Arezzo/Borgo Panigale (Italy), Wednesday 15 April 2015 – Just three days after scoring a historic win at Motorland Aragón, Chaz Davies and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team head onwards to the TT Circuit of Assen, in the Netherlands, where Davies will once again be joined on track by Javier Forés, substituting for Davide Giugliano for the second time.
At the recent Spanish round, factory rider Davies was caught up a great battle with Rea in race 1, missing out on the win by just 0.051 of a second to cross the line second. The win was nevertheless imminent and in the day’s second race, the Welshman dominated from start to finish, powering his Ducati Panigale R over the line in first position, more than 3 seconds ahead of the second-placed rider. This marks a very important win – the first for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team, Chaz’s first win since joining forces with the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer, and also the maiden win for the Panigale R in World Superbikes. Forés, competing in his very first races of the 2015 season, also scored positive results in his home country, battling hard against many of this year’s top riders to conclude the two races in fifth and sixth place.
Races at the TT Circuit of Assen are often conditioned by wet weather which can often shake things up in terms of results. Davies, having raced in the Superbike category for the last three seasons, has achieved a best of 5th at the Dutch track, in 2013, while Forés last raced at Assen last year in the IDM Superbike championship, winning his race.
As the team heads into this fourth round of the 2015 championship, Davies now positions third in the general standings, with 83 points, while Forés is thirteenth with 21 points. Ducati lies third in the manufacturer’s classification (95 points).
Comments ahead of the event:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7)
“Assen’s enjoyable to ride but it’s always a challenge to get the bike to work well around the entire track, with some quite different sections. I’ve never been able to make the best of it in Superbike, and my results have been fairly average, while in Supersport I took a win. My aim this weekend, and every weekend, is to be on the podium, and then we’ll try to pick up wins where we can. I feel that we’ve learned a lot over the last couple of weekends, even when things have not been going so well, and I think that this will be important this weekend; we know where we stand in terms the chassis and that is particularly relevant at Assen I think.”
Javier Forés (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #112)
“I’ve only raced a few times at Assen but last year we had an IDM round there and I won the race so I can say that I really like the track, I’ve always ridden well at Assen and have some good memories. After the Aragón races, my aim this weekend will be to continue to work in the same direction to be able to improve in the races and stick closer to the guys in front. Last season’s IDM race took place in dry conditions and that’s what I’d prefer this weekend too but I don’t think I’d have particular problems if it were wet. The weather’s always an unknown anyway, but we’ll see what we can do…”
Circuit Information
Country: The Netherlands
Name: TT Circuit Assen
Length: 4.542 km
Race distance: 21 laps/95.382 km
LAP RECORDS: Best lap – Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’35.893 (2013). Superpole – Baz (Kawasaki) 1’34.357 (2014).
2014 RESULTS: Race 1 – 1. Guintoli (Aprilia); 2. Sykes (Kawasaki); 3. Rea (Honda). Race 2 – 1. Rea (Honda); 2. Lowes (Suzuki); 3. Giugliano (Ducati)
Rider Information
Chaz Davies
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 7
Age: 28 (Born 10/02/1987 in Knighton, Wales)
Number of SBK races: 80
Number of wins: 5
Number of podiums: 18
Davies’ SBK track record at Assen
2014: Race 1 – 7th, Race 2 – 8th
2013: Race 1 – 7th, Race 2 – 5th
2012: Race 1 – 6th, Race 2 – DNF
Javier Forés
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 112
Age: 29 (Born 16/09/1985 in Llombai (Valencia), Spain
Number of SBK races: 12
Number of wins: 0
Number of podiums: 0
Weekend schedule (CET):
Friday
11.15 – 12.00 – SBK Timed Practice 1
15.00 – 15.45 – SBK Timed Practice 2
Saturday
09.45 – 10.30 – SBK Timed Practice 3
12.30 – 13.00 – SBK Free Practice
15.00 – 15.15 – Superpole 1
15.25 – 15.40 – Superpole 2
Sunday
8.40 – 8.55 – SBK Warm-up
10.30 – SBK Race 1
13.10 – SBK Race 2
