After scoring a memorable double win in Imola with Chaz Davies, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is ready to head back overseas to race in Sepang (Malaysia). The track nearby Kuala Lumpur – which hosts the WorldSBK championship for the third consecutive year and was recently repaved – triggers some sweet memories for the Welsh rider, second in Race 1 and first in Race 2 in 2015 after a thrilling, last-corner move on Jonathan Rea.
Last year, Davies’ Panigale R was alone in the pits due to Davide Giugliano’s injury in Laguna Seca. The Italian, who showed progress in Imola to finish the two races in fifth and fourth place respectively, will thus have an important benchmark to gauge the progressive improvement of his setup and get even closer to the top. After five rounds, Davies (186 points) and Giugliano (88 points) are respectively in second and fifth position in the championship, while Ducati is second in the Manufacturers standings with 196 points.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“We head to Sepang with good momentum, following two great results in Italy. In the last races, we’ve found a quite versatile setup that works on different tracks and allows me to ride close to the limit without passing it. The bike also reacts well to each change we make, and usually we know exactly where to intervene to improve. We need to stay on this course to further cut the gap in the championship. In Sepang, in 2015, we scored an unexpected win. This year, the track was repaved and I heard the banking changed in some corners, so it will be a somewhat new track for everyone and there will be more variables to take into account. After racing in Europe for most of the spring, it will be nice to go back to hot weather for a change.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34)
“Given our results at Imola, I think we finally laid down some cornerstones in terms of the setup of my Panigale R. We certainly are not at the end of the road since there is still a gap to recover, but especially in Race 2 I was able to ride the way I wanted to, without experiencing any particular issues and getting a good feedback from my bike. From lap 7 on I was really competitive, but we lost too much time early on and we need to address this issue. It’s surprising, because in the past I used to struggle in the second half of races and now it seems to be the opposite. I only raced once in Sepang, in 2014, but the recent upgrades somewhat make it a new track for everyone. We head there with confidence, we just need to keep working methodically on our basis, without rushing things.”
Circuit information:
Country: Malaysia
Name: Sepang International Circuit
Length: 5.548 km
Pole position: right
Race distance: 16 laps/88.768 km
RECORDS:
Circuit record – Davies (Ducati) 2’04.707 (2015)
Best lap – Guintoli (Aprilia) 2’03.002 (2014)
2015 RESULTS:
Race 1: Rea (Kawasaki), Davies (Ducati), Biaggi (Aprilia)
Race 2: Davies (Ducati), Rea (Kawasaki), Torres (Aprilia)
Rider information:
Chaz Davies
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 7
Age: 29 (born 10/02/1987 in Knighton, Galles)
Number of SBK races: 111
Number of SBK wins: 13
Number of SBK podiums: 39
Davide Giugliano
Bike: Ducati Panigale R
Race number: 34
Age: 26 (born 28/10/1989 in Rome, Italy)
Number of SBK races: 100
Number of SBK wins: –
Number of SBK podiums: 10
Weekend schedule (CET +6):
Friday
10:15 – 11:15 SBK Free Practice 1
13:30 – 14:30 SBK Free Practice 2
Saturday
10:45 – 11:00 SBK Free Practice 3
13:30 – 13.45 SBK Superpole 1
13:55 – 14:10 SBK Superpole 2
16:00 SBK Race 1
Sunday
11:25 – 11:40 SBK Warm-up
16:00 SBK Race 2
