Monza Preview From Ducati

Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada), who lost the lead of the championship atthe Sugo round in Japan, returns to the Italian track one year after makinghis name here with a series of fantastic late-braking moves that had theMonza crowd on its feet...

The 32 year-old Australian, lying second in thestandings behind compatriot Corser, will be aiming to wipe out the memoriesof two lowly finishing positions in Japan and improve on last year'sperformance when he came away with two fourths on what was his first visitto the circuit.

Teammate Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) will continue his learning curve atMonza, where he finished fifth last year in the Supersport race. The 23year-old Spanish rider has already impressed on a number of occasions thisyear, in particular in the wet at Phillip Island and will be hoping to addmore championship points to his total in only his fifth WSBK race.

Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M), currently lying fourth in the championship with 74points, celebrated his 27th birthday this week and the Californian hasdeclared that an ideal present will be nothing less than a top podium finishat the 5.793 km Monza track this weekend. A win at Kyalami and a fourthplace behind the Japanese riders in the last round at Sugo proved thatBostrom is rapidly becoming a contender for the championship title.

THE MONZA CIRCUIT

After Brooklands in England and Indianapolis in America, the AutodromoNazionale di Monza is the third oldest permanent circuit in the world. Itwas built in 1922 by the Automobile Club of Milan to satisfy the demands ofthe Italian automobile industry involved in motor sport and to celebrate the25th anniversary of the Club's foundation. Construction began on 15th May1922 and the work was completed in a record 110 days. The last modificationof the track dates back to last year, when the first and the Roggia chicaneswere redesigned to increase safety. The first variante was transformed ina double right-left curve, much narrower and slower. The track now measures5.793 kms.

SUPERBIKE LAP RECORDS