Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing â Ducati): âThis weekend will be very tough for usâ
Â
âI am so happy so sign again with the Aruba.it Racing â Ducati because I feel so good with the team riding the bike and Iâm enjoying it a lot. I know Iâm a bit old to be a rider, but I feel like I am in the best moment of my career, physically and mentally. I have a lot of motivation and now, Iâm a bit more relaxed in my mind because I can work more focused on 2022. I remember three years ago, it was my first time in this track after many years. I donât know if itâs the layout or whatever but itâs always difficult for Ducati at this track. Letâs see what happens this weekend; I donât have any expectation, just to start on Friday with the good feeling I had with the first four rounds of the season and letâs see if I can be competitive as I was at the other track. For sure, this weekend will be very tough for us.â
Â
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): âIn the next days or weeks, thereâll be a communication⌠Iâll be on the grid next year in WorldSBK!â
Â
âIâm excited because after Misano, we did some testing at Aragon and also Suzuka for the 8 hours. Donington is my home race and I have a lot of fans travelling from Northern Ireland, so Iâm excited to see what we can do. The good old British weather looks like itâs going to look down on us and the sunâs going to shine, so Iâm excited for a cool weekend. Weâve always improve the bike step-by-step and we learnt a lot of things about the bike in the hotter conditions, so weâll be better equipped to go through the summer races which is really important. Alvaroâs deal is a natural step, heâs doing a good job and heâs competitive, so itâs only natural to continue. About me, itâs that time of the year. One thing for sure is that Iâm not going to stay at home and watch the races; my manager is coming here this weekend and heâll understand everything. Then, in the next days or weeks, thereâll be a communication. Itâs exciting times but Iâll be on the grid next year in WorldSBK and I canât wait!â
Â
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK): âVery happy to come to Donington Park, my favourite track!â
Â
âIâm very happy to come to Donington Park, my favourite track, I love it. I hope to be fighting again for victory but we will see. Today, I saw Race 1 again because of the incredible start and after two laps, I was leading. I think in my career, this is an incredible race. This weekend, we will try again! After the WorldSBK bike, the MotoGP⢠bike was totally different, but I really liked the braking and the gearing, itâs incredible. We rode it for two or three hours but then it rained, so we went back to Barcelona but anyway, I was very happy, because after becoming World Champion in 2021, it was a nice gift.â
Â
Iker Lecuona (Team HRC): âMentally, I think Iâm in the best moment of my career⌠Iâm excited to jump on the bike and finish in front!â
Â
âWe did one test at Donington Park and then a two-day test at Misano, so honestly, I think the bike is improving. Step-by-step, it is improving and so is my feeling with it and the team during these tests made very good work so I think we can make a step at this track. I need to learn another track but I think we can make a step. Every week in between the break, I had something to do: Donington, Misano and Suzuka in Japan. Iâm happy though, as itâs more laps with the bike, the team and I tried to learn as much as possible and I think Iâve improved my performance a little bit. Mentally, I think Iâm in the best moment of my career and with this new challenge at Donington Park, I donât care about my physical side, Iâm just excited to jump on the bike and finish in the front!â
Â
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): âItâs a real home race⌠weâre going to have a full crowd!â
Â
âI feel good, itâs a real home race and I only live about five minutes from this place, so I get to hear the bikes or the cars every day around here! We only get to ride here once a year, so Iâm really happy that weâre going to have a full crowd so itâs going to be great with a good turnout. The weather looks like itâs going to be typical English sunshine, so Iâm looking forward to the weekend. The Aragon test was pretty good because we had some new tyres at Misano that we didnât get to test before the race weekend; itâs hard in a race weekend when youâre working on a setting, to try things, so we used this to try some new tyres, although theyâre not here this weekend. To get testing in with hotter conditions was good for me in terms of managing those conditions. Then, we went testing at Suzuka before coming home, spending some time with my daughters and refreshing for this weekend.â
Â
Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team): âIf you get the podium once, youâve got to be able to do it twice!â
Â
âIf you get the podium once, youâve got to be able to do it twice! That would be nice. Everybodyâs going really fast this year, itâs something that we see in the overall race times. The pace is a lot quicker especially with the front guys. For sure, the top three is at a really good level. I have the same bike as Toprak, and I should be able to do something. Weâre going to start with the setup we had last year and go from there.â – www.worldsbk.com
|