Tristan wins again
Tristan Palmer takes his second win of the season onboard his Rapido Sport Racing Ducati 1199 Panigale R.
Tristan Palmer: “It was the perfect weekend to take pole and the race win. The Ducati worked great for the whole race, I lost a bit of grip near the end but I knew the guys were following me so I made it difficult for them by riding nice tight lines and not giving them any space to get past. I was trying to gap them for the first half of the race but realised it wasn’t happening, so I knew it would go right to the end. I didn’t want to let them past, and instead I stayed consistent and made them to all the work.”
Well done to the team! Now we have one eye on a Top 3 season finish in the championship. Tristan is now up to 4th.
Superbike at Oulton Park
We went to Oulton Park expecting a big challenge and got one, the bike has moved on and changed significantly since we were last at the track and certainly the lap times were improving through the whole field so we knew it would be a big task.
With us this weekend was a Ducati Corse engineer which helped us to get to a good chassis set up quickly. Thanks Ducati.
We really needed a test day or two there first, but budget and time constraints make it impossible so we had to use the three free practice sessions to get a setup and lap time ready for qualifying.
We were making changes to chassis and engine braking strategies throughout the weekend, even between races, finding a tenth each time out.
The guys worked really hard this weekend , long hours without mistakes under pressure isn’t easy!
The set up result and race plan was to focus on the second half of the race, our bike is very strong in the last 1/3 as it preserves the tyres well and handles better with a light fuel load, so our issue is always the first few laps. This plan was a gamble we had to take, but we found the longer the race went the better for us, When the safety car is out it allows everyone to look after the tyre a little more and uses less fuel, so not ideal.
Matteo cleared the first challenge of Q1 and finished Q2 in P18 for the race. Target was P16 to be on the best side of the track for the start but missed it by 0.1 of a second. Qualifying is very tough at this track and the experience of some of the very experienced BSB riders was just too hard to beat.
As predicted, the start of each race was a struggle, passing and making ground when the bike is heavy with fuel is difficult, especially at Oulton park, but once the race is settled and underway Matteo was lapping at good pace.
In all three races the consistent lap times were at the pace we needed and with a better qualifying position and start we’ve shown Matteo and the Panigale can keep pace with the guys in the top ten.
Strengths of the weekend: Strong lap times from mid race distance, good power from the slow turns, good tyre preservation. Our new engine braking strategy worked :)
Struggles:Lack of tracktime sets us back at each track, we need a few more laps before qualifying, especially at the tracks that are so different to the European and international fast flowing circuits that Matteo is more familiar with. We need some more top end power for the long straights in the races coming up.
Now onto Cadwell Park: At BSB level this is a track where it is impossible to race at without a test, so we went from Oulton to Cadwell this week and Matteo completed about 70 laps of the track, we made a few big changes and now have some data to look through and work on for next weekend. Matteo loved Cadwell and with some more laps under his belt we’re expecting to pick up some more championship points before we move on to the final 4 rounds at Donington, Assen, Silverstone and Brands GP which are more familiar to him. Ideal as we’re out of testing budget!
Season Best for Ducati BSB at Snetterton
Ducati enjoyed its strongest weekend’s racing for some time at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk (5-7 July). Tristan Palmer had yet another fantastic race in the National Superstock 1000 class for Rapido Sport Racing, while the team’s rider in the main British Superbike class Matteo Baiocco scored the a best ever result by breaking into the top ten.
Coming off the back of a good weekend at Knockhill the team had the top ten in its sights, but with the ultra-competitive nature of the series, nothing is ever certain. The Italian made a good start in race one and jumped two spots from thirteenth on the grid to 11th at the end of the first lap, finding himself in a fierce mid-field battle that stretched from eighth back to 14th.
A safety car period followed, and Matteo managed to move up to ninth at half race distance before dropping back a couple of spots to eleventh. It looked like the Factory Ducati World Superbike test rider would just miss out on that elusive maiden top ten, but a fall from one of the front runners on the penultimate lap bumped the sole BSB Ducati back into the top ten to score the best ever finish for the Rapido Sport Racing team.
Another strong performance in race two for Italian rider and bike saw the Rapido Sport Racing team once again knocking on the door of the top ten. By lap 11 of 16 the Italian had taken tenth and was lapping slightly faster than the riders ahead. By lap 14 he was up to ninth, but a resurgent James Ellison just edged him back to tenth for a repeat result of race one over the line. Both rider and team were delighted with the double top-ten, and are confident that the performance can be repeated for the rest of the season.
Things would get even better for the Italian marque as the day went on, with Tristan Palmer starting from second place on the grid for the weekend’s only National Superstock 1000 race. A superb launch saw the rider from Nuneaton rocket into first place into the first corner. He was pushed back into second on lap two, but after a brief safety lap period took the lead back on lap nine.
A mistake on the same lap saw Palmer drop back to third, and despite his best efforts, didn’t have enough grip left to challenge in the last few laps. A scary moment at Montreal on the final lap saw Palmer run very wide, but he managed to pull the 1199 Panigale up just in time to maintain fourth place across the line.
Matteo Baiocco: “I’m happy for the position because we brought some good points home. We are much closer to the factory riders than at the other races so this weekend had been good. We stopped the improvements with the bike after qualifying. We might have been able to do some more with the setting but we were scoring our best results so it wasn’t worth risking it. The races felt long – I forgot about the sun, the last time I was here the track temperature was two degrees so it was very different. In the end, to get this result without coming to test here, which a lot of the other teams did, looks good for the rest of the races.”
The teams return to action at Brands Hatch for round 6 of the British Superbike Championship 19-21 July.
Upgrades for Tristan in Superstock 1000
Rapido Sport Ducati rider Tristan Palmer will get some upgrades this weekend ahead of the Snetterton round at British Superbike.
A new WSBK Specification exhuast system had been made available from Ducati Corse and Termignoni to upgrade the Ducati 1199 Panigale R being raced in the National Superstock 1000 class.
Dyno testing today are encouraging as we head to the very fast Snetterton track.
Superbike rider Matteo used the Corse SBK version of the system at Knockhill where he had his season best finish in 11th place.
Snetterton BSB is this weekend, come and get some sun and racing following the Rapido Sport Racing team.
For upgrade options on any Ducati click here to contact our workshop.
Panigale takes maiden win in British Superstock 1000
Tristan Palmer completes perfect weekend with a win from pole in National Superstock 1000 at Knockhill.
The Ducati Panigale 1199 R today (16 June) took its first ever win in the British National Superstock 1000 series, as Tristan Palmer made the perfect debut for the Rapido Sport Ducati Racing team. After signing a deal to ride the Italian machinery just a few weeks ago, Tristan was immediately on the pace for the Knockhill round of the championship.
The team completed a test around the Scottish circuit a couple of weeks ago, which was the first time Palmer had ever ridden a Ducati on the track. Immediately both Tristan and the team knew that they would have a good chance of a strong result around the short, technical lap, not least because Palmer has a proven record around it – taking the race win and setting the Superstock 1000 lap record in 2011.
From the very start of the weekend he was on course to fight for the win, setting the fastest times in his free practice sessions and putting the bike on pole position for the race. The rider from Tamworth got a good start in sunny conditions at Knockhill, and pulled an impressive gap of almost two seconds in the early laps showing how strong the outright pace of the 1199 Panigale is.
A huge moment for Palmer on lap 13 brought his rivals back into contention, but the 31 year old managed to hold off the chasing pack maintaining a half-second gap until lap 18 when the red flag was thrown and the result declared.
Tristan sits 12th in the championship standings after competing in just one event, and will certainly be looking to challenge for more race wins as the season progresses.
Tristan Palmer: “It’s been a lovely day for it here at Knockhill. We’ve been fast all weekend and the bike has been working perfectly – the Rapido Sport Racing team have been fantastic and everything has gone really well. I tried to get away at the start and got a bit of a gap but made a few little mistakes as the grip was going away. The red flag meant it worked out quite easy in the end, but I feel a bit sorry for the guys behind because I think it would have been quite exciting at the end! Still it was great for the team and great for Ducati to get a win for the Panigale – it’s a strong bike there’s not doubt about it. We just need a bit more time to work on tyre life, but things are looking great for the rest of the year.”
Season best for Matteo in Superbike
Matteo and the Superbike team had their best weekend today on the Ducati 1199 RS at Knockhill.
Scoring points in both races with 14th and 11th places, Matteo missed out on his first top 10 finish by just 0.061 seconds in race 2.
Next stop is Snetterton, a fast and flowing track that rider and team are looking forward to.