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Tuesday, 8th January 2008

Max Biaggi made his much anticipated Ducati debut during the opening day of the Phillip Island test, as he and Sterilgarda regular Ruben Xaus rode the new 1200cc 1098R for the first time.

Both Biaggi - a triple 2007 WSBK race winner with Alstare Suzuki - and Xaus went on to set exactly the same lap time, one-second behind fastest man Troy Bayliss of the factory team.

"This first day has been helpful to our riders in order to begin the work with the new motorbike," said team manager Marco Borciani. "Xaus, a Ducati expert, is already enthusiastic about the new 1098 and confident about its potential. Biaggi has taken just a few laps to be fast, and he has spent the session increasing his knowledge of a twin-cylinder engine.

"During the next five days [Sterilgarda will remain at Phillip Island after the three day official test ends] we are going to work hard on the set-up. We need to analyse the motorbike and to get further information about it. Our target is helping the riders to find an excellent feeling with the motorbike as soon as possible," added the former racer.

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Sterilgarda was the only non-factory team to win a WSBK race in 2007, when Xaus triumphed on the 999 at Valencia.

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