SBK | Acerbis Czech Round, Race1: Melandri returns to the podium

Marco Melandri returns to the podium for the first race of the seventh round of the season, which is being held at the Autodromo Brno: it is a track that evokes good memories for the Ducatista given that he is the last rider to have won here in WordlSbk, in 2012.

Melandri capitalized very well on third place in Superpole and did well not to be distracted by the interruption of the race due to a red flag and the subsequent two restarts due to traffic light failure.
Having overtaken Tom Sykes for second place, he set out to chase Rea, only to then suffer some grip problems and cross the finish line in second place.

Grip problems also penalized Chaz Davies, but to a greater extent, forcing him to slow down his pace, crossing the finish line in eighth place.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi, on track with the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team, started from the back of the grid after the crash, managing to recover several positions and finish in the points, in fifteenth place.

“After a difficult round, we managed to get competitive again. It's always nice to get on the podium, even if the track conditions today were really difficult. There was a lack of grip and the bike tended to understeer. At the first start we managed to stay with Rea, who had made a couple of mistakes, while at the restart I knew it would be harder because the temperatures had risen further" - he said Marco Melandri – “We can still be satisfied, because we managed the situation well. We have solved some of our problems, although we still need to improve. Tomorrow it will be essential to start strong from the third row and do the first laps well, then anything can happen."

“It was a difficult race. At the beginning I felt quite comfortable but, as the temperatures rose, the grip dropped really quickly, first at the rear and then at the front. I had to take several risks, and I did everything I could to cross the finish line as far ahead as possible. We need to analyze the data in detail and understand exactly what penalized us and how to improve the feeling, because we know what results are within our reach" – he declared Chaz Davies.

“I'm sorry for the crash, because we were competitive. Luckily, however, the red flags allowed me to return to the pits and the guys did a great job to make the second bike available to me, which however naturally had a different setting. We picked up a small point despite starting from last, which is very important for the morale of the whole team. We will try to do it again tomorrow, without making any mistakes" – he said Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

“It was a two-sided race, because on the one hand Marco found the feeling again after a difficult round and managed to always run at the front and on the other Chaz, after a good start, suffered quite evident difficulties. Both gave their best, as always. Now it's up to us to put them in a position to express themselves at their best tomorrow, and we will work hard towards this goal" – he said Stefano Cecconi, CEO Aruba and Team Principal.