Winter Test Portimao: Davies finishes on top in Portugal

After making its track debut in 2017 in testing at Jerez de la Frontera, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team continued its work by taking to the track at Portimão with Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri last weekend for another two days of testing, one month after his championship debut at Phillip Island.

Both riders continued the partially completed program in Spain to evaluate various engine, electronics and chassis updates prepared for the Panigale R, carrying out numerous comparative tests.
Davies and Melandri respectively closed these tests in Portugal with a best time of 1'41.813 and 1'43.344.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will not take to the track this week in Jerez to prepare directly for the official Dorna tests, scheduled for 20 and 21 February at Phillip Island, in view of the opening race the following weekend.

“We worked a lot in these two days, as well as in Jerez, and the balance is positive. We have finished a very detailed program to evaluate all the technical updates, with good feedback. We were also lucky with the weather conditions, because the rain only kept us in the pits in the early hours of Saturday” – he said Chaz Davies – “Although some places have been resurfaced, the circuit still has more potholes than the last time we raced here, and consequently it wasn't easy to find the right setup. These tests, after a two-month break, were also fundamental in regaining the feeling with the bike that I had at the end of 2016. In Portugal alone, we covered more than 700 kilometers. The team worked very well, and we look forward to Australia with optimism, where we will have two more days to make the final adjustments."

“In these tests we focused our work on the race distance, but we encountered some more difficulties than in Jerez, partly due to some setup experiments which did not prove particularly successful, partly due to the track conditions, which has a lot of potholes. We also did a race simulation, divided into two parts due to the red flags" – he said Marco Melandri – “We lacked a bit of stability and grip at the rear so that I could ride with maximum ease, but it was still important to verify, with good feedback, the grip on a physical level. The balance remains positive, up to now everything had gone perfectly but it is also important to encounter some obstacles, because naturally there will also be some during the championship. Now we will take stock with the team to establish the basis for Phillip Island."