Arezzo/Borgo Panigale (Italy), Tuesday 5 May 2015 – The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team is ready to compete for the first time this season as a ‘full’ outfit, with Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano, at Round 5 of the 2015 Superbike World Championship, taking place at Imola this weekend.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team is looking forward to racing ‘at home’ this coming weekend, as the World Superbikes head to the Imola circuit in Italy. It will be an important event in that it sees the return of Davide Giugliano, who was forced to miss the first four rounds after an accident during testing at Phillip Island in February left him with two fractured vertebrae. It will therefore be the first time this season that the two factory riders Davies and Giugliano will share the garage. Giugliano, eleven weeks after his accident, has been careful to follow all of the advice and treatment suggested by his doctors and is now looking forward to getting back on his Ducati Panigale R this week. Davies, strong from the positive results obtained at the last two rounds, is ready for what is the home event for both Aruba.it and for Ducati.
During the latest event, which took place at Assen, in The Netherlands, on 19 April, Davies stepped up to the podium twice, concluding both of the day’s races in second place. After the first four rounds of the championship, and thanks to six podium finishes so far, Davies has accumulated 123 points and lies third in the general standings. Ducati is also third in the manufacturer’s championship, with 135 points.
The riders’ best Superbike result scored up until now at Imola has been second place, for Chaz in 2014 and for Davide in 2013. At a track that both riders enjoy, the team is confident that it will be able to complete two good races again this season.
Comments ahead of the event:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7)
“I’m excited to head to Imola. We had two good races last year, and I was able to finish both in second place, at a point at which we still had things to sort out with the bike. One year on, and with a lot more knowledge and experience of the Panigale, I’m hopeful that we can do well. Imola always feels like the best race of the year in terms of atmosphere, and feeling the support of the fans is something special, especially as a Ducati rider. It definitely adds some pressure but I like that! My goals remain the same as in recent rounds, to be on the podium twice, and then if I can do more, I’ll do more. I think this is a crucial point of the championship, and it’s time to be looking to winning more races and getting some points back – this is at the forefront of my mind.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #34)
“It’s great to be able to come back for Imola, the home track. There’ll be a lot of expectations but the fact that I’ll have a lot of supporters there will give me an extra push. I like the track and we were fast there last year, even though we were unable to score the results we deserved come race day. This year it seems like we’re more competitive but seeing as I’ll be getting on the bike for the first time in three months, I’m going to have to work hard to regain the feeling with my Panigale R. Physically I’m feeling quite good but over the last two months I’ve been unable to train as I normally would, only doing some swimming and rehabilitation. Obviously the level of physical preparation is not as it was when I arrived at Phillip Island, but we’ll know more once I get back on the bike – I can’t wait to (re)start!”
Circuit Information:
Country: Italy
Nome: Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola
Length: 4.936 km
Pole position: left
Race distance: 19 laps/93.784 km
LAP RECORDS: Best lap – Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’47.274 (2013). Superpole – Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’45.981 (2013).
2014 RESULTS: Race 1 – 1. Rea (Honda); 2. Davies (Ducati); 3. Sykes (Kawasaki). Race 2 – 1. Rea (Honda); 2. Davies (Ducati); 3. Guintoli (Aprilia)
Rider Information:
Chaz Davies
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 7
Age: 28 (Born 10/02/1987 in Knighton, Wales)
Number of SBK races: 82
Number of wins: 5
Number of podiums: 20
Davies’ SBK track record at Imola
2014: Race 1 – 2nd, Race 2 – 2nd
2013: Race 1 – 6th, Race 2 – 5th
2012: Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – 14th
Davide Giugliano
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 34
Age: 25 (Born 28/10/1989 in Rome, Italy)
Number of SBK races: 79
Number of wins: 0
Number of podiums: 6
Giugliano’s SBK track record at Imola
2014: Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – 6th
2013: Race 1 – 2nd, Race 2 – DNF
2012: Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – DNF
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
