DUCATI XEROX TEAM KICK-STARTS 2006 WORLD SUPERBIKE CAMPAIGN
AT LOSAIL DESERT CIRCUIT IN QATAR
 The
Ducati Xerox Team officially gets its 2006 World Superbike
campaign underway this weekend in the Gulf state of Qatar,
the venue for the opening round of the championship at the
Losail International Circuit on Saturday 25th February. The
team will compete in this year's 13-round championship for
production-based machines with a totally new rider line-up.
Australian Troy Bayliss returns to Ducati to spearhead the
squad and he will be flanked by the talented young Italian
Lorenzo Lanzi, who earned his place in the team with two late
wins at the end of the 2005 season.
BAYLISS IS BACK: Troy Bayliss is, to put
it simply, a legend for Ducati. The 36 year-old from Taree
in Australia burst onto the World Superbike scene in 2000
as replacement for the injured Carl Fogarty and then won the
title the following year. After finishing runner-up to Colin
Edwards in 2002, Troy moved to MotoGP in 2003 and 2004 with
the factory Ducati team, with whom he obtained some superb
results, in particular in 2003. Troy has now opted to return
to the championship where he made his name, and the Ducati
Xerox Team rider will surely be one of the protagonists in
this year's series.
"The biggest thing is that it feels like I'm coming
home ... and I don't mean to Australia!" commented Bayliss.
"Even though the bike has changed quite a lot, the engine
is still very similar and has been much improved since I've
been away so it's a built-in package already waiting there
for me. It reminds me of the bike I rode in 2002, especially
after the couple of changes we made during the recent tests
in Qatar. I think I'm pretty much there, it just needs a little
bit of fine-tuning because we're already at the level we expected
to be. The championship is looking strong now, all the manufacturers
are back and it's going to be great to be there with Ducati
and challenge all the other guys for the title".
LANZI LOOKING FOR GLORY: The other rider
in the Ducati Xerox Team will be Lorenzo Lanzi, the 24-year-old
Italian from the province of Cesena. Lanzi has had a meteoric
rise to fame, becoming a World Superbike winner in his rookie
season. Three years in 125 and 250 from 1999 to 2001 were
followed by Lorenzo's first experience with four-stroke machines
and Ducati in the 2003 European Superstock championship, in
which he was runner-up riding a 999S. He then finished fifth
in the 2004 World Supersport championship with the Breil-sponsored
factory Ducati 749R and was promoted to Superbike the following
year with the satellite Ducati SC Caracchi team on a customer
999RS bike. As replacement for the injured Régis Laconi,
Lanzi then stepped onto the factory 999F05 machine in the
Ducati Xerox Team, and scored a sensational win at the Eurospeedway
at his first attempt, winning again in the last round of the
championship in Magny-Cours. The decision to move Lorenzo
Lanzi into Ducati's factory WSBK team is just reward for one
of Italy's most promising new talents.
"I am really proud to be a part of the Ducati Xerox
Team that will take part in the World Superbike Championship,
because it was an aim that I had made for myself when I was
racing in Superstock in 2003" declared Lanzi. "Now
that moment has arrived I am so happy because it is the dream
of so many Italian riders to race a factory Ducati. The team
that is around me is fantastic, the mechanics and all the
engineers, and there is a great feeling. We have everything
we need to be competitive and, in fact, after the recent tests
I am already up there amongst the top riders. Being in the
factory team doesn't bother me one bit, I think I have already
demonstrated at Lausitz that pressure isn't a problem. I know
there is a lot of work still to do but we are working well
and that's positive".
SIGHTS SET ON VICTORY: Ducati Corse director
Paolo Ciabatti has been in charge of the Italian manufacturer's
Superbike programme for several years now, and as a result
is no stranger to winning titles. This year he is looking
forward to renewing battle against a stellar line-up of bikes,
riders and teams in the rapidly-growing Superbike championship.
"It is natural for the Ducati Xerox Team to start the
2006 championship with our sights set on victory" declared
Ciabatti, "because the last few races of last year in
particular showed that the 999 is definitely a winning machine.
We are certainly not underestimating the challenge of the
2006 championship because as we saw last year, World Superbike
is now more competitive and popular than ever before and the
arrival of top riders from other categories and a complete
line-up of our traditional manufacturing rivals means that
the competition is going to be difficult again this year".
"However it is for this reason that the World Superbike
Championship continues to be important for Ducati as it allows
us to race and win with machines derived from our current
production range against our direct competitors, as a result
showcasing our technology. This year we will be taking part
with a powerful new rider line-up and the F06 version of the
Ducati 999. We warmly welcome Troy and Lorenzo into the team
and believe that this combination of experience and youth
will help us to continue our winning tradition in World Superbike"
he concluded.
SUSPENSION MODIFICATIONS: The Ducati 999
machine that won two World Superbike titles in the hands of
Neil Hodgson (2003) and James Toseland (2004) has undergone
some minor suspension modifications over the winter months
since winning six races last season. The F06 began its latest
specification trail with two test sessions in November (Valencia)
and December (Qatar) of last year, when the two new riders
got their hands on the bike for the first time, and the testing
programme continued at the start of February with two more
days at Valencia before the machines were shipped out to Qatar
for the opening round.
Ducati Corse Superbike technical director Ernesto Marinelli
explains the changes: "The technical differences between
the two versions can be summed up in the use of a new Öhlins
hydraulic system applied to the new TTX20 front forks and
the TTX36 rear shock absorber. The new hydraulics circuit
improves compression and rebound behavior and helps to simplify
maintenance operations and changes in the settings. The new
shock absorber design uses smaller diameter springs, which
helps save around 600 g in weight".
THE CHAMPIONSHIP: The 2006 championship
sees the Ducati Xerox Team up against stiff opposition from
all of the Italian manufacturer's traditional Japanese rivals,
Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki together with Malaysia's
Petronas on the 30-strong grid. Bayliss and Lanzi will face
a star-studded field of competitive riders, including reigning
champion Troy Corser (Suzuki), James Toseland (Honda), 2004
champion with Ducati, and the latest arrival from MotoGP,
Brazil's Alex Barros (Honda). Two more riders coming from
MotoGP include former Ducati factory star Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda
Ducati) and Roberto Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi)), while the
other Ducati customer machines in the Italian manufacturer's
eight-strong contingent on the official entry lists will be
raced by Max Neukirchner, Ivan Clementi, Lucio Pedercini (Team
Pedercini), and Marco Borciani, Xaus's team-mate.
THE CIRCUIT: Name: Losail International
Circuit. Length: 5380 metres. Pole Position: left. Corners
Left/Right: 10/6. Longest straight: 1068 metres.
STATISTICS: Best lap: Corser (Suzuki), 2m01.244s
(2005). Lap record: Kagayama (Suzuki), 2m02.135 (2005). Superpole:
Laconi (Ducati Xerox), 2m1.593s (2005).
TV COVERAGE: Eurosport 2 (Pan European):
Friday 24 February - 1400 Superpole (live); Saturday 25 February
- 1000 SBK race 1 (live), 1330 SBK race 2 (live). La7 (Italy):
Saturday 25 February - 0945 SBK race 1 (live) + 1650 (delayed),
1725 SBK race 2 (delayed).
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