Imola, 11 May 2014 – The Aprilia Racing Team leaves Imola with the third place Sylvain Guintoli took home in Race 2 which, together with his fifth place in Race 1, keeps the rider close to the top of the championship standings. Sylvain, coming off two wins and demonstrating consistent performance, now lies in third place in the championship, just 16 points behind the new leader, Rea, and 12 behind Sykes.
In the first race, after holding onto second place for much of the race, Guintoli suffered a drop in tyre performance which forced him to a more defensive strategy in the second part of the race. These are important points in a Championship which, after only four rounds, promises to be extremely well balanced. Sylvain’s redemption came in Race 2 where he played a key role, staying in the leading pack from the start and finishing in third place in front of some of his fiercest rivals in the battle for the title.
Sylvain Guintoli: “It was a hard battle in both races. In Race 2 we managed to improve our pace quite a bit. I knew I would have to start off strong because we are struggling a bit at the moment in the second half of the race. I fought all the way to the end. I knew that the podium was within reach so I gritted my teeth and tried not to make any mistakes. A fifth and third place don’t exactly make me jump for joy, but in any case they mean 27 points. I know that I put forth my best effort on this track. The test tomorrow is important because we’ll be able to continue improving and looking for new solutions so that we can be incisive in any conditions”.
The weekend at Imola was decidedly disappointing for Marco Melandri who, after two days of positive sessions, was expecting to be strong in the races. Instead, his sixth place in Race 1 and eleventh place in the second match, despite two excellent starts, kept the rider from Ravenna out of the spotlight on the track at Imola.
Marco Melandri: “This was a very disappointing Sunday race day, definitely not up to our expectations which were quite high after such a good start to the weekend. Friday and Saturday were positive and it seemed like we were on the right track. This means that we still have a lot of work to do. I am quite capable of bringing home very different results, but that’s how this sport is at these levels”.
