Motul FIM Superbike World Championship

Motorland Aragon

Alcaniz, Spain

April 15, 2018

Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale R), 18 laps, Total Race Time 33:29.519, Best Lap Time 1:51.101

2. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -1.184 seconds, 1:51.200

3. Marco Melandri, Italy (Duc Panigale R), -4.584, 1:51.048

4. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -10.251, 1:51.366

5. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), -10.687, 1:51.469

6. Tom Sykes, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -13.729, 1:51.767

7. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc Panigale R), -14.819, 1:51.489

8. Jordi Torres, Spain (MV Agusta F4 RC), -15.215, 1:51.905

9. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR), -19.812, 1:51.755

10. Lorenzo Savadori, Italy (Apr RSV4 RF), -20.272, 1:51.899

11. Roman Ramos, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), -25.604, 1:51.875

12. Jake Gagne, USA (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -25.745, 1:51.996

13. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), -27.973, 1:52.031

14. PJ Jacobsen, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP2), -28.469, 1:51.956

15. Loris Baz, France (BMW S1000RR), -32.094, 1:52.145

16. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (Kaw ZX-10RR), -32.113, 1:52.062

17. Ondrej Jezek, Czech Republic (Yam YZF-R1), -56.590, 1:53.612

18. V. Leonov, Russia (Kaw ZX-10RR), -83.992, 1:53.735

19. Davide Giugliano, Italy (Apr RSV4 RF), -1 lap, pitted, 1:52.427

20. Xavi Fores, Spain (Duc Panigale R), -11 laps, DNF, crash, 1:51.238

21. Leon Camier, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), DNS

World Championship Point Standings (after 6 of 26 races):

1. Rea, 114 points

2. Davies, 102

3. Melandri, 96

4. Fores, 76

5. Lowes, 70

6. Van Der Mark, 67

7. Sykes, 63

8. Camier, 42

9. Razgatlioglu, 32

10. Baz, 27

11. Ramos, 23

12. Torres, 22

13. Savadori, 18

14. TIE, Rinaldi/Gagne, 17

16. TIE, Laverty/Mercado, 16

18. Jacobsen, 10

19. Giugliano, 3

20. Jezek, 1

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

Gagne secures double point finish with twelfth place in Aragón Race 2

Aragón Round

MotorLand Aragón, Spain

A hard-fought twelfth place for Jake Gagne ensured a double points finish at the Aragón WorldSBK round, the American rider continuing his progress on the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 for his best weekend yet in the WorldSBK championship.

Starting from thirteenth position on the grid, Gagne had a storming start to make up multiple positions and settled into tenth place at the end of the first lap. Fighting hard to secure the first top-ten finish of his WorldSBK career, Gagne set a competitive pace in the middle stage of the race and in the final laps enjoyed a close battle with Kawasaki rider Román Ramos, with Gagne crossing the finish line in P12 just 0.1 seconds behind his Spanish competitor.

Gagne was the sole rider for the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team in Race 2 due to the injury his team mate Leon Camier sustained in Race 1 and by securing another point-scoring finish, Gagne moves up a place in the riders classification into fifteenth overall with 17 points after three rounds. Camier is in eighth place in the standings with 42 points.

The next WorldSBK round is the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team’s home race at the Assen Circuit in the Netherlands next weekend.

Jake Gagne 45

We made a couple of changes in Warm Up this morning that I was really happy with which helped me a lot, particularly in braking. With those changes made I was confident heading into the race and I got a great start and slotted into tenth place on the first lap and found a good rhythm. The Fireblade was working really well and I could hold a good pace throughout the race, but in the last few laps I struggled a bit with rear grip so at that point I just focused on keeping my position. Overall I’m really happy from this weekend as I got points in both races and made progress with the bike so it’s a good way to head into Assen next weekend.

Kervin Bos

Team Manager

Today we saw another solid performance from Jake, fighting in the top ten and then managing his race well to finish in twelfth place. Jake scored points in both races this weekend and stepped up his performance for his best weekend so far in WorldSBK. We head to Assen next week and it’s a circuit that Jake knows well so hopefully his good result this weekend will give him momentum as we head into a busy part of the season. We also had some good news from Leon, who is leaving hospital in Alcaniz today and is heading home to Andorra so we wish him all the best and will continue to monitor his recovery.

More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:

Bitter end in Spain, Forés crashes out while he was the leader

Alcañiz, 15th April 2018. It was a bitter end for Barni Racing team and his rider at Motorland Aragon circuit, third round of MOTUL FIM World SBK. Xavi Forés crashed out while it was at the front with local in delirium hoping to see him on the podium once again. After being third yesterday Forés had a fantastic start from the third row and he was third after the first lap. Than he overtake Van der Mark and stated to follow the Ducati’s factory rider Melandri. Forès moved him down with a fantastic brake at turn 1 and toke the lead. As yesterday succeeded he rode at the front with a consistent pace while behind him Rea and Davies were coming. After four more lap a crash happened. In the last turn Forés lost adherence at the front and went on the gravel. Fans gave him a standing ovation ads well while he was coming at the box with a scooter.

After three podium in five race a “zero” arrived for the Barni Racing team and his rider. With his 76 points Forés remained fourth in the overall standings, six more than Lowes, but now he is 20 points far from third, Melandri.

The calendar provide an immediately opportunity to revenge for the team from Bergamo which will travel directly to Assen, where next week the Superbike Championship will be on track once again.

Marco Barnabò, Principal Manager

“Obviously I’m very sad for the crash but we don’t have regrets. Xavi did a fantastic start and his gain was right. He was riding as well as yesterday, he felt the victory not far and he tried to catch it. The behaviour is correct and the most important thing is that the crash has not consequence for him. Even if we did a “zero” we are now confident to be competitive and working hard as well”.

Xavi Forés, #12

“I’ve lost the front after the brake, but I don’t know why. I did nothing different from others laps but something happened. Well, when you try to be at the front and you push hard you could be slide out, It’s race. It was a pity because I would like to do another podium in front of my fans, luckily next week we are on track once again. I want to forget today and start immediately to think at Assen”.

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea Second And Championship Leader

Jonathan Rea (KRT) added to his race one WorldSBK victory at Motorland Aragon with a second place today in race two, to extend his championship lead to 12 points. Tom Sykes (KRT) had a tough afternoon and finished sixth in the second race of a busy weekend.

With three riders eventually competing for the second race victory in Spain Rea continued to pressurise eventual winner Chaz Davies on the final lap, after Marco Melandri had suddenly dropped back to a distant third.

Rea was to run wide into the entry of the chicane at turn 12 and lose his chance to attack Davies on the long final corner. Rea was just 1.184 seconds back at the flag, for his fourth podium finish of the 2018 season.

In warmer and sunnier conditions today than Saturday, the small advantages that Rea felt had helped him win race one were reduced a little. He also had to fight his way forward in the first lap from a third row starting position, under the reverse grid rules that operate for race two.

He is now 12 points clear of Davies in the championship table, with arguably Jonathan’s favourite round at Assen coming up in just a few days time.

For Tom Sykes a change in weather and a front row starting position did not help him overcome an unlucky start and he was ninth after one lap. He worked his way back to sixth at the flag, despite experiencing issues with turning in the longer corners. Tom is seventh in the championship after Aragon.

The next round of the championship will take place at Assen next weekend, with races on 21st and 22nd April.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “I threw everything into the last lap but I overcooked it into turn 12. But it was fun! The set-up was pretty good, although I was struggling to stop a little bit after the rear tyre had dropped in grip; then I had reduced corner entry traction. It seemed like Chaz had the same thing but when he was making mistakes he could keep the same lap time. It seems like right now we have to be very precise all through the race, but I enjoyed it today. I had no information on how the race would pan out with the tyre choice we made, and the rise in temperature. I did not know what to expect at the end but I was really happy. I had some good tyre left and was still able to fight. Now we move onto Assen.”

Tom Sykes, stated: “I am really suffering with turning the bike and it is a shame. We are good in some areas but overall, in the long corners, I really suffered in turning and finishing off the corner. It is disappointing but I suppose it has been one of those weekends. We never got the answer and the race set-up. I am surprised at this because on Friday we had something but obviously everybody else has improved and we didn’t. I had some limit on the front tyre but overall we just missed a little bit of turning and I was not able to utilise the full grip from the rear tyre because of this. Today I could not get much more from myself and I am disappointed for this.”

More, from a press release issued by Gulf Althea Racing:

A complicated day for Gulf Althea BMW at Aragon

Alcaniz (Spain), Sunday 15 April 2018

The third round of the Superbike world championship concluded today at Motorland Aragón in Spain. In the SBK category, the Gulf Althea BMW Racing team finished fifteenth with Loris Baz while, in the Superstock 1000 category, rookie Alessandro Delbianco unfortunately suffered a crash.

Superbike – Race 2 – having started 19th on the grid, Baz unfortunately lost time in the initial stages, caught up in the middle of a small group, from which he struggled to break away and catch the group up ahead. Oscillating between 16th and 18th position, the Frenchman was able to make up a little in the final phase, crossing the line in fifteenth place to score one championship point.

Superstock 1000 Race – from tenth on the grid, Delbianco got away well, seventh and then sixth already through the first corners. Unfortunately, the young Italian was unable to finish even his first lap, crashing out at turn 13. Getting straight back up, Alessandro tried to continue with his race but sadly it was not possible, and he returned to the pits minutes later.

After this third championship round, Baz positions tenth in the rider standings with 27 points while Delbianco is yet to score points, today’s Stock1000 race his first. BMW lies sixth in the SBK manufacturer’s classification with 27 points.

Loris Baz:

“Not an easy day. My start wasn’t as good as yesterday and a contact with Leonov put me back to last place. I made a couple of other mistakes too and, though I kept trying to fight back, we were just too far off the pace. It’s a pity; yesterday I felt that I did quite well, after making a good start I was able to do my best, while today there were too many mistakes. I will now analyse all the information we have and we’ll see what we can do next weekend at Assen.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:

#AragonWorldSBK Day 3 – Davies dazzles field with seventh Aragon win

Davies and Rea switch positions from yesterday’s race with electrifying final third battle

Davies took a comfortable lead in the final race of the weekend

There are very few certainties in the WorldSBK calendar – but a Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) battle at MotorLand Aragon seems as close as you can get. In a repeat of last year’s Aragon Round, the two leading riders of the championship clashed sensationally in the final laps, with the Welshman avoiding a first Rea double of the season and taking his second win of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, and a record seventh around the Aragon bends.

Davies now moves into second place in the Championship standings, just 12 points away from Rea. Behind them, Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) completes the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati pursuit on 96 points, after taking third in the Spanish Race 2.

The race start was similar to yesterday’s affair. Again, it was Rea sticking amongst the Ducatis at the front, with the Panigale R showing incredible pace at the Alcañiz circuit. This time it was Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) and Melandri heading the early laps, with a calculating Rea waiting behind.

Just one mistake is enough for the reigning champion to pounce, and as it happened there were two. First a wobble from Melandri (who has had some worrying difficulties controlling the bike throughout the weekend, despite showing very good rhythm) allowed Rea to move up to second. Fores, looking for his first win in front of his passionate local fans, held his provisional lead well under Rea’s pressure – until Lap 9, when his front-end gave in and left the Spaniard on the floor, leaving way for what seemed to be becoming a trademark Rea double.

But, with one Ducati rider leaving the leading group, in came another. Chaz Davies didn’t have the amazing start he did in Race 1, but quietly he benefitted from the action at the front to creep up to Rea and Melandri, picking off the Yamahas along the way. He was too far back to greatly trouble Rea in yesterday’s Race 1, his Superpole 2 slip a disadvantage too large to overcome. But on Sunday, with five laps to go and having already overcome his teammate, he got past the Northern Irishman. With the pair coming in close into the final lap and ready for a photo finish, Rea went wide in the middle sector, handing Davies a phenomenal win.

Behind them, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) came in fourth and fifth, respectively, the Dutchman unable to take advantage of his front row start despite leading in Lap 1.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) suffered a nightmare race off the grid, falling from third to eighth at the first turn, with Davies in ninth passing him shortly after. The Brit fought back to sixth at the checkered flag, but will be disappointed at his results throughout the weekend after two front-row starts.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) came in one better after his debut yesterday, finishing seventh and as the lead independent rider. Behind him Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) came back strongly from yesterday’s crash with Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), ending the race eighth and pleasing the home fans. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Savadori completed the top ten, in ninth and tenth respectively, with the other local rider Roman Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki) finishing eleventh.

P1 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“Lucky no.7! It was a good fight for it as well, really I dug in, I didn’t feel great in the early laps, I was trying to learn the bike. There was a lot going through my mind, I wanted to stake my time and stay patient. I had to force a lot of the passes, I am so glad to pull it off, lucky no.7 and roll on Assen.”

P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“It was a really fun race, Chaz was really strong and it was all I could to today. They were making a lot of mistakes but if they were making the mistakes they were fine, but if I was making a mistake I couldn’t make the time back up. I was sing the first to sectors as my strongest pints, I’m really happy with this weekend and to come out of here extending the lead is nice so thanks to my KRT team.”

P3 – Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“It was very difficult, the speed is there but every time I tried to pass someone the bike is shaking so bad. On the last lap I tried to pass but the rear brake went down so I settled for third. Its a shame because I know I have the speed to fight for the win.”

More, from a press release issued by Honda Pro Racing: 

Jacobsen and Triple M Honda fight back to score points in Aragón

Aragón Round

MotorLand Aragón, Spain

The first European round for the Triple M Honda World Superbike team was only their third since joining the WorldSBK series with their rider PJ Jacobsen. The American scored points in race two today at Aragón for 14th place, after just missing out with 16th in race one on Saturday.

After two rounds of strong showings in Australia and Thailand the rookie team amassed more combined knowledge and experience at the 5.077km long Motorland Aragon circuit, despite their preparations being hampered at times by some wet track surfaces on Friday.

PJ qualified 17th in Superpole in what was the first race for all Honda WorldSBK riders to use the Magneti Marelli electronic system that the Triple M squad has been pioneering in the opening rounds.

Former WorldSSP contender Jacobsen’s race one 16th place came on a day of cool weather and track conditions and without an optimal set up. The dry race was red flagged and restarted over 17 laps. In a warmer and sunnier Sunday race two, with better settings on his CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2, PJ improved to 14th, finishing ahead of five riders. He now sits 18th in the championship on 10 points after six races across three rounds.

In only a few days the team will recommence track action, at the classic Assen circuit in the Netherlands, between 20th and 22nd April.

PJ Jacobsen 99

It may not look like it on TV, or on paper, but we are making progress and learning. Friday was not good for anybody because of the loss of track time due to the weather. For us, being a new team this year, and me not having ridden a Superbike here at Aragon, it was quite difficult to jump in and get everything together. We just need to stay positive and keep working on our settings for the bike in readiness for the next round in Assen.

Manuel Cappelletti

Team Manager

Our weekend was not so bad. We had some issues on Saturday but we fixed it all today and PJ could challenge for points in Race 2 so we look forward for Assen next week, where our target is to do better. For this weekend the other Honda team in the paddock the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team switched to the same Magneti Marelli electronics system as us which will help our future development. Of course, we are doing our race and they are doing theirs, but having all Honda CBR1000RR machines on the same base system will be of mutual benefit as the season progresses.

More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Aprilia:

Savadori takes points honours for Milwaukee Aprilia in Race 2 at Aragon

Motorland Aragon 15 / 04 / 2018

Race 2 Report

Lorenzo Savadori scored the points for Milwaukee Aprilia in Race 2 at Aragon with P10 as teammate Davide Giugliano was forced to pit for tyres

Starting P12 and P14 respectively after a tough Race 1 on Saturday, Lorenzo and Davide were optimistic for a stronger finish on Sunday and delivered impressive performances in morning warm up to finish P7 and P8.

Lorenzo held on to his starting position at the start, fighting with Torres and Gagne to make up places. He passed Gagne on Lap 7 for P11, and moved to P10 after a crash for Fores ahead. From there he was stuck in the midfield and struggled with set up issues on his bike that persisted from Race 1, on top of the pain from his healing collarbone. His race pace was strong however and looked fast enough to fight Sykes for P6, but the pack ahead held him back and he had to ultimately settle for 6 points in P10 less than 0.5s behind P9.

Davide struggled with front tyre grip from the start of the race, the hotter temperatures not favouring the Aprilia in race conditions. On Lap 7 he made the decision to pit for fresh rubber, opting to collect data for the coming races over risking a crash by pushing with low grip. The unscheduled stop shuffled him to the back of the grid and he came home P19.

Though the team hoped for a bigger points haul from Aragon they still have positives to take away for Round 4 at Assen next week. With a strong performance from Davide in his very first appearance for the team and an improving Lorenzo back to a good level of fitness, they have a wealth of data to draw on as the European leg of the WorldSBK series continues.

WorldSBK Round 4 at the TT Circuit Assen takes place from 20-22 April

Shaun Muir – Team Principal

“Lorenzo had a disappointing race, he wasn’t happy in himself and was playing catch up for most of the race. He got stuck in a midfield group but he had the pace for the top 6. He did well in morning warm up with P7 but that didn’t translate to the race when the temperatures here higher, which has been an issue for the Aprilia.

Davide too had a strong warm up session with P8 just behind Lorenzo, but in the race he had an issue with his front tyre and didn’t want to risk pushing more than necessary for the sake of a few points. He decided it was safer to pit and fit a new front tyre which was a safe option, and just brought the bike home with some useful data to build on for next week.

It was a disappointing weekend overall for us but we have positives to take away. We need a good start in Assen Free Practice, and our aim will be to be score bigger points with both riders.”

Lorenzo Savadori #32 – Aprilia RSV4-RF

 Grid: P11

Race 2 result: P10 – 6 points

Total weekend points score: 7 points

“It was a difficult weekend for me really, my collarbone is a lot better than in Thailand but not yet 100% and it caused me some pain still. I also had some problems with the second bike yesterday in Race 1, and today I was still having some problems with the set up.

I had the pace to fight Sykes for P6 today, but it was really difficult to pass the guys ahead of me from P10. That is an area we need to work on a lot, to help me make passes and to make them stick.

We go to Assen with a lot of information to use and improve the bike with, and I’m looking forward to it. For sure there is work to do but I like the track a lot and I think we can make a big step forward.”

Davide Giugliano #34 – Aprilia RSV4-RF

Grid: P14

Race 2 result: P19

Total weekend points score: 3 points

“I wanted to change the tyre in the race today because the temperature was so high and I couldn’t do a lot with the harder compound. I wasn’t able to match my pace from warm up this morning or yesterday’s race, and I struggled in the long corners a little. I knew it was safer to change tyre than risk a crash, and I wanted to gather the data for the team so that we can work with it to be quicker.

Overall I think it was a positive weekend for me. When I arrived I had never seen the bike before or met the team, but we worked really well together all week. I want to say thanks to all the guys and Shaun for their work and support, and scoring points yesterday was a good feeling.

I like the Assen circuit very much, and I’m looking forward to racing again with the team next week. We have learnt a lot and I think we can have a good result there.”

Keep up to date with the Milwaukee Aprilia team on their website, and Facebook, Twitter & Instagram channels

More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:

Pata Yamaha Maximise Potential in Race 2 at Aragon

The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team put in maximum effort in Race 2 at Aragon for Round 3 of the 2018 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship on Sunday. Alex Lowes started from fourth on the grid and was involved in the podium battle but found himself suffering from a lack of grip on corner exit. Despite this, he rode to his full potential and enjoyed a superb battle once more with his teammate Michael van der Mark in the latter stages of the race, emerging the victor of the duel to cross the line in fourth place. Van der Mark had a blistering start from the middle of the front row and led across the line after the first lap. He, unfortunately, also had a slight issue with his R1 and battled as hard as he could despite not having a great feeling with the front end, enjoying the excellent fight with his teammate in the last few laps before finishing the race in fifth.

As has been the theme for most of the 2018 season so far, there was almost nothing to separate the Pata Yamaha riders all weekend, with them matching each other’s time exactly in Friday’s free practice. Then there was only 0.01s between them in Saturday’s qualifying before they crossed the line in Race 1 within 1.053s of each other after 17 laps of racing.

Lowes finished Saturday’s Race 1 in a battling seventh place despite not being 100% comfortable with the feeling with his bike, meaning he would start Race 2 from the middle of the second row. He finished Sunday morning’s Warm Up in third as the Pata Yamaha team tried to recreate the confidence he had with his R1 at the last round in Buriram but when the lights went out for Race 2, he did not have the drive he needed coming out of the corners. The 27-year-old British rider showed incredible determination and maturity to ride around this issue as, after dropping down to seventh in the early laps, he started to fight back and pick off the riders in front of him one by one.

By lap 8 he had passed his teammate van der Mark for fifth place but, as has been the case in nearly every race so far this season, the two would enjoy an excellent battle right to the line. As the race went on, the duel between the teammates became ever more sensational, and on the last lap, they swapped places a number of times before Lowes managed to power to the chequered flag ahead of his teammate to secure fourth place. Disappointed to not have the pace for the podium despite his best efforts, Lowes is determined to bounce back in Assen. The 13 points he collected sees him fifth in the championship standings with 70 points from the first six races.

Van der Mark lined up in the middle of the front row for Race 2 after he rode to a solid fifth in Saturday’s Race 1. Sixth in Sunday morning’s Warm Up, he was confident heading into Race 2 and this showed as he enjoyed an excellent start, taking the lead almost immediately. Sadly, this was to be short-lived as the 25-year-old Dutch rider just did not have the same feeling with the front end of his Pata Yamaha R1 as expected. Pushing hard at the front, he was made to run a bit wide after there was contact as Melandri passed him for the lead, but recovered superbly, although he just did not quite have the pace to keep the chasing riders at bay.

He battled hard, but could not hold them off and dropped down to sixth as he tried to work out a way to deal with his issue and when his teammate Lowes came past on lap 8, he responded in style. Latching on to Lowes back wheel, the two Pata Yamaha riders started to hunt down Michael Ruben Rinaldi in fourth. They both blasted past the Italian and van der Mark then tried to break away from Lowes but to no avail. Enjoying an excellent scrap, Lowes signalled his intent by making a move into Turn 1 on a final lap that saw them pass each other a number of times. In a dramatic finish, he just lost out to his teammate in the final few corners, crossing the line in fifth 0.436s behind Lowes to collect 11 championship points. He is now sixth in the overall standings with 67 points, just three behind his teammate Lowes, and up next is van der Mark’s home round at Assen, a circuit he loves racing at in front of the passionate Dutch fans.

Despite a tricky weekend at times, the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team head to Round 4 of the 2018 WorldSBK Championship at the TT Circuit Assen on the 20th-22nd of April confident they will be back fighting for the podium. Check out the full Race 2 results.

Alex Lowes

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 4th +10.251s

“The race was really tough for me! I struggled from the start and I was simply not fast enough. I said it yesterday, but today was the same, in as much as it was a case of just doing the best I can. I understood after 2 or 3 laps that I did not have the pace to fight for the victory so my target was to finish the rest of the race in the best position possible, make no mistakes, and ride as fast as I could till the end. That is, obviously, what you should do in every race but normally you have a little bit in reserve for when you want to pass people. To be honest, I didn’t really worry about anyone else and just tried to do the best I could. I realised Michael was struggling with the front near the end of the race and I managed to get past him after a nice little battle but, like I said, it was too far from the lead. It is not too important to me to finish in front of him when we are ten seconds from the front. Hopefully, next week in Assen, Michael’s home race, we want to be battling like that for the win!”

Michael van der Mark

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 5th +10.687s

“I had quite a good start and then I took the lead in the first few corners but, to be honest, after the first few laps I didn’t feel comfortable with the front-end of my R1 and this was an issue for the whole race. I was leading the field but I felt too slow and one but one they passed me. I tried to stay with the front guys and tried everything I could but, in the end, I was riding right on the limit and then I missed a gear and missed quite a lot of time there as well. Towards the end of the race, I had another excellent battle with Alex which I really enjoyed, but to be fourth and fifth and 10 seconds behind the leaders is not where we have to be. Hopefully, for Assen, we can find a solution to the problem and make some good progress at my home race!”

Paul Denning

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Principal

“Everybody in the team did their best to give Alex and Michael an R1 that was capable of challenging for the podium today but, whilst we did take some steps forward, unfortunately, the characteristic of the race in terms of not having the traction and corner-exit performance the guys needed was quite clear as the race developed. This was, perhaps, slightly unexpected, in that one of the very strong points of the Pata Yamaha R1 has been its consistency to the end of the race. The focus will be to regenerate that race durability performance. Honestly, I have no complaints whatsoever with the efforts or performance of the team, particularly both riders who rode really hard but also very maturely to maximise the results they could achieve. If a bad pair of races as, frankly, these two here in Aragon have been, can result in a decent points haul and a potentially closable gap to the winner then we have to take the positives from that and look forward with enthusiasm to Assen.”