Estoril is a historic track full of traditions, suitable for technical and expert riders.
The Nolangroup guys once again put on a show.
In Superbike Iker Lecuona was among the fastest in both Race 1 and Race 2, even touching the podium in the Superpole Race, while Federico Caricasulo finished close to the podium in Race 1 and fought for the victory in Race 2 before having a technical problem.
The next race, on the weekend of 10 June, is the home one. We go to Misano and we don't want to hear reasons. What's better than a little bit of sea and a little bit of motorsport?
It is the perfect match. We are waiting for you!
SUPERBIKE
IKER LEUCONA RACE1: 6th
"In general today’s race was a good one and I’m pleased with how it went, aside from the last four or five laps when I struggled with a drop in front tyre performance. I was able to maintain good pace throughout and ran with Redding for most of the race. My plan was to wait and try and save the tyres as much as possible before moving in to attack. Also, for as long as we were gaining on Locatelli, I preferred to stay behind and then, once I saw that the gap was remaining more or less the same, I overtook him. Over the final five laps, the front tyre really dropped off and I risked crashing a few times. Xavi arrived very quickly and I could do nothing in the final lap to defend my position. Anyway, it was a very positive result for the team and has also allowed us to collect more data, which hopefully will help us to understand what we have to do for tomorrow."
IKER LEUCONA RACE2: 6th
"I’m really happy with our weekend here, my first visit to Estoril. We really improved the feeling with the bike over the weekend and this morning I felt very good in the wet during warm-up. If I’m honest, I would have been happy if the weather had stayed fully wet for the races. In the end, we had mixed conditions and in the Superpole race, even though we’d never tried the intermediate tyre, we decided to go with it at the front, together with the slick at the rear. It was a gamble, but I like a challenge! Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and, in this case, I struggled a bit with the front through the final laps, but we finished P4 and it was amazing, the feeling with the bike was really amazing. So we went into race 2 really confident but of course we experienced the most unlikely event, losing the front fender at the start of the warm-up lap! I tried to understand how to manage the race and I came really close to coming back into the pits, but then I realised that I could brake safely so I carried on. There was some vibration along the straight of course, and during braking too, but it was manageable, and we eventually finished just eight seconds from the winner. I was able to chase Loca and finish less than one tenth from him. We completed all three races in the top six, and are still P5 in the championship, so I leave here very happy and am looking forward to the next one!"
SUPERSPORT
FEDERICO CARICASULO RACE1: 5th
Today was a positive day even if we were basically unlucky in qualifying because we had the potential to start second or third. Unfortunately in my fastest lap I crashed and the second fastest lap that would have allowed me to start fourth was canceled due to a yellow flag.
Despite everything in the race we got off to a good start and we were close to fighting with the top three. We have grown a lot on a technical level and we only need a small step to get on the podium.
FEDERICO CARICASULO RACE2: DNF
Regardless of how the race went, it was a positive day because we were fast in the wet this morning but also in the race. Thanks to a great step, we were competitive for the podium but also something more.
Unfortunately we had a mechanical problem and therefore the guys on the team are not resposible. I am convinced that we will make up for it.
