| #AragonWorldSBK Race-1. Not an easy Saturday for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team as Scott Redding and Michael Rinaldi ended the season opener in 4th and 7th position respectively. |
Scott Redding and Michael Rinaldi finished fourth and seventh in the first race of the 2021 WorldSBK season.
A quite complex Saturday for the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team that will be back on track tomorrow for the Superpole Race and Race-2 of the Pirelli Aragon Round.
After a convincing FP3, Scott Redding did not take any risk in the first run with the "X" tire. Then he pushed to the maximum with the "Q" tire, setting the momentary track record (1'48.733) before the final fastest time set by Rea (Kawasaki).
The low temperature did not help Michael Rinaldi, as he couldn’t get the best out of his qualifying tire and he had to settle for the third row (P9) with a time of 1'49.516.
P1 - J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1'48.458
P2 - S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) + 0.275
P3 - T. Sykes (BMW) + 0.382
P4 - A. Lowes (Kawasaki) + 0.432
P5 - C. Davies (Ducati) + 0.611
P9 - M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) + 1.058
Scott Redding's start was quite difficult and from the third lap he has started to lose contact with the Kawasaki duo.
The English rider did not find grip with the rear tire and between the 5th and 6th lap he was overtaken by Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and Davies (Ducati).
Redding had the merit of not giving up: after having overtaken Davies, he came back in contact with the podium group during the last three laps, but he finished 4th only 2 tenths of a second behind Razgatlioglu (Yamaha).
It was not an easy Saturday for Michael Rinaldi, too. He started the race with the "X" tire and after having fought with Bautista (Honda) during the first 3 laps, from mid-race on the Italian rider found a better pace passing first Haslam (Honda), then Gerloff (Yamaha) to finish in 7th position.
P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki)
P2 – A. Lowes (Kawasaki) + 3.965
P3 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) + 4.008
P4 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing- Ducati) + 4.242
P5 – C. Davies (Ducati) + 4.615
P7 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 8.345
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #45)
"It was a very difficult race for me. Since the first laps, I felt I didn't have enough grip to keep the pace with Rea and Lowes. The temperature went up compared to the morning, and it might have been a problem, even though that same condition seemed to be an advantage for us last year. I'm sorry I couldn't be competitive to stay with the two Kawasaki's. We have to analyze the data and understand where we can improve but I have full confidence in my team and I'm sure we can find some solutions to be more competitive tomorrow."
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #21)
"I can't be satisfied with today's race because I wasn't able to express my potential. I wasn't able to find the feeling I needed to push as hard as I could. Obviously, we need to work on this. I wished for a different debut in my first race with the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team but at the same time, we really brought home the best possible result, given the circumstances. We will work hard tonight, focusing on the data, which are strategic. I explained well to my team what happened during the race and I'm sure we'll find some answers for tomorrow".
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