A new destination, Malaysia, for the Ducati Superbike Team this weekend

Borgo Panigale (Italy), Monday 2 June 2014 - The Ducati Superbike Team prepares for a new track in the shape of the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia that will play host to round 6 of the 2014 Superbike World Championship this coming weekend.

This is the first time that the World Superbikes will race at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, and is therefore a new experience for the Ducati Superbike Team. The Sepang track, located only about 50 km from the centre of Kuala Lumpur, was officially opened in 1999 and has often played host to the MotoGP and Formula 1 championships.

Chaz Davies has solid experience of the racetrack, having raced there several times while participating in the 250cc and 125cc World Championships, while Davide Giugliano is yet to race at the Malaysian track.

At the latest round, which took place at Donington Park in the UK just over one week ago, Chaz Davies earned some important points, closing both of the day’s races at his home track in fifth position while Giugliano finished race 2 in fourth place, having crashed out of race 1 while fighting for the win.

Five rounds in to the 2014 championship, Davies is lying fifth in the general standings, Giugliano seventh. Ducati is positioned fourth in the manufacturer’s classification.

Chaz Davies – Ducati Superbike Team #7: “I’ve raced at Sepang before, five times I think, most recently in 2007. I remember it being hot and the track not having a lot of grip in the heat. I have good circuit knowledge, but it all changes when you got there on a new bike, new tyres, so there's a lot more learning involved than perhaps people might think. The temperature will play a big part. It’s a horsepower based track where the excessive heat saps some of the horsepower available. So it won’t be easy for us. Having said that, there are also a few flowing sections where the Panigale could come into its own.”

Davide Giugliano – Ducati Superbike Team #34: “I’ve only seen the track on the Playstation, that’s about all I know of it but it looks great on the screen! The fact that very few riders have recent experience of the Sepang track means that we are all more or less starting from scratch, with no real data. It will be a new challenge for both me and my team and we will need to work hard to get the bike set-up for the track. I expect the weekend to be difficult in terms of the weather conditions and I’ll need to try and adapt to that but we’re ready to work hard – it will be an exciting new experience.”

Ducati Superbike