AIRWAVES DUCATI GET THE 2007 SEASON UNDERWAY
The Airwaves Ducati riders completed their first two practice
sessions of the 2007 Bennetts British Superbike season today,
at the 2.6 mile Brands Hatch GP circuit. Both riders achieved
their fastest times in the second of the two 50 minute sessions;
Gregorio Lavilla recorded a best of 1:26.605 with Leon Haslam
0.242 seconds behind with a time of 1:26.847.
With the sun shining and an air temperature of 19 degrees,
Greg held the lead for the majority of first practice. He
was the first competitor to record a sub 1 minute 27 second
lap before improving this further with a lap of 1:26.739.
This looked to have secured him the top spot until Jonathan
Rea went 0.458 seconds quicker in the final minute of the
session pushing Greg down to 2nd place. Leon’s best
time also came in the closing minutes when he recorded a 1:27.771
to finish in 9th.
Second practice started with both Airwaves Ducati riders
quickly improving on their best times from the morning session.
Leon clocked a time of 1:27.494, on his 2nd lap, to better
his first practice best and Greg again took an early lead
with a time of 1:26.605. However a fall at Sheene Curve on
the following lap set him back and meant he was unable to
better this time for the remainder of the session. Leon recorded
his best time of the day, 1:26.847, with 30 minutes of practice
remaining but neither Airwaves Ducati rider bettered these
times resulting in a 3rd place finish for Greg and a 6th for
Leon.
Having fallen in the second session Greg was still positive
about the day’s results saying, “I am a bit sore
from my fall as it has been a long time since I last crashed.
It was a shame that I crashed when I did as I had just completed
my fastest lap and I was feeling good for another quick lap.
I then switched to my spare bike but there was no chance for
me repeating those times, as it did not feel quite the same.
I am ok though and I am confident for qualifying tomorrow
and the race on Monday.”
Leon Haslam added, “I am quite happy with today, I
have used it to get back into the swing of things and adjust
to the two 50 minute sessions. We’ve got one more session
tomorrow to sort a few things out and complete some race runs
which will be helpful. On the whole I am feeling confident
and looking forward to getting back out there in the morning.”
Colin Wright concluded, “The first round of the season
is difficult for all concerned; testing has its benefits but
nothing compares to actual race meetings, so we are not surprised
to experience some teething problems. However, we are comfortable
in the knowledge that Greg and Leon have worked hard over
the winter and we will be competitive for the races.”
Qualifying for round one of the Bennetts British Superbike
Championship starts at 3pm tomorrow, Sunday April 8th.
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