Preview PHILLIP ISLAND
DUCATI XEROX TEAM BACK ON TRACK AT PHILLIP ISLAND
THIS WEEKEND
The 2007 World Superbike Championship slips into top gear
this weekend with round 2 at the spectacular Phillip Island
track in Australia, the second race in as many weekends.
Following the difficult opener for the Ducati Xerox Team
in Qatar a few days ago, the fast and flowing Australian circuit
should better suit the twin-cylinder Ducati 999 F07 machines
of Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi, who could only muster one
podium between them in the two races at Losail.
37-year-old Troy has won three times at Phillip Island in
his four years spent in World Superbikes and now, after putting
the Qatar results behind him, he is aiming to get his season
back on track this weekend. When the Ducati Xerox Team tested
here in January, Bayliss set an amazing time of 1m30.7s but
admits that a race weekend is something different.
"It's all about points, but the points in Qatar were
not what we wanted" declared Troy. "We knew it was
going to be difficult there but it turned out to be more difficult
than expected. All the tests we've done in the winter, including
the one at Phillip Island in January, we've been really fast,
but you can't rely on that testing. Racing is totally different
and each weekend can throw different things at you. You also
can't rely on being the champion from last year, you have
to concentrate on the weekend ahead and that's what I plan
to do this weekend. We'd like to think that this round is
where it turns around for us, because we go well here. Everyone
likes to come to Phillip Island and it makes for great racing,
it really brings out the rider in everyone and I'm sure it'll
be no different this weekend."
Lorenzo Lanzi put in a determined rode last Saturday to score
his first podium of the year in the opening race and the 25-year-old
Italian will be looking to continue that sort of form in Australia.
"I would say that my start to the season was much better
than last year's, a good podium in race 1 but a few problems
in race 2" commented Lorenzo. "Now at Phillip Island
things should go better for us because the track is a lot
more congenial for our 999 machine. There are no slow corners
like the ones in Qatar, they are almost all fast curves and
so we shouldn't lose out very much because we won't be inferior
to the Japanese four-cylinder bikes. In fact here we are much
more competitive, as we showed in the winter tests at this
circuit, but we have to set the bike up as best as possible
to be competitive from the first to the very last lap. In
Qatar there hadn't been two Italians on the podium for many
years and it was great to be there with Biaggi. Let's hope
it continues but with the positions reversed!".
THE CIRCUIT
Name: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
Length: 4.445 km
Pole Position: left
Finish line length: 835 m
Race distance: 22 laps/97.790 km
STATISTICS: Best lap: Bayliss (Ducati),
1m31.908s (2006). Lap record: Bayliss (Ducati), 1m32.402s
(2006). Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati), 1m32.159s (2006).
2006 RESULTS: Race 1 - 1. Corser (Suzuki);
2. Barros (Honda); 3. Toseland (Honda). Race 2 - 1. Bayliss
(Ducati); 2. Toseland; 3. Barros.
TV COVERAGE: Eurosport (Europe): Sunday
4 March, 0100 race 1 (live), 0700 race 2 (delayed). British
Eurosport (UK): Saturday 3 March, 0815 Superpole (delayed);
Sunday 4 March, 1245 race 1 + race 2 (delayed). Eurosport
2 (Europe): Sunday 4 March, 0900 race 1 (delayed), 1015 race
2 (delayed). La7 (Italy): Saturday 3 March, 2030 Superpole
(delayed), Sunday 4 March, 0200 race 1 (live), 0530 race 2
(live), 1400 all races (repeat). Eurosport (Italy): Sunday
4 March, 0200 race 1 (live), 0430 race 1 (repeat), 0800 race
2 (delayed).
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