Ducati Misano test summary

THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM LEAVES MISANO IN A POSITIVE STATE OF MIND

Misano (Italy), Thursday 28th April: Warm conditions at the Misano World Circuit allowed the Ducati Xerox squad to carry out two day's worth of work on track today and yesterday, with positive results. Despite battling against flu and a high fever, Noriyuki Haga rode alongside his team-mate Michel Fabrizio yesterday and both demonstrated a fast pace.

On track together with the Aprilia, BMW and Yamana factory teams, the two Ducati Xerox riders and their technicians concentrated above all on making modifications to the 1198 bikes in order to improve feeling and refine set-ups in preparation for the next race at Monza, the weekend of 7th to 9th May.

Today Noriyuki's physical condition unfortunately worsened and after making two exits in the late morning, during which it was evident that his weakness was preventing him from pushing, the Japanese rider decided to finish up early, at lunchtime. Work continued for Michel however, and he spent the afternoon working on race pace and testing some different settings dedicated to the qualifying tyres, to better prepare for the Superpole sessions.

At the end of the tests, the team returned home satisfied with the work achieved. Michel made more than 150 laps over the two days, recording a great (unofficial) time of 1m35.7 with the race tyre, followed by a 1m35.2 on a qualifier, while Noriyuki, unwell, registered a best time yesterday of 1m36.6 on a race tyre.

Michel Fabrizio
"We've worked really hard, my best time of 1m35.2 on a qualifier was good but I'm more satisfied with the 1m35.7 that I set on a race tyre and the fact I was able to lap consistently fast. My technicians made various changes to the suspension settings of my 1198 and I didn't have any real problems. At Monza we absolutely must do well, we need to make good points in order to make up lost ground. We'll see."

Noriyuki Haga
"Yesterday everything was going well, lap times were better than they were during last year's racing, but of course track temperatures were lower too of course which helped. The feeling I had with the tyres was good and we also identified a better suspension setting, as well as trying some engine settings too. Now we have to see how those solutions work at Monza. Everyone knows that Monza has many long straights where we have difficulty with top speed but I plan to open the gas and give it my all."

Ernesto Marinelli -- Team Manager
"We're going through a very difficult phase, perhaps the most difficult that I remember, but the important thing is to react and never give up, and in this respect the whole team is very strong. This test has been very important and the problems regarding lack of feeling (the hardest kind to fix), that both riders were citing at Assen, seem to have been resolved or at least greatly reduced. It's a pity that Noriyuki was affected by the flu, but Michel's solid test is certainly an important base from which to start at Monza, where we'll give 200%."

-source: ducati