It was a race day with plenty of upsets and surprises for the Aprilia Racing duo Sylvain Guintoli and Marco Melandri. Race 1, which started under threatening clouds, had Marco Melandri starting off well and Sylvain Guintoli holding onto fifth place during the initial phases of the race. A few drops of rain fell down temporarily at the hallway point, allowing Guintoli to make up some ground to the leader, whilst Melandri slowed down his pace due to a lack of feeling at the rear. The rider from Ravenna continued to push anyway, barely missing a podium finish, while his team mate made up ground and took advantage of the difficult track conditions to come back and take second place.

The conditions worsened in Race 2, forcing the riders to use rain tyres and settings. With the distance reduced to 18 laps, both Marco and Sylvain were cautious for the first part of the race, increasing their pace lap after lap and, after a series of preparatory passes, they found themselves behind Rea who was trying to pull the pin at the front. 

With a consistent gap in terms of race pace, the Aprilia riders were closing in for the final charge. Unfortunately, during  the 13th lap Guintoli braked on the inside of Melandri at turn 5, eventually losing control of his RSV4 and taking Marco down in the process. The unfortunate collision brought Melandri's race to an end, while Guintoli was able to remount his bike to claim to finish in seventh place. 

Marco Melandri: “It is really a shame. After almost making it onto the podium in Race 1 I had the right pace to redeem myself in Race 2. Unfortunately it went as badly as it could and I'm sorry about that because I could have had a really good comeback. It was definitely a lost opportunity, but it is also confirmation of the fact that my team and I are continuing to work together with our sights set on the highest prize. We'll have a chance to redeem ourselves in the coming rounds”.

Sylvain Guintoli: “In Race 1 I tried to take advantage of the first signs of rain. I was feeling good and had a good pace. But when conditions returned to normal the gap behind Sykes was too big and I had to settle for second place. In Race 2 both Marco and I were clearly faster than our rivals, but unfortunately on turn 5 Rea braked really early and I tried to go up the inside. Marco was on the outside and I lost the front end on a bump which took us both out. I'm really sorry for him and for the team. We had a good result within our grasp. It was simply race contact and unfortunately in these conditions it's easy to make a mistake”.