THE FIRST REAL TEST; JEREZ STARTS THE DANCES WITH ALL THE RIDERS ON TRACK!

THE FIRST REAL TEST; JEREZ STARTS THE DANCES WITH ALL THE RIDERS ON TRACK!

More than two months after the first laps on the Ducati Panigale V4-R, Andrea Iannone and the Go Eleven Team meet in Jerez de la Frontera to start the 2024 season. Two days of testing with all the WorldSBK protagonists on the track, optimal conditions and almost perfect temperatures. As underlined by rider number 29: “this is the first real test”; last October the damp asphalt and the emotion of getting back on the bike had slightly influenced the work on the track, focused mainly on finding balance and harmony.

The goal of day one is to remove the rust, regain the feeling on the bike. Andrea immediately found himself at ease, settling on the low 40s in the first few outings, then improving his references towards the middle of the day. In the afternoon the activity focuses more on the set-up, carrying out some tests on both the front and rear. Useful work to understand the various reactions of the V4-R in different suspension configurations. Difficult to improve the references towards the end of the day, probably due to a slightly slower asphalt. Team Go Eleven opted not to use qualifying tyres, moving the time attack to tomorrow. 1.39.684 the best lap of the day, which is worth the seventh place.

Day 1 Results:
P 1   N. Bulega   1.38.292
P 2   A. Lowes   + 1.182
P 3   T. Razgatlioglu   + 1.229

P 7   A. Iannone   + 1.392

Andrea Iannone (Rider):

“Today was the first real test for me. In October I was very excited, I hadn’t ridden a racing bike for a long time, but today I was able to work calmly. We tried to take a few steps on the bike to understand the feedback and the reaction. I don’t want to go too far, these are tests so the values on the track could be slightly different. I believe we have what it takes to work well but we will have to wait at least until the end of tomorrow to have a report. I thank the team for today’s work and Ducati, because it is providing us with excellent support.”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):

“Today we did a lot of work, thanks to Andrea who in just a few laps managed to immediately resume the pace he left last October, we were able to carry out several tests aimed mainly at giving Andrea knowledge of the bike’s reactions following different configuration steps. We still have a lot to focus on and there are several areas where we can improve. This gives us confidence, also because in terms of race pace we are close to the references of the category!”

DAY 1 PICTURES: CLICK HERE