Mike Jones heads to Lausitzing with track knowledge from recent test
After a two-month break, the 2017 SuperStock 1000 European Championship is ready to get back in action at EuroSpeedway Lausitz (Germany) for the sixth round of the season.
The Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team, which held a two-day test on the German track in late July with positive feedback, is determined to put up a challenge with Australia’s Mike Jones and his championship leading teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi.
Mike Jones (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team #57)
“The first part of the season has been quite steady but we made good progress during the last test in Germany, which was really positive. I focused on my riding without making too many setup modifications to the bike, and I made some changes to my style that allowed me to improve confidence and, as a consequence, go faster. So, I’m really looking forward to the second part of the season. The confidence is quite high and I think we have a good chance to improve our results significantly. We’re determined to do that starting from Lausitzring, which is a little different from all the other circuits in Europe and reminds me of the tracks back at home in Australia”.
In the test, both riders managed to get a head start with the setup work on their Panigale R while posting strong lap times.
Rinaldi posted a personal best of 1:38.6, faster than last year’s pole position, while Jones clocked an encouraging 1:39.0 at his debut on the track.
After five rounds, Rinaldi and Jones are respectively first (90 points) and twelfth (29 points) in the championship.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team #12)
“After a positive first half of the season, we’re strongly motivated to resume the battle at the top of the rankings, though just with a one-point advantage. The tests at Lausitzring were positive and we’re determined to keep up the good work during the race weekend. In Germany, the weather is also a key variable, but we managed to get some laps in the rain as well to collect good data. After such a long break, we need to start off on the right foot. The test was useful to this end and I’ve been training nonstop, so we’re confident”.
