The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team positively concluded a two-day test at EuroSpeedway Lausitz (Germany), the only new track on the 2016 calendar. The German circuit, which will host the WorldSBK championship on September 16-18, was a stable venue for the production-based series from 2001 to 2007. During this period, Ducati won five out of ten races.
Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano thus were able to get acquainted with the 4.265 kilometer track, clocking 135 and 95 laps respectively on the Panigale R and laying the foundations for the work on the setup ahead of the tenth round of the season despite some rain on Tuesday, all the while evaluating new electronics and chassis solutions with positive feedback.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1’37.0
“All in all, it was a very positive test. I’ve been a little bit disappointed in the last few races as I didn’t have the same feel on the bike that I used to, but we’ve made some small adjustments and seemingly we were able to get it back. The priority was to learn the circuit, and it turned out to be more fun that what I thought but needs some renovations. The bumps, in particular, make it not easy to learn. We were lucky with the weather considering the forecast, as we only missed a couple of hours of track time. We did a lot of laps, and I think that we did a great time on race tyres, so we go on holiday tired and happy.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34) 1’37.8
“It was important for us to come test on this track before the race. The last time I rode here was in 2007, and I didn’t remember it too well. The track is beautiful and fun to ride, the only problem is represented by the bumps, which are a bit too many. Anyway, we did a good job with the setup, evaluating a few solutions that should help us make another step forward in the last four rounds. Unfortunately, we couldn’t spend as much time on track as we would have liked to because of some issues and the rain, but we still gathered some crucial data before the race.”
