11-13 France – Magny-Cours – Statements by World Superbike riders at Magny-Cours – #FrenchWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

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Statements by World Superbike riders at Magny-Cours

The eleventh round of the World SBK 2017 took place this weekend at Magny-Cours (France). To complete our near-live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders at the end of their two French races.

#FrenchWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7), 1st

“Yesterday was a day without, today was a day with. It’s the best way to recover from some difficult races. I woke up very motivated and I think it showed in the first laps, when I passed and got back up very quickly from 11th place to the front. It was not an easy race, however. The rain kept coming and going, and it was difficult to predict wetlands. It was about attacking hard, but not too hard, just enough to keep the gap on the others, and that is what we did. We now look forward to the last two events, the chase at the second position of the championship is still open and we can be quick in Jerez and Qatar ".

Alex Lowes (Yamaha n ° 22), 2nd

“Honestly this weekend has been a bit strange due to the different weather conditions yesterday and then today with the light rain and tricky levels of grip. I think that is the perfect demonstration of how effective this is. the Pata Yamaha team because, although we are always looking to close the gap on the Kawasaki and Ducati in terms of pure performance, whenever there was an opportunity to take advantage of a "special" situation, we were there. It’s a fantastic day for the team! I’m really happy to share the podium with Michael because, like I said, the team has done really well. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season! I try to do the best I can during each race, my goal is to try to challenge these guys every week, that’s the goal and what Yamaha employs me for. Looking back a little bit I think that I can be quite happy with the season so far. But as a driver you are Always speak more and there are events where we could have done better. I feel there is still a lot to be learned from myself and the R1. We will continue to work hard to improve! "

Michael van der Mark (Yamaha n ° 60), 3rd

"It’s my second podium of the season, it makes me so happy! I was a bit unlucky yesterday in the first run, but I scored a few points. It was good to start from sixth place on the grid today. I got off to a very good start and struggled towards the front of the race, but it was really difficult because there were big raindrops falling: it was difficult to know what to expect. It was good for me to follow the other guys, I could see what they were doing. I was attacking really hard, but I also didn’t want to fall … It was so hard, but I did my best and managed to stay on the bike. I just found my pace, which was similar to the guys in front. At the end of the race, I closed the gap on Alex, but I made a few small mistakes and didn’t have the tires to attack again. It was a weird race but Alex and I were really strong today and it was great to share the podium with my teammate. It was not the easiest race to manage, but in the end we are on the podium which is our goal. We have taken a good step forward and this result, together with Portimao two weeks ago, shows that we can fight for the podium in every outing. I’m really happy and I’m already waiting for Jerez. Friday I was immediately very fast, which makes me think that we have now found a good base with the R1, and fills me with confidence. Jerez is a special track for me, I really like it. We can’t wait to get there! "

Xavi Fores (Ducati n ° 12), 4th

“From the 9th lap, I suffered from a gearbox problem and I couldn’t attack as I wanted. I joined Van der Mark and Lowes when this problem prevented me from fighting for the podium. So this result has a bit of a bitter taste because I felt that the podium was very close. But on the other hand, we are happy because after the unfortunate retirement yesterday, a fourth place gives me smile, as well as to the whole team ".

Marco Melandri (Ducati n ° 33), 5th

“It was an overall positive weekend. The conditions weren’t easy and we collected a good amount of points. However, finishing on your worst result is never ideal. Today’s weather could have been We created a great opportunity, but we had no luck in the warm-up: a technical problem prevented us from riding.We changed the bike and despite the same configuration, I did not have the same feeling. I struggled with the grip from the start of the race, especially out of slow corners, and lost touch with the outposts. We are now heading towards Jerez, a track that I really like, and the goal remains the same: to get on the first step of the podium ".

Leandro Mercado (Aprilia n ° 36), 6th

"I’m happy with the race today, I think we took a step forward. I had a good feeling with the bike and got off to a good start. It was a very close race, especially in the first laps where there was some contact. Laverty unfortunately fell in front of me, I lost time. I went off the track and I also missed the wagon in front of me. I attacked a lot from the I fought well against Sykes then against Melandri. I take the opportunity to thank the team for their excellent work during the weekend, I think we rode well, in the dry as in the wet ".

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki n ° 66), 7th

“We chose a harder rear tire today, and it didn’t really work for me in the colder conditions. Still, the temperature seemed pretty cool for the soft compound. After a few laps I had struggling to turn the bike, especially out of bends. I tried to compensate in other areas, but given the few drops of rain, I could have tried to fit the soft rear tire. still second in the championship, nine points ahead (Davies, Editor’s note), and if someone had offered me that two weeks ago, I would probably have signed. The team has two good drivers, they are excellent and we gives a great bike. Yesterday Jonathan won the drivers ‘championship, today the team wins his … If all goes according to plan, we will also win the constructors’ championship ".

Jordi Torres (BMW n ° 81), 8th

“We started from the back of the grid and we knew it would be difficult, also because it started to rain just before the start was given. In the first few laps I tried to analyze the level of grip, but I think I lost too much time during the phases where it rained. It was a strange race, in mixed conditions, and I don’t think I gave my 100% because when the rain was coming back, maybe I was on my guard a little too much. I didn’t handle the race as well as I could. We’ll learn from that and move on to Jerez … "

Leon Camier (MV Agusta n ° 2), retirement

No comment from the unfortunate Camier, again betrayed by his F4 when he occupied 2nd place in the second round…

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki n ° 1), retirement

“If it weren’t for the incident that knocked me out of the race, we could have fought for the win. My pace all weekend in the dry was a little better than the others. The conditions were a bit intermittent throughout. race so it’s hard to say how it would have gone. But I was confident in my ability to ride with Chaz. Wet or dry, we set the level this weekend. The good news is that I took exams for my right foot and nothing is broken I hit something really solid on the other bike: it pulled me off the skin of the foot and it completely ripped off my footrest . So I’m very lucky it could have been a lot worse. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The team won the championship today: I saw the info appear on the screen in my office while I was changing, I rushed to the cubicle to hug my team manager Guim and congratulate everyone! "

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