Very positive first day for Giugliano in Moscow

Today marked the first day of action for team Althea Racing at the Moscow Raceway, a track situated about 100 kms from Moscow in Russia. Riders made the most of a dry track and warm temperatures (24° air temperature, 36° track) for the first free practice session this morning, and Giugliano and his team made a solid start to the Russian weekend. The Althea Racing rider put in a great performance and, with a best time of 1’36.172, he finished in overall second plae.

In the afternoon’s qualifying session both the weather and track conditions remained largely unchanged, allowing Davide Giugliano to impress once more; he led the way until just a few seconds from the end of the session when championship leader Sykes managed to beat him by just 48 thousandths of a second. Giugliano’s second place finish (1’35”615) confirms the competitiveness of both the rider and his privateer Aprilia RSV4, extremely well prepared by Genesio Bevilacqua’s squad.

Davide Giugliano: “A very positive day. We’re working well and I’m able to make the most of the great work that my team is doing. I like this track and it’s proving to suit my riding style and also the characteristics of my bike. Having said that, we have to continue on this path without losing focus because it’s only Friday but we definitely have everything we need to be able to do well in the races. I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow but I reckon that we’re ready come rain or shine.”

First free practice session: 1) Melandri (BMW) – 2) Giugliano (Aprilia) – 3) Sykes (Kawasaki) – 4) Checa (Ducati) – 5) Baz (Kawasaki) – 6) Fabrizio (Aprilia) – 7) Davies (BMW)

First qualifying session: 1) Sykes (Kawasaki) – 2) Giugliano (Aprilia) – 3) Melandri (BMW) - 4) Checa (Ducati) – 5) Laverty (Aprilia) – 6) Camier (Suzuki) – 7) Rea (Honda)