VOL. 51 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 P49
pre-race. And despite starting off
row two it was an Aprilia riot, with
Melandri the man with the magic
touch at Jerez.
"Already after Laguna Seca I
knew we could come here and
fight for the wins," Melandri said.
"Only Misano was different when
Kawasaki was very strong. I knew
even before this morning I was
looking for the race wins. Syl-
vain [Guintoli] was a bit faster in
race one and it was not easy. But
when I passed him he dropped
Briefly...
Laverty this may be explained in part
by the weather. "I don't know if it is
close in practice because it is hot
and slippery it brings us up, and then
the Kawasaki suffers a little bit," the
Suzuki rider said. "The reason why
Kawasaki is so dominant this year is
simple and it is that they have made
the race times earlier. At 10:30 for
race one, it is Baltic. Race two can
be warmer. Tom [Sykes] has done a
good job and they have been there
for so many years that when they
come to the track it is a matter of tak-
ing up where they left off."
The most desired ride in Superbike
racing is the seat alongside Tom
Sykes at Kawasaki, but Eugene La-
verty felt he had already been ruled
out by Friday in Spain. "There were
about 10 of us chasing this Kawasaki
and just throwing ourselves at them.
It now looks unlikely for me. For how
keen I was it was being put back and
put back. If you cannot get on that
bike, then maybe it is time to go. Su-
perbike is still worth considering as
there is an option with Ducati. The
Ducati could be good next year or
Aprilia may come as well. It could be
another Ducati team as a third rider.
But there has been very little discus-
sion. I think a lot of people, because
of the new rules, are keen to get onto
the Superbike grid just because they
can. We also know the Honda is a
good standard bike."
Pirelli will shortly be confirmed as
the spec tire supplier for the World
Superbike Championship again - in
all classes. No other manufacturer
was as interested in, or as wedded to
Superbike series as Pirelli. Michelin
will be inside MotoGP in the future,
making at least one change in the
Guintoli (50), Davide
Giugliano (34), Tom
Sykes (1) and Melandri
(33) lead one of the two
races into the first corner
with the rest of the pack
giving chase.
continued on next page
