SECOND BEST TIME FOR SYLVAIN GUINTOLI
FIFTH BEST TIME AND THE SECOND ROW FOR MARCO MELANDRI
Laguna Seca (California, USA), 12 July 2014 – The official Aprilia Racing Team RSV4s are protagonists at Laguna Seca in the Superpole which decided the order on the starting grid for the Sunday races. In the qualifiers, as was seen already in the practice sessions, the gaps between the contenders were extremely small and the results were up in the air right down to the end.
Guintoli, in the lead for a long time after putting an excellent 1’22.339 on the boards to improve on the track record he set last year, finished the day in second place and will therefore be starting from the front row in the races tomorrow. The French rider also tried to take advantage of the soft qualifier tyre in a second flying lap, but his efforts were thwarted by an uncertainty in the first sector of the track.
Sylvain Guintoli: “Superpole didn’t go badly. Unfortunately Sykes put in a very fast lap. The front row is what counts. On a track as twisty as this one starting off strong and getting out front as soon as possible is essential. Like always we did our homework, preparing for the races the best way we know how. I think we’ll see two very close and exciting races so I can’t wait to get onto the track and I hope to have some fun!”
Marco Melandri finished with the fifth best time (1’22.704) that earns him the centre spot on the second row of the grid. This is a good position for a start which will definitely be important given the amount of potential protagonists in the top positions and considering the characteristics of the winding Californian track where moving to the front of the group immediately is fundamental.
Marco Melandri: “All things considered it was a good qualifier. The lap with race tyres didn’t go badly, but as usual I struggled a bit with the soft tyre, maybe partially because of my riding style. Tomorrow in the race I’m sure the fastest riders will try to get out front and pull the pin at the beginning, so breathing down their necks without letting up will be important. I hope I can get off to a good start so I can stay in the game until the end.”
LAGUNA SECA – SUPERPOLE
1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’21.811
2. Guintoli (Aprilia) 1’22.339
3. Davies (Ducati) 1’22.384
4. Giugliano (Ducati) 1’22.422
5. Melandri (Aprilia) 1’22.704
6. Laverty (Suzuki) 1’22.725
7. Haslam (Honda) 1’23.181
8. Baz (Kawasaki) 1’23.242
9. Elias (Aprilia) 1’23.358
10. Rea (Honda) 1’23.501
