Davies, Giugliano rue missed opportunities
Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano were left to rue an unexpectedly difficult race day at Misano as they struggled to put Ducati's strong practice form into similarly impressive results.
Having been quick throughout practice and qualifying, Giugliano came into the races seeking a return to the podium and a possible shot at a maiden WSBK victory, but a poor rear tyre left him down in eighth in race one before a jump-start in race two put him out of contention.
Team-mate Davies fared slightly better with a charging ride from seventh to fourth in race one - despite losing time battling with Toni Elias -, but a crash in race two signalled a costly DNF.
It meant Ducati would come away from its home race with no podiums to show for, much to the frustration of both riders.
"Fourth in race one wasn't bad," Davies said. "In the final stages I was riding at the limit and although I got close to Marco at one point, he was able to pick up the pace at the end and I couldn't match that. I'm a bit frustrated about the time I lost at the start when Elias ran off track - he was right in front of me and I was forced to brake.
"In race two I had a bit of a strange feeling with the front of the bike right from the start. We hadn't made any big changes between race 1 and 2, but I guess the higher temperatures caused the change in feeling. The problem is that you need to get away strong and stick with the front guys - if instead you have to push to make up lost ground the tyre deteriorates more quickly.
"I also had a damaged footpeg after the crash but I stayed out until we were two thirds of the way through the race, just in case there was a red flag for any reason. After 15 laps I decided to come in, also because coming in meant the engine did a few laps less."
Giugliano, meanwhile, was sorry for the jump start in race two, not least because he felt he had a fast bike beneath him.
"It was a tough day. In practice we hadn't tried the other rear tyre, the one that many of the other riders used, because the lap times recorded on the used tyre were consistently good in the practices," Giugliano added. "Unfortunately it was a very difficult race, I had a lot of vibration at the rear and the grip really dropped off in the second half.
"Then in race 2 I made a mistake - in trying to start as well as possible I did too much and made a jump start. I wanted to get away as fast as possible and not get trapped in traffic like in race 1, and from the pace I had through the first laps I know I could have done that. A pity, as the tyre was working well and I was happy with the bike.
"I'm sorry for both me and the team, especially on a weekend in which we were constantly fast in every session. We are continuing to improve and I'm certain that it's only a question of time before we are able to bring full satisfaction to the team, Ducati and all of our supporters and fans."
