Borgo Panigale (Italy), Tuesday 8 July 2014 – The Ducati Superbike Team travels on to the American circuit of Laguna Seca for round 9 of the 2014 Superbike World Championship, just two days after round 8 concluded at Portimao in Portugal.
The Ducati factory team, and riders Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano, are now traveling to the USA, and the Californian track of Laguna Seca, where they hope to be able to continue the trend of positive results obtained at last weekend’s Portuguese event. In Sunday’s second race, held at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve just a couple of days ago and in wet conditions, both Ducati factory riders celebrated reaching the podium, in second (Davide) and third (Chaz) position, the first time since June 2012 that two Ducati riders were on the rostrum together.
Both of the Ducati Superbike riders stepped up to the podium during last year’s Laguna event, in the track’s first appearance on the SBK calendar for nine years. Davies achieved a third place finish in the day’s first race, which was shortened after two crashes caused two red flags, while Giugliano missed the race win for just one tenth of a second in race 2, closing second and setting a new fastest lap (1’23.707) on lap 7 of said race. With both riders citing Laguna Seca, located in Monterey County in California, as one of their preferred tracks, they will be determined to power their 1199 Panigale bikes to positive results this coming weekend.
After the eighth round at Portimao, Davies holds sixth position in the general standings, followed by Giugliano, seventh. Ducati is still lying fourth in the manufacturer’s championship.
Comments ahead of the event:
Chaz Davies – Ducati Superbike Team #7
“I’m excited ahead of Laguna. I took a podium finish last time around and it’s always been one of my favourite tracks. California itself is a beautiful part of the world, whether you’re there to race or simply to relax. Canepa was going strong in the race last year with the Ducati, and both Davide and I scored some good results there too. I feel that we took another good step forward in Portimao and I’m hopeful that the bike will work well this coming weekend too; I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at Laguna.”
Davide Giugliano – Ducati Superbike Team #34
“I admit that Laguna is one of my favourite tracks, it seems to suit my riding style and last year I came extremely close to taking the win in race 2. I can’t wait to get back to racing there and, after the podium at Portimao, I think we’ll arrive in America more determined than ever. I hope that we are able to adapt my Panigale to the track as quickly as possible, and that I am able to make two great races – I can’t wait.”
