World Superbike riders’ statements in Assen
The fourth round of the World SBK 2017 took place this weekend in Assen, the Netherlands. To complete our near-live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders after their two Dutch races..
#DutchWSBK: statements from the 1st round
Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than the others – have already been able to follow Saturday and Sunday, almost live, the progress of the Mondial Superbike and Supersport races on the Aragon circuit (for latecomers, read, then).
Below are the statements of the drivers who distinguished themselves on Saturday during the first round, and on the following page the statements of those who led the second WSBK race on Sunday. Honor to the winner !
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki n ° 1), 1st
“This victory was really cool because the more you won on a circuit the more pressure you feel. I don’t know why I am turning so well at Assen. It seems our bike was performing really well in the faster sections of the track, and Chaz was quick out of turn 5 a very slow hairpin (Editor’s note)) on acceleration. I could keep the lap times as we yoyoed on some sections of the track. I was strong on the last one, the one which counts for passing. I had a good pace at the end and wanted to get ahead and widen the gap. But every time I pointed the tip of my nose, I got a block-pass in the last corner. Chaz really wasn’t lucky at the end, honestly, and it’s never good to lose points like that. But it was important to me that bad luck fell on him when he was behind me because at this point in the race I was trying to ride at my own pace and ‘go".
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki n ° 66), 2nd
"I clearly wasn’t feeling 100% of my form, but that’s no excuse. We just hit limits in terms of settings on the bike for this race. I think tomorrow we can make a change. and be stronger. You have to be realistic: we need to find about three seconds and I have the feeling that it is possible. I struggled at the end of the race today, not because of the tires that weren’t there. ‘wouldn’t have done their best or that sort of thing, but in two quick sections of the circuit where I didn’t feel comfortable. I lost some ground early in the race and then managed to take a good pace and coming back to the leaders again. But no matter what, I always lost in the fastest section. It was just a matter of confidence, so I think we can improve. ".
Marco Melandri (Ducati n ° 33), 3rd
"Until this morning, I did not expect to finish on the podium. We struggled in FP3 (third free practice session, on Saturday morning, Editor’s note), and at that time, even a Top 5 n It wouldn’t have been easy to get there. But the team did a great job and turned things around before the Superpole, which allowed me to get the ‘feeling’ back on the bike. We were pretty quick in start of the round, but our pace was not strong enough to stay with the top three, so I chose not to take too many risks. I’m sorry for Chaz, he was really unlucky, but I’m also happy "We’re going to try to improve tomorrow. The conditions here were really different from what we’ve had in the races until now. The bike was moving a lot and we couldn’t find the necessary consistency up front throughout the race. We will analyze the data to progress again before the second round ".
Xavi Fores (Ducati n ° 12), 4th
"It was a very positive day, we had a good race pace and I knew I could get a good result. Fourth place gives me a lot of motivation for tomorrow. I have to thank the team because the bike was perfect. , it allowed me to maintain a solid tempo. It will be nice to start from pole tomorrow, I hope to repeat the same result as in the first round ".
Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia n ° 32), 5th
“It was a good race for us today, and good for me because I hadn’t run from Thailand last month. I was happy with qualifying: it was good to be on the first line. I attacked at the start of the race and got a good gap on the guys behind me, but I started to have rear grip problems and lost places. even completed a few quick laps and finished fifth. I need to go over the data with my foreman and engineers tonight to see where we can improve. There is one warm-up session left tomorrow so we have still have time to test and find some speed, because we can be faster, that’s for sure ".
Stefan Bradl (Honda n ° 6), 6th
"I’m very happy with today’s race: it is an important result for me, for the team and for everyone involved. It happens quite unexpectedly I must admit, especially after all the difficulties that we encountered this weekend. The Superpole was a bit dramatic, we had to line up in 16th position on the grid, which obviously didn’t help, but I got off to a good start and I attacked really hard in the first two laps. I was able to put some space between myself and the guys behind which helped me manage the tires a little better. I felt comfortable on the second bike, which is a good sign. The end of the race was down to the condition of the tires, so I was happy to be able to keep sixth place. It will be good to start from the front row tomorrow. hope this will work in our favor for the second race ".
Roman Ramos (Kawasaki n ° 40), 7th
“It was wonderful for us to get seventh place today. And tomorrow we will have the chance to start from 4th place on the grid, which is even more positive and important … what more could we ask for? know it will be difficult to stay in the front group as we don’t have the pace for it, but I will try to stay close to them as much as possible and give my best in every corner! Getting back to racing , the team did a real magic trick between the warm-up and the race because the bike was perfect. A big thank you to all the people who wrote to me and supported me at all times ".
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia n ° 50), 8th
"So far, this weekend has been really positive, it is much better than the three previous events. The tests went well and the second row qualifying gave us a boost: we worked so hard. In the race I was able to fight some great battles with the guys around me and the bike was working pretty well for me.It’s a shame the front tire didn’t last until the end, and we had ran into a mechanical issue that put the brakes on us. It feels a lot better on the bike now, but we have to deal with the front tire issues because that sort of thing can cost us dearly in races. We still keep the Top 5 in the race. viewfinder, that’s really where we should be right now ".
Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7), retirement
“It was a good race. I got into my pace in the lead and the tempo was good, especially in the first few laps. However, we still had a bit of trouble in a few places and I didn’t want to make a mistake. I then simmered a battle in the last lap, but unfortunately we were stopped one lap from the end. It’s very disappointing because, even without knowing how it would have ended, I think this last lap would have been spicy. That said, it was a good race so far. We have to make some small but important changes tonight. Hopefully we can fight for the win tomorrow and do an extra lap. ".
Michael van der Mark (Yamaha n ° 60), fall
"I had a good pace this morning in free practice, and I had a long outing: I felt so much better on the bike, I felt good. The pace was not as fast as the guys’ on the podium, but after them we were the only ones with a good pace: it was good for the race. The Superpole went well, I did my fastest lap in Assen. I think we just got it right lacked a bit of acceleration between the turns. Throughout the weekend I struggled with my starts, we have to find a solution for tomorrow. At the first turn, I had nowhere to go with Alex and Nicky in front of me. So I traced straight ahead. I passed a lot of people on the first lap and also completed a good second lap. But from the start I struggled in the entries and exits curve. I think I forgot that in my rush, I wanted to go back up … I lost the rear and went high-side. I’m really disappointed. It’s frustrating t because I think we could have finished in the top five. Tomorrow is another day, the weather should be even better than today, even warmer, which will be good for us. So I hope that the supporters will support me again ".
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