Christian and Ayrton ready to race

Team Bimota Alstare riders Christian Iddon and Ayrton were unable to get past Superpole 1 in Laguna Seca today, but are happy with the improvements to their bikes and are looking forward to tomorrow’s races. Christian finished third quickest in the EVO class and Ayrton fifth and they will start from the fifth and sixth rows of the grid respectively.

Christian Iddon – 3^rd (EVO) 1:24.024

“In the morning we tried a couple of new parts but the thirty minute session really wasn’t long enough to evaluate them properly and see what the differences were. We also worked on the electronics and I feel that we are definitely improving in that direction. Working with electronics is always a lengthy process and it just takes time – that’s all. We also tried a few different tyres to see how they last and we have two choices, but haven’t decided which to use yet.

In Superpole 1, the bike felt really good on race rubber, but maybe I didn’t make the most of it. We then put the qualifying tyre on and I was probably a bit too hesitant on my first lap. I pushed harder on the second lap but made a small error and lost maybe two tenths of a second. I decided to try again on its third lap, but hit a couple of bumps into Turn 5 and lost the front and crashed. It was just a low speed crash and no problem, but it’s given the guys extra work and I’m sorry for that. They have worked really hard all year and, considering that this is a new bike, I think they’ve done really well to get it this good in such a short space of time. The improvements have been small, but it’s the little things that matter and I am very happy with our progress and looking forward to the races tomorrow.”

Ayrton Badovini – 5^th (EVO) 1:24.301

“I am happy because the bike has improved quite a bit from yesterday. It feels good –especially on the race tyre. Here we have a new qualifying tyre and it takes a little time to understand the difference between it and the ones we have had before. Because of that, I didn’t want to push at 110% and maybe crash, so I rode as hard as I could without going over the limit.

I haven’t got a perfect set-up for the race, but I have got quite a good one and although Superpole didn’t go to plan, I think I can do a couple of good races tomorrow and come away with some good results.”