12-13 Spain – Jerez – Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez – #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

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World Superbike riders’ statements in Jerez

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

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.

#JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki n ° 1), 1st:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

“Kawasaki won the constructors’ championship today, but it’s not just about the bike, the rider, the management, the chief mechanic. All the team members, the racing department at the factory in Japan, everyone took part in this result and I am very proud to be part of it. In the race, I had a very nice "hashtag" on my dashboard, to give me a hint of motivation. on the grid. My mechanics cheered me on just before leaving the grid and I knew today that I had to go. I felt like I was guided by the bike today. was won by my team leader Pere Riba because he asked me to trust him with a few front geometry changes and a front tire change. It was awesome ".

Marco Melandri (Ducati n ° 33), 2nd:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

"This second place today, after such a tough race, seems almost like a victory to me. I knew starting from 10th place that it would be difficult to get back in the peloton. Rea had the pace. to get away on my own, and I wanted to stay with him from the start. I was coming up quickly when I lost time with Van der Mark, due to contact in turn 5. We could have tried to hunt down Rea together, but it turned into a fight that wasted our time. After that all I could do was second, but it felt good to finally be able to fight Chaz until the very end. end. I am confident for Qatar, we are getting even better ".

Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7), 3rd:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

"I’m really happy with today’s result. Getting on the podium twice was not easy for us. I think we did our best this weekend. By Friday morning it was clear that this It would not be easy for us. The new tarmac disturbed us a bit and we had all kinds of obstacles to overcome, but we reacted very well. It would have been difficult to fight for the victory today, but the main goal was to take a few points from Sykes, and we are exactly tied now so I’m happy. In 2016 we did very well in Qatar so hopefully pick up where we left off. last year".

Alex Lowes (Yamaha n ° 22), 4th:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

“Honestly my R1 was really good today! I was too slow the first six laps because I couldn’t find the necessary grip on the front. But in the second half of the race I was pretty We worked really hard this weekend and I did my best so we have to be happy. Finishing fourth twice is good. I hope we can get that podium I wanted in Qatar, but it was a very good day and I enjoyed it. I tried to work on my pace during the second half of the race because I knew the new surface would come into play. I worked all weekend in order to stay strong at the end of the race and try to get on a podium. It worked because my pace was strong, so I have to be satisfied with that, and the work the team did because we had a plan and we applied it. Unfortunately it was not enough today. But I hope it will be the case later. hate times. We have worked hard and are starting to get some rewards. I am a driver, I want to win, but I know that all the races and the work we do now increase our chances of winning in the future. I can’t wait to see what we can do in Qatar! "

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki n ° 66), 5th:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

"Kawasaki has had a good period for a few seasons now, they have a great team that helps them reach their goal. For the manufacturer, getting this title is probably as special as the driver’s. Today their efforts are paying off. The fifth one. it wasn’t what I came for today. I struggled with the bike’s settings today. To be completely honest I never found rear wheel drive. I just tried a few things while I was riding the bike and finally that was enough to keep the lap times in the 1:41 mark. It’s as fast, if not faster than yesterday, but for some reason I just couldn’t getting rear grip. It’s something so, so tiny, but unfortunately you spend a lot of time on the sidewall of the tire here. ".

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

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

“I got off to a really good start and did the holeshot but the red flag came out and we had to wait. I got another good start, I was leading the first lap before Jonathan Rea passed me . I tried to follow him but struggled. I had a better feel with the softer front tire, but I couldn’t turn the bike as well as the other guys. I fought so hard for trying to get on the podium and I had some really good battles, but Marco Melandri hit me in turn 9 and I had to get out of the way which allowed Alex to pass. another little mistake and Tom Sykes passed me too. I couldn’t quite match their pace. I attacked until the end, it was difficult, but we recorded another Top6 and got some good points in the championship. Hopefully in Qatar we can fight for the podium again and end the season on a high note. The team has made great progress c this year! At the start of the season we had some ups and downs, some runs where I was fast and some where Alex was fast. Now we are both fast on all tracks which shows the incredible progress we have made. I think Qatar is a circuit that will suit the R1 as well, so hopefully we can show our full potential! "

Xavi Fores (Ducati n ° 12), 7th:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

"The red flag unfortunately penalized me again today, but the result is better than yesterday. At the start of the race, I had the same pace as the official drivers and when my pace slowed down I was able to Defend my position. I could have finished a little closer to the leading group but the most important thing is that the bike has improved a lot since the first round ".

Sylvain Guintoli (Kawasaki n ° 05), 8th:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

"The second race turned out to be more difficult than the first and the pace was higher. I stayed behind Fores for a long time hoping to be able to attack the last corner, but there was no room and I didn’t couldn’t overtake it. After the first round we made some adjustments to the bike. We probably didn’t go in the right direction. The machine was then more difficult to tame on the first laps and I had to concede a few positions . Wearing new tires, I encountered some braking problems. It was only in the last part of the race that I found my rhythm. We will learn from it and this experience will certainly be useful to us in Qatar ".

Leandro Mercado (Aprilia n ° 36), 9th:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

"I’m happy with my run. During the warm-up this morning we tested a new setup that just didn’t work. So we just turned everything around and obviously took some risks, but it worked this time around. . I felt really good today. During the first half of the race I fought with Camier, Torres, Ramos … I managed to overtake them and then I was able to attack more. My pace was good and I was able to reach Fores and Guintoli who, at the start, were quite far. But I could not overtake them. I am happy with the result today: we achieved the objectives that were set for us and I believe that, on certain points, we have exceeded them. I just want to move forward, to continue like this ".

Jordi Torres (BMW n ° 81), 10th:

12-13 Spain - Jerez - Statements from World Superbike riders in Jerez - #JerezWSBK: statements from the 2nd round

“We made some big changes to the bike between yesterday and today. So it behaved differently in the second heat, with a little easier corner entry and a better feel with the front end. I passed. a few riders at the start but in the end I couldn’t do better than tenth today, which is not the result I wanted of course, especially here at home, but we struggled with the new asphalt. I hope I can make up for it at Losail, for the last two races of the season … "

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