In view of the time sheet of the tests of WSBK in Misano, Ducati could be smiling after two accomplished days. He was certainly not absent, especially with Rinaldi who wasted no time in settling into the shoes of an official driver of the brand. But he was tense. Because, on the one hand, the Kawasaki reference was not there and, on the other hand, everything is not perfect. Explanation …
At Ducati, After WSBK off-season tests in Misano, we have reasons for satisfaction, but we also have some points of concern to raise. Thus, the vice-world champion Scott Redding can't yet get a perfect feeling with his new Panigale. Meanwhile, if his teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi set the best time in Misano, he recognized that all was not going well in the best of all possible worlds...
The Italian thus used a qualifying tire to achieve his performance. His teammate Scott Redding went without it and didn't seem particularly happy after the two days of testing. “ We tried to improve my feeling“, reports vice-world champion Redding. “ I feel good with the new bike, but I'm not completely comfortable yet. We worked on this. We improved the feel a lot, but not as much as I hoped."
« But ultimately, it was pretty good. I rode the normal racing tires the whole time and didn't use the qualifying tires or the SCX tires. I focused on working with worn tires. I did a lot of tricks. I'm pretty happy and looking forward to riding on a different track " , said Redding.
Thanks to his best time, the focus was on the newcomer Michael Ruben Rinaldi. " I am very satisfied with the test. We worked very well, especially with the racing tires. It is important“, explains the Italian, who was able to progress by one second from Monday to Tuesday. “ I kept the settings from the first day and tried to continue optimizing them. I was able to improve considerably and developed a very good feeling. In the last two hours I tried the qualifying tires" , explain Rinaldi.
Ducati still needs to find something
« On the first try, I made a small mistake and fell. My mechanics did a very good job and repaired the bike in 30 minutes. I tried again and got my head around it. I am very happy“, declared the successor of Chaz Davies. But Rinaldi is also not entirely satisfied. “ The feeling with worn tires is poor. If you want to push for a quick ride, the bike isn't perfect. We still have to find something“, said the pilot Ducati.
After Scott Redding gained his first experience with the new brake caliper Brembo Monday, Rinaldi also tested the new development on Tuesday, which is supposed to provide more efficiency, especially in hot races. “In the first test, I saw no positive effects, but no negative effects either. Then I went back to the old caliper and realized that the new caliper is much better. Since then I have only used the new Brembo. They did a good job,” concludes Rinaldi.
