DAVIDE GIUGLIANO REPLACED EUGENE LAVERTY, IN CONVALESCENCE AFTER FALLING IN ROUND 2 IN THAILAND. NEXT RACE: ROUND 4 AT ASSEN, IN THE NETHERLANDS, ON 22 APRIL 2018.
Aragon, Spain, 15 April 2018 – Lorenzo Savadori scored the points for Milwaukee Aprilia in Race 2 at Aragon with P10 as teammate Davide Giugliano was forced to pit for tyres. Starting P12 and P14 respectively after a tough Race 1 on Saturday, Lorenzo and Davide were optimistic for a stronger finish on Sunday and delivered impressive performances in morning warm up to finish P7 and P8.
Lorenzo held on to his starting position at the start, fighting with Torres and Gagne to make up places. He passed Gagne on Lap 7 for P11, and moved to P10 after a crash for Fores ahead. From there he was stuck in the midfield and struggled with set up issues on his bike that persisted from Race 1, on top of the pain from his healing collarbone. His race pace was strong however and looked fast enough to fight Sykes for P6, but the pack ahead held him back and he had to ultimately settle for 6 points in P10 less than 0.5s behind P9.
Davide struggled with front tyre grip from the start of the race, the hotter temperatures not favouring the Aprilia in race conditions. On Lap 7 he made the decision to pit for fresh rubber, opting to collect data for the coming races over risking a crash by pushing with low grip. The unscheduled stop shuffled him to the back of the grid and he came home P19. Though the team hoped for a bigger points haul from Aragon they still have positives to take away for Round 4 at Assen next week. With a strong performance from Davide in his very first appearance for the team and an improving Lorenzo back to a good level of fitness, they have a wealth of data to draw on as the European leg of the WorldSBK series continues.
Shaun Muir, Team Principal: "Lorenzo had a disappointing race, he wasn’t happy in himself and was playing catch up for most of the race. He got stuck in a midfield group but he had the pace for the top 6. He did well in morning warm up with P7 but that didn’t translate to the race when the temperatures here higher, which has been an issue for the Aprilia. Davide too had a strong warm up session with P8 just behind Lorenzo, but in the race he had an issue with his front tyre and didn’t want to risk pushing more than necessary for the sake of a few points. He decided it was safer to pit and fit a new front tyre, which was a safe option, and just brought the bike home with some useful data to build on for next week. It was a disappointing weekend overall for us but we have positives to take away. We need a good start in Assen Free Practice, and our aim will be to be score bigger points with both riders".
Lorenzo Savadori #32. Grid P11 - Race P10 - 6 points: “It was a difficult weekend for me really, my collarbone is a lot better than in Thailand but not yet 100% and it caused me some pain still. I also had some problems with the second bike yesterday in Race 1, and today I was still having some problems with the set up. I had the pace to fight Sykes for P6 today, but it was really difficult to pass the guys ahead of me from P10. That is an area we need to work on a lot, to help me make passes and to make them stick. We go to Assen with a lot of information to use and improve the bike with, and I’m looking forward to it. For sure there is work to do but I like the track a lot and I think we can make a big step forward."
Davide Giuliano #34. Grid P14 - Race P19: “I wanted to change the tyre in the race today because the temperature was so high and I couldn't do a lot with the harder compound. I wasn't able to match my pace from warm up this morning or yesterday's race, and I struggled in the long corners a little. I knew it was safer to change tyre than risk a crash, and I wanted to gather the data for the team so that we can work with it to be quicker. Overall I think it was a positive weekend for me. When I arrived I had never seen the bike before or met the team, but we worked really well together all week. I want to say thanks to all the guys and Shaun for their work and support, and scoring points yesterday was a good feeling. I like the Assen circuit very much, and I'm looking forward to racing again with the team next week. We have learnt a lot and I think we can have a good result there."
RACE 1. Giugliano leads home double points finish for Milwaukee Aprilia in red-flagged Race 1. Milwaukee Aprilia rider Davide Giugliano led home teammate Lorenzo Savadori in a double points finish for the team at Aragon after a restart in Race 1. A disappointing Superpole saw Davide and Lorenzo start P14 and P10 respectively, with a crash for Lorenzo in Superpole 2 preventing him from chasing a faster lap. Both riders had confidence for the race though, with rain holding off despite grey skies over MotorLand Aragon. On the race start they each made up places, Lorenzo starting Lap 2 in P9 after a pass on Torres and Davide taking P12 after he passed Baz and Rinaldi ran wide. On Lap 3 Lorenzo was chasing Camier hard for P8, but a crash for Camier at Turn 11 left Lorenzo and the chasing Torres with no room for avoiding action as all three riders hit the ground. The racing incident brought out the red flag, allowing Lorenzo to return to the box as his crew prepared the spare bike.
A quick restart procedure gave the teams limited time to prepare for the restart, but the spare bike was fired up in time for Lorenzo to head out and join the grid. With 17 laps left to contest the whole field was eager to make progress, and Davide and Lorenzo were quickly in the thick of the action. Davide made the most of his first racing start to adapt for the second half, and made rapid progress from P17 to pass Jacobsen for P16 on Lap 4. He held position and took a further three positions, passing Mercado, teammate Savadori and Hernandez all within 6 laps. He came home in P13 less than a second from P9 to take 3 points in an impressive finish for his debut with Milwaukee Aprilia. Lorenzo struggled to adapt to his second bike, as an issue with his front brake impeded his progress. With his collarbone still healing from Round 1 he was in pain after the crash, but marched on and was able to finish P15 with a single valuable point.
(Photo source: Milwaukee Aprilia Racing).
INFO:
www.milwaukeeaprilia.com
