Test concludes at Misano for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team ahead of the second Italian round of the year

To better prepare for the second Italian round of the 2017 WorldSBK Championship, scheduled for June 16-18 in Misano, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team held a two-day test on the track titled to Marco Simoncelli together with several other teams from the production-based series.

Both Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri tried several setup configurations, getting a head start with the work before the official sessions begin. The second day of testing concluded at 1 p.m. local time (CET) so that the paddock could be set up for another event taking place this weekend. The team will resume action at Misano on Friday, June 16th, for the first free-practice session.

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)

“It was a pretty good test. We got through a detailed program of lists to try. Even without major upgrades, we had some small but important things to try. We focused on chassis balance, riding many laps. Our consistency and overall pace on race tyres was good, I slipped off on the qualifying tyre in the last corner but everything is OK. The weather conditions were really hot, with about 50 degrees on the tarmac, and it was important to lay down a good base since the weather should be similar during the race weekend. We just need to put a few things together from the data collected in the last couple of tests. I’m looking forward to race in front the Italian fans again.”

Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33)

“We can only be partially happy, I expected something more from these tests. We tried several setup configurations to improve the stability of the rear under acceleration while upshifting, and things have improved to this end. However, we’re still struggling under braking to get the bike to stop and turn. I don’t have the necessary confidence to push as hard as I’d like with the front yet. We found something interesting in the final hours, but we couldn’t explore that setup further because we ran out of time. We’ll try to restart from there during FP1 at Misano. I’m confident we’ll soon be able to make strides.”

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team:

Private test at Misano ends for Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team

The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team has completed a two-day private test at the Misano World Circuit with Stefan Bradl and test rider Michele Magnoni, in preparation for the seventh round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship, which takes place at the same venue in three weekend’s time.

Bradl and Magnoni completed a significant number of laps around the 4.226km Italian circuit, which was blessed with summer weather conditions and high temperatures. The two riders evaluated new items and settings for the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2, including a new fuel tank, new swingarm and updated electronic settings. The test drew to a close today, Thursday 1 June, at 1pm.

Stefan Bradl 6

We did quite a few laps during this test and tried many things, which gave us a lot of information our team and technical partners can work on during this little break between now and the next race. We focused much of our attention to the throttle connection and driveability of the engine, which is still our priority at the moment, so we hope that things will improve on this side for the next round. We have also tried the new fuel tank and that turned out to be an improvement in terms of riding position, and evaluated the new swingarm, but we didn’t have enough time to test it properly. Overall, there’s still work to do, but we’ve ticked quite a few boxes here at Misano.

Pieter Breddels

This was an important test, but we wished we still had a bit more time, given the second and final day was over at 1pm. Stefan and Michele tried many different things and, even if there is still a lot of work to do in many areas, at least we were able fully to identify the things we needed to act on most urgently. We have found an initial set-up for the next round, although it won’t be a head start as almost all top teams were here testing with us. Anyway, we still have a couple of weeks before the next race, so we hope to make the most of them and be ready for Misano. I want to thank Michele Magnoni for helping us through the many items we had to test and for his comments. In effect he was pre-testing many things before Stefan, so that took some weight off Bradl’s shoulders.

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Strong KRT Test Session In Hot Conditions

Soon after the most recent WorldSBK round at Donington Park last weekend Kawasaki Racing Team duo Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea were on track again testing with the Ninja ZX-10RR at the Misano World Circuit in Italy, on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

This was not scheduled as a performance test for new parts or major developments but mostly preparation for what is expected to be a hot and hard fought weekend at the largely flat circuit near the Adriatic coast.

Lap times were strong from each KRT rider at Misano, as was their overall race pace, as they made extensive tests in the summer conditions they expect to encounter during race weekend itself later this month.

The bright sunshine at the test did not disappoint in providing a hot track surface on which to try out bike set-up options for real race conditions.

In terms of setting their best lap times at the test each rider used both race and qualifying tyres, with Sykes doing a 1’34.2 on a race tyre, and Rea a 1’34.4. On a Q tyre Tom set a 1’33.6 and Rea posted a 1’33.9.

Track action was completed on the second and final day at 13.00, as the track was required for another event, but with a full day of action recorded on Wednesday the entire KRT squad feels fully ready to meet the challenges Misano will pose again soon.

The popular 4.226km long Misano venue will host the next round of the WorldSBK championship, with racedays on 17th and 18th June.

Tom Sykes, stated: “In a nutshell we had some good weather and put a lot of laps in. I think I did 103 laps on Wednesday and 55 on Thursday. We put a lot into it and had some good results. I had a little look at trying to improve single lap pace and we really covered a lot of parameters. I am very happy with our speed in Misano. Our speed in Donington was fantastic so we are trying to build on that momentum and trying to turn our season around. At Aragon, Assen and Imola my physical condition was terrible, at Donington it was almost better and now I feel slightly more settled yet again. That reflects in doing over 100 laps on Wednesday at a strong pace – then taking two cappuccinos for breakfast, a quick stretch, and I was straight back into it again today. A big thanks to Marcel, Danilo, Mattia, Tambu, Raul and Ruben because those guys were flat out in Donington – and then straight after they changed engines and set-up, put the bikes in the truck and a day or so later they are in Misano prepping the bike for me. So they definitely deserve applause.”

Jonathan Rea, stated: “It was a valuable test and the weather was amazing on both days, meaning we were able to complete a lot of laps. We had no new items to confirm so we used the time evaluating different chassis balance set-ups and gathering a lot of information which will be useful in future races. It seemed that the track was in great shape and we were able to be fast with various set ups, so our bike is working in a larger window than previous visits to Misano. All in all, I really enjoyed riding the bike and we have been super-consistent so I’m excited to return to race in a few weeks. I would like to thanks all my crew for working so hard under hot conditions.”

Marcel Duinker, Crew Chief for Tom Sykes, stated: “This was a very good test. In Donington at the last round Tom had the speed to win the races and we continued that pace on into Misano. The track was in very good condition and the grip was high but the temperature was over 50°C. Consistency was also impressive. We made some changes to the chassis only necessary to adapt from Donington to Misano, so this test was just t make preparations for the Misano race. We are ready and looking forward to the race weekend. The lap times were good even though we are never focused on leaving these tests with the fastest lap times but Tom set a 1’34.2 on a race tyre and on a qualifying tyre he did a 1’33.6, and without any stress or pressure.”

Pere Riba, Crew Chief for Jonathan Rea, stated: “We focused on setting up the bike for the Misano race in two weeks. It was good because the track conditions were good and the track temperature was 50-51-52°C. In the morning when it was cooler we had different conditions to understand the bike for Superpole or another earlier practice session. So we could simulate race weekend. Jonathan felt good on the bike, as usual and was very strong on new tyres and used tyres. Overall it has been a very positive test.”