Troy Bayliss pronounced himself happy with his pace in the mid-season World Superbike test, the series leader proving comfortably fastest around Vallelunga.
Taking advantage of new front and tyre compounds from Pirelli, Bayliss was fastest in both the morning and afternoon sessions, but with track temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius, the Australian was still eight tenths adrift of his lap record.
Nonetheless, a lap of 1min 36.595secs was enough to ensure he was the only rider to dip below the 1min 37secs mark around the Italian circuit. Completing several laps in the process, Bayliss was pleased with his performance on the new tyres.
"It's my second time back here on the F08 after a first visit last September and we've done a really good job here today I think. We've tried a couple of things that seem to have improved the bike since I rode it last week at Misano and so I'm feeling really happy.
“We've done a lot of laps and a couple of mini long-runs and everything went well - I can say that I'm feeling happier on the bike than I have in a while. Pirelli have brought several new front and rear tyres which we've been testing and we'll try a few more tomorrow. I'm feeling really positive."
Meanwhile,
Michel Fabrizio showed exactly why Vallelunga is attributed to being a Ducati circuit by ensuring three of the Xerox machines would feature inside the top four.
"All things considered it hasn't gone badly today. I feel really tired, we've worked hard, it's very hot and I've clocked up a lot of miles throughout the day.
“We've tried various rear tyres today and tomorrow we'll work more with the front tyres, to ultimately find the best combinations of front and back with which to cover race distance. Overall we're pretty happy with the results."
