Ducati Testing

From Ducati Corse Press:

Ducati - Private Barcelona Test

The Ducati MotoGP Team put in an extra day’s testing at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya today, in view of the two-day official IRTA tests here on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 March. The session brought an end to Ducati Corse’s development phase for the Desmosedici, four examples of which were available at the circuit for the first time, two for each rider. The tests will mark the final roll-out for the Desmosedici before the team heads to Japan for the pre-race test session and the opening round of the MotoGP championship, scheduled for April 6 at Suzuka.

Troy Bayliss, who had never seen the Spanish track before, put in as much mileage as possible, and the Australian ended the day with 95 laps to his name. His best time was 1.47”2 as he switched between his two bikes and continued with general set-up work. “I did a lot of laps today,” said Bayliss at the end of the session, “because I have to learn this circuit really quickly. It’s a great track, but is very demanding and tough to learn. It was important to test here today and now I can approach the IRTA tests in the best possible way on Saturday.”

Satisfaction was also expressed by Capirossi, who completed a total of 60 laps, constantly lapping on the pace and recording his quickest time of 1.44”7 at the end of the day. Loris also concentrated on set-up work on the two Desmosedici machines available. “Not bad for a first day’s work,” declared Loris. “Finally the weather conditions allowed us to work well and we are at a good point. The time I set gives me high hopes for the IRTA tests against all the other teams here on Saturday and Sunday.”

Both Capirossi and Bayliss used 2002 Michelin tires, but will test with 2003 rubber at the weekend.