WSBK – Statements from World Superbike riders in Aragon – Statements from the second WSBK round

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World Superbike riders’ statements in Aragon

WSBK - Statements from World Superbike riders in Aragon - Statements from the second WSBK round

The third round of the 2016 World SBK took place this weekend in Aragon, Spain. To complete our near-live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders at the end of their two Spanish races.

WSBK Round 2 Statements

Chaz Davies, 1st:
"This weekend was like a dream. The bike was competitive from the start and we only made a few adjustments. The updates here have given us what we need. In Thailand I could just stay in the aspiration, while here I was able to overtake my opponents, including in a straight line. In Assen, however, we’ll start from scratch. The season has only just started and things can change quite quickly. But overall I’m happy with my package. This is my third year at Ducati and I have seen constant improvement. Now the list of things to improve is very short and I want to thank everyone in the team and in the factory for the amount of work done.".

Tom Sykes, 2nd:
"There has been an improvement compared to Saturday in terms of place, and that is where we need to focus. I think the gap between us and the head is bigger than it should be, but it looks like yesterday (Saturday, Editor’s note), According to our information, the rear tire did not perform its best. Today we weren’t skating that much. We have more information now and I hope we can use it to our advantage. My guys are fantastic and I’m lucky to have them, unfortunately we couldn’t close the gap to the winner from yesterday. We shouldn’t be disappointed as it happens that certain packages have an advantage on certain tracks and Chaz has always been in good shape here. We will come back to Assen and we will try to be strong again".

Jonathan Rea, 3rd:
"This race was difficult because from the start we didn’t have that much rear grip and I spent my time getting the bike up. When I shifted down to get into the first corner a few laps from the finish, the back stuck and I couldn’t stop. My chances of fighting for second place today were over. Finishing second or third today is not the problem, rather it is being so far away from the fight for victory. There were a few places we struggled today. We just need more time with the new bike, it’s a step-by-step process. When a tough weekend ends in second and third place, it’s not so bad".

Xavi Fores, 4th:
"I’m so happy to have been able to repeat yesterday’s great result in the second run today! Unfortunately, I still have some difficulties at the start and I lost a bit of time passing all the other drivers. During those first laps, I used the tires a lot to reduce the gap, but I didn’t have a lot of problems at the end of the race. I knew my pace was good and that I was as fast as the Kawasaki riders in front of me. So I started to attack hoping for a mistake from one of them to get closer and fight for the podium. I am also happy for my team because they really deserved this result! We will now continue to work hard, but we are on the right track".

Jordi Torres, 5th:
"I needed a good result here. Riding home means your whole family is coming to support you. It is therefore important and I am really satisfied. I rode like yesterday, making a comeback, but this time I was more consistent and I knew how the bike was going to react. I knew I needed to save my rear tire and had to change my style to load the front. It helped me to better manage the race. This morning we changed a lot of things thinking it would allow us to improve but in the end it was a bad idea: I swerved and ended up in the gravel pit … I think that this season will be full of trial and error, and I think it’s starting to pay off. We are still a long way from Davies’ Ducati and KRT riders, but we are closer to Yamaha and Honda".

Alex de Angelis, 8th:
"I should have spent my weekend doing physiotherapy sessions, but the second race was very positive. We still need to cover kilometers and that’s why I didn’t want to miss this round in Aragon, even after my arm surgery. Today we made a risky bet in terms of the chassis setup, but we knew it was a race where we had nothing to lose. The changes turned out to be positive and helped us understand the bike better. I am delighted to have made a good comeback, signing my best result of the season. This race was very good. I just regret being so far away on the grid. Apart from that, my pace could have allowed me to finish with a better result. I would like to thank the team who did a very good job during the weekend as well as Doctor Guido Staffa who performed the operation on my arm and allowed me to return to this level. From here Assen, I will continue the therapy sessions to regain all the functionality of my arm. I will take the handlebars of my Aprilia home to train on the positions".

Sylvain Guintoli, 10th:
"We tried a very different solution with the chassis and electronics for the second race. But the end result was very similar. At the end of the race, I was singularly lacking in rhythm. I intentionally kept some under the throttle at the start of the race but it didn’t work. It was a very difficult weekend for us, but the fact that Aragon is a very hard circuit on the tires underlines the fact that we have to work to get more performance with worn tires. In Superpole, with qualifying tires, we showed that we were very fast. We must therefore try to find a solution to be as efficient in the race with poor grip. This is the goal of our work for the next stage in Assen".

Sylvain Barrier, fall:
"Unfortunately, I will be going to Lyon with my arm immobilized due to two fractures. My attention is particularly focused on the recovery time. Assen is way too close and I won’t be able to drive. I hope to be back in good shape in Imola for the first weekend in May. I’m disappointed with what happened, because this morning during warm-up I had a positive feeling on the bike and I thought we were in the right direction"…

Matthieu Lussiana, 18th:
NC.

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