Chaz Davies still feels Ducati have work to do to be ready for the start of the 2015 eni Superbike World Championship despite their impressive pace at Jerez this week. The Welshman was fourth fastest after two days of testing in southern Spain although an accident blighted his second day’s work.
Davies eventually finished seven tenths shy of his teammate Davide Giugliano and admitted that he is still searching for the ideal setting on his 1199 Panigale R.
“The tests haven’t been easy. Yesterday, on day one, we were able to work quite well and find good feeling with the bike. But unfortunately today some small issues limited our work and meant that we were unable to complete the programme or make the most of our time. My feeling with the bike is not yet perfect, but we’ll continue to work during testing at Phillip Island just before the races. I’m sure that we’ll be able to find what we need at the next tests so that we can begin the championship in the best possible way.”
Giugliano was understandably buoyant after topping the timesheets and is now keeping his fingers crossed that the bike’s competitiveness continues in the Phillip Island curtain-raiser next month.
“We’ve had two very positive days, in that we’ve been able to test a lot of small things calmly and methodically. During race weekend we never have a lot of time to be able to focus on certain areas and so we’ve made the most of the opportunity and the good conditions here. I’m really pleased that, together with the team, I’ve been able to find good feeling with the bike, something that I hope remains unchanged in the next tests that we’ll carry out at Phillip Island before the races. We’ll continue to work however, so as to be as prepared as possible for the opening races.”