The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team faced a difficult day in Misano (Italy). After an encouraging FP3, during which Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano posted the 2nd and 4th best time respectively, the Welshman and the Italian struggled with qualifying tyres, closing Superpole in third row. At the start of Race 1, a series of contacts forced Davies to go off the track and rejoin the race in last position. Giugliano, on the other hand, was quick off the blocks to take provisional third place.
During the second lap, however, the Italian suffered a low-speed crash in turn 14 and restarted in last position, 20 seconds behind the frontrunners. Meanwhile, Davies mounted a thrilling comeback, passing 18 riders and showing the most competitive pace to close in fourth position. Giugliano also showed resiliency, finishing in 14th position despite a damaged windshield.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will be resume action tomorrow for Race 2, scheduled for 13:00 local time (CET).
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 4th
“We had a bit of a rough start, as we were pushed off the track. But, these things happen during races, especially after a complicated Superpole session. Unfortunately, the rear started to push a lot with the qualifying tyre on, altering the behavior of the bike. Anyway, I’m really happy with our pace during the race. Climbing back through the field was definitely fun, even though it’s a shame we just missed the podium. Tomorrow is another day and, with a clean start, we’ll have another go at it.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34) – 14th
“I’m very sorry, for myself and the team, because we managed to get a great start and we could have scored a really good result. The crash didn’t damage the bike, aside from the windshield. It was important to rejoin and finish the race, taking all the points available to us. At first, I struggled to find my rhythm, but eventually I was able to make some passes and, towards the end, we were just as fast as the guys at the top. The good thing is that we’re competitive, and I’m confident we’ll bounce back tomorrow.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director
“Today, Superpole made our life a bit more complicated. With race tyres, both Chaz and Davide were really competitive, but starting from third row penalized them. Davide was quick off the blocks, unfortunately he crashed but still finished the race. Chaz was the fastest rider in the second half of the race, taking five seconds off the guys at the front, but the incident at the start slowed him down. We’ve still shown to have great potential and, with a better start, we can redeem ourselves tomorrow.”
