Tyre development the focus for De Angelis
Pedercini Racing rider looks at how to improve on his 2017 results
Making the step over to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship last season following a horror crash in 2015, Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC Project) is looking to build on his results secured so far this season, as he made the change to a Kawasaki for 2017.
Not yet making it into the top ten in 2017, the Rimini rider hasn’t been far off with two 11th positions in Australia and Thailand whilst he has scored points in all but two races so far this season. However with goals of a top ten finish this season, De Angelis explains he will need to improve his feelings with the Pirelli tyres on board his ZX-10RR.
Understanding the new bike is one step, but understanding how it works with all elements such as tyres is another: “My season at the moment has not been that good. We have been struggling a lot and we hope to improve, we secured two 11ths and we hope to arrive in the top ten in many races, we are just not close enough. We need to improve how the bike is working with the tyre, so maybe in the next race at Assen we will use the softer option tyre which could be a big step. On top of this we are missing some speed, however how the bike goes through the middle of the corner is good for me.”
Changing teams can have a big impact on rider performance, however the 33 year old admits is hasn’t had much of an impact on him for the season: “It wasn’t a big change last year to this year as they are both Italian teams which means it’s good for me. But the big difference is the bike; if you compare the Aprilia to Kawasaki they are completely different. Aprilia has a really fast engine, I wasn’t very comfortable riding with the chassis, but the Kawasaki is the opposite.”
De Angelis will come out fighting in the fourth round at the TT Circuit Assen, which takes place from the 28th-30th May and you can keep up with all the inside action through the VideoPass on WorldSBK.com, here.
