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With the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action resuming at Donington Park, it was a time to catch up with key personnel from the paddock. There was plenty to discuss, from team futures, kick starting campaigns and the future of Champions with nothing still decided. We’ve gathered the best quotes from Friday in one handy place for you…

Michael Galinski (Bonovo Action BMW Team Manager): “We are looking for every possibility… nothing is clear at the moment”

Discussing Bonovo BMW’s withdrawal, but the possibility of the MGM team structure continuing, team boss Michael Galinski said: “It is a shame that we have to stop this project with BMW and we are not happy about this but I have done racing all my life with MGM Racing Performance and we are looking for every possibility and I am sure we will stay in the paddock next year. Nothing is clear at the moment; we are looking at sponsors as the project has got better and better.”

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati): “It’s been a strange but positive Day 1… The feeling wasn’t too bad”

Discussing his Friday, Bautista said: “This morning, I felt not so bad straight away because we came back to the setup, we changed at Misano. In the afternoon, because right now we don’t have a good base setup that allows me to ride like last year, we started with a different setup but it didn’t suit me. I stopped after a few laps and we went back to more similar to the morning. I had a small crash at Turn 1 which stopped us improving the feeling. My team did an incredible job to recover the bike and make some laps towards the end. The feeling wasn’t too bad. I started to recover my riding style. It’s been a strange but positive Day 1.”

Marc Bongers (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director): “For next season, we will only have two factory bikes”

From BMW’s side, Marc Bongers talked about the impact about losing two factory bikes and the possibility of finding another team for a satellite machine: “They are not stepping away from BMW, they are stepping away from the Championship and it is a shame that we have to end this nice relationship, but it is what it is. We have to respect Jurgen’s personal decision, it is unfortunate but that is what we have to deal with. Bonovo has been a great help to bring us back to the top, where we are at the moment. We have also established our test team which helps a lot in the background. First of all, to have four factory bikes, you need confidence in the team you support which we had in Bonovo so for next season, we have made it clear that we will only have two factory bikes and we have made no further decision. There will be no other factory team.”

Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW): “I was able to find a good rhythm!”

A strong day for Redding, with the #45 in P5. He said: “It wasn’t the easiest day, but what we did at Misano made a step forward. We’re finetuning the electronics. It takes its time. I was using a used tyre in FP2 and felt okay, but the lap time wasn’t really coming. We made some changes to the chassis and electronics. I put the SCX tyre on and felt good, it transformed the bike for me and normally it’s the opposite. It was good. I was able to find a good rhythm and that I was able to ride the bike in my style so I hope we can continue in this way.”

Paul Denning (Pata Prometon Yamaha Team Principal): “It’s got to be a turning point, but you can’t force things when it’s difficult…”

When asked whether the team’s home round could be a turning point for their campaign, team boss Paul Denning said: “It has got to be, but you can’t force things when it is difficult. We have changed a few things in the garage to calm down the working process as it is easy for everybody to overtry and to try and dig yourself out of a hole, but Jonathan seems more relaxed this weekend and looks like he is enjoying himself so far. We hope it is a turning point, but we can only go step by step towards the target."

Stefano Cecconi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team Principal): “There are no deadlines from us… I think in the next few weeks it should be done”

Providing an update on Alvaro Bautista's (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) future, Cecconi stated: “For Alvaro, we are talking but nothing is done yet, we are still in negotiations, so it takes time. There are no deadlines so far from us or from Alvaro, he is taking his time to think about his future because you know he is not a rookie anymore, so he has to be more than sure to continue to race and sacrifice himself. We have to wait for his decision first and then we have to see if we can find a good deal. I think in the next few weeks it should be done.

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