The EuroSpeedway Lausitz (Germany) was home to a memorable weekend for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, who took a sensational double – the second of the season after Imola – with Chaz Davies. After winning Race 1 on Saturday, the Welshman repeated the feat starting from ninth position. Quickly recovering ground thanks to a strong start, Davies pulled away together with his teammate Marco Melandri and Rea, and took the lead during lap 11. He then made one decisive charge with 5 laps to go, as a light rain started to fall, to take his sixth win of the year.
Melandri also enjoyed a positive Sunday, bouncing back from a difficult Race 1 with a solid third place (his eighth podium of the year) that leaves him hopeful ahead of the next rounds. The Italian, who started from pole position, led the race for the first five laps, fighting for the victory for most of the race and showing significant improvements in terms of overall pace.
After nine rounds, Davies (276 points) and Melandri (218 points) are respectively third and fourth in the championship. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will be back in action at Portimão (Portugal) for the tenth round of the season, scheduled for September 15-17.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1st
“It was a great race and I loved every minute of it. It was different from yesterday though, as we had to work our way up from third row on the grid. We had a good start and in the first couple of laps we were within sight of the lead, so when I saw Rea making his move I tried to hunt down him and Marco. It wasn’t easy to pass them, but then I just tried to set my own pace, ride clean, and not make mistakes. I was surprised by our rhythm today in the high 1:36 mark, we definitely improved since the tests here a month ago, and it shows the effort everyone is putting in. I’m confident going into Portimão, but we’ll enjoy this double for now and get prepared for another battle.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 3rd
“After the issues we encountered yesterday, I wouldn’t have thought we could take the podium here. But, we did a great job together with the team, changing the weight distribution and the overall balance of the bike. The Panigale R was much easier to ride today, and I felt comfortable. Unfortunately, the bike still moved a lot in a couple of corners and I was losing ground under acceleration. I tried to brake deeper to recover, but I made a couple of small mistakes and I decided to secure the podium, thinking back to what happened in Race 1 at Misano. It’s been a positive round: we keep learning new things about the bike, and soon we’ll race on tracks that suit my riding style better. I’m confident ahead of the next rounds.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director
“It’s been an incredibile weekend. Chaz scored a very important double, especially because today’s pace was so fast, which shows his confidence on the Panigale R. We’re very happy also with the progress made by Marco, who just missed a bit of confidence to fight for the win until the end but recovered strongly after a tough Race 1. I want to thank the team and all the boys in Borgo Panigale for their great effort. We’ll do our best to stay at this level also in Portimão.”
