Phillip Island (Australia), Tuesday 17 February 2015 – The final pre-season tests have concluded for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team and rider Chaz Davies at the Australian circuit of Phillip Island, with positive results. The team confirms that unfortunately Davide Giugliano will be unable to race this coming weekend.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team and factory rider Chaz Davies made the most of the dry conditions (air temperature 22°C, track 32°C), working hard to make final preparations ahead of the opening round of the 2015 Superbike World Championship.
Giugliano, who suffered a highside at the start of yesterday afternoon’s session, was transferred to Alfred Hospital in Melbourne where a CAT scan unfortunately revealed fractures of the L1 and L2 vertebrae. As a result, the team confirms that unfortunately the Italian rider will be unable to participate in the opening round of the 2015 championship this coming weekend. At this time the team does not plan to substitute Davide with any other rider at Phillip Island and counts on him being able to take part in Round 2 in Thailand next month.
On track today Davies and his technicians focused on race distance with a view to Sunday’s two 22-lap races. In this morning’s session, Davies found good pace, improving both his feeling with the Ducati Panigale R and his lap times. He ended the session in fifth position, with a best time of 1’31.296, almost a second faster than his best time set yesterday.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike rider then carried out series of laps in the final session to better understand tyre durability, before concluding the tests in overall sixth position. Satisfied with the results achieved so far, Davies will return to the track on Friday to take part in the first timed practice sessions of Round 1 of the 2015 championship.
Quotes at the end of testing:
Chaz Davies – (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7)
“This morning we made a couple of positive steps forward and, by modifying the front end of the bike, I was able to find the feeling that I was missing yesterday afternoon. I put together a series of laps this afternoon and am feeling fairly confident in terms of race distance but we need to take the positives from this morning’s session and move in that direction. We’ve definitely got a lot done here and I feel like we are a lot clearer about what’s working and what’s not, which is obviously a great way to finish the tests. When we return to the track on Friday I hope we can concentrate on the best that we’ve found in these tests and take it from there.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #34)
“It won’t be easy to follow the first two races of the season as a spectator. It’s a real shame because I was feeling comfortable with the bike and the development work begun here was going really well. What can I say? Luckily my physical condition is not so serious and this is the most important thing. Unfortunately I have to sit out the Phillip Island races and now I must focus on recovering in order to get back on track as soon as possible.”
Ernesto Marinelli – Ducati Superbike Project Director
“Davide’s crash has come as a blow right before the opening round but unfortunately this is racing and we know these things can happen. The important thing is to understand the treatment he needs in order to be back on the bike as quickly as possible. The tests have provided us with a great deal of information, we’ve introduced some new components at the rear of the bike and developed the set-up as a result with some positive feedback from our riders. The races here at Phillip Island will be tough, as ever, but we’ll do our best to be as prepared as possible.”
