Davide Giugliano and the Ducati Superbike Team will be in action early next week for a two day private test at MotorLand Aragon. Following a mixed 2014 season, which ended with a pole position an 8th and 5th place finishes in Qatar, the Italian rider is looking forward to trying out the new 1199 Panigale R - built according to the new technical rules - and starting the testing programme, in order to be ready for the upcoming season.

“I’m quite happy of the final races of the year” said Giugliano “but I cannot say I’m fully satisfied of how the season went. We had good races but did not manage to turn our performances into results. Surely we’ll head into 2015 with a lot more experience. We mainly lacked of consistency, especially due to the fact that the four cylinder machines had much more horsepower than us, so we had to carry more mid-corner speed and be faster on the exit in order not to lose them on the straight. As the race progressed this had an impact on the bike, the tyres and the rider; surely I did not settle down for a decent finish and that’s why in some cases I ended up making mistakes.”

“This year I feel we wasted every single good opportunity we had, because I always crashed while I was fighting for the podium and never when I was like 7th or 8th” Giugliano continued. “Those were big chances we have thrown away, but I’m sure this is going to be different in 2015. I’m very lucky to continue with the team next year and, even though the bike will be new, we will be testing already next week on Monday and Tuesday at Aragon and then at Jerez by the end of the month. We will work mainly on the race distance because that’s what has really held us back this year.”