SBK | Iannone: “The feeling with the Ducati and the tires is improving”

The Superbike is back on track for two days of official testing on the Montmelò circuit, preceding the week of the Catalan round. Forty-eight intense hours, full of tests, but satisfying, in which Team Go Eleven found various optimal solutions to better adapt the Ducati Panigale V4-R to Andrea Iannone's needs.

The Barcelona track presented itself in totally different conditions compared to Phillip Island; zero grip, lots of sliding and a set-up that needs to be slightly readjusted. It took some time to find the right feeling in the first few outings. On Day 1 Andrea focused more on the SCX tyre, without seeking maximum performance, but rather analyzing rear wear; In the race, excellent management will be essential to obtain a significant result.

The second day was more interesting; the changes made in the evening allowed for a better performance right from the first laps. The rider from Vasto immediately dropped to a high 1'41″, then worked with the new Pirelli rear solution, the 900, finding good results especially over long distances. In the last hour the work moved on to exploiting the qualification, one of the weaknesses found in previous tests.

There were two attempts, improving step by step, thanks to the analysis of the data compared to the previous release; at the last SCQ Andrea managed to best interpret the extra grip, dropping below 41, placing himself in fourth place overall. At the end of the two days, the work of the whole team was very positive, finding excellent feedback mainly on the race pace and in the comparison between the two solutions that will be used over the weekend.

“It was a good day of testing, I'm satisfied with the team's work and I think that little by little my feeling with the bike and the tires is improving, making me more and more competitive. In the first few days I struggle slightly more, due to the long stop , but I return to interesting levels quite quickly, surprising myself with our results. I'm happy with how we worked with the team and the support from Ducati. I thank Gigi Dall'Igna, Claudio Domenicali, Paolo Ciabatti, Mauro Grassilli and the whole Go team Eleven for the support. This week we hope to recover well and return to the race with conditions similar to those of the tests”, said Iannone.