After scoring a spectacular double-win by Chaz Davies in Magny-Cours (France), with Davide Giugliano on the sidelines due to a right-shoulder injury, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is ready to resume action in Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) for the penultimate round of the 2016 WorldSBK championship.
Davies, who has sealed seven wins (a personal record) this season, is keen to extend the positive streak that saw him win three out of the last four races also thanks to some setup improvements that were verified during the summer break and boosted his confidence on the Panigale R. The Welshman is now 33 points away from second position in the championship and, with 100 points up for grabs, his first goal is to reduce the gap in the general standings.
Giugliano, who was declared unfit for the races in France due to the worsening conditions of his right shoulder, underwent an intense physiotherapy and rehabilitation program. The Italian rider, who is currently sixth in the championship, is eager to come back to top form and fight for top positions as soon as possible.
Action will resume at 10:15 (CET) Friday for the first free-practice session.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) 3rd (345 points)
“We’ve been on a bit of a roll lately. Theoretically we’re still in the title fight, but we’re a long way behind and we have the luxury to be able to race with nothing to lose. Third place in the championship is pretty much guaranteed, but we want to do better than that. All we can do is carry on the recent good form, win races, and see where that takes us. Last year,in Jerez, we had a good pace and managed to win a race, and we’ve been fast there during the pre-season tests as well. So, we have good reasons to be confident, especially coming off a double win in Magny-Cours, which was slightly unexpected because that was maybe not the best track for our bike.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34) 6th (194 points)
“I feel better physically compared with the last round, also because right after the injury in Germany we weren’t able to fully identify the issues related to the trauma. Lately I’ve been undergoing a special treatment to improve the musculo-tendinous apparatus, which in France prevented me from having the necessary strength to race. The issue is not bothering me particularly under braking but rather in direction changes. Jerez doesn’t have chicanes, so I expect less difficulties compared with Magny-Cours, where the injury was also more recent. I’ll try to step on a bike later this week to check my conditions, and I will race anyway. We’re used to not giving up, and we want to get back to our usual competitiveness as soon as possible.”
Circuit Information:
Country: Spain
Name: Circuito de Jerez
Length: 4.423 km
Pole position: right
Race distance: 20 laps/88.460 km
RECORDS:
Circuit record – Rea (Kawasaki) 1’41.136 (2015)
Best lap – Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’40.292 (2015)
Rider information:
Chaz Davies
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 7
Age: 29 (Born 10/02/1987 in Knighton, Wales)
Number of SBK races: 123
Number of wins: 16
Number of podiums: 45
Davide Giugliano
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 34
Age: 26 (Born 28/10/1989 in Rome, Italy)
Number of SBK races: 110
Number of wins: –
Number of podiums: 14
Weekend Schedule (CET):
Friday
10:15 – 11:15 SBK Free Practice 1
13:30 – 14:30 SBK Free Practice 2
Saturday
08:45 – 09:00 SBK Free Practice 3
10:30 – 10.45 SBK Superpole 1
10:55 – 11:10 SBK Superpole 2
13:00 SBK Race 1
Sunday
09:25 – 09:40 SBK Warm-up
13:00 SBK Race 2
