Race reactions from Bulega, Razgatlioglu, Bautista and Gardner
Niccolo Bulega (P1) – “What a way to start the Championship! I’m happy because my feeling was good from the first session of the Monday test. Every time I go on the bike, I know what I can do and what I have to do. I’m just enjoying riding my bike, lap by lap, and it’s an amazing feeling. Maybe in WorldSSP at Aragon, on the first lap, I had 1.5s advantage. But in WorldSBK, it’s another story, so I’m really happy about the start and I’m really proud about what we’re doing. I was not so relaxed before the race. I knew there were some aggressive riders starting close to me, especially in the first laps. I tried to stay calm and concentrate. I started good and finished good! I’m confident. If I continue with this feeling, I can stay positive. I’d like to continue in this position.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (P2) – “I enjoyed the flag-to-flag format, this year I didn’t make the same mistake as last year where I got the penalty. The team and I did a very good job, this year I did one more lap because I felt like I was a little faster than Bautista, I was pushing more than 100% and I went to the box later. We did a very good job, and after the pit stop, I was immediately back to pushing 100% because the race only had nine laps left and I didn’t need to save the rear tire, it wasn’t bad. In the Superpole, when I was following Bulega I had a very good lap time. When I saw him coming, I thought I should follow him, and in the race my strategy was to try to follow him, but when the race started, all the Ducatis passed me easily on the straight. After changing the tyre, I found a rhythm and was riding more relaxed. Every session we are taking very small steps, but tomorrow we have two more races, and we will see.”
Alvaro Bautista (P3) – “I am delighted with how we started the season, definitely better than last year. I found a good feeling with the bike again, but during the race, I suffered a little bit from the strong wind. I also lost some ground because I had to give the position back to Iannone, who had slowed down because of a yellow flag. In any case, it’s a result that makes me happy. It was a solid race, and tomorrow, we will try to take a step forward”.
Danilo Petrucci (P4) – “It was a very tough race, with heat never seen before at Phillip Island, with conditions completely different from the tests that forced us to reset all the values. I suffered a couple of aggressive overtakings that made me lose positions, but the race was complicated: there are 4-5 riders with the same pace fighting for the podium, so making the difference is difficult, while a mistake is always around the corner. I am satisfied with the work with the team, we must continue on this path. We knew we could be fast here, now let’s try to replicate tomorrow.”
Scott Redding (P5) – “It wasn’t aggressive necessarily, but he (Alvaro) tried for sure to be there to make his move because with the strong wind, big riders have more strength on the bike and they can move the bike a bit better. He raced very well because he started well and stayed there the whole time, when he was ahead of me was slower. I think he was fast because he had the reference but he battled very well. It was tasty that one, it was nice, being able to overtake people again, race in the way I was able to race and I was having a lot of fun. I was pushing a lot because in the moment they were a bit faster than me so I was trying to learn and adapt in the moment and when you make a step with the speed, there are a lot of things changing. Then Alvaro came under quite aggressive, and I took a breath and went racing again, it was nice, it was good clean racing.”
Andrea Iannone (P6) – “Today the conditions changed a lot, the heat came out at Phillip Island and we felt it on the track. In Superpole I wasn’t able to do a completely free lap, in my Best Lap I had to overtake another rider. Third place on the grid, on the front row, is still a good result. In Race 1, I tried to follow Bulega, but right from the start we had a technical problem that slowed us down; furthermore, the first tyre didn’t seem to work as usual. From the pit stop onwards, everything improved, I managed to bounce back in the fight for the podium despite the problem, but in the end I finished sixth. It’s not the result we wanted, but I tried to get the most out of it. Tomorrow we’ll try to improve, with the aim of getting back to the positions we’ve been in since the start of the week.”
Andrea Locatelli (P7) – “In the end, seventh – just we recover one position from the start, it was quite a difficult race, really really warm! We were close to fighting in the top five, this was not our objective but it was maybe the reality after Superpole qualifying and a difficult Free Practice. I want to believe because we can have two more podium possibilities tomorrow – different conditions, different set up and try again. We can work tonight to change the bike a little bit and prepare better for tomorrow, but in general I was quite happy. We were also fast on the entry lap for the pit stop, we were competitive on the change of tyres and we did everything well. At the moment, nothing more to say but for sure we need to work to do more because like this for me, the result is not enough. I would like to try to make a step forward and fight for a better position!”
Alex Lowes (P8) – “First race done on the bimota, which is good. We struggled more in the hot conditions that arrived today and I was not quite comfortable with the front, but they are so much fun these races at Phillip Island! I was trying to be calm at the start but I didn’t quite have the feeling with the front on the first tyre. After the pit stop I felt a bit better. In the end it was a learning race but we have a lot of data for tomorrow. I feel great on the bike – like was able to apply myself well right the way to the last corner – so I did my maximum. We will get two more goes tomorrow.”
Axel Bassani (P9) – “That was our first race day for bimota and it was good for the team because we finished eighth and ninth, quite near the each other. That is a good result, I think, for the team, because we finished on nearly the same level so we can work well from that point. I was difficult today because it was really, really hot. When I stopped for the first change of tyres it was nice because you had time to breathe and drink some water. We had some little problems, especially during changes of direction, as the bike was moving. In the last five laps I had to calm down a little bit. My goal was to finish the race inside the top ten and in the best way possible, so we have some data for Sunday’s races. Now we know where we have to work and improve.”
Sam Lowes (P10) – “A top 10 to start the year is a solid result but I am not going to lie, I was expecting a bit more. After I made the pit stop my pace was really fast, and I was able to set the second fastest lap of the race and set a pace that was as competitive as the front group. But in the first part of the race it was very difficult to manage because I had no feeling. I just didn’t have any feeling with the front, and I couldn’t be fast enough, so that’s a little disappointing and we need to analyse why and make sure it doesn’t happen again tomorrow. We’ll keep working hard together and I’m happy to put some decent points on the board, but we want more and we know with our package we can do a better job. Setting the second fastest lap of the race though definitely gives me a lot of confidence for the Superpole race and Race 2 because it shows we have the potential.”
Xavi Vierge (P11) – “It has been a tough day overall. First thing in FP3, when the moment to try the soft tyre arrived, I had an issue with the bike and couldn’t try that tyre. This meant we went into qualifying without any understanding of its behavior. But the team worked well and fast to solve the issue; the bike was perfect for the session, and all in all, our lap time was not so bad, all things considered. I didn’t make a bad start to the race, and I was close to the front group when another rider made a mistake. In the tussle that followed, I lost contact with the guys ahead. With the lack of grip we are suffering with here, losing the slipstream affected us a lot. We basically have no grip at the rear and the bike was difficult to ride, especially out of the corners. During testing, it wasn’t bad; our race pace was good. But as soon as the temperature increased, notably higher today, it was really hard to find traction. The pit stop went well and the team made good changes without any mistakes. That’s about it, not much more to say, honestly. We struggled more than expected, but at least we gathered a lot of data in very hot conditions, and we’ll analyze it to try to do better tomorrow. Last but not least, I’m really sorry for Iker, it’s a pity what happened to him. He’s having a hard time, and I wish him all the best to be back as soon as possible.”
Dominique Aegerter (P12) – “It wasn’t an easy day, but at the end we scored some points. We tried to find the same feeling I had yesterday morning, but conditions were different and it was tough to find this feeling. In Superpole I struggled to find a good lap time, which made things complicated for Race 1. Our start was not too bad and I was able to recover some places, joining a very tight pack battling for the front. Following the flag-to-flag procedure, it wasn’t easy to find the rhythm back, but we managed to be consistent until the end. We’ll try to improve our performance tomorrow for sure, starting from the Superpole Race where we’ll try to attack the top 9 to gain some places for Race 2.”
Ryan Vickers (P13) – “The first day of racing in the Superbike championship of my career is over and I’m happy to have finished in the points in P13. The group in front wasn’t much faster, I had a small gap but I couldn’t easily catch up with them as I would have liked. We lost a lot of time in the pit lane during the flag to flag because of me because I arrived a bit too slowly. I think the conditions today are the most difficult I’ve ever had in my career, it was really very hot, with these temperatures the bike has completely changed and I think it’s the same for everyone. Overall I’m really happy, this morning I had a small crash during free practice, but the guys in the team kept the lead and gave me a great bike. We’re ready for tomorrow.”
Tetsuta Nagashima (P14) – “It was a tough race due to the hot conditions. The bike was okay, I just needed to adapt to it, and it was a little difficult, but each time I am able to better understand where we need to improve for the future. The goal was to race without mistakes and collect data for the future. It was a productive day because I was able to understand many things that are impossible to grasp when I’m riding alone during testing. Tomorrow, we will try to make a few changes and see if I can improve both my feeling and the bike’s setup.”
Remy Gardner (DNF) – “A disappointing day for sure, we’ll try to bounce back. Superpole wasn’t too bad at all and that’s the positive thing we could take from today. The lap time was okay and made us able to start from the third row, which left us confident ahead of Race 1. Then, I tried to push from the beginning, but unfortunately I ended up crashing in turn four; I rejoined trying to take at least some points, but in the end we were also forced to retire due to a technical issue. That wasn’t our day at all, that’s it. We’ll push hard to bounce back tomorrow, that’s for sure, and we’ll give it our best.”
Garrett Gerloff (DNF) – “Not the best way to start the championship, unfortunately, and I am sure we were all expecting more. I had a technical issue in the race so the bike stopped and I was not able to finish the race. We will try again tomorrow.”
Yari Montella (DNF) – “Qualifying was in line with our average, but I wasn’t able to put together the perfect lap to start further ahead. In the race, at turn 2 on the first lap, I had contact with another rider. On the straight, with the slipstream, I tried to brake, but I was slightly off line and hit some potholes off the trajectory, losing the front. Now full concentration on tomorrow.”
Iker Lecuona (DNS) – “There’s really not much to say. I was improving my feeling and performance step by step this weekend, and the crash ruined everything. Now it’s time to take a moment to reflect on the steps needed to recover as soon as possible. As soon as I’m back in Spain, I will undergo the necessary medical checks to decide how to proceed.”
