A good feeling in the race configuration, but a little crash in the time attack

A two-sided Friday for Team Go Eleven and Andrea Iannone on the technical English track. Sixteen years after the last time here at Donington Park, the rider from Vasto took almost the entire morning session to get back to the right references. In the afternoon the feeling with the race tyre improved significantly, but unfortunately in the only time attack with the SCX, the soft solution, a crash at turn 11 forced the Go Eleven rider to come back to the pits, without any possibility of a lap time.

In FP 1, Andrea focused on finding the braking points and the correct lines in the English ups and downs; a couple of on the gravel, without consequences, give an idea of ​​how difficult it is to ride Superbikes on new tracks and immediately find the limit. Towards the end of the session, completing a couple of laps in a row, he found the right feeling without making any mistakes and finished in the Top Ten. On a positive note, the weight balance and geometry tests immediately gave a positive feedback, helping the rider to brake better and be more “comfortable” on the bike.

Free Practice 1: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.26.419
P 2   D. Petrucci   + 0.416
P 3   G. Gerloff   + 0.633
…
P 9   A. Iannone   + 1.245

From the start of FP 2, the number 29 found a good rhythm with the race tyre, improving the morning’s reference on the first lap and then riding tin 1.27 low towards the middle of the session. From a race perspective, Andrea said he was satisfied and ready to fight in the positions that matter. In the last 10 minutes the team had planned a time attack, with the soft SCX tyre, but on the first flying lap closed the front at turn 11. No damage to the bike or the rider, however the little time left did not allow the mechanics to rebuild the Ducati V4-R and get back on track. The margin between the two tyres, shown by the other protagonists, is over half a second, so the possibility for improvement is large. Today the stopwatch counted for little, but the current limit remains braking in low speed corners, we will need to work on that to give more confidence on the front.

Free Practice 2:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.26.013
P 2   D. Petrucci   + 0.222
P 3   D. Bulega   + 0.225
…
P 15   A. Iannone   + 1.088

Andrea Iannone (Rider): 

“I’m quite happy because with the SC0 we managed to be close to the other Ducatis. I didn’t use the SCX because I crashed on the second lap. I didn’t push too much on the first, when I started to push, I lost the front in turn 11 We have potential to improve and I’m focused on that.”

Recovery from a very difficult Superpole

The Superpole today did not smile on Team Go Eleven, subsequently forcing Andrea to make a comeback full of overtaking in Race 1. First a mistake in the fastest lap, then the yellow flag forced the rider from Vasto to start from the seventh row. It’s a shame, because despite all the duels on the track, the top eight positions were well within reach.

In FP 3, usual work schedule: first outing with the race tyre to evaluate the final set-up, then a time attack with the SCQ. The number 29 immediately drops below 27, showing good confidence from a race perspective after the tyre change, but the soft one only helps him to improve by another two tenths, complaining of little difference between the two types of tyres. Some of the protagonists manage to significantly lower the references during the lap, going below the track record.

Free Practice 3: 
P 1   R. Gardner  1.25.823
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.082
P 3   S. Redding   + 0.365
…
P 10   A. Iannone   + 0.949

The Superpole, unfortunately, was unlucky for the rider from Vasto: in the first attempt Andrea was well in line for sixth position, but at the last corner he missed the braking point, finishing wide. He restarted with the second tyre but between traffic and a yellow flag that deleted his lap, the number 29 was forced to start from the seventh row, nineteenth place. Donington is also a difficult track on which to overtake, where you lose a lot of time behind slower riders, especially in the fast corners.

Superpole:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu  1.24.629
P 2   N. Bulega   + 0.573
P 3   S. Redding   + 0.777
…
P 19   A. Iannone   + 1.900

In Race 1 Andrea started excited and ready to fight to get back to the front. From the first lap, he starts overtaking and attacks in almost every corner, but here in Donington the hotspots are very few, concentrated in the last two sectors. Furthermore, with the new tyre he struggled a bit in acceleration, then as the laps went by he gained more and more confidence. Many laps on the low 27 show that the pace was really good, in line with the Top 7. In the last ten laps he recovered more than three seconds on the group led by Van der Mark, closing in the slipstream, but without having the possibility of overtaking. Good race, the comeback always has a special value, but tomorrow it will be fundamental (even if not easy) to enter the top nine in the superpole Race, thus taking advantage of the grid reversal in Race 2.

Race 1: 
P 1    T. Razgatlioglu   33’16.535
P 2    A. Lowes    + 11.384
P 3   A. Bautista   + 13.167
…
P 11   A. Iannone    + 27.272

Andrea Iannone (Rider): 

“It was a hard qualifying. I started from position 19 and despite trying to give my best, it was difficult to overtake. We certainly haven’t reached the best set-up and ideal feeling with the bike yet but tomorrow we’ll try to do better. Everything is new here for me, even though I have already raced it many years ago, because the bike is completely different from last time. Unlike the other riders, I have no data from last year to compare to today and yesterday.  I hope to reach a good result during tomorrow’s Superpole Race so as to have a better grid position for Race 2 and fight as much as possible.”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“It was a difficult Saturday and certainly conditioned by an unlucky qualifying, in which Andrea took a yellow flag and lap deleted on the only valid lap. Starting so far back, on this track it is difficult to dream of an important result, but the pace was very good, in line to aim for a Top 6/7, and the comeback he made, proves it. Now the guys are working to be able to switch the weekend and get back fighting in front as soon as possible!”

Arm pump stops Andrea in Race 2

Big step forward on Sunday at Donington Park. The changes made after Race 1 gave positive feedbacks, making the bike more agile when changing direction and improving acceleration. Superpole Race and Race 2 saw Andrea come back with a strong pace, with overtaking and hard brakings. Unfortunately, towards the seventh/eighth lap, his right arm locked up, due to an arm pump, and three laps later he was forced to retire, abandoning the pursuit of the Top 6.

The Warm Up immediately gave a positive feeling; Once he came to the box, confirmed the progress made, so much so that he almost repeated his best lap of the weekend on used race tyres.

Warm Up:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1’25.582
P 2   A. Lowes   + 0.586
P 3   A. Locatelli   + 0.634
…
P 11   A. Iannone   + 1.265

In the Superpole Race Andrea showed grit and determination. After a complicated first corner with some contacts, he started a spectacular comeback. One overtake per lap on average, sometimes even “taking” two opponents into the same corner. Once he closed with the group fighting for the Top 9 and the grid reversal, we missed a lap to complete the attacks and gain four rows for Race 2. Tenth place, but the motivation and shown upon returning to the pits underline that it could be possible to achieve a good result in the afternoon, too.

SP Race: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu  14’23.681
P 2   N. Bulega   + 4.826
P 3   J. Rea   + 6.526
…
P 10   A. Iannone   + 12.828

The start of Race 2 gave further strength and motivation to the rider from Vasto. Three positions gained and two more overtakings during the first lap. Nice exchange of position with Bassani and Van der Mark, then with the track clear he set a pace in the high 26s, similar to the fight for the podium, closing the gap on the group fighting for sixth position. Behind the two GRTs, he tried the attack on Aegerter first at the Fogarty Esses, then in turn 1. There suddenly Iannone felt strong pain in his right forearm, which then was completely blocked in the subsequent laps. He tried to resist, but had to give up; upon returning to the pits he couldn’t take his hand off the handlebars and his arm was very swollen and full of fluid. It’s a shame because the Top 6 was within reach, but the most important thing is to have found again the feeling with the Panigale.

Race 2: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   33’11.699
P 2   N. Bulega   + 8.062
P 3   A. Lowes   + 10.026
…
DNF   A. Iannone   

Next weekend we will race in Most, Czech Republic. In these three days of break, recovering energy will be very important, in the hope that the physical problem does not return. The arm pump came suddenly. Furthermore, Round 06 takes place on a new track for Andrea, recently included in the calendar, where he will have to take references again. Starting from the positive aspects of this weekend, on the road to Most morale remains high, aware of Go Eleven’s potential!

Andrea Iannone (Rider): 

“It was a very though Race 2, right from the start I felt pain in my right forearm which then eventually locked up and forced me to retire. I no longer had the strength in my hands and fingers to be able to push on the brake lever. It has never happened, but this time unfortunately I wasn’t able to continue. I’m sorry because in Race 2 I overtook many riders and I was recovering with an excellent pace. I would like to thank Ducati and the Go Eleven for the commitment shown and the progress made, I felt better on the bike today than yesterday. I know we didn’t reach our target but I’m confident and sure that we will be competitive again at Most.”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“The weekend certainly didn’t repay us for the work we did, we didn’t get the results we deserved, unfortunately since Friday nothing went in the right direction and we have to accept that this was a bad weekend. Sometimes it happens, of course others will happen, the important thing is to stay focused and work. I must, however, admit that we leave here with high morale because it seems that we have found some good solutions in terms of performance and Andrea found again the feeling of the first 3 races. Luckily we are going now to Most!”