Donington Park (UK), Sunday 24 May 2015 – a well-deserved double podium for Chaz Davies and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team at the Donington Park circuit in the UK today; racing at his home round, Davies crossed the line third in both of the day’s races. A more difficult day for Davide Giugliano, who was seventeenth and fifth across the line.
Race 1 –cold but dry conditions for this first race of the day. Chaz, sixth on the grid, was strong off the line and lying fourth through the opening laps, behind Haslam, in third, and the two Kawasakis. Lapping with similar pace to Haslam, Welshman Davies was able to pass him on the sixteenth lap to move into third place, a position that he then held to the line, powering his Panigale R to a strong podium finish.
From the front row of the grid, Giugliano positioned fifth through the early stages of the race. Unfortunately, on lap nine, a rear tyre problem forced him to return to the pitlane where his technicians put in a new tyre. The Italian then rejoined the race but was only able to do so much from last position and despite his best efforts, with too much time to make back up, Davide crossed the line in eventual seventeenth place.
Race 2 – in the opening stages, Davide was lapping third while Chaz was lying fifth behind Lowes. After some swapping of positions, at the mid-race point the two factory Ducatis were in fourth (Chaz) and fifth (Davide), with both riders chasing down Haslam and Rea just up ahead. Davies got past Haslam on lap seventeen and, able to manage the final phase of the race effectively, concluded the race in third position once more. Giugliano battled with Haslam in the final stages of the race, crossing the line in final fifth place.
Six rounds in to the 2015 championship and Davies retains fourth place in the overall standings, with 155 points, while Giugliano positions fourteenth, having earned 40 points. Ducati, thanks to today’s double podium, moves up to second in the manufacturer’s standings with 196 points.
Quotes after the races:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 3rd, 3rd
“I’m really pleased with today’s results. The weekend wasn’t easy but we worked hard and to finish both races on the podium here is very positive. Today we simply weren’t on the same level as the Kawasakis and doing any better than third was difficult. In race two I didn’t have much grip and also had a small problem off the line that fortunately sorted itself out right away. Let’s say I’ve done all I could here today and we can only be happy, especially considering the fact that this has always been something of a bogey track for me. Thanks to my whole team for their great work this weekend and now we’ll focus on the next races in which I hope we can score some more strong results.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #34) – 17th, 5th
“Of course I’m very disappointed with the race 1 result. I was really struggling with the grip and so decided to come into the pitlane and get the rear tyre changed. Doing this meant I lost too much ground and there was no way to catch up once back on track, but at least we understood what the problem was. In race 2, I was hopeful that I’d be able to do better but from mid-race the grip dropped off and I was unable to ride as I wanted to. A pity because I was sure we had everything set to be able to complete two strong races here at Donington.”
Serafino Foti – Team Manager
“All in all, today has been a positive day, in that Chaz has completed two strong races. To reach the podium in both shows stability and the continuous growth of the package. Today, in reality, the Kawasakis, and especially Sykes, had something extra. Davide, having put in a good qualifying performance, was unlucky in the races, but he nevertheless make a good second race, fighting for a podium place until a few laps from the end. We need to be prepared for the upcoming Portimao round and so the work will continue, strengthened by our experience here this weekend.”
