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He was just a breath away from finishing ahead of the current world champion. At the end of the day, Marco Melandri was just 0.030 of a second from Johnny Rea on the Kawasaki. Despite setting the second fastest time, the Ducati rider prefers to keep his feet on the ground but he's clearly found the kind of growth he was looking for.
Today there was no rain to ruin your plans.
“That's true, though conditions will change again over the coming days. In the afternoon the track actually seemed slower than this morning. I was finally able to exploit the new tyre, taking that step forward that I wanted. Once you have the right confidence with the tyres, all the tracks become great (he smiles)”.
Rea is just 30 thousandths of a second ahead.
“Johnny is a race animal. The important thing is to stay focused and complete solid qualifying sessions. As I've said, I'm under no illusions”.
Unlike Rea, you didn't complete a long run?
“No, we only focused on tyres, including the new one provided by Pirelli. We have clear ideas about the competitiveness of both the bike and the tyres”.
Will Melandri be among the frontrunners?
“I believe I'm ready, though at tracks like Thailand will be more complicated”.
Are you happy with the second fastest time, or more worried about Rea's race pace?
“The race is on Saturday, so let's not count our chickens. I will continue on my path, working with what I have available”.
Yesterday you said you had interesting ideas. Have these been confirmed?
“We took a different path in terms of set-up this time, with regard to my riding style. I'll wait for confirmation but it seems we're on the right track”.
How different is the Ducati compared to the first test in Spain?
“I discover more about this bike every day. I know that it wouldn't be perfect in certain areas but the Panigale and I have met half way”.
What can we expect to see from Ducati this weekend?
“Chaz up front, after what we saw at the end of last season. I hope to be up there too”.
What's been the most encouraging aspect of this test?
“The fact I've been able to exploit the extra grip of the new tyre, seeing as I was struggling with that over the winter. Ahead of the two races, this is definitely key”.
Does the Panigale have any more secrets?
“There will be times when I'll struggle more, like in races where the whether is unstable, considering that I'm starting over from scratch. This new adventure of mine is like a jigsaw puzzle”.
There appears to be a little disappointment on Chaz Davies' face. The Welshman is third and the time set by Rea hasn't gone unnoticed, neither has the Kawasaki rider's race pace.
“Throughout these tests we’ve been careful, moving step by step without making drastic changes to our base setup but also exploring a little bit given the particular nature of this track, which makes our bike a bit more difficult to turn."
This afternoon you carried out a long run. How were the sensations?
“Yes, but we didn't carry out many consecutive laps. We also took different tyres to race distance, and I’m quite happy with our performance as far as that is concerned. We have good ideas about our next steps to take, and we’ll evaluate them on Friday. We're still suffering a little through the fast turns”.
Did Melandri surprise you?
“No, I know his level and am not at all surprised he was second today".
