A very wet Superpole on Saturday resulted in Badovini first and second Melandri, so hopes were high for an excellent result for the race (Badovini in case of rain and Melandri on dry track). In fact, from a certain point of view it was. The day produced dry races and Melandri was the protagonist in both, where the script was remarkably similar. Marco had a good start in both, remaining with the first group for the whole of the races. In race one, he took the lead with just two laps remaining. However, a bad crash between Camier and Rea resulted in a red flag. The interuption lead to race positions being reverted back to those of the previous lap when Melandri was second. A similar story was played out in race two with the race being interrupted while he was preparing to launch the final attack. At the time of the interruption Marco was third. Excellent points for the championship but much regret and frustration for Marco, with two wins in his reach. Good Fabrizio 6th and 8th, Badovini 9th and 7th, whilst Checa had two 10th places. A 9th place for Neukirchner in race 2 and Aitchison two times 11th is also worthy of a mention.
In Superstock, 2nd Barrier, 3rd Canepa and 4th Guarnoni.
In the championship Melandri is in 3rd position, 30 points from the top. The next race is in Turkey on 15th September.
Here the riders reactions
MARCO MELANDRI, Nolan X-802R
“I’ve never seen a red flag at the end of both races in my life. It was a shame because in race one I was leading and race two I was third but I am sure that it would have been a great final lap because all three of us were trying to win and everyone was pushing hard. The red flag was not on my side today and as a consequence I had no chance to make use of the opportunities we had and this is frustrating, but these are the rules. I am so sorry for the guys that crashed and got injured because they had much more bad luck than me. All the best and a speedy recovery to all of them! For sure I can be happy because we have shown that we are strong but at the same time I am disappointed because I did not get as many points as I could have. The championship is still very open and I have reduced the gap to the front. So in general it was a good weekend for us and we are looking forward to the next rounds. Now we are going to tracks that I really like and I am sure that today’s disappointment will only give me even more motivation.”
MICHEL FABRIZIO, X-lite X-802R
?"Yesterday, during qualifying, we had a strange reaction with our engine brake during wet practice, but today we managed to solve everything.
In race1, seeing the possibility to stay with the best without being able to reach them made me really nervous. Starting with a bad grid position with wild cards and other riders who don't think of the general standing, practically turned my race in a very difficult one.
Race 2 has gone the same way. I managed to reach Badovini but I did not find the way to pass him. Our big problem is a good qualifying and a good start. We could really have better races."
AYRTON BADOVINI, X-lite X-802R
“Unfortunately in the first race I lost too much ground in the first laps and many guys got past me. I was having trouble and made some mistakes too. For race 2 we made a small change to the bike and I decided to approach it with a different mentality and take things more calmly. It worked because I was able to be more precise, more consistent lap after lap. I’m pleased because besides the result, seventh, the important thing was that I was able to close the overall gap between myself and the leaders. All in all it’s been a positive weekend, one of the best we’ve had so far.”
CARLOS CHECA, X-lite X-802R
“What can I say, the results speak for themselves. We made changes between race one and two but unfortunately this didn’t make a great deal of difference. I’ve had trouble getting the right balance with the bike this weekend. Contrary to Misano, where testing went pretty well, here I’ve had some problems. I don’t know, maybe I’ve lost some of the confidence I had in Misano. We’ve made modifications during the weekend but perhaps I haven’t been able to interpret them properly. The team has worked well and I hope we can find a better set-up with which we can improve our results in the next races.”
