Less than two weeks after the Portuguese round – which yielded three podiums overall – the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is ready to resume action at Magny Cours (France), home of the eleventh round of the 2017 WorldSBK Championship.
Both Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri, also counting on some upgrades tested after the last race, are keen to ride on the attack on the French track, where they both scored victories in the past. In particular, the Italian took four second-place finishes and one win, while the Welshman was second in 2015 before scoring a thrilling double win last year in mixed weather conditions.
After ten rounds, Davies and Melandri are respectively third (296 points) and fourth (250 points) in the championship. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will be back on track Friday, Sept. 29th, at 09:45 local time (CET) for the first free-practice session.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“Last year we were fast at Magny Cours, but most of all we played two smart races. We gambled on intermediate tyres for Race 1 and it paid off, then we simply looked after our tyres well in Race 2. At the end of two very different races, we came out on top. The track is quite good for our package, but that also applies to our main rivals. In the last round we struggled a bit, but we understood why and I expect us to be much closer in France and put up a fight. The weather is always a point of contention there, and it’s quite unpredictable: we had a bit of everything in the past, from summer days to freezing cold, so there’s no real way to prepare for it. We’ll just do our homework and try get the job done on track.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33)
“Magny Cours is a diverse track, with very different sections and, in general, a really interesting layout. There a couple of hard-braking areas, as well as some flowing segments, so it’s never easy to find a good compromise with the setup. If anything, the tarmac should be less bumpy than in the last couple of rounds. The weather usually plays a key role in Magny Cours, and I hope we race in dry conditions because, even if I won in the rain there in the past, the grip is really low on a wet track. Also, I barely did any laps in the wet with the Panigale R. Surely, if it rains, there will be virtually no room for mistakes, but we’re confident and ready to play our best cards from now until the end of the season.”
Circuit information
Country: France
Name: Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Length: 4.411 km
Corners: 17 (8 left, 9 right)
Pole position: right
Race distance: 21 laps/92.631 km
RECORDS
Fastest lap: Sykes (Kawasaki), 1:36.366 (164,780 km/h) – 2014
Circuit record: Sykes (Kawasaki), 1:37.864 (162,262 km/h) – 2016
Superpole: Sykes (Kawasaki), 1:36.366 (164,780 km/h) – 2014
2016 RESULTS
Race 1: Davies (Ducati), VD Mark (Honda), Sykes (Kawasaki)
Race 2: Davies (Ducati), Rea (Kawasaki), Sykes (Kawasaki)
Rider information
Chaz Davies
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 7
Age: 30 (Born 10/02/1987 in Knighton, Wales)
SBK races: 146
SBK wins: 26
SBK podiums: 62
Marco Melandri
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 33
Age: 35 (Born 07/08/1982 in Ravenna, Italy)
SBK races: 122
SBK wins: 20
SBK podiums: 59
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
