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15/04/2013

Aragon SBK: Melandri gets the podium.

Marco Melandri earned a good third place in race 1 after a difficult weekend with many problems with chattering and tyres. The modification completed on his bike for race 2 didn't have the expected results and Marco only obtained fifth place. Ducati and X-lite riders Checa and Badovini had an even bigger struggle in Aragon with Checa and Badovini recovering from their bad injuries  and struggling with a young and developing new bike. Checa received a 7th and 8th position, Ayrton finishes twice in 10th place and Fabrizio had a lower than expected result for with an 8th and an 11th. Unfortunately Leon Camier could not race after a bad crash during the practices. Gets points also Neukirchner and Sandi.
In the world ranking Melandri is fourth and Fabrizio fifth.
Next Race in Assen the 28Th of April.

Below are the riders declarations:

Marco Melandri,  Nolan X-802R
"For me, it wasn't the best weekend. After race one I was still pretty happy. At the start I wasn't very comfortable with the front end and I made a big mistake trying to catch the guys in front of me at the end of the main straight. After that I got into a good rhythm and improved into second place. I thought that would be my position in the end but unfortunately the bike went into neutral between third and second gear. But I finished in third place which was not so bad for me. In race two, based on my experience with the 16.5 inch tyre, I chose a harder tyre for the front. But with the 17 inch tyre, it worked differently to how I expected. I had less grip and could not ride properly. In the beginning I pushed very hard, but then I preferred not to risk too much. I had no pain in my shoulder, but by the end of the race I had no strength left in my arms. I am looking forward to the next race in Assen, when we will be in a better shape. Congratulations to Chaz. He rode awesome – well done!"
Carlos Checa, X-lite X-802R
"I think there has been some improvement on the chassis side, although I still had trouble through the corners – in race one I was struggling to find the apex. At a certain point I realized I’d been stung by a bee and in the final laps my shoulder started to give me some trouble, so there were definitely a few problems to contend with. Despite that I did all that I could to keep pace and I was able to hold my position in both races. In the end it wasn’t so bad. Of course we’re not exactly satisfied with the race results but in these circumstances I don't think we could have done more here today. I am satisfied though with the work we’ve done over the weekend. I’ve given my technicians a lot of feedback and they’ve worked really hard – I know that they are capable of moving us in the right direction. We’re looking ahead. We now have two important test days at Jerez and then we go to Assen where we hope to be able to close the gap a little."
Ayrton Badovini, X-lite X-802R
"Today’s races were not at all easy for us. In race 1 I did all I could to finish the race and take a few points, without taking any risks. In the second race I was lapping a lot better, the bike was behaving quite differently compared to the first race and I was able to push. We made some quite big changes to the bike between the first and second races and they made a difference. I’d say we’ve made a step forward. We’re working well and understanding the direction we need to take. The tests this week in Jerez are very important for me in particular because I still haven’t had a lot of time on the bike so I hope to make the most of those sessions. Here at Aragon we’ve collected a lot of information that we can hopefully use to our advantage in the coming weeks."
Michel Fabrizio, X-lite X-802R
"In race one we limited the damages and took home eight points for my ranking. I tried not to make mistakes and took advantage of my bike as much as possible. Compared to the test session we were able to improve our RSV4, but unfortunately I cannot drive as I would like. In the second race the heat made the situation even worse so I tried once again to collect as many points as possible. Nothing is compromised because we are only at the beginning of the season and I leave Motorland Aragon with 13 points and a fifth position in the overall ranking. Certainly we are not satisfied and we will try to collect better results in the next round at Assen in two weeks. "

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