After taking third place with Melandri in Race 1, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team took another podium at Imola (Italy) with Chaz Davies. The Welshman, who started from pole position after finishing Race 1 in fourth position, led the race for 10 laps while pulling away with Rea to finish second in front of the ducatisti fans who filled the stands.
Melandri was instead forced to retire due to an accident during lap 8. The Italian was in fourth position and well within podium contention when he was unfortunately hit by another rider under braking, a contact that fortunately didn’t result in any injuries but forced him to retire.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi enjoyed a memorable start, leading the race for the first two laps, then he faced a small drop in pace to finish in seventh position once again with the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team. After five rounds, Davies (162 points) and Melandri (131 points) are respectively second and fourth in the championship, while Rinaldi is twelfth. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team and the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team will resume action at Donington (U.K.) for the fifth round of the WorldSBK Championship, scheduled for May 25-27.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 2nd
“We did our best today but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. The temperatures were higher and I didn’t have much feeling, so I was struggling a bit both in corner entry and acceleration. I thought I’d try and go with Rea but realistically I knew it would have been too risky. Twenty points is the best we could do today. It’s very important for me to be on the podium at Imola, Ducati is very close and there are so many fans supporting us. We would have liked to give them an even better result, but we still had fun.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – DNF
“It wasn’t our lucky day, because during WUP we managed to make another step forward with the setup, which allowed us to be a bit more consistent and fast during the race. Unfortunately, we still struggle under braking, especially with a full tank, and this penalizes us while trying to overtake. The podium was well within our reach, but unfortunately VD Mark hit me under braking and my race couldn’t go on. Looking ahead, Donington is a track I really enjoy and our bike keeps improving, so we can aim high even though we need to be faster on new tires.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team #21) – 7th
“I’m quite happy with this round, which finished with two seventh places and the satisfaction to have led the race for two laps. We have the potential to do better, but we still lack a bit of experience. The important thing is to keep improving, and we’ll try to do that in Donington as well, another track that I really like.”
Stefano Cecconi, CEO Aruba and Team Principal
“To race at Imola is always a great pleasure. Our riders gave everything they had to bring home a win, but unfortunately this time it wasn’t possible. We need to keep working hard to allow them to challenge for the win in any condition. Anyway, we’ll have a chance to bounce back soon at Donington.”
