VOL. 56 ISSUE 19 MAY 14, 2019 P33
"We never stopped believing
that this weekend was a perfect
opportunity for the chance to
win," Rea said after the rains
finished his weekend early. "With
our form here in the past, the way
our bike works here and the way
I ride—it was our chance."
Despite having tested at Imola
recently, it was clear that Bau-
tista was not going to dominate
at this one even from early in the
weekend. His game-changer of
a bike apparently does have a
weakness, and that is in its stabil-
ity in quick direction changes, of
which there are so many at Imola.
All the Ducati top brass came
from the nearby Bologna to Imola
this weekend, but it was apparent
it was not going to be victory roll
after victory roll for them, despite
that recent test.
"I think today our maximum
was to have second position
because part of the track is new
for me and maybe I am not at 100
percent in this track, yet," Bau-
tista said. "Our general problem
with the bike, maybe in this track,
I can feel it worse. The stability of
the bike and the turning."
It was a very good weekend for
Chaz Davies on the other factory
Ducati—a bold statement given
that his bike broke down in Satur-
day's opener.
He had been on pole at track
record pace and looked like his
old self almost from first to last
and would have given Rea a hard
time in race one had his bike not
developed an intermitted electri-
cal problem.
He did not get to Rea in the
short 10 lapper on Sunday morn-
ing, either, but he set a new lap
record of 1:45.727 on lap seven
of the Superpole race on Sunday
morning in the attempt to run down
Rea.
Second place was not bad on
what was a kind of modified wet
setup for the sprint, as the 10-lap
race was initially declared "wet,"
even if it was dry in reality.
"Going home from here I am
really, really confident that we have
made a big change," said Davies.
"Of course, the next tracks are
different, and we have got different
characteristics, but I really feel like
this bike has improved for me so
much this weekend."
It was not all about the big three
at Imola, as several other efforts
showed the hint of silver or bronze
behind their painted bodywork.
On an ELF-painted Kawasaki,
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puc-
cetti Racing) had a three-way
scrap for third in race one with
top Yamaha rider this
weekend, Michael
van der Mark, and the
struggling Leon Haslam
(KRT) providing much
fan pleasure and a few
adrenalized moments
for the riders.
Toprak got his first
podium of 2019 after a
perfect final lap in the
opener, with VDM then
having to look behind
for a passing Haslam.
After the early exit of
Davies in race one, the
factory BMW of Tom
Sykes looked a solid
third, showing constant
pace, with only Rea and
Chaz Davies looks
like he's turned a
corner, setting a new
lap record in the
Superpole race.
