World Superbike riders’ statements in Jerez
The twelfth – and penultimate! – World SBK 2017 event took place this weekend in Jerez, Spain. To complete our near-live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders at the end of their two Spanish races.
#JerezWorldSBK: statements from the 1st round
Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than others – have already been able to follow Saturday and Sunday, almost live, the unfolding of the Mondial Superbike and Supersport races on the Jerez circuit. For latecomers:
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 the winner !
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki n ° 1), 1st:
“It’s so, so good to tick that box, a win in Jerez. I really wanted to do it, even before Marco’s problem. I rode way over my limit to try to chase Marco. gap was slowly closing, not changing on some laps, but tenth by tenth I felt it was coming. In the end he ran into a problem and I’m so sorry for him because he didn’t deserve it. We both deserved it. to be able to fight until the end. I tried to manage the race a little bit at the start because I hadn’t had a long outing yesterday after my big crash so I wasn’t sure what our tire choice would give. I probably let too many positions slip by when Marco passed, but in the end we did it. I gave it my all in this race. Given the situation in the championship, I let go – but it was fun to drive like that ".
Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7), 2nd:
"I’m really happy because I think we had a very good race after missing a lot of FP2 yesterday (because of a crash, editor’s note). It was hard because we have an hour of driving. less, and with the new surface there was a lot to be learned from it. I felt we were learning as we went along. It took me a few laps to adjust so overall I glad I was able to get some points back on Sykes after a long game of cat and mouse with him. All things considered, I think we couldn’t have asked for more. I’m sorry for Marco, he really played the game. bad luck today ".
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki n ° 66), 3rd:
“We had a good set-up at the end of FP2 Friday and FP3 today, on worn tires, so I was relatively happy in these hot conditions. The pace had remained very consistent and it was pretty good at the end. Unfortunately, at the start of the race, there was a little hitch, I couldn’t get into my usual pace and lost time. In the first three laps, I had a little problem with the gear selection, then I missed a gear when I got into the straight. I lost a few positions on the track but recovered and the pace became acceptable. Chaz found a bit of speed in relation in free practice but other than that the top four or five had very similar rhythms. We just weren’t able to close the gap between us and the guys in front. ".
Alex Lowes (Yamaha n ° 22), 4th:
“My start after the red flag was complicated, Michael passed me on the inside of turn 6, we both widened and lost some time on the leading group. Then I had struggled to overtake it but once done my pace was pretty good. But then I couldn’t turn around fast enough to catch up with the leaders. Halfway through the race I felt an unusual vibration. I didn’t have the same confidence as during the race simulation I did on Friday. I’m sure we can improve for tomorrow. We’re disappointed with this fourth place and to finish so close to the podium: it shows how far we’ve come! ‘I’m looking forward to the second race because I feel I can do a better job, especially starting from pole. But I had a lot of fun today, and I’m satisfied with my solid race! "
Michael van den Mark (Yamaha n ° 60), 5th:
“My first start had been good, until Tom Sykes hit me in turn 2 and forced me to widen. But the red flag came. I took another good start, but I found the first corners a bit difficult so I was trying to make my way to the outposts. To be honest I struggled to feel my front end, I kept losing the front end, which kept me from staying with Alex and the other guys. It was a really tough and long race because I didn’t feel as good as I did during practice. We have to fix that. Anyway, we scored some good points and tomorrow we will start from the front row. I hope I can get another good start and have a better feeling with the front end ".
Sylvain Guintoli (Kawasaki n ° 05), 6th:
"Today’s result is really fantastic, it makes me very happy. I know this circuit very well because I have ridden there several times, but this is my first race with Kawasaki. Already last night, only after two hours spent on the bike my feelings were positive and I felt comfortable. I didn’t expect to be so competitive. The Superbike Championship is hotly contested and I was catapulted into it without having a chance to test the new bike. We’re doing a great job with the guys and I feel really good. There is still the second race, tomorrow: I’m sure we can improve again. ".
Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia n ° 32), 7th:
"The conditions have changed a bit compared to free practice yesterday, and the result was different. The Superpole did not go so badly, a second row is good for us. We have more pace in qualifying. I have had a bit of trouble in the race, especially at the start when my times were slow. I had a long fight with Guintoli, but I was happy that my pace remained fairly constant: the tempo with the bike was better overall. ‘is that on the last two or three laps that I struggled again, when the grip dropped. We have a bit of work on that plan for tomorrow, and I think if we can make those changes tonight and improve the bike to get a good result in the second round. I’m going to put in the maximum effort because I know the bike is fast, and that we have already made good progress ".
Jordi Torres (BMW n ° 81), 13th:
“We weren’t able to complete a decent lap in the Superpole and my position on the grid conditioned my entire race. Unfortunately Raffaele and I got in touch from the first lap. I’m so sorry he fell. and that he could not start again. When the race resumed, I did well and I thought I would have a little extra compared to those ahead of me. But from the fourth lap, I started to have selector problems. The situation gradually worsened. It became difficult to manage but I did everything to stay on my feet and finish the race. I hope for a different kind of race tomorrow … "
Takumi Takahashi (Honda n ° 72), fall and 16th:
“I would first like to apologize for the crash. Fortunately, I was able to get back on the bike and continue, but for some reason I couldn’t get our tire to work in these conditions. . Already this morning, I felt it was a little different. In the second part of the race, I was able to turn in 1’42, but I am convinced that after studying the data of the day , I could be faster tomorrow ".
Marco Melandri (Ducati n ° 33), fall:
"Today we had probably our best race of the year, I had never felt so strong. With this less bumpy track, we had no problems with stability under acceleration and we have so was able to use settings that favored the speed of the curve. I was able to attack at the limit, but without going over it. I can’t say if we would have won or not, because it was not over. , but we were ready to try to the end. It’s a shame to let such a great chance slip away, but tomorrow we will do our best to take back what we lost today ".
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