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Kyalami (South Africa) - Private Testing 26/27 January 2001
Final day of private testing for Ducati\'s 996R Factory bikes at Kyalami before the official SBK International-organised winter tests get underway here on Monday. Both Bayliss and Xaus improved on yesterday\'s times but the Spanish rider crashed out one minute from the end of the session.
The factory Ducati Corse squad continued tyre testing in collaboration with Michelin, testing new compounds and sizes. Bayliss and Xaus divided the testing programme which had been planned with the French tyre engineers. Öhlins brought along a brand-new pressurised front fork, which was appreciated by the riders because it absorbs the characteristic dips and bumps of the South African circuit better.
Troy Bayliss immediately improved on yesterday\'s time after getting to grips with the difficult and twisty Kyalami track, but Ruben Xaus crashed out at the end of the session after getting under yesterday\'s time. The Spanish rider lost front-end grip on the downhill section before the final part of the track and suffered a sprained neck muscle in the incident. An X-ray ruled out any broken bones and Ruben will be back on track soon.
Today I worked on setting up my Ducati and mapping out the new engine.
We are very close to getting it right> said Troy Bayliss.
TEMPERATURE: AM air 21°/ground 31° - PM 27°/45° WEATHER: clear skies
UNOFFICIAL TIMES:
Superbike: Bayliss (Ducati Corse) 1\'43\"90 - Xaus (Ducati Corse) 1\'44\"00 - Edwards (Honda) 1\'43\"13 - Okada (Honda) 1\'43\"54
Supersport: Guareschi (Ducati Dienza) 1\'47\"61 - Thomas (Ducati Dienza) 1\'47\"91 - Vermeulen (Honda) 1\'48\"52.
