WINTER TESTING GETS UNDERWAY FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM WITH
BAYLISS, NEW SIGNING FABRIZIO AND 1098 F08
 Almost
two months after the end of the 2007 World Superbike season,
winter testing got underway for the Ducati Xerox Team at the
Losail circuit in Qatar. Australian Troy Bayliss and young
Italian Michel Fabrizio, who made his factory team debut today,
shared the testing duties on the new 1200cc machines that
will represent Ducati in next season's championship. Both
riders were pleased with the progress made on the first of
three days of testing with the Ducati 1098 F08.
Troy Bayliss, 2m00.6s (48 laps)
"It was good to get back on the bike after six or seven
weeks, and we're pretty happy with the first day" declared
Troy. "The track is not bad but it's a bit windy and
dusty although things got better in the afternoon. We're not
really in a hurry with the new 1098 bike, we're looking for
a good base setting more than anything else and so far I'm
pretty happy with the 2m00.6s I set on race tyres. The bike
is quite similar to when I tested it at Vallelunga but we've
got a lot of things to try out in the next couple of days
and I'm sure we'll improve."
Michel Fabrizio, 2m01.6s (37 laps)
"My debut with the 1098 went quite well apart from a
small crash!" said Michel. "I like the bike a lot
and I immediately managed to find a good feeling. Every time
I went out in the morning, I managed to improve, which is
always a good sign. In the afternoon however my time stayed
the same as the morning because we changed the rear shock.
There are another couple of days left here and I hope to improve."
TIMES (provided by Pirelli): 1. Corser (Yamaha)
1m59.6s; 2. Haga (Yamaha) 2m00.1s; 3. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox)
2m00.6s; 4. Nieto (Suzuki) 2m01.0s; 5. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox)
2m01.6s; 6. Kagayama (Suzuki) 2m01.9s; 7. Sofuoglu (Honda)
2m02.2s.
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