A successful weekend & one to remember for Nolan Group and our riders!
On a typical Italian summer weekend, another home round of the World Superbike championship was one to remember for sure. Firstly Marco Melandri secured the 100th Italian victory in the World Superbikes. Then in Superstock 1000 we got the double with Marco Faccani and Michael Ruben Rinaldi. Even in Supersport with Federico Caricasulo who achieved a podium finish.
One negative from the weekend though, with Chaz Davies nasty unavoidable accident involving Jonathan Rea which was such a shame to see after Chaz had ridden so well and come so close to a 1st place finish. We wish him a very speedy recovery!
Next up is back over to the USA at Laguna Seca in California! A little far for a motorcycle holiday this time! But we saw you at Misano, with your Nolan & X-Lite helmets, thank you for that!
SUPERBIKE
XAVI FORES RACE1 5th
"I was expecting a tough race, unfortunately we continue to lose too much ground in the initial stages of the race, and then we can keep up the pace of the riders who are ahead. I pushed hard to try to take Torres, but in the end I was doing so much effort so all "Last lap I decided to give up and see all the falls that have been going so well. Taking so many points on a difficult day is important for the championship."
LORENZO SAVADORI RACE1 9th
“It was a shame we didn’t make Superpole 2 today, but it was a tough session. In the race, I made a small mistake at turn 9 on the first lap and I lost some places there. My pace was OK and I could push quite hard.
Around halfway in the race I was gaining on the middle group quickly, but then and towards the end it was really difficult for me to push hard. I didn’t have a strong feel for the front, and I didn’t feel comfortable.
Tonight we know some things that we can change and improve; the front for sure, and some other areas that we tried in the test. I hope tomorrow we will have a better race, and I know that the SMR and Aprilia guys will work very hard as always.”
LEON CAMIER RACE1 11th
The race was going pretty good, I just had some issued at the start of the race, as I got caught up in other riders fighting in the first corners. All in all I had a very good rhythm and the lap time was very good as well. I am just sorry the front tyre was losing performance and I made a little mistake in turn 7 costing me several positions.
MARCO MELANDRI RACE2 1st
“This win means so much to me. It’s my first with Ducati and first on Italian soil but also the 100th by an Italian rider in WorldSBK. It's the result of a lot of efforts, a composed attitude during some difficult moments, and great teamwork. We never stopped to believe in ourselves, and this result is a payback for all the sacrifices. We made a small change to our setup this morning, and before the start I was sure I could have a go at it. During the race, I tried to manage my pace and, once I took the lead, to ride smoothly. I hope Chaz recovers soon; he had a nasty crash but fortunately without serious injuries. I hope to be able to fight for another win, this time with him on track as well, at Laguna Seca.”
LORENZO SAVADORI RACE2 6th
“It was a positive weekend for us. P6 was a good result today, but we need to do a lot of work on the race starts because I am slow there at the moment.
We also made some changes to the front after the problems yesterday. They helped me but the problem is still there, so we have some work to do when we leave Misano. I am happy with more points today, and I want keep up these performances.
I’m feeling good for Laguna Seca next month. Last year I was close to the podium, and it’s a track I like riding. We learnt a lot of things weekend, so we have to work hard to make sure we arrive at Laguna in a good position.”
TATI MERCADO RACE2 9th
"It was a hard race for me today, especially in the second half. After a good start, I tried to push more than I could to gain some positions. Turn after turn I started to lose feeling with the bike and the pace was not as good as in the start, so I do managed to finish the race. Now we are working to solve few problems spotted in today’s race and we look forward to Laguna Seca for a better week end."
STEFAN BRADL RACE2 10th
"Today’s race was surely a better one, but it wasn’t easy! After four laps, I had some problems with the dashboard. It took me a couple of laps to figure that out and once I realised everything else was OK, I could find a bit of pace back and finish the race. Tenth place is not a bad result, especially given the circumstances, but obviously we need to find some direction for the next round because this weekend has been quite difficult for everyone."
SUPERSPORT
FDERICO CARICASULO 3rd
"It is a very nice feeling to return to the podium! I wanted to try to win this race because last year, I was so close to winning, before Kenan overtook me on the last lap. The podium is good I am happy after some difficult races and my injury. It is very important to be back on the podium and Yamaha and my team did a great job. I am happy because we are making really good progress and I think we will be very competitive in the next races."
SUPERSTOCK 1000
MARCO FACCANI 1st
“What a race! I’m so happy for the team, for me, everyone! It was very tough in the first part of the race, with a really fast pace to keep. I held on and then pushed to the max again in the second heat. I knew I had to try on the last lap and I did it. What can I say, I’m very happy, we needed this. I thank everyone for their support, the team, the sponsors, we did a great job here and I hope we can continue like this.”
MICHAEL RUBEN RINALDI 2nd
“I'm a
bit disappointed because the victory was almost sealed before the race was
red-flagged. At the restart I couldn’t keep the same pace on used tyres because
I gave everything I got earlier. I still tried to defend the lead, and it was a
good battle, but we couldn’t do more. The most important thing is to be back on
top of the standings. We’ve been fast all weekend and we want to stay at this
level after the summer break."
