05-13 Italy – Imola – Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race –

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Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers at Imola: first race

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements from WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

The fifth round of the WorldSBK 2018 took place this weekend in Imola (Italy). In order to complete our almost live reports, Site gives you the main reactions of the Superbike riders at the end of the Italian races.. Here are those of the first round … Do you speak french ?

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 unfolding of the 2018 World Superbike and Supersport races on the Imola circuit. For latecomers:

Below are the statements of the drivers who distinguished themselves on Saturday during the first Superbike round. Honor to the winner !

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki n ° 1), 1st:

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements from WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

“Starting in front from the start was my only strategy today. My pace was a bit better all weekend, so the best thing for me to do was set my own pace and not get involved in the someone else’s race. My plan was to build a little gap in the first five laps but I was quickly over a second ahead so I was able to rely on my own panel after that . When the gap stagnated, I could put in a little effort, without taking a lot of risk, as the temperature has risen a lot today. The bike behaved differently because of that, so I just tried to pinpoint all its limits during the race. The race seemed long to me, but I had a good pace, and that was enough ".

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki n ° 66), 2nd:

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements from WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

“I was pretty happy with the bike set-up and the pace was pretty good. On paper yesterday looked worse than it really was: we fumbled around a lot and made a few mistakes, but we got everything back to order today. I was only a few tenths of a second missing from Jonathan. I had a clear trail for most of the day so I was able to use the bike in the best possible way. I only watched the tire warnings and in some parts I was not as good on the front. We need to improve in some areas tomorrow. We will work on some small set-up changes to allow me to attack a little harder at the start of the second race ".

Marco Melandri (Ducati n ° 33), 3rd:

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements from WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

“We can be happy overall because I couldn’t have done more today. It was a tough race, and I struggled at the start with a full tank. I couldn’t keep up with the Kawasaki. . I tried everything I could, and made a few mistakes because I was at the limit. From the 10th lap, we got really fast, so we have to analyze the data to start from there tomorrow in the second round. I would like to thank the public for their support. The atmosphere is always incredible here and this podium is for all of them ".

Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7), 4th:

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements from WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

"Unfortunately we couldn’t get a good start, then I went straight into the last chicane … so I had a lot of catching up to do after that. In the end our pace was really good. , so I think we could have fought for the podium or even the victory, but we arrived a little too late. On the positive side, we will start tomorrow from pole position. This is the first time that I can take advantage of this rule. But we can also improve some details. ".

Michael van der Mark (Yamaha n ° 60), 6th:

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

“SP2 was a bit of a disaster and it was really hard to understand why. Twelfth place on the grid was not ideal, especially at Imola. My start was not really good, but I remained calm and I went faster and faster, overtaking the guys one by one. At the end of the race I found myself a bit alone on the track, but I was so happy to have gained so many places. areas where we can improve, mainly acceleration. But I’m really happy, starting from twelfth position, to finish sixth on such a difficult circuit. Tomorrow we will start from third place on the grid, but we have need a little more rhythm. We hope then to fight in the Top 5 ".

Michael Rinaldi (Ducati n ° 21), 7th:

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

"I got off to a good start and my goal was to stay with Melandri, but I made a small mistake. After that I pushed really hard to recover but struggled a bit when the tires got worn out. "We are going to work on this, we just need more experience. The same thing happened in Aragon, but our gap today was smaller, so the trend is positive. We still have a big margin" improvement ".

Leon Haslam (Kawasaki n ° 91), 9th:

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements from WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

“The first race is over! We’re learning a lot this weekend. Today it was difficult to keep up the pace, but we still had a good fight with two other factory bikes. I cannot. not to say that I am satisfied because I expected to finish in the Top 5, but I hope that we will make some modifications which will help us to progress in the second round tomorrow ".

Loris Baz (BMW n ° 76), 13th:

05-13 Italy - Imola - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Imola: first race -

"The start of the race was complicated. With full fuel, the rear tended to push forward and I couldn’t keep pace. I waited and regained a feeling with the front at Six laps to go. I closed the gap on Ramos first before coming back to Mercado. My lap times were much faster in the last laps. We still have quite a few problems, even when things are going well. thinks that if we can find a good set-up on Sunday, we can follow the Top 10 group from the start. The front is the strong point of this bike, so we have to find a solution that allows us to take advantage of it on the first laps. It is difficult to be satisfied with this result, but I have nothing to regret, I give my maximum on each lap … "

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