Rabat conquers eighth in a great Texas fight

Reale Avintia Racing rider Tito Rabat conquered a fantastic eighth place the the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. The former Moto2 world champion feels more and more comfortable on his Ducati GP17 and displayed an impeccable race today. Starting from 14th place on the grid, he recovered places steadily and,after passing Jack Miller on the last lap, finished as the second best Ducati rider behind new world championship leader Andrea Dovizioso. This result gives Rabat another moral boost. He is now ninth in the championship and will now travel to his home race at Jerez determined to score another top result.

The weekend on the Circuit of the Americas was also positive for Xavier Simeon. Rabat’s Belgian teammate in Reale Avintia Racing finished a strong race and gained more experience. With every race, he is getting closer to the point rankings, which are his goal for the next race at Jerez, where he already rode his Ducati MotoGP in winter.

“I am very happy with our first three races of the season, with the great work my team is doing and with the performance of my Ducati. We had another very good weekend, despite the fact that the track conditions in practice were difficult and we only had good conditions in FP2. We took a risk with our tyre choice for the race and the gamble worked out. It was a lot of fun. At the beginning, I struggled to get past Bradley Smith und later, it was a real thrill to ride with Lorenzo, Rins and Miller. In the end, I had a grat battle with Jack and I managed to pass him in the final lap. This result gives me another boost for our home race in Jerez”.

“On one side I am happy and on the other side I’m frustrated, because we followed in line with the other Ducatis, with the hard tyre compound on the rear, that I had never tried in practice. We thought this would be a good choice, but at the beginning of the race I didn’t have a lot of confidence. Later on I managed to speed up and I had the same pace as the guys riding within the Top 15. It was a weekend to gain experience and in which we had a decent rhythm at times. veery time I go out, I enjoy riding this bike more, but I still ride with a safety margin to avoid mistakes. Now at Jerez we will try to make another step”.