WSBK – Statements and Analysis of Superbike in Donington – Statements of Superbike riders in Donington

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Donington Superbike Statements and Analysis

WSBK - Statements and Analysis of Superbike in Donington - Statements of Superbike riders in Donington

The fifth round of the 2013 World SBK took place yesterday in Donington, England. To complete our live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders as well as the Website analysis of the two European races.

Superbike riders’ statements at Donington

Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than the others – were already able to experience yesterday, almost live, the unfolding of the Mondial Superbike and Supersport races on the Donington Park circuit (for latecomers , read then).

Here are the statements of the pilots who distinguished themselves on Sunday … Honors to the double winner !

Tom Sykes, 1st (x 2):
"I’ve been in World Superbike for a few years now and getting my first double at home is a fairy tale. A click on the front suspension between the two races made the difference, which is what we saw in the second run, better than the first. The Ninja ZX-10R performs well, it did every weekend so I’m very motivated. We’re playing a world championship and these guys are very fast and competitive, it’s not as easy as it sounds! Kawasaki is a very close-knit team, we worked hard and everyone saw how much we have improved in the race. I signed the absolute track record yesterday and the lap record during the second round: I have the full set! I really enjoyed the support from the crowd and hope they enjoyed the show. There was no better place to get my first brace than in Donington Park. It was a good weekend, we are getting closer to the championship, just four points from the top. We are in a good position, we have good basic setups and we are now heading for some fantastic circuits".

Marco Melandri, 2nd then 5th:
"It was a mixed weekend, the first race was really fun but not easy. I got off to a pretty good start, then I started to attack to gain places. It was difficult to overtake Johnny and Sylvain, it took a long time. When I came in second Tom was already too far away and I didn’t have enough time to catch up with him, but I was happy with my second place. In the second heat, my start was not as good but little by little I got closer to the leading group. Unfortunately, once I got behind Laverty, I started having difficulties. On the last lap I tried to overtake him in the chicane but couldn’t brake properly on entering the turn so I widened to avoid the crash. It’s a shame because I was hoping to get more points. We must continue to work. This week we will do some tests and try new solutions".

Sylvain Guintoli, 3rd then 2nd:
"I’m pretty happy with the way the second race went, and not just because of the result. I attacked hard and gave it my all the whole race, but Sykes was just impossible to beat today. In the first round, however, I made a few too many mistakes which cost me second place. Given my lap times, without my mistakes I could have reduced the gap even more. In any case, a third and a second place are excellent results for the championship on a track where we cannot fully exploit the potential of the RSV4. We are now leaving for Portimao, a track that is particularly suited to the characteristics of my Aprilia and where we will be able to do a good teamwork".

Eugene Laverty, 7th then 3rd:
"I was disappointed at the end of the first race. I’ve always struggled on this track but could have done better than seventh. The second round, on the other hand, went better, with a better start straight away. A few modifications made to my RSV4 between the two races immediately improved my feeling. I was able to defend my third place from Melandri’s attacks and as I said at Monza, it’s always nice to finish the weekend on a podium. The performance in the second race is encouraging for the rest of the championship. It shows that even on shorter, winding tracks we can follow the best drivers. I love Portimao, I was strong there last year and I can’t wait to compete in the next event".

Jonathan Rea, 4th then 11th:
"I was pretty happy with my pace at the start of the first race, but as soon as my tire started to wear out the electronics cut the throttle too severely and I lost a lot of speed. I even had a hard time competing with Laverty and Guintoli when they passed me. The second race was a complete disaster … Already on the reconnaissance lap I told the guys we had a problem with the sensor on the traction control. They told me there was not enough time to fix so I left on a motorcycle that I couldn’t trust. In the end, it cut a lot, too much power. I tried squarely to turn off the traction control, but it didn’t completely turn off. It was the worst 23 laps I have ever completed! I’m really frustrated after all the work we’ve done: we didn’t have any dry weather at the start of the weekend, but we made some progress in the warm-up this morning and I felt good in the first race. I feel like we should have been on the podium twice today".

Davide Giugliano, 6th then 4th:
"I struggled to find a good rhythm in the first run. I also made a mistake, but then I was able to move up to sixth place. I wasn’t totally happy with the race, but it helped me understand a lot, which I then used to my advantage in the second race. This one went better. We achieved our goals, although I have to say it’s hard to fight with the factory riders. But we are not far from fighting on a regular basis with them. We were the first privateers in the middle of all these factory bikes and that gives us confidence for the future. I dedicate this result to my team and to our sponsors".

Loris Baz, 5th then 7th:
"Yesterday I already knew I had a good pace. I just didn’t have a good Superpole session. But today in the first round, the good Loris was back! I didn’t have a quick start, I wanted to get to the front quickly and went straight into a turn. I got back up, got back up, I passed without making a mistake and I finished fifth. I didn’t have the same feeling during the second race and it kept me from attacking. Maybe it was more my fault than my bike’s, and the weather was a little different. I wasn’t able to keep up with Chaz Davies and couldn’t wait for the race to end, but I did my best. I’m still sixth in the championship and I took a few points from Jonathan Rea so it’s ok".

Jules Cluzel, 9th (x 2):
"I’m happy with my second race because we finished in the Top 10 and felt some things that we can use and that will help us improve in the next few events. At the end of the race I was able to push a bit more and that’s good for me. If I push too hard in the first few laps I make mistakes so now I try to ride like I did in Aragon, wait a bit and increase the pace. When I feel able to attack in the first round, then I will, but for now I still have to wait. I was happy to finish my race with a lap time quite close to my best lap and I think we will soon be able to do some nice things".

Carlos Checa, 12th then forfeit:
"Given how the first race went, and the pain I felt in my shoulder during and after the race, we decided that it was best not to force things by going into the second race. To tell the truth, I thought things would be worse today, on one of the more physical tracks in the championship. That said, I need more time to recover and regain all my strength, because I suffer particularly in the changes of direction and in the entries of turns (on the left especially), where it is important to have both arms 100%. Of course, it’s not an injury that affects me in everyday life, but at 300 km / h it really hurts. We now have two weeks during which I will continue the various treatments with a view to Portimao, where I hope to be stronger. From the next meeting, I would like to be able to focus more on the sporting aspect of things, and less on health issues.".

And now, it’s time for our MNC analysis of the World Superbike in Donington !

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