Borgo Panigale (Italy), Tuesday 6 May 2014 – The Ducati Superbike Team is looking forward to racing at its home track this coming weekend, and riders Davide Giugliano and Chaz Davies will be seeking the best possible results at the Imola circuit in Italy.
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola will host this weekend’s fourth round of the 2014 Superbike World championship. The Imola circuit is Ducati’s home track, located just 50 kilometres from the Borgo Panigale factory. The Ducati Superbike team will therefore be able to count on all-important local support during the weekend’s event.
During last season’s Imola race weekend, Giugliano led during the opening stages of race one, battling all the way to the line and achieving final second position, the best result of his Superbike career thus far. Davies meanwhile finished the 2013 Imola races in fifth and sixth position.
At this year’s most recent event, which took place at the Dutch track of Assen ten days ago, Giugliano scored his first podium of the 2014 season, a third place finish in a very difficult and wet race 2 while Davies closed the day’s races in seventh and eighth position.
Giugliano and Davies are lying sixth and seventh respectively in the general standings ahead of Round 4. Ducati is in fifth position in the manufacturer’s classification.
Quotes ahead of the event:
Davide Giugliano – Ducati Superbike Team #34
“The Italian round is extremely important for both myself as an Italian rider and for the team. It’s a track where I always enjoy myself and feel comfortable riding. Similarly to Assen, Imola could be one of those tracks where we can make the most of our Panigale’s great potential. We’ll see what we can do but let’s say that we are heading there in a positive frame of mind. We need to remain focused though in order to be prepared for any eventuality.”
Chaz Davies – Ducati Superbike Team #7
“Imola’s always been a fairly good track for me and I like the layout for the most part, except perhaps the final chicane. We still have a lot of work to do in order to refine my Panigale but I’m feeling optimistic as we head to Imola. It’s my first Italian round as a Ducati rider so I’m sure we’ll enjoy lots of support from the fans and the Ducatisti, there’s always a good crowd at Italian events. It would be nice to pay the fans back with some strong results in Sunday’s races…”
Circuit Information
Country: Italy>
Name: Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola>
Length of circuit: 4.936 km
Pole Position: left
Race distance: 19 laps/93.784 km
LAP RECORDS: Best lap – Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’47.274 (2013). Superpole – Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’45.981 (2013).
2013 RESULTS: Race 1 – 1. Sykes (Kawasaki); 2. Giugliano (Aprilia); 3. Laverty (Aprilia). Race 2 – 1. Sykes (Kawasaki); 2. Rea (Honda); 3. Guintoli (Aprilia)
Rider Information
Davide Giugliano
Bike: Ducati 1199 Panigale
Race number: 34
Age: 24 (Born 28/10/1989, Rome, Italy)
Number of SBK races: 61
Number of wins: 0
Number of podiums: 5
Giugliano’s SBK track record at Imola:
2013: Race 1 – 2nd, Race 2 – DNF
2012: Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – DNF
Chaz Davies
Bike: Ducati 1199 Panigale
Race number: 7
Age: 27 (Born 10/02/1987 in Knighton, Wales)
Number of SBK races: 57
Number of wins: 4
Number of podiums: 10
Davies’ SBK track record at Imola:
2013: Race 1 – 6th, Race 2 – 5th
2012: Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – 14th
Weekend schedule (CET):
Friday
11.45 – 12.30 – SBK Timed Practice 1
15.30 – 16.15 – SBK Timed Practice 2
Saturday
9.45 – 10.30 – SBK Timed Practice 3
12.30 – 13.00 – SBK Free Practice
15.00 – 15.15 – Superpole 1
15.25 – 15.40 – Superpole 2
Sunday
8.40 – 8.55 – SBK Warm-up
10.30 – SBK Race 1
13.10 – SBK Race 2
