Alcaniz (Spain), Sunday 12 April 2015 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) put together the perfect second race today at Motorland Aragón, scoring the very first win for the Panigale R in the Superbike World Championship. The factory rider was also on the podium in race 1, in second place. Two good races also for Javier Forés who obtained fifth and sixth position on his debut weekend with the Panigale R Superbike.
Race 1 – Dry but cool conditions for the first of the day’s races. Davies, second on the grid, was in second through the opening stages, just a few tenths behind leader Sykes. Towards mid-race a small mistake by the Welshman allowed Sykes and Rea to build a small gap ahead of him but, pushing hard, Davies made up the lost ground over the next few laps to put himself back in a position to fight for the race win in the later stages. On lap fourteen he got past Sykes, doing everything possible to pass Rea too in the last two laps. Unfortunately, and despite his best efforts, Chaz was unable to cross the line first but secured second position, separated by only 0.051 of a second from the race winner.
Forés started strongly from the second row and held fifth position for the first half of the race, positioned between Haslam and Torres. Part of the ‘second group’ together with the two Aprilias, the Spaniard gave it his all, moving up into fourth on lap nine. Due to a drop in tyre grip in the final stages, Forés unfortunately lost a little ground, concluding the race in sixth position, a solid result for his opening race of 2015.
Race 2 – Davies was extremely quick off the line and moved straight into the lead. During the first laps he worked hard to increase the gap between himself and the chasing pack. Chaz recorded the best lap of the race on lap four (1’51.156), after which his advantage over Rea continued to grow. Able to effectively manage tyre wear, Davies’ impressive pace never let up for a moment and he crossed the line in first place, 3.1 seconds ahead of Rea. This is the first win for Davies with the Ducati, as well as the first ever win for the Ducati Panigale R in the Superbike World Championship!
Forés also made a positive start to the second race. On lap five he was lying in fifth place, a position he was able to hold all the way to the line, thus improving on his race 1 performance and scoring good points in the process.
As this third championship round comes to a conclusion, and having accumulated a further 45 points today, Davies positions third with a total of 83 points. Forés lies thirteenth with 21 points. Ducati holds third in the manufacturer’s standings with 95 points.
Quotes after the races:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 2nd, winner
“We’ve come close before now but today we finally did it! This has been my only goal since coming to Ducati and I’m very pleased to have achieved this result here. It’s extremely important to me, to be able to repay Ducati, Aruba and all of the ducatisti with the first win for the Panigale R. I know that everyone has been working tirelessly to obtain this result. Race 1 was also really enjoyable and I was happy with the podium but just disappointed with the position, as I really wanted the win. I didn’t have a lot of opportunity to make passes but tried where I could in the final stages. I made a small mistake in the middle of the race, selecting an incorrect electronic setting on the bike and losing maybe a second to the Kawasakis but fortunately I was able to make it back up and push all the way to the line. All in all, it’s been a fantastic day with results that I hope to repeat very soon.”
Javier Forés (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #112) – 6th, 5th
“Seeing as these were my first races of 2015, and having not ridden a lot prior to this weekend, I can only be pleased about concluding in fifth and sixth place, also considering the high level of the championship. During the weekend we were able to make continuous improvement and so I’m pleased about that. Unfortunately in the race I was just lacking a little confidence from mid-race onwards on the used tyre. Now I cannot wait to move on to Assen, a track I really enjoy and that I know very well, and where I hope to make two strong races. Congratulations to Chaz on his great win.”
Ernesto Marinelli – Ducati SBK Project Director –
“Today is a really important day for us. The first win for the Panigale in World Superbike is a significant milestone that goes a long way towards repaying the great work carried out by all of the guys in Borgo Panigale who, with dedication, passion and commitment have worked tirelessly over these last two years without a victory. The first thank-you therefore goes to all of their hard work: “Well done”. Chaz was superb and in race 2 he rode perfectly to give us this first victory. He only just missed out in race 1 but in race 2 he won by a clear margin, demonstrating all of our bike’s potential as well as his great talent. The entire team has worked well, as ever, and Xavi’s results are also very positive. Now we must continue in the same direction to ensure that this is the first of many.”
