2014 World Superbike Championship
Round 7, Riviera di Rimini, Misano World Circuit
Final practice, qualifying & Superpole, Saturday 21st June
Although Team Bimota Alstare riders Ayrton Badovini and Christian Iddon didn’t qualify as high up the grid as they would’ve hoped, both are looking forward to tomorrow’s pair of 21-lap races in Misano. Ayrton qualified comfortably for Superpole 1, but was unable to finish in the top two and qualify for Superpole 2. He ended 5th and will start from the fifth row of the grid tomorrow. Christian will start from row 7, after missing out on Superpole by the narrowest of margins.
Ayrton Badovini – 15th Overall – 4th EVO Class, 1:37.038
“In this morning’s practice we tried to improve the bike from yesterday, but it didn’t work as well, so we went back to what we knew. We tried different settings, but none of them were any better. At the moment, I do not have a confident feeling about the front end, so it is difficult to push as hard as I want.
Tonight we will analyse the data and then try something tomorrow morning and I hope the team can help me resolve this problem. Although my pace on a fast lap is maybe not the best, I know that my race pace is good. I feel positive about tomorrow’s races and I am looking forward to both of them.”
Christian Iddon – 21stOverall – 9th EVO Class, 1:38.170
“Obviously I am disappointed not to have got into Superpole. I missed it by such a small margin, but that’s how it goes sometimes. I think that if I had gone just two tenths of a second faster I would’ve jumped up seven places! I am sorry for the team, because Superpole would’ve given me a chance to put in some more laps and continue my understanding of the circuit.
We tried some radical changes this afternoon, and I went faster, but we weren’t able to improve the bike as much as we wanted. But my lap times are consistent and I think I can have a good couple of races tomorrow.”
