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Ducati Xerox Team's 2006 riders Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi finally got down to some dry-weather motorcycle running as the conditions improved on the second and final day of Pirelli tyre testing for the top World Superbike teams at Valencia.
The two Ducati Xerox Team riders for 2006 set the quickest times over the two-day test, completing their official debut for the Italian factory team.
After yesterday's wash-out, when a handful of riders from the seven World Superbike teams present took to the track for a few laps each to ‘test the water’, but were unable to achieve anything valuable. Conditions were much improved today and Troy was able to ride his Ducati 999 for the first time, together with new team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi.
Bayliss proved himself to be in perfect harmony with the new bike, and the 36 year-old Australian completed 49 laps to get used to a Ducati Superbike again after a three-year gap. Despite a still not entirely healed left wrist following a motocross accident in September, Troy was immediately on the pace and his time of 1m36.1s was good enough for second position behind Lanzi.
"It was a really good day" declared Troy, "and I was surprised how well my wrist stood up. I had a bit of pain on the brakes and when I pushed on the bars, but I still set some good lap times. I was really comfortable with the team and the bike felt like my old armchair! Now I just want to go away and get stronger and fitter for Qatar in three weeks time."
After yesterday's debut in the wet, when he set quickest time, Lorenzo Lanzi continued to impress on the other Ducati Xerox 999. The 24-year-old Italian, winner of two races in his debut year in Superbike, repeated his form today, setting quickest time in 1m35.7s.
"I am really pleased with my performance in these two days" commented Lanzi. "I did 38 laps yesterday and 57 today and I was the quickest overall, even though my motivation is still not at 100%. I like the 999 with the new suspension developments and the tyres as well, and yesterday we also had a good opportunity to lap in the wet, so I'm satisfied."
Foggy Petronas Racing’s new signing Craig Jones made his debut on the Petronas FP1 during a trouble-free day of testing. Drying and bright conditions enabled the young Brit to maximise his four hours of track time this afternoon and complete over fifty laps to familiarise himself with the circuit and bike, making minor adjustments to riding position comfort factors and basic bike set-up to suit his riding style.
Craig said: “We’ve had a trouble-free day and it’s been great to get out there and familiarise myself with the track, the bike and how the team works. My first impression is amazement, to feel the power of a superbike after coming from a 600cc.
“I’m very happy with what we’ve achieved today and I feel comfy on the bike. I’ve also found a good base setting so we’ve now got a direction to work towards to tune the bike to my preferences in areas such as the clutch, geometry and suspension. I could have done without my little ‘off’ towards the end of the day when the back end spun round on me, but me and the bike are okay and it was good that I was able to go back out and complete a few more laps after that.
“Although getting a good lap time wasn’t part of my plan at all, I’m really pleased that each time I went out I was able to improve my times and know that there’s a lot more to come. Mostly, I’ve really enjoyed the day and had fun, so now I can’t wait to get to Qatar for our next test.”
Team manager Jack said: “Considering we lost the first day of the test due to the weather and that Craig only had four hours on track today, I’m very happy with the day’s work. We set each of his two bikes up with different settings so that he had two options to work from and compare directly, and he already has a clear preference for one of the bike set-ups. We wanted to come away from this test with Craig feeling comfortable and happy on the bike, and having a good direction to pursue at Qatar, and we’ve achieved both of those things. Other than a small crash towards the end of the day which only caused minor damage to the bike and fortunately no injury to Craig, it was a trouble-free day. He’s also been able to steadily reduce his lap times throughout the day and is nowhere near his limit, so we’re looking forward to what’s to come.”
Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt ran their R1 motorcycles in virtually the same specification they finished the 2005 season with, the main evolutions being updated Ohlins suspension, which was tested for the first time, and some new specification tyres from Pirelli.
Despite the limited running time, both riders were comfortably faster than their times from April's race. Haga concluded the test with the fourth fastest time of the 12 riders present, a 1'36.6, while Pitt was seventh fastest with a 1'37.2. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) was fastest overall with a 1'35.7.
Team Coordinator Massimo Meregalli commented: "The bad weather reduced the time available and we were only able to get through a small amount of the work we'd planned. However it went well and this test has given us the opportunity to work with three new team members and for them to become familiar with our working practices. Next we have a test in Qatar early next month where we hope to have more track time. We ended the 2005 championship growing in confidence and for 2006 our intention is to be one of the main challengers for the championship title."
World Superbike teams next and final testing session this year is scheduled for December 4-6 in the Gulf state of Qatar, the venue for the opening round of the 2006 championship. Petronas rider Steve Martin returns for testing following his recovery from surgery a few weeks ago.
