Statements and analysis of the Superbike in Portimao
The seventh round of the 2015 World SBK took place yesterday in Portimao, Portugal. To complete our live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders as well as the Site analysis of the two Portuguese races.
Statements by SBK pilots in Portugal
Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than the others – were able to experience yesterday, almost directly, the unfolding of the Mondial Superbike and Supersport races on the Portimao circuit (for latecomers, read, then).
Here are the statements of the pilots who distinguished themselves on Sunday … Honors to the double winner !
Jonathan Rea, 1st (x 2):
"I have a great bike, a great team around me and a great strategy for each weekend. My team leader Pere and I found a good set-up and we evaluated our tires. We learned from the few mistakes we made at Donington which has allowed us to be stronger here. I pilot well, but above all I have the right tools".
"I have to thank all my mechanics for their hard work and Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan who are continuing the development. We have some new material to try in tomorrow’s test (Monday, Editor’s note). We now know where our limit is and we had two good races today. The points gap is important after this event, but I will try not to change my way of driving".
Tom Sykes, 2nd then 8th:
"It wasn’t a fabulous day for us and it’s a shame to have had this little technical problem in the first race and a flat rear tire in the second race … In the first race, the engine speed dropped for a moment, then he came back. So I was able to finish second"
"In the second run, the tire pressure started to drop right from the start of the race and it’s really too stupid because I think we had a well-tuned bike today. I really wanted to evaluate the bike during this second round, but we will never know its true performance. We have a test tomorrow, it will be a great opportunity to try a few more things. We’ve been consistent this weekend in a lot of ways so it’s a shame we were unlucky when Jonathan was in great shape".
Davide Giugliano, 4th then 2nd:
"It was an important podium for me, especially after finishing the first race in fourth position. During the first round, I just did not have the good feeling with my bike due to a lack of grip which seems to appear when the weather conditions vary. Fortunately, it rained, which allowed us to manage the situation a little better to secure fourth place. It’s still a shame, I could have obtained two podiums here today. We made some changes for the second race and my team gave me a bike with which I was able to attack hard and finish second. The updates my techs made over the weekend also helped me. I’m really happy, especially since after a three-month hiatus my team helped me fight for victory. Hope to get there soon".
Chaz Davies, 3rd then 4th:
"Like in Donington, I think third place was the best I could do in the first run. The lap times were quick at the start and I was able to follow Rea and Sykes to a point, but then lost my pace in several areas. We had a good pit stop and I managed to finish third. I am therefore satisfied with the result. The race was pretty wild, with very strong winds in addition to the rain! The second race was difficult from the start. We made a few changes between race one and race two but I didn’t have the right feeling with the front tire, and I couldn’t really brake or stop my bike as I wanted. I think the temperature variation made the difference. Tomorrow in testing we will seek to better understand how to improve when temperatures rise".
Leon Haslam, 12th then 3rd:
"I made a big mistake in the first race sliding on wet asphalt and rekindled my rib pain. In the second heat, however, I lost too much time at the start by missing a few gear changes. I lost contact with the leading group. Halfway through the race, I had a good pace and was able to gain a few places, moving up to third position. I started to lose the feeling with the front as I climbed back up to Giugliano. I was a second behind, but the race was over for me … getting on the podium was important both for me and for the team considering the work the guys put in this weekend"
Sylvain Guintoli, 5th then 6th:
"It was a good pair of races for us, with solid results, so a positive weekend, really! In the first run, I was in a very hectic group, with a lot of overtaking, and then when the rain came the team did a fantastic job. I did three or four very quick laps fighting with Giugliano. So it was a pretty good performance for us".
"The second race was also good: I fought all the way up to under the checkered flag. At the end of the race, we got back to Sykes and Torres and I managed to gain two places by overtaking them both, but I lost one afterwards because of Mikey (Michael van den Mark, NDLR). In the end, the race was very close. We will continue this good work, try to develop the CBR to continue to close the gap on the other machines. We have a few more things to try out tomorrow: it’s going to be a long day, so hopefully conditions are good.".
Matteo Baiocco, 6th then 10th:
"Overall I’m happy with how the whole weekend went. We were fast and consistent in the first race despite the weather changes, we did a great job and we were able to bring home a nice sixth place. In the second round, we chose different settings which did not bring the expected results. I preferred to avoid making mistakes and earn extra points. We take one step forward every weekend. I’m happy because we are doing a good job with the team".
Randy de Puniet, 13th then 16th:
"This day has been difficult. I struggled this morning with a connection issue that we tried to resolve, but the bike was still very aggressive. It was strange because I had never encountered this problem all weekend. We made some adjustments for the afternoon, but it was worse in the second race. I had big vibrations in the brakes which prevented me from braking hard. I really hope that we will find a solution in tomorrow’s tests and make progress before Misano".
Christophe Ponsson, 18th then 14th:
"This morning during warm-up, I wanted to put the finishing touches on the bike but we still had some problems and I showed up at the start slightly tense. I couldn’t attack the way I wanted for the first few laps, then after six laps I found the right rhythm. I passed a lot of drivers when it started to rain, but in the end I unfortunately couldn’t finish the race in the points. I started the second race quite well, I did a few laps behind Terol and De Puniet and then I overtook them. I tried to gain a few seconds in advance to secure my position. My race pace was good and I managed to get fourteenth place six seconds ahead of Terol. Tomorrow we will have a day of testing that will allow us to improve even more, I’m sure".
And now for our MNC analysis of the World Superbike in Portimao !
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