FRONT ROW FOR MARCO MELANDRI

Donington (UK), 24 May 2014 – The wet Superpole on Saturday placed the official Aprilia Racing RSV4s on the first two rows and ensured that Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli will be key players in the races tomorrow.

The rain which had been forecasted for the past few days finally arrived to dampen the beautiful English track at Donington and to nullify all the work the teams had done during Friday practice. The extreme conditions – it is also quite cold – enhanced Marco Melandri’s riding quality as he rode his Aprilia to just two tenths of a second off the top time, taking a spot on the front row of the starting grid with the third best time.

Marco Melandri: “Today’s result was important. I want to thank the guys on the team because they are really working hard. Superpole was hard. The first part of the track – the fastest part – was slippery and then the last long braking sections were quite difficult in the wet. It was hard to find the limit, so tomorrow we’ll have to see first of all how the weather shapes up and then we’ll prepare as best as possible for the races.”

Sylvain Guintoli, a specialist in the wet, started off strong, firmly establishing himself in the top positions and even taking first, but a sliding crash in the second part of the session (without consequences for the Frenchman), forced him to come into the pits, keeping him from defending his top time. Once back on the track with time for only one more lap, Guintoli in any case was able to improve on his time, taking a spot on the second row with the fifth best time.

Sylvain Guintoli: “As always a wet Superpole makes a mess of things. I felt good, but I slowed down for a lap and the tyre probably cooled down so I took a slide. I was able to get back on the track and take a flying lap even though the bike wasn’t performing at 100%. It could have gone better but in these conditions there is always a risk and second row is fine to get off to a good start tomorrow.”

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