Davide Giugliano pipped teammate Carlos Checa at the final corner of race one at Assen to claim his maiden SBK podium finish at the seventh attempt. The Italian scythed past Checa at the chicane at the end of the final lap to finish second, a tremendous result given the conditions and his relative lack of experience.
After starring in the wet, Giugliano followed it up with a solid ninth place in the drier second race but his overwhelming thoughts concerned his sensational early display.
“I'm very happy with how race 1 went of course as I didn't really expect it today, after a very difficult weekend that has been conditioned by the weather from start to finish. It wasn't easy of course and the bike was sliding around a lot even on the straight. Of course the conditions meant it was far from a relaxing race but, having said that, I felt fairly comfortable in the total wet after the restart. I had to fight against Carlos towards the end and that wasn't easy, as I was worried that I would make a mistake that might affect Carlos' race too but thankfully it all went well. I was able to take some good points in the second race also, and thanks to today's results I've significantly improved my position in the overall standings so I go home very happy.”
Third in race one was as good as it got for Checa who wrongly chose wet tyres for the second race, anticipating rain that never came. It prevented him from scoring any points, forcing him to relinquish the championship lead to Max Biaggi.
“I'm more than satisfied with the result in Race 1, because conditions were already tricky in the first phase, let alone in the second!” he said. “After the restart, there was little traction, little grip, and when I saw some of the others go down, I decided it was better to finish the race than risk a fall. Considering the conditions, probably one of the worst SBK races I've ever ridden, we're happy with third place. Congratulations to Davide too who made a great race – he deserved the result. In race 2 I made a mistake and take full responsibility for it. I chose to go out on a rain tyre as I though rain would come but I was wrong. I'm sorry I didn't come straight back in to change it during the warm-up lap as, that way, I would have probably been able to close in the top ten but instead I waited and by then it was too late to be able to catch up. We turn the page and look ahead.”