Good, bad and ugly results as well as some surprises, thrown some rain in the mix too for a thoroughly entertaining weekend.
The Brno track is considered a classic, an old fashioned race track that rewards clean driving.
The races, as previously mentioned, had everything across the weekend, a red flag in race 1 causing a restart, fortunately the rider is okay. Coupled with a flash rainstorm just in tim for the Superstock 1000, despite it being bright and sunny just an hour earlier.
We had some very mixed results across all classes and races, one podium and one nightmare from Melandri, we’ll focus on the podium for sure! Largely contrasting races for Chaz Davies too 8th in race one and 3rd in race two, we look to be more consistent for sure! Rinaldi also grabbing a 6th and a 15th after an unfortunate crash slowed him down. Also good to see the return of Leon Camier and Lorenzo Savadori, both obtaining solid finishes throughout.
In Supersport Federico Caricasulo had a day to be forgotten, while in Superstock 1000, Markus Reiterberger missed the podium but maintained his lead in the European FIM CUP.
Next round? Back to the US, at Laguna Seca. Lots to see, will you be there?
SUPERBIKE
MARCO MELANDRI RACE1: 2nd
"After a difficult round, we managed to be competitive once again. It's always nice to be on the podium, but track conditions today were really tricky. We lacked grip and the bike understeered. At the first start we were right behind Rea, who made a couple of mistakes, but at the restart I knew it would have been harder because the temperatures rose further. Still, we can be happy because we managed a difficult situation quite well. We solved most of our issues, even though we still need to improve. Tomorrow, it'll be crucial to start well from third row and be fast early on, then anything can happen."
CHAZ DAVIES RACE1: 8th
"It was a tough race. Initially I felt quite OK but, as the temperatures increased, the grip went away really quickly after just a couple of laps, and then after mid-race the rear grip was very low so I had to take more risks and I struggled also with the front. I did everything I could to make it to the finish line in a decent position. We need to look into these issues further to understand what caused them and how to improve because, once we get the old feeling back, I know what we're capable of."
MICHAEL RUBEN RINALDI RACE1: 15th
"I'm sorry for the crash, because we were competitive. Fortunately, the red flags allowed me to get back to the pits and the crew did a great job to get the second bike, which had a different setup, ready. We scored one point starting from the back of the grid, which is something important for the morale of the whole team. We'll try to bounce back tomorrow, without making mistakes."
CHAZ DAVIES RACE2: 3rd
"We finally made a step forward after a difficult couple of days, where we struggled with the setup and low grip levels. Despite still not having the best feeling, it was enough to put me in a position to hold my own and not drop off in the end of the race. We want to do better, but I'm really happy to be back on the podium. It's important for the morale of the team, and we'll keep plugging away without giving up. This is my 'thank you' to my crew, who worked so hard. We recovered some points on our rivals but the priority is to get the feeling back 100 percent and hopefully we'll take it to the next level soon."
MICHAEL RUBEN RINALDI RACE2: 6th
"This is a great way to finish what's been a tough weekend, with my best result of the year so far. Yesterday we were fast but I crashed, and today in WUP we've made another step forward. The race was fun, but in the final laps I was struggling with the tires because it was hotter than yesterday, and after the crash I thought P6 was OK. Now we will skip Laguna Seca, but I'll cheer for Ducati and I can't wait to go to Misano for my home race."
MARCO MELANDRI RACE2: 15th
"Looking at our pace today, it would have been enough to get the win, so to finish in 15th position is disappointing. We had a lot of bad luck, because I was feeling good and once I was in the lead I was trying to push harder to pull away, but the rear-brake foot lever broke and I was forced to go wide at turn 3. Still, I wanted to finish the race to collect important information ahead of Laguna Seca. Looking at the bright side, we regained our confidence after improving the bike's stability so I'm looking forward to the next round, where we can surely fight for good results."
LORENZO SAVADORI RACE1: 7th
“Today was not so bad, I had a little problem at the start with the clutch, and on the third restart it was really difficult to get away. I lost some places there and I had to push to make a gap, but the bike had quite a good rhythm.
I struggled with the front for some of the race and I chose a different tyre to most of the other riders, so that is an area we can work on for tomorrow. I fought with Davies for a few laps which I enjoyed and I was able to pass him near the end for P7, which gives us more good points.
I want to find more feeling in front for Race 2 and push a lot more. The bike is better on full fuel now and the bigger tyre works well for me, so I hope from P4 on the grid we can have another strong race."
LEON CAMIER RACE1: 9th
"I'm satisfied with how today went as I felt we got the most out of our current package for this circuit especially having missed the test here which meant we didn't have much time to find the right setup. In some areas in Race 1 we were quite strong, we just need to work on a couple of weak points to allow me to attack more in tomorrow's race. Injury wise, this race was a lot easier than Donington, the pain is quite manageable and is only an issue when I'm trying hard to pass other riders. We'll try making some tweaks to the Fireblade's geometry overnight to see if we can make a step tomorrow and challenge for the top six again."
LORENZO SAVADORI RACE2: 5th
"The position today was positive but I'm not very happy with my race. I think we could have been quicker and pushed for the podium.
My start was not so great and I lost some places, so I had to push hard to pass the riders and move up. I was close to Eugene at the end and I tried to pass but there was not enough time.
Overall it was a good weekend for the team, we have made good progress. I am looking forward to Laguna Seca, we did quite well last year and I am sure this time we can do even better."
LEON CAMIER RACE2: 7th
"The start of the race was a bit of a struggle until I found my rhythm, we made a couple of setting changes during Warm Up which worked well but the start was tricky with the hot conditions. As the race progressed I managed to adapt and find a good pace, even when the tyres dropped off I managed to hold my pace. This weekend we weren't fast enough to challenge for the top five but if we keep this momentum going and work on the areas on the bike where we need to, I really think some better results will be on their way soon."
SUPERSTOCK 1000
MARKUS REITERBERGER 4th
"P4 in the wet race of Brno is fine. Too bad that the weather has thwarted us and we were not fully rewarded for the good work throughout the weekend.
Thanks to all fans from all over the world, especially my fan club!"
