Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), Friday 18 September 2015 – The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team are back on track this weekend, with riders Chaz Davies and Michele Pirro, for the eleventh round of the 2015 Superbike World Championship taking place at the Jerez circuit in Spain. Davies and Pirro closed the day’s opening timed practice sessions in fourth and ninth position respectively.
Warm and dry conditions allowed both Chaz and Michele to make the most of Friday’s two 45-minute practice sessions. In session one, both riders made good progress, with Chaz moving quickly up into the front positions to conclude third thanks to a best of 1’42.056, while Michele closed eighth with a fastest time of 1’42.408.
In the afternoon’s practice both riders continued to work on the set-up of their Panigale R bikes. Due to the higher temperatures and more slippery track conditions, Davies and Pirro were unable to improve on their best times set in the morning but are nevertheless satisfied with the work completed today in preparation for Sunday’s races.
Quotes after the day’s sessions:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 4th (1’42.056)
“We’ve had no major problems today and are just working steadily to understand the tyres. This afternoon we tried a couple of different of things which didn’t give us the best lap time but did give us a good understanding of how to move forward tomorrow. We made some changes to try and improve the turning of the bike and to give me as much grip as possible for as long as possible. The grip is always an issue at Jerez, so for me it’s important to take things step by step, not make mistakes, and work steadily towards Sunday’s races.”
Michele Pirro – (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #55) – 9th (1’42.408)
“The grip dropped off this afternoon but the positive thing is that my lap time was more or less the same as this morning, which means I’m gradually improving my feeling with the Panigale. The most difficult aspect for me right now is understanding the limit of the tyres; I only used them in Misano and so I have to work step by step to build confidence and gradually improve my lap times, as I’m currently losing four or five tenths. Tomorrow we’ll continue to work to find the right set-up with which to improve my feeling; I’m sure that we can be faster…”
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
