The day after the tenth round of the WorldSBK Championship at Portimão (Portugal) – which resulted in three podiums overall – the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team resumed action at the Portuguese track for a one-day, official test. The riders evaluated different chassis and electronics’ configurations to move forward with the development of the Panigale R.
Davies and Melandri posted a personal best of 1:42.711 and 1:43.017 respectively. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action at Magny Cours for the eleventh round of the season, scheduled for September 29th – October 1st.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) 1:42.711
“It was an important test, we zeroed in on what works on this track. We’ve been playing around, going in and out a lot, trying different configurations. We tried a new development rear tyre, but we were cut short by the rain. It would have been nice to get a longer run, but the first sensations were good. We also had a couple of new things to evaluate, which had some positives and negatives, and I think we got a better grasp of where we’re at. We’ll keep what’s positive and bring it to Magny Cours, where we’ll try to take home as many points as possible.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) 1:43.017
“It’s been a long and positive day. We explored new setups, working a lot with the electronics and weight distribution, and collecting important data. We also tried a new development rear tyre, with good feedback, but the rain didn’t allow us to do many laps with it and we couldn’t go for one final time attack. I think we’re heading in the right direction. With each day, we improve our knowledge of the package, and I hope this will help us to anticipate potential issues from now until the end of the season. We’ll go to Many Cours with more experience, and I can’t wait to see if we can make further improvements. The team has done a great job as usual, now we’ll take a short break to recharge ahead of the next battle.”
