To better prepare for the ninth round of the 2017 WorldSBK Championship, scheduled for August 18-20 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz (Germany), the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team held a two-day test on the German track together with several other teams from the production-based series.
Both Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri tried several setup configurations, getting a head start with the work before the official sessions begin. Also, the rainy weather that characterized both Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon’s sessions allowed Davies and Melandri to clock miles in wet conditions, which had rarely been possible thus far this season.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“It was a good test overall. On the first day we didn’t really stay within our usual window, and we experimented a bit. So, I was looking forward to this morning, to get back to what we know and gauge our level more in depth. We still have room for improvement but I’m happy with the way the Panigale R felt in its more usual setup. We did some important work. We had a good list of things to try and I think we learned something interesting. Also, it was important to lap in the wet, as I think we improved the setup for those conditions, so I’m really happy with that. Physically I’m OK, I just felt a little back ache on the first day, like in Laguna Seca, but it wasn’t an issue. Now we’ll take some time off to recharge ahead of the next challenge.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33)
“It was an important test for us, mostly because I didn’t know the track and it would have been really difficult to be competitive in Friday’s free-practice sessions without a reference. The track itself is fun, but it’s not an easy one to learn because the corner radiuses are a bit peculiar and most of all because the bumps force you to take unusual lines. Still, we managed to almost complete our work load. We just lacked a bit of time towards the end to fine-tune the details, but it was also important to lap in the rain. This track has little grip in the wet, so it’s a good benchmark, and we found a good feeling in these conditions. As the rain started to intensify, we decided not to take risks and ended our session. It’s been two challenging days, but we laid some good foundations to start from during the race weekend.”
