Gagne got a decent launch from eighteenth place on the grid and had a competitive opening lap, as he made his way past some rivals to enter the top-15. As the race progressed, the 24-year-old from San Diego battled with Guarnoni for eleventh position before consolidating twelth place in the latter stages of the encounter.
Giugliano got a good launch from the fifteenth slot of the grid and was able to move up two places as the World Superbike field entered turn one. The 28-year-old Italian then started to lose ground and was passed by his team mate Gagne, before making his way back to the pits and pull out of the race.
The final race of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship will get underway tomorrow at 21:00 local time (GMT +3), with Giugliano and Gagne again 15th and 18th, respectively, on the starting grid.
Jake Gagne 45
We made a lot of progress this morning in free practice 3 and I was feeling really good, but unfortunately I made a few mistakes during Superpole 1 which didn’t allow me to get a good qualifying position for the race. I got off to a decent start and got in the mix at the back, then made a couple of passes but then there was some smoke coming off another rider’s bike, which kind of made us slow down and lose touch with the group ahead. On lap nine I started to lose some grip so I could not push as hard as I wanted in the remaining laps. Twelfth place is not too bad and we have some ideas on what to change on the bike for race two, so hopefully we’ll be able to go quicker tomorrow.
Davide Giugliano 34
My start was good and I got up to thirteenth place, but very soon I started having issues with shifting, and ultimately I had no choice but to return to the pits. The team is currently investigating to find out what happened, but surely it’s a shame for how things went in the race because we showed some progress in Superpole 1 and I was ready to put up a fight. Now we need to regroup and get ready for the last race, because we all need one good result to wrap up the season.
Ronald ten Kate
It surely wasn’t the type of result we were expecting from today, and it has been a quite challenging race no doubt, but Jake did a great job and didn’t give up even when the grip went away. He was twelfth again but we’re quite confident he can be quicker tomorrow. It’s a real pity for Davide, because he got off to a great start and I think he could have battled for a top-10 finish, so hopefully things can turn in his favour tomorrow so he can show all his talent in the final race of the year.
Qatar RoundLosail International Circuit, Qatar
WorldSBK 2017, Round 13
- Air Temp: 27°C
- Humidity: 66%
- Ground Temp: 27°C
| # | Rider | Num | Nationality Nat. | Points Pts. | Team | Constructor Constr. | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | 65 | GBR | 25 | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | 33’41.021 |
| 2 | Chaz Davies | 7 | GBR | 20 | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati | +4.944 |
| 3 | Marco Melandri | 33 | ITA | 16 | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati | +10.405 |
| 4 | Eugene Laverty | 50 | GBR | 13 | Milwaukee Aprilia | Aprilia | +12.052 |
| 5 | Lorenzo Savadori | 32 | ITA | 11 | Milwaukee Aprilia | Aprilia | +12.339 |
| 6 | Tom Sykes | 66 | GBR | 10 | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | +15.587 |
| 7 | Jordi Torres | 81 | SPA | 9 | Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW | +16.789 |
| 8 | Sylvain Guintoli | 05 | FRA | 8 | Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki | +17.869 |
| 9 | Leon Camier | 2 | GBR | 7 | MV Agusta Reparto Corse | MV Agusta | +18.494 |
| 10 | Román Ramos | 40 | SPA | 6 | Team Go Eleven | Kawasaki | +22.660 |
| 11 | Jeremy Guarnoni | 11 | FRA | 5 | Pedercini Racing SC-Project | Kawasaki | +36.011 |
| 12 | Jake Gagne | 45 | USA | 4 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda | +38.237 |
| 13 | Roberto Rolfo | 44 | ITA | 3 | Grillini SBK Team | Kawasaki | +49.659 |
| 14 | Ondrej Jezek | 37 | CZE | 2 | Grillini Racing Team | Kawasaki | +50.079 |
| NC | Alex Lowes | 22 | GBR | 0 | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha | DNF |
| NC | Xavi Fores | 12 | SPA | 0 | BARNI Racing Team | Ducati | DNF |
| NC | Raffaele De Rosa | 35 | ITA | 0 | Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW | DNF |
| NC | Michael van der Mark | 60 | NDL | 0 | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha | DNF |
| NC | Davide Giugliano | 34 | ITA | 0 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda | DNF |
| NC | Alessandro Andreozzi | 121 | ITA | 0 | Guandalini Racing | Yamaha | DNF |
