WSBK – Statements from World Superbike riders at Donington Park – Statements from WSBK 2nd round

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World Superbike riders’ statements at Donington Park

WSBK - Statements from World Superbike riders at Donington Park - Statements from WSBK 2nd round

The seventh round of the 2016 World SBK took place this weekend in Donington Park, Great Britain. To complete our near-live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders at the end of their two British races.

WSBK Round 2 Statements

Tom Sykes, 1st:
"Eight victories in a row at Donington is fantastic! I am really delighted! I got off to a good start in the second run and maintained a good pace. It wasn’t all perfect of course, and that’s why we had a lot of pressure. We did a very good job and we are still fighting well. It’s more rewarding to win this way".

"I’m grateful to Kawasaki, Marcel, Danilo and all the guys in the box because we’ve won three of the last four races which is very promising. We have won on some difficult circuits this year, both physically and in terms of the type of tracks. Thailand, Sepang and twice here, on a two-sided circuit. I think we are constantly improving. I will go to bed tonight feeling that we had a perfect weekend !"

Jonathan Rea, 2nd:
"I hit a false dead point again on the last hairpin just as I had just passed, so I’m a little frustrated. At the end of the race, I didn’t have much to oppose Tom. I think my bike has worked really well, so I want to thank my team, especially since we have worked closely with Kawasaki and all the staff to adapt the bike to my riding. Looks like we’re getting closer now".

"Over the last few races we have defined the character of the engine that I really like, and now the balance of the bike seems to be working. Being so close to Tom on a track where he’s so strong is a good sign because he’s riding really fast now. It makes me happy, as does coming here and increasing my lead in the championship. It’s my priority … But it would have been really nice to finish it off with a victory in the second round. My bike was going really well, but in the end I was just starting to have cramps ("arm pump", Editor’s note) right arm".

Chaz Davies, 3rd:
"It certainly feels good to be back on the podium after the difficulties we’ve had here at Donington. Above all, it was important to have a positive result after yesterday’s quit. I think it all started with our problems on Friday, and yesterday I probably pushed a bit too much. But we are here to win races and you have to get started when you are in the lead. We know we can do better, there are definitely a few things we can improve on, but it was hard to beat the Kawasaki on this track. We have also made good progress thanks to the data collected yesterday during the race and the goal is to arrive at Misano in a different position. We will do two days of testing next week to prepare for the next event and the first objective will be to improve our results in 2015".

Lorenzo Savadori, 4th:
"I am very satisfied with this weekend because we were able to achieve two good races and a good qualifying. However, I still have a little bitter taste in my mouth after today’s race: I risked throwing all the work done these days into the air while trying to attack Davies! That’s why in the end I didn’t try, it didn’t make sense. I preferred to secure a fourth place which, for me, remains good. This time the second half of the race went well, but we have to try to be a little more efficient at the start because I shot my tires trying to get on Davies. At first, however, I had no reason to go all the way: I needed to see what the other drivers were doing to build my race strategy. It was a very positive race, although I had to slow down at the end. The guys from the Iodaracing team and Aprilia all did a great job and I want to thank them".

Leon Camier, 5th:
"It was really a very good race. I struggled a bit at the start and when I managed to find the right rhythm it wasn’t enough to keep up with the guys in front. I did my best to attack hard and that’s how I managed to get past Hayden on the last lap. I am really happy with the result and the work we have done here in Donington".

"Honestly, since the start of the season, our dream has come true little by little. We have made progress all the time. Thanks to our attention to detail, the bike now has a good standard. We couldn’t do better today. The bike was good in the second race, it was giving it all it had. I think I know where we need to improve. It will take a little while, but I’m pretty confident that once its progress is made, we can take the next step. Before that, it will always be impossible to race with Kawasaki. We will see".

Nicky Hayden, 6th:
"I obviously cannot be satisfied with sixth place and I have no excuses either. The team did a great job with the bike and we switched to a harder tire up front, which gave me better stability under braking on downhill corners. I had my best lap of the weekend today including qualifying. My pace was a lot faster than yesterday, but I just didn’t go fast enough, especially after the halfway point when I started to experience a little technical problem that hampered our performance slightly. I also struggled with the changes of direction, especially lifting the bike, and had two big scares in the Esses. It’s a real shame because at one point I thought I could close the gap on Chaz Davies and fight for the podium. Thanks again to the team because the bike was better today. Now we just need to find a little trick that will allow us to improve ourselves a little".

Cameron Beaubier, 10th:
"I struggled for the first third of the race because honestly falling on the first lap yesterday hurt me more than I originally thought due to the lack of rolling and the loss of ‘experience that this represented. I felt a lot better on the bike in the second half of the race. Two guys walked past me and I thought they were going to outrun me, but slowly I started to grab some ground from them, which was nice. It makes me think that if I had done this yesterday we would have been able to get a much better place today. I’m not really happy with this tenth place, naturally I want to be a little higher, but I’m happy with how I felt at the end of the race. I wanted to try to win a place on the last lap and I didn’t have time! But more than anything, I want to thank Yamaha Pata for giving me this chance and Yamaha USA for letting me go. It was a really fun weekend, I learned a lot and I hope I can do it again one day".

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