Almost four months have passed since the first round of the 2020 WorldSBK season held at Phillip Island, Australia. Then, unfortunately, the restrictions due to the spread of Covid-19 forced teams and riders to a long stop.
Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, the engines of the Ducati Panigale V4 R returned to sing for a quick shakedown (just a few laps), which helped Chaz and Scott to regain confidence with the bikes and make the first laps on the new asphalt of the Misano World Circuit.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati riders then carried out two intense days of testing which ended today offering extremely positive data.
Scott Redding notched up the best chrono among the Wsbk riders (only 135 thousandths of a second off the fastest MotoGP rider) and lapped consistently on race pace too.
Positive sensations also for Chaz Davies (177 laps completed throughout the three testing days) who found a very good feeling with his Panigale V4 R, especially lapping with used tyres.
Scott Redding (P1 – 1’33.067)
“These were three very positive days as it was important to regain the feeling with the bike. We have worked a lot especially with used tyres and we have tried new solutions that have given positive feedback. I’ve been working out a lot these months with the goal of losing weight. In the end, I also managed to set a good chrono but this is not important. It was great to get back to work with the guys and I can’t wait to get back on track”.
Chaz Davies (P5 – 1’34.053)
“It was nice to get back out there and see a lot of familiar faces. It has been a long four months and there was a great desire to reconnect with the bike and the track. We worked a lot to try many solutions and get some important feedback. We have improved in some areas and we have to improve in other aspects but the direction is the right one”.
Marco Zambenedetti (Ducati Corse Technical Coordinator)
“I am very satisfied with these three days of testing as we were able to test – with Redding and Davies – some new parts and technical solutions we tried a month ago on this circuit with Pirro and Rinaldi. We had good feedback from the riders on the new ergonomics. We also re-tested some of the solutions we tried in Australia and there are still some others to try out, especially from an electronic point of view. We will be able to do it before the race weekend at Jerez”.
Serafino Foti (Team Manage Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“We were looking forward to getting back to work and this test was taken with great enthusiasm. They have been three very important days for the riders and the whole team, also to get familiar with the new protocols that we will have to follow in the next rounds. Our season will start again: it will be shorter but at the same time, it will be very intense. As always we will give our best to get the best possible result”.
