As ever the weather did not hold up, with the only respite from the rain and wind coming on the Sunday. While we had no wins this weekend we yet again achieved podium finished in both races with Marco Melandri finishing 3rd in race 1, and Chaz Davies finishing there too in race 2. We also can’t go without mentioning Xavi Fores finishing 4th in race 1, what an achievement!
Also had fantastic results in Stock 1000, with Rinaldi finishing 3rd after a red flag stopped the race for a very unfortunate Marvin Fritz had a nasty crash. We wish him a speedy and full recovery from everyone here at Nolan.
Next up in World Superbikes is in Italy at the Imola circuit, a home round for Nolan! We hope to see you there as we have a surprise that we are sure all Nolan Group fans will appreciate. Until then though, ride safe and enjoy.
SUPERBIKE
MARCO MELANDRI RACE1 3rd
“Until this morning, I wouldn’t have expected to finish on the podium. We struggled also in FP3, and even a top-five finish wouldn’t have been easy at that point, but the team did a great job and turned things around before Superpole, allowing me to regain the feeling with the bike. At the start of the race we were quite fast, but then our pace wasn’t strong enough to stay with the top three, so I opted not to take too many risks. I’m sorry for Chaz, he was really unlucky, but I'm also happy for our result. We’ll try to improve tomorrow. The conditions here were really different compared with the races held so far, the bike was moving a lot and we couldn’t find the necessary consistency with the front over the race distance, but we’ll analyse the data to make another step forward for Race 2.”
XAVI FORES RACE1 4th
"It was a very positive day. I knew I could have a good start and hoped I could get a good result. The fourth place gives me great confidence and motivation for tomorrow. I have to thank the team because the bike worked well throughout the race and allowed me to take a good step. It will be a great experience starting from the pole position and I hope to take advantage of this opportunity to repeat the result today. "
LORENZO SAVADORI RACE1 5th
"It was a good race for us today and good for me because I haven’t raced since Thailand last month. I was happy with the qualifying we did, and the front row was a good place to be.
I pushed hard at the beginning of the race and made a good gap to the guys behind me, but then I started to have problems with rear grip and lost some positions. I still made some quick laps though and 5th was a good finish."
LEANDRO MERCADO RACE1 9th
"I'm really happy with the race, even if it was not an easy one. It's always difficult to go from behind, because there is a risk, just like I did today, to be trapped in the group and obviously lost positions. The first laps I knew I was backwards and so I bet on the race pitch trying to be always constant so I could go back to some positions. The bike worked well, got the best rhythm for all 21 laps, and the team made a great job. "
CHAZ DAVIES RACE2 3rd
“I enjoyed coming back through the field, but honestly it wasn’t easy and we rode a tough race today. We simply didn’t have the ideal feeling, which we had both in Race 1 and this morning in WUP. We lacked grip on the front and it felt a bit like riding on eggshells in the last 10 laps. We need to address why, either if it’s because of a setup issue or the strong winds, but it was important not to crash and bring home points, as I realized quite early that third-place was the best we could do today. Still, our goal is to win whenever it’s possible, and hopefully we’ll have another chance at Imola, which is a special place both for me and Ducati.”
LEON CAMIER RACE2 6th
"I am really happy to be honest. There was too much traffic at the beginning but I managed to make some really good passes and I kept a really good rhythm as well. I had some problem with the grip at the end of the race and I lost a bit of time but all in all it has been a really good race. Big thanks to all my team, they did a great job today."
SUPERSPORT
FEDERICO CARICASULO 6th
"My bike was really good today. The front tyre dropped a bit in the last four of five laps and also the problem was in the last three or four laps I could not control my bike because of my shoulder injury. This made it very difficult to ride, but I knew the importance of securing points. When I arrived at the last chicane I found it hard to brake and lost two places. Considering my injury I am happy with this result and I am looking forward to the next race in Imola, where my shoulder will have had more time to heal."
STOCK 1000
MICHAEL RUBEN RINALDI 3rd
“After Aragon, where we were really competitive, we took advantage of a wild-card at Imola with positive results, even though our primary goal was to properly prepare our upcoming home round. We’ve been on a good roll lately, and I find myself at ease with both the team and the bike. The Dutch weather is always unpredictable, but we know we have the potential to score another good result and we aim at taking as many points as possible, without worrying about the standings too much because it’d be counterproductive at this early stage. We need to put our heads down to work and stay focused”.
