The first two free practice sessions for the Prosecco Doc Aragon Round ended with very positive feelings for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team.
Chaz Davies was the protagonist of the day thanks to the first place in the combined classification. The Welsh rider got off a great start in FP1 – finishing the session in first position – then worked intensively in FP2 with used tires registering a very incisive race pace.
Scott Redding struggled a bit to find the best feeling in FP1 but in the afternoon session – even without trying the soft rubber – he was one of the few riders who manage to improve the morning’s time by closing in third position only 166 thousandths of a second from the best FP2 lap time set by Rea.
FP1 | Final Standings
P1 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’50.543
P2 – M. Rinaldi (Ducati) 1’50.601 +0.058
P3 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’50.736 +0.193
P4 – A. Bautista (Honda) 1’50.765 +0.222
P5 – T. Sykes (BMW) 1’50.926 +0.383
P11 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.439 +0.896
FP2 | Final Standings
P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’50.865
P2 – A. Lowes (Kawasaki) 1’51.001 +0.136
P3 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.031 +0.166
P4 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’51.097 +0.232
P5 – M. Rinaldi (Ducati) 1’51.140 +0.275
P6 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.218 +0.353
FP1-2 | Combined Standings
P1 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’50.543
P2 – M. Rinaldi (Ducati) 1’50.601 +0.058
P3 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’50.736 +0.193
P4 – A. Bautista (Honda) 1’50.765 +0.222
P5 – T. Sykes (BMW) 1’50.926 +0.383
P8 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.031 +0.488
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“I’m very happy to have finished today in first position but especially for how we worked in both FP1 and FP2. We started this morning with the set up with which we ended the test two weeks ago and the feeling was positive since the first laps. This allowed us to immediately understand which was the right direction to follow. We must continue to work on the tires because we will have different solutions available and we will have to understand which will be the best one in view of the race”.
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“We struggled a bit this morning but since the early laps of FP2, we have been able to make some improvements, step by step, working a lot with used tires. We still have to figure out how to solve some details but we will continue to work with great confidence. The weather conditions? Maybe they will be a bit different tomorrow but it will be the same for all riders. The important thing is that we have made important steps forward on the set up to improve ourselves”.
