On Saturday at the WDW Troy Bayliss confirmed that that he wouldn’t come out of retirement because he realized that “when I tested here I found out that things weren’t going that good and we ended up going around in circles.
That’s when it hit me and it was hard things like that that I didn’t miss about racing.
That completely I changed my mind and I spoke too early.
” but the Aussie pensioner concluded the Ducati private test yesterday, riding the development bike and finishing ahead of both Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio.
Bayliss set a best unofficial time of 1′35.
6, while Fabrizio lapped in 1′36.
0 and Haga in 1′36.
4.
All the WSBK Ducati teams were present, including private teams Althea Racing, DFX Corse and Supersonic.
Here’s what the three riders and the team manager had to say:Noriyuki Haga:“It’s definitely been a useful test session, even though it was very hot! I enjoyed WDW, my first as a Ducati factory rider, but today we got the real work done, and I’m feeling more confident about the next Misano race.
We tested the new tyre and we made various modifications to my bike through the day.
All in all I think we can say it was a very positive test.
Now we go home for a few days and then we are back here for the race!” Michel Fabrizio:“It was great to do some testing during WDW as the fans were able to see what goes on.
Today was the only full day on track and we got a lot done in preparation for the race here in two weeks.
It’s been extremely hot but conditions will undoubtedly be similar for the race so it was definitely useful.
I’m happy with the times; my best was a 1m36.
2 which is fairly good in this heat, and I would say that we leave here in a positive state of mind, ready for the race in two weeks time.
”Troy Bayliss:“The testing’s gone really well and with more time on track today the times improved quite a bit this morning.
I’m happy with how it all went and hope my feedback can help Nori and Michel, but I’m also tired because we’ve had a lot to do during this edition of WDW, both on and off track! As I said during Saturday’s WDW press conference, I have made up my mind and I won’t be coming back to the racing but I will undertake one more Superbike test later this year, just before the Imola SBK round, as agreed with Ducati at the start of the season.
” Ernesto Marinelli:“It’s definitely been an intense weekend, but also one of the best I’ve had.
The whole team and the riders have worked hard, and the passion of the Ducatisti here never dwindled for a second, despite the sweltering heat that we had here every day.
In the last few months we have had some difficult and frustrating times but the support and affection that every fan has shown this weekend has definitely given us a unique motivation.
A huge thank-you to all the Ducatisti! The test was very positive and we are confident ahead of the race.
”
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