Superbike|Yamaha Finance Australian Round, Race2: the protagonists' statements

The Yamaha Finance Australia Round, the traditional seasonal debut of the production-derived World Championship, ended in the name of Ducati, which was able to subvert the predictions of the day before and what was seen on the track in tests and free practices.

In general, Sunday's race was one of the most exciting of the last three years thanks also to the "Flag to Flag" procedure which, despite having the objective of remedying a tire safety problem, added unpredictability and spectacle.

It is too early to say whether the credit also goes to the new regulation: after Thailand and Aragon, two completely different tracks and from Phillip Island, we will be able to draw the first conclusions, even if it is true that the performances have leveled out compared to the same races of last year.

This weekend Ducati monopolized the action on the track and the podium: Marco Melandri's double was also joined by Chaz Davies' third place on Saturday and that of Xavi Fores, with the non-official Team Barni Racing bike, on Sunday.
The Spanish rider is understandably very happy with the result which rewards the efforts made by him and the team in recent years: Fores was always in the leading group, even after the bike change, and was able to skilfully take advantage of the fall of Chaz Davies and the Tom Sykes' technical troubles.

The only discordant note was Chaz Davies' crash on lap 13, immediately after changing tyres: the Welshman asked too much from new tyres, which had not yet reached temperature and lost the rear end ending up in the gravel.

Not even Jonathan Rea is smiling much as he hoped to forget his fifth place in Race1, in which he fought against tire problems, but was instead outwitted at the finish line by Marco Melandri: the reigning champion will seek redemption in Thailand in a month's time .

Below are the statements from Fores, Rea, Sykes and Davies at the end of the race:

Xavi Fores: «Today I wanted to win. I saw that the others were struggling to overtake me and I had a good pace, but there was a point on the track in sector T4 where I was struggling a lot and I lost first place there. I made a mistake that I ended up paying dearly for. However, I am happy to have achieved a podium that both the team and I deserved for a long time and it was important to start the season like this. Now we must continue on this path and remain constant. There will be unfavorable tracks, but we will have to grit our teeth and always stay at the top of the standings."

The Spanish driver explains how he dealt with the “Flag to Flag” «In the end it didn't damage me too much, but when I returned to the track after changing tyres, I saw that there were some drivers who were coming at high speed. speed and I was scared for a moment. I was slower and had to pick up my pace, while they were still pulling. Luckily nothing happened. If we do it to increase safety, that's fine, but if the reason is just to help drivers who are having trouble with the set-up, who put too much stress on the tires, then I don't agree."

The Championship will return to Thailand in a month: «Last year we struggled a lot in Thailand because in the heat our bike didn't perform at its best. But this year we still need to collect as many points as possible and stay at the top of the ranking because then there will be Motorland Aragon where I want to get back on the podium."

Jonathan Rhea: «My only chance to win the race was to try to lead the race at the end of the last corner. On the penultimate lap and during the race they often passed me on the straight. When I was overtaken by Marco in the first sector I thought: "now I'll let go of the brakes and dive into the inside of the bend and see what happens!" I wanted to do one last very fast lap, but all weekend I had problems with fourth gear. It was too long for the final corner, the one that leads onto the straight, and I didn't have enough traction on the exit. I also made a bit of a mess in the pit stop. I completely forgot to shift into second gear to release the limiter and both Van der Mark and Fores passed me. As a result I lost the position I had before returning to the garage. Now I just want to turn the page and start over in Thailand."

Tom Sykes: «From a certain point of view it was a very positive weekend, but on the other I'm disappointed because I really felt that this race was potentially mine. I had a good feeling with the bike but unfortunately on the third lap we started to have a small technical problem and for some reason the power dropped in some sectors of the track. Other than that, the overall setup of the bike was spot on. On the one hand we were lucky to get to the end of the race and get some points for the championship, but I honestly think that I was deprived of the chance to get a much better result. But, I have to be optimistic because we were at Phillip Island in windy conditions. I had a good feeling with the Ninja ZX-10RR this weekend and there are many positives to take away from this round. Now I want to focus on the next race in Thailand and improve over the course of the season."

Chaz Davies: «Honestly I felt good and maybe we even had some margin in the first half of the race. Then, after the tire change, I thought we could still challenge for the victory. I think it's the first time I've pushed so hard with new tyres, usually we don't come out of the pits giving 100% straight away, so maybe we overdid it slightly and made a mistake, even though I was already well inside the corner when I lost the front. This year there will be several riders capable of fighting for the podium, as we saw here, so it will be an interesting championship. We will recover and be ready to fight again in Buriram!.