Although having taken the Superbike World Championship very late, barely three rounds ago in Jerez, Loris already has 76 points, which is good since it is his favorite number that we find on his number plate! After 12 races, he already finds himself in 13th position in the general classification, facing opponents who have just competed in California for their 25th event, approximately twice as many.
Fourth at Misano for only his fourth race of the season (and best Yamaha), Loris had a good group shot at Donington with a 4th (1st Yam), a 5th (1st Yam) and a 6th place on British soil.
Loris, this weekend at Laguna Seca you finished 8th in the first free session, then 6th at the end of the day on Friday. Was this start to the weekend satisfying you?
“Yes, especially as Laguna Seca is a completely different track to Donington. It's a circuit where I've had some difficulty in the past. I was surprised during FP1 mid-session to see that I was in first or second position. When I lost first place, I got it back shortly after, which I was very happy about.”
“Afterwards we stagnated at a pace where it was not possible to improve, until we decided to change several things that we had in mind, and that made my life easier for this Friday . Ultimately, it was our best Friday of the season, it was the first time that we finished sixth at the end of Friday.”
“So it was a great first day, on a completely different track to Donington which you had to get used to. It’s a circuit where you have to be really confident to go fast.”
The Superpole couldn't have started worse, with an immediate crash followed by a red flag. How did you manage to achieve the ninth time (i.e. on the third row) despite the little time remaining at your disposal?
“Oh, it’s not thanks to me! It’s thanks to my team. At each raceare mechanics are doing a crazy job, and this weekend, it was even more so. It's certain that with the Superpole format, we can start last – which was going to be the case for me with my fall on the first lap in the Corkscrew. I didn't really understand. The bike was badly damaged, but fortunately there was a red flag. (Editor's note: due to a punctured airfence) and the bike wasn't that damaged, and the mechanics managed to repair it super quickly.”
“We didn't have time to do two runs, but I had time to refocus. At first, I went to change, then I told myself it was going to start again.”
“I refocused and set off straight away with the qualifying tyres. I did a first lap to ensure something, to at least not start last, to at least start in the first twelve to thirteen. Then a second lap I attacked a little more, to try to get a little better.”
“But the second lap with the qualifying tires is never the best, and I managed to get off the third row. It was a weekend saved thanks to my mechanics.”
8th in Race 1 (between the first Yamaha of van der mark 7th, and that of Melandri), then 7th in Race 2 (second Yamaha behind Lowes), you delivered a magnificent fight to Jordi Torres. Was it difficult? He was very strong on the Laguna Seca circuit with the Pedercini Kawasaki? It was beautiful to see.
“He was always very quick at Laguna. He had a great weekend. For me, there are only two races that I feel good on the bike. But it was really the circuit that was the most complicated for the R1. We all had the same problems with the Yamahas, lots of things that added up. In Superbike, you have to make compromises. For example, each manufacturer must validate a single gearbox with the same ratios for the entire season, and therefore there are circuits where we are better and others a little less well. Laguna was the circuit where we didn't feel good about it, and where it was really complicated. Hence a lot of problems entering corners, in Race 1 as well as in the Sprint Race.”
“It went very well in the morning when it was cold or during the warmup, but very poorly in the race. For Race 2 it went better because we managed to make appropriate modifications to the bike. The chassis worked much better and I managed to fight with Jordi. So it’s true that it was a really good race because at Laguna, it’s not easy to overtake.”
“You have to wait and push your opponent to make mistakes, put pressure on them throughout the race. At one point he made a little mistake in the Corkscrew and I managed to pass.”
“It was a great race. there is onlyAlex (Lowes) at Yam who did a better job than us, who found small solutions and who went faster than us. But I'm still very happy because we're still in our learning phase and we've done a great job in four races with the whole team.”
“So now we will be able to do the test sessions and ride without too much pressure, just to be able to try things and see how the bike reacts, and understand the bike well.”
“It’s an excellent first part of the season.”
Photos: Ten Kate Yamaha, Yamaha Racing
