Team Althea Ducati confirms its 2012 line up for the upcoming season. Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano will race the 1199 Panigale for the Roman team next season and will debut the latest addition to the lineup from Borgo Panigale
Get Started for FREE
Sign up with Facebook Sign up with Twitter
I don't have a Facebook or a Twitter account
|
Ductalk Ducati News
Ducati News Daily Curated by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
|
Scooped by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
Team Althea Ducati confirms its 2012 line up for the upcoming season. Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano will race the 1199 Panigale for the Roman team next season and will debut the latest addition to the lineup from Borgo Panigale
|
Scooped by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
Monza (Italy), Friday 4th May 2012: the Althea Racing team and its riders Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano were greeted by warm and sunny conditions at the Monza racetrack, where the fourth round of the 2012 World Superbike Championship is taking place this weekend. Checa and Giugliano closed today’s first qualifying in ninth and tenth place respectively at the fastest track on the SBK calendar.
Checa and Giugliano were out on track this morning for the first free practice session of the weekend. With a track temperature of 39˚C, both riders worked to refine the set-up of their 1198 bikes ahead of this afternoon’s first qualifying session, using last year’s data as a base from which to work. Concentrating on preparing the bike itself rather than on lap times, Carlos closed in thirteenth position with a best time of 1m44.4 and Davide in fourteenth place, just one tenth of a second behind his team-mate.
The first qualifying session was also completed in good conditions. Both Althea flagbearers worked hard to improve on the morning’s performances. In the opening phase, Giugliano dropped his time by more than a second, recording a 1m43.4 which positioned him tenth at the session’s end. Carlos’ times began to fall in the second half of the session; the current world champion registered his fastest time in the final minutes, with a 1m43.3 that put him in ninth position, once again a fraction of a second ahead of his team-mate. The results bode well, especially considering the chances of bad, or at least variable, weather that is forecast for the rest of the weekend.
Carlos Checa:
“Considering the track, one of those at which we have always had trouble, I’d say that we’ve grown during today’s two sessions. I’ve even improved in T2, a point of the track that usually gives me problems. There are sections where we can definitely make further improvement but, all things considered, I’m satisfied with the work we’ve done so far.”
Davide Giugliano:
“It went quite well today. This morning we worked hard on the bike, knowing that we needed to do as well as possible this afternoon, in case of rain tomorrow. The important thing is that Carlos and I are the first Ducatis, and it’s no surprise that the four-cylinders are all up ahead. The weather looks like being very changeable but I’m feeling ready and confident whatever the conditions over the rest of the weekend.”
TIMES (Qualifying): 1. Fabrizio (BMW) 1’42.3; 2. Melandri (BMW) 1’42.3; 3. Haslam (BMW) 1’42.5; 4. Laverty (Aprilia) 1’42.6; 5. Badovini (BMW) 1’42.6; 6. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’42.7; 7. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’42.8; 8. Davies (Aprilia) 1’43.2; 9. Checa (Ducati) 1’43.3; 10. Giugliano (Ducati) 1’43.4
|
Scooped by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
Defending champ Carlos Checa concentrated on race set-up while rookie Althea Racing teammate Davide Giugliano flashed big potential on Friday.
Team Althea Racing took part in the opening sessions of the 2012 World Superbike Championship today at the Australian track of Phillip Island with some very encouraging results -- young Althea rider Davide Giugliano closed first qualifying in third position, followed by Carlos Checa in fourth.
Checa, current SBK world champion, got straight to work in the first practice session of the morning, projecting himself into first place after only ten minutes. In very warm conditions (air temperature 26˚C, track 41˚C), Carlos continued to improve throughout the 45-minute sessions, closing with a best time of 1m31.9. He was the only rider to lap in under 1m32. His teammate Giugliano began to make progress in the second part of the session, working hard to increase feeling with his Ducati 1198 and improving on his times to close the practice in sixteenth position with a best time of 1m33.1....more