After a month-long summer break, the WorldSBK Championship is about resume action once again at EuroSpeedway Lausitz (Germany), home of the ninth round of the season, scheduled for August 18-20. On the German track, located approximately 130 kilometers south of Berlin, Chaz Davies took first position in Race 1 (while also posting the new circuit record) starting from pole. Marco Melandri, on the other hand, will make his debut on the circuit, which was re-incorporated in the Championship’s calendar once again in 2016 for the first time in eight years.
To better prepare for the second half of the season, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team held a two-day test at EuroSpeedway Lausitz at the end of Julywith positive feedback from both riders, who lapped in both dry and wet conditions and are determined to race on the attack.
After eight rounds, Davies (226 points) and Melandri (189 points) are respectively third and fourth in the championship. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action on Friday at 09:45 local (CET) for the first free-practice session.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“Last year, at Lausitzring, it was a really good weekend for us. We had great pace in the dry and we hit a turning point from there. During this summer’s test in Germany we were pretty fast as well. We also managed to ride in the wet, which is quite important, and we did some pretty respectable lap times in these conditions. We still need to confirm a couple of things we usually define over the race weekend, but in general I felt comfortable and I’m quite happy with the work that we did. So, I’m looking forward to get back on the Panigale R on a track that I enjoy. Of course it’s bumpy, but if offers different challenges compared to other circuits. You can actually find lines around the bumps at Lausitzring. I’m excited ahead of the second part of the season, we’ll take it race by race, as always, and we’ll see what happens.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33)
“It was really important to test at Lausitzring before the race. It’s a new track for me, and not an easy one to learn and tackle. So, we tried to make the most of the time available to us. The bad weather didn’t allow us to fully complete our working program, but we still gathered valuable info and, most important, some interesting setup ideas. During day two I was able to better understand which lines to take around the bumps. The critical points are the straights and turn 9, but it’s the same for everyone. It was important to lap in the wet also, because the weather is always kind of erratic there. I think we’ll be ready for whatever conditions we may find. I’m really motivated and confident ahead of the race weekend.”
Circuit information
Country: Germany
Name: EuroSpeedway Lausitz
Length: 4.255 km
Corners: 14 (8 left, 6 right)
Pole position: right
Race distance: 21 laps/89.565 km
RECORDS
Fastest lap: Davies (Ducati), 1:37.357 (157,710 km/h) – 2016
Circuit record: Davies (Ducati), 1:37.357 (157,710 km/h) – 2016
Superpole: Davies (Ducati), 1:37.883 (156,861 km/h) – 2016
2016 RESULTS
Race 1: Davies (Ducati), Sykes (Kawasaki), Hayden (Honda)
Race 2: Rea (Kawasaki), De Angelis (Aprilia), Forés (Ducati)
Rider information
Chaz Davies
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 7
Age: 30 (Born 10/02/1987 in Knighton, Wales)
SBK races: 142
SBK wins: 24
SBK podiums: 59
Marco Melandri
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 33
Age: 35 (Born 07/08/1982 in Ravenna, Italy)
SBK races: 118
SBK wins: 20
SBK podiums: 56
Weekend schedule (CET)
Friday
09:45 – 10:45 SBK FP1
14:30 – 15:30 SBK FP2
Saturday
08:45 – 09:10 SBK FP3
10:30 – 10.45 SBK Superpole 1
10:55 – 11:10 SBK Superpole 2
13:00 SBK Race 1
Sunday
09:30 – 09:45 SBK Warm-up
13:00 SBK Race 2
