Davide Giugliano’s return to the World Superbike Championship ended prematurely thanks to a technical issue with his Honda Fireblade at the Lauistzring on Saturday.
The Italian – who was dropped by Ducati for 2017 and made a disastrous appearance in the British Superbike series earlier this year – has been brought in by Honda for this weekend following a positive test at the German track in the summer break.
Still adapting to the new Fireblade, Giugliano made a steady start from 17th on the grid as he struggled to stick with the riders around him.
Once settled into a rhythm, the Italian was able to mount a challenge for the final points paying positions, though his charge was halted by a mystery technical issue 10 laps into the race.
While disappointed at being forced to park up early, Giugliano took solace from the fact he was setting a quicker pace than he had managed at any point during the weekend.
“It was a good race for as long as it lasted,” he said.
“At the beginning, with everyone so close together, it was hard for me to be aggressive – it was still my first race with this bike after all – so I lost a bit of ground.
“Then when the pack opened up a bit, I was able to ride more like I wanted to and my pace improved.
“My laptimes were quite interesting, too, as I was quicker than during the rest of the weekend.
“It was a shame we were forced to retire with a technical issue; the team is not trying to understand what happened in order to be ready for tomorrow.”
Giugliano was the sole Honda representative in Saturday’s first outing at the Lausitzring, as team-mate Stefan Bradl was declared unfit following Superpole.
The German suffered heavy bruising on his elbow after a crash in Friday’s second practice. Bradl took part in qualifying – in which he was 15th – but the pain proved too much and he was forced to miss the opening race of his home round.
He has spent the day undergoing treatment at the Clinica Mobile and will be evaluated ahead of Sunday’s warm-up session before a decision is taken on his participation in the second race.
“No doubt it’s been an unlucky weekend so far,” said Bradl.
“After hitting my elbow hard in yesterday’s FP2 crash, this morning I tried to ride but it could only do a few laps before the pain got too intense and I had a very limited movement in the joint.
“That’s why I had to make the decision of not racing today.
“I will get some more treatment later at Clinica Mobile in order to get in better shape for tomorrow and try to race.”
