World Superbike riders’ statements at Imola
The fifth round of the World SBK 2017 took place this weekend in Imola, Italy. To complete our almost live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders at the end of their two Italian races.
#ItalianWorldSBK: statements from the 1st round
Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than the others – have already been able to experience Saturday and Sunday, almost live, the Mondial Superbike and Supersport races on the Imola circuit (for latecomers , read, then).
Find below the statements of the drivers who distinguished themselves on Saturday during the first round, and on the following page the statements of those who animated the second WSBK race on Sunday. Honor to – double – winner !
Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7), 1st:
"It’s been a perfect weekend so far. I think this track is a really good fit for me and the Panigale R. We’ve made good progress on the acceleration stages this year, and that has helped was a big help here with the tight chicanes. Plus this track allows me to take advantage of the strengths of my riding style. I controlled the gap on Rea, managing the tires, and the bike really did. was constant. It was a lonely race, but not easy. Tomorrow it will be different, starting from behind (from 9th place, according to the new rules, Editor’s note). We have to stay clean and be patient. We can still s’ improve on the electronics side, but obviously we won’t make any big changes. Thanks to all the Ducatisti for their extraordinary support today! "
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki n ° 1), 2nd:
"On the previous races, I felt that if they (Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies mainly, Editor’s note) could go faster, I could go faster. I still had a little under my elbow. During this race, I had felt like I was riding a bit on the edge of my gear. I clearly had better front stability today, after changing the geometry to give me more confidence on the hard braking and on the brakes on the lane. ‘angle. This is one of the most "stop-and-go" circuits on the calendar. We struggled last year and the race was again relatively difficult today. But ceding only five points to Chaz , and increasing my lead in the championship is ultimately a good operation. I’m sure that the redistribution of grid places tomorrow will create a different kind of race, because I will start from eighth place ".
Marco Melandri (Ducati n ° 33), 3rd:
“To be on the podium in front of my home crowd is incredible, but it was not an easy day. Since this morning, we have endured problems. I still did not feel 100% on the brakes and, in the acceleration , I had to cut the throttle a lot to get up the gears, which prevented me from taking full advantage of our power. Chaz was nevertheless really fast, especially in the third sector, and I made a few mistakes trying not to lose his contact. After a few laps, with less fuel in the tank and a lighter bike, we got better. I was ready to fight Sykes and, I even expected to fight both Kawasaki, but we didn’t have not exploited our full potential and I want to do better tomorrow ".
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki n ° 66), 4th:
“I thought I had decent speed but there were a few parts where I felt a bit stronger than Marco. We could have come close and catch up with him in the last six laps but beating him would have been something else yet. can’t say I would have beaten him, it would be unfair to Marco because he was riding well. I’m just a little disappointed that I lacked traction a bit in this race. It’s strange because the bike had run really well. on worn tires all weekend. But from the start of the race, the lap times were not there and I lost ground very quickly. So I am disappointed in some respects, but that means that tomorrow I should catch up with me starting from pole position ".
Xavi Fores (Ducati n ° 12), 5th:
"I didn’t expect this kind of race after the problems we had on Friday. But I got off to a good start and had a good pace, in the 1 ’47". I saw Tom Sykes. and Marco Melandri in front of me but they were a little faster. For us, fifth place is like a podium ".
Leon Camier (MV Agusta n ° 2), 6th:
"It was certainly a good race, and a great qualifying session. I’m very happy with this result, especially because the bike has been doing very well so far. Maybe the weather will change a bit tomorrow, and we’re going to have to work on the set-up of the bike again. We also have to be stronger early on in the race. I love this track, the people here are amazing and I’m looking forward to another great race tomorrow. ".
Michael van den Mark (Yamaha n ° 60), 7th:
"We had some issues with the bike in free practice this morning, but in the end we fixed the issues and I was feeling pretty good. I had a good lap in Superpole 2 on the race tire, but I didn’t I didn’t feel very well with the qualifying tire and I had to fight a lot with my R1. I had a fairly mundane start to the race and I found myself with other riders, including Laverty, whom I passed .I felt like I was getting stronger and stronger towards the end, but I had a really hard time getting the bike to turn. We need to fix this in order to make the bike easier to use on this guy. With our 9th place on the grid, I think we have to be happy with the points we got. Everyone realizes that this weekend is difficult for us, so we have to be happy with every point we scored. Usually my race pace is very constant, and on this track in particular, we see some riders fighting with the grip as the race progresses. I know I can be strong at the end of the race: so I hope that tomorrow we can stay closer to the leading group at the start and catch up with the riders at the end ".
Stefan Bradl (Honda n ° 6), 10th:
"On the one hand, I have to admit that this race at Imola has been exciting thanks to the beauty of this track and also to the great public! Qualifying in Superpole 2 was a good thing, especially after my crash in the morning. however was a big challenge, because it was my first here. The fall also affected my confidence a bit, as it was quite big, but luckily I did not get injured. A Top 10 is acceptable for today because I made some mistakes during the race – when I was left alone, after the start – and had some trouble braking the bike. That’s when I realized my riding style was wrong. maybe not suited enough for here. When Ramos passed me I found a better pace, but it still took a little too long. That said, I learned a lot, so I hope that my speed will be better tomorrow ".
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia n ° 50), fall:
"I was upbeat at first because the bike was going well, but I started to lose pace after about seven laps and downshifted. I tried to hang on, and just before the crash the bike was running well again. We didn’t have a lot of rear grip today. It was okay at the start, then it started, and it came back in the middle of the race, which is weird. thing we need to take a close look at: sometimes i felt i could really attack but it was disappointing to see other guys overtake me i’m fine despite the fall thought i was hurting more but my gear did its job and I’m ready to get back on the bike tomorrow. It’s hard to know how it’s going to be tomorrow. There are obvious positives to take away from today, but we need to look at the ones that are causing us problems ".
Nicky Hayden (Honda # 69), retirement:
"It wasn’t a good day. I had a small crash this morning which cost me precious time on the track and then, in the race, we had an electrical problem: so I couldn’t do big. The scoreboard went blank and I didn’t know what was going on, so it was impossible for me to stay on the track. It’s a shame, really, not only for me but also for the team. Hope we have a better day tomorrow ".
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