Italiano
DOUBLE PODIUM IN PHILLIP ISLAND’S SUNDAY!
Great final day of Round 1 for Team Go Eleven and Andrea Iannone on the Phillip Island track. Second place in the Superpole Race, third place in Race 2 close to the two Factory Ducati, certify the excellent work done on the Island! More points earned than last year, but above all, Go Eleven leave downunder in third place in the World Championship!
Today’s temperatures dropped slightly compared to Saturday, forcing the teams to readjust their setups and electronics. Shakedown in the Warm Up to check that everything was ok, third final position in the standing.
Warm Up:
P 1 N. Bulega 1.28.956
P 2 A. Lowes + 0.347
P 3 A. Iannone + 0.348
In the Superpole Race the strategy was one; try to follow Nicolo’ to open the gap and then try to fight for the race in the final laps. Andrea starts well, immediately overtakes Toprak when he releases the clutch, but at T 4, the famous Adelaide turn, both the Turkish and Bautista goes straight, luckily not touching the rear and front wheels of the number 29 Ducati by millimetres. There was no contact, but Bulega took a half-second gap that was impossible to close. Andrea was able to stay focused throughout the race, riding on the 29 and a half average, managing to break away from the fight for third. P 2, first podium of the season and great result for the whole Team!
Superpole Race:
P 1 N. Bulega 14’58.866
P 2 A. Iannone + 2.324
P 3 D. Petrucci + 4.923
For Race 2, following Andrea’s feedback in the SP-Race post debrief, some changes were made in order to improve the turning. At the green light Andrea defends P 2 and starts chasing the usual Bulega. He manages to follow the pace for the first laps, only to then drop slightly until the tyre change. Perfect flag-to-flag, again today, the mechanics were able to do it in an excellent way, allowing the restart close to the minimum time limit. In the second part of the race, Bautista shows a fast pace, even with 28 highs, managing to catch up and pass the Go Eleven rider. Third place defended until the finish line, second podium today, this time on the long race and great emotion in climbing on the third step.
P 1 N. Bulega 30’55.414
P 2 A. Bautista + 2.603
P 3 A. Iannone + 3.980
Two podiums, a sixth place and a third in qualifying is what Team Go Eleven takes home from the first race of the Superbike World Championship. From Saturday to Sunday there was an important step forward also in terms of feeling with the bike, and today the maximum possible result was achieved. Third place in the World Championship, momentarily, which gives good feeling in view of the way back to Europe!
Andrea Iannone (Rider):
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“Double podium in Phillip Island’s Sunday! We have made up for what we missed yesterday. Second in the Superpole Race, third in Race Two, also closing the gap to Nicolò. Andrea rode very well, here he was very strong in the fast corners, where he was able to make the difference. The flag-to-flag was excellent again today, unfortunately Alvaro was a little faster than us in the second part of the race, but I am satisfied. Starting the Championship like this, third in the general classification, shows the good work we are doing. Now we will see what happens once we return to Europe, but for the moment we are in the game for the important positions!”
SUNDAY PICTURES: CLICK HERE
