From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE CONCLUDES POSITIVE TWO-DAY TEST SESSION AT VALENCIA

DESMOSEDICI SET TO MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PUBLIC WITH DEMO LAPS AT VALENCIA MOTOGP WEEKEND

Two weeks after their last session, Ducati factory riders Troy Bayliss and Neil Hodgson, together with tester Vittoriano Guareschi, are again hard at work developing the two Ducati bikes that will take part in next year’s MotoGP and World Superbike championships. After a series of ‘shakedown’ tests at Mugello during the summer, Ducati Corse’s development programme continued yesterday and today, for the first time away from Italy, at the Valencia track in Spain. The Ricardo Tormo Circuit is ideal for track development not only due to the favourable climatic conditions in this period, but also due to the fact that it is the regular venue for rounds of both championships, thus offering considerable assistance to team engineers.

Troy Bayliss spent two more days getting to grips with the new Ducati Desmosedici prototype, with which the Australian rider will tackle his first MotoGP season next year. Troy concentrated mainly on settings, front tyres and bike set-up, and the 34 laps yesterday (due to gusty wind conditions) and 84 today allowed the 2001 Superbike champion to dial in to the greater power and carbon brakes of the Desmosedici.

“We’ve done a really good job these past two days” declared Troy. “The conditions of the track weren’t so good but today in particular we got a lot of work done. We’ve made a lot more progress since Mugello and I’m feeling better every time I step on the bike. There are a lot more things to do, but we’re getting there”.

Meanwhile Guareschi, who focussed on component testing, in particular different cooling solutions and new Shell Advance lubricants, specifically studied for high-revving engines, also completed a 30-lap ‘non-stop’ race simulation with the second Desmosedici.

Neil Hodgson, on his second time out with the 999 Superbike, continued his learning curve with a completely new bike. The 999 has been slightly modified since the previous outing at Mugello to improve overall comfort for the British rider, who now feels more at ease with the set-up, the suspension and the Michelin tyres. After yesterday’s 57 laps and today’s 86, Hodgson commented: “Today in particular I did a lot of laps to get a better feeling with the bike and it’s good to see that we are going in the right direction; the bike is getting easier to ride and everything I asked for after Mugello to improve my position on the bike has been done”.

The Ducati Corse testing programme will be continuing virtually non-stop in the next few weeks, with the next appointment scheduled for Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 November, again at the Valencia track.

Before the next test the Desmosedici will make its first appearance in public during the weekend of the GP Marlboro de la Comunitat Valenciana, the final round of this year’s MotoGP championship. Troy Bayliss will make several demo laps during the morning of Sunday 3 November before the start of the 125 race.