It wasn't just Ducati on track at the Lausitzring. Team Althea were also present, taking the opportunity to get a detailed idea of the track. With no Reiterberger, still recovering from injury, it was left to Jordi Torres to build confidence with the BMW: “We’ve completed two useful testing days, working on electronic aspects but also carrying out all those general tests needed so that we can understand exactly where we are and be as prepared as possible for the race."
Everything might change in September of course: “We’ll have no idea of how we’re doing compared to the others until we get back here in September, but I’m satisfied with what we’ve got done here. We’ve collected a lot of information; I’m just sorry Markus was not here with us, as he knows the track well and could have helped us!"
In Germany Raffaele De Rose will continue to chase the Superstock 1000 title, after his recent SBK experience at Laguna Seca. He'll need to turn the page after his Misano crash: “I’m quite pleased because we’ve worked well, finding what we wanted to find. We were also lucky in terms of the weather… This is a new track for me and I like it though there are some bumpy sections."
He's not put off by the track's characteristics though: “The grip isn’t bad though and the layout is something a bit different to other tracks, with a lot of chicanes. All in all, it’s been really useful to come here in preparation for the race, and the remainder of the championship, seeing as we didn’t know the place at all… Now we’ll have to wait until September to see what we can do...”