to make continuous improvement and so I’m pleased about that. Unfortunately in the race I was just lacking a little confidence from mid-race onwards on the used tyre. Now I cannot wait to move on to Assen, a track I really enjoy and that I know very well, and where I hope to make two strong races. Congratulations to Chaz on his great win.”
Ernesto Marinelli – Ducati SBK Project Director –
“Today is a really important day for us. The first win for the Panigale in World Superbike is a significant milestone that goes a long way towards repaying the great work carried out by all of the guys in Borgo Panigale who, with dedication, passion and commitment have worked tirelessly over these last two years without a victory. The first thank-you therefore goes to all of their hard work: “Well done”. Chaz was superb and in race 2 he rode perfectly to give us this first victory. He only just missed out in race 1 but in race 2 he won by a clear margin, demonstrating all of our bike’s potential as well as his great talent. The entire team has worked well, as ever, and Xavi’s results are also very positive. Now we must continue in the same direction to ensure that this is the first of many.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
APRILIA: LEON HASLAM FINISHES HIS WEEKEND AT MOTORLAND DE ARAGON ON THE PODIUM.
FIFTH AND FOURTH PLACE FOR TEAM MATE JORDI TORRES IN HIS HOME ROUND.
LORENZO SAVADORI SECOND IN HIS DÉBUT ON THE SUPERSTOCK RSV4 RF.
Alcaniz (Spain), 12 April 2015 – The weekend at Motorland de Aragon ended with a podium and confirmation of the Rider and Manufacturer second place overall standings for Team Aprilia Racing – Red Devils.
Leon Haslam, after winning Superpole yesterday, rode his RSV4 to a third place finish in Race 2 and just barely missed the podium in Race 1.
For the morning race the English rider had to deal with the rather low “feared” temperatures that he had already faced yesterday morning and which damaged tyre performance, keeping him from staying in contact with the lead pack. In the afternoon, on hotter tarmac, Leon started from the pole position he earned yesterday and played it safe on the first laps, starting to push and engaging in a heated battle with Rea. The gap between the two changed constantly, which is the sign of a fierce battle in which Haslam yielded only at the end, bringing home an excellent third place finish on a track that has never been particularly kind to him.
Leon Haslam: “I’m really happy about this podium. I knew that it wouldn’t be easy for us, both because of the low temperatures in Race 1 and because of the greater experience our rivals have on this track. In Race 2 we made a few small changes to the RSV4 but most of all the different conditions allowed us to be faster. I was disappointed not to have engaged in a close battle with Rea. I was faster than he was in a few spots of the track, but I lost ground in others. I’m confident as I look forward to the next rounds at Assen and Imola. They are two tracks that I like and our improvement this weekend is an excellent starting place. We know what our strong points are and race after race we are gathering fundamental data to improve. I’m sure that we’ll be able to take advantage of this experience over the rest of the season.”
Another solid race for Jordi Torres, who doesn’t seem in the least to feel his status as a rookie on the world champion bike. On his home track the Spaniard continued working hard to adapt to a new category and to fully comprehend how his RSV4 RF works. The fifth place finish in Race 1, but especially the fourth place in Race 2, shows his great consistency and growing familiarity with the Italian Superbike.
Jordi Torres: “These were two intense races. With the low temperatures we made a conservative choice in terms of tyres and in fact, in the second part of the race we had a good pace. The Race 2 conditions were much different. I used a few laps to adapt and that made me lose contact with the leaders. This is another difficulty of Superbike. Things can change a lot between the two races and it isn’t always easy to adapt. In any case we did a good job this weekend. I earned some important points but above all I am continuing to gain experience, learning the secrets of this category. I’ve even changed my riding style a lot and I just need to take that final step, but I am leaving Aragon with good sensations.”
SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP
Lorenzo Savadori and Team Nuova M2 Racing also brought home an excellent result in the Aprilia RSV4 RF’s début in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup race.
After leading the pack for the entire race the young Aprilia rider lost the top spot just a few metres from the wire. But with a second place at his début, and having shown an excellent level of competitiveness by taking pole position, he has definitely laid the foundation to be a top contender in the championship.
More, from a press release issued by Voltcom Crescent Suzuki:
Hard earned points for Voltcom Crescent Suzuki in Aragon electronics debut
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s Randy de Puniet and Alex Lowes overcame the weekend’s electronics issues to take 13th and 14th positions in the second race at Motorland Aragon in Spain today.
De Puniet showed consistently improving pace throughout the afternoon’s action, progressing from his 19th grid start to manoeuvre his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R to 12th by the sixth lap. The final stages of the day’s racing saw the Frenchman battle with Román Ramos (Go Eleven) swapping places a number of times before claiming 13th at the line.
Lowes laid his race one problems to rest with a great start in the second outing. However, an early engine brake control issue saw him run off at turn eight on the first lap and re-join at back of the pack. Head down, the British racer fought his way through nine riders to position his Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the points by lap 11. Exhibiting the speed and control that could have seen him fighting for sixth, Lowes battled bravely, coming home in 14th with two Championship points and an understanding of the potential to come.
The morning’s race was fraught with tension after a launch control error at the lights threatened to end Lowes’ race before it had begun. The weekend’s continuing electronics development returned both riders to the pits after five laps – while Lowes re-joined for the remainder of the race and continued to circulate evaluating the system and collecting valuable data, de Puniet was forced to retire after seven laps on track.
A dramatic last lap battle saw Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea clinch victory in race one by just 0.05 from Ducati’s Chaz Davies, the Welshman responding to the earlier battle by safely securing the race two victory with a three second margin.
Development of the GSX-R’s new Magneti Marelli system continues in earnest for Voltcom Crescent Suzuki as the team heads directly from Spain to the Netherlands for the fourth round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship taking place at Assen’s ‘Cathedral of Speed ‘on Sunday 19th April
Randy de Puniet:
“We knew it was going to be a very difficult weekend, but maybe I didn’t expect how difficult! We have learnt many things, the first race the bike was impossible to ride, with too many technical problems – I pulled in three times to try to solve them but eventually we had to stop. For the second race we decided to change the strategy completely and although it was far from perfect it was much better. I finished 13th but was close to 11th, so maybe there was potential for more. We are still far from where we want to be and we need to find the solution quickly, so we will see in Assen how far we can advance. My thanks to the team for their effort during a difficult weekend, I gave my best and so did they. Now it is time to take the information gained and improve for the next race.”
Alex Lowes:
“There is no getting away from how difficult it has been this weekend, I did my best today and I really don’t feel I could have done a lot more. There’s no point explaining the problems we’ve had with the new system but I’m frustrated, both for me and the whole team, as the guys have shown so much commitment to moving this project forward but it just wasn’t to be this weekend. I’m still convinced that we will have a more competitive bike when it’s all dialled in and when we’re challenging for podiums again, whenever that may be, it will make the work we’ve done this weekend feel even more worthwhile.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“We had hoped to make good progress over the course of the weekend with the new Magneti Marelli system but unfortunately in terms of outright potential that wasn’t the case. We have definitely learnt a lot and we will have a much better base for Assen in a week’s time but after Assen we are going to need a significant amount of detailed development to get back to where we were, and then to progress and exploit the full potential of the new system.
“Alex honestly made the bike look better than it was and did an incredible job under the circumstances. His pace for the last ten laps of race two was faster than the sixth place finisher – which given the problems he was encountering on track reaffirms the potential of the package and gives us confidence that we will be able to recover well when things are right.
“I would like to also thank Randy for his patience and his efforts this weekend, at least both riders seeing the chequered flag and scoring points in the second race was an outcome we can build on.
“It was great to see all the guests from Tyco Security Products here in Aragon this weekend and I would like to also thank Suzuki and Title Sponsors Voltcom for their supportive attitude during this process. We will improve and we look forward to putting the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki back into the fight with the front group as soon as possible.”
More, from a press elease issued by Pata Honda:
Tough day in the office for Pata Honda duo
The third-round of the World Superbike championship this weekend has been a challenging outing for Michael van der Mark and Sylvain Guintoli at Aragon, Spain.
Over the weekend the team strived to improve and find the optimum setting for the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP around the 5.077km circuit.
In the first of two 18-lap races, van der Mark was forced to retire due to a small technical problem on the tenth lap. The second race saw the SBK rookie make a gallant attack moving up from his starting grid position in 11th to sixth place, but on the last lap had to settle with eighth.
Meanwhile van der Mark’s teammate Sylvain Guintoli finished race one within the top-ten taking ninth place after making his way forward from his qualifying position in 14th. During the second installment he had made his way up to tenth but crashed out of the running on the sixth lap after loosing the front.
The team will now take and analyse all the data collected from each session this weekend in preparation for its home race at Assen, the Netherlands next weekend 17-19 April.
Michael van der Mark – DNF 8th
I felt quite confident going into race one today, but I knew I had some work to do starting from 11th. My lap times were getting better and better and I was improving on each lap, but unfortunately we had a small technical problem, which meant I had to finish the race early. Race two was better, I managed to get up to speed quickly and move further forward towards the front. I’m happy to leave here with some points and we now have some work to do before Assen next weekend, where I hope we have some better results.
Sylvain Guintoli – 9th DNF
This weekend we have been working hard to find the right settings for the Fireblade around this circuit, which hasn’t been easy. I think in race two I could have challenged for sixth position but I got a little hungry and lost the front, which resulted in me crashing out unfortunately. It’s not normally something that happens to me, but sometimes it does and you have to learn from it. The guys have collected a lot of data from this round and will be working towards finding solutions for Michael and myself to get the results we all want.
Pieter Breddels
Aragon has been a bit of a challenge for us as we have tried to find the optimum setting for the CBR1000RR and we knew that both races would be difficult. In race one Sylvain got off to a good start immediately going into the top-ten and finished the race ninth. Michael recovered his start well and was building good momentum and producing lap times that could match the guys in front of him. Unfortunately after ten-laps he had a small technical issue with the bike, which forced him out of the race. In race two Sylvain had a crash after loosing the front, which ended his weekend. For Michael it was a lot better, he fought all throughout the race to get into sixth position but on the very last lap had to settle for eighth. Both riders rode well all weekend but there is a gap at the front, which we now have to go back and an alyse and think how we can close this, and get closer to the action.
More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing:
Aragon – Althea Racing races
Aragon (Spain) 12 April 2015
The third round of the Superbike World Championship concludes positively for Team Althea Racing, that just misses the Superstock 1000 podium with Raffaele De Rosa while bringing home more important points for the standings in Superbike.
The first European round, here at Motorland de Aragon, finishes with Nico Terol scoring seventh and tenth place, and Matteo Baiocco closing thirteenth and eleventh in the World Superbike races.
Having started race 1 well, Nico lost precious time passing some of his rivals but was able to maintain strong lap times for the entire race, which allowed him to make up almost all of the time lost and conclude race 1 in seventh place, just outside the top five. In race 2 he found himself battling for fifth place, passing both Vd Mark and Mercado but then making a mistake which caused him to go long. Having lost contact as a result, he wasn’t able to catch up, closing in tenth position.
Nico Terol: “This weekend I have taken further small steps forward in terms of finding the right feeling. I can’t say I’m totally happy, especially with race 2, where fourth position was well within my reach. Unfortunately I went long while trying to pass Vd Mark and after that I couldn’t make up the lost ground. I’m sorry because the team did a great job, but now I’m already thinking about Assen where I hope to score the results we deserve.”
Matteo was unable to resolve the grip issues that have bothered him all weekend and that, in race 1, didn’t allow him to do better than thirteenth. He improved in race 2, where he found better feeling with his Ducati and just missed out on the top ten with a good eleventh place finish. More useful points and further steps forward ahead of the next races scheduled to take place already next weekend at Assen (The Netherlands).
Matteo Baiocco: “I’m a bit disappointed because I haven’t been able to find a solution to the grip problems I’ve had this weekend. I went a little better in race 2 although I struggled to keep pace with those ahead of me. In the end the points are always useful for the standings, but my potential, and that of the bike, means we should be fighting with the best. In Assen we’ll start over with the aim of doing well at a track I enjoy and where I think we can do well.”
The Superstock 1000 went very well, with our riders completing a great race. Raffaele de Rosa only just missed out on the podium with an excellent performance that saw him fighting for the first positions right until the end. He lost a little time at the start, losing a few positions as a result, and then suffered tyre wear as he battled to make up for the time lost early on, but despite this he still found himself fighting for the podium, finishing in eventual fourth position.
Raffaele De Rosa: “Today was the first race in our series and I didn’t make a perfect start, losing a few positions. I then found good pace and from mid-race I could have done more but I had worn the tyres a little much while trying to close the gap to the leader. Although I made a few mistakes at the end I was almost able to reach the podium. I’m pleased because the bike has good potential and from the next race we will try to aim for first place, which is clearly within our reach.”
A rather unlucky race for Luca Salvadori who is riding in the 1000 class for the first time. At the start he had to avoid riders who had suffered a crash, returning to the track in last place. After regaining his pace, he made up position after position before finally crossing the line fifteenth. A first championship point for Luca, who will travel to Holland with more motivation after a weekend of improvement at the Spanish circuit.
Luca Salvadori: “I was a little unlucky because I found myself caught up in a group of riders who crashed at the start. I managed to get around them but then returned to the track in last position. I made pass after pass to reach 15th place. It’s ok for my first race in this category, but now I’ll focus in order to arrive at Assen next week in the best possible condition.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hero EBR:
Round Three Race – Motorland Aragon, Spain 10-12th April 2015
Conditions: Dry
Larry Pegram and Niccolò Canepa made progress with their Hero EBR 1190 RX machines at Motorland Aragon today, with Canepa recording his first point for his new team in an FIM Superbike World Championship race.
After a tough time in the previous round Motorland Aragon went much more to plan, with Canepa into Superpole in practice and then taking 15th place in race one; 18th in race two.
The Italian rider made set-up changes between races, to try and handle what were much higher track temperatures than in race one (up from 18°C to 32°C), but the revised settings did not help his quest for more points.
Pegram simply felt the effects of not quite enough track time to make the most of the 18-lap races in Spain, with the undulating 5.077km circuit providing the American rider with a tough challenge to overcome. He scored two race finishes, in 17th and 19th.
In the championship rankings Pegram is 22nd with two points from the first round in Australia, while Canepa enters the points ranking in 24th spot.
A quick European turnaround means that the next round takes place one week from now, at the classic and flowing Assen circuit in the Netherlands. Raceday will be on Sunday 19th April.
Larry Pegram “Overall, we cannot be happy with our positions but for the team to finish both races with both riders and have no issues, we can move onto the next race and start to improve. We got our feet back under us after Thailand and now it is time to go out and try to go faster. Nick got into the points in race one and he finished the races with no problem. I am feeling the effects of not knowing the tracks. That is no excuse, but for me it takes a little longer to learn them. I enjoyed the races although I was just a little bit off.”
Niccolò Canepa “We reached our targets here this weekend and we are quite happy about that, but now we have to be focused on development to get faster. We have improved for sure but we want to better and to be more consistently in the points. Maybe Assen and Imola will be better – Assen because of the track layout and Imola because I always liked it and I have always gone well there. I think I can push harder at these rounds. I am not 100% satisfied here because we always want to make better results but I got my first point with this bike and for now that is enough.”