The Aragon round in Spain, in a cold
and windy climate with occasional rain put our riders from all
categories under pressure.
Despite this pressure and weather, we
had a successful weekend in SBK with Chaz Davies' victory in race 2
after an unlucky race 1 crashing out right at the end and a double
podium for Marco Melandri.
There were further brilliant results
for Tati Mercado, Leon Camier and Xavi Fores all finishing in the top
10. With the latter of those guys a victim, of a spectacular fire on
his bike that caused injuries to the Xavi. But fortunately these were
only light burns and the Spanish rider was able to recover and
reacted in race 2 with a brilliant performance finishing 6th.
Important victory in the Superstock
1000 for Michael Ruben Rinaldi, such an impressive championship
opening for him, while it is also important to note the fifth place
finish for Marco Faccani after an aggressive race. It wasn’t all
great success, but bad luck instead for Caricasulo, out due to an
unexpected high side that put him out of the race while fighting for
the podium.
One thing, however, we are particularly
proud about: Wind, cold, water, did not have the slightest effect on
the functionality of our X-Lite and Nolan X-802RR racing helmets. So
our suggestion, after all of this racing, is to dust down your bike
and enjoy the spring weather with the products we have put to the
test on the track!
The next round of the Superbike World
Championship is for the last weekend of April. We will go to Assen
and find out what the weather luck and our riders commitment have
prepared for us all!
SUPERBIKE
Marco Melandri RACE1 2nd
“It was a tough race, for sure. We
expected warmer temperatures, which would have allowed us to use the
softer rear tyre, but the grip level was much lower today and we all
had to adapt, both with the electronics and riding style. Personally,
I struggled with the front. I opted for the new development SC1
solution because I really liked it during practice, but I expected it
to drop in a different way. I lacked grip at maximum lean angle, and
early on it was really difficult for me to close the line in the fast
corners. Still, a second place is a good result for us today. Of
course, we’ll try to improve tomorrow as each race is a different
story.”
Tati Mercado RACE1 7th
“Just a month ago I was at home
watching at the start of the season on TV, because of my injury in
training, and today I finally got my season start, ending Race 1 in
the Top 10. For me this was a very tough race, especially for two
factors: the wind and the behaviour of the bike with a full tank. I
made a good start and I tried to stay with the leaders, but they had
something more, then in the second half of the race laps the grip
dropped a lot and I could not take over Jordi Torres that had passed
me before. Despite this I managed to make my race and I am really
happy to have finished as the first among the Aprilia riders on the
track. I want to thank the team Iodaracing for the opportunity and
the work they’re doing at the track and Aprilia off course.
Tomorrow we will try to make the most of the starting position on the
grid (due to the new Race2 starting rules Mercado will start fourth,
second row) to make a good race. ”
Chaz Davies RACE2 1th
“The whole weekend has been
difficult, from start to finish, so it was really important to cap it
with a win, especially after yesterday’s disappointment. We were
confident our bike would be fast at Aragon, but it wasn’t easy at
all out there today and our main rivals seem relatively comfortable
so we know there’s still work to do in many areas. Today we
suffered a bit with grip early on. Also, the wind was really strong.
It kept pushing me away from corners and in the last lap I got caught
by a gust going into turn 5 and I missed a backshift, going a bit
wide, but we still managed to finish in front. We’re competitive
but it’s still not enough, so we need to keep working to improve.
Tomorrow’s test will be very important for us but, for now, we’re
going to enjoy this victory.”
Marco Melandri RACE2 3rd
“Today our bike was more competitive
than in Race 1 and we were in contention for the win almost until the
very end. I wanted to try to pull away with about 8 laps to go, but
unfortunately I almost crashed a couple of times and after that it
would have been difficult to pass Rea and Davies, so in the end I
couldn’t ask for more. Each race I learn something new and I’m
getting acquainted with the head-to-head battles, but we lacked the
necessary grip to push with the front. Anyway, we’re happy with our
performance. We’re constantly fighting for podiums and we're not
far from winning. We just need to improve the setup to be a bit more
consistent throughout the race, and tomorrow’s tests will be very
important to this end.”
Xavi Fores RACE2 6th
"It has been a very strange
weekend. We knew we could do well in the first round, then
yesterday's incident was something totally unpredictable, but these
are the races, it can happen. Today was a shame to start in such a
bad position because I lost time to overtake some riders, then when I
managed to make my rhythm I filled the gap. I was also taking Sykes
and Van der Mark, but it was too late. Really big thanks to the team
who did a great job, they deserve this result."
Tati Mercado RACE2 8th
“I’m very happy with the race
today which was better than you were. In general I would say this was
a nice weekend, is very positive start my season, I want to thank the
team for the great job they have done. During the race I tried to
stay with the leading group and until the eighth lap I managed to
keep up with Sykes. I did not let him escape but in the second half I
still struggling because the grip begins to drop very quickly. On
this area we have to improve and for that we will have to work harder
to solve this. I am convinced that everything can be solved because
we have done only a few tests. Our goal will be to improve in the
second part of the race from now on, however, I am happy with today’s
result because I have been more with the top riders, we have to
continue like this.”
Leon Camier RACE2 10th
"I rode the best I could and I
felt we have made some good improvement with the chassis again but I
was on the limits and there was nothing I could do. We also had some
little problem in a couple of areas of the track but this is the
result of not having the full weekend to set the bike. All in all we
did a good job and even if this result is not so special we will do
better in Assen."
SUPERSTOCK 100
Michael Ruben Rinaldi 1st
"I am very happy because we lived
a perfect weekend, reaching all the goals we had set for this race.
Together with the team, I worked hard this winter and now results
have paid us in full. However, we must keep our feet on the ground
and working hard because it is always possible to improve. We are
just at the beginning and there are still many races to go."
Marco Faccani 5th
“I can be pleased with today’s
result; we came home in fifth and have scored some points, which were
important considering I still have some shoulder pain after a
previous injury. I’ve got to know the bike better and think we’ve
done a good job, improving session by session. In the race, we
perhaps didn’t have the pace that we had in practice but I’m
nevertheless pleased with fifth, and will be doing my best to improve
on this during the next rounds.”
