A crash for Giugliano in race two doesn't take away from his fantastic podium finish in race one

The seventh round of the 2013 World Superbike championship took place today [30th June] at the Imola circuit in Italy. Thanks to his great performance over the last days Davide Giugliano started today’s races from the front row of the grid thanks to the third fastest time that he obtained in yesterday’s Superpole. In race one the Althea Racing rider made a very strong start and led the race for a time before being passed by Sykes. Davide didn’t back down and stuck with the Kawasaki until the end, to score a fantastic second place finish. This marks the first podium of the season for him and for Althea Racing. Based on the results of race one, a strong second race was certainly on the cards. Giugliano made another fast start and was again able to stay with Sykes who immediately took the lead. Unfortunately however, during the course of the third lap, Davide had a fall at the Tosa turn, ending up in the gravel; he was unable to rejoin the race. A bitter end but it doesn’t take away from the fact that the team were consistently frontrunners throughout the weekend, which will be remembered for Giugliano’s performance in Superpole and race one. The results are thanks to a maturity and competiveness that both the rider and technical staff of team Althea Racing have built up. The next round of the World Superbike championship will take place from 19 to 21 July at the Moscow circuit.

Davide Giugliano: “In race one we achieved a podium finish that really pleased us, also because it comes after the difficult Portimao weekend. It’s our first podium of the season and has really topped off three days in which we’ve been consistently among the first placed riders in the practices and in Superpole. In race two I wasn’t really pushing and was right behind Sykes when my bike suddenly lost traction at the Tosa turn and I found myself in the gravel, unable to continue. A real disappointment but this is racing and so we turn the page and look ahead, with more faith in our abilities.”

Genesio Bevilacqua: “It’s been a positive weekend. We proved that we’ve got a great set-up, that Davide has been able to really exploit in the best possible way. Our team has now reached the point of being able to get the best out of the RSV4. In race one we were extremely happy to score a podium finish while in the second Davide was again the only rider to be able to keep pace with Sykes. He wasn’t forcing things but nevertheless crashed and we haven’t yet understood why. Despite the crash, our rider has put on a great performance, and was able to not only fight against the factory riders but also aim for the win.”

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola - World Superbike Championship

Race one: 1) Sykes (Kawasaki) – 2) Giugliano (Aprilia) – 3) Laverty (Aprilia) – 4) Melandri (BMW) – 5) Fabrizio (Aprilia ) - 6) Davies (BMW) – 7) Camier (Suzuki) – 8) Badovini (Ducati)

Race two: 1) Sykes (Kawasaki) – 2) Rea (Honda) - 3) Guintoli (Aprilia) – 4) Melandri (BMW) – 5) Davies (BMW) – 6) Baz (Kawasaki) – 7) Camier (Suzuki) ….. rit (Giugliano (Aprilia)