Alcaniz (Spain), Friday 10 April 2015 – The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team, on track at Motorland Aragón in Spain with riders Chaz Davies and Javier Forés, substituting for the injured Davide Giugliano, showed great determination in today’s first timed practice sessions.
In the weekend’s first timed practice session, which took place in sunny but cool conditions (air temperature 14°C, track 23°C), the two Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team riders were putting in some fast times right from their first exit, immediately moving to the top of the timesheets. Both riders continued to improve their lap times throughout the 45-minute session. Davies, thanks to a fastest time of 1’52.009 obtained during his final exit, led the way, closing in first position. His team-mate Forés concluded second, with a time of 1’52.365, proving that he is immediately comfortable on the 2015 Superbike version of the Panigale R.
The second session brought further improvement for Chaz in terms of lap times, although he still feels that his overall feeling with his Panigale R could be better. The factory rider set an impressive best time of 1’51.582 , half a second quicker than his fastest lap in the first practice. This impressive lap time positioned the factory rider third at the end of day one, right behind the Kawasaki pairing of Rea and Sykes. Javier continued to work with his technicians to identify the best set-up for his Ducati Panigale R at this track, and he too was able to lower his time by a few tenths to place overall fourth thanks to a best of 1’52.000.
Quotes after the day’s sessions:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 3rd (1’51.582)
“This morning went well and I felt that I could lap fast but then this afternoon the grip dropped off and I didn’t really get the feedback that I want from the bike here at Aragón. I know I can go faster, it’s just a case of finding the right setting, we’re not there yet although it’s doesn’t look bad on paper. We still have work to do, but overall it’s been a positive day. We’ll take a good look at the data this evening and then tomorrow try to develop some of the ideas we’ve got. I’m confident that we can do more…”
Javier Forés – (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #112) – 4th (1’52.000)
“We’re going quite well, considering it’s only the first day – I hope we can continue in this direction. I haven’t ridden the Ducati for a few months, since the IDM concluded last season, and so I’m pleased with how these first sessions have gone. This morning I already found good pace and the work we completed at Misano helped me find a good feeling that I’ve had again here today at Aragón. I like to remain optimistic; we need to continue to work calmly, as the level here is very high, but I would of course like to thank the team by completing a good weekend’s work and two good races on Sunday…”
Weekend schedule (CET):
Saturday
09.45 – 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
