WSBK – Statements from World Superbike riders at Imola – Statements from the first WSBK round

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World Superbike riders’ statements at Imola

WSBK - Statements from World Superbike riders in Imola - Statements from the first WSBK round

The fifth round of the 2016 World SBK took place this weekend in Imola, Italy. To complete our near-live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders at the end of their two Italian races.

WSBK Round 1 Statements

Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than the others – have already been able to follow Saturday and Sunday almost live the progress of the Mondial Superbike and Supersport races on the Imola circuit (read, then ).

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 – double – winner !

Chaz Davies, 1st:
"Today’s race was just perfect! I had a clean start, then put my head in the handlebars on the first lap to get my own pace. At first, the gap between Jonathan (Rea, Editor’s note) and I was fluctuating, but after a few laps I tried to outrun him. My signaller signaled to me that I had five seconds of headroom, but I kept pushing to stay in small 1’47s as long as possible. Winning here is different, it’s just special because Imola is Ducati’s garden. Since then, my Panigale R has always been there and competitive. The latest engine updates have put us on par with our competitors and I want to thank Ducati for giving me consistent material. I hope now that we can do as well tomorrow. The forecast says it might rain and we need to be prepared no matter what".

Jonathan Rea, 2nd:
"I felt good with Chaz (Davies, NDLR)at the start and I managed to bridge the gap between me. We had a few problems with the engine brake, which took me off the track. It happened in the fast turn 5 and I lost a bit of confidence. When I made this mistake, the gap changed. I’m happy with my race because getting second is good considering that Chaz was on another planet this morning. I was just happy to be there at the start of the race. I was the best of the other riders today and can’t wait for tomorrow as I’m sure we can improve the set-up of the bike. Got wind of uncertain weather forecast and we might get some rain so hopefully we can be prepared no matter what.".

Tom Sykes, 3rd:
"It’s difficult to overtake here at Imola because the track doesn’t leave much room for error. I only had the chance to overtake twice and it would have been difficult to be clean. Considering the time lost on Friday in practice, our level was certainly not bad. Consistently the Ninja ZX-10R performed well during the race but we just lacked a bit of sheer speed even in, and that will be our priority for tomorrow. We lost one, maybe two seconds in the first laps and we don’t go back to that kind of gap very easily at this level. If I was able to ride the bike the way I wanted, I’m sure we could be strong. We will continue to work for this and we hope to make some improvements".

Jordi Torres, 4th:
"We finally achieved our goal today, which was to get closer to the fastest guys. We might not have been very close to Davies, but certainly closer to Kawasaki and that’s important. We didn’t make any mistakes and I was able to maintain a fast and steady pace throughout the race. Today I attacked to the limit and it paid off. The track is fun, but my race was not very exciting as I almost always rode alone. Anyway, of course we are happy and we will try to do better tomorrow".

Davide Giugliano, 5th:
"The race had not started so badly for me. I didn’t have the pace to stay with the leading pack, but tried to save the tires until the pace dropped because I felt I could make up some of my delay in the second half of the race. and try to get on the podium. Only after a few laps I suffered a drop in power and had to stay on the defensive. The good point is that we still managed to finish the race and bring back some important points. I want to stay positive, we are not yet as competitive as we want to be, but we have taken a big step forward from yesterday. Tomorrow, even if time might redistribute the cards, we will have another chance to improve".

Leon Camier, 6th:
Read his only statement on the next page.

Michael van den Mark, 7th:
"This morning we started off with a whole different set-up compared to yesterday and the feeling on the bike was much better. In, I found the bike to be much easier to ride and my time didn’t show up on my dash after my last lap. It was only when I got back to the pits that I realized I was first: it was a real relief! In, I had to cut during my lap on the race tires because Sylvain fell in front of me. When we left we immediately went for a qualifying tire, but I struggled with the grip at the front and couldn’t improve. As soon as the race started, I realized that I was having a lot of trouble stopping the bike, so the race was going to be long … Finally, I still managed to pass Nicky for seventh place. I have to be satisfied with the points scored today, but we have to resolve our grip issues at the front if we want to finish higher tomorrow".

Sylvain Guintoli, fall in SP2:
Read his only statement on the next page.

Lucas Mahias, fall in FP1:
"I would have done anything to participate in this race, but the fracture diagnosis automatically put me out of the game. I was fortunate enough not to damage my spinal cord which will get me back on the bike as quickly as possible. The recovery time will depend on the decision of the medical director, Monica Lazzarotti, whom I would like to thank for the care and support given during this Italian weekend. I want to thank again all the team who believed in me and I hope to come back to race on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R of the Pedercini Racing Team, because I remain the (Barrier, NDLR), who is recovering from his injury".

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