INDIA in F1

Tag: WorldSBK

  • Marco Melandri sets fastest time on Day 1 of WorldSBK test: Aruba.it Racing Ducati team view

    Marco Melandri sets fastest time on Day 1 of WorldSBK test: Aruba.it Racing Ducati team view

    The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team officially kicked off its 2018 campaign at Phillip Island with the first day of pre-season tests ahead of Round 1 of the WorldSBK Championship. The team enjoyed a positive debut in what was the first of a two-day test, as shown by the provisional best time set by

    Marco Melandri

    . Davies, who finished in 10th position, preferred to adopt a progressive approach given the less than optimal track conditions caused by strong wind gusts, especially to avoid potential setbacks in his recovery from an injury sustained in late 2017.

    Melandri clocked 63 laps in total, posting his personal best in the morning session with a 1:30.726 then focusing on the pace with used tires. The Italian, who was the only rider able to break the 1:31 wall so far, confirmed his penchant for the Australian track where he already took five podiums in his career. Davies got progressively in tune with his 2018-spec Panigale R, making several evaluations and finishing with a personal best of 1:32.054.

    The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati will resume action tomorrow at 09:10 local time (CET +10) for the second and final day of pre-season tests ahead of the opening round, scheduled for February 23-25 on the same track.

    Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 1:30.726 (1st)
    “It’s been a really positive day overall, despite the less than ideal weather conditions. The wind was really strong and unpredictable in the afternoon, so it wasn’t possible to further improve the lap times, but we worked well with the team and we immediately found a good feeling with the bike. Having evaluated many components in the previous tests, we were finally able to focus more on performance. A year of experience with the Panigale R also represents an advantage, especially when it comes to the electronics. The races will be a different matter anyway, so we need to stay focused.”

    Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1:32.054 (10th)
    “We tried quite a lot of things today and we have a general idea for tomorrow to further refine what felt good and what didn’t. We still need to combine our package a little bit but, considering that the conditions weren’t ideal, I think we achieved quite a lot. Physically I feel better, so I’m really happy about that. You never want to do anything stupid and get caught out or make mistakes on the first day of testing here. We basically used only two sets of tires, it wasn’t about going out for a quick lap time in the end, but rather to understand the package. Our first priority is to have a bike that can consistently be a reference in every circuit.”

    eom/Aruba.it Racing Ducati team press release

  • Rea signs off fantastic season with Losail victory

     

    Triple World Champion concludes 2017 campaign with another triumph, whilst Davies and Lowes join him on the podium.

    The  final race of the 2017 season at the Acerbis Qatar Round on Saturday night brought another win for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) as he crossed the line just under two seconds ahead of Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) in third. The victory gives Rea the record of most points in a single WorldSBK season (556 points), beating the previous record set by Colin Edwards in 2002, as the Northern Irishman ends the year with 16 victories and 24 podiums in 2017.

    Davies made an incredible start as he shot from eighth on the grid to first within the first two corners, but Rea soon took control of the race on lap four and he did not look back from there.

    With 14 laps to go Welshman Davies survived a big wobble – with perhaps the biggest save of the season – holding his nerve to continue on the pace and ultimately wrap up second place in the race and second place in the final championship standings.

    Lowes got the better of his Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team colleague Michael van der Mark in the second half of the race and finally finished 1.658s ahead of the Dutchman.

    Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) ended the season on a high in fifth place, whilst Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was 5.688s behind the Spaniard in sixth place. Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) beat Sylvain Guintoli (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) to seventh by less than half a second, overcoming the Frenchman on the last lap.

    Leon Camier completed his last race with MV Agusta Reparto Corse in ninth place just ahead of Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven).

    A huge crash for Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) at Turn 5 in the early running meant his last race with BMW ended in the gravel, the Spanish rider seen bravely walking away after the massive highside. On the third lap Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) crashed out of third place at turn 14, ending his hopes of challenging Davies for the championship runner-up spot.

    Davide Giugliano (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) was declared unfit due to gastroenteritis and therefore the unwell Italian missed out on the last race of the year.

    The WorldSBK riders will be back in action at the first round of the 2018 season at Phillip Island in Australia next February.

    P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
    “It’s incredible, I don’t really have emotions or words, just a lot of thanks to the people who have put me in this position. Most of all I want to thank my rivals, I’ve really enjoyed this season and I’m excited about the prospect of 2018, these seasons don’t come along every day, so I just want to savor it for now.”

    P2 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 
    “I had the biggest save and the one I needed to do the most, I put my chest though the screen and as soon as I realized I could save it I managed to hold onto second spot. We sealed P2 which was our objective so I’m really happy, it was a tough race but I’m so happy with the results”

    P3 – Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
    “To be honest yesterday I was really disappointed, I knew I had the pace to challenge for the podium. I am happy with today, it wasn’t easy and I was a long way back but I stayed calm; I did a good job and I’m so happy for the whole.”

    #QatarWorldSBK at Qatar: Race 2
    1. Jonathan Rea Kawasaki 
    2. Chaz Davies Ducati +1.961
    3. Alex Lowes Yamaha +4.185

    eom/WSBK release