SBK | Prosecco DOC UK Round, Race1: day to forget for Ducati

Donington Park is certainly not a track favorable to the characteristics of the Panigale and Chaz Davies, who despite playing at home here has never won, but the sixth round of the world championship of derivatives for the Borgo Panigale manufacturer started worse than expected. was expected.

After a difficult Friday in qualifying, with Davies having to contest the first qualifying heat, the Tissot-Superpole did not go well either: the Welsh driver and Marco Melandri fought stubbornly but were unable to go beyond the third and fourth row respectively.
A position from which it is very difficult to aspire to the podium, especially when you don't have the race pace to stay with the leading group.
In fact, Davies was never able to worry his rivals, finishing the race in a disappointing eighth place, while things went even worse for Melandri: he crashed with six laps to go at turn 12 and finished 22nd.

Not even the rookie Michael Ruben Rinaldi is saved from today's negative day: for a 12th which all things considered would also be satisfactory if he didn't arrive more than 30 seconds behind the leader Micheal Van der Mark.

The whole team is currently working in preparation for Race 2, which will start tomorrow at 14pm.

“Before the race I was quite confident despite the less than optimal grid position. I thought we could challenge for the podium, but unfortunately that wasn't the case and the race was more difficult than expected. We struggled to find the best sensations, naturally yesterday's crash didn't help in this sense because it took away precious time on the track, but I expected to make more significant steps forward today. We didn't have much grip, so it was necessary to ride more softly to bring home the best result possible. Things change quickly in this sport, so I hope that we too will be able to reverse course in view of Race 2” – he admitted Chaz Davies.

“We worked hard as always, but we are still trying to understand why we are in difficulty on this track. It's been a difficult weekend so far, both in the wet and in the dry. As for the crash, I did almost the entire race with Chaz and I knew I was faster in the first two sectors while he was more competitive in the last, so I was struggling to pass him and I simply wanted to stay as close to him as possible in the last corners. Unfortunately, I lost the front. With the new rules we have been struggling for some time in some aspects, such as stopping the bike and making it run at its best. We have to keep trying to improve, one step at a time. Tomorrow is another day” – he said Marco Melandri.

“We tried to work as hard as we could, limiting the damage on a track that wasn't particularly suited to us, and I think we had a decent race even though our potential is higher. However, I am satisfied with how we worked in the garage, and tomorrow we will try to make further steps forward and be ready in all weather conditions" – he commented Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

“Despite Chaz and Marco fighting with their usual tenacity, it was a tougher race than expected for us. We need to analyze the data in detail to make up for it as soon as possible. We don't lack desire and the talent of our drivers is not in question. Tomorrow the weather could also play an important role and we want to be ready" - said Marco Zambenedetti, Ducati Corse Technical Coordinator on the track.