VOL. 51 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 21, 2014
of all at that point on Sunday, as
he would be on day two, Laverty
said: "It was our first good go at
it on day one at Portimao and it
shows because we did a 1:43.4,
which is not far off race pace. We
improved that again on the Monday. I have to be pretty pleased
with that for a first go at it. The
reason is that the team worked
on it a lot in the winter break and
the bike has come a long way
since I rode it at Jerez last time."
Both Lowes and Laverty would
leave Portimao with a truly unpredictable one-two status, with
Lowes sticking in a 1:42.5 and
Laverty – originally credited with
the same time – taking a 1:42.6
for second.
Lowes, still a rookie and on a
bike that many thought was past
its World Superbike prime, said:
"Coming to a new track and with
only a couple of hours to learn it,
I think we did well. It is quite hard
work around Portimao and my fitness held me up well - and I am
having lots of fun. To be quicker
than Eugene, who has won races on lots of different bikes here,
first time out, gives you a lot of
confidence."
Laverty continued to explain
why he could also go so fast on
the supposedly slow Suzuki, especially after coming from the fastest bike of all in 2013, the Aprilia.
P27
"We knew what we had to improve on because I came from a
good package with Aprilia, electronics wise," Laverty said. "The
team knew what they needed to
improve and they made a few
good steps electronics wise and
they are a step above what they
had last year. I had to do a lot of
donkeywork in Almeria to get the
thing moving in a good direction.
We had to do a lot of things to
get a good direction, but we have
got it moving forward. Phil Marron is my crew chief and he has
stepped up to that position and
Davide is one of the best guys
in the electronics department. I
know what I want from the bike
and Davide is clever enough to
deliver that."
Marco Melandri was flying
solo for Aprilia in Portimao as his
teammate Sylvain Guintoli is still
recovering from his long-standing
shoulder injury.
There have been changes to
the Aprilia to guarantee engine
life yet the team claims about the
same performance overall as in
2013. It was just basic set-up for
Melandri until the final day.
"I'm happy about the front of
my Aprilia, but not totally with the
rear," said Melandri. "We've also
to work on my riding position. I
don't feel good in every situation.
I need the handlebars just a little
bit forward."
Well, Melandri wasn't totally
alone as Alex Hofmann was on
track alongside him in Portugal,
in his role as regular tester for
Aprilia Racing.
