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Ups and downs for Aprilia in the United States
Melandri wins and crashes, Guintoli is twice second at the flag.
The US Round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship was one to remember for the Aprilia Racing Team, for different reasons. Marco Melandri, following the impressive win of Race 1, crashed on the opening lap of the second encounter while he was in the lead. Guintoli, on the other hand, was twice second at the chequered flag, edged first by his teammate and then by Tom Sykes, who still leads the way in the title race with a 44 point margin on the Frenchman.
Marco Melandri
“My start in Race 1 was great even if I was a bit nervous in the first laps since Tom usually tries to pull the pin straight away. When he made that mistake at the Corkscrew I thought that was the right opportunity to push it to the limit. I set my pace, staying focused and not making any mistakes. It's a shame about Race 2. I made a few gear changing mistakes on the third start that made me think there was a problem with the ratios and that cost me my concentration. When I realised that everything was fine I decided to push hard but I went long at the last turn. I'm disappointed because a double win was definitely within reach, but I'm still happy about the work we did this weekend.”
Sylvain Guintoli
“I gave 100% like I always do. In Race 1 I had a good pace and I didn't make any mistakes. In the first laps I was feeling good and I probably could have attacked Marco, but I preferred to stay behind him. From the halfway point on he was really fast. He rode very well and I wasn't able to match his times. The red flags in Race 2 reminded me of last year and I thought maybe I could overturn the result, but Sykes is really unbeatable in a short dash. We are definitely in it and we won't give up, but during the summer break we'll have to work hard to come back even stronger for the season finale.”
Source: WSBK
Melandri wins and crashes, Guintoli is twice second at the flag.
The US Round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship was one to remember for the Aprilia Racing Team, for different reasons. Marco Melandri, following the impressive win of Race 1, crashed on the opening lap of the second encounter while he was in the lead. Guintoli, on the other hand, was twice second at the chequered flag, edged first by his teammate and then by Tom Sykes, who still leads the way in the title race with a 44 point margin on the Frenchman.
Marco Melandri
“My start in Race 1 was great even if I was a bit nervous in the first laps since Tom usually tries to pull the pin straight away. When he made that mistake at the Corkscrew I thought that was the right opportunity to push it to the limit. I set my pace, staying focused and not making any mistakes. It's a shame about Race 2. I made a few gear changing mistakes on the third start that made me think there was a problem with the ratios and that cost me my concentration. When I realised that everything was fine I decided to push hard but I went long at the last turn. I'm disappointed because a double win was definitely within reach, but I'm still happy about the work we did this weekend.”
Sylvain Guintoli
“I gave 100% like I always do. In Race 1 I had a good pace and I didn't make any mistakes. In the first laps I was feeling good and I probably could have attacked Marco, but I preferred to stay behind him. From the halfway point on he was really fast. He rode very well and I wasn't able to match his times. The red flags in Race 2 reminded me of last year and I thought maybe I could overturn the result, but Sykes is really unbeatable in a short dash. We are definitely in it and we won't give up, but during the summer break we'll have to work hard to come back even stronger for the season finale.”
Source: WSBK
