With little time to rest after the challenging weekend just past in Misano, the Yamaha World Superbike team gears up for the Spanish stop off on the 2011 World Superbike Championship in Aragon. Round seven, marking the beginning of the second half of the season, will take place this weekend in Aragon Motorland, known locally as Ciudad del Motor de Aragon, located just 5 km from the city of Alcaniz.

Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty came away from Misano just last weekend disappointed with the results of a difficult race day. Melandri took a podium in race one and was aiming to replicate in race two before crashing after just 10 laps, causing the race to be red flagged and unable to participate in the following 14 lap race. Laverty was also misfortunate crashing out in race two from his third place position. Both Yamaha riders will be looking to be on top form in Aragon and make up for points lost in Misano. Just last month Melandri and Laverty successfully completed two days of tests on the Spanish circuit and are now confident their R1s can adapt well to the high speed track allowing them to be on top form and make amends for the disappointment of Misano.

Aragon Motorland is the new addition to the 2011World Superbike calendar but the city of Alcaniz hosted the legendary Alcaniz street circuit for many years. The desire to continue this long standing tradition, the popularity of motorsports and the enthusiasm it sparked off both on a local and national level gave way to the creation of Aragon Motorland. This year the World Superbike is heading to Aragon for the first of the three contracted years. Designed by well-known German architect Hermann Tilke in collaboration with Formula One driver Pedro de la Rosa, the 5.344 km track incorporates three main zones - a technology park, a sports area and a leisure and culture area. From a spectators point of view, the biggest advantage is that you can see a lot of the track from any one position.

Melandri and Laverty begin the second part of the 2011 season in third and fourth place in the World standing with strong potential to further climb the ladder.

Marco Melandri - Yamaha World Superbike Team

"I really like the track. It's fast flowing and rides very well. I'm glad we had the chance to test there last month but the conditions were't ideal. The track was cooler than usual for the time of year and there seemed to be traces of rubber, so it wasn't as fast as it should be and I'm not sure what to expect now. I was in Aragon last year with MotoGP but the track layout they use is also a little different. After the difficulties I experienced in Misano I'm not really sure what awaits me in Aragon. I'll do my best and hope to be in the condition to perform to my potential.

Eugene Laverty - Yamaha World Superbike Team

"I'm really looking forward to Aragon. We tested there after Monza and it went pretty well. It's a new track most riders haven't raced before so hopefully this will be an advantage for us. I had a tough weekend in Misano but I intend bouncing back in Aragon, pushing forward to try and gather more valuable points for the championship."

Aragon technically speaking according to Silvano Galbusera - Marco Melandri's crew chief

"I'm pretty sure it will be very warm in Aragon so we'll have to work hard on tyre wear which will be critical on the hot track. We need to improve our chassis settings due to the problems Marco had in Misano with the front of the bike. We'll start with the base set up we used in last month's tests and see where to go from there. We'll do our best on Friday and Saturday to find the ideal set up for Sunday's races and hopefully be able to fight for a victory."


Aragon technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi - Eugene Laverty's crew chief

"Aragon is another technically difficult track. We found a good chassis setting for handling and grip in the tests last month. We'll use a similar setting and find a way of keeping the front of the bike down so Eugene doesn't lose so much time on straights, which was a problem in Misano. At the moment Yamaha is faster than everyone except Checa and Biaggi, we need to find a way to close that gap."

Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager

"It'll be fundamental to make up for points lost in Misano. Both Marco and Eugene have the potential to be battling with Checa and Biaggi at the top of the standings and need to close the gap between them. We have some useful data we gathered during the tests there last month and this time the track will be decisively warmer. Aragon is not an easy track, it has a very fast straight and a few tight corners. We'll use Friday morning's free practice to test the base set up used during the tests and hopefully improve from there. We have the potential to have both riders back on the podium this weekend."



Following denied entry to the last round in Misano due to an error on the riders behalf, Luca Scassa has not ridden his R6 in five weeks. Eager to finally get back to business, Scassa is enthusiastic to be heading to Aragon Motorland in Spain this weekend for round six of the 2011 World Supersport championship. The Italian, bumped to third in the World standing due to his absence in Misano, is intent on making up for lost ground this weekend on Spanish soil. Team-mate Chaz Davies had a less than perfect weekend in Misano and is now in second place in the standings, 5 points off Parkes in the lead.

Both Yamaha ParkinGO riders tested the Spanish track just last month with the Yamaha World Superbike team. Satisfied with the two successful days testing, Scassa and Davies are heading to this weekends race confident that they can be back on top form and once again power their YZF-R6 to victory. Yamaha ParkinGO Team have won four out of five races of the 2011 World Supersport championship with riders Scassa and Davies claiming two firsts and two seconds a head.

The new stop off on the calendar, the fast flowing track in Aragon is well suited to their powerful R6s and should be the ideal location for both riders to return to the podium.

Luca Scassa - Yamaha ParkinGO Team

"I can't wait to be back on my R6. It was really difficult being in Misano and not able to race. I don't think I have ever missed racing so much before and Im itching to be back on my bike. I'm really looking forward to the weekend and hope to be back on a winning streak again. We tested in Aragon after Monza and I had a few issues with the bike but the team have worked on that and found the solution. It's a difficult track, quite technical, but I'm condfident that we have the right package and can make a good come back."

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