The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team archived the first tests of the 2020 WorldSBK season at the Jerez – Angel Nieto Circuit (Spain). After a first day conditioned by the incessant rain that made the track conditions tricky, causing many crashes, on the second day of activity Scott Redding and Chaz Davies managed to put together a good number of laps – in almost dry track conditions – obtaining important data to improve the feeling with their Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Scott Redding, protagonist of a convincing Day-1 (44 laps, P4) lapped with great consistency also in the second day of testing (43 laps completed) finishing with the third quickest time (1’41.407), 4 tenths of a second off Rea (Kawasaki).
A crash after two laps forced Chaz Davies to skip the first day of activity. The Welshman returned on track today completing 27 laps but was unable to find the ideal conditions to push at the maximum (P15, 1’44.276).
Chaz Davies, Scott Redding and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will move tomorrow morning to Portugal where two more days of testing are scheduled on Sunday and Monday at the Algarve International Circuit (Portimão).
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45) – 1’41.407 (3rd)
“My first goal is to get to know the bike well, to get to know the team, to understand the tyre behaviour in the best possible way, to work to create a solid base. If I have to be honest, I am very satisfied with what we have done so far. I have had a good feeling during these two days even if, obviously, the weather has not helped us. I still feel comfortable in both wet and dry conditions. There are some areas where we need to improve but the balance of these days is very positive”.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1’44.267 (15th)
“We worked on the bike and that didn’t allow me to focus on performance. I can’t hide the fact that we have encountered some issues in these tests but I am sure we can be much more competitive in the next two days at Portimao. The base to work on, obviously, is very good but we need to put together many laps. That is why I hope to have four days in dry conditions between the tests in Portugal and Australia. This would allow us to arrive in the best conditions in the first race of the season”.