Positive Results For The Ducati Superbike Team At Donington Park

A positive race day overall for the Ducati Superbike team and riders Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano today at Donington Park. Although Davide Giugliano crashed out of race 1 while fighting for the win, he closed race two in fourth place, while Chaz Davies finished both of the day’s races in fifth position.
Race 1

Despite early morning rain, the track had dried in time for race one (air temperature 16°C, track 22°C). Starting from pole, Giugliano didn’t make the best start and was lying sixth after lap one. He quickly made up for lost ground however, and in the space of only a few laps he passed first Haslam and then Melandri and Guintoli to move into third place by lap eight. He also got past Lowes a couple of laps later and was lapping second, only a fraction of a second behind race leader Baz. Unfortunately, while pushing to stick with the Frenchman, Davide crashed on entering turn 9. He was unhurt in the fall but was unfortunately unable to continue the race.
Chaz got away well from eleventh on the grid and after the first handful of laps he was already up into seventh place. Battling first with Haslam and later with Rea, the Ducati Superbike rider got into a good rhythm and gradually improved on his position. He managed the final stages of the race well, and crossed the line in final fifth position, earning important points for the standings.
Race 2

Giugliano got off the line quickly but contact with Rea during the opening lap caused him to lose several positions and he was lying eleventh after that first lap. Over the subsequent laps he made a strong recovery, managing to pass a number of riders to move into fourth position by lap six. In the second half of the race, and separated by a couple of seconds from the leading three, Giugliano maintained a strong pace to the line, closing in fourth place.
Davies once again made up several positions in the initial phase of the race to position sixth by lap six. Having worked to get past Rea on lap fourteen, he too continued to lap consistently fast, holding his position and therefore crossing the line right behind his teammate, in fifth place.
After five championship rounds, Davies is now in fifth position in the rider’s classification, with 109 points, while Giugliano lies seventh with 82 points. Ducati places fourth in the manufacturer’s classification with 137 points.
Davide Giugliano #34 – DNF, 4th
“The crash in race one meant that I really wanted to do well in the second. I don’t really know how to explain that crash. I was too far over on the inside heading into the turn and when the bike touched the kerb my glove got caught on the throttle. The bike therefore didn’t slow down and I just lost control of it. In race 2, the first laps were difficult and during lap one, to avoid contact with another rider, I lost many positions. I then went after those ahead of me and I’d almost reached Guintoli for third but perhaps in the recovery I’d asked too much of my tyres and so I had to settle for final fourth position.”
Chaz Davies #7 – 5th, 5th
“I said yesterday that if I were to finish top five I’d be happy so we achieved that objective. It would have been nice to be on the podium but all in all I’m not too disappointed with the results. The races went fairly well though I struggled getting out of some of the turns. We made some changes for race 2 and the pace was better, we made a step forward but maybe not quite enough, perhaps we should have been a bit bolder with our choices. Our pace is still a couple of tenths off those ahead of us, so we still need to work to improve that. Anyway overall I’m fairly pleased; I feel that I did all I could and enjoyed the racing today.”
Ernesto Marinelli (Ducati Superbike Project Director)
“This weekend has been, all things considered, a positive one, with Davide’s pole position as well as race one in which he was a frontrunner prior to his crash, proof of our competitiveness which has allowed us to finish inside the top five. Chaz confirmed the positive trend in the races, continually improving his pace throughout the weekend. In race 2 we suffered a little in the final stages and must work hard to improve traction on exiting the corners, something that penalized us today. I want to thank both the riders but also the whole team as well as those at home that with dogged determination work tirelessly, allowing us to improve race after race. I’m convinced that it’s only a matter of time before we are finally able to celebrate.”



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