SYLVAIN GUINTOLI STRUGGLED TO FIND HIS PACE IN THE PACK AND FINISHED IN FIFTH PLACE, REPEATING THE RACE 1 RESULT

APRILIA'S DOMINATION IN THE MANUFACTURER CHAMPIONSHIP CONTINUES.

Laguna Seca, 29 September 2013 – The determination shown in the Race 1 finale at Laguna Seca yesterday was almost a foreshadowing of the way Eugene Laverty would perform today. Rocketing to the front as soon as the red lights went off, the Northern Irish rider then found himself riding in third place behind the exhaust of Sykes and Giugliano in the first phase of the race. Eugene bided his time throughout the middle portion of the race, staying in contact with the leaders without taking any pointless risks, also taking into consideration the less than excellent grip.

Laverty's strategy paid off when four laps from the end he launched his attack on Giugliano for second place and then overtook Sykes two lap later. The grand finale had him controlling his rivals and flying across the finish in the lead. His seventh victory of the season and the third place in Race 1 take him to second place in the rider standings, 23 points behind Sykes with two more rounds (four races) left to go.

Thanks in part to Davide Giugliano's podium finish, an excellent second place ride on the Althea Racing Team RSV4, Aprilia strengthens their dominating lead in the manufacturer standings. The advantage in front of Kawasaki is now 45 points, 70 ahead of BMW, 235 over Honda, 248 above Suzuki and 308 in front of Ducati.

Eugene Laverty: “This was anything but an easy race. Yesterday I struggled quite a bit to keep up with the front runners and I managed to finish on the podium by overtaking twice in the last lap. I want to thank my team because we worked a lot on the bike and took a big step forward that allowed me to ride better in spite of the grip issues. I pushed hard from the first to the last lap and Davide (Giugliano) and Tom (Sykes) didn't make this win an easy one! This is a result that I really didn't expect which now takes me to second place in the rider standings, but we have two very different rounds ahead of us. I struggled last year at Magny Cours, but my RSV4 has grown a lot so things could change, whereas Jerez is our test track so I could have an advantage there. In any case I'll need to give 100% in every session for the next two weekends. I'd like to dedicate my win to my engineer Marco Bertolatti who became a father just a few hours ago.”

It was another difficult race for Sylvain Guintoli, dominator in Race 1 before the second red flag. After an imperfect start from the first spot on the grid thanks to winning Superpole yesterday, the Frenchman had to surrender the pace to Melandri and Giugliano. Relegated to fifth place, Sylvain struggled in the first part of the race to keep pace with the lead pack, finally settling into a good pace. However, the gap behind the four leaders kept him from improving his position, which repeats the result from yesterday but certainly does no justice to the performance demonstrated during the practice sessions. Sylvain is now lying third in the championship, just one point behind his team mate Laverty, a position that keeps him well in the running for the final victory.

Sylvain Guintoli: “To be honest this was a disappointing Race 2. I expected much more and, all things considered, the start was good. I felt like I could pass Tom and Eugene, but instead I came under attack from Melandri and Giugliano and dropped back behind the lead group. The pace was really fast and when you lose a few metres it's hard to make up that gap. Like yesterday, when I'm in the middle of the pack I'm lacking something. I'm unable to maintain the same pace that I can set when I'm riding by myself like I was in the first two starts yesterday. It's something I need to work on because we didn't make any changes to the bike compared to yesterday. I need to get focused again, I'm not lacking in speed since yesterday when I was out front I was able to be very fast. Magny Cours is coming up in just a few days and that's my home race where I hope to make up some important points”.