Destination California: the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team ready to race at Laguna Seca with Davies and Melandri
After leaving Brno (Czech Republic) with two podium finishes, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is ready to resume action at Laguna Seca (United States) for the eighth round of the 2018 WorldSBK Championship. On the iconic California track, the Panigale R won in three occasions with Chaz Davies, who took the most recent win in Race 1 in 2017, just three weeks after sustaining a back injury at Misano. Marco Melandri, who was unluckily penalized by a technical problem in Race 2 at Brno after showing the fastest pace, also took a victory at Laguna Seca in 2014.
Both Davies and Melandri are keen to make the most of their chemistry with the track to reclaim the top step of the podium and reduce the gap in the rankings, where they currently sit in second (205 points) and fifth (157 points) position respectively. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will be back on track Friday, June 22nd, at 09:45 local time (CET -9) for the first free-practice session, while the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team will not take part, as planned, to the overseas round and will be back at Misano.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“Competing at Laguna Seca is always a fun challenge. It’s a tough track, with a lot of technical parts to it. Camber and elevation change quite a lot, there are fast corners and hairpins, and obviously the ‘Corkscrew’ itself. It’s hard to set the bike up right, because you want stability but also agility, so you need to find a good compromise. I think it suits my style, I really enjoy riding there and I’m looking forward to getting back on the Panigale R to build on what we found at Brno and aim for even better results.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33)
“I’m very happy to ride at Laguna Seca. The place itself is gorgeous and, despite the fact that a technical problem in Race 2 at Brno probably deprived us of a great result, I think that as a team we’re in great shape. We learned many things and I believe we can be really fast. It’s the right track for us to bounce back. The United States always gave me positive vibes, so I can’t wait to hop back on the Panigale R and fight at the top, as we’ve shown we’re capable of doing.”
Circuit information
Country: U.S.A.
Name: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Length: 3.610 km
Corners: 11 (7 left, 4 right)
Pole position: right
Race distance: 25 laps/90.250 km
RECORDS
Fastest lap: Sykes (Kawasaki), 1:21.811 (158,850 km/h) – 2014
Circuit record: Rea (Kawasaki), 1:23.275 (156,060 km/h) – 2017
Superpole: Sykes (Kawasaki), 1:21.811 (158,850 km/h) – 2014
2017 RESULTS
Race 1: Davies (Ducati), Rea (Kawasaki), Sykes (Kawasaki)
Race 2: Rea (Kawasaki), Sykes (Kawasaki), Davies (Ducati)
Rider information
Chaz Davies
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 7
Age: 31 (Born 10/02/1987 in Knighton, Wales)
SBK races: 166
SBK wins: 29
SBK podiums: 75
Marco Melandri
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 33
Age: 35 (Born 07/08/1982 in Ravenna, Italy)
SBK races: 142
SBK wins: 22
SBK podiums: 67
Weekend schedule (CET -9):
Friday (June 22nd)
09:45 – 10:45 SBK FP1
12:30 – 13:10 SBK FP2
16:05 – 16:45 SBK FP3
Saturday (June 23rd)
09:00 – 09:20 SBK FP4
11:00 – 11:15 SBK Superpole 1
11:25 – 11:40 SBK Superpole 2
14:00 SBK Race 1
Sunday (June 24th)
10:30 – 10:45 SBK Warm-up
14:00 SBK Race 2