(photo Ducati Corse Friends)

We knew this weekend would not be easy after the Brno and Silverstone races, but Luca Scassa has not lost his nerve and has monetized two positive results in SBK. In Race 1, Luca started well and thanks to a steady and fast pace he made the final sprint for tenth position with Lorenzo Lanzi. In race two, Luca suffered more than expected with the bike and was unable to stay close to the group of pursuers.

Luca Scassa: “To be honest, this was not an easy weekend, a weekend with two very, very difficult races. We could not develop my Ducati as fast we wanted and we have paid for a precious tenths. The bike had no direction and was forced to follow very large trajectories; we paid too much time with it. But we brought home a few points for the championship.
So now we have in mind Imola, where we must return to the positions which we usually compete. Thank you all so much, you were all fantastic, I hope to repay with the next race.”

Danilo Soncini: “We suffered, this is the reality. But we must be positive and look ahead with confidence. Luca certainly needed to turn back mentally and return to the atmosphere of the races after his injury. We analyzed the data for the race at Imola and introduce our true potential.”

Shane Byrne (Althea Team): “I showed that I had pace right from the first practice session and hoped for two great races. Unfortunately yesterday’s crash compromised my weekend and I didn’t achieve what I had hoped to. It is difficult to make passes here and the fact that I started from the back didn’t help of course but I gave 100% and in the end I managed to close in the top ten which wasn’t bad. I want to thank the boys for their great work.”

Carlos Checa (Althea Team): “I got away well and, with Rea and Haga, found a good pace which allowed us to get away from the others andI was fighting against Noriyuki for second but when he crashed I tried to attack Jonathan. He had a strong pace though and I wasn’t able to make up that second of time that gave him the win. I’m very satisfied with the result and thank my team for their hard work.”

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox Team):“First of all I want to say how happy I am to be back up here. After the Race 1 crash I went straight back to the garage in the hope that my technicians could adjust the bike so that I could continue but unfortunately there was too much damage to the mufflers and I had to stop there. We made some modifications to the front suspension and the bike behaved a lot better in Race 2. I maintained a strong pace for the entire race and was able to get the job done! I’m sorry for Carlos because it’s always great to battle against him. Now I’d like to repeat this great result at Imola, Ducati’s home track.”

Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team)“A black day. In Race 1 I got straight back on the bike thinking that I could carry on and finish in the points zone. Then I realized that there was a problem with the throttle and, as I couldn’t open or close the gas properly, I had to return to the garage. It’s a pity because I was making up some ground before the crash and had good pace. Race 2 didn’t go any better – I had to come in to change the rear tyre but in doing that I lost too much ground and there wasn’t anything I could do.”

Trackday with Troy Bayliss and Luca Scassa, the Supersonic Racing Team SBK rider. Why not? Enjoy this little film and if you want to know more about it? Just contact the Ducati Corse Friends!

1. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox Team) 38′43.565
2. Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 38′46.626
3. Leon Haslam (Team Suzuki Alstare) 38′51.625
4. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda Team) 38′52.022
5. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing) 38′52.957
6. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Alstare) 38′53.121
7. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 39′00.384
8. James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda Team) 39′04.129
9. Ruben Xaus (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 39′04.605
10. Shane Byrne (Althea Racing) 39′04.733
11. Jakub Smrz (Team PATA B&G Racing) 39′05.299
12. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 39′06.311
13. Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Corse) 39′08.091
14. Luca Scassa (Supersonic Racing Team) 39′11.783
15. Max Neukirchner (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 39′21.971
16. Roger Lee Hayden (Team Pedercini) 39′51.604
17. Matteo Baiocco (Team Pedercini) 40′04.859
18. Fabrizio Lai (ECHO CRS Honda) 40′04.927
19. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team) 40′21.992
RT. Ian Lowry (Kawasaki Racing Team) 21′51.401
RT. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 17′26.800

Our Ducati Corse Friends SBK gallery update is done, we can offer you some pictures from the German round at the Nurburgring, taken at Friday and Saturday. Have a look at our menu or click here for two pages of pictures.

1. Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 38′42.640
2. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 38′43.766
3. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda Team) 38′52.646
4. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing) 38′53.356
5. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 39′00.031
6. Leon Haslam (Team Suzuki Alstare) 39′01.941
7. Ruben Xaus (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 39′02.253
8. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Alstare) 39′02.520
9. Shane Byrne (Althea Racing) 39′03.816
10. Luca Scassa (Supersonic Racing Team) 39′12.392
11. Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Corse) 39′12.796
12. Ian Lowry (Kawasaki Racing Team) 39′36.262
13. Roger Lee Hayden (Team Pedercini) 39′41.460
14. Matteo Baiocco (Team Pedercini) 40′08.546
RT. Fabrizio Lai (ECHO CRS Honda) 38′47.862
RT. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team) 24′11.947
RT. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox Team) 17′20.006
RT. Jakub Smrz (Team PATA B&G Racing) 11′50.182
RT. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 12′19.435
RT. Max Neukirchner (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 13′11.368
RT. James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda Team) 2′02.665

(photo Ducati Corse Friends)

The return to competition for Luca Scassa was a bit more difficult than expected after his two bad falls at the previous races in Brno and Silverstone. Luca has done today a good amount of work but a small technical problem on the rear brake and not a perfect balance did not give him the improvement that was expected. Suffered in the morning a technical failure at the braking system. In the afternoon a better set-up was found and the bike was more ride able. Qualified for the first Superpole was easy (17th crono 1′56”710) but it was stopped at the second Superpole with a sixteenth absolute crono (1′55”908) and a fourth row on the grid.

Luca Scassa: “It’s a difficult weekend for us, because I can not ride the bike as I like.
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Noriyuki Haga: “I had a better feeling with the bike this morning compared to this afternoon’s session, so tomorrow I think we’ll make some changes that take us back in that direction regarding set-up. I was a bit disappointed with the Superpole result because I did my two laps in the final phase but maybe I should have stayed out there and done one more because the situation changed dramatically in the last two minutes and I dropped from fourth to sixth. Having said that, a place on the second row isn’t bad and after two positive days we’ll be aiming to make two equally positive races tomorrow.”

Michel Fabrizio: “After all the team’s hard work and the positive results so far this weekend, I of course hoped to take part in the third part of the Superpole but unfortunately a couple of mistakes proved costly and I finished ninth, outside of the top eight for just a fraction of a second. Tomorrow will be very difficult because this is one of those tracks where it’s not easy to pass, added to the fact that there are more than a few strong riders…”

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Positive first day of qualifying for the Supersonic Team and Luca Scassa. The strong Italian rider is returning to competition after his two consecutive stops. The Tuscan rider recovered from the bruises and fractures on both feet and started to work in close harmony with the technical team to get a good general set-up. Went on track with both bikes and tested several solutions trying to solve some problems.
Overall satisfied, Luca ended the first qualifying round the thirteenth time.
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Have a look at the Ducati Xerox Team Michel Fabrizio crash in 8 pictures.
Nurburgring SBK Qualifying 1
photo Ducati Corse Friends