SBK | Motul Dutch Round, Race2: Sunday to forget for Ducati

It wasn't an easy weekend in general for the Aruba.it Racing team and for the Ducati bikes at the TT Circuit in Assen: none of the riders got on the podium in Race 2, while in the first heat Davies took third place, and it happened since Race 1 at Misano last year.

Beyond the result itself, the Panigale was not as competitive as in the previous outings of the season, suffering in comparison with Kawasaki and Yamaha: Davies and Melandri suffered problems in practically every outing, with the rider from Ravenna suffering a lot in the race due to lack of balance and a set up suitable for the Dutch track.

To this was also added a good dose of bad luck, with Chaz Davies who found himself in the wrong place and time in Race 2: “I found myself in the wrong place in Turn 1. I had been dragged out a bit, so I chose the safer option of going wide and coming in, because it was created a bottleneck,” he explains. But the problems didn't end there: “I started to find the rhythm, I was progressing, but I had problems with the rear throughout the race. I didn't have much grip, I couldn't go as I wanted and then, from halfway through the race onwards, I had some serious vibrations, I didn't know if I had damaged the tyre."

Despite this, Davies was not entirely displeased with the weekend's results. “We lost ground in the standings this weekend, but we expected it a little. However I think we did a good job on Saturday, I had difficulties on Sunday, but overall I'm quite happy with the weekend's work. I think we can build from here and I know we can learn from the mistakes we made this weekend.”

Marco Melandri, on the other hand, never had the pace throughout the weekend: after a difficult first heat, even in Race 2 he didn't make the hoped-for improvements, managing to recover up to seventh position, but more than twenty seconds behind the winner.

“We tried to change the setup to solve the problems on Saturday, but it was even worse. It was really difficult to drive today. It's difficult to be happy, but I want to stay positive because the team and all the guys at Ducati are working hard to help me solve the problems. We know that we can ride well, fight for the podium and for the victory. It's not an easy moment for us, but we don't give up” – he said Marco Melandri – “Even though I wasn't fighting for the best positions, I tried to fight with the same energy I put in when I fight for victory,” he says. “But I couldn't overtake Torres, he was riding really well and I had problems in many areas”.