Benelli Continue to Learn at Laguna
"We had some niggling problems with the number one bike today," explained Goddard, "this lost us valuable time and forced me to use the number two bike at the end of the session...."
"It's still using an earlier specification engine and one that's done a lot of miles during testing so it was getting a little tired today. When I got my qualifying tyre on I got caught in traffic and couldn't get a fast lap in. We were already short of time so I decided to stay out for a couple more laps and actually posted my best time of the weekend on the third lap using the tyre." Qualifying tyres are usually only good for one lap but the Tornado is kind to its tyres and that allowed Goddard to stay out in a last ditch attempt to get into Superpole during the final minutes of qualifying.
Despite the setback the team are still in good spirits, "We are learning somuch at every round," said Team Manager Max Zani. "We are constantlyimproving the bike and despite our problems in this afternoon's sessionPeter still managed to improve on his time from this morning."
Goddard was upbeat about his prospects for tomorrow's two World Superbike races, "I know I could have gone faster today if it hadn't been for the traffic. We're less than three-tenths of-a-second off Superpole here, which is much closer than we were at Misano. The handling felt good, we've made some more changes to the set-up and I'm looking forward to a good race. My times on race tyres are good so I'm hoping to score championship points on Sunday."
The Tornado has created a big stir at Laguna Seca, there's always a throng of people gathered outside the team's pit area hoping to catch a glimpse of what is undoubtedly the best looking motorcycle in Superbike racing. Now the entire team are hoping that tomorrow will be the day when Benelli score their first championship points in the World Superbike championship.
Comments
Join the conversation