From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION
Valencia (Spain)
Friday 17 January 2003

XAUS BACK TO WORK AT VALENCIA WITH THE DUCATI 999 SUPERBIKE


First day of testing today at Valencia for the Ducati Corse Superbike team, which resumes track activity after the winter break in view of the 2003 season, which gets underway on March 2 at the Spanish circuit.

Only Ruben Xaus is present for the Italian squad in the two-day test. The other Team Ducati Fila rider, Neil Hodgson, underwent delicate surgery on a left wrist bone before Christmas, and is still in the middle of a 6-8 week recovery period. Nevertheless the British rider will be back on the track at Valencia for official WSBK testing, scheduled for 21-23 February.

In far from ideal conditions (air 12° / track 14°), today Xaus put in a notable amount of work, completing 100 laps. In collaboration with Michelin technicians, he focussed in particular on the development of new front tyres for the Superbike championship, with positive results. Xaus also concentrated on set-up work, in particular on rear suspension links.

Despite the considerable amount of mileage recorded today, the Spanish rider constantly lapped at a rapid pace throughout the afternoon, and ended up with quickest time of the day in 1’35.3″.

“I really needed this test here at Valencia to shake off some Christmas rust” declared Ruben. “We tested a load of new front tyres which were really good, and I’m pretty happy with the times. We are already more or less on the same pace as we did in the tests here at the start of December, despite the colder temperatures. We’ve still got a few things to try tomorrow to further improve the bike set-up, but I’m starting to feel much more at home now on the new Ducati 999.”