At the end of a superlative race, led from the first corner until the checkered flag, Scott Redding gives to the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team the second consecutive victory after the success in Race-2 in Aragon.
Micheal Rinaldi tries to stay glued to the podium group to finish the race with a solid fifth place.
- Superpole
Scott Redding’s Saturday starts well with the quickest chrono in FP3 (1’36.389).
In Superpole, after completing only one lap on the “X” tire, he decides to go back early to the pits in order to avoid traffic on the track during the time attack: this decision turns out to be the right one and the rider goes for a convincing lap, taking the P2 on the starting grid.
Also Michael Rinaldi’s feeling seems encouraging in FP3 (P5). Despite that, in the qualifying, the number 21 doesn’t manage to get the best out of his bike, especially in the second and fourth sector.
However, he gets a promising second row.
- Superpole Result
P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’35.876
P2 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.171
P3 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) + 0.288
P4 – G. Gerloff (Yamaha) + 0.474
P5 – T. Sykes (BMW) + 0.493
P6 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.656
- Race-1
Scott Redding chooses to put on the soft rubber taking the lead at the first corner. The English rider tries to push, but Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) remains glued. In the last laps also Rea (Kawasaki) gets closer, but Scott leaves no room for mistakes, ending the race with a stunning P1.
Michael Rinaldi’s start is outstanding: he immediately attacks Rea at the first corner, then overtaking him on lap 3. Rinaldi tries to defend the third position but his feeling with the soft rear tire is not the best. Starting from the sixth lap, Rinaldi’s race pace is less incisive: he cannot keep the pace with the podium group, but he is able to finish the race with positive fifth place.
- Race-1 Result
P1 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
P2 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) + 0.877
P3 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) + 0.915
P4 – G. Gerloff (Yamaha) + 9.518
P5 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 13.636
- Championship Standings
P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 73
P2 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 65
P3 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 50
P4 – A. Lowes (Kawasaki) 45
P5 – G. Gerloff (Yamaha) 36
P9 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 20
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“This is a good win. Let’s forget about Aragon’s Race-2. I won a hard-fought race today and that fills me with satisfaction. I felt the pressure throughout the race and that gave me a great boost. I remained focused all the time, without making any mistakes and moreover, perhaps for the first time, I got a better start than Jonathan (Rea), overtaking him at the first corner. The choice of tires? I don’t know if it was the best choice. If I have to be honest I was a bit worried about the last laps, I thought that Rea could come back. Tomorrow I’ll have to make another not easy choice”.
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“Today was a pretty positive race. We come from the difficult weekend in Aragon but both yesterday and this morning we did a great job with the team. This is the reason why I was competitive especially in the first part of the race. I am a bit disappointed for the last few laps because honestly, I think we could have done a bit better. We will work tonight to analyze the data and I’m sure we will find solutions to fix some details and be able to fight for the podium tomorrow”.
