The Aragon private test has come to an end, with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team concluding two days of fruitful work at the Motorland circuit.
Scott Redding and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (86 and 88 laps completed respectively over the two days) continued their development work on their Ducati Panigale V4 R, obtaining extremely useful information ahead of the first round of the 2021 WorldSBK season, scheduled for the end of May at the Motorland circuit in Aragon.
After a first day ended with Chaz Davies, Micheal Rinaldi and Scott Redding in the first three positions separated by only 111 thousandths of a second, in the last part of today’s session, the two riders of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team tested a qualifying simulation. Scott Redding (1:48.780) made the most of his qualifying tyre, finishing only 13 thousandths off the track record set by Rea (Kawasaki) last September. Michael Rinaldi had a very good pace on race tyre but didn’t manage to exploit the qualifying tyre and closed with a time of 1:49.205.
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I’m very satisfied with the improvements we were able to make with the bike, especially during the middle part of today. I felt comfortable with the race tyre and I have to say that I had a good feeling also with the soft one, which I struggled with last year here in Aragon. With the qualifying tyre, I made a good time and this makes me very happy because I consider this circuit one of the most difficult for me. It hasn’t been an easy couple of days but the team, as always, has done a great job to find solutions to the problems that have arisen”.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“They have been two very productive days because we have improved the bike and also the feeling. If I have to be honest I think I have improved my riding style and I am very satisfied with the work we have done. The race pace isn’t bad but we need to improve with the new tyre because I can’t get the best out of it in the first few laps. I can’t wait to be at Navarra for the next test: a new track that I don’t know. We will have intense work to do “.
